I met Ka on a cold windy afternoon on 6th Ave in Manhattan, where he entrenched himself with a small quantity of CDs and vinyl under a storefront that was once Fat Beats NY. In another time this place was a Mecca for underground hip-hop, a venerable destination for both artists and listeners, an iconic […]

Alex Piveysky wears out external hard drives like turntable needles. 2011 was an intense year for rap music, both in quality and in pace. Noteworthy songs and albums poured in at a remarkable rate, often at the same time, enough to leave even the most attentive observer occasionally overwhelmed. Naturally, a few good things fell […]

Alex Piveysky steadily blogs here. The rest of the time, he answers to the bat symbol. Without hearing a single note, the album cover hooked me. It called out, like…uh, the bat signal. One of those moments when you know that you’ll love the album strictly off artwork. I was right too. Cue the platitudes […]