Photos by: Larry Meraz
Continue readingTag: hip hop
Mike Jones @ The Moxi Theater, October 22nd, 2014
Photos by: Larry Meraz
Continue readingChance the Rapper w/ KYGO at CU boulder October, 1st
Photo’s by: Clark Lamson
Continue readingHigh Art Hip Hop: Lyrics Born Rock With Chali 2na
As we all know, hip-hop has a revolving door of rappers. With contemporary artists being chewed up and spit out faster than you can say Lil Jon, the probability of a career spanning multiple decades is highly doubtful. Notable East Coast emcees such as KRS-One, Mos Def and Talib Kweli are among the few that can claim years of longevity. Lyrics Born (real name Tom Shimura), however, has been at it since the early ‘90s and is still going strong with his latest release, As U Were. Growing up in Berkley, Shimura had a hard time getting his hands on good hip-hop. Fortunately, he crossed paths with future label mates, Gift of Gab (Blackalicious) and Lateef the Truthspeaker (Latyrx) while attending school at UC-Davis where the idea for Quannum Projects was born. In addition to putting out their own records, the three entrepreneurs started putting out material by artists like DJ Shadow, Lifesavas and Pigeon John under the Quannum moniker. As Lyrics Born, Shimura has reveled in plenty of success with his funk and soul-infused hip-hop, something he learned as a college radio DJ in California.
Continue readingCooler Than A Polar Bear’s Toenails: OutKast Hits Up the Mad Decent Block Party in Denver
When Big Boi walked out on to the Red Rocks Amphitheater stage in 2010 for a Rock the Bells performance, Andre 3000 was noticeably absent. Nonetheless, he performed many of Outkast’s singles, including “Elevators (Me and You),” “ATLians” and “Rosa Parks.” However, it just wasn’t’ the same. This year, when Big Boi and Andre 3000 perform at Denver’s Mad Decent Block Party on August 22, things will be a little different.
Continue readingAtmosphere Speaks with the BandWagon About Their 8th Studio Album
By the sound of the new single, “Bitter,” on Atmosphere’s eighth official studio album, Southsiders, you’d never guess it almost didn’t make the record. In fact, it started off as a gag between Minneapolis-natives Sean Daley (Slug) and DJ/producer Anthony Davis (Ant).
Continue readingThe Ultimate Freak: Sir Mix-a-Lot Still Swass
In the early ‘90s, Seattle native Sir Mix-a-Lot proudly proclaimed: “I like big butts and I cannot lie” on 1992’s Mack Daddy, his third studio album and first for Def American. However, little do people know the two albums that preceded Mack Daddy contained some of his best material. From “Square Dance Rap” and “Swap Meat Louie” to “Posse on Broadway” and “Beepers,” there’s more to Mix-a-Lot than just big butts.
Continue readingSan Francisco Based k.flay Is a Strong Female Voice in a Genre Driven by Men
With a string of solid EPs and some serious chops, her rap is intelligent (a degree in psychology and sociology from Stanford helps with that), frankly speaking to the things that make the average hip hop fan normal. She doesn’t boast about street cred or display an image of a rich kid roughing it, she simply tells her story. Oh and she’s fast.
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