Hip-Hop and Rap

The ten best movies featuring rappers

Wu-Tang has been immersed in kung-fu for so long, it was inevitable that one member of the Clan would make a major appearance in a martial arts movie at some point. The RZA appeared briefly in Ghost Dog in 1999, but only for a passing moment, though he did produce the soundtrack. In The Man with the ... More >>

Ten essential gangsta rap albums

Many hip-hop fans, those who love rap -- hell, even some rappers -- have an aversion to gangsta rap for its objectionable content. Common named the rise of gangsta rap as one of the many steps in hip-hop's downfall in "I Used to Love H.E.R.," a sentiment that, of course, began a contentious relation ... More >>

Rapper Hopsin is weird and proud

Yelawolf at the Bluebird, 10/16/12

YELAWOLF @ BLUEBIRD THEATER | 10/16/12 "If you're over 21, make some noise!.... And if you're under 21 but you're still getting fucked up, MAKE SOME NOIIIIIIISE!" implored one Mr. Michael Wayne Atha, otherwise known as Yelawolf, the hip-hop pied piper of a younger, mostly male crowd, who would late ... More >>

Danny Brown

Monday, October 15, Ogden Theatre, 888-929-7849.

MC Lyte questions the current state of hip-hop

Last night at Auraria, MC Lyte shared her views on the current state of hip-hop, a broad range of topics ranging from the diminishing role of females to the dwindling voice of hip-hop overall and its lackluster effectiveness to her personal triumphs and downfalls. With style and grace, she left many ... More >>

Our top five spins this week, September 24-30

In this very special edition of Heavy Rotation, you not only get a through-the-keyhole view of our musical proclivities, but you also get a few words from us on our top pick of the week. Keep reading to find out what Mark Sanders considers musical comfort food, why Kelsey Whipple can't think of Spac ... More >>

Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube at Comfort Dental, 8/24/12

SNOOP DOGG and ICE CUBE @ COMFORT DENTAL | 2/4/12 With a lineup in which the youngest performer was Bizzy Bone of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony at 35, one might assume that this show was doomed to an early bedtime and fading energy as the night wore on. In reality, the crowd got more and more hyped as legen ... More >>

The five biggest hip-hop name changes

See also: - Snoop Dogg at Comfort Dental Amphitheatre, 8/17/12 - Review: Snoop Dogg at Snowball, 3/3/12 - Review: Snoop Dogg at the Fillmore, 3/2/12 Artists do what they can to control their image, from their songs to their videos to their Twitter feeds and Facebook pages. They hire publicists. The ... More >>

Nicki Minaj at Wells Fargo Theatre, 8/2/12

NICKI MINAJ @ WELLS FARGO THEATRE | 8.2.12 See Also: - Nicki Minaj at Wells Fargo: Most memorable fans and her ten most provacative quotes - Nicki Minaj's "Stupid Hoe" takes aim at Gaga and other fellow pop stars - Nicki Minaj merges all of her wacky personalities into one smart album cover - Nicki ... More >>

Meek Mill

Thursday, August 2, Fillmore Auditorium, 303-830-8497.

Big K.R.I.T. at the Bluebird, 7/18/19

BIG K.R.I.T. @ BLUEBIRD THEATER | 7.18.19 See Also: - Big K.R.I.T. at the Marquis, 10/21/10 - Mr. Midas and Big K.R.I.T. collab on "Back On" Big K.R.I.T. calls himself the King Remembered In Time, an appropriate name, because he truly is timeless. When the big king stepped on stage, all stern-face ... More >>

Rapper Myke Charles has talent and charisma to spare

Macklemore on his new record and what rap album he'd take with him on the mothership

The last time we caught up with Seattle rapper Macklemore (due tomorrow at the Westword Music Showcase on the mainstage), he was working on his latest album with such fervor, he chose to skip SXSW. That, combined with having been inducted into XXL's prestigious 2012 Freshman class and performances a ... More >>

Lupe Fiasco

Thursday, May 17, City Hall, 303-832-8628.

Black Star at Cervantes', 5/11/12

BLACK STAR @ CERVANTES' | 05.11.12 The first strains of the Beastie Boys' "No Sleep Til Brooklyn" started blaring through the speakers as Yasiin Bey shook himself onto the stage to thunderous screams of applause. Wielding an red old school "drop mike," the Brooklyn MC fist pumped and enticed the cr ... More >>

#ShitRappersSay on stage in Denver

The next few days kick off what will no doubt be a summer of hip-hop shows to remember in the Mile High City: Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) and Talib Kweli (as Black Star) will be swooping through the town this weekend, as will Drake on his Club Paradise Tour, featuring J.Cole, Waka Flocka, 2Chainz, ... More >>

Drake

Sunday, May 13, Comfort Dental Amphitheatre, 303-830-8497.

Black Star

Friday, May 11, Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom, 303-297-1772.

Beastie Boys Check Your Head turns twenty

See Also: • Prince's Sign of the Times turns 25 • Velvet Underground & Nico turns 45 • More Today in History posts When the '80s became the '90s, everyone stepped up their game. Rap matured lyrically and became more sophisticated sonically, while rock became more intelligent and emotionally r ... More >>

Watch: Video of Tupac hologram at Coachella performing with Snoop Dogg, "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted," from All Eyez on Me

Tupac at Coachella. While there were plenty of memorable performances and an equal number of WTF moments at the first weekend of this year's Coachella, there's only one from last night that we guarantee everyone is talking about this morning, and It happened early this morning around 12:30 or so our ... More >>

Talib Kweli keynote speaker at Metro State College for its Sankofa Lecture Series

Talib Kweli got all hip-hop scholarly this past Friday as the keynote speaker for the spring Sankofa Lecture Series at Metropolitan State College of Denver. The event was designed to focus on the anthropology of hip-hop, and Kweli, who was succinct and clear with his message, was absolutely dynamic ... More >>

Black Star show at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom this Saturday moved to Friday, May 11

Update (4/10): We've confirmed that Talib Kweli will indeed be performing at Cervantes this Satruday, April 14, in place of Black Star, originally slated for that same date but moved to 5/11. Tickets for the show are $5 ($10 on Saturday for those under 21). Heads up, hip-hop heads: Black Star (the ... More >>

Mystery Mike: Who is Benjamin Butters?

Yo! We've got a hip-hop whodunit on our hands. Well, maybe not a whodunit, but still, there's a mystery afoot in the world of rap. And if there's anything we love more than rappers, it's mystery rappers! Who the hell is this Benjamin Butters cat? Do you know? We need answers, and it appears as thoug ... More >>

Notorious B.I.G.: Fifteen years ago today, we lost a legend, one of the greatest rappers of all time

Today marks fifteen years since the Notorious B.I.G. was tragically gunned down in a murder that remains shrouded in opinion, mystery and haunting culture appeal. You probably remember exactly where you were on this day in 1997 when you heard the news that one of the game's greatest rappers had died ... More >>

Celebrating the life and rhymes of Biggie Smalls

This week, we're celebrating the life of the late, great Christopher Wallace, aka the Notorious B.I.G., who died fifteen years ago this week. One of hip-hop's most important teachers, Biggie Smalls, as he was affectionately known, empowered corner boys everywhere to tell the story of their struggle ... More >>

Review: Big Boi at SnowBall Music Festival 3/2/12

BIG BOI @ SNOWBALL | 3/2/12The purple lights cast Big Boi in a Prince-ly hue. He's leading the audience through the chorus of "Ms. Jackson" and the entirety of the crowd is bobbing around like crazy. Big Boi is leaning back, with one arm up, casually steering an invisible Cadillac at about two miles ... More >>

Review: Snoop Dogg at the Fillmore, 3/2/12

SNOOP DOGG @ THE FILLMORE | 3/2/12Snoop Dogg is the coolest motherfucker on the planet. As the audience was roused by DJ Battlecat's operatic introduction of the giant, the Doggfather walked onto the stage flanked by three gorgeous dancers in Adidas jump suits to a packed house last night at the Fil ... More >>

Snoop Dogg

Friday, March 2, Fillmore Auditorium, 303-830-8497.

As Black History Month comes to a close, we reflect on the influential Sounds of Blackness

Black History Month 2012 has been a doozy. Beginning with the tragic and shocking death of Don Cornelius to dealing with equally troubling news of Whitney Houston's passing as the month wore on. Most interesting about this time is the ways in which the music healed us. When Whitney died, DJs played ... More >>

T-Pain

Sunday, February 26, Ogden Theatre, 888-929-7849.

The Wu-Tang Clan forever changed the game

Heavily inspired by mob movies and king-fu cinema, Wu-tang Clan began in Staten Island, the brainchild of the brilliantly sharp RZA, who brought his brothers and their talents together to form a hip-hop conglomerate whose rhymes are as much based on the science of everything in life as they are abou ... More >>

Outkast is one of hip-hop's most successful and creative groups

​Outkast is easily one of the most noted and respected hip-hop groups in the game. Big Boi and Andre 3000 met in the East Point section of Atlanta when they were sixteen. The outfit combined funk, soul, jazz and blues influences with hip-hop lyrics on its 1994 debut, Southernplayalisticadillac ... 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 >>

The 54th Grammys: who will win (Adele) and who won't (Lady Gaga)

From power pop to power ballads, rock anthems to rap staples, the nominees of the 54th Grammy Awards, which airs this Sunday night, sees no dearth of great music. There's little doubt that it will be Adele's night, but others, like Kanye West and Mumford & Sons, could win big too. Continue reading f ... More >>

Jay-Z's come a long way from the Marcy Projects

What do you know about Jay-Z? Born Shawn Corey Carter in December 1969, the Brooklyn corner boy from the Marcy Housing Projects, who used to flip kilos of coke as fast as he flipped rhymes, turned his life of trial and tragedy into one of triumph and success, making a ton of money and marrying the g ... 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 >>

Celebrate the life of J. Dilla at Beauty Bar on Tuesday night

​Celebrating the life and legacy of J Dilla, the super producer from Detroit, has become a yearly occurrence since his passing from Lupus in 2007. Started by New York DJ Dee Phunk, the Donuts are Forever parties have been going strong for the past five years. Recent Denver transplant, audio en ... More >>

Music fan's "Drake" tattoo takes celebrity worship to a new level

The best national music releases of 2011

Ten best hip hop shows of 2011 in Denver

Eric GruneisenTyler, the Creator at the Ogden Theatre this past October​There were so many hip-hop shows and concerts this year, it was hard to keep count. The shows of note, though, were bangers and crowd pleasers and showcased dynamic artistry. With so many epic moments (?uestLove and Jazzy ... More >>

2012 Grammy Nominations: Kanye West and Adele clean up, Katy Perry earns pair of nods

Grammy nominations for 2012 were announced last night during the Grammys Nomination Concert -- which was, oddly, just that: a concert, not a nominations show. Nominations in four major categories were announced, plus performances by major players in mainstream music like Lady Gaga, who performed twi ... More >>

Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force's Planet Rock: The Album is 25 years old today

"Party people! Party People! Can y'all get funky?" You already know what it is as soon as the first twinkling bells, crowd screams and intergalactic beat drops for Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force's cult hit, "Planet Rock." Get your ass to the nearest dance floor and do an old school dance, stra ... More >>

The new faces of R&B in Denver: Jon Shockness, J. Carey, Devan Blake Jones, BMore and B.Blacc

Kate LevyJ. Carey is one smooth operator​Have you noticed the influx of male R&B singers these days, particularly in the Mile High City? Adam Duncan, who just joined the A&M/Octone Records roster, is just one of many cats putting it down in Denver these days. Jon Shockness (Air Dubai), J.Carey ... More >>

Review: DJ Premier, DJ Vajra and DJ Mu$a rock Shoe Shine 7, at City Hall, 11/19/11

DJ PREMIER at CITY HALL | 11/19/2011The masses came together last night to pay respect to one of hip-hop's living legends, DJ Premier at City Hall. Making his way cooly onto the stage to screams of "Preemo," DJ Premier got right to work with "Nas is Like." Half-man, half amazing, indeed, the New Yor ... More >>

DJ Premier

Saturday, November 19, City Hall, 303-832-8628.

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 >>

Madlib

Saturday, November 12, City Hall, 303-832-8628.

Review: Game at the Ogden Theatre, 11/3/11

Eric GruneisenGame at the Ogden last night​GAME at THE OGDEN THEATRE | 11/3/11Last night at the Ogden, Game had so many fans draped in red on stage with him, it began to look more like the red sea, rather than a band of hip-hop hooligans representing for their favorite MC. A few things are sti ... More >>

A first listen to Spoke In Wordz's Beautiful Dead

​Spoke In Wordz's latest effort, Beautiful Dead, comes at a time when celebrations of the dead are at their highest, split between Halloween and Día de los Muertos. Traditionally, this is the time when the spiritual veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest. Spoke chose to comme ... More >>