Word from the Namibian sector of hip hop, the past two weeks have been blazing cypha style, with more appearances from Jozi emcee X-rate and his crew ‘HOME ROLLED” doing their freestyles…plus an exclusive 15 most grimey track ever played on the cypha play list…Read on…

Courtesy of Soulfu Enterprise, The Big Ups from SL Mag Mixtape is out now. A slew of hot tracks from new artists as well as G-town vets put together in a fashion that is similar to the radio show hosted by TNG, i.e. nonstop action. Just having put out another mixtape “Sick With The Flow” as one of The Innovators, this new mix tape is testament to the relentless work ethic that is adhered to. Read on for more details…

From Max Normal / Real Estate Agents / Constructus, this champ on the wheel of steel will be mixing it up live at The Suite in Grahamstown. He might also do an exclusive set on The Saturday Stick UP Show 89.7fm (between 1-4pm). Sibot is well known in the hiphop community for his impressive skills on the turntables. Many might think they haven’t heard his work, but if you listened to the Harambe Dope Sessions broadcasted on several community radio stations across the country, you’re bound to have heard his scratching on almost every underground gem that was spun on that show. Come watch this talented turntablist chop it up on the decks, at The Suite, this Saturday night 22 May. And listen out on The Saturday Stick UP Show just to make sure you don’t miss out on an exclusive.

We are currently looking into ways to rich a wider audience. Producing for artists outside Namibia is one such way of attaining that goal. RV INC is thus offering to produce an instrumental for free just for you.  Read on for details & conditions.

Check out the interview with the popular South African Australian hiphop artist, Rasheda from Sista She on www.africanoz.com

Nkqubela FM (K.Q fm 97.0) presents the Voice of Hip Hop. Nelson Mandela Metropole on Saturdays from 12H00pm – 14H00pm. DJ Kemzo G and SEBS, giving you fattest hiphop jams and poetry plus local MCees.

Do you collect old records? Is your life about searching for breaks and making beats from them? Do you want to learn about the beat digging/mining scene? AfricasGateway.com has been working hard to bring you the first African-based but global crate digging portal. Read more for info.

The Perfect Beats and Funkiest Tracks for The Bronx Soundwalk Were Handpicked by The Original Jazzy Jay from his Notoriously Deep Crates. Remember the trip into his basement in the movie SCRATCH? Jazzy Jay Also Narrates The Hip Hop CD which Takes you to Bronx River/Soundview, Where He Conjures a Zulu Jam Live and Direct from the Late 70s. Hip Hop Legends Themselves Offer First Hand Accounts of the Legendary Battle Between Hip Hop’s Founding Fathers, Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa, at James Monroe High School!

Twenty-five years after 1979’s “Rapper’s Delight” broke open the floodgates, hip hop’s influence is everywhere–from music to movies, fashion to vocabulary. Now, honoring the past, celebrating the present and anticipating the future, the four-CD The Hip Hop Box (Hip-O Records/UMe), released April 20, 2004, brings together 51 of the genre’s greatest turning points, highlights, landmarks and breakthroughs, each digitally remastered. Starring most of hip hop’s greatest artists, from the Sugarhill Gang of 1979 to the 50 Cent of 2003, the tracks were culled from dozens of record labels.

48 Months contains the early work of 7Heads cornerstone artist, Asheru, and his collaborator Blue Black. Recordings beginning in 1995 and ending in 1999, it is the four years or 48 months from their 1st recordings to the beginning of the Soon Come sessions, their inspirational debut. In these recordings previously only available on vinyl and many out of print, you can hear the formation of the vibe that has garnered Asheru and Blue Black fans across the globe. The jazzy grooves, the effortless delivery, the conscious lyrics, and the good times were born during these 48 Months. The album contains the first three Asheru and Blue Black releases, the EP’s “Cosmology” and “Jamboree”, and the classic 12 inch “Better.” “48 Months” also includes remixes of “Smiley” and “Jamboree” along with two new joints, “How Ya Livin?” with Grap Luva and J-Live and “Black Moses”. Production includes: DJ Spinna, Grap Luva, 88 Keys, Uncle Junior artist Djinji Brown and new 7H artist The Saint.

RV IN© is a young record label based in Windhoek, Namibia; founded by Stallin Kapembe, Leevy-Lee Abrahams, and Dandani Boois in early 2003. Wanting to find out more about their company, the industry and the hip hop scene in Windhoek I hooked up with them and got them to answer some of our questions.

DJ DNA has done beats for groups like Future Shock, Solseekers, The Inklings, Soul Components, Fashion Expo and the Night Owls. He got interested in Djing when watching Digital Underground’s DJ Fuze in concert. His EP, “The Exploration” landed at our headquarters about 2 months ago and we’ve been bumping it since. I caught up with him to find out more.

DAM, Da Arabic Mc’s is the name of the crew who are repping hip hop from the land called Palestine. They invited me to come spend time with them but I could not find an airline that’s willing to transport me there. DAM have been featured on BBC and the Rolling Stone’s magazine. Despite the language barrier they got back to us with the questions we posted. Also check out the two tracks at the end of the article. Note: We had to translate this interview.

I’m of the opinion that one can only truly appreciate the art of graffiti if you’re a spray-can artist yourself. I have been a follower of Hip-Hop for a long time, but still my knowledge of graf has remained is limited. So in effort to get me open on this often misunderstood aspect of Hip-Hop, I decided to check for more mags, books and also search the net regarding this subject.

Born in Mexico City, Mexico, DJ A-Beats has been a music lover since his birth. Inspired by his parents love of music A-Beats experimented with many genres of music he found his true love, Hip Hop. “I remember when I first moved to the US, there were so many different types of music. I really got into Michael Jackson, Guns N Roses, Red Hot Chilli Peppers etc… Then my brother started coming home with NWA, Ice Cube, Run DMC, Slick Rick and I was hooked.” He began to learn more about hip hop culture and eventually embraced it as his own.