Southern Rap

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 >>

The fifty greatest rap groups of all time: 50-26

There's something great about a hip-hop group. From the beginning, it was never intended to be a solo endeavor; rap began in cyphers at block parties, and the first established rappers were components of a collective centered around the more important DJ. Even now that the rapper is the star, it's n ... More >>

The 50 worst rap lyrics: The complete list

We've finally arrived: The The best of the worst. The creme de la crap. The unholy of unholies. If you thought 50-11 were bad, you ain't seen nothin' yet. These are the lyrics that can turn a good album sour, and make a bad album laughable. Included are quotes from Eminem, Lil B, J. Cole, 2 Chainz, ... More >>

The 50 worst rap lyrics of all time: 20-11

We've almost reached the end of our countdown of rap's most dreadful lyrics. Think you can stomach ten more? Good. Purely by coincidence, today's selections feature some of hip-hop's most memorable scientific and mathematical gaffes. And we're not talking anything complicated, here; we mean basic ma ... 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 >>

The ten best storytellers in hip-hop

The art of storytelling has existed since before recorded history, so it's somewhat surprising that the practice didn't take off in hip-hop, an originally oral tradition, until the late '80s. Since rappers discovered just how captivating a well-told story could be, the storytelling track has become ... More >>

New shows: SnowBall Music Festival adds STS9 and other acts, the Pharcyde at Fox and more

New week, new year, new show announcements -- the biggest one this week involves STS9. Fresh off a three-night New Year's Eve run at the Fillmore comes word that the outfit has been added as a headliner at this March's SnowBall Music Festival. We've got the full run down on that below, as well as wo ... More >>

The ten worst hip-hop Christmas songs

Every holiday season, we're blessed with great renditions of classic Christmas songs to warm our spirits, but along with that also comes a lists of well meaning yuletide flops. This is especially the case in hip-hop, in which rhyming about Christmas has not always produced the best results. Here are ... More >>

Tonic Alize

Paper 2012
Brown Magic Records

Killer Mike

Saturday, September 22, Summit Music Hall, 866-468-7621.

Nicki Minaj

Thursday, August 2, Wells Fargo Theatre, 303-830-8497.

Drake

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

Cobraconda goes on Spring Break

Cash Money signed Limp Bizkit last week. No, really.

SnowBall Music Festival 2012: Day 1 travelogue

SNOWBALL MUSIC FESTIVAL, DAY 1 @ VAIL VALLEY | 3/2/12It took about four bone-chilling minutes, starting at the opening of gates, to remind me of the frigid misery I signed up for again this year. Did I learn my lesson from last year in regard to snow boots, multiple layers, cash, and festival planni ... 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 >>

Mile Highlights: Denver/Boulder area concert news, local radio playlists and top album sales

Here's what's hot this week in music on the Front Range: On the concert front, new shows featuring the Shins, James Taylor and Explosions in the Sky were announced; In the Whale, Tennis and FaceMan got spins on local radio; and recent albums from Leonard Cohen, Matador, Young Jeezy and Lana Del Rey ... More >>

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

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 little blood behind. To hear about it, check out the video below.

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 >>

DJ Premier

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

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 degree t ... More >>

8Ball and MJG on the longevity of their southern style and how their rhymes are as pure as ever

​8Ball and MJG (due at Casselman's this Sunday, September 4) are one of the dopest hip-hop acts to ever come out of the south. The Memphis duo ushered in an entirely new era of hip-hop, unwrapping their lives in layers with vivid tales of pimping hoes, making money and moving drugs with eloque ... More >>

Lil Wayne, please join the Denver Nuggets

Young Jeezy

Tuesday, August 23, Ogden Theatre, 303-830-8497.

Mile Highlights: Denver/Boulder area concert news, local radio playlists and top album sales

Here's what's good in the Mile High City this week: A pair of new October dates have Smashing Pumpkins at the Ogden and Bush at the 1STBANK Center, with Chevelle and Filter, while November brings Tedeschi Trucks Band to the Fillmore. On local radio, Air Dubai, Le Divorce, Bop Skizzum and Signal Path ... More >>

Big Boi and Rusko join the Disco Biscuits for Bisco Inferno

Tonight: Curren$y at the Fox

​Earlier on in his career, Curren$y (performing this evening at the Fox Theatre with Trademark, Young Roddy, Fiend and Corner Boy P) ran with the likes of Master P and Lil Wayne, via the rappers' infamous entourage/record labels, No Limit and Young Money. Now releasing albums on his own throug ... More >>

Waka Flocka Flame at Club Arriba, 5/5/11

Britt ChesterWaka Flocka Flame brought the fire to Club Arriba WAKA FLOCKA FLAME 05.05.11 | Club Arriba Waka Flocka Flame blazed through Denver last night in a whirlwind of dread locks, expensive jewelry, marijuana smoke and gang banger salutations of "Suwoop!" After more than a few terrible opene ... 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 >>

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 >>

When it comes to hip-hop, it's a man's world

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 >>

T.I., Elephant Revival, Ebbets Field comp and Belle & Sebastian top local sellers this week

​T.I. grabbed the top spot at Independent this week with his latest, No Mercy, featuring Kanye West, Drake and Eminem, among others. Nederland's Elephant Revival claimed the top spot for the second week in a row at Albums on the Hill. At Twist & Shout, meanwhile, the new Live From Ebbets Field ... More >>

Hammer vs Jay-Z: The top five dumbest and most pointless beefs in music history

MC Hammer recently decided the best way to rekindle his once massive flame was to start a beef with Jay-Z in the way of diss track called "Better Run Run," boasting lines like, 'That boy tried to steal my swag/His finger prints all over the bag." While it might have sounded good on paper -- start ... 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 >>

Elton John & Leon Russell, Lil Wayne, Bob Dylan, Women top sellers at local stores

​Elton John and Leon Russell's The Union , released October 19 on Decca, took the top spot at Albums on the Hill and came in second at Twist & Shout for the week ending October 31. Lil Wayne's latest effort, I Am Not a Human Being, continues to stay on top at Independent Records, while Hed P.E ... More >>

N9ne lives? Tech N9ne overcomes his personal demons

Grinderman, RJD2 and Dismemberment Plan 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?" So 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 ... More >>

Iron Maiden, Arcade Fire top sellers at local stores

​ Final Frontier, Iron Maiden's fifteenth studio effort and first album in four years, debuted at second spot at Albums on the Hill and came in third at Independent Records. Arcade Fire's latest effort, The Suburbs, is still performing well and took the top slot at Albums on the Hill for the w ... More >>

Arcade Fire, Los Lobos top sellers at local stores

​Arcade Fire's latest effort, The Suburbs, continues to dominate the local charts, claiming the top spots at Albums on the Hill, Twist & Shout and Wax Trax for the week ending August 15. Los Lobos' Tin Can Trust, released August 3 on Shout! Factory, performed well, as did Wolf Parade's Expo 86 ... More >>

Best Coast, Big Boi top sellers at local stores

​While there weren't any unanimous winners across the board, Best Coast's debut, Crazy For You, released last week on Mexican Summer, took the top spot at Wax Trax and the tenth spot at Albums on the Hill for the week ending August 1. Big Boi's Sir Lucious Left Foot...The Son Of Chico Dusty, ... More >>

"Hey!" by 3OH!3 and Lil Jon: Another new track from Streets of Gold Crunk Rock.?

​ Mystery solved: You won't find "Hey!" on Streets of Gold, and that's because it's on Lil Jon's new album Crunk Rock, released earlier this week. All right, so we already told you about 3OH!3 premiering Streets of Gold's first single, "My First Kiss," featuring Ke$ha on Monday. Evidently, i ... More >>

Top 10 Summer Jams for 2010

Kiernan Maletsky​The cover's off the grill, the windows are down and sweet freedom is on the horizon. Ahh, summer is coming. And while it's still early, there have already been more than enough entrants in the summer jam sweepstakes to make a short list. A few ground rules: 1. Must have been ... More >>

Top five TV themes ripe for mashup

Have you heard "Office Musik" yet? It's Clockwork mashing Lil' Wayne's "Hustler Musik" with the theme from The Office. It's good. So good that we listened to it about fifteen times yesterday. So good that it was Hype Machine's number one track at the same time that Entertainment Weekly wrote it up ... More >>

Tech N9NE top seller at Independent Records again

​Tech N9NE's latest effort, K.O.D., grabbed the top spot at Independent Records for the second week in a row, while Slayer's new disc, World Painted Blood, came in second and Jay-Z's Blueprint 3 grabbed the third slot. Michael Jackson's This is It and Say Anything's new self-titled album rounded o ... More >>

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 a ... More >>

The Game

Julox

Catfish, Shrimp-n-French Fries
Ugly Azz Entertainment