hip hop Archive
27 Nov 2017
New Release: Foul Mouth Jerk’s “Scofflaw”
Michael Capra – aka Foul Mouth Jerk – explains title and theme of his latest release, Scofflaw. “’Scofflaw’ is a prohibition-era term for someone flagrantly flouting the more petty crimes,” […]
15 Sep 2017
EP Review: DJ Audio — Shut it Down
The advent of low-cost, do-it-yourself recording technology has put the power to create music in the hands of a wider group of creative musicians. Knocking down barriers to entry has […]
12 Sep 2017
Album Review: Secret Agent 23 Skidoo — Mozartistic
At its best, kid-hop is a family friendly version of hip-hop, with lyrics full of universal appeal. Because while not everyone can identify with slice-of-life reality depicted in some rap […]
04 Sep 2017
Matisyahu’s Strategy of Risk and Reward
Once playfully describing himself as a “Chassidic reggae superstar,” Matisyahu is a difficult-to-classify musical force. And that’s by design: with roots in reggae, hip-hop and Jewish tradition, the beatboxing singer […]
29 Aug 2017
Tuxedo: “Perfect is Boring.”
Tuxedo is a retro-funk duo fronted by two established artists. Mayer Hawthorne made his name as a modern-day soul crooner with a style firmly rooted in the music of his […]
28 Jul 2017
Brother Ali: Accentuating the Positive
If there is such a thing as a typical rapper, Brother Ali doesn’t fit that description. The Minneapolis-based member of the esteemed Rhymesayers Entertainment collective turns out rhymes that are […]
26 Apr 2017
Black Violin: Smashing Stereotypes
The practice of combining disparate musical genres has been around for many years: a hybrid of rock and jazz, fusion developed in the late 1960s. But the idea of combining […]
08 Apr 2016
Hieroglyphics’ Original Lineup Returns to the Road
Socially conscious hip-hop pioneers Hieroglyphics have withstood the test of time ever since their formation in mid-’90s Oakland. And while the collective’s most high-profile emcee remains Del the Funky Homosapien, […]
07 Mar 2016
Album Review: Blowfly — 77 Rusty Trombones
Warning: this review may not be suitable for readers under the age of, I dunno, let’s say…twenty-one. And the subject of the review – Blowfly‘s final album, 77 Rusty Trombones […]
28 May 2009
Album Review: Stax: The Soul of Hip-Hop
This compilation would have been an inspired, brilliant idea, had it not been done already (see review of the 2008 Blue Note compilation Droppin’ Science). So instead it’s merely a […]