Aug
12

Album Review: Jay-Z & Kanye West – “Watch the Throne”

Renato Pagnani writes his curses in Times New Roman. Watch the Throne is the product of two artists that have nothing left to do but buy more 16th-century Persian rugs and continue trying to acquire the very goblet that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. Both Jay-Z and Kanye West are now part of… Continue reading »

Mar
23

The Computers, Blues, and Bromides of The Streets

Renato Pagnani gets computers puting. At the end of 2009, The Guardian, one of England’s biggest newspapers, published their list of the decade’s best albums. Among those included on the (naturally) UK-heavy list were Radiohead’s dystopic masterpiece Kid A, Burial’s ghostly Untrue, and Funeral from recent Grammy darlings, Arcade Fire.  What topped the list? In… Continue reading »

Jan
18

I Can’t Go To Sleep: E-40 – “Revenue Retrievin’ (Night Shift)”

“The kind of career I’m having at this age defies logic,” says E-40 on Revenue Retrievin’ (Night Shift), but the Bay area legend’s continued relevance in a genre that places youth at a premium isn’t hard to explain. Surround yourself with talented youngsters like the Jacka and Laroo to keep you honest, rap over hyphy… Continue reading »

Dec
02

The Curren$y Boom

Renato Pagnani likes it when people talk fast over 4/4 beats.  Over the last several years, frequent collaborators Curren$y and Wiz Khalifa have had reasonably similar career trajectories. Both excel at making sleepy stoner jams equally indebted to Lil Wayne and Devin the Dude. Both have seen massive success in 2010 after bubbling for several… Continue reading »

Oct
08

Ninja Tune Week: Kid Koala’s “Some of My Best Friends are DJs”

Renato Pagnani is now Diving off Docks. One of the great things about Ninja Tune is that they give guys like Kid Koala a viable platform. Let’s face it, DJ albums are a hard sell.  Demand-wise, they fall somewhere below instrumental hip-hop and above klezmer rap. Which isn’t to say that Kid Koala isn’t a… Continue reading »