nas

Last week Nas surprised everyone when he dropped "The Season", his long-delayed collaboration with legendary Detroit producer J Dilla. On "The Season" Nas raps over Dilla's smooth "Gobstopper" beat from his 2006 instrumental album Donuts. If nobody was expecting that to happen, then surely nobody was even remotely thinking about AZ, Nas' longtime and frequent rhyme partner, and also a member of hip-hop group The Firm (which Nasty Nas was also part of), to remix the track. Listen to AZ' remix of Nas' (and Jay Dee's) "The Season" after the jump.

When J Dilla suddenly passed away in 2006, at the tender age of 32, from cardiac arrest, the hip-hop community lost one of the greatest producers of all-time. That year Jay Dee left hip-hop one of the finest collections of instrumentals in Donuts. What made Donuts so special, besides it being released three days before J Dilla's passing, was that it feels like such an intensely personal statement. Since its release, many have went on to use the instrumentals from Donuts (including Ghostface, Drake, Charles Hamilton, Skyzoo, and Talib Kweli). Now Nas is finally sharing his collaboration with Jay Dee as he raps over the "Gobstopper" beat. Listen after the jump!

It's difficult to say anything that hasn't already been said before, as we've had exactly 20 years to process the greatness that is Nas' 1994 debut, Illmatic. Basically everything that needs to be said has already been said. Without even hearing a single beat, sample or rhyme from the album, you already know what Illmatic is. And with 20 years under its (championship) belt the acknowledgement of its greatness is brought right back up on its anniversary, including the release of director one9's Nas: Time Is Illmatic, a documentary film that chronicles the circumstances leading up to the groundbreaking record. And we here at iHipHop thought we would honor Nas' Illmatic in the only way we see fit: counting down the album's 20 absolute best lyrics. Of course, this was quite a daunting task for us seeing as there's easily more than 20 incredible, groundbreaking lyrics on Illmatic. But we tried our best. After the jump!

We are halfway through 2014 and we've already been blessed with many great albums so far. But who shall deliver during the second half? Will Kanye drop a Yeezus 2? Is Jay Rock's album ever coming out? More after the jump!

Although the mystery surrounding Your Old Droog has been solved (he's not Nas, he's a rapper from Brooklyn) that hasn't stopped him from producing stellar music. Ever since his first public appearance in NYC Your Old Droog has remained relatively silent. Until now. "Secondhand Gunsmoke" is the first bit of new recorded material since his self-titled debut EP. Check it out after the jump.

ScHoolboy Q's hit single "Studio" off of his excellent Oxymoron album has done so well for itself, climbing every hip-hop/R&B chart imaginable, that it comes as no surprise rappers are jumping on the ethereal beat. However, leave it to none other than Queens' finest Nas to shut it down entirely. Peep the remix after the jump.

To the left, to the left. Sending off Hov in a yacht to the left. According to TMZ and HuffPost and about 10,000 sweaty fans, Beyoncé modified the lyrics to her song "Resentment" to call out Jay Z for cheating. This is the moment thirst vacuums and Hov haters have been waiting for: the divorce that makes Beyoncé single again. But all you 9-to-5ers and basic hood vendors can say goodbye to the dream that never was. Bey ain't marrying you. We came up with a list of chaps she might give a second glance once Team Yonce and handlers review. Hit the jump and click through.