Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge meet Jay Z and Beyonce during the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Brooklyn Nets game at Barclays Center on Dec. 8, 2014 in Brooklyn, New York.

Eminem is back at it… sitting atop the Billboard Rap Albums Chart.  Let’s see how long he can hold off Rick Ross’ “Hood Billionaire”, that debuts at #2.

According to NBC 10, Philadelphia rapper Beanie Sigel has been shot after an apparent fight outside a Jersey Shore home.  His attorney believes the rapper was not the intended target.

The shooting happened around 9:45 a.m. outside Sigel’s home along the 800 block of Spruce Avenue in Pleasantville, New Jersey, police said.  Sigel, whose real name is Dwight Grant, was hit in the back, according to his attorney Fortunato Perri, Jr.  He was taken to a hospital in critical condition and is currently in surgery.

The 40-year-old rapper was released from federal prison in August after serving a two-year sentence for tax evasion. Sigel was formerly signed to Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella Records before the two rappers broke ties.

This Friday is dedicated to Hip Hop… Diamond D & Pharoahe lace this boom bap… so twist your cap back… and bop down the block… with a nod that’ll make your neck crack… I think I still got it!!! Check for Diamond’s new release “The Diam Piece”

Billboard dedicated their “Throwback Thursday” to Suge Knight’s diss of P. Diddy at the first Source Awards.  I happened to be in the building that evening at the Paramount NYC.

After Lil Wayne took to Twitter to air his frustration with Birdman and Cash Money Records on Thursday (Dec. 4), Pusha T replied directly and invited him to come over to GOOD Music, meanwhile playing off when Suge Knight dissed Diddy.

Let’s not forget Snoop had to get on the Mic and the East Coast West Coast battle… beef… whatever you want to call it… got going…

The meaning of Hip Hop collabo has changed quite a bit over the years… Once known as a treat to the Hip Hop consumer… the Hip Hop collabo has become the norm in today’s Hip Hop… Albums are littered with features… they are no longer collabo’s… There have been great collaborations in Hip Hop over the years… and Khari Digital will break down 10 in a Hip Hop Collabo Series… not greatest… just 10 that had meaning to the game and still resonate throughout the Hip Hop community today… Today we feature GangStar who teamed up with Nice & Smooth to give us the classic “DWYCK”… RIP Guru

New York City… The Big Apple… The NYC… What is going on?  Once… The place to be… The Mecca… The scene was felt all over the world… to make it… NYC had to be a part of it… This is no longer the case… The Hip Hop circuit has taken a tour since the late 90’s and found new homes in major cities across the U.S… Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, Chicago… etc…

NYC was the shit…  Since Hip Hop’s inception… NYC was all anyone knew…  Ok… Things evolve…  but to be completely left out… Now that’s an exaggeration… But that’s what it feels like… Would anyone argue if I said 90% of the Hip Hop game was comprised of Mc’s from NYC and surrounding areas from 1980 – 1995… Would anyone disagree that the percentage has been on a steady decline since 95 and is more like 10% present day?… That is beyond drastic… New York radio sounds more like songs are being played by guest DJ’s from around the country… Hip Hop is going to continue to change… And I’m not writing so we can help New York artist have a presence in the game again… But… Something went really wrong…

When you’re on top of the world it’s hard to stay there… Did New York lose its hunger? Or did everyone else come up with a vision that eventually supplanted the ideas of the New York Mc…  Now New York artist must adjust to being the minority in the game…

Adding to the dilemma is the meaning of a dope MC… It too has changed… Lyrical content has been devalued in today’s Hip Hop… Mc’s are dope but their lyrics aren’t mind blowing… Story telling is non-existent… All of which personified the New York Hip Hop artist…   Today… there’s new content… albeit all similar… it’s new… New deliveries on the Mic… Hip Hop has always had good Mc’s and trash Mc’s… the difference is that the majority come from different areas of the country now… How we judge Mc’s has changed… It had to… Today Mc’s are good and bad for different reasons… You’re dope because you got 100,00 followers on your own… Your radio spins are crazy without the help of the machine (Labels)… You get the idea… It’s more than just the music now…

Can NYC rebound?  That’s a question that has been thrown around quite a bit… We know the City can do it big… Puff Daddy… Jay Z… 50 Cent… but whose next?… and how long will it take?…  Who will bring back that feel that can change the game… and do it from the Big Apple?

Had to go with T.I. for the #FF… Someone please translate for me… Young Thug… what is you saying… song is fire!!!

From a lyrical perspective… It doesn’t get much better than this… Lord Finesse and Big L team up on the “Yes You May” (Remix) and deliver a classic for the ages… This is straight up some Hip Hop shit that you remember and quote… Finesse and L hit you with punchline after punchline… This song embodies the Hip Hop Collabo series… The“Yes You May” Remix could have been released with the acapella and heads would still nod to this… Hip Hop is about styles… We previously featured “Scenario” with A Tribe Called Quest and L.O.N.S… That was a track filled with varying styles… Big L and Lord Finesse are somewhat similar… both street related MC’s… the constant with them is they go for the knockout with memorable lines that make all the heads jaws drop… RIP to Big L…