Articles by Del F. Cowie

Common

Soul By the Pound

PUBLISHED Nov 22, 2008

On the cusp of releasing his eighth album Universal Mind Control, Common has proven himself to be one of the most durable and versatile MC...

Kanye West

808s and Heartbreak

PUBLISHED Nov 21, 2008

When word first surfaced that Kanye West was releasing a new record with Autotuned vocals, you could literally cue the mass eye rolling. Ho...

Q-Tip

The Renaissance

PUBLISHED Nov 17, 2008

It’s been nine years since Q-Tip dropped his debut solo outing, Amplified, after the shocking dissolution of A Tribe Called Quest in 1998....

Foreign Exchange’s Same Difference

PUBLISHED Oct 26, 2008

A few things have changed since producer Nicolay and Little Brother MC Phonte created the critically acclaimed Connected four years ago wit...

Madlib the Beat Konducta

WLIB: King of the Wigflip

PUBLISHED Oct 22, 2008

Apparently, this is the last entry in BBE’s occasionally brilliant, yet rather intermittent, Beat Generation series where hip-hop producers...

Roots Manuva

Slime and Reason

PUBLISHED Oct 22, 2008

If you heard Rodney Smith’s (aka Roots Manuva) last outing, Awfully Deep, you might be mildly surprised to find out he’s decided to release...

Kardinal Offishall

Not 4 Sale

PUBLISHED Sep 25, 2008

When releases by Canadian hip-hop artists are preceded by breakthrough crossover singles like Kardinal Offishall’s Akon-assisted "Dangerous...

Skillz

Million Dollar Backpack

PUBLISHED Aug 23, 2008

Virginia MC Skillz has been around so long he’s had time to cultivate at least two distinct audiences. Fans of mid-’90s hip-hop will rememb...