Beatz&Rhymez Nation

08/07/2026

LEGACY FILES: Monday in Vegas, the man charged with orchestrating Tupac's 1996 murder finally goes to trial. Duane "Keefe D" Davis rejected a 15-year plea and is taking it to a jury — Suge Knight is on the witness list. Nearly 30 years after the shots on the Strip, the culture may finally get an answer. Closure, or just a reopened wound?

07/27/2026

CRATE KNOWLEDGE | Sampling built hip-hop — and a whole body of music law beside it. Every famous lawsuit reshaped how producers clear, budget and credit (see GRAMMY.com's rundown of the ten most controversial). The rule that survives all of it: celebrate the technique, name the source, and never confuse a record existing with permission to use it. What's the sample that should've been cleared first but blew up anyway?

07/26/2026

LEGACY FILES | Album skits are hip-hop world-building, not filler. De La Soul turned "3 Feet High and Rising" into a whole universe — sketches, characters, comic timing — sequencing as storytelling. The question isn't whether a skit is funny; it's whether the humor deepens the album's voice or kills its momentum. Name a skit that makes the album better.

07/26/2026

THE DAILY CIPHER | Comics and hip-hop build identity the same way — names, costumes, crews, serialized conflict, references that reward deep knowledge. Sanford Greene's creator-owned work proves history and genre can share a page without either turning into a lecture. What rap album feels most like a fully built comic universe?

Sanford Greene has worked professionally in comic illustration and related industries for over 15 years, including work for mainline publishers such as Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and Image Comics. Recent work includes the hit Marvel series Power Man and Iron Fist as well as covers for Black Panther…

07/25/2026

NATION DEBATE | Hardware gives you focus and physical memory. Software gives you speed, recall and access. Neither gives you taste. When a producer defends one side, they're usually defending the workflow that helps them actually decide. Roger Linn — the man who built the MPC — trying a modern one is worth the watch before you weigh in. What tool disappears from your hands fastest when the beat is working?

Roger Linn, designer of the original Akai MPC, tries out a new Aka...

07/25/2026

THE DAILY CIPHER | A vinyl preorder is a vote. It says an album deserves shelf space, not just a queue slot. Khaled's new one is up on CD and 2LP, signed editions included. When did you last buy physical — and what made you do it?

07/25/2026

LEGACY FILES | Brooklyn's pen game is a continuum. Big Daddy Kane's command. Biggie's detail. Mos Def's range. Joey Bada$$ carrying the traditionalist flag into the modern era. Every era inherits technique and pressure from the one before — Brooklyn keeps reshaping what lyrical authority sounds like. Who belongs in the next chapter of that lineage?

See exclusive interview.

07/25/2026

FRESH FRIDAY | New music moves fast. Our first-listen test is simple: drums, voice, point of view and the reason to run it back. What release earned your second play this week?

07/24/2026

NEXT UP | MoMA PS1's Warm Up opens today in Long Island City — six Fridays of DJs, producers and collectives turning a museum courtyard into a sound system. Underground coverage can't stop at rappers: the rooms, the curators and the parties are where scenes actually take shape. Which New York party or DJ series is documenting the city's next chapter?

Long Island City, New York, June 10, 2026—Warm Up, MoMA PS1’s signature outdoor music series, returns this summer with DJ sets and live performances from 26 artists and collectives on six Friday evenings in July and August. This year’s lineup reflects the historical roots of global subgenres.....

07/24/2026

FRESH FRIDAY | Cypress Hill’s Dios Bendiga arrives July 24 as the group’s first album entirely in Spanish. That makes language part of the production story: syllable length, breath, cadence and cultural reference all change how a voice sits against the drums. Listen for more than translation—does the record build a distinct musical chapter?

Authorized album page: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4P0dddbxPil35MNN9G2MEX
Release context: https://theweek.com/culture-life/music/10-upcoming-albums-summer-2026

Watch Cypress Hill and Alemán’s official “Wacha Trucha” video, then listen for how the Spanish-language cadence sits against the production:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQJ282Hgijw

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