May
19

Sach O: Kodwo Eshun – More Brilliant than the Sun – Adventures in Sonic Fiction

Sach O can review books too. This one’s out of print but a quick Google search should help ya… Sometimes, it’s nice to be wrong. And in many ways, Kodwo Eshun’s More Brilliant than the Sun – Adventures in Sonic Fiction was as wrong as possible. A loving testament to the possibilities of futuristic Black… Continue reading »

Apr
22

Luke For Mayor – By Ben Westhoff, Author of “Dirty South”

Ben Westhoff belongs to a dwindling breed. He’s a rap journalist, a real one, one who doesn’t relay on armchair assumptions or specious Wikitruths. He’ll pop up out the cereal and pester Luke Campbell to take him to a sub-Mason Dixon Mexican restaurant where the tequila is strong, the air thick and the girls thicker.… Continue reading »

Feb
22

Hip Hop: A Cultural Odyssey

Cue the awkward self-promotional shuffle. Last summer, in addition to politicking with Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and the Gorton’s Fisherman, I was holed up in my lampless cavern working in secret(e) on eight essays for the recently released, Hip Hop: A Cultural Odyssey.  My articles included pieces on Wu-Tang, 2Pac, Dre, Eminem, Kool… Continue reading »

Sep
22

Wrecked Beaches and Skylight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8VkXJ2E7Ns Dave Tompkins says the best way to prepare for a vocoder reading in L.A. is by listening to Eazy E interview Roger Troutman on Ruthless Radio. Sage advice. Once upon a talkbox, 92.3, The Beat, offered Eric Wright his own program, a wonderful quagmire that forced him to wrestle with withholding  “bitch” and “motherfucker”… Continue reading »

Nov
08

Book Review: Hip-Hop Revolution: The Culture and Politics of Rap by Jeffrey O.G. Ogbar

Robert Charette, the author of this review, is a senior at Penn St. University. For an assignment in his Literature Public Sphere class, he was told to review a book and have it  published somewhere “where someone decides whether or not something or not is published.” For some foolhardy reason, Robert requested that The Passion… Continue reading »