There were so many hip-hop shows and concerts this year, it was hard to keep count. The shows of note, though, were bangers and crowd pleasers and showcased dynamic artistry. With so many epic moments (?uestLove and Jazzy Jeff at Beta, anyone?), it was hard to narrow it down, but…
SALT-N-PEPA @ GOTHIC THEATRE | 12/17/11Salt-N-Pepa brought the noise last night at The Gothic Theatre for Jammin’ 101.5’s ‘Twas the Jam Before Christmas. The house was packed, and both Salt and Pepa looked amazing in bedazzled outfits and gold rope chains. The two took us down hip-hop memory lane with…
YONNAS ABRAHAM @ THEORY + PRACTICE | 12/16/11Yonnas Abraham unleashed the sex beast at Theory + Practice art gallery for the release of Sextape, and the display was spectacular. Yo unveiled the artwork for the project — steamy photography by Peter Bishop featuring the MC’s muse Cassie Nova — and…
FREDDIE GIBBS at CERVANTES’ | 12/14/11Freddie Gibbs, sans fellow headliner Fashawn, played to a sparse crowd at Cervantes’ Other Side last night. Hitting the stage in front of a crowd warmed up by Diamond Boiz, BLKHRTS and Platt and Beadebe, Gangsta Gibbs took to the stage wearing a white T-shirt,…
Dream Entertainment Group is taking over the 37th and 38th floors of the Pinnacle Club in the Grand Hyatt for the conglomerate’s New Year’s Eve celebrations. Featuring the sounds of Future Jazz Project, DJ Low Key, and DJ Ktone in several of the floor’s intricate ballrooms, organizers say this is…
Seven-piece Latin instrumental ensemble Debajo del Agua will be playing a show honoring the union between music and revolutionary movements at the Mercury Cafe on Friday, December 30. A collaboration with social-justice organizations like Guerilla Gardens, Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition and Cafe Cultura, the get-down is designed to celebrate solidarity…
On his debut, Karmarado, Karma delivers a trunk-knocking, street-pounding gangster project. The album showcases the MC’s flow as he tells stories on each track, bolstered by his whistling, grainy vocals. Shining most with frequent collaborators Foe and Haven the Great, Karma goes hardest on “Heat of the Night,” the most gangsta track…
Salt-N-Pepa, the first women to receive a rap Grammy (Best Rap Performance for “None of Your Business,” in 1995), are well known for their songs about empowerment, sexuality and light aggression. Emerging onto the scene in 1985, the ladies joined forces with DJ Spinderella and subsequently took the hip-hop game by…
“While I was busting the biggest nut in my life,” Yonnas Abraham recalls, “Esthero was singing about 10,000 dead babies.” Abraham is relating the experience of losing his virginity. His recollection of the event is so vivid that he can remember everything about that night, right down to the lighting…
The third annual 5280 Urban Music Awards went down last night at the Paramount Theatre, and while it took a second to get there, the vibe of the event was upbeat and enthusiastic. The place was crammed wall-to-wall with rappers, singers and people out to see and be seen. Kingdom…
Word on the street is the suits over at 30 Rock will now be censoring Questlove of the almighty Roots over that whole lyin’ ass bitch incident with Michelle Bachmann, in which Questo subversively played the intro of Fishbone’s “Lyin’ Ass Bitch” as the Republican presidential candidate made her entrance…
DJ Ktone brought together a variety of contributors for Left Lane Music vol. 1. The album is heavy with tracks from Denver artists like Anxious (for the smoker-friendly joint “Put It in the Air”) and Innerstate Ike (check him out alongside E-40 on the street love song “From the Soil,”…
Freddie Gibbs, the mixtape assassin from Gary, Indiana, is on the come-up. Signed to Young Jeezy’s Corporate Thugz Entertainment imprint, “Gangsta” Gibbs has a collection of underground street gems from projects like The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs, released after he was dropped from Interscope in 2009. Most impressively, Gibbs released…
The Solution, the Best of Denver award-winning club night hosted by DJ Low Key, Sounds Supreme, and DJ Lazy Eyez, is back and will take up a monthly residency at the Meadowlark for the city’s newest, hottest live music showcase. The premise of the party is to showcase a dope…
SEAN PAUL at CASSELMAN’S | 12/02/11Setting things off with joints like “Temperature,” “Get Busy” and “Like Glue,” Sean Paul turned Casselman’s into a Jamaican dance hall during his forty minute set. Dressed in all black, save for his gentleman’s tie, Sean Paul transported the entire place back to 2004…
“Party people! Party People! Can y’all get funky?” You already know what it is as soon as the first twinkling bells, crowd screams and intergalactic beat drops for Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force’s cult hit, “Planet Rock.” Get your ass to the nearest dance floor and do an old school…
Ah, yes, we love it when cats take it back to the old school. A team of Colorado’s dopest MCs, including Paul JR and Myke Charles from Fresh Breath Committee, Aja Black and Big Samir from the ReMINDers and A.V.I.U.S. from Prime Element, have done just that with their own…
Local rappers have been hard at work this week, releasing videos and songs about everything from love and unity to the military industrial complex and drunken nights — and we’ve even got a children’s choir! Page down for fresh hip-hop from Pries, Lokon with Spellbinder, Turner Jackson, Cavem Moetavation and…
Reggae-pop star Sean Paul will be in the Mile High City this Friday, turning Casselman’s Bar & Venue into the Jamaican dancehall at a FREE show. Famous for songs like, “Gimme the Light,” “We Be Burning,” and a slew of other dance floor hitters, Sean Paul is a rhythmic strong…
On Censored, Rockie’s latest release, he’s most impressive on tracks with production from Team Green Productions — cuts like “Return of the King,” a standout joint that finds Rockie spitting chest-beating lyrics and expressing a hometown loyalty. But he’s in top form throughout, transitioning easily from wall-thumping, bass-driven club tracks…
HOPSIN at THE BLUEBIRD THEATER | 11/25/11Hopsin is a rowdy young man from Los Angeles who is mad at everyone, from the wife of late rapper Eazy-E to Lupe Fiasco. Some, for good reason, others possibly for shock value. No matter, the crazy-eyed rapper stormed the stage at the Bluebird…
Have you noticed the influx of male R&B singers these days, particularly in the Mile High City? Adam Duncan, who just joined the A&M/Octone Records roster, is just one of many cats putting it down in Denver these days. Jon Shockness (Air Dubai), J.Carey, Devan Blake Jones, BMore and B.Blacc…
