The best defense for liking a rap song is, it’s fun. Of course, fun is subjective. People have been trying to tell me that French Montana is fun, but I find his music as boring as watching grass groan. Neither Y.G. nor Joe Moses are about to dazzle anyone at any point with anything resembling […]

This was an inevitability. When rap routed its course into the world of the ratchet, it was only inevitable that R&B would soon follow. TY$ might have been the first to elucidate the capitalist and racial draft hierarchy of his cabana, but it was a matter of course that Mustard would uh, start spreading (sorry). […]

In one year, DJ Mustard went from practically anonymous to $20,000 a beat. That’s how it goes. All you need is one hit and Mustard’s “Rack City” became Las Vegas’ most significant cultural contribution since Fear and Loathing (or maybe “Leaving Las Vegas:” Sheryl Crow edition.) But at home in Los Angeles, Mustard had earned […]

The third episode of the Shots Fired Podcast with myself and Nocando is now live. I’ll let the show description do the leg work: “On this week’s episode of Shots Fired, Jeff Weiss & Nocando discuss the phenomenon of ratchet. The duo talk about the many definitions of ratchet, Lil Boosie’s connection to the origin […]

Max Bell is LL Cool J’s grandson. You may or may not say no to ratchet pussy. It’s no secret that Juicy J can’t. He doesn’t apologize for it. He has no qualms with all that comes with the cheek clapping. He pops bands and revels in the ratchet  On the flip side, LL Cool […]