AltWeeklies Wire
Anything but Ordinarynew
Classics that will be added to the Great American Songbook are far and few between. John Legend’s “Ordinary People” from his 2004 album Get Lifted may achieve that status.
Baltimore City Paper |
Makkada B. Selah |
07-13-2005 |
Profiles & Interviews
Hard to Hatenew
If you turn off your brain and your conscience, it’s possible to enjoy the burbly bass line and urgent whisper that Kaine and D-Roc use to deliver their heinous message.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
07-08-2005 |
Reviews
The Dis-Meisternew
Vast Aire's latest LP, made in collaboration with DJ Mighty Mi, finds the charismatic MC spanning decades in minutes, assuming the voice of a series of anonymous personas: from a jobless jazz-era drummer to a Vietnam draft-dodger.
Orlando Weekly |
Makkada B. Selah |
06-28-2005 |
Profiles & Interviews
Mellow, Chilled-Out Fellownew
Devin the Dude sounds something like Snoop Dogg with better skills and without the L.A. gang aura.
Houston Press |
John Nova Lomax |
05-25-2005 |
Profiles & Interviews
A Rapper With a Non-Rap Namenew
It's not just self-promotion that got Mike Jones where he is -- the dude's also got some skills on the mike, a likable, hard-grindin' personality and a voice that always sounds like it's as happy as a pig in slop to be where it is.
Houston Press |
John Nova Lomax |
05-10-2005 |
Profiles & Interviews
On Lockdownnew
Speaking from a prison phone, C-Bo, aka Shawn Thomas, estimates he's been arrested 40 or 50 times. In some regions, he's regarded as one of the realest, hardest and most authentic pushers of gangsta rap.
East Bay Express |
Eric K. Arnold |
04-18-2005 |
Profiles & Interviews
Grime Paysnew
Few musicians in England have risen from obscurity to celebrity more dramatically than Dizzee Rascal.
Westword |
Michael Roberts |
04-12-2005 |
Profiles & Interviews
Early Prediction: This Is the Best Rap CD of 2005new
Maya Arulpragasam, a Sri Lanka–raised, London-based MC who goes by the tag M.I.A., is an unlikely rapper with an unlikely backstory.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
03-07-2005 |
Reviews
Beat a Retreat?new
While Kanye West looks within and Mos Def styles himself as a quasi-jihadist, a head wonders, what happened to the rage, urgency, and political direction in hip-hop?
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Oliver Wang |
01-12-2005 |
Music
Overturning the Conventions of Rapnew
Although the pocket-protector set hangs on his every syllable, Beans has yet to seduce the hoi polloi. Maybe it's because he scorns the usual hitmaking tricks. Also reviewed is Handsome Boy Modeling School's White People.
Illinois Times |
Rene Spencer Saller |
01-10-2005 |
Reviews
Christian Scientist Hip-Hop Artists Go for Brokenew
Tucker Booth and Jonathan Toth From Hoth are hated by hip-hoppers and Christian Scientists alike. But that's what makes them cool.
Riverfront Times |
Ben Westhoff |
12-08-2004 |
Profiles & Interviews
So Long, Mr. Jonesnew
When he emerged from prison last year, rapper Russell Jones was by most accounts a subdued shell of his former manic self. His insanity had been the root of his appeal.
The Pitch |
Nathan Dinsdale |
11-24-2004 |
Profiles & Interviews
Out of Africanew
Referencing the works of Marcus Garvey, Gil Scott Heron, and Carter G. Wilson, the Ghana-born rapper doesn't speak of black power so much as unleash it, venting on everything from blue-collar students dealing with bad credit to Third World strife.
Cleveland Scene |
Jason Bracelin |
09-07-2004 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Refugees, hip-hop, Ohio, New York City, Cincinnati, Blitz, Kent State, Scribblejam, Soul Rebel
Tipping Ever So Slightly to the Centernew
Even though Tipping is weaker that The Roots' last album, Phrenology, it still smacks the pants off most commercial-rap-radio fare.
Illinois Times |
René Spencer Saller |
08-05-2004 |
Reviews
