Email Author Sam Chennault

2005 Stories by Sam Chennault

• Hip-Hop Trends in 2005

  published December 29, 2005

  On the surface, 2005 was another banner year for hip-hop. There were at least a couple of classic albums (Beanie Sigel's The B. Coming and... More >>

• Backstreet Boys

  published August 18, 2005

  The Backstreet Boys! Yeah, we know. You're supposed to tell the joke before you get to the punchline. In 2005, though, the Backstreet Boys are... More >>

• Four Tet

  published May 26, 2005

  Four Tet's Everything Ecstatic is the latest entry in the annals of kitchen-sink electronica, an ever-expanding genre that cuts and pastes... More >>

• Blowhards

  published May 19, 2005

  Burrowed inside a community center in South Central Los Angeles, a thick crowd of sweat-drenched men vied for space as police in riot gear hovered... More >>

• Common

  published May 19, 2005

  For hip-hop purists, Common and Kanye West's collaboration on Be is akin to the genre's prodigal son meeting King Midas on his road to... More >>

• Mike Jones

  published May 12, 2005

  So, who, exactly, is Mike Jones? That's a great question. Here's what we've learned so far: The nearly ubiquitous Houston-based rapper apparently... More >>

• DJ Spooky vs. Dave Lombardo

  published May 5, 2005

  Lawmakers should spend less time worrying about men wedding other men and more time disrupting the noisy, unholy marriage of metal and rap.... More >>

• Conversation Peace

  published April 28, 2005

  I care a lot about politics," says Akrobatik, "but I don't believe in the political process." The Perceptionists' MC remembers sitting in a... More >>

• Pigeon John

  published April 14, 2005

  With his witty self-deprecation, weirdly wordy narratives and odd rhythmic pacing, Pigeon John (above) is one in a long line of underground... More >>

• Dalek

  published March 17, 2005

  By most accounts, hip-hop is all about presence: the simple (and incredibly effective) economy of lyrical force thrust onto bone-rattling beats.... More >>

• 50 Cent

  published March 10, 2005

  With chiseled muscles drizzled in oil and an unspecified power that left him impervious to bullets, 50 Cent exploded onto the pop landscape like a... More >>

• Lyrics Born

  published March 10, 2005

  With a booming, bluesy voice that can start, stop and pivot on a dime, Bay Area MC/producer Lyrics Born has established himself as one of the most... More >>

• Geto Boys

  published March 3, 2005

  Artists granted legendary status all too often stagnate and slip into self-parody, as if the mounds of accolades and accoutrements of success were... More >>

• Buck 65

  published February 17, 2005

  If Outkast's Andre 3000 made it safe for hardened hip-hop heads to embrace their inner (and sexually ambiguous) Prince, will Canadian import Buck... More >>