Jay Electronica may have been the obvious choice as 2009’s “rapper that everyone could agree on,” but the only other outfit as unanimously lauded was Washington D.C.’s Diamond District, a super-group of sorts formed from two of the DMV’s best rappers (X.O. and yU) and arguably its best producer (Oddisee.) While In the Ruff may […]

Edan the DJ make Fast-Rap and Funky Drummer mixtapes. Edan the rapper make Prince Paul, LL Cool, and The Hollies play nice. Jewish critical cabal say, “Beauty and The Beat better than The Go-Gos.”  Edan release Echo Party. We Like Very Much. Edan talk to Passion of the Weiss from Brooklyn Flea Market. Edan purchase […]

Had Blockhead chased trends or devised a corny back-story to match his noirish smoked-out instrumental hip-hop, it’s likely that he would’ve garnered more acclaim and media attention. But that’s not what the New York City producer is about. With a no bullshit approach and a caustic wit, the man born Tony Simon has racked up […]

Parts of this interview originally ran last Friday at Pop & Hiss. Words from the Genius. How did you end up collaborating with The Black Lips and King Khan? Originally, it came about through my manager Heathcliff [Berru]. The bands were fans of Wu-Tang and I and we decided to perform together. It worked out […]

Let’s be honest, a significant portion of the purple/wonky/whatever tunes–even the exceptional ones–lack personality. Enter Rudi Zygadlo, yet another of the Scottish-bred beat contingent, who have spent the last year and change convincing the seven Americans paying attention that Glasgow is far more than the sum of Belle & Sebastian, Franz Ferdinand, and cheap stereotypes […]

Parts of this interview originally appeared in my Pop and Hiss article on Wale.  More on Attention Deficit tomorrow, maybe.  So judging from the title of Attention Deficit, its wide-ranging sound, and interviews that you’ve given, it seems like it’s your commentary on the fragmented nature of the Internet world, with a million blogs, twitters, […]

When he’s not cooking up something marvelous in the lab, Disco Vietnam drops basic instructions before leaving earth via Twitter.  Three minutes after our interview with Austin-based producer’s Eli Elkin, AKA Memory Man, a tweet appeared on Twitter (as they are wont to do) from the Chef himself. @RAEKWONICEWATER Ayo foreal i dont know who […]

As Margaret Wappler aptly asserted, “the dirty little secret to ‘The Girls’ Guide to Rocking’ — a book by music scribe Jessica Hopper, ostensibly for teen girls — is that as a grown-up man or woman, you will learn something from every single page of this guide.” Real talk, but unsurprising to anyone familiar with […]

Interview starts with a perfunctory, “how are you doing,” and segues into: Quik: Man, I’m feeling great. We just finishing up lunch—drinking these Italian beers, you ever had a Menabrea. It’s like a cross between an Amber and a coffee-colored ale. We Patron heads so usually don’t drink much beer, but we feeling great. How […]

  There’s something sad about watching a once-great group sing old songs because nobody wants to hear the new ones.  Except The Pharcyde don’t have new ones, even though they’ve been “reunited” since last year’s Rock the Bells–which means that their performance at at the Santa Monica Pier last Friday was solely to cash a […]