Jan
07

Sip Your Cognac, Let’s All Wash This Money Through the Laundromat

During my interviews with Gibbs for the 2009 LA Weekly story, the legend of “It’s all Cognac” was repeatedly bandied about. It was the one song that he and his team decided to leave off Miseducation and Midwestgangsta,  the track that everyone thought had the most commercial viability and needed to be saved for the… Continue reading »

Jan
07

Douglas Martin’s Dirty Shoes: Ducktails’ Left-Turn

Douglas Martin’s rap name is Gyro Gearloose. Over the course of the past three years or so, Real Estate guitarist and all-around chill Jersey bro, Matthew Mondanile, has been recording music under the name Ducktails, much to the delight of experimental-pop fans who spent entire days of their childhood with dreams of swimming in a… Continue reading »

Jan
06

Getting Frosty with Boosie & Webbie

Rappers, you have 359 days to top this album cover. Technically, Webbie’s 2 dropped quietly over Xmas to a muted response. Like all things Trill related, the audience isn’t Internet-centric. And like all things pertaining to the Baton Rouge rappers, it’s too long, filled with tracks you might have heard prior, and obnoxious DJ drops.… Continue reading »

Jan
06

Sach O – DJ Hosta in the Mix

Sach O is bangin’ like a Ron G tape. I try to avoid live show reviews around here. In the wise words of Disco Vietnam, there’s really only two possible reactions to a show one didn’t attend: “It rocked? Damn…” and “It sucked? Damn…” That goes double for DJ-run club nights where the vibe, atmosphere… Continue reading »

Jan
06

Open Mike Eagle’s “Pissy Transmission”

If I were hare-brained enough to conceive a feature comparing rappers to actors (and I’m not convinced that I’m not), Mike Eagle would be Steve Buscemi. Granted, this is a self-fulfilling prophecy as Eagle’s been open about his ardor for Nucky Johnson since before he owned the Boardwalk. Both are pigeonholed into the indie realm… Continue reading »

Jan
06

I Can’t Go To Sleep: Ghostface Killah’s “Apollo Kids”

Doc Zeus never had baked alaskan. Age is not a valued commodity in the dog-eat-dog world of professional rapping. Aside from the young pups clamoring to rip the necrotic, fleshy careers of the flabby and sick, age often robs rappers of that certain youthful couldn’t-give-a-fuck attitude that made us love our most esteemed veterans in… Continue reading »

Jan
05

Adele-”Rolling in the Deep” (Jamie xx Shuffle)

The other day, Sach extemporaneously remarked that dubstep and UK funky are really just the British variant of urban music, and tracks like this make the connection clear. Out of the Lily Allen, Duffy, and Amy Winehouse hysteria that was 2007, it’s surprising that Adele is the one who seems the best bet for enduring… Continue reading »

Jan
05

God’s Son

“The real old blues don’t call for no jumping…They can name it the blues, but that ain’t the blues. The blues is just by itself. When you’re lonesome and worried and don’t know what to do…You wants to see them, wonder where they at, wonder where they’re going. Wonder why they ain’t seeing me. I… Continue reading »

Jan
05

I Can’t Go To Sleep: Curly Castro – “Phatman and Likkle bwoy”

Undeservedly slept-on hip-hop albums inevitably fall into several categories. The rapper may lack the funds to employ a good publicist, the contacts to land high-profile guest appearance, and occasionally, it boils down to a bad name (see also: Preemo). Curly Castro’s first major mixtape was waylaid by all three, a mildly surprising development considering the… Continue reading »

Jan
05

I Can’t Go To Sleep: Mulatu Astatke – Mulatu Steps Ahead

With Strut’s tireless recent focus on Mulatu Astatke’s rich musical past, it was almost a relief earlier this year when the label unleashed a record of new material from the Ethio-jazz master. To be honest, the guy’s written music enough for two lifetimes – it would be easy for him to coast – but as… Continue reading »

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