Intro
Alvin Blanco
Alvin Blanco
Twitter: @aqua174
Followers: 3,276
Joined: August 19, 2008
Why You Should Follow: Freelance writer and author of The Wu-Tang Clan and RZA, Alvin Blanco is constantly talking rap. Whether a new song dropped, a major news story broke, or someone else said something #slander worthy, be sure to peep Aqua's timeline.
Andrew Barber
Andrew Barber
Twitter: @fakeshoredrive
Followers: 11,164
Joined: September 15, 2008
Why You Should Follow: Andrew Barber, originator of Fake Shore Drive, reps his city from the title to the content. With a flexible focus on Chicago hip-hop, he's one of our favorite bloggers and Twitter personalities because most of what he talks about comes from a different perspective and he covers things just a little differently than everyone else on your newsfeed.
Andrew Nosnitsky
Andrew Nosnitsky
Twitter: @noz
Followers: 5,370
Joined: September 5, 2008
Why You Should Follow: Ever the contrarian, Noz is best known for his CocaineBlunts blog, where he would explain the genius of the likes of Young Dro while undermining your favorite rapper. That said, his Twitter feed is no different as he shoots off about current rap trends and forgotten gems.
Andy Hutchins
Andy Hutchins
Twitter: @RockabyeReview
Followers: 730
Joined: June 12, 2009
Why You Should Follow: Hutchins is a music journalist hailing from Florida with a knack for thoroughly dissecting all things hip-hop and frequently tweeting both witty and informative observations. Of course, our favorite thing about him is that his site The Rockabye Review accurately deciphers the lyrics to all the latest songs worthy of transcription.
Chris Weingarten
Chris Weingarten
Twitter: @1000TimesYes
Followers: 11,195
Joined: January 2, 2009
Why You Should Follow: Weingarten makes this list for one simple reason: His brilliant 140-character Twitter album reviews. His quips about albums—which involve him listing an artist, their album title, a one-line review, and then a rating—are absolutely worthy of the legendary Robert Christgau (who, now that we think about it, should really get on Twitter already). And if you don't feel like going through his feed, you can just peep his Twitter reviews on his website.
Chuck Klosterman
Chuck Klosterman
Twitter: @CKlosterman
Followers: 86,795
Joined: January 1, 2010
Why You Should Follow: Chuck Klosterman is a household name if you live in a house full of hipsters. The essayist, author, and occasional music critic is a cultural staple at this point, and you should probably keep up with him on Twitter. He tweets more about random stuff than he does music, but when he does it's always something interesting.
ego trip
ego trip
Twitter: @egotripland
Followers: 1,747
Joined: January 11, 2011
Why You Should Follow: We keep a copy of ego trip's Big Book of Rap Lists handy and for good reason. The legendary crew of veteran rap journalists continue to inspire us with their witty, inane lists and write-ups on their site egotripland.com, so you know we had to follow them. Also, be sure to follow @TedBawno (the founder of ego trip) as well. It's Bawno baby! All day in your mouth.
Elliott Wilson
Elliott Wilson
Twitter: @ElliottWilson
Followers: 37, 609
Joined: August 23, 2008
Why You Should Follow: Elliott Wilson is almost certainly going to be the most prolific tweeter on your timeline, but you won’t mind. His retweets provide unbiased commentary on everything current in hip-hop culture and his access allows him to leak exclusive tidbits from important industry events.
It's The Real
It's The Real
Twitter: @itsthereal
Followers: 10,629
Joined: September 10, 2008
Why You Should Follow: Eric and Jeff Rosenthal are hip-hop court jesters who gained Internet fame for their sketch comedy skits as It's The Real. Whenever a song drops or a major news story breaks, be sure to check their timeline for their comedic take. From our understanding, Jeff writes about 97% of the Tweets. Meanwhile, Eric writes the funny ones. We kid the Rosenthals!
Jayson Rodriguez
Jayson Rodriguez
Twitter: @jayhovawitness
Followers: 6,023
Joined: February 18, 2009
Why You Should Follow: Formerly of Vibe and MTV News, J-Rod—as he's known—currently works at XXL and always provides insights into the rap world with his unique perspective. So we'll forgive him for being an Eagles fan. #nobodiesperfect
Jeff Weiss
Jeff Weiss
Twitter: @Passionweiss
Followers: 1,378
Joined: January 5, 2010
Why You Should Follow: Jeff Weiss is an influential music journalist who currently runs his own online magazine, The Passion of the Weiss. Outside of just being a well-connected, music-related Tweeter, he's also worth following because of his sense of humor and inside take at the behind-the-scenes of music journalism.
Karen Civil
Karen Civil
Twitter: @KarenCivil
Followers: 27,273
Joined: September 27, 2008
Why You Should Follow: Karen Civil is an influential hip-hop blogger who's been spreading out her influence—including taking control of online marketing for Young Money and a digital marketing position at Beats by Dr. Dre. Still, the blog updates are what you're really going to want to follow her on Twitter for. They're always on-point, relevant, and occasionally exclusive.
Karla Moy
Karla Moy
Twitter: @hustleGRL
Followers: 14,485
Joined: August 5, 2008
Why You Should Follow: She may be only 19 years old, but Karla Moy has got things going for herself. The Toronto native created Drake's official fan site, All Things Fresh, and she also designed the cover of Lil Wayne's No Ceilings as well as Weezy Thanks You. Needless to say, she's someone worthy watching out for.
LowKey
LowKey
Twitter: @LowKeyUHTN
Followers: 13,828
Joined: August 4, 2008
Why You Should Follow: LowKey is more than a blogger, he's a personality. And what you don't see at his blog, You Heard That New, is all laid out on Twitter. He tweets almost non-stop about hip-hop, the industry, and whatever kind of alcohol he's currently consuming.
Maura Johnston
Maura Johnston
Twitter: @maura
Followers: 6,277
Joined: November 17, 2006
Why You Should Follow: The music editor for The Village Voice, Maura Johnston is a well-known figure in music journalism. She is also a must-follow if you're trying to keep up with the indie scene, and includes a lot of personal taste which is great. If Maura likes it, it's probably worth checking out.
Miss Info
Miss Info
Twitter: @missinfo
Followers: 127,565
Joined: August 26, 2008
Why You Should Follow: An OG rap journalist (she wrote Nas' 5 Mic Illmatic review) and Hot 97 on-air personality, Miss Info is one of the most connected people in hip-hop. More than just a blogger, Info often has exclusives access and breaks stories, like when she recently was first on the news that Kreayshawn had signed to Sony. A must-follow for her constant updates.
Nation
Nation
Twitter: @definitely_nah
Followers: 10,002
Joined: September 16, 2008
Why You Should Follow: Eskay's right-hand man and self-proclaimed as one of the "greatest linkers of the 21st century," you can be sure Nation will always have a clever quip up his sleeve about the latest happenings in rap. And it doesn't hurt that he helps run NahRight, one of the most influential rap blogs around.
Noah Callahan-Bever
Noah Callahan-Bever
Twitter: @N_C_B
Followers: 5,841
Joined: March 17, 2009
Why You Should Follow: Complex’s EIC is heavy in the game and on Twitter. Follow Noah to get commentary on exclusive happenings in hip-hop, some insider knowledge about the industry, and of course loads of humor to keep your timeline entertaining.
Peter Rosenberg
Peter Rosenberg
Twitter: @Rosenbergradio
Followers: 59,075
Joined: August 20, 2007
Why You Should Follow: Hot 97 host and DJ, Peter Rosenberg is a Twitter heavy-hitter. You can basically trust him to keep you up to date with what's hitting the radio waves, which often happens to be way more telling for what's going to be big than what's hitting the blogs.
Reggie Osse
Reggie Osse
Twitter: @Combat_Jack
Followers: 5,678
Joined: December 24, 2008
Why You Should Follow: Entertainment attorney turned editor at The Source, Combat Jack loves debating rap and rarely (if ever) bites his tongue. He keeps it funky, fresh, and will put you in check if he has to. #noshots
Rob Markman
Rob Markman
Twitter: @RobMarkman
Followers: 6,865
Joined: December 22, 2008
Why You Should Follow: One of the resident hip-hop journalists over at MTV, Rob Markman is connected, passionate, and tweets a lot. All of which make him someone who should be a staple in your newsfeed.
Shaheem Reid
Shaheem Reid
Twitter: @SHAHEEMREID
Followers: 17,764
Joined: January 8, 2009
Why You Should Follow: He calls himself the "Hip-Hop Historian," and not without good reason. Shaheem Reid has been in the game for years and has seen it all. It's clear his passion for music hasn't faded if you follow him on Twitter, he's still following the culture diligently and helping us keep up.
Shake
Shake
Twitter: @dopeboySHAKE
Followers: 16,131
Joined: September 18, 2008
Why You Should Follow: Las Vegas based blogger and founder of 2DopeBoyz, Shake not only tweets about music but also the struggles of running a popular music site. Namely, having to deal with annoying music labels and emails from thirsty wannabe rappers.
Tom Breihan
Tom Breihan
Twitter: @tombreihan
Followers: 2,272
Joined: June 15, 2009
Why You Should Follow: Breihan is one of the more prolific staff writers for indie heavyweight Pitchfork. On top of that, he's a serious hip-hop head, orchestrating their monthly "Out The Trunk" feature—which rounds up the best (and worst) mixtapes to come out of the game every 30 days.
Toure
Toure
Twitter: @Toure
Followers: 33,082
Joined: January 8, 2009
Why You Should Follow: The long-time scribe and Fuse host has an opinion on anything and everything. Whether it be Jay-Z's newest song, Lebron's latest misstep, or debates about who is truly the GOAT, you can be sure Toure is in the mix broadcasting his opinions, but also facilitating conversations via retweets and responses.
