Born the son of a Pentecostal minister, Michael D’Angelo Archer was destined to pursue a career in music. At the age of three, he began playing the piano by ear inside the Archer household. By five, ...

Hindsight is crystal clear. Sure. But what the hell kind of laced blunts were those A&Rs smoking? Did they not hear “Dead Presidents” or “I Can't Get Wid Dat” or “In My Lifetime”? It doesn’t matter ...

The new sexual anthem, which broke streaming records in its debut week, has caused conservative figures and politicians alike to openly speak out about an absence of respectability and conformity. But ...

These iconic lines from the end of Warren G’s 1994 classic “Regulate” serve as a kind of credo for the g funk era. The popular subgenre of gangsta rap was all the rage in the mid-‘90s, and brought a ...

You saw Earth, Wind & Fire face off against the Isley Brothers on Verzuz. Now read about how the legendary collective recorded their seminal album I Am. While working as a session drummer for ...

This article has been handpicked from the Okayplayer editorial archives and included in our Hip Hop 50 collection as a noteworthy inclusion to the genre's rich and diverse narrative. The article has ...

This one was worth the wait. Check out our highlights from 'Before the World Blows.' Just when everyone seemed to have OutKast figured out, the two artists threw fans for a loop once again. The plan: ...

Trying to narrow down the best songs of any year is an impossible task. It’s a challenge we take on with great pride, but it’s rarely with ease. And depending on who you ask, the answer changes. But ...

The record business has (allegedly) scammed countless musicians out of their masters, publishing rights, royalties, and just about everything else under the sun. Artists who lacked the proper ...

In the New York City of the early '90s that love affair came to life at a dimly lit underground club called Giant Step. Aptly named after the seminal John Coltrane album, Giant Step was more than just ...

“Some people don’t wanna be outshined on the record. Like to be honest with you, I did a record with Benny and ‘Kiss, and I happened to have the best verse on the record. I smoked the record, and ...

Dame Dash has filed for bankruptcy and he’s struggling with extensive debt. According to Rolling Stone, the former Roc-A-Fella Records mogul says he has no monthly income, no house, no car, no ...