OutKast

The ten best concerts to see in Denver this week

SHABAZZ PALACES @ LARIMER LOUNGE | MON, 5/6/13 In the first half of the '90s, Ishmael Butler went by the moniker "Butterfly" as part of the rap trio Digable Planets. After the outfit's 1995 split, the group performed one-off shows here and there, but since 2009, Butler has released music with Tendai ... More >>

Ten best hip-hop shows in Denver this month

FLOBOTS @ AGGIE THEATRE | FRI, 5/3/13 Half a decade after releasing the platinum single "Handlebars," which made rounds on radios across the country, the Flobots have grown significantly, both as a musical group and as a philanthropic force within the Denver community. Since parting ways with Univer ... More >>

Here's what we're all listening to right now. What's rocking your world this week?

As people who think about, talk about, write about, listen to and make music, it's not surprising that the most common (and 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 we go, on and on about t ... More >>

The ten best concerts in Denver this weekend

Welcome to the weekend! Another work week is almost in the books. Time to cut loose. If it's live music you seek, you've come to the right place. Tons of great music on tap this weekend, a diverse array of options whatever your flavor, everything from jazz and jam to hip-hop and hardcore to industri ... More >>

Ten best hip-hop shows in Denver this month

February is already off to a good start for hip-hop with a pair of great shows this past weekend, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis at Icelantic's Winter on the Rocks and Brother Ali with Prof, Danny Brown and Evidence at Cervantes'. Even excluding those shows, the rest of the month looks to be just as enti ... More >>

9th Wonder on how hip-hop is like pills in the applesauce, a gateway to knowledge and history

A revered hip-hop producer who got his start with Phonte and Big Pooh in the North Carolina-based group Little Brother, 9th Wonder has worked an array of top shelf artists from Jay-Z and Destiny's Child to Mary J. Blige and Ludacris, among many others. Known as one of the best samplers in hip-hop, w ... More >>

The ten best concerts this weekend: Sept. 21-23

Hola, amigo! Welcome to the weekend! A massive amount of musical goodness awaits you this weekend, the first of this fall season. Whatever you feel like getting into, there are a ton of shows to choose from, whether you're looking for metal, rock, hip-hop or just want to party down like there's no s ... More >>

New Colorado concerts: The Deftones at the Fillmore, Steve Winwood at the Paramount

This week, there's only been a handful of new shows announced, but they're all good ones, including the Deftones who are slated to hit the Fillmore in October just prior to the release of their new album, Steve Winwood, who's due at the Paramount in November, and Black Angels who will ring in the Ne ... More >>

Enjoy these five dance-move GIFs from Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco

The following is a dispatch from Outside Lands Festival, from our sister paper, SF Weekly. One thing crowds at San Francisco's Outside Lands festival do pretty well is get down. Despite the relentless wind, heavy fog, and numbing temperatures, we saw plenty of good moves last weekend -- and some r ... More >>

Kitty Crimes, Maria Kohler's hip-hop alter-ego, is the diverse musician's latest creative endeavor

Hailing from Detroit -- a city where punk rock, hip hop and blues all grow out of the same soil -- Maria Kohler is giving Denver a taste of her rhymes and her eclecticism. "I think everybody has a pretty wide variety of music that they like," explains Kohler, Kitty Crimes' mastermind, who also front ... More >>

Pumped-up hits: Songs we loved until they got played to death

"Man, I used to really love that song until it got played to death!" How many times have you heard somebody say that? It's a legitimate gripe, especially if you work in place where the radio is played day and night. You inevitably suffer hearing the same goddamn songs hundreds of times a day. It's e ... More >>

Janelle MonÁe

Sunday, May 29, 1STBANK Center, 303-830-8497.

On the Run: a marathon-worthy playlist

​'Tis the season for charity races and marathons! Time to get back into shape after a long, lazy winter. If you're running in this weekend's Colfax Marathon, you've probably already shed the layer of lard you accumulated since Thanksgiving and are looking lean and mean.(Yay you!) Or, perhaps, ... More >>

In honor of Modest Mouse and Big Boi: A look at the Top 10 rap/rock collaborations of all time

​In case you haven't heard yet, Modest Mouse is working with Big Boi on its next album. Seriously. Yeah, we're having a hard time even trying to imagine what that's going to sound like. The news, however, did get us thinking about the ten of the best and rap/rock collaborations. You know Aeros ... More >>

Five rap albums to take on the mothership when the government shuts down at midnight

​Tonight when the clock strikes midnight, you should expect calamity, destruction, and famine to sweep the nation, because word on the street says the government is shutting down. Word to Chicken Little: A bunch of awful things are supposed to happen...we think. They don't pay us the big bucks ... More >>

BLKHRTS, Wu-Tang 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 >>

Aloe Blacc, Harry Nilsson, Kid Cudi 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 >>

Part two: Big Game's Leo Harvey dishes on trashy cheese dip, his biggest embarrassment and Gordon Ramsay

Lori Midson ​This is part two of my interview with Leo Harvey, executive chef of Big Game Restaurant & Lounge. To read part one of that interview, click here. Favorite dish to cook at home: Braised chicken thighs and Yukon Gold mashed potatoes. It's a very comforting dish that's hearty, easy ... More >>

Behold the nimble funkistry of Janelle Monae

Top Ten Best Chiptune Pop Demakes

As you may or may not be aware there is an entire scene of people demaking popular songs into 8-bit blips and bloops. While chiptunes, in general, have always attracted the most circuit-minded of musicians, the demakes themselves are a genre all their own. As the Tron clip above demonstrates, they ... More >>

We Are the World 25/2010 performers pull off impressive performance

All right, so we were admittedly skeptical of how this whole "We Are the World" remake was going to turn out with the seemingly random cast of characters organizers assembled. When we first glimpsed the initial list of those present the night of the recording, there were some head scratchers in the ... More >>

We Are the World 2010: List of performers seems a little underwhelming -- the idea is to get people to buy the song, right?

Our friends over at CNN just posted a partial list of performers appearing on the "We Are the World" remake. From the looks of it, we put more thought into this whole thing than the organizers did. Okay, sure, there were a handful of bona fied stars that took part -- and we're assuming they've be ... More >>

Geek Bowl IV: How geeky are you?

Q&A with Kno of CunninLynguists

Jens Nordstrom​There's something to be said about a group that boldly calls itself, CunninLynguists. Since 2001, the Kentucky-bred group, which consist of rapper Natti and producers/rappers Deacon the Villain and Kno, has redefined what it means to be courageous with their music, during a time whe ... More >>

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 pre ... More >>

Live Review: Common, N.E.R.D. and Chester French at Fillmore Auditorium

45-Second Reviews: Obi Best, Bart Millard, Stereolab, Shwayze

Letters to the Editor

Letters from the week of 8/28/2008

Eight Great Moments of the 808 for 8/8/08

Friday Rap-Up: Julox, Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Aftermath Records

Herb’s

A hit in the Ballpark neighborhood.

Friday Rap-Up: Side 3 Studios, Kanye West, Common, Rappers on Sean Bell verdict

Funny Takes a Lesson From a Professional Pick-Up Artist

If taking a class at Colorado Free University will net Funny his wealthy virgin-slut, then back to school he goes.

Textiquette

Don’t be a masshole – keep your messages personal.

Rap Sheet

Comeback kids, rhymin' Limeys and songs about partying defined Hip-Hop Nation in 2006.

Westword Music Showcase 2006

Be there or be square!

Green Velvet

Church

A Pack of Mutts

The Lone Wolves of 2005

Yule's Tide

Searching for gems in the flood of seasonal discs.

Mommy Dearest

Four Brothers makes revenge a frat party.

Nationalistic

Backbeat scribes weigh in on their favorite national releases from 2004.

Ja Rule

R.U.L.E. (Def Jam/The Inc. Records)

Crunked Up

Beneath his deranged exterior, Lil Jon is a man with a plan.

Shake It Up

Kelis gives thanks to more than her mammaries.

Dance This Mess Around

What a bad feeling -- and taste -- Honey leaves behind.

Critic's Choice

Obie Trice

Made With Love

Rosanne Cash is the friend who will say, or sing, what you can't.

The Message

The media's massive buildup to battle makes war seem almost anti-climactic.

Goodie Mob

World Party
(LaFace)

With a Slickness

Rapper Slick Rick is back with a new album and a new tale to tell.