Subject: Old School Hip-Hop

• Friday Rap-Up: Lupe Fiasco, 50 Cent, DMX, The Vapors movie, Infinite Mindz

  December 21, 2007

• The Friday Rap-Up: DJ Low Key, Jay-Z, KRS-One, Buckshot, Dr. Dre

  February 29, 2008

• Friday Rap-Up: Bionik Brown, Ozone Awards, Large Professor, DMX

  August 15, 2008

• Rap Gets Puffy

  Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs fathers a return to hip-hop pop.

  October 2, 1997

• Spin City

  A look at Den One, Denver's least likely regular hip-hop party.

  April 23, 1998

• Smoke Signals

  The Arsonists -- and one of indie rock's most beloved labels -- ignite hip-hop's underground.

  April 20, 2000

• Rooting around Root Down

  We're still looking for a revised opening date for Root Down, the new restaurant coming to 33rd and Osage. But in the meantime, we have two updates: Yesterday, the original opening date, they were putting in grass (!) around the former service station, which will have a great outdoor deck and garden. Come spring -- not December.  As for the name, which a reader tagged to a Beastie Boys sample in a comment to this blog, the Beastie Boys were sampling the groundbreaking jazz album by Jimmy Smith

  December 2, 2008

• KRS-One

  May 24, 2001

• 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

• Pepper Blossom at Root Down

  January 8, 2009

• And It Don't Stop

  A hip-hop film series does more than scratch the surface.

  July 3, 2008

• Critics' Picks for 2007

  Backbeat scribes sound off on their favorite releases of the past year.

  December 27, 2007

• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

  Who will be inducted next? Gaze into our crystal ball.

  January 25, 2007

• Aural Pleasure

  The talented tongue of Atmosphere goes to work.

  May 4, 2006

• Critical Fatwa

  Cam’ron

  March 16, 2006

• Westword Music Showcase 2005

  June 23, 2005

• The Beatdown

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

  March 18, 2004

• Hip-Hop Stop

  KRS-One brings the lowdown to church

  July 24, 2003

• The Beatdown

  Four elements make one movement.

  July 24, 2003

• Off Limits

  Stop-and-gonad traffic

  July 24, 2003

• Street Dreams

  The LoDo Music Fest rocks on.

  July 17, 2003

• All in the Family

  Hip-hop revivalists the Family Tree put the paddles to a dying art.

  July 3, 2003

• Club Scout

  Das EFX

  January 16, 2003

• Attitude Check

  Four discs trace the development of the original gangstas.

  October 31, 2002

• Peoples Get Ready

  As part of underground hip-hop's newest dream team, Dilated Peoples are at the top of their game.

  March 7, 2002

• Back That Smut Up

  As the Smut Peddlers, members of the High and Mighty hip-hop crew find new life in porn.

  April 12, 2001

• Rage Against the Machine

  Renegades (Epic)

  February 1, 2001

• Swan Song

  By refusing to follow the flock, Ugly Duckling has emerged as a wholly individual hip-hop creature.

  January 25, 2001

• Scratch It Up

  The steel wheels keep turning in the DMC turntable battles.

  June 15, 2000

• In the Thick of It

  For more than a decade, the Jungle Brothers have remained members of hip-hop's original tribe.

  January 20, 2000

• Like a Record, Baby

  QBert and the Invisibl Skratch Piklz put a new spin on the DJ craft.

  January 13, 2000

• Two's Company

  Together Productions gives the city's dance scene something to rave about.

  January 6, 2000

• Break Out

  The beat of the street makes the Freestylers feel like dancing.

  December 9, 1999

• Cooking Up Beats in Hell's Kitchen

  New York's Ming & FS utilize the rhyme -- and the keyboard, sampler, turntable and guitar -- to create their own hip-hop heaven.

  October 7, 1999

• More Songs of the Century

  Part two of a pre-millennial trek through a hundred years of pop music.

  July 8, 1999

• Seasoned Performers

  Salt-N-Pepa are still capable of spicing up your life.

  April 1, 1999

• On the Money

  Beastie Boy pal Money Mark likes to make new music the old-fashioned way.

  July 30, 1998

• And the Winners Are ...

  Handing out the trophies for 1997's best albums.

  December 25, 1997

• Rooting Interest

  The Roots make rap for both your hips and your head.

  July 17, 1997

• Run, Reverend, Run

  Run-D.M.C. has seen the light--and wants to show it to you.

  March 6, 1997

• Our Gangstas

  Is gangsta rap getting more profound? Well...no.

  November 21, 1996

• SPECIAL EFX

  DAS EFX TRIES TO KEEP IT GOING THREE YEARS DOWN THE ROAD.

  January 3, 1996

• FOLLOW THE LEADER

  PEOPLE SWEAR BY--AND AT--HIP-HOP'S OUTSPOKEN, UNDISPUTED GURU.

  September 27, 1995

• BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL

  July 13, 1994

• New Beastie Boys release date, track listing and artwork announced

  Yes, it's been more than 20 years since the Beastie Boys were licensed to ill, and in those intervening years, the trio's output has been, on balance, fantastic. Sure, there have been a few duds along the way, but every album has been worth hearing. That's why I still get excited when I hear Beastie Boys news, like the bit I just received about the Boys' newest album.

  June 23, 2009

• Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch has cancer, Beasties cancel all dates

  From the Beastie Boys Facebook pageThe Beastie Boys have just announced, via YouTube video, that Adam Yauch (aka MCA) has cancer in one of his parotid glands. As a result, they are canceling all tour dates for this summer and pushing back the scheduled September 17 release of their album Hot Sauce Committee Part 1 while Yauch seeks treatment and recovers. The good news is that the cancer is not in an area that affects Yauch's voice and it is localized and treatable. His doctors expect him to mak

  July 20, 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

• 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

• Freeloader: Fresh Breath Committee CD release at the Fox tonight

  ​The other significant local hip-hop release this evening comes from the Fresh Breath Committee, who also took time to mix it up with us this week. It's pretty safe bet that all the local heads that aren't at the hi-dive will be at the Fox Theatre in Boulder for the release of CPR, the outfit's full-length debut. An all-star lineup, the show features Masta Ace, who appears on the new album, the ReMINDers, 3 the Hardway, the Pirate Signal and DJ Skip Ripkin. Before you make your way up to Bould

  October 8, 2009