T.I. (Rapper)

The fifty greatest rap groups of all time

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 >>

Fresh Colorado hip-hop from Chris Karns (formerly DJ Vajra), Lil Bad, Pries and J Dubb

Another week, another fresh batch of Colorado hip-hop. We've got a brand new mix from Chris Karns, who is retiring his DJ Vajra moniker. We've also got a new single from Pries, along with fresh cuts from Lil Bad and AP and J Dubb. Continue on to see what's good this week in local hip-hop. See also: ... More >>

The fifty best concert photos of winter

Winter is officially in the books. Spring is finally here, and we've got a whole new batch of shows to look forward to. Before we forge ahead, we thought we take a look back at all the shows we made it out to in the past few months and single out the best moments. Turns out, there were a quite a few ... More >>

The ten greatest southern rappers of all time

It took a long time for the south to be recognized as a major player in the hip-hop scene, and it still has a ways to go to be held in the same regard as the East and West Coasts, but with the emergence of a new breed of countrified rappers such as Big K.R.I.T., Future, Yelawolf and 2 Chainz (and ev ... More >>

The ten best hip-hop lyrics of 2012

1. 2 Chainz - Birthday Song "She got a big booty, so I call her Big Booty." Don't freak. We're just kidding. Every year, people say hip-hop is dead, but every year it keeps expanding -- commercially, sonically. thematically -- pretty much in every way imaginable. Although the radio may lead you to ... 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 >>

T.I. at 1STBANK Center, 12/15/12

T.I. / KS-107.5 JINGLE JAM @ 1STBANK CENTER | 12/15/12 After a bit of a wait, the lights dimmed. Screams of delight filled the 1STBANK Center, fighting for preeminence in a veritable bass-made earthquake. A booming, overpowering voice delivered a fiery sermon as the man of the evening finally took ... More >>

The ten best concerts this weekend: Dec. 14-16

It feels like we say this every week, and we probably do, but we're continually astounded by how good we have it here music wise. If you haven't noticed, this time of year, the number of touring acts decreases dramatically, generally in line with the music industry itself, which pretty much slows to ... More >>

Win tickets to see T.I. at 1STBANK on Saturday

Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head, T.I.'s brand new album doesn't hit until Tuesday, but there's a solid chance you'll get to hear at least part of the record, including "Hello," the new cut featuring Cee Lo that just dropped, at 1STBANK Center when T.I. headlines KS 107.5's Jingle Jam with Lupe Fiasco ... More >>

New shows: Disco Biscuits, Passion Pit at 1STBANK, the Walkmen at the Ogden Theatre

As reported yesterday, the Disco Biscuits are playing three shows in Colorado after the first of the year at the Boulder Theater, Ogden Theatre and 1STBANK Center. And while that's arguably the biggest concert announcement of the week, it's not the only one. After cancelling its co-headlining date w ... More >>

What's in your bag? Measuring tape, a sketchbook, and more!

More often than not, people who design fashion or work in clothing stores see the act of getting dressed as an art form, and they dress with passion. We stumbled upon one of those gifted people, Olivia Mclean, this week. Mclean manages the Buffalo Exchange boutique on 13th Avenue while designing her ... More >>

Cobraconda goes on Spring Break

Medical marijuana dispensary review and video: 420 Wellness on Alameda

I tried with 420 Wellness. I really did. I had heard good things about some of the shop's strains -- and one of them took second place at the High Times Medical Cannabis Cup last weekend. But in the end, my experience with the shop went up in flames along with the un-purged butane hash I bought ther ... More >>

Alert: SXSW coverage ahead

"What I want from each and every one of you is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area." -- Tommy Lee Jones, The Fugitive You don't have to spend much time at South By Southwest to know that all of the above building ... More >>

Michael Buble's Christmas raises the bar for all holiday tracks, plus a breakdown of the charts

It's going to be a holly, jolly Christmas with Michael Buble's new collection of holiday classics.​Michael Buble put out a killer Christmas record, and it could not have come at a better time. While the charts are currently flooded with dance-pop beats, synthesizers-laden hooks and auto-tuned ... More >>

Katy Perry's "Kathy" the latest rockstar alter-ego

Is that you, Katy Perry?​It's no secret Katy Perry has a wicked sense of comedic timing. Remember when her Sesame Street appearance didn't air and she donned a skin-tight Elmo t-shirt and bounced around on Saturday Night Live as Maureen the sixteen-year-old who just hit puberty (and hard)? No ... More >>

Air Dubai, T.I., Ebbets Field comp top local sellers in the Mile High City this week

​Air Dubai's Wonder Age knocked Elephant Revival's Break in the Clouds out of the top slot at Albums on the Hill, while both T.I. and the Live at Ebbets Field Vol. 4 comp moved back into the top slots at Independent Records and Twist & Shout for the week ending January 16. See the full breakd ... More >>

Hip-hop video wrap-up, Mr. Midas, Pries, Iman S and M6, Hypnautic and Sole

​The hip-hop scene has been incredibly busy these past few weeks churning out visual components to coincide with their individual projects. Don't miss Mr. Midas and his chartered plane on "Run My Town," a shirtless Pries in the snow on "I Don't Care," a pair of sparse cityscape clips from Iman ... More >>

T.I., Whiskey Blanket, Ebbets Field comp, Sufjan Stevens top local sellers

​After being on top at Albums on the Hill for a month, Nederland's Elephant Revival has vanished from the top ten. Whiskey Blanket now holds the top spot with its latest effort, No Object. Elsewhere, the Live at Ebbets Field Vol. 4 comp is back on top at Twist and Shot., T.I.'s number one at I ... More >>

Nicki Minaj, Elephant Revival, Mumford & Sons top sellers in the Mile High City this week

​For the fourth week in a row, Nederland's Elephant Revival claimed the top spot at Albums on the Hill with its latest effort, Break in the Clouds, while Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday knocked T.I. from the top spot at Independent Records for the week ending December 26. At Twist & Shout, meanwhile ... More >>

10 weirdest music news stories of 2010

​2010 has been an aggressively weird year in music news. It seemed like no matter where we turned musicians were saying and doing the strangest damn things. From decrying the most popular thing in the world to talking people off of buildings, it was a wacky year to report. There was so much we ... 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 >>

Five lyrics T.I. may have spit to convince suicidal man to step back from the ledge

In a audacious move yesterday, T.I. intervened and helped convince a suicidal man from leaping off a 22-story building in Atlanta that houses radio station V103. The, rapper also known as Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr., reportedly caught wind of the situation on the radio and phoned in to offer his h ... More >>

Frank E to contribute a track on the new Chris Brown album

​DJ Frank E's ascent continues. With a string of singles already under his belt, including tracks for Flo Rida, Plies, Justin Bieber, T.I. and Gym Class Heroes, it looks like the burgeoning homegown hitmaker is going to have a track on the Chris Brown's forthcoming album. In an exclusive inter ... More >>

OMG! Rusko's stepping into mainstream territory with his new album

Beside Rick Ross and Big Boi, we're all listening to completely different stuff 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 >>

Big Boi, the Roots, Rick Ross, FOE & Whygee dominate our playlists this week

Jason StoffBig Boi, shown here at this past weekend's Pitchfork Festival, dominated our 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?" So whether you're looking for recommendations, ... More >>

Despite the mountain of hype surrounding B.o.B., Lupe Fiasco proves this tour is still very much about him

Aaron ThackerayLupe Fiasco proves why he's the headliner. (Check out the slideshow for more pics from last night.)​ Lupe Fiasco • B.o.B. 04.29.10 | Ogden Theatre B.o.B. and Lupe Fiasco collaborated on "Past My Shades," which appears on the former's just released, soon to be number one albu ... More >>

B.o.B., Bop Skizzum, Tommy Metz and The Pirate Signal 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?" 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 >>

Did Big Boi reveal the first five singles off Sir Lucious Left Foot?

Last night, Big Boi and his new label Def Jam hosted a listening party for the long-awaited Sir Luscious Left Foot: Son of Chico Dusty. The main purpose of the party was to officially release the album's first single, "Shutterbugg," which, as you can hear above, is pretty great. But in the half-ho ... 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 >>

Frank E pens songs for Madonna

​How does one go from affable, unassuming club DJ to one of the hottest, most in-demand producers in the game in just under a year and half? Beats us. We're pretty sure, however, that Frank E can tell you a thing or about that sort of thing. After crafting hits for Flo-Rida, T.I. and Plies, homebo ... More >>

Broncos' free Invesco practice: Not exactly passing grades

Great idea for the Broncos to stage a free practice session at Invesco Field last night. Problem is, the event gave many more folks than those who visit training camp at Dove Valley -- more than 13,000, reportedly -- an opportunity to see just how unimpressive quarterback Kyle Orton looks thus fa ... More >>

Murs

Friday, May 29, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 303-830-8497.

Beyond Playlist: Green Day and more

Green Day 21st Century Breakdown (Reprise Records) The five years since the release of American Idiot, an album so strong that most critics didn't believe the Green Day crew had it in them, have only added to the burden of expectations for 21st Century Breakdown, as Billie Joe Armstrong and pals ... 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 >>

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 >>

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

T.I.

Atlantic

Friday Rap-Up: Scribble Jam, BET’s Rap City, Kanye West, T-Pain

Friday Rap-Up: D.O. The Fabulous Drifter, T.I., Common, Snoop Dogg

Friday Rap-Up: Frank E, Xzibit, 50 Cent, Slick Rick

Roc-A-Fellas

Are today’s rappers ballin’ as hard as they claim?

Critics' Picks for 2007

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

Best 2007 - Houston: Teeing Off with Scarface

T.I.

Wednesday, August 29, Coors Amphitheatre, 303-830-8497.

Slim 7

Giving back in a big way.

Club Scout

NBA All-Star Weekend

Destiny's Child

Destiny Fulfilled (Sony Urban Music/Columbia)

T.I.

Trap Muzik (Atlantic)