For Atlanta rapper Killer Mike, it has never been just about hip-hop. It has never been about preaching rhetoric over a beat. But his sharp-tongued lyrics and booming baritone carry enough ferocity to scare your social consciousness wide awake. It's a style that's both refreshingly informed and effortlessly gangsta.

Considering the his large profile boost in the past year--thanks to immaculate skills and invaluable co-signs from fellow A-Town rappers including T.I. and Big Boi--most of that proletariat anger should have subsided a bit. But the rapper born Michael Render says the struggle to keep his life simple is constantly being threatened by the Powers That Be.

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Patrick Montes / OC Weekly

Lil B

Lil B
The Observatory
May 10,/2013
"Are you ready?!"
Those were the first words to blast out of the Observatory's system this past Friday night at the very beginning of Bay Area rapper Lil B's performance. Normally, that soundbite reserved for the incoming onslaught of bravado, attitude, and tight-fitting clothing from the pro-wrestling collective D-Generation X. But on this occasion it felt like that phrase was tailor-made to welcome the Based God to his first OC performance.

Since his arrival onto the hip-hop scene, Lil B has attracted the most spiteful detractors and the most boisterous hyperbole this side of an Illmatic review. To this day, there are still some willing to create academic journal-worthy tracts on Lil B and the ideas and concepts his whole "Based" movement. He's been one of hip-hops greatest dividers, as well as one of its strongest unifying forces. And, after years of anticipation, Orange County finally received its chance to witness Lil B in the flesh.

See Also:
Producer Clams Casino and His "Weird" Relationship With Lil B

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Whether or not Lil B is trolling the Internet, doing some sort of satirical performance art, or just having fun rapping about looking like Jesus Christ and Paris Hilton, there's no question that his knack for picking producers borders on mastery. That's mostly because he's managed to find beatsmiths who can deliver sounds that accentuate his eccentricities while still keeping his songs on track. It's not like hip-hop production was saved or even in need of saving before the coming of the so-called "Based God," but having an artist like New Jersey's Clams Casino (real name Mike Volpe) around has helped music exponentially over the past few years.More »

From the Lux vs. Calicoe battle

To the casual observer, battle rap might seem like an anachronism--until you realize that it's bigger than ever. Leagues like URL and King of the Dot have produced some of the most talked about events in hip-hop -- with the controversies to boot. (And the parodies.)

Battling has gone from a niche interest to an important part of hip-hop culture. For those new to the scene, however, here's some historical perspective: the 10 greatest rap battles ever recorded.

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Lyrik of Steel Banging Musick

Wicked Babydoll is coming into her own as a Chicana on the mic. The 23-year-old rapper originally from Los Angeles has three mixtapes to her name with the latest, Words of the Wicked (download here), showcasing her impassioned delivery and hard time rhymes. The collection, laced with dope beats, features collaborations with D-1, Threat Loca, Dice Loks and others. Now rolling with Dirty Devil Entertainment, Wicked Babydoll got her start in hip-hop as a young teenager listening to the likes of 2pac, Eazy-E and Eminem before eventually deciding rapping was something she wanted to seriously pursue. The grind hasn't been an easy one having to balance responsibilities as an artist and a young mother of two children, but she persists onward towards her hip-hop dreams with plans for a new album next year.

The Weekly caught up with Wicked Babydoll earlier this week in Anaheim, where she's now based, on location for the music video shoot of "Fuck Authority" off Words of the Wicked.

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The music of up-and-coming Bay Area rapper/producer Iamsu! may very well be some of the funnest hip-hop to listen to right now. It's catchy, the beat selection is immaculate, Su's flow is perfect for what he does, and it's varied. Everything feels like it was constructed with a purpose, whether that purpose is getting the listener to look up the nearest club and dial numbers for bottle service or be "that person" who looks funny having spasms in their car at a stop light while their music blares at unhealthy (and possibly unnecessary) octaves. It represents exactly what more accessible and masses-friendly hip-hop should be right now.

"I make party songs, I make more musical songs, I might sing on a song. Being where I'm from, there's just so many things going on at the same time they have to coexist," says Su.

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Patrick Montes / OC Weekly

Juice of Flatbush Zombies

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Mike Mezeul

Lil Wayne has just released his tenth studio album, I Am Not a Human Being II. It's been 18 years since his first album: True Story as one half of The B.G.'z. In that time, he's been a lesser-known member of an embattled southern hip-hop group, a scrawny kid, a mixtape hero, the greatest rapper alive, the world's biggest pop star, a crossover cautionary tale, a completely non-discriminatory shill and an old man playing catch-up in a style he practically invented. That style would be the free-association that people once reverently described as "Dadaist" but now more commonly refer to as "stupid." And he deserves it, really: In 2007 we were getting vivid genius like "I'm so motherfuckin' high, I could eat a star." Whereas now we're just getting whatever lazy nonsense wanders into his addled brain ("'Cause when it Waynes it pours," which come on).

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Matt Oliver / OC Weekly Cam'ron at Paid Dues 2012 A few months into 2013 and we're less than a week away from the first big live hip-hop experience of the year. Last year was filled with immensely enjoyable shows all across Southern California, from Nas at Rock the Bells to Juicy J and ASAP Rocky at the Observatory. And, here we are, ready to start the festival season all over again and at the beginning of a year already stocked with great performances. Times goes by fast when you spend lots of time drinking and unleashing your energy deposits at rap shows, right? Guerilla Union has been generous enough to give us a Paid Dues bill as enjoyable and as diverse as ever, with up-and-coming oddballs like Speak taking stage alongside politically-minded rappers Killer Mike and Immortal Technique and west-coast party-rappers Problem & Badlucc. There's a lot of performers to sift through and only so much time in a day, especially if you have to wade through the fog of alcohol and contact (or deliberate) highs, so we have gone ahead and made this list of acts you absolutely can't miss out on. Spoiler alert: we're not exactly thrilled to see Trinidad James or Macklemore.

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