hip hop

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Schoolboy Q | Habits & Contradictions

Top Dawg Entertainment (2012)
Without much that can be considered "structure" in terms of the verse-chorus-verse standard, Q confidently wobbles through an album's worth of jaded bangers.
By MICHAEL C. WALSH | January 31, 2012

Juan Deuce and Falside get down to work as The Mechanics

Impossible to ignore
The stars have aligned and the Rap Gods must be smiling down at Juan Deuce and Falside.
By CHRIS CONTI | January 31, 2012

Toasting another year of high quality hip-hop

Savor the local flavor
We're saluting another dynamic year of real deal Rhody-based rap music — the diverse community of razor-sharp eccentric wordsmiths and young-gun production phenoms worthy of your attention.
By CHRIS CONTI | December 28, 2011

The year 'new battling' took over Boston

Plan of attack
There's one thing that most people know about battle rapping: 8 Mile .
By CHRIS FARAONE | December 20, 2011

Frat rap is ready to graduate

It's been four years since "I Love College" -- now it's party time!
Despite whatever hip-hop's perceived "intended audience," it's never been a secret that rap music has long been adored by the Caucasian crowd.
By CHRIS FARAONE | November 23, 2011

Click Animosity and the opposite of the frat rap game

Audacity of dope
In the epic hip-hop mockumentary CB4, Chris Rock's suburban MC wannabe character steals the name and image of a jailed thug rapper named Gusto.
By CHRIS FARAONE | January 03, 2012

ESH & Dox and Meta P get busy

Rhody rhyme time
Don't sleep — the Rhode Island hip-hop scene is flourishing, arguably more than ever.
By CHRIS CONTI | November 02, 2011

Boston Rap Class of 2011's Video Directors

Behind the lens
We matched 10 of Boston's young badass video directors — some trained, some straight guerilla — with each member of our 10 Rap Class of 2011 and asked them to produce an original video.
By PHOENIX STAFF | September 29, 2011

Evidence | Cats & Dogs

Rhymesayers (2011)
As competent as Evidence has always been with mic skills, he's no lyrical miracle.
By CHRIS FARAONE | September 20, 2011

Das Racist | Relax

Greedhead (2011)
They still have jokes for days, but lyrical dexterity has taken precedence on their debut LP.
By MICHAEL C. WALSH | September 20, 2011

The Narcicyst rises as hip-hop's preeminent post-9/11 auteur

Iraqnophobia
Less than a year ago, the Narcicyst was on his way to a speaking engagement at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington DC, when customs hawks stopped him in his tracks.
By CHRIS FARAONE | September 07, 2011

Nas rocks the bells

The rapper fronts the tour that erased lines between commercial and underground, white and black, alternative and trendy
Six months ago my teenage cousins told me they'd been listening to Big Pun. And Nas, and Ghostface, and every other artist who inspires regular road rage in male rap fans between the ages of 28 and 35.
By CHRIS FARAONE | September 09, 2011

Main Attrakionz | 808s and Dark Grapes II

Mishka (2011)
Following a steady stream of low-budget tracks, mixtapes, and videos posted on their Tumblr this year, the Bay-area stoner rap duo of Squadda B and MondreM.A.N. (a/k/a Main Attrakionz) have raised the stakes by offering up something that resembles a traditional release.
By CARRIE BATTAN | September 07, 2011

Zumo Kollie expands his reach on The Last Showing

Renaissance man on the move
Providence-based wordsmith Zumo Kollie made his mark on the Rhody rap community with his 2009 debut, The Idiot Savant .
By CHRIS CONTI | August 25, 2011

The fundamentals of Lady Essence

Right here, Right Now
It's my job to listen to contemporary music, but I'll admit that it's completely baffling to me that Nicki Minaj is now the "highest-grossing female hip-hop artist of all time." Is she even hip-hop? Is she human?
By SAM PFEIFLE | August 17, 2011

Jay-Z + Kanye West | Watch the Throne

Def Jam/Roc-A-Fella/Roc Nation (2011)
Kanye West has recently espoused the virtues of an album of raps suitable for home listening, as opposed to say club, or car listening.
By MICHAEL C. WALSH | August 17, 2011

Urban Fest gets ugly

Gimme Shelter Dept.
It didn't take long for the largely suburban horde to erupt into a frenzy at the free outdoor concert, which was dubbed, somewhat ironically, the Boston Urban Music Fest (BUMF).
By CHRIS FARAONE | August 10, 2011

Kool Keith had a purple keyboard and green synth

Odd past
Keith's ubiquitous props are often trumpeted on rap sites and comment boards, where he's cited as the chief influence behind everyone from Tech N9ne to Tyler, the Creator.
By CHRIS FARAONE | August 04, 2011

Photos: Turquoise Jeep at the Good Life

"Fresh Produce" | 5 Year Anniversary Party | July 30, 2011
Flynt Flossy, Pretty Raheem, Whatchyamacallit and Yung Humma of Turqoise Jeep perform at the 5 Year Anniversary Party for "Fresh Produce" at the Good Life, on July 30, 2011.
By MIKE JOHNSON | August 01, 2011

Lil B | I'm Gay (I'm Happy)

Amalgam Digital (2011)
Gone are the endless declarations of hoes on his dick in groups of 30 and 100; gone are the claims that he is everyone from Ellen Degeneres to Miley Cyrus.
By CARRIE BATTAN | July 19, 2011

Review: Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest

The most boring movie imaginable
First of all, Michael Rapaport's feature-length doc on A Tribe Called Quest should have been called People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm .
By CHRIS FARAONE | July 19, 2011

The Cool Kids | When Fish Ride Bicycles

Green Label Sound (2011)
As you'd expect from the name, the Cool Kids have a fascination with social status and trends as well as with rebelling against them.
By DAN WEISS | July 19, 2011

Random Axe | Random Axe

Duck Down (2011)
It's no wonder that it takes a 10-ton Uzi to get rap fans psyched about posse cuts these days.
By CHRIS FARAONE | July 12, 2011

The Big Hurt: Calling all Rembrandts!

The Dutch 'Cultural Meltdown'
While scouring the press release bin for cheap laughs, I came across a story of some legitimate interest: a coalition of Dutch artists recently took out an ad in the New York Times advising "Do Not Enter the Netherlands — Cultural Meltdown in Progress."
By DAVID THORPE | July 11, 2011