Aug
23

Ball Caps, Beats, & Backpacks: Rock the Bells

Photos by Henry Choi The jokes are obvious. Gerontollapalooza was my best attempt. Nor are they necessarily unwarranted. When the only 80s baby on the bill is Wiz Khalifa, it doesn’t inspire confidence in the temperature of hip-hop. Had Guerilla Union wanted to they could’ve assembled a powerhouse undercard of Gibbs, Pill, Danny Brown, Blu,… Continue reading »

Aug
23

Camu Tao & The King of Hearts

King of Hearts is the unfinished album left behind by deceased Def Jux artist, Camu Tao. It’s sprawling and messy–it toys with about a half-dozen genres and songs range from fragments to polished gems. It’s often half-baked, it’s often great, it’s everything but boring. I wrestle with it over at Pop & Hiss, with more… Continue reading »

Aug
23

Black Milk ft. Royce Da 5’9 & Elzhi-”Deadly Medley”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOMldtCNyZ0 This is good but slightly underwhelming. Maybe I’ve been listening to too much Danny Brown, but I expect more from these three.  Things I learned from this song: Royce the 5’9 is a Jeremy Piven fan, he hangs out at independent coffee shops, and he is in the best shape of his life–lyrically. I… Continue reading »

Aug
23

Kendrick Lamar-”Ignorance is Bliss”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00cr3g6wCG0 The Rawse continues to cultivate fantasies about his black mafia family. Kendrick Lamar and his hippes attempt to reenact the Black Mafia Life. It’s a draw. More rappers should drop two minute-long videos with nothing but funerals, 40s, and no hooks. Remember West Coast rappers: you are not writing songs for the pop charts… Continue reading »

Aug
23

The Old Testament: Wipers- Youth of America

  Douglas Martin knows a thing or two about Northwest punk. However, he saves his true genius for the region’s vast array of Thai restaurants. Do you know a native of the Pacific-Northwest? Ask them to name the greatest Northwest band of all-time. If they say Nirvana, they only listen to the radio. If they… Continue reading »

Aug
22

Nosaj Thing-Coat of Arms Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1rmi9Ah9g8 In the way that The Chronic will always get more love than Doggystyle, though I find the latter slightly superior, Cosmogramma will always be ranked above Drift. Jason Chung is still cranking out video’s from last year’s best album. I am contractually mandated to post. Even on Sunday. Via the Giant. Download:  MP3: Pollyn-”Other… Continue reading »

Aug
20

Joker on Mary Anne Hobbs

A stream of Joker’s 45-minute “Ghetto Clang” mix has been circulating on the Internet, but you don’t want a stream, you want to be free to download the entire mix and get loaded. It is Friday and hopefully you ain’t got nothing to do.  And Joker’s electrocution G-funk is a measured and sane response to… Continue reading »

Aug
20

Pollyn-”Other Side (Nosaj Thing Remix)”

Brevity is in today because it is a Friday in August and that’s reason enough. At Pop & Hiss, I do the Q&A treatment with Adam Weissman of Pollyn, who are rapidly becoming my favorite new LA band that employs guitars (on occasion). The harvest is a remix of “Other Side,” done by Nosaj Thing,… Continue reading »

Aug
19

Not a Martian or a Human, I’m a Hybrid

Danny Brown “The Hybrid” from FWMJ on Vimeo. Danny Brown rocking the Cincinnati Reds jersey, dissing Les Nubians, doing what’s necessary to earn the top spot on my favorite rapper’s list. For the first time in a decade, I can be proud of the Redlegs, who are now three up in the Central and scored… Continue reading »

Aug
19

Smoke DZA, Curren$y & The Return of the Weed Anthem

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DM580ippHg The weed anthem never really abandoned us. Before Kush and Orange Juice, rap and marijuana went together like chronic and pineapple orange juice. But for the latter half of the 2000s, its importance was secondary to songs about what the Clipse claimed they weren’t part of: the cocaine rap genre. No one was fooled.… Continue reading »

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