A Tribe Called Quest

Last Night: Rock the Bells @ Red Rocks

Last Night: Common @ The Fillmore Auditorium

Live Review: Rock the Bells Tour

Playlist

Q-Tip

Amplified
(Arista)

Club Scout

Doc Martin

Club Scout

PH Balance

The Friday Rap-Up: Ice Cube, Phife, 50 Cent, Jam Master Jay

PH Balance

Top Ten Hip-Hop Albums Of 2008

Over the next couple of weeks, Backbeat will feature some Top Ten lists from around the Village Voice Media chain. Click here for previous year-in-review coverage from Backbeat and VVM. A couple of weeks ago, an expert on the Harry Potter series told an audience of high school kids how lucky they ... More >>

Common

Electric Circus (MCA)

Backwash

Denver’s clubs go changing. Again.

Denver greats pay tribute to hip-hop's greats at Get Down Wednesdays

Gotta love Denver, man. At the risk of sounding like a homer, the creativity here is invigorating. It seems cats are constantly striving to come up with compelling ways to put on shows, Stand By Your Band at the hi-dive, Denver Does Denver and now Hip-Hop Bites Back, an idea whose time has truly com ... More >>

Rock & Roll Grill

A recent benefit ends up helping no one.

Sound Bites

Brief reviews of recent releases

Reuben Wilson

Thursday, February 8, Mount Vernon Country Club, Golden, 303-526-0616.

Future Jazz Project

True by Design
Self-released

California Dreaming

Yo, Flaco! says goodbye to Denver.

Joe Thunder & Selector Sam Present

Straight From the Mile High: Dez the Man (Self-released)

A Tribe Called Quest

Wednesday, September 13, Fillmore Auditorium, 303-830-8497.

Aloe Blacc

Shine Through (Stones Throw Records)

Westword Music Showcase 2006

Be there or be square!

Spank Rock

Yoyoyoyoyo (Big Dada)

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Yoyoyoyoyo (Big Dada)

Critic's Choice

Themselves

Madlib

Shades of Blue (Blue Note)

Styles, Slum Village and Clipse

A Gangster and a Gentleman (Ruff Ryder)
Trinity (Past, Present and Future)
Lord Willin' (Star Trak)

Vision Quest

Phife Dawg makes a solo stand in a post-Tribe world.

Diamond in the Rough

Three urban luminaries make Lucy Pearl an R&B trio with star -- and staying -- power.

Summertime Rolls

It's the time of the season to check out some local releases.

In the Thick of It

For more than a decade, the Jungle Brothers have remained members of hip-hop's original tribe.

Angie Stone

Black Diamond
(Arista)

Two for the Future

To hip-hop's OutKast and Black Eyed Peas, the glass is half full.

On the Money

Beastie Boy pal Money Mark likes to make new music the old-fashioned way.

Playlist

Beastie Boy pal Money Mark likes to make new music the old-fashioned way.

Get Local

Begin 1997 with the ten best Colorado CDs of 1996.

Simply the Quest

A Tribe Called Quest meets the press--in a manner of speaking.

Rhymes Pays

It's not easy being as wild as Busta Rhymes.

BORE NONE

THE BOREDOMS ARE AS ALTERNATIVE AS LOLLAPALOOZA '94 GETS.

Playlist

The Velvet Underground, Big Star, Guru, The Drop Nineteens

Q&A with DJ A-What from the Pirate Signal

Because of his outsized persona, Yonnas Abraham is the face that most people generally associate with the Pirate Signal. If you look over dude's shoulder, though, there's another cat that cuts an equally impressive figure in his own right on the ones and twos. That distinguished chap's name? Alejand ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of August 31, 2009

​As music critics, the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation, our latest feature. For the benefit of those who happen to be curious, we've compiled a list of ... More >>

Q&A with Kno of CunninLynguists

Jens Nordstrom​There's something to be said about a group that boldly calls itself, CunninLynguists. Since 2001, the Kentucky-bred group, which consist of rapper Natti and producers/rappers Deacon the Villain and Kno, has redefined what it means to be courageous with their music, during a time whe ... More >>

Chef and Tell, part two: Snooze's Spencer Lomax dishes on lard-ridden pastries, Eric Ripert, Bourdain and Besh

Lori Midson​ Spencer Lomax Snooze, an A.M. Eatery Four locations in Colorado www.snoozeeatery.com This is part two of Lori Midson's Chef and Tell interview with Spencer Lomax, the culinary director of Snooze. In part one of that Q&A, Lomax dishes on swine, green chile and cheek meat. Favor ... More >>

What's in a name? In Lupe Fiasco's case, a lot, apparently.

​Last week, Lupe Fiasco's new album, Lasers, was released to lots of shrugs and more than a few scathing reviews. The general consensus was that the album sucked, and Lupe should have gone back to the drawing board (or the corner store) for more "food and liquor."

DJ Mu$a paying tribute to The Low End Theory this Friday with a bad-ass hip-hop party

​A Tribe Called Quest is a group that will forever go down as one of the greatest hip-hop groups of all time. And its album, The Low End Theory, is among the game's best and most influential albums. As we approach the twenty-year anniversary of its release, DJ Mu$a is planning to pay tribute t ... More >>

Despite off-screen drama, the Tribe Called Quest documentary is phenomenal

​A Tribe Called Quest is a group that will forever go down as one of the greatest hip-hop groups of all time. And its album, The Low End Theory, is among the game's best and most influential albums. As we approach the twenty-year anniversary of its release, DJ Mu$a is planning to pay tribute t ... More >>

A Tribe Called Quest's The Low End Theory is 20 years old

​On September 24, 1991, A Tribe Called Quest released The Low End Theory, a beautiful fusion of hip-hop, jazz, and esoteric lyrics aimed at a new generation of hip-hop. Twenty years later, the album sounds just the same in 2011, as it did, frankly, whenever you heard it. Inspiring such artists ... More >>

Batman: Arkham City tops our new release picks this week, October 18, 2011

​There's a ton of really interesting stuff coming up this week, and even though book releases are taking the week off in preparation for a bombshell of awesome content next week, we still have some amazing movies, games and comics to check out. Of those, the sequel to the fantastic Batman: Ark ... More >>

Beastie Boys' Licensed To Ill turns 25

​In hindsight Licensed To Ill -- released November 15, 1986 -- came to the table with a virtually infallible recipe: Rick Rubin produced the seminal radio-friendly rap album and Russell Simmons had not only signed Beastie Boys to a then baby Def Jam, but was also managing the three white boys ... More >>

Sounds of Blackness: J Dilla

Happy birthday, J Dilla!​Ah, J Dilla. His influence and production style brought forth beatmakers carrying their backpacks filled with treasures from the basement into the mainstream. Even more so after his death. A cult-like following surrounds his legacy. Born James Dewitt Yancey in February ... More >>