OP-ED | Featured Guest Posts

The Source features guest posts from the most influential in the Hip Hop community. Click to read articles from your favorite OP-ED writers.

Happy Birthday To The Music That Raised Me: A Girl’s Ode To Hip Hop

By Courtneyb / August 11, 2023

The birth of Hip-Hop infused a flavor element into the world that not everyone was prepared for. As hip hop...

This is America… Masked White Supremacists March at Lincoln Memorial

By Sourcestaff / December 6, 2021

This is America.... A gang of white men half masked walking in broad daylight with police escorts, all coordinated in...

Remembering DMX: A Personal Story

By Courtneyb / April 13, 2021

Beloved rapper/actor/philanthropist DMX passed away last Friday at the tender age of 50.After a week-long battle in the hospital, family,...

Op-Ed: Whitelash Will Not Silence Us

By Sourcestaff / January 8, 2021

Congress finally certified the votes of the Electoral College for the 2020 election of the United States President and Vice...

Native American Hip Hop: Rhymes and Stories from the City to the Rez

By Sourcestaff / November 30, 2020

by: Kyle Mays November is Native American Heritage Month. But how many people knew that? Better yet, how many people...

[Op-Ed] Hip Hop Democracy and the Future of Our Freedom

By Sourcestaff / November 13, 2020

by Kyle T. Mays, Ph.D. In the wake of the election of president-elect Joe Biden and the incoming Vice President,...

First Kanye, 50 Cent And Now Lil Wayne: We Need Our Men Today

By Courtneyb / November 3, 2020

First it was Kanye, then 50 Cent and now Lil Wayne standing beside arguably--- one of the most controversial presidents...

[Video] The Tree Mason Releases Video For “Bronxghanistan”

Shussain

February 13, 2015

Hip Hop Music | Listen To and Download Hip Hop Tracks, Hip Hop Music Reviews, Hip Hop Music Videos | Official Videos and Performances, New Hip Hop Music | New Hip Hop Singles and Remixes, OP-ED | Featured Guest Posts, Reviews, Source TV, SourceTV | Viral Hip Hop Videos

Bronx Native and Hooligan, The Tree Mason releases video for "Bronxghanistan".... Read Article

Golden No More: What Happened To Trinidad James?

Matt Aceto

February 6, 2015

Exclusives, OP-ED | Featured Guest Posts

The "All Gold Everything" rapper has faded to bronze Don't you miss when Trinidad James had donkey teeth, when he had an earth-sized afro, or above all when he just didn't give a f*@k? In many ways, James... Read Article

How to Be a Rapper 101: How Not To Get Your Music Heard

Azeemk

February 2, 2015

Exclusives Music, OP-ED | Featured Guest Posts, Tech

There are some ways to get your music heard on Twitter, but there are other ways to definitely not make it happen. In this installment of "How to Be a Rapper 101," I'm going to tell you about the things you... Read Article

How to Be a Rapper 101: The Rapper Starter Kit

Azeemk

February 1, 2015

Exclusives Music, Hip Hop Community News, OP-ED | Featured Guest Posts

These days there are no mysteries around the fact that, everyone and their mother wants to be a rapper; it's such a cliché that it's actually not even amusing to make fun of it anymore...but we decided to do it... Read Article

Millenial On The Move: Karen Civil’s Working While You’re Sleeping

Brandon Robinson

January 28, 2015

Covers, Exclusives, feature, Her Source | Beauty and Fashion Trends, Her Source | Women's Hip Hop Lifestyle, Hip Hop Culture | Hip Hop Arts and Lifestyle, Lifestyle, OP-ED | Featured Guest Posts

What does success look like in 2015? The usual suspects: Bill Gates, Oprah, Warren Buffett, Michael Jordan, LeBron James...and the list goes on. As baby boomers and their parents are getting older, wiser and m... Read Article

The Source & Genius Present: Lyrics Of The Week (1/23)

The Source

January 23, 2015

Digital, Exclusives, Hip Hop Entertainment | Hip Hop TV, Film and Video Games, Hip Hop Music | Listen To and Download Hip Hop Tracks, Hip Hop News | Trending Hip Hop Stories, News Exclusives, OP-ED | Featured Guest Posts, Technology

BARS ... Read Article

Amid Distress, J. Cole Kicks Knowledge And Spreads Love In Recent Media Appearances

Idia Ogala

December 22, 2014

Hip Hop Music | Listen To and Download Hip Hop Tracks, OP-ED | Featured Guest Posts

J. Cole is coming off of an incredible high.... Read Article

The Night I Interviewed Talib Kweli

Natasha

December 15, 2014

Hip Hop Music | Listen To and Download Hip Hop Tracks, Hip Hop Music Reviews, OP-ED | Featured Guest Posts, Reviews, Uncategorized

London is a great city filled with beautiful opportunities, but interviewing one of your most listened to hip hop artists isn’t an everyday occurrence. A couple of weeks back I got to sit down with Talib Kweli.... Read Article

Today Marks The Anniversary Of The Rap Beef Between Jay-Z & Nas

Omari White

December 11, 2014

Hip Hop Entertainment | Hip Hop TV, Film and Video Games, Hip Hop Music | Listen To and Download Hip Hop Tracks, OP-ED | Featured Guest Posts

Classic War Of Words To Remember...... Read Article

major label deal, labels, contracts, rappers, artists,

OP-ED: The Days of The Major Label Era Deals Are Over

Sebelkouby

December 3, 2014

OP-ED | Featured Guest Posts

Dreaming of a record contract? You might have better luck becoming an astronaut. Once upon a time, every rapper in the world dreamed of snatching a label deal. They'd snail mail their demo tape to Def Ja... Read Article

YoungThugBookOfThugAllofyoungthug'ssongs

The Book of Thug: Young Thug’s Complete 2014 Music Collection

Matt Aceto

November 26, 2014

Exclusives, Exclusives Music, featured, Hip Hop Music | Listen To and Download Hip Hop Tracks, Hip Hop News | Trending Hip Hop Stories, New Hip Hop Music | New Hip Hop Singles and Remixes, News Exclusives, OP-ED | Featured Guest Posts

Original Art by Alain Morel @alain.morel More like an encyclopedia... Read Article

Happy Anniversary, Kendrick Lamar!

Omari White

October 22, 2014

Digital, Exclusives Music, Hip Hop Entertainment | Hip Hop TV, Film and Video Games, Hip Hop Music | Listen To and Download Hip Hop Tracks, Hip Hop Music Reviews, OP-ED | Featured Guest Posts, Reviews

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF8aaTu2kg0 The album that introduced America to K.Dot turns two years old today. So let's toast (and take a pool full of liquor and dive in it) as we appreciate the Compton em... Read Article

The Importance Of The Lyricist

Natasha

September 7, 2014

Hip Hop Music | Listen To and Download Hip Hop Tracks, OP-ED | Featured Guest Posts

What would hip-hop be without them? Rich in word play that is executed with precise precision and and told with the tightest technique. Double-entendres that hold weight, leaving you to press pause for a min... Read Article

(Op-Ed) The Role of The Poet Throughout History

Hurtjohn

September 6, 2014

Exclusives, OP-ED | Featured Guest Posts, Uncategorized

On September 19th-21st, The Source360 will showcase some of today's prominent and brave Poets to represent the generation. Every generation has few courageous voices who's words express the incomprehensible ... Read Article

Exclusive: Gunplay Talks Growing Up In Miami, Bobby Shmurda & His Debut Album, ‘Living Legend’

Deniqua

August 28, 2014

Exclusives, Film, OP-ED | Featured Guest Posts

Back in January, WSHH presented "The Field" series, tackling gang violence in Chicago. The series continues, this time taking a closer look at Miami. Just a few months shy of the new year, World Star Hip Hop... Read Article

(OP-ED) Robin Williams Death Linked To Pharmaceutical Side Affects: What Does This Tell Us?

Hurtjohn

August 18, 2014

International Music Videos and News, News Exclusives, OP-ED | Featured Guest Posts

"And it is of course true that pharmacologists are producing a great many new wonder drugs where the cure is almost worse than the disease. Every year the new edition of medical textbooks contains a longer and... Read Article

The Power Behind Music

Natasha

August 15, 2014

Hip Hop Music | Listen To and Download Hip Hop Tracks, OP-ED | Featured Guest Posts

Why is music important? ‘‘If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music’’ ― Albert Einstein I ... Read Article

The Light In Hip Hop: A Reflection On The Words & Works Of Common

Natasha

August 8, 2014

Hip Hop Music | Listen To and Download Hip Hop Tracks, OP-ED | Featured Guest Posts

A talent that is not Common We all have that one artist or group that gave us that pivotal moment in our affair with hip-hop. A track or beat that caught you, captured you and captivated you in such a way th... Read Article

OVO Fest Day 2 Recap: Drake, J.Cole, G-Unit, Trey Songz, Usher, PARTYNEXTDOOR, YG, Majid,Lauryn Hill + More

Spencer

August 5, 2014

Exclusives, Hip Hop Music | Listen To and Download Hip Hop Tracks, Hip Hop News | Trending Hip Hop Stories, News Exclusives, OP-ED | Featured Guest Posts, Photos

Photo Credit: Haleema Khan for The Source Magazine/TheSource.com Epic is an understatement Monday night (August 4th) Drake closed out his annual show, OVO Fest at The Molson Center in ... Read Article

Exclusive: Rae Sremmurd Takes Us Into The No Flex Zone

Jnelliott

July 21, 2014

Exclusives, feature, Hip Hop Music | Listen To and Download Hip Hop Tracks, News Exclusives, OP-ED | Featured Guest Posts

When this writer originally heard the song "No Flex Zone", he probably thought the same thing that readers did: how old are these Rae Sremmurd dudes? It's a hard question to avoid, everyone has tried to approxi... Read Article