Evan Nabavian is a staff writer for Passion of the Weiss, contributing since 2011 when the powers that be blackballed him for slandering Lupe Fiasco (Lupe, if you’re reading this, I am so sorry). His distinctions include being cited by name in the Wikipedia article for “Ride” by Ciara and having his kitchen depict a crack den in a Freddie Gibbs video. In 2012, he was banned from S.O.B.’s in New York following an altercation where he questioned the tenets of real hip-hop. In 2014, he shared a Pulitzer for interviewing the ghost of Tim Dog. He’s @MooseXL on Twitter and his email is his name at gmail dot com.
Currently Listening:
Tanya Morgan - 12 Minutes at Karriem's
John Barry - Follow Me
Sam Hill - The Sam Hill Story
:$oviet:France: - :Garista:
Ca$h Out - Kitchens and Choppas
V/A - Weightless Vol. 1
Selda - Selda
V/A - Panorama (MP 74)
G. Zadj & J.-P. Decerf - Action
V/A - Synthetic Music (AV 4151)
Magical Ring - Light Flight / More and More
MoneyMakinNique x Johnny Cinco - The Extra EP
Jean-Pierre Decerf - Out Of The Way
J.P. Decerf / M. Baroty - Publipot
Epkitan - We Come From The Trees
Raekwon - We Wanna Thank You
François De Roubaix - Les Plus Belles Musiques De Films Vol 2
François De Roubaix - Les Plus Belles Musiques De Films Vol 3
Dorothy Ashby - Dorothy's Harp
Strict Face - Marble Isles
Roger Davy - Patchwork Orchestra 5
Philippe Besombes - Libra
Hydravion - Hydravion
Hyrdravion - Stratos Airlines
Besombes-Rizet - Pôle
Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes - No2
Ennio Morricone - Veruschka| ST 2 Lettaz and Block Beattaz Kiss the Sky | June 9, 2011 |
Evan Nabavian once kissed a girl named Skylar (no Grey). The city of Huntsville, Alabama has deviated from larger Southern rap trends with very clean, futuristic beats from producers like Block Beattaz and Bossman. G-Side, the city’s premier duo, has earned pockets of fans far and wide and they wear their stamped up passports on […]
| Video: Erykah Badu – “Out My Mind Just in Time” | June 7, 2011 |
OUT MY MIND JUST IN TIME from Creative Control on Vimeo. Evan Nabavian voided his conscious aura by stealing Talib Kweli’s Metro Card. Erykah Badu voided her conscious aura by working with Rick Ross, whose tattooed bosoms are burned on the insides of my eyelids thanks to the new Vibe. You can’t be a bohemian […]
| The Spaceman of Leimert Park: Free Co$$ | June 2, 2011 |
Evan Nabavian also enjoys the musical stylings of Bill “Spaceman” Lee. “Spaceman” is an indictment of wack rapping. But Co$$ belittles inferior MCs with a vainglorious exhibition rather than a crotchety lecture. A scion of the West Coast, Co$$ switches his flow often enough to make the nimble jazzy beat sound sluggish. He relies on […]
| T3: Rise of the Motor Freaks | May 27, 2011 |
For the right price, Evan Nabavian will mediate your rap squabbles. Slum Village is over. Dilla and Baatin are dead and T3 and Elzhi don’t get along anymore, thrusting the remaining members into the wide world of solo projects. Elzhi, revered for his laser-guided raps, dropped a pointless cover version of Illmatic this month. T3 […]
| Between a Roc and a Hard Place | May 23, 2011 |
Evan Nabavian keeps the 40 drop in the velour top. As much as I’d like to proclaim Marci of Hempstead the New York rap messiah, that’s not really the case. Roc Marciano gave NY an album to be proud of with Marcberg, but he didn’t spark a citywide resurgence of gritty rap sounds, nor does […]
| Kill Yelawolf’s Nightmares | May 18, 2011 |
Evan Nabavian dreams of electric beats. “Kill My Nightmare” begins with a scene from any slasher movie. There’s a steady heartbeat and a background of white noise. Then a woman’s scream, a wet stab, and the sound of the killer’s breath. The heartbeat slows. Yelawolf uses Friday, May 13th as an occasion for a cold, […]
| Live Nation: Burn One & Warrenjae | May 16, 2011 |
Evan Nabavian raps under the name Cash Warring. DJ Burn One caught my attention when he reworked “Duel of the Iron Mic” and put a twenty-something Cash Money signee named Starlito on it. Three songs into Renaissance Gangster, I realized that Burn was much more than an Atlanta producer/DJ who hosted Gucci Mane and Young […]
| Chuuwee & Lee Bannon – “It Was Great Here” | May 9, 2011 |
Evan Nabavian’s coverage extends from Oakland to Sactown, the Bay Area and back down. We associate strings with high society, swanky pianos and sentimental horns. I’m not sure if Pete Rock solely deserves credit for aligning saxophones with reminiscence or if the connection is deeper than that, but Lee Bannon uses a horn sample as […]
| Nas and the Partial Return of Escobar Season | May 3, 2011 |
Evan Nabavian stabbed Un and made you take the blame. Nas has officially returned from his Damian Marley-guided African pilgrimage with two new guest verses. Fortunately, all that spirituality hasn’t left Nas so high-minded (or high) that he can’t make songs called “Dog Shit” and “So Fresh.” You can’t really hail these two as the […]
| Madlib Medicine Show #9 – Welcome to Nittyville | April 25, 2011 |
Evan Nabavian discovered that airfare to Nittyville is $50 for every eighth of a mile. OJ Simpson was a harsh listen. For every minute of beats and rhymes, there was a minute and a half of blaxploitation dialog or stand-up comedy snippets. Sample porn. It’s like Madlib can’t resist sharing his latest crackly discovery. Madlib […]
