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HHLO's BEST MIXTAPES OF 2009

Posted on 29 December 2009. Tags: 50 Cent, beam me up scotty, boss of all bosses, Cam'ron, covers the classics, D Block, dipset, Drake, duck down, fashawn, g-unit, j cole, Jadakiss, Joell Ortiz, kimbo price, Kiss My Ass, Lil' Wayne, Nicki Minaj, no ceilings, roc-a-fella, sean price, so far gone, the antidote, the warm up, war angel, Young Money

Hundreds of mixtapes came out this year, literally. Here is HHLO’s list of the mixtapes that mattered most this year. Read the full story

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2009 Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival Recap (With Photo Gallery)

Posted on 23 June 2009. Tags: Brand Nubian, Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, D Block, Dead Prez, DJ Green Lantern, DJ Premier, Grand Puba, Sheek Louch, Styles P

The 5th Annual Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival saw a huge turnout last Saturday despite all the bad weather. A massive tent was set up to shelter attendees but it wasn’t big enough for everyone, prompting Brooklyn Bodega founder, Wes Jackson, to apologize for underestimating the fans’ dedication.

And dedicated they were. Heads stood in a cramped space for over four hours, bearing with heat, moisture and undoubtedly holding back trips to the bathroom to hold down their spot.

Was it worth it?

Even though artists’ sets got cut shorter and shorter as the show progressed, due to unwelcome political endorsements (especially after a Dead Prez set). It’s safe to say, any fan who loves hip hop, and music in general, got much more than their money’s worth (a $10 dollar donation was suggested). They were exposed to some of the newest emcees making noise like Torae (w/ Marco Polo) along with some of the illest veteran emcees like Pharoah Monch. Throw in a few surprise guests like Milk Dee and Black Thought and you’ve got one hell of a hip hop festival.

: Torae and Marco Polo straight ‘crash the party’

: Uncle Ralph of Video Music Box hosted the event.

: (diet) Tanya Morgan (2/3’s of the group) got BK to “Bang N Boogie”

: Homeboy Sandman goes a little left with his tracks, generating a few boos in the crowd, but much props to him for keeping it unique and true to his style.

: Smif n Wessun has and always will hold down it’s borough. Buck Town!

: Buckshot, another BK representer, joins his Duck Down family

: Smoothe Da Hustla

: OC asks the crowd if they’re familiar with D.I.T.C. and receives a resounding Yeah!

: Brand Nubian might have could have started a riot with “Punks Jump Up to Get Beat Down” if they didn’t back it up with “Slow Down”

: Chip Fu from the Fu-Schnickens kills it with the flow, setting off a gang of ooh’s and aah’s from the crowd

: Grand Daddy I.U. sticks to the script with raw lyrics

: Primo gives everyone an honorary Brooklyn Pass for the day.

: Green Lantern plugs the new Dead Prez “Pulse of the People” album he produced

: Fresh off another run-in with police, Dead Prez reps for all the RBG’s

: Styles P and the whole D-Block camp (minus Jadakiss) shut it down with hits from almost every Lox era. The Ghost even brings Black Thought out for “Get Busy Ya’ll”