Bianca Mikahn

Ten best concerts to see in Denver this weekend

NATHANIEL RATELIFF & NIGHT SWEATS @ BOULDER THEATER | 5/17 At this stage of his career, particularly in Denver, Nathaniel Rateliff is a man who requires absolutely no preamble. Nonetheless, the limited-edition two-song seven-inch he produced for Record Store Day feels like a fresh and glorious reint ... More >>

Meet the 2012 Denver #WebAwards finalists

It's time for the 2012 edition of Westword's Denver Web Awards, our annual celebration of Denver's greatest digital minds. Back at the end of September, we put out a call for you, dear readers, to nominate your favorite online projects and voices, and a team of Westword staffers and contributors has ... More >>

#WMS 2012 recap: City Hall Upstairs

Every year, for the Westword Music Showcase, we enlist our army of Backbeat wordsmiths to host various stages, and, in addition to their emcee obligations, we ask them to pull double duty (or triple-duty in some cases) and also write up the acts that appear on their individual stages. Nicole Cormier ... More >>

That's a Rap: Westword Music Showcase edition

Happy Westword Music Showcase weekend, friends, Romans, hip-hop heads! This weekend promises to highlight all the reasons why the music scene in Denver houses some of the best talent in the country. With the hip-hop scene, in particular, the styles and profiles of the MCs, DJs and singers have been ... More >>

2012 Westword Music Showcase schedule

Alright, it's here! Finally! The waiting is over! The eighteenth annual Westword Music Showcase. You've probably already printed it out, cut it out, copied and highlighted the schedule, but just in case you haven't, here's the most up-to-date version of today's lineup for the Showcase. All of the TB ... More >>

Our complete guide to the June 23 Westword Music Showcase

See also: Twelve types of Denver musicians

2012 Westword Music Showcase schedule

Okay, time to officially start getting excited now. The annual Westword Music Showcase is a little more than a week away. Did you pick up your tickets yet? If not, you can still get them at the discounted rate. Prices go up day of the show. By now, you've already seen the lineup of who's playing the ... More >>

2012 Westword Music Showcase local lineup!

We're just over a month out from this year's Westword Music Showcase, and we've already let you know who we have headlining the mainstage this year -- but keep it locked on Backbeat for another big announcement this coming Monday. Now it's time for us to give up the goods on the local lineup. As you ... More >>

The Future of Human Touch asks participants to check egos at the door

For last night's interactive Future of Human Touch experiment at Redline Gallery, the crowd that gathered was asked to leave all egos, comfort zones and fears behind. Milling around the courtyard of the gallery under the slow glow of hanging LED lights just after 7:30 p.m., it was hard to tell who ... More >>

Weekend's best party bets: DJ Mu$a, So What! and more

This weekend is ready to grab you by the hand and whirl you around on a dance floor or three. The party lineup is looking gloriously funky and melodic, from DJ Mu$a's celebration of black music tonight at Euphoria to the one-year anniversary of the Massive Reggae party at Funky Buddha. Wait, there's ... More >>

Suzi Q. Smith: Watch our cover poet perform with Lady Wu-Tang, Denver's raw and rowdy female tribute

Image via​When we wrote on this week's cover that local slammer Suzi Q. Smith is "poetry in motion," we weren't kidding. In addition to owning one of the boldest voices in Denver's prolific poetry scene, Smith and her poet peers have also breached the world of music. In local tribute band Lady ... More >>

Flobots.org seeking donated instruments for its Art 2 Action and Youth on Record programs

Have an old guitar lying around collecting dust that you've been meaning to play but somehow just never got around to actually playing? Yeah? How about putting it to use? Flobots.org is seeking donated instruments for its Art 2 Action and Youth on Record programs. As you're probably aware, the names ... More >>

The Weekend Party Tipsy Sheet: a round-up of weekly parties and New Year's Eve celebrations

You can't possibly be partied out! The fun really starts this weekend, where all sorts of people will come together in cheap champagne and party favor glory. If you're into getting the celebrations started early minus the shenanigans, we've got a line-up of album release parties, end of year live hi ... More >>

Holiday rap roundup featuring Acezi, Myke Charles, Manifest, Vonny Loc and more

Happy hip-hop holidays (try saying that three times fast)! As usual, we're keeping our eye on all things new in the hip-hop streets, and for this week's rap roundup, we've got everything you need: A Paul Junior-directed clip from Fresh Breath Committee's Myke Charles; a Phil the Agony-assisted joint ... More >>

Review: Yonnas Abraham, Sextape release party at Theory Practice, 12/16/11

Britt ChesterYonnas Abraham at Practice Theory (aka Conceited Bastards)YONNAS ABRAHAM @ THEORY PRACTICE | 12/16/11Yonnas Abraham unleashed the sex beast at Theory and Practice art gallery for the release of Sexape, and the display was spectacular. Yo unveiled the artwork for the project -- steam ... More >>

Bowling for Dollars

The Merc Slam Team's Suzi Q. Smith opens strong at the Slam Nationals, Denver teams advance

The Mercury Cafe Slam Team, reppin'.​Slam poetry is to the literary world what hip-hop music is to jazz -- a progression of talent and a revolutionary outlet. Denver is lucky to boast of two solid teams that compete nationally. Both Slam Nuba and the Denver Mercury Cafe Poetry Slam Team advanc ... More >>

ILL Se7en of Isolated Generation on his first solo release and removing labels from his music

Today is ILL Se7en's School Daze mixtape release party at Red & Jerry's​Mike Acuña is a hip-hop OG. Better known on stage as ILL Se7en, he's been in the game for more than a decade. The MC got his start as one-half of the group Isolated Generations with Ben "Opt Won" Chavez back in the day, a ... More >>

Ladies’ Night

All-female Wu-Tang Clan cover group sells out Walnut Room, 1/22/11

Stephanie Auld​ The first edition of Hip-Hop Covers, an all-female Wu-Tang tribute, was way beyond sold out. By the time the nine local MCs, poets and singers took the stage, the Walnut Room was at capacity, and there was a crowd of people waiting outside the door. It didn't matter if you wer ... More >>

Hip-Hop Covers: The Wu-Tang Clan tribute at the Walnut Room

You're familiar with the Wu Tang Clan, we presume? Yeah? Meet the Ru Tang clan. Okay, that's not the name these ladies are going by, but it seems like a fitting enough handle seeing as how our own Ru Johnson is helping put together this very special show at the Walnut Room this Saturday, January 2 ... More >>

Misogyny: Do women get a bad rap in hip-hop?

​Misogyny, as a concept and as a behavior, is a major issue in hip-hop. Women are frequently marginalized and suffer the extreme sexist treatment at the hands of men in the business. As I began to examine the pronounced gender bias in the hip-hop community for this week's feature, I interviewe ... More >>

The year in features: a handy link guide to all local interviews/profiles in Westword in 2010

Jim J NarcySnake Rattle Rattle Snake, profiled in June 2010​Whatever the measure of success -- whether its defined by artists making music on their own or having someone else doing their bidding -- a music scene is only as interesting as, well, the music being made there, of course, and the pe ... More >>

Meet Nathan Reid, studio wiz extraordinare

​Many people in Denver may not know Nathan Reid by name. Just the same, over the course of his career, which spans three decades, he's had the chance to work with a host of prominent acts from Ghostface to Damien and Stephen Marley. Currently operating out of Mercury Sauce, his private produ ... More >>

American Tomahawk, Chromeo, Black Milk fill our playlists this week

​As people who think about, talk about, listen to and make music, the most common question we encounter is, "What are you listening to right now?" So whether you're looking for recommendations, trying to get a feel for our individual sensibilities, or are just curious, we've compiled a list of ... More >>

Q&A: Meet Bianca Mikahn of Paradox

Which came first, the poet or the MC? Broaching the philosophical debate implies the two are not one in the same. History shows us otherwise, whether the funky notes of blues rattled off the tongue of greats like Billie Holiday, or, more recently, the appearance of the Last Poets on Nas's [Untitled] ... More >>

Soul Daddy

A Safe Place
Self-released

MP3 Freeloader, Music Showcase Edition: Jen Korte

Women Sound Off

Black Woman Love gathers force.