Max Bell is taking Peyton Manning’s latest playoff loss very hard Rap prides itself on reverence. The revered retain some modicum of relevance; the genre grows while never losing sight of its roots. But of late, ardent genuflection at the altar of the Golden Era has become many a rapper’s default. At best its unimaginative, at […]
| You Do Not Want That Old Thing Back: Moving On With New New York in 2015 | December 19, 2014 |
If Brian Josephs was the Big Apple, he'd be hard to the core. And he'd make sure Ka was king, and all was good.
| Welcome to New York: The Rasp of Remy Banks | October 27, 2014 |
Torii MacAdams can get you a good bootleg Avirex. It’s getting to be North Face time in New York. Loud, pizza-slinging motherfuckers in flour-covered pocket Ts are yelling about whoever’s under center for the Jets. ACG boots are coming out of hibernation. Catch wispy mustached teens headed to the last subway stops, earbuds tucked under […]
| PremRock Shall Pass | May 30, 2014 |
With a drone’s blood and a dropped needle, New York’s Prem Rocks the black and white video for “Let Me See Your Tongue.” It’s simple as a subway map, complex as finding a cab in the rain, fit to be the soundtrack to acupuncture consultations across America. The hirsute and hoodied rapper casts himself in […]
| Whoa, Vado? — “Be Like,” An Unlikely NYC Anthem | March 18, 2014 |
Evan Nabavian is in the danger zone. Vado ranks somewhere between Red Cafe and Jae Millz on the ‘NYC Rappers I Don’t Care About’ power rankings. This circle of rappers usually makes nondescript 201X radio rap with shades of Bad Boy, Roc-A-Fella, Dipset, or D-Block. These guys are as wack as they are generic, but […]
Slava P knows what happens when you say “Tony Yayo” three times in the mirror. Troy Ave is from New York. Even if he never mentioned this in any of his songs – which he does, often – you would be able to tell by dissecting the way he raps and identifying the individual components […]
| Donny Oh and His Anti-Hypebeast Campaign | October 14, 2013 |
I’ve used the phrase “post-Odd Future” with mild horror a few times, but for the next year or two, it might become a regular part of all of your lives. This is Donny Oh, a 16 or 17-year old New York rapper who deserves props because he puts words together well in rhythm, but also […]
| Ka, The Dark Night Returns | August 22, 2013 |
Ka is the only artist whose music our staff collectively refused to pirate. Such is the respect for a O.G. who went from Natural Elements to the firehouse, to having the best late career renaissance this side of Juicy J. He is either the last of the Mohican’s or the first of something new. Listening […]
Oscar O’ Malley’s instructions are clear: let this tap dance over you. Resist the instruction to categorize or scrutinize the symbols. Maybe he’s just trying to save us time; if you were conspiracy minded, you could probably search this video for hours for hallmarks of the Illuminati. There are old films of white-bearded Romans in […]
| The Battle of New York: Angel Haze Vs. Azealia Banks | August 17, 2012 |
Craig Jenkins. Real name. No gimmicks. Peter Rosenberg’s jab at Nicki Minaj’s “Starships” at Hot 97’s Summer Jam damn near sparked this generation’s own “Disco Sucks” campaign among underground hip-hop’s defenders of the faith. Fans of pop and electronic dance music see the march of those genre’s values into hip-hop as a chance to bust […]
