Common (Rapper)

The ten best diss tracks of all time

Since hip-hop's genesis, beef has been as integral a driving force to the art as bravado. There's been some titanic tangles over the years, from Canibus facing off with LL Cool J to Jay-Z and Nas locking horns with one other, all of which have resulted in some relentless and incendiary rhymes being ... More >>

The 50 best rap lyrics of all time: Complete list

Last week, we took a look at the fifty worst rap lyrics of all time. Going through all the dreck and drivel to get to the crème de la crème of crappiness was tedious and rather exhausting. This week, we even things out by taking a look at the other end of the spectrum and examining rap lyrics to f ... More >>

Hip-hop 101: Adam Bradley is revolutionizing education...one rap at a time

See also: The poetry of Jalon Martin, Adam Bradley's Montbello rap student

Icelantic's Winter on the Rocks survival guide

Do you remember last year when Atmosphere and Common brought the heat to Red Rocks in the dead of winter for Icelantic's Winter on the Rocks? We do. We also remember the dusting of snow, the visible breath of awe struck onlookers and the rambunctious nature of the entire night. This year, we want to ... More >>

Aimee Mann on Fiona Apple, Portlandia, and performing with Common at the White House

Three decades into her career, Aimee Mann remains as consistently fresh and challenging a singer/songwriter as in her days fronting the mid '80s new wave band, 'Til Tuesday. Since then, Mann has had a strong solo career, delivering one of the greatest film soundtracks in recent memory with P.T. Ande ... More >>

Time keeps on ticking with an Adam Yauch tribute and new album in the works

Among a handful of the local music-scene tributes to recently deceased Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, Time offered his respects for the fallen MC and activist on a new tune, "Too Sweet to Be Sour," a cross-Atlantic collaboration with British MC Akira the Don. The track opens with a crisp horn line looping ... More >>

National Condom Week: Sir Richard's will donate a love glove for every tweet

​It's National Condom Week and Sir Richard's Condoms, a Boulder company known for its one-for-one condom deal, is celebrating. How? Anytime you tweet or post to Facebook "your love for condoms," Sir Richard's will donate a condom to its project in Haiti.

SnOMG! Blizzard at Red Rocks shows the difference a week makes

A week ago today, the first-ever wintertime outdoor concert was held at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. It was cold, but the lack of snow helped draw a hearty audience of hip hop fans, making Icelantic Winter on the Rocks, headlined by Atmosphere and Common, go off without a hitch. The scene was a lot diffe ... More >>

Review: Atmosphere and Common at Icelantic's Winter on the Rocks, 1/27/12

ICELANTIC'S WINTER ON THE ROCKS @ RED ROCKS | 1/27/12 Under a star-speckled sky and with freezing temperatures, Atmosphere delivered a greatest hits compilation at Red Rocks Amphitheatre for the inaugural Icelantic's Winter on the Rocks. Nostalgia aside, when he greeted everyone at the venue and op ... More >>

Weekend's best party bets: Lady Wu-tang, Common afterparty and more

Kate LevyLady Wu-tang enforces the Wu World Order tomorrow night at City Hall.​If it's going down in the streets, we've got you covered party style. Everything from weekly reggae parties, queer-centric open mike nights, an all female Wu-tang cover band and more. This week has already been a do ... More >>

Icelantic's Winter on the Rocks survival guide

Icelantic's Winter on the Rocks, the first ever winter concert at Red Rocks is about to go down, and we wanted to hook you up with some tips for, uh, weathering the elements. With light snow and lower temperatures forecast for today, this could truly be one of the most memorable concerts of all ti ... More >>

Mile Highlights: Denver/Boulder area concert news, local radio playlists and top album sales

​​Here's what's happening in music on the Front Range this week: On the concert front, shows from Red Hot Chili Peppers and Icelantic's Winter on the Rocks featuring Atmosphere, Common, Greives Budo and Get Cryphy were announced; the Swayback, Fierce Bad Rabbit, Monroe Monroe and Juno What ... More >>

Icelantic's Winter on the Rocks: Atmosphere, Common, Grieves Budo at Red Rocks 1/27/12

Bradon MarshallAtmosphere on the Rocks in January with Common, Grieves Budo and Get Cryphy. That's going to be one helluva show!​Icelantic's Winter on the Rocks 2012: Okay, so scratch Z-Trip and Yelawolf from the bill (turns out, that was just a rumor), but keep Atmosphere and Grieves and ad ... More >>

Adam Bradley, co-writer of Common's memoir, says book addresses White House controversy

​Common's memoir, One Day It'll All Make Sense, begins rather dramatically. The prologue reads: "When I was eighteen months old, my mother and I were kidnapped at gunpoint. My father held the gun. At least that's one side of the story." Common, with help from co-author Adam Bradley, a Univers ... More >>

We're sorry, Sarah Palin: Adorable kitten memes for angry teabaggers

Too cute to stay mad​While it may be true that the two reviews we've run on the Sarah Palin documentary The Undefeated have not been favorable, we didn't mean to make the Teabaggers and Palin-supporters who have deluged us with angry comments so furious -- we just thought the fact that Palin's ... More >>

Common's White House invite sends the GOP into a tailspin

Common and the White House: What The Anthology of Rap suggests about the flap

​Last week, conservatives cried foul over Michelle Obama inviting the rapper Common to a poetry reading at the White House, since he'd rapped about violence against cops and President George W. Bush. While the reading went off without a hitch, the debate goes on: Jon Stewart and Bill O'Reilly ... More >>

Behind the controversial Anthology of Rap, co-edited by CU hip-hop professor Adam Bradley

The Anthology of Rap: The hip-hop soundtrack to go along with this week's cover story

​This week's cover story, "Word," tells the extraordinary tale behind The Anthology of Rap, released last year to high praise and a bit of heated debate. The Westword story focuses on Anthology co-editor and CU-Boulder professor Adam Bradley, a hip-hop academic whose own narrative is as compel ... More >>

Just Wright is a romantic comedy that has gone just wrong

John Common talks about Beautiful Empty, Blinding Flashes of Light's debut

This Saturday evening, John Common Common & Blinding Flashes of Light is releasing its debut full-length,Beautiful Empty, at Cassleman's Bar & Venue. We've been listening to it for the past few weeks, and it's pretty swell. If you haven't already, download "Love Is a Shark" and check out the video. ... More >>

Dialed In: This week's local music radio playlists

​Here what the area's local-centric specialty radio shows were spinning this week. We're currently tracking the playlists a number of different shows, including Radio 1190's Local Shakedown*, KTCL's Locals Only, 99.5 the Mountain's Homegrown Show, the Colorado Sound, which originates at KRFC and i ... More >>

The Pirate Signal, Boon Doc, to compete in Red Bull producer battle

If you're available tonight around 8 p.m., Beta Nightclub (1909 Blake St) will be hosting the Red Bull Big Tune Beat Battle, a hip-hop producer head-to-head competition. The event, which is a premier national hip-hop event, will be hosted by well-renowned rapper/producers Exile and Black Milk.Twelve ... More >>

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 >>

Black Milk

Thursday, February 19, Fox Theatre, Boulder, 303-443-3399.

Pharoahe Monch

Friday, December 12, Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom, 303-297-1772.

Live Review: Common, N.E.R.D. and Chester French at Fillmore Auditorium

Friday Rap-Up: Out Tha Box TV, Green Lantern, Common, 50 Cent

Friday Rap-Up: Side 3 Studios, Kanye West, Common, Rappers on Sean Bell verdict

Friday Rap-Up: Beatsource.com, Eminem, 50 Cent, Common

Last Night: Common @ The Fillmore Auditorium

Common

Finding Forever
Geffen

Guru

Guru

Saturday, July 21, the Oriental Theater, 303-455-2124.

Mavis Staples On The Main Line

Mavis Staples Speaks Out

The civil-rights era is far from over for this songstress.

Listen Up

Fast reviews of recent releases

Hip-Hop Sans Hova

Still no Jigga, but Kanye, some lovable limeys and a great Beyoncé substitute held it down.

Common

Be (Geffen)

Love the Player

Okayplayer.com is more than just a website. For some, it's a way of life.

Common

Electric Circus (MCA)

Best Hip-Hop DJ

DJ Chonz

Best Street Promotion Team

3Deep Presents

Universal Man

Cultural awareness, positivity and groove are all part of the Common cause.

Word of the Pharoahe

Pharoahe Monch thinks better hip-hop doesn't have to be a drag.

Black Power

The Bay Area's Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel make hip-hop that's magically Blackalicious.

Common

Like Water for Chocolate
(MCA)

Thrills for the week

Letters

Playlist