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…

Pries

The Lonely Kid Show, the latest effort from Pries, has four acts, starting with the song “Curtains,” which kicks off with a slowed melody straight from the circus and leads into Pries’s dropping some introspective rhymes about his rise to fame from sleeping on the streets. For the most part,…

Public Enemy at the Ogden Theatre, 12/8/12

PUBLIC ENEMY @ OGDEN THEATRE| 2/4/12 Flava Flav was in top form last night at the Ogden Theatre, from hamming it up informing everybody that Manny Pacquaio got knocked out in the sixth round to sharing the story of how he came to wearing the ever-present iconic clock around his…

Getting stoned with MU$A

Our state recently made history by voting to legalize marijuana for recreational use. In honor of this momentous occasion — and while the specific legalities are being ironed out with the feds — we thought we’d take a few minutes to catch up with various members of our musical community,…

Dom Kennedy at Larimer Lounge, 12/03/12

DOM KENNEDY @ LARIMER LOUNGE |12/03/12 Dom Kennedy hit the stage to a packed house at the Larimer Lounge last night, and, riding a wave of nostalgia, he urged, “If you’re a ’90’s baby, put ya hands up.” Rocking a fitted Dodgers hat and Stanford hoodie and backed by his…

H*Wood celebrates a new release with family and friends

Brandon and Collin Bordeaux have been making music together since they were kids. The two brothers, better known in local hip-hop circles as H*Wood and Kid Vegas, respectively, act as each other’s business partner, musical critic, marketing director and confidant. Brandon, who’s returned home after four years in Los Angeles,…

Getting stoned with Mr. Midas

Our state recently made history by voting to legalize marijuana for recreational use. In honor of this momentous occasion — and while the specific legalities are being ironed out with the feds — we thought we’d take a few minutes to catch up with various members of our musical community,…

Tonic Alize

Paper 2012 is music made for a niche within a niche. The Latino hip-hop movement is often overlooked, but Tonic Alize’s star-studded lineup and radio-friendly production make it hard to ignore. With features from Lil Flip, Do or Die, Amanda Perez, Lil Rob, MC Magic, Brown Boy and Baby Bash,…

Kung Fu Vampire sinks fangs into the rap game

Kung Fu Vampire brings its blood-curdling hip-hop to the Mile High City just in time for Halloween. Formed over a decade ago, the San Jose-based act is lead by the group’s namesake, who’s ferocious, rapid-fire rhymes drive the outfit’s hard-hitting hip-hop, which is delivered with live drums of Chris Paxton…

Hopsin at Cervantes’, 10/18/12

HOPSIN @ CERVANTES’ MASTERPIECE BALLROOM | 10/18/12 If there was a reoccurring theme last night at Cervantes’, it was a pronounced disdain for the recording industry. Spitting in the eye of the industry with bravado, with each artist on the Funk Volume Tour boasting about their independent status, the night…

Dampie displays 75 years of hemp culture in new show at HoodLab

Denver has become the leading destination for all things related to the marijuana industry, especially now that Colorado sits on the precipice of a decriminalization law with Amendment 64, and a cutting-edge show by Dampie, a progressive artist who specializes in hemp-culture art, just opened at HoodLab, the gallery located…

Rockie Fresh at the Marquis Theater, 10/9/12

ROCKIE FRESH @ MARQUIS THEATER | 10/9/12 Rockie Fresh, Maybach Music Group’s newest member, took the stage at the Marquis Theater last night wearing all black and several gold chains before rocking the small crowd. His energy was upbeat after spending almost a month up in the western slope of…

MC Lyte questions the current state of hip-hop

Last night at Auraria, MC Lyte shared her views on the current state of hip-hop, a broad range of topics ranging from the diminishing role of females to the dwindling voice of hip-hop overall and its lackluster effectiveness to her personal triumphs and downfalls. With style and grace, she left…

MC Lyte and Crazy Legs visit Auraria this week

Hip-hop and it still don’t stop. This afternoon at 1 p.m., the inaugural Hip-Hop Legacy Literacy Conference kicks off with a screening of Ice-T’s Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap documentary in the St. Cajetan’s building on Auraria, and, tomorrow, the Sankofa Lecture Series welcomes its fall keynote speaker,…