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BLUEPRINT: THE RAPSTATION INTERVIEW II

As Ohio emcee Blueprint prepares to release an upcoming collaborative EP with longtime friend Aesop Rock, he’s staying focused on the bigger picture. In addition to the EP, Vigilante Genesis (produced entirely by Aesop), he does a weekly podcast with Illogic called Super Duty Tough Work, stays vigilant about his recovery and is looking forward to rare summer off from touring. 

Since the veteran rapper put an end to his battle with alcohol several years ago, his creativity is flowing at an all time high. But with nine solo albums under his belt—culminating with 2015’s King No Crown—Blueprint’s output has not slowed down since his debut, 2003’s The Weightroom. In betwe

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Arrested Development's Speech launches petition to make hip-hop more diverse, positive

Arrested Development has been an advocate of more positive hip-hop ever since the late 80's, and in light of recent events, the group's frontman Speech has launched a petition to change the sound and tone of urban radio.

Speech has started an online petition urging the FCC, Clear Channel Communications (the corporation that owns many of the country's radio stations,) and members of the media who help decide what hip-hop gets played and covered in the news, to reject acts that reinforce nega

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NAS AMONG HEADLINERS AT ANNUAL RIOT FEST

Riot Fest & Rodeo has unveiled the first wave of 2016 artists and true to form, it’s a diverse roster. The annual musical festival hosted hip-hop legends Run-DMC, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, De La Soul, and Cypress Hill at the 2015 event and this year, hip-hop is seemingly even more prevalent. 

Although they are still adding artists to the lineup, the following hip-hop acts have been confirmed: Nas, Death Grips, GZA, Method Man and Redman, Joey Bada$$, Tyler the Creator, Danny Brown, People Under the Stairs, and Flatbush Zombies.

Riot Fest continues its tradition of being non-traditionall and scheduling both festivals in a way that defies the homogeneity often seen at many other festivals. In addition to the music programming, the festi

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DE LA SOUL TEAM UP WITH SNOOP DOGG FOR "PAIN"

De La Soul's new album, "...And The Anonymous Nobody," won't be released until August, but the band is giving the world a preview of their new sound with the release of "Pain," a new track with a verse by Snoop Dogg.

You can listen to "Pain" while playing a short interactive game on the band's official website.

"Pain" is the second track from "And The Anonymous Nobody" that De La Soul has released, the first being "Trainwreck," which was released last month as part of the "For Your Pain and Suffering" EP, which also featured b-sides that didn't make it onto the final tracklist for the upcoming album.

Production on "And

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NEW RELEASE: C-DOC RETURNS WITH NEW COLLABORATIVE ALBUM

C-Doc’s latest virtual collaboration with friends, the “DocSonic” album.   

He’s done it again, David “C-Doc” Snyder has returned with the release of his new album Dotsonic. Known for his virtual collaborations which began with Chuck D, the Impossebulls and Public Enemy years earlier, the talented producer is back at it again with an impressive list of featured artists on his latest album. With the help of his friends, and the internet, C-Doc has created a dope tracklist with other artists including: Badluck, Cheese N Pot-C, D3Zs, DJ Def Chad, Donnie Ozone, The Honorable Sleaze, Marcus J, Timezone LaFontaine, Flatline (Hip-Hop Gods host) and Kyle Jason (SlowJamz).

Sharing is caring with this album as it has been made avai

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SPOTLIGHT ARTIST: GRAND PUBA

Grand Puba Maxwell, from New Rochelle New York, began in the group Masters of Ceremony during the 80s. Together they released the album Dynamite (1988) but with a lack of sufficient sales, the group split. He later appeared as the lead MC for the group Brand Nubian with Sadat X and Lord Jamar, making conscious rap music like their album One For All. Shortly after that release in 1990, Puba went on to pursue a solo career in Hip Hop and his song “I Like It” helped him launch that career. Later on, Grand Puba re-appeared as a member of Brand Nubian in 1997. They recorded a few tracks as a group and ultimately for the album Foundation (1998).

In 2009, Grand Puba released Retroactive as his fourth s

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