Subject: Hip-Hop and Rap

• Eminem grabs top spot at Independent Records

  Eminem's Relapse grabbed the top spot for the second week in a row at Independent Records for the week ending May 31. Marilyn Manson's High End Low, released last week on Interscope, came in second while Tech N9ne, Method Man & Redman and Busta Rhymes rounded out the top five. See the full breakdown after the jump.

  June 1, 2009

• Friday Rap-Up: Black Hollywood, Lil Kim, Naughty By Nature, Eminem

  October 10, 2008

• A Carmelo Anthony sighting in fan-made T.I. video

  October 15, 2008

• Friday Rap-Up: ytCracker, DJ AM , Eminem and No Limit

  October 17, 2008

• Friday Rap-Up: On Point, Lil Wayne, Scarface, Common

  October 24, 2008

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

  October 31, 2008

• Q&A with Gang Gang Dance's Lizzi Bougatsos

  November 6, 2008

• Friday Rap-Up: ManeLine, Hip-Hop Stars React to Obama win, Shakir Stewart Suicide, Mos Def

  November 7, 2008

• Friday Rap-Up: Suge Knight, Outkast, YouTube Live

  Suge Knight files lawsuit against Kanye West Former Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight has filed a $135,000 lawsuit against Kanye West for a gunshot wound and a robbery of his diamond-stud earring that occurred at West’s pre-MTV Music Awards party back in August 2005. According to TMZ, Knight believes that West should be held responsible for letting the thugs in the party.

  November 14, 2008

• Friday Rap-Up: Catch Lungs, The Roots, 50 Cent

  LOCALS ONLY Colorado rapper Catch Lungs started get his name buzzed about in the local scene when he started working with producers SP Double and Flawless as part of the Boostwell Crew last year. After separating from Boostwell this summer, he began working on his own mixtape, Food for the Famished, which became available last month. We caught up with Catch Lungs for a quick Q&A session. How did you know you wanted to give rapping a shot? I used to have my own radio show on late nights where

  November 21, 2008

• Rap-Up: What, you didn't know DJ Chonz spun real hip-hop?

  For a lot of hip-hop fans in Denver, DJ Chonz is only known as the afternoon and weekend DJ on the city's "hip-hop" radio station, KS107.5. They don't know he cut his teeth hustling mixtapes at Cinco De Mayo, competing in Regional DMC Championships, and opening up for national artists like The Roots, Goodie Mob, Tha Alkaholiks and dozens more. They also don't know he's been releasing underground hip-hop mixtapes for quite sometime now. One of the latest is Catch the Buzz 3, featuring everyone fr

  December 3, 2008

• 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 were to have this Big Shared Experience--these seven books and 41,000 words in common. What does Harry Potter have to do with hip-hop in 2008? In an age when many year-end lists should be subtitled "

  December 31, 2008

• Top Ten Pop Songs 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.Pop music often gets a bad rap for being disposable or vapid, and in many cases that's true. (Katy Perry, Danity Kane and the Pussycat Dolls, step right up!) But every year, a few irresistible bits of innovative ear candy rocket up the charts and seep into our subconscious. The following ten singles saturated the

  December 29, 2008

• Busted Rhymes: The Top Ten Most Preposterous Rap Songs 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. Hip-hop A-listers including Rick Ross, Akon and Plies were caught grossly exaggerating their gangster credentials this year. (Turns out they were painfully law-abiding. The horror!) But even if your favorite rapper wasn't caught in a lie, you can bet he or she put out a hilariously absurd record or two in 2008.

  December 19, 2008

• Mile High Makeout: The eve of destruction

  If you've been hibernating, you haven't heard about what happened outside of Vinyl last weekend. The one and only E-40 -- one of my favorite rappers -- played a set, after which five people were shot on Broadway. It is always sad and disturbing when violence erupts in the music community. What surprised me more, however, was the public response. As I read the comments on various local online news sources, a theme emerged. Most of the commenters seemed to fixate on one of two issues: Regas Christ

  December 31, 2008

• (hed) p.e.'s New World Orphans tops Independent Records' top sellers

  (hed) p.e.'s concets in Denver and Colorado Springs last week must've fueled sales of the band's latest album, New World Orphans, which was released January 13, on Suburban Noize Records. Kanye West and Ludacris also made strong showings, as did the Notorious soundtrack, which features cuts by Jay-Z, Jadakiss, Faith Evans and Notorious B.I.G's son, Christopher "CJ" Wallace Jr.

  January 20, 2009

• 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 come: On June 10 at the Get Down Wednesdays at Owsley's, more than a dozen local hip-hop acts, including Fresh Breath Committee, Whygee and Sunken State, among others, are getting together to pay tribute

  June 4, 2009

• The Jukebox Effect

  Photo: Claudia LopezI deejayed a Valentine's Day party at the Horseshoe Lounge on Saturday. The bar had a great vibe, as always, and the ample crowd was in the mood for a good party. It was the first time I ever had to play music for four and a half straight hours, and I was initially worried that I would: a) run out of songs I wanted to play, or b) not have the right music to keep the party going. I underestimated both the strength of my music collection and the self-sustaining power of a party

  February 17, 2009

• T.I. grabs top spot at Independent Records

  Rapper T.I.'s Grammy-nominated album Paper Trail knocked Bobby Valentino off the number one spot on Independent Records top seller list for the week ending February 22. The Fray moved up to the number two spot from number four, while Lil Wayne and Ludacris still remain in the top ten. See the full breakdown after the jump.

  February 23, 2009

• Q&A with The Game

  Much has been written about the Game's dysfunctional past. He grew up in a Santana Blocc Crip neighborhood in Compton, and his mother was affiliated with the Crips. After his sister accused his father of sexually molesting her, the family was split up, and Game spent time in foster homes. After he reunited with his mother at age thirteen, he eventually started running with his half-brother Big Fase 100 and became a member of the Cedar Block Piru Bloods, a gang that he unabashedly represents toda

  March 5, 2009

• The Game

  March 5, 2009

• A player himself now, the Game is still paying homage to rap's finest

  March 5, 2009

• TheSaurus

  February 5, 2009

• Notorious is B.I.G. made B.L.A.N.D.

  January 15, 2009

• From Akon to Usher, today's R&B is a shadow of its former self

  January 8, 2009

• Pharoahe Monch

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

  December 11, 2008

• ManeLine

  ...& Sew Its Seams
  Self-released

  October 30, 2008

• T.I.

  October 9, 2008

• A quick look at albums due out this summer

  June 4, 2009

• Rick Ross top seller at Independent Records

  Rick Ross's new album, Deeper Than Rap, released last week on Def Jam, topped Independent's best seller list for the week ending April 26. Asher Roth's new disc, Asleep in the Bread Aisle, grabbed the second spot while the Dream, UGK and Jadakiss rounded out the top five. See the full breakdown after the jump.

  April 27, 2009

• Murs

  May 28, 2009

• Eminem grabs top spot at Independent Records for third week in a row

  For the third week in a row, Eminem grabbed the top spot at Independent Records for the week ending June 7. The rapper's Relapse beat out brand new albums by Dave Matthews, Rancid and 311. Tech N9ne's Sickology 101 came in fifth and has stayed in the top ten on Independent's top seller list since being released April 28. See the full breakdown after the jump.

  June 8, 2009

• Over the Weekend: KS-107.5's Summer Jam

  Luda. KS-107.5 Summer Jam Fiddler's Green June 12 By their very nature, hip-hop radio station festivals like KS-107.5's Summer Jam (the station's twelfth consecutive sell-out) tend to promise more than they can deliver. The lineups are generally stellar -- proof that despite changes in the music industry, terrestrial radio remains so powerful that big stars are willing to move their schedules around and fly across the country just to kiss the head programmer's ass. But the post-vaudeville road

  June 15, 2009

• Eminem grabs top spot at Independent Records for fourth week in a row

  Eminem has been holding on to the top spot at Independent Records for a month now with his latest release, Relapse. Mos Def's The Ecstatic and Black Eyed Peas' The E.N.D., both released last week, grabbed the second and third slots while Method Man & Redman and DJ Quick & Kurupt rounded out the top five for the week ending June 14. See the full breakdown after the jump.

  June 15, 2009

• Eminem grabs top spot at Independent Records again

  For the fifth week in a row, Eminem's Relapse grabbed the top spot on Independent's best seller list for the week ending June 21. Tech N9ne's Sickology 101, which has been a top seller since it was released April 28, moved up the second spot while new discs by Black Eyed Peas and Mos Def grabbed three and four slots. See the full breakdown after the jump.

  June 22, 2009

• Q&A with Snoop Dogg

  Photo by Jeff FarsaiSnooperman with Slightly Stoopid. It only took about six weeks to get Snoop Dogg to answer a batch of e-mail questions for a profile advancing the July 15 Blazed and Confused Tour stop at Red Rocks co-starring Slightly Stoopid, Stephen Marley and Mickey Avalon -- but it was worth it. The former Calvin Broadus offered up a frenzy of loony commentary, self-promotion and ultra-creative spelling in the Q&A on view in its entirety after the jump.

  July 8, 2009

• Dead Weather top seller at Wax Trax

  Dead Weather's debut, Horehound, was the top seller at Wax Trax while Cage's Depart From Me came in second for the week ending July 19. Clutch's Strange Cousins From the West, J Dilla's Dillanthology 2 and Tortoise's Beacons of Ancestorship rounded out the top five. See the full breakdown after the jump.

  July 20, 2009

• Fabolous grabs top spot at Independent Records

  ​Loso's Way, the new disc by Fabolous released last week on Def Jam, grabbed the top spot at Independent Records and knocked down Twista's Category F5 to the second slot for the week ending August 2. Eminem's Relapse continues a long run on Independent's top ten and nabbed the third slot while Jeremih and Tech N9ne rounded out the the top five. See the full breakdown after the jump.

  August 3, 2009

• Q&A with Krispy Kream of the Knux

  ​Don't let the tight jeans and thick-rimmed glasses fool you. The brothers who make up The Knux were raised about as far away from the suburbs as you can get: New Orleans' Ninth Ward. Still, Krispy Kream and Rah Almillio (aka Kentrell and Alvin Lindsey) found their sound by listening to just as much pop as hip-hop, and they are savvy enough to know that their cross-genre music plays better with the college kids than the hardcore rap fanatics. So they don't fight it. They fill their music w

  August 5, 2009

• Last Night: Rock the Bells at Red Rocks

  Aaron Thackeray​Rock the Bells 2009 Red Rocks Amphitheatre Thursday, August 6, 2009 Better than: ringtone rap, anything associated with Auto-Tune or listening to the self-proclaimed newly anointed "King of Pop," Kanye West, talk about himself endlessly. Since 2003, Rock the Bells has been the premier hip-hop festival to showcase rap music. In the past, the fest leaned heavily toward Wu affiliated acts and the much celebrated and maligned genre of backpacker rap. This year was no different wit

  August 7, 2009

• Over the Weekend: Atmosphere at Red Rocks

  ​ Atmosphere, Aesop Rock, Murs and Eyedea & Abilities Red Rocks Friday, August 14 Red Rocks giveth, and Red Rocks taketh away. The sprawling amphitheater is so storied at this point that it tests performers playing it like few venues in the country -- and not everyone passes. That was certainly the case on Friday night, when two of the four top acts on the bill traveled through the fire unharmed and even enhanced by the experience, while the other pair wound up a little crispy around the

  August 17, 2009

• Over the Weekend: Mos Def and Talib Kweli at the Gothic Theatre

  Letitia Salazar​Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Jay Electronica, DCQ, Spoke-In-WordzGothic TheatreFriday, August 21, 2009Better Than: anything Lil Wayne or Drake could pull offMos Def hasn't headlined a nationwide tour since the Lyricist Lounge tour in 2000, where he recruited folks like Bernie Worrell (of Parliament-Funkadelic), Dr. Know (of Bad Brains) and Will Calhoun (of Living Colour) to form the band, Black Jack Johnson. After that tour he took a break to focus on his acting career. But now the Mi

  August 24, 2009

• Black Eyed Peas' credibility killed in spinning class

  ​ The Black Eyed Peas' credibility, a mainstay in the genre since 1998's Behind the Front, died on Sunday, in a spinning class at the 24-Hour Fitness by my house. It was eleven-years-old. The credibility, once as strong as any hip-hop group's, has been in poor health since 2003, when Fergie showed up. It had suffered a number of setbacks since then, including injuries caused by the release of 2004's "Where is the Love" and 2005's "Let's Get it Started." It was hospitalized earlier this y

  August 30, 2009

• Q&A with Regan "Busdriver" Farquhar

  Photo by Brian TamborelloBusdriver with Busdriver.​ Boasting may seem like a hip-hop requirement, but it's actually possible to play the rap game without overdosing on self-love every other line. For proof, direct your gaze to the following Q&A with Regan Farquhar, who performs as Busdriver. The subject of a Westword profile published in advance of his Saturday, September 5 at the Bluebird Theater, Farquhar actually has to be coaxed into giving himself a compliment during the conversation

  September 2, 2009

• When it comes to hip-hop, Busdriver refuses to stick to a designated route

  September 3, 2009

• Jay-Z grabs top spot at Independent Records

  ​Blueprint 3, Jay-Z's highly anticipated follow-up to his two previous Blueprint albums, grabbed the top spot at Independent Records while Raekwon's latest effort, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 came in second for the week ending September 13. Insane Clown Posse's Bang! Pow! Boom!, which was the top seller last, moved down to the third slot while Trey Songz and Twista round out the top five. See the full breakdown after the jump.

  September 14, 2009

• Q&A with Flawless of Fresh Breath Committee

  ​Back in 2008, we named Boostwell Crew the best hip-hop crew in Denver. Headed by SP Double, the crew consisted of local emcees and producers, Flawless, Fo Chief, ManDaMyth, Catch Lungs, EMB, Purpose, Procise, Kontrast and a few others. Shortly after the recognition, a number of members left the crew and launched the Fresh Breath Committee (FBC). Lead mostly by Flawless, FBC is a collective of like-minded solo artists, who, at first, came together to support each other but quickly realized the

  October 7, 2009

• The Fresh Breath Committee aims to breathe new life into hip-hop

  October 8, 2009

• Sole at the hi-dive

  October 22, 2009

• Tech N9NE top seller at Independent Records

  ​Tech N9NE's K.O.D., released last week on Strange Music, nabbed the top spot on Independent Records' charts for the week ending November 1. Michael Jackson's soundtrack to the film This is It and Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3 came in at second and third, while Swollen Member's Armed to the Teeth and Z-Ro's Cocaine rounded out the top five. See the full breakdown after the jump. 

  November 5, 2009