Editor’s note: Our Patreon page is Patreon.com/RapReviews — but before you decide to join our monthly supporters read on a bit more about my history and that of the website. Thanks!

I’m sure a lot of you know the lore as to why I use the pen name Steve ‘Flash’ Juon, but in case you don’t I’ll drop a little behind-the-scenes info right here. When I was ten years old I was introduced to hip-hop music and culture through a K-tel Records release called “Breakdance.” The very first song on side A of the tape was “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel.” I’m not sure a better introduction was possible, because I immediately fell in love with scratching, sampling, rapping and slamming beats all in one go. I was a terrible b-boy but that never stopped me from trying.

I was so enthralled by Mr. Joseph Robert Saddler that when I dabbled in trying to be an emcee or a deejay myself “Flash” was always in the name somewhere. Eventually it dawned on me that writing was my true calling in life, so it became a pen name rather than a performer’s name, but that moniker still reflects an important pioneer in hip-hop history. “History” is on my mind today because a reader sent me an interesting email last week. For the sake of privacy I’m leaving their name out, but for a lack of modesty I’ll quote a little bit of what they said to me (and I hope they forgive me for it).

“I want to thank RapReviews.com for being the only hip-hop website left that still do ratings+reviews. There have been many resources dedicated to hip-hop culture over the past 30+ years, but they’ve all faded into oblivion or become gossip news outlets. HipHopDX stopped rating R&B/Hip-Hop projects after reviewing Tyler The Creator’s CHROMAKOPIA in late 2024. So I wish your resource prosperity in the name of real hip-hop!”

I genuinely appreciate that but I must confess it’s not easy. You’ve probably noticed there are occasional advertising editorials sprinkled in among our reviews, and they are a concession to the economic realities of keeping this project going. It has been 25+ years now since the website launched and when ad banners stopped supporting the cost of the site, I launched a Patreon page to let the community prove they could step up to make a difference. With your support we did away with the banner ads, pop up ads, and any external pressure that Google could put on us to censor topics. Trust me, it happened. If a rapper talked about sexual assault in a song, and we talked honestly about said song in a review, we’d get flagged for violating Google ad policies. That shit gets really old fast.

I’m sure the advertorials get old fast too. It’s a delicate balancing act between running enough to keep things going and not running so many it drowns out the work we do. I’ve turned away more than I’ve taken and lived to regret some of the ones I took — I now refuse anything to do with kratom as a rule. Sabu’s death took care of that for me. Legal or not I’m no longer comfortable with it. The bottom line of my message here is that the more you support the website (I recommend $5-$10 a month but any amount helps) the less we need to clutter this place up with promos. If the history our reader talked about matters, if the history of people like Grandmaster Flash matters, let’s keep on talking about and writing about hip-hop music and culture right here. Past, present, and future all in one place — RapReviews.com — powered by the patrons.

Sincerely,
Steve ‘Flash’ Juon, RR EIC