Harold Stallworth lives close enough to the Pentagon to say he lives in the Pentagon. He lays claim to the largest collection of Queensbridge vinyl in the continental United States. His writing has been published by Washington City Paper, The Bookends Review, WAMU 88.5’s Bandwidth and Passion of the Weiss, among others. Occasionally, he'll share his adventures in beer and shellfish on any number of quasi-defunct social media accounts. He’s currently writing a short story about the perils of a clinically depressed club bouncer.
Currently Listening:
Miguel - Wildheart
George Benson - Space
Tragedy Khadafi - Against All Odds
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Currently Watching:
Adina Howard 20: A Story of Sexual Liberation
True Detective
Ballers
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Currently Reading:
Jabari Asim - Only The Strong| Backyard Band Covers The Firm’s “Affirmative Action” | September 24, 2013 |
Harold Stallworth is washing money at the Laundromat. Numbers may not outright fib, but more often than not they only tell half the story. Soundscan can’t explain why Meek Mill is far more likely to be heard blaring in god-awful D.C. traffic than most of his RIAA-certified contemporaries. The closest thing we have to a […]
| Based Odyssey, 2013 | September 18, 2013 |
Harold Stallworth wrote this after reading a green energy book. It’s been an unusually quiet 9-month stretch for Lil B. He’s currently on pace to release 100-odd songs by year’s end. In 2012 he recorded at least 17 mixtapes, several featuring upwards of three dozen tracks. While his productivity has nose dived into mortal territory, […]
| Zaytoven, Guwop and the Case of the Stolen Ice Cream Cone | September 16, 2013 |
Harold Stallworth looks like PJ Brown. Chalk it up to our collective pessimism for the fate of humanity or John of Patmos’ enduring delusions, but the future has long been typecast as an apocalyptic clusterfuck. At the moment, no one is more adept at soundtracking the future than Zaytoven. His instrumental for Gucci Mane’s “Stealing” […]
| The Secret History of North Carolina’s Bomm Sheltuh | August 22, 2013 |
Harold Stallworth is throwing rappers in the Boston Crab. J Cole is Fayetteville, NC’s quintessential hip-hop success story. But a full decade before his raspy voice blared from black college dorms across the country, an obscure rap duo known as Bomm Sheltuh was projected to be his hometown’s vessel for national exposure on the music […]
| Everyday is (Shy) Glizzy Day | August 8, 2013 |
Harold Stallworth admires Shy Glizzy’s beard. Earlier this summer, despite a sweltering 97-degree forecast, hundreds of teenagers convened on the 200th block of 37th Street—just two miles east of the Redskins’ old stomping grounds, RFK Stadium—in honor of Shy Glizzy’s 2nd annual Glizzy Day. The term Glizzy is as malleable as a damp pretzel. It […]
| Question in the Form of An Answer: An Interview with AZ | June 13, 2013 |
After a nearly four-year hiatus, AZ is finally gearing up to release his ninth studio album, tentatively titled “Doe or Die II.” His impact on the ever-evolving world of rap is difficult to quantify by hard statistics and direct influence. Despite never being the brightest star or biggest draw, even within his own freakishly talented […]
Harold Stallworth never mixed vodka and milk. When Havoc and Prodigy first met one another in the halls of Manhattan’s esteemed High School of Art & Design, they probably never imagined one day entertaining a nationwide 20th anniversary tour. After all, by 1992 many of their biggest musical influences, like Run DMC and Jungle Brothers, […]
| H-Town: The Lost Tapes of Birdman & Rick Ross | May 30, 2013 |
Harold Stallworth is a stark advocate of Rick Ross’ three-point plan. The notion of “lost tapes” isn’t exclusive to rap music. Curating previously unreleased works of recorded media is a concept long adopted by everyone from John Lennon to Animal Planet to NASA scientists. But in hip-hop, the benchmark for such an endeavor will always […]
| Question in the Form on an Answer: Tracey Lee | May 14, 2013 |
Despite having spent most of his formative years far beyond the Capital Beltway, Tracey Lee’s name rings out in Washington, D.C. Like thousands of other transplants, the city welcomed him with open arms, functioning as a springboard for an admirable career and livelihood. His 1997 debut single, “The Theme (It’s Party Time),” is still one […]
| A Royal Disappointment: Slick Rick Live | March 21, 2013 |
Harold Stallworth curbs your enthusiasm. For all the technological advancements that have altered the ways in which musicians have earned their keep over the last three decades, one constant has remained: Rappers, by in large, still generate the bulk of their income via live performances. Over the last few years, Freddie Gibbs, Big Krit and […]
