RapStation

Monday already got you staggering for the weekend? If so, may we prescribe this week's throwback album, which comes in the form of Ultramagnetic MCs high-voltage debut record, Critical Beatdown.

Born into Hip-hop's Golden Age, Ultramagetic MCs is a New York-based rap group rostered by TR Love, Moe Love, Ced Gee, and Kool Keith. Despite being their first album, Critical Beatdown gained notoriety as what critics acclaimed as a “classic” for its era, as well as Pitchfork's precise citation as “one that stands tall today as one of Golden Age's most ageless.”

The album features 15 tracks overflowing with sky's-the-limit energy, from hard-hitting hooks to razor-sharp beats and sounds.

In the latest episode of Questlove Supreme, the new weekly radio show hosted by Questlove, The Roots percussionist and lover of all things music related travels to Minneapolis and uncovers an unexpected connection between the late Prince and Public Enemy.

“The rapper’s problem usually stems from being tone-deaf. Pack the house then try to sing. There won’t be no one left,” Prince said on the track "Dead On It," originally written in 1987, on which Prince apparently declares his disdain for rap music.

According to sources who spoke with Questlove, Prince was initially cold to hip hop music for its use of samples and turntables over traditional instruments and vocal work. According to Prince's friend and former The Revolution band

The GZA has announced that he's planning to perform his celebrated 1995 album Liquid Swords live, in its entirety, in New York and Chicago this fall.

The Genius of Wu-Tang Clan has released seven studio albums, and while all of them were relatively well received, nothing can match the near mythic reputation of his second album, Liquid Swords. Widely considered to be one of the (if not the) best hip hop albums of all time, the GZA will be revisiting Liquid Swords for two special live shows this Fall.

Chance the Rapper is arguably one of the biggest hip hop acts in the world right now -- Coloring Book was a massive critical and commercial success, and his recent Magnificent Coloring Day Festival in Chicago was also a huge hit. So what's Chance going to do next? A song about chocolate, of course.

Kit Kat reps revealed today that the Chicago rapper and producer has rewritten the classic "Give Me A Break" Kit Kat jingle. 

During his performance at The Meadows Music and Arts Festival in New York last night, the multitalented J.Cole announced that he's taking an indefinite break from performing live, with that night's show being his last for "a very long time."

"Before I get outta here. This my last show for a very long time," Cole said near the end of his set. An Instagram video of Cole's statement, taken by a fan in the audience, can be viewed here.

Cole's last album, 2014 Forest Hi

One of the most prominent and influential hip hop artists in history is celebrating his birthday today -- on this day in Brooklyn forty-one years ago, Talib Kweli was born.

The name "Talib" is derived from the Arabic word for "student," but Talib Kweli has been the one that's been educating hip hop fans for decades with his insightful, clever lyrics and political activism. Kweli became a household name when he teamed up with Mos Def and DJ Hi-Tek to create the 1998 album Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, which is often cited by critics as one of the best hip hop albums of the 90's and is the epitome of the late 90's revival of socially conscious, Afrocentric hip hop. Since then, Kweli has enjoyed a long solo career that has s