The last time we were at Club Dreams, the line was down the block, security was barking orders, DJ Topshelf was rocking the entire place and guys and girls alike were doing all they could to see and be seen. The scene at the official KS 1075 Summer Jam after…
SUMMER JAM XV with RICK ROSS @ COMFORT DENTAL | 6.8.12 Rick Ross is young, rich and famous; he’s an international player with so many hits under his belt they might account for his almost-sluggish performance last night at KS 1075’s Summer Jam XV. Don’t get us wrong — the…
Su Charles pulls you in with her voice, charm, and deep personal experiences. After an ill-fated stint on the latest season of American Idol, Charles was inspired and more determined than ever to make her dream of singing come true. Shortening her name to SuCh, the the endearing, Haitian-American songbird…
SuCh (aka Su Charles) uses her voice to stretch beyond the typical themes most songstresses explore. Tackling topics ranging from pregnancy to friendship to the earthquake in Haiti, SuCh comes across as deeply personal on Stretch Marks — almost distractingly so. The arrangements are melodic and become more succinct as…
Rick Ross exploded onto the scene as a huge presence, both in stature and lyrics. His deep, gruff voice chronicled ghetto life in Miami with lurid details of the cocaine game and the ways of a hustler. Having amassed crazy amounts of success with hits like “Hustlin'” and collaborative joints…
Flying Lotus swooped into Two AM Afterhours absolutely beaming after his set at Red Rocks on Saturday night and absolutely tore it down, setting a new precedence for incredible, wordlessly. He let the music do most of the talking without much toasting to the crowd from the microphone. In a…
A collaboration between Duane Taylor, Francois Baptiste and Alvin LaCabe of 3Deep and Kevin Kain Ent., Soiree is the brainchild of three of the city’s top promoters and Bar Standard’s latest Saturday night party. Judging from last week’s packed patio opening, the results thus far are impressive. The launch of…
SANTIGOLD @ OGDEN THEATRE | 5.29.12 Last night at the Ogden, there were horses and what looked like buffalo skins, elaborate umbrellas and a rhythm-perfect band dressed in…we don’t know what. There were striking red, blue and green lights, with plenty of space for Santigold to emerge, flanked by two…
Iman S. is back with Park Hill Logo 2, an ode to the streets that made him and cultivated his swagger. A long but listenable outing at twenty tracks, the album is drenched in “fly boy” lyrics and “you can’t fuck with me” attitude. On “Taking Over,” Iman shines with…
Line down the block? Check. Impeccably dressed security guards? Check. Booming music from two floors? Double check. Last night at 24K for the unofficial kick off of YOLO season, damn near everyone you know in Denver, plus some cats you’ve probably forgotten about, were lined up to get into Gold…
Meet Kajmir Royale. He lives in Colorado Springs, but his view is global, his perspective dynamic and charismatic. Taking a Kanye West approach to the game with a goal of making “popular music,” Royale is an MC/producer who’s hitting his stride and knows exactly where he’s going. Originally from New…
Last winter, Rockie released Censored, a project that gave the MC the chance to say everything that he didn’t get to say out of the gate: He talked about the bitches, the money and being a single father in a city where damn near everyone is a rapper. Amid the…
Kajmir Royale is not just an MC; he’s also a producer. His street mixtape, Heir to the Throne, features damn near every MC you love out of the city, including Rockie, AP and Mr. Midas, to name a few. The project is a mix of anthemic rhythms, hard-body rhymes and…
LUPE FIASCO @ CITY HALL AMPHITHEATRE | 5.17.12 See Also: Five things non-Lasers need to know about Lasers, Lupe Fiasco’s diehard fans Lupe Fiasco loves his fans, and clearly the feeling is mutual. The more he gave last night, the brighter his Lasers shone. The connection Fiasco has with his…
Update 5/17/12: Contest is over. Congrats to Jamaal Meezy Hinton and Stephanie Auld. Please shoot us an email for details on how to claim your tickets. Thanks to everybody for the entries! Lupe Fiasco is playing City Hall tonight. Maybe you consider yourself a fan. You might bump The Cool…
Donna Summer died this morning in Florida after succumbing to lung and breast cancer. Born on New Year’s Eve 1948, LaDonna Adrian Gaines was a trained traditional gospel singer who grew up in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. As Donna Summer, she went on to change the landscape of dance…
Curren$y has been getting high before it was cool to get high. The New Orleans rapper is releasing his second album this year. Yes, it’s only May, but The Stoned Immaculate is set for release in early June, and if you think he’s stopping now, you’re trippin’. Tonight, Curren$y and…
Crystal Lee is a fashion designer, seamstress, stylist and all-around bad ass. Shunning the corporate world in order to follow her passion — and avoid beige nylons — she is pursuing her love of fashion as a student at the Art Institute of Colorado. Her line of super-easy, fly and…
The crew from Ugly Azz Ent, which includes Julox, Lil Rip and Double O Purv, among others, has churned out a posse record in every sense of the word with Da Good Da Bad and Ugly. While the rhyme schemes and flows of these MCs aren’t necessarily impeccable, the simple…
Lupe Fiasco knows just how to incite the masses, whether it be through his politically charged lyrics or the convincing execution of his rhymes: When this man speaks, everyone listens up. Such is the case with his record Lasers, the culmination of a standoff between the MC and Atlantic Records,…
DRAKE @ COMFORT DENTAL AMPHITHEATRE | 05.14.12 Last night at Comfort Dental Amphitheatre, not only did Drake bring along a slew of his homeboys for The Club Paradise tour, he displayed mind-blowing artistry. Erudite and gorgeous, the Toronto MC charmed the entire place with his theatrics and gestures while his…
BLACK STAR @ CERVANTES’ | 05.11.12 The first strains of the Beastie Boys’ “No Sleep Til Brooklyn” started blaring through the speakers as Yasiin Bey shook himself onto the stage to thunderous screams of applause. Wielding an red old school “drop mike,” the Brooklyn MC fist pumped and enticed the…
