Veteran emcee Q-Tip dropped by our studio a month ago and played the humble card when asked whether or not he considered himself a legend, but that all ended when the beat dropped.

The A Tribe Called Quest frontman felt right at home with the drop-down microphone in hand as he flowed over a few classic beats before asking "Y'all got what you need?" Tip, who unarguably represents "real" hip-hop ran through three amazing freestyles without skipping a beat.

Q-Tip was hesitant to call himself a hip-hop pioneer during an exclusive freestyle segment in our studio last month, but whether he intended to or not, the rapper was part of history when he released his long-awaited sophomore solo effort, 'The Renaissance,' on the same day Illinois senator Barack Obama became our nation's first African-American president. And whether he'd like to admit it, the Abstract emcee is hip-hop and unarguably an icon.

"I felt like, well, not just me, but a lot of people [have been] talking about the state of hip-hop and music and the artistic credence of it has kind of fell away," the emcee told the BoomBox when discussing the title of his new album. " And the word "renaissance" means a creative re-birth, a creative re-awakening or a re-awakening of the creative soul, rather. So it's just speaking to the hopefulness of that."

The rapper tapped into his "creative soul" and launched into a series of freestyles over classic beats. Tip could've easily recorded an album of freestyle tracks the way he flowed over each track -- with little or no pause -- with ease.

Buy 'The Renaissance' on iTunes.

A hip-hop icon in Canada, Kardinal Offishall is still looking to break out in the States. The MC performed for Nelson Mandela when he was only 12-years-old, was featured in a Pepsi commercial and won a pair of Juno Awards -- equivalent to a Grammy -- before anyone outside of Toronto knew of the charismatic rapper.

"I performed for Mandela when he was released from prison when he came to Toronto. We rocked it and I was mad young too. We did a full out 10, 15 minute performance for him," Kardinal reminisced.

Now, the MC has teamed up with Akon and signed to the producer/singer's Kon Live record label in an effort to bring his success stateside. So far, with the help of the rapper's first single 'Dangerous,' Kardinal is being well-received and the MC is eager to release his upcoming album, 'Not 4 Sale,' which hit stores on Sept. 9.

"A few years ago I had made a t-shirt and it said "Not For Sale" and it had a bar code underneath, and I just made it because sometimes you get tired of wearing the same old, same old. I had that t-shirt made and we [did] a lot of traveling with it," Kardinal said when explaining the title of his new album. "Everywhere I wore it somebody would freak out about the shirt for a different reason, like there were so many different people around the world that would love it." Buy 'Dangerous' on iTunes.

"They gave me the name Verb off of freestyling. I don't write. I haven't [written] a song [on paper] in years," Verb aka Young Verb proudly tells the BoomBox. "It's like I'm in heaven." The Baltimore rapper was full of bravado when stormed into our Los Angeles studio to lay down 16 bars. "I'm the face of Baltimore right now. I'm the top dog.They gotta respect it or check it. That's what I tell them -- respect it or check it, 'cause right now, Baltimore is about to jump off because of me, I already know it," Verb proclaims before launching into one of the hottest freestyles our studio's ever seen.

With DJ Aaron LaCrate, who recently signed Verb to his Milkcrate Records, spinning in the back, the rapper talked about music, life in B-more and the HBO police drama 'The Wire,' which aired its final episode March 9.

"Growing up in Baltimore, especially where we live at is real hard. It reminds me of Compton," Verb explains. It's the same thing, I know it is. It got to be. If you live past to see 21, you ought to thank God -- be happy about the situation. I've always been a fan of 'The Wire.' Even though they don't tell you everything 'cause they can't tell you everything that goes on, but I'm a fan. Shout out to Snoop!"

Singer-songwriter Anthony David walked into our Los Angeles studio with guitar in hand and shocked everyone when he stepped up to the hanging microphone and spit a hot 16 bars. David aka 'Acey Duecy,' the title of his latest album, proved that real talent knows no bounds.

"Freestyling to me is a loose expression of ideas," David told the BoomBox. And former backup singer has been working towards bringing his ideas to the forefront for almost 10 years. "I like to tell my own stories. I like to have my own voice about stuff. So at some point I wanted to represent my own story," David explained.

As for his major label debut, David made sure the project combined everything he embodies. "'Acey Duecy' is like a complete picture in what I see in music, or maybe what I felt was missing," David said. "There's the R&B side that I grew up with, the hip hop sort of beats and then there's the acoustic side that I learned as a songwriter. This became my tool. It's blues creeping back into R&B a little bit more. 'Acey Duecy' is in stores now.

"I like to make my thoughts count. When I freestyle, I might say a whole bunch of bulls---. I like to make every word count, so I don't really freestyle too much," V.I.C. told the BoomBox in an exclusive freestyle segment. Nonetheless, the Atlanta-based rapper stepped up to our drop-down microphone and spit 16 bars. The rapper, known for his fun single 'Get Silly,' talked about his debut album, 'Beast,' collaboration with Soulja Boy Tell Em and desire to remain in the game.

"It's a dance track, but I held it down because V.I.C. can really rap," the Atlanta-based rapper said of Get Silly, which was produced by Soulja Boy. Throughout the interview the newcomer makes it clear that he's the real deal, emphasizing his ability to rap and not just make a danceable summertime track.

"The biggest misconception about my music is that they try to put me in that same little dance, rapper lane ...but I got something coming for the world," V.I.C. proclaims. Not only does the young emcee want to "show the world that VIC is a real artist, a true artist that [makes] big music and [is] here to stay," but he wants to establish himself as someone that will be around for a while. "[I] ain't going nowhere man, V.I.C. boasts. "[I'm] talking about longevity like LL Cool J." 'Beast' is due in stores on August 26.

"Freestyle when I was coming up meant ... words straight off the dome, unprepared, not written," David Banner explained before launching into an a capella freestyle in our Los Angeles studio. "Now it just depends on what situation I'm in." The Mississippi-bred emcee stepped up to the microphone, plugged his upcoming album, 'The Greatest Story Ever Told,' which hits shelves July 15, and gave a R.I.P. shout out to Sean Bell in the middle of his flow.

The rapper also expressed that his new album is chock full of his best work even though the delivery of the tracks are slightly different then past projects. "I did this album like a mountain. My mentor said even if your album is up here and it stays at the top, it's still going to be boring to people. You have to have peaks and valleys."