Every now and then, an album is released that is so bizarre, you have to seriously wonder if it’s real or a joke. The jury’s still out on Pyramids, Delux’s latest offering, but the latter seems the more likely bet. Pyramids finds Delux in the midst of churning out a…
STONES THROW PARTY at CITY HALL | 08.26.11Stones Throw Anniversary party! Anniversary celebrations are typically fancy and more merry than Christmas. The good folks from Stones Throw Records who came out to Denver to rock with the crowd — Mayer Hawthorne (as DJ Haircut), Peter Butter Wolf, Strong Arm Steady,…
YOUNG JEEZY at OGDEN THEATRE | 8.23.11The last time Young Jeezy roared through the Mile High City with that unmistakable voice and charming face was for a cameo during Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 tour at the Pepsi Center. Last night for the Denver leg of the TM103 tour at The Ogden…
Girls! Girls! Girls! A wise man once said, “put ya number on this paper cause I would love to date ya, and free drinks help the cause!” … or something like that. Anywho, it looks like if you’re of the female persuasion, on virtually any day of the week, you…
On Almost Famous, Anxious zips through his rhymes — battle-rap, tempo-driven joints mostly about his hustle and his constant striving to be the best — with notable ease, over stuttered beats with bass-heavy overtones. The MC almost out-raps himself on tracks like “Rocket Science” and “Put It in the Air,”…
In a celebration of fifteen years of music, Stones Throw Records is bringing its crew to Denver for what will most definitely be a party. Stones Throw, founded by Peanut Butter Wolf in 1996, is the quintessential underground label, with a roster filled with promising and diverse talent. Known for…
Kreayshawn versus Rick Ross, part deux: So last week, Kreayshawn — the rowdy, door-knocker earring wearing, n-bomb dropping, pill-pushing, white-girl rapper from Oakland, who talks a lot of a smack and proclaims to back it up with the swag oozing from her ovaries — was taken to task for a…
Young this, Lil’ that, MC whoever. In hip-hop, the moniker often packs as much punch as the artist’s lyrics. Take Jay-Z, (Sdot, Jigga, Hov) or any member of the Wu-Tang Clan (Ghostface Killah: Tony Starks, Wally Champ, Iron Man). Despite over-use (and various spellings) of “Young,” all prefixes are not…
Lalah Hathaway is the daughter of Donny Hathaway, one of the pioneers of soul music. While she has lived her whole life in the shadow of her famous father, the songstress has enjoyed more than two decades in the music business, based on her reputation for putting out classic and timeless…
Techo Shaw, an MC with a voice as booming as the enthusiastic rhymes he spits, gets in where he fits in with this club-ready joint. Whether for the hardline 808 bass drop on the ode to ladies’ shoeware (“Stilletos”) or the flirty, sexy flow of “Press Replay,” almost all of the tracks…
There is probably no voice in hip-hop more distinctive than Young Jeezy’s. Once he exploded onto the scene with his brand of “cocaine rap,” inspired by very real life experiences, he quickly rose to the top of the charts with his gravelly, raspy voice. Those looking for beats, rhymes and life need…
Fresh Breath Committee has undergone some major changes this summer. From MCs changing their monikers to breaking new members, the Committee is hard at work on new music and molding the brand-new crew for the rap takeover. We caught up with the guys for the rundown…
Mark your calendar: On Labor Day weekend, 8Ball & MJG, the legendary Tennessee ‘hood rap aficionados, are set rock Casselmans on Sunday, September 4, with cast of locals that includes Fresh Breath Committee, Young Doe, Rockie, Hynpautic, King Teff and Johnny Rocket…
Slam poetry is to the literary world what hip-hop music is to jazz — a progression of talent and a revolutionary outlet. Denver is lucky to boast of two solid teams that compete nationally. Both Slam Nuba and the Denver Mercury Cafe Poetry Slam Team advanced to the semi-finals last…
Ah, yes, each week we bring you the latest and greatest in the world of local hip-hop and rap music. We’re all across the map with this installment of That’s a Rap, bringing you a sexy freestyle from singer Bmore, a beautifully crafted joint from Zome of Diamond Boiz, a…
The 2011 DMC World Championship went down over the weekend at Santos’ Party House in New York City, and after having dominated the U.S. finals last year with nearly half of the competitors hailing from our fine state, we can now officially say that this year’s United States DMC champion…
Oh, MTV. There has been no greater platform for fuckery’s finest and the brilliance of unfiltered musician craziness than Music Television’s many segments. Whether drunken freestyles, acceptance speech interruptions, or classic moments in live performance, hip-hop rightfully lived and thrived right in the heart of the MTV studios. We’ve got…
As you know, MTV turned thirty this week, and man, oh man, what a three decades it’s been. No matter who you are, or what side of the music spectrum you represent, the influence of Music Television on popular culture cannot be denied. This is true especially in the development…
This week in rap, we have many dimensions of hip-hop for you. From Mcbig House and Gyp’s stripped down video for “Prize” to Pries’s more introspective take on Goapele’s “Closer” titled “Closer to Nothing” to Solomon Words ode to an old school line with “Can I Kick It.”…
Update (7/25/11): Full video added below in its entirety. Taking one of the most compelling cuts from his album The Ugly Truth, Mane Rok enlisted a small army to help him create a video for the song “This One’s,” a track dealing with the timely and incendiary topic of police…
A Tribe Called Quest is a group that will forever go down as one of the greatest hip-hop groups of all time. And its album, The Low End Theory, is among the game’s best and most influential albums. As we approach the twenty-year anniversary of its release, DJ Mu$a is…
En Stereo, the brainchild of Mane Rok and Prime Element producer Es-Nine, is the quintessential tribute to the DJ/MC combination. Mane’s writing is determined, and his execution on each track is classic, reminiscent of the rapping style that birthed hip-hop. Es-Nine, who crafted all the beats, exhibits an especially strong…
