Lil' Wayne

This Week in Hip Hop

Friday Rap-Up: Pimp C Dies, Spice 1 Shot, Lauryn Hill Still a Pain in the Ass

Friday Rap-Up: SP Double, F.O.E., Ghostface Killah, 50 Cent, Lil Wayne

Friday Rap-Up: The BoomBox, Lil Wayne, Young Buck, 50 Cent and Queen Latifah

Friday Rap-Up: DJ Vajra, Lil Wayne, Nate Dogg, 50 Cent vs. Kanye: Pt. 2?

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

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

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 Ka ... More >>

(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 ... More >>

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 b ... More >>

The Worst Lyrics of 2008

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 b ... More >>

Westword's favorite national albums of the year

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 b ... More >>

T.I.

Atlantic

Westminster's House of Babes lives up to its name

Atlantic

Lil Wayne

Tha Carter III
Young Money/Cash Money/Universal

Back 2 Skool Jam

Monday, October 2, Coors Amphitheatre, Englewood, 303-830-8497.

Lil Wayne

Thursday, August 20, Fiddler's Green, 303-830-8497.

Q&A with Mack Maine, president of Young Money Entertainment

​Mack Maine, is always moving. When I first meet him standing amid the ruins of the Young Money stage set he will not be still; he's too busy and that's a good thing -- too busy crafting clever rhymes, to "build his brand." Maine's Doofus cum Cyrano de Bergerac verse at the end of this summer's st ... More >>

Lil Wayne can't go to prison today because his diamond-encrusted teeth hurt.

Lil Wayne was supposed to be sentenced and head to prison today for a 2007 gun-possesion arrest. But the man needs surgery to repair a cracked tooth, which we suppose is a common problem among people with a mouth full of diamonds. We're sure this a completely legitimate delay, and there is no way t ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of February 8, 2010

​As music critics -- and people who generally think about, talk about, listen to and make music -- the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to right now?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation. ... More >>

Poptimystic: We Are The World cannot unseat Ke$ha

Appearing in an episode of The Simple Life and then singing uncredited back-up vocals on the worst single of last year would not appear to be the path to pop enshrinement. But here is Ke$ha, who did exactly that and is now parked on top of the Hot 100. Above is the video for her next single, "Bl ... More >>

Drake

Monday, May 17, Ogden Theatre, 303-830-8497.

Lil Wayne recording from behind bars

​ Used to be time when a stint in the big house would put a stop to an artist's recording career. Well, today we have evidence that time has passed. Jailed rapper Lil Wayne guests on the new Drake track "Light Up (Rikers RMX)" alongside Jay Z. Only, we assume Jay Z didn't phone his verse in ov ... More >>

N9ne lives? Tech N9ne overcomes his personal demons

​ Used to be time when a stint in the big house would put a stop to an artist's recording career. Well, today we have evidence that time has passed. Jailed rapper Lil Wayne guests on the new Drake track "Light Up (Rikers RMX)" alongside Jay Z. Only, we assume Jay Z didn't phone his verse in ov ... More >>

If President Obama has a thing for hip-hop, here are five artists to add to his iPod

​In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, our president revealed that his music palette has expanded slightly in recent years with a little help from his personal aide, Reggie Love. New additions to his usual standbys of Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones include Nas and Lil' Wayne. It's a lit ... More >>

Air Dubai, Lil Wayne and DJ Krush 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?" 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 al ... More >>

A letter to Weezy F. Baby: Welcome back!

Lil Wayne (aka Lil Tunechi, Weezy, Bird Man Jr., Mr. Carter) -- Thank god you're finally free! It has felt like a decade has passed in the pop world since you've been at Rikers. The Black Eyed Peas/Will.I.Am reign of Billboard terror has continued, most recently enveloping one of your own. And ... More >>

Top Ten musical jailbirds: In honor of Lil Wayne and T.I. and their respective prison stints

​Earlier this morning, Lil Wayne was released from New York's Rikers Island after serving eight months of a one-year sentence for criminal possession of a weapon. Fellow Southern rapper T.I., meanwhile, went back to jail on Monday after a federal judge in Atlanta revoked his probation follow ... 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 >>

Ten pop music paradigm shifts in 2010

​Teen dream Justin Bieber is arguably the biggest pop star in the country and Simon Cowell isn't doing American Idol. A lot's changed since last year in the world of pop. Institutions fell, ideas were challenged, and the Black Eyed Peas didn't have the number one song in the country at any poi ... More >>

Lil Wayne's Twitter account compromised. Hacker fails to get the Internet riled.

​Yesterday, while Lil Wayne was presumably not diligently monitoring his Twitter account, it was compromised by an unknown Tweeter. Surely the Internet break-in sucked for Weezy once he was alerted, but the bigger problem lay in followers' laps: The faux LilTunechi was a blathering idiot, subj ... More >>

Young Money crew as Winnie-the-Pooh Characters: Young Poolah, Baby!

​Drake said recently that he's drawing inspiration from Winnie the Pooh for his next album. But Drake would never be Pooh Bear -- that has to be Lil Wayne. Which Hundred Acre Wood inhabitant would Drake actually be? What about the rest of the gang? Below, a character-by-character breakdown. Ex ... More >>

Top five music videos based on movies

​Lil Wayne's delayed "6 Foot 7 Foot" video leaked and subsequently premiered yesterday. If you haven't seen it yet, let's just say director Hype Williams has outdone himself. He uses Inception as a jumping-off point, and in doing so, "6 Foot 7 Foot" joins a long list of music videos inspired b ... More >>

Lil Wayne is not for the children

​Didn't somebody wise once say: "Lil Wayne is not for the children?" Oh, wait, come to think of it, that was ODB. Nevermind. And it was "Wu-Tang is for the children!" We digress. Nonetheless, the point remains. It doesn't take much to deduce that a guy that talks about the things Wayne talks a ... More >>

Slim Cessna, A. Tom Collins, Serious Moonlight and DJ MU$A 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?" 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 al ... More >>

Lil Wayne coming to Comfort Dental Amphitheatre on August 30

​Lil Wayne: Love him or hate him, it's almost impossible to ignore the Young Money Mastermind. If you haven't heard yet, Weezy F Baby is bringing his I Am Still Music tour to Comfort Dental Amphitheatre on Tuesday, August 30, with the Boss Rick Ross, Keri Hilson, Far East Movement and Lloyd. B ... More >>

Lil Wayne gets Unplugged, and we've got suggestions for his set list

​Hip-hop lyrics often get lost amongst the bass, snare and 808-drenched beats and production of a song. That's why, when a rap artist -- like Jay-Z, for example -- decides to take on MTV's famous Unplugged series, the outcome can be amazing, as was the case with Jigga, and hopefully will be th ... More >>

Tech N9NE on being a major artist with a loyal fanbase while remaining fiercely independent

​A fiercely independent artist with a diverse, dedicated and ever expanding cult following, Tech N9NE (due tonight at the Fillmore Auditorium) has a hustle that simply cannot be knocked. Currently in the midst of an 82-date tour in support of his latest album, All 6's and 7's, the rapper has s ... More >>

Game soundtracks like Bastion and Sword & Sworcery continue to peak on Bandcamp

​Long before Lil Wayne allegedly sampled a track from Sword & Sworcery, independent video-game soundtracks have consistently been topping the sales charts on Bandcamp. It's gotten to the point that when a reasonably hyped game releases a soundtrack, it's almost inevitable that it will end up i ... More >>

Lil Wayne, please join the Denver Nuggets

​Long before Lil Wayne allegedly sampled a track from Sword & Sworcery, independent video-game soundtracks have consistently been topping the sales charts on Bandcamp. It's gotten to the point that when a reasonably hyped game releases a soundtrack, it's almost inevitable that it will end up i ... More >>

Labor Day: Let's recap the ten best concerts of the summer

Summer's about sweating after dark.​From Lil Wayne's on-stage clowning and Katy Perry's cooing, to a perspiration-and-PBR soaked reunion of Planes Mistaken for Stars, and even those teenage, Danish punks Iceage melting the audience Rhinoceropolis, the summer of 2011 was as good as any for live ... 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 Tech N9ne, Lucinda Williams and Jimmy Buffet were announced. On local radio specialty shows, Monroe Monroe, Air Dubai, Spires and Popcult all got some spins. Meanwhile, at our local record stores, new a ... More >>

Professor concludes that sex sells. Who knew? The 10 best "reproductive messages" in songs

​State University of New York professor Dawn R. Hobbs recently concluded that 92 percent of the songs that made it to the Billboard Top 10 in 2009 contained some form of "reproductive messages." The conclusion is unsurprising: Sex sells. What is mildly surprising, however, is the statistical d ... 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, a show at the Paramount Theatre featuring Puscifer was announced, along with a Kulwicki Twins Foundation benefit at the Bluebird Theater in January being headlined by Mudhoney and The Fluid. On local radio sp ... More >>

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 >>

Lil' Wayne drops in on the skate bowls at Copper's Woodward

Woodward at CopperLil' Wayne stopped by to session the Barn at Woodward at Copper last week​Lil' Wayne dropped by Copper Mountain last week and dropped in at the skate bowls inside the Woodward Barn, home of several extreme sports training camps. Weezy loves the experience and may have left a ... More >>

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

Anticipate Adele to sweep the Grammys this year, leaving Lady Gaga and Katy Perry in her wake.​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 ... More >>