Eminem

The 50 worst rap lyrics of all time: 40-31

Okay, just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, and it does. Yesterday, I ran down some of the lamest lines, the worst rap lyrics from 50-41, and today we inch ever closer to the top of the bottom. Spoiler alert: Lil' Wayne makes the cut (again), as does Jay-Z (twice), as well as Eminem, Atmo ... More >>

Backbeat's top five spins: This is what we're listening to this week. What's on your playlist?

As people who think about, talk about, write about, listen to and make music, it shouldn't be surprising to find that the most common (and mutually favorite) topic of conversation among us is the same: "What are you listening to right now?" Stick a quarter in us, and, boy, wouldn't you know it, off ... More >>

Rapper Hopsin is weird and proud

Rapper Myke Charles has talent and charisma to spare

Slaughterhouse at Cervantes', 4/18/12

SLAUGHTERHOUSE @ CERVANTES' | 4/18/12 Emerging onto the stage one by one -- Crooked I first, followed by Joell Ortiz and then Royce da 5'9" and, finally, Joe Budden -- the members of Slaughterhouse came together like a perfect storm and immediately proceeded to murder the game. Royce da 5'9" climbe ... More >>

Fresh Breath, Spoke in Wordz, the ReMINDers and Prime Element spit fire in BET-style cypher

Ah, yes, we love it when cats take it back to the old school. A team of Colorado's dopest MCs, including Paul JR and Myke Charles from Fresh Breath Committee, Aja Black and Big Samir from the ReMINDers and A.V.I.U.S. from Prime Element, have done just that with their own BET-styled rap cypher. With ... More >>

Review: Hopsin at the Bluebird, 11/25/11

HOPSIN at THE BLUEBIRD THEATER | 11/25/11Hopsin is a rowdy young man from Los Angeles who is mad at everyone, from the wife of late rapper Eazy-E to Lupe Fiasco. Some, for good reason, others possibly for shock value. No matter, the crazy-eyed rapper stormed the stage at the Bluebird last night with ... More >>

"Don't touch her like that!!" school-crossing sign in touch with times: Kenny Be's Sign Language

School crossing sign with a hand-written touch.​ The school crossing sign seen above is commonly known as the "S1-1 School Advance Sign" and features a male and female student connected at the arm. Some may interpret the graphic as an intimate gesture of concern between an older brother and yo ... More >>

Tastebuds.fm sets you up based on musical tastes, finds Adele fans get messaged but not laid

Jelmer de Haas via Adele.tv ​Online dating, that cesspool of hilarious stories and perhaps even true love. Sure, you could scour OkCupid for witty About Me paragraphs, be completely charmed by his or her fondness for biking in the rain, and then get to the favorites section. Favorite band is T ... More >>

Lollapalooza lineup: The Chain Gang of 1974 and Tennis due at this year's fest in August

​Lollapalooza turns twenty years old this year. Can you believe it? We can't. Doesn't seem like it was two decades ago when Perry Farrell introduced America to his roving festival in 1991. The inaugural version, which made a stop at Fiddler's Green, featured Farrell's band Jane Addiction, alon ... More >>

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

T.I., Elephant Revival, Ebbets Field comp and Belle & Sebastian top local sellers this week

​T.I. grabbed the top spot at Independent this week with his latest, No Mercy, featuring Kanye West, Drake and Eminem, among others. Nederland's Elephant Revival claimed the top spot for the second week in a row at Albums on the Hill. At Twist & Shout, meanwhile, the new Live From Ebbets Field ... More >>

The Anthology of Rap co-editor Adam Bradley on his background and compiling the book

​Making connections between Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Wonder Mike isn't such a stretch for Adam Bradley. As one of the editors of The Anthology of Rap, a newly released collection from Yale University Press, as well as the author of 2009's Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip-Hop, Bradley has ... More >>

Meet Anxious, an MC who's anything but

​ Anxious doesn't come off as nervous, worried or scared. In contrast to his chosen stage name, the MC, aka Ryan Hyde, actually seems pretty confident. So much so, in fact, that he says he will battle anybody, anytime -- and win. So far, he has the record to prove it. He's won every battle he ... More >>

Taylor Swift: True Lil Wayne Heir

Young Moolah, Baby​Lil Wayne sold a million copies of Tha Carter III in one week back in June of 2008. It's a nearly impossible benchmark in an era of dwindling album sales. And the day Lil Wayne was released from prison, Taylor Swift matched his feat. Actually, she surpassed it. Tha Carter ... More >>

Sufjan Stevens, Belle & Sebastian, Lil Wayne top sellers at local stores

​Sufjan Stevens' The Age of Adz, released last week on Asthmatic Kitty, and Belle & Sebastian's latest release on Matador, Write About Love, took the top two spots at Albums on the Hill and Twist & Shout for the week ending October 17. Lil Wayne's new album, meanwhile, I Am Not a Human Being ... More >>

Grinderman, Black Angels, Trey Songz top sellers at local stores

​Grinderman, which features Nick Cave and three members of the Bad Seeds, claimed the top spot at Albums on the Hill and landed in the top five at Twist & Shout with Grinderman 2, released last week on Anti. The Black Angels' Phosphene Dream, meanwhile, which also came out last week on the B ... More >>

Ryan Bingham, Arcade Fire, Git Some top sellers at local stores

​Ryan Bingham, who won an Oscar for his theme song to the film Crazy Heart, claimed the number two and four spots at Albums on the Hill and Twist & Shout with his new album, Junky Star, released last week on Lost Highway. Arcade Fire's The Suburbs and the Black Keys' Brothers, meanwhile, cont ... More >>

Erykah Badu, Brian Eno on 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 >>

The Chain Gang of 1974, Jónsi, Wire Faces and more top our weekly playlists

​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 >>

Freeloader: Fresh Breath Committee remixes Drake's "Forever"

​Just because you're famous doesn't mean you're invincible. Fresh Breath Committee released one of Colorado's best rap albums last year in CPR. MCs Flawless, Purpose, Fo Chief and Kontrast stand out for their urgency and dexterity, and they consume Boi-1da's "Forever" beat. It's spare and go ... More >>

Back to Its Roots

Moving Units: Sade grabs top spot at local stores again

​ While there weren't any clear winners across the board at local stores for the week ending February 21, Sade's Soldier of Love did grab the top spots at Independent Records and Twist & Shout for the second week in a row. Beach House's Teen Dream and Yeasayer's Odd Blood were also strong sell ... More >>

Moving Units: New releases from Album Leaf, Lil Wayne and Vampire Weekend top local sales charts

Vampire Weekend's Contra claimed the top spot at Twist & Shout last week.​Although Spoon has dominated the local charts over the past few weeks, there were no clear winners across the board for the week ending February 7. New releases from Album Leaf and Lil Wayne -- his ill advised rock album ... More >>

Young Money still on top at Independent Records

​While Vampire Weekend's Contra is dominating the charts nationally and locally, it came in second to the Lil' Wayne-produced Young Money's We Are Young Money, which has sat at the number one slot at Independent Records for a month now. Snoop Dogg's Malice N Wonderland, Gucci Mane's State vs. Radr ... More >>

We're speechless: A look at the year's most unintentionally funny lyrics.

Royce Da 5'9" remembers that new mom smell​The lowest common denominator having been achieved in 2005 with the release of the Black Eyed Peas' Monkey Business, popular musicians have had to work extra hard in recent years to find new and inventive ways to be inane. They found great success in ... More >>

Hey, DJ! Q&A with Kid Hum

​Every Friday we spotlight the hottest cats behind the decks in the MHC, grilling them to gain some insight on what it takes, exactly, to get the party rocking, to find out about their most treasured crate digging experiences and what they really think when we stumble up to them half cocked and as ... More >>

Insane Clown Posse top seller at Independent Records

​Insane Clown Posse's Bang! Pow! Boom!, released last week on Psychopath, grabbed the top spot on Independent's charts while new releases from Trey Songz and Whitney Houston came in second and third for the week ending September 6. Twista's Category F5 was knocked down to the fourth slot after han ... More >>

Eminem keeps dominating charts at Independent Records

For the sixth week in a row, Eminem grabbed the top spot at Independent Records for the week ending June 28. Mars Volta's new album, Octahedron, and Mike E. Clark's Psychopathic Murder Mix V. 1 compilation came in second and third while four Michael Jackson albums, including the 25th Anniversary edi ... More >>

Dave Matthews top seller at Twist and Shout

The Dave Matthews Band's brand new album, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, was the top seller at Twist & Shout for the week ending June 7. Albums released last week by 311, Rancid and Elvis Costello debuted on the store's top ten as well. See the full breakdown after the jump.

The Westword.com blog shortcut, May 26 edition

Trouble Andrew. Is it almost the weekend again? Today in Backbeat Online: • Over the Weekend: Trouble Andrew at the Bluebird. • Over the Weekend: Iwrestledabearonce at the Marquis Theater. • Over the Weekend: Moderat at Beta. • ManeLine breaks in the Deuce's live stage as first local hip-h ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top five spins for the week of April 13, 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 al ... More >>

Pharoahe Monch

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

Rocky Mountain News thinks fiscal crisis is something to sing about

Mini Reviews

Real Tired of Real World

Brother Ali

Tuesday, April 17, Fox Theatre, Boulder, 303-443-3399.

MC Frontalot

Sound Bites

A Cutler Above

The Broncos’ new quarterback is looking good. And so am I.

P.O.S.

Saturday, November 18, Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom, 303-297-1772.

Rapping With Rory

Is this the spokesman for his generation?

Paul Oakenfold

Tuesday, July 11, Vinyl, 303-860-8469.

Death Pool for Cutie

Check the Vegas odds: It's time to predict this year's rock-star deaths.

Critical Fatwa

Diddy

Soul Survivors

The Soul of John Black gets by with a little help from its friends.

The Beatdown

Local MC Apostle prepares to battle for the keys to the Kingdom.

Club Scout

DJ Bedz

Nas

God's Son (Columbia)

Backwash

If this summer’s concert season has an encore, we’d rather skip it.

Word of the Pharoahe

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