Matthews On Mathers is a new feature where Aaron Matthews will reevaluate the Eminem discography within the context of Marshall’s current status as parent-approved pop star. We begin where it began for most people – Eminem’s first major label record. “My Name Is” hasn’t aged well, but it’s a good place to start. Eminem’s first […]

Aaron Matthews appreciates Ghostface, Ghostpoet, and is available for ghost writing (for the right price). For those unacquainted with the man known as Ghostpoet, he’s like a more reflective, melancholy Streets, or like Roots Manuva off a few downers. Coming only a few months removed from his The Sound of Strangers EP, Peanut Butter Blues […]

The trio. Folk musicians from Rwanda recorded Kigali in one afternoon. Continuing the tradition of Harry Smith’s local folk music anthologies, this is salvage culture; the instinct to preserve traditional music before it disappeared. Given the circumstances which name, name and name survived, there’s a good chance we would never have been able to hear […]

Aaron Matthews gets seven snuffleupagus. All-Star started his rap career with a largely fruitless run at Cash Money, with a genuine hit that was never capitalized on. The Nashville rapper, rechristened Starlito has kept his buzz going with a ridiculously prolific run of mixtapes, culminating in this record: a concise collaborative album with DJ Burn […]

Aaron Matthews is not pictured in this photo. Cotton Jones make music to brood and sip whiskey to. Michael Nau’s honeyed, slightly raspy croon wraps around woozy organs and guitar strums like an old scarf, working a wonderful chemistry with the sweet coo of Whitney McGraw. Tall Hours channels the druggy haze and odd chemistry […]

From being Guinness certified as the world’s fastest rapper in ’92, to pioneering solo albums and working with Do Or Die and Kanye West, Twista has held Chicago down for two decades. I sat down with Mr. Tung Twista to talk Chicago music, fast rap techniques and his fondness for pacing. (Twista does a fair […]

Aaron Matthews is in that Tonka, the color of Willy Wonka.  Kanye is not an innovator. He’s a synthesizer. A lot of the ideas on this new album appeared to some degree in his earlier work: the layered synths on Graduation, his beats for Jay, Drake, and Rawse, the auto-tuned harmonies on “Jesus Walks,” and […]

Aaron Matthews left in the morning. He took a suitcase without warning. As social networks and gadgets streamline and isolate our lives more than ever, Ghostpoet brilliantly conveys those small realizations that hit us when we chose to engage with the world around us. The Coventry emcee, born Obaro Ejimiwe has a knack for finding […]

Aaron Matthews doesn’t discriminate, he regulates every shade of that…. Tony Allen had a lot on his mind in 1979. Recorded shortly after his split with Fela Kuti, he recorded his first solo album with a crack band comprised of expatriate Africa ‘70 players. No Discrimination imagines an even more global reach for afrobeat– it […]

Aaron Matthews is coming for you, David Gregory. Following Jeff’s comprehensive talk with Motown’s golden boy, what follows is an interview with some of the producers responsible for The Hybrid’s cohesive sound. Denmark Vessey and Quelle (formerly of Wasted Youth) comprise the Chicago/Detroit group Crown Nation, and along with Quelle’s little brother Mosel, are collectively […]