Harold Stallworth’s pen name is Don Cartagena. At some point throughout their career, every rapper worth their salt cultivates a latin-tinged pseudonym: Escobar, Hovito, Champagne Papi. It’s a storied tradition. Shy Glizzy, arguably the most promising young talent Washington D.C.’s rap scene has to offer, becomes the latest to throw his hat into the ring […]

Harold Stallworth is a grown ass man.  O.C.’s collaborative EP with Ray West, Ray’s Café, qualifies as what the Passion of the Weiss staff affectionately calls “grown man rap.” In fact, it’s so grown-up that the Red Apples 45’s creative art director took care to spell it with a tilde. G.M.R. means a lot of different […]

Harold Stallworth would rather be rich than famous. As much as I enjoyed contributing to several 2013 year-end lists, blurb-season admittedly took a massive toll on my desire to write about music. But after a two-week hiatus, I’m ready to make up for lost time. Here’s a few notable rap songs I neglected to share […]

Harold Stallworth is aging gracefully. Last Friday evening, a dear friend was kind enough to offer me a spare ticket to a concert they were contracted to review. The Smoker’s Club Tour was hosted by The Fillmore, a 2,000-patron capacity theater located in downtown Silver Spring, Md., not far from my favorite cluster of record […]

Harold Stallworth freelances with his father’s features. It’s hard to fathom an existence without album intros. Imagine Stillmatic stripped of its triumphant preamble, The Chronic deprived of Snoop’s homoerotic taunts, or Fishscale launching directly into “Shakey Dog” before Ghostface has the chance to toil over Wu-Tang Clan’s fall from commercial grace. The lost intro from […]

Harold Stallworth would like to thank his connect. If I hadn’t already submitted my fall mixtape to upper management, I’d probably reserve my newfound obsession with go-go bands for the next round of seasonal compilations and offer up a collaborative history of Busta Rhymes and Q-Tip instead. “Thank You,” the lead single from Extinction Level […]

Harold Stallworth came to boogie. As a D.C. transplant and newcomer to the conga-driven sound of go-go, I’m certainly not qualified to encapsulate the genre’s last 40-odd years into a 63-minute playlist. So consider this mixtape to be a haphazard collection of odds and ends rather than a definitive canonization. I was introduced to jazz […]

Harold Stallworth is making informants get plastic surgery. Calling all Rick Ross loyalists: batten down the hatches and circle the Maybachs — trying times are before us. Florida’s greatest export since the winter-harvested tangelo appears to be on a downturn. In all likelihood, the quality of Mastermind, Ross’ sixth retail album tentatively due this holiday […]

Harold Stallworth refuses to be a bounce apprentice. Doo Wop will always be my personal favorite mixtape curator. He’s the missing link between DJ Clue and Kid Capri, priding himself on exclusives but never at the expense of a flawless mix. In his heyday, he would impose his will using well-timed, echoey voice-overs that always […]

Harold Stallworth has selective hearing. Kev Brown had one hell of a Christmas vacation. Last year, the hip-hop producer spent the better part of two months gallivanting around eastern Brazil, soaking up the warm tropical sun and programming beats featured on his latest instrumental album, Brazil Dedication. More than eight months removed from what Kev […]