Indignant viewers of a brand new Burger King ad starring R&B diva Mary J. Blige singing about their Crispy Chicken Snack Wrap have prompted the fast food chain to yank the ad. more ›

Conor Knighton tickles our tastebuds and our funny bone with this just-released video showcasing his tribute rap to Jonathan Gold's 2011 99 Essential Restaurants list. more ›

Like most great discoveries Murk Avenue blogger Donovan Strain started with a simple question: just which date inspired Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day"? more ›

Who shot Cali Swag rapper Monte "M-Bone" Talbert? Inglewood Police have been grappling with solving the crime since Talbert was gunned down outside a liquor store in May 2011. more ›

Chuck D of Public Enemy wants the world to know that hip-hop -- at least, his brand of it -- is about activism and community involvement. "For too long, they've said that the music I'm involved with, the genre doesn't have enough conscious social activity," he recently told CBS News. more ›

He's Mac Lethal and he's not afraid of taking on the insanely fast rapping pace of "Look at Me Now." And he makes a pretty impressive stack of pancakes while he's at it, too. "Cook with me now, uh, cook with me now." Solid. more ›

By now, you've probably heard Gywneth Paltrow rap N.W.A.'s "Straight Outta Compton" (if you haven't, here's the clip). In a recent interview with Steve Stoute, the actress bumps up her street cred even more. more ›

Rap legend Heavy D "weighed 344 pounds at the time of his death yesterday," TMZ is reporting. "Officials recorded Heavy's height and weight as part of their investigation into his sudden and unexpected passing," they explain. more ›

Rapper Heavy D died this afternoon, after being rushed from his Beverly Hills home to a hospital. The legend was just 44 years old. more ›

The Biebs went on Power 106 this week where he rapped with surprising proficiency over the Kanye West and Jay-Z collaboration "Otis" with his own fan-friendly, PG rhymes. more ›

A photographer who says she was assaulted by a member of the Los Angeles rap group Odd Future while they were performing in New Orleans has lawyered up. more ›

One part because MTV Jams busted this one out yesterday, and one part because the message not only still applies, but also can be applied to human relationships in a global perspective, today's video lunch is a time machine back to Los Angeles in 1990, when a the West Coast Rap All-Stars reminded the youth of the day that "We're All in the Same Gang." more ›

The rapper Game decided to open up on the topic of gay people in the biz. It turns out he LOVES gay people. He says they run the world (just like that Beyonce song!), and that's great, since this is a free country and everything. They should be out and proud, he says, that way they're not spreading AIDS. more ›

We've come a long way, baby, since Miami rap group 2 Live Crew got the authorities all riled up with their "Nasty" music. These days toddlers in tiaras gyrate to Britney Spears to win pageants, fewer words get bleeped from the television, and a song called "Me So Horny," well, shrug--that ain't no thing. But in June 1990, U.S. district court Judge Jose Gonzalez ruled 2 Live Crew's album As Nasty As They Wanna Be obscene and illegal to sell. Well, a few folks decided not to take that lying down. more ›

Red Bull EmSee: Los Angeles hits the Echoplex tonight to choose LA’s Freestyle King. The invite-only competition challenges eight emcees to freestyle battle against each other and the clock in three rounds. They have to test their mind and their rhyming skills. Spontaneous cues throughout the night will help induce the the emcees’ flow. Guest judges and performers are Kurupt, Chali 2na and Supernatural. Inka One spins the tunes throughout the evening. Doors at 9 pm and show at 10. Tickets: $10 / 18+. more ›

According to rap icon Dr. Dre, what "we" do in L.A. is drive around Downtown in the dark, dark night, in a dark, dark car with a kickin' stereo system. So are you buying what he's selling? more ›

The lineup for the summer's top hip-hop festival tour was announced last night at House of Blues. Rock the Bells visits the San Manuel Amphitheater in San Bernardino (you know - the one formerly known as the Glen Helen Pavilion, Hyundai Pavilion, and the Blockbuster Pavilion) August 20. more ›

With thousands of pink slips going out to teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District, those educators who are now, or will be, out of a job are pretty angry. One teacher has put together this video about the state of education in Los Angeles and the country, only instead of dry narration, he raps his message. We'll forgive the sometimes quirky pastiche of background images (Justin Bieber!) if only because he successfully works the word "chutzpah," into his clever lyrics. more ›

Long Beach born Nate Dogg (nee Nathaniel Dwayne Hale) died yesterday in his hometown at the age of 41. A cause of death has not been released, however, as MTV points out, "the infamous hook singer had been recovering from two massive strokes he suffered over the past years." more ›

Christopher George Latore Wallace is better known as Biggie Smalls, Big Poppa, and The Notorious B.I.G. In Los Angeles to promote his upcoming record release, and making a video for his single "Hypnotize," the East Coast rap superstar was gunned down in a drive-by shooting following a party on March 9, 1997. He was 24 years old. The murder case remains unsolved. Let's go back to Cali, 1997 style. more ›

Years from now, when someone asks, "Who was the MC Lyte of the Latin American hip hop scene?" one name will come to mind: Ana Tijoux. Born in France to Chilean parents, the GRAMMY nominated Tijoux is a true pioneer. Her CD, 1977 -- a reference to her birth year -- has helped her conquer the thriving Latin America hip hop scene. Tijoux explains how she got her start: more ›

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"Or watch me swing my chain at the Roscoe's off Pico." ~ From "Hip Hop Quotables" by Ludacris We've seen maps and pop culture mashed up before -- such as locations for movie shoots like Star Trek or 500 Days of Summer -- but nothing as creative as this. more ›

The "Last Girl on Earth" certainly wasn't lonely last night as thousands of screaming fans packed the Staples Center for her headlining concert. In a show that featured a dramatic set, and an opening performance by pop sensation Ke$ha, Rihanna reportedly wowed the crowd. more ›

Last year, LAist got an early leak of the Poindexter album by rapper Childish Gambino. Or, as he's more universally known, actor / writer / comedian Donald Glover. Since then, his show Community has been picked up for a second season on NBC, he's had a stand up special on Comedy Central, the film he co-wrote, stars in, and scored - Mystery Team - has moved from theaters to DVD, and he's gotten press lately for parlaying a few tweets into legitimate talk to play the next Spiderman. Maybe. more ›

It’s probably fitting that the place you’re most likely to find Chaz Kangas is online. After all, he got a pretty big boost by appearing on the freestyle-inspired Childish Gambino track My Hoodie off the Sick Boi drop a while back. After all, Childish himself is the online-only rap personification of Donald Glover, who himself got his start online with the sketch comedy group Derrick. But with an innumerable amount of battle rap videos spanning years, Kangas is so serious about tearing other MCs apart, there’d be nothing funny about it if it wasn’t so damn hilarious. more ›

Whether or not you really ever believed Hip Hop was Dead, there’s no denying the changes it’s undergone in the past decade. Bass-y beats and mean muggin’ thug rhyme runners are so cliche they’ve become a caricature of themselves; how else can you explain 50 Cent having his own video game? So where does a real hip hop head turn? Like an ostrich: underground. more ›

Racking up over ten million YouTube views, and signed to Kanye West's GOOD Music imprint, hip-hopper Kid Cudi is well on his way. The recent video for "Day 'n Night" features the lonely stoner meandering around Los Angeles. Can you recognize any of the locations? Comment below! more ›

LAist got some time in with Los Angeles rapper MURS. MURS has just released 'MURS FOR PRESIDENT' on Warner Bros Records, and is a member of the rap groups Living Legends, and Felt. He hails from the Los Angeles neighborhood of Mid-City. I call him a homie-by-proxy! MURS stands for Making Underground Raw Shit - but it should stand for My Ultimate Rare Sit-down. more ›