With The Green Invasion, BurntMD proves that he has most of the tangible tools needed to be a prime-time rapper: a distinctive, gritty voice; a seasoned flow that seems to change every few lines; constant intensity; and detailed, mostly well-written lyrics with unexpected rhymes and schemes. He’s even earned the…
Even though rappers and producers share a symbiotic dependence on one another, there’s been an ongoing debate in rap music about who plays the most pivotal role: the one providing the words or the one providing the music. While the MCs obviously get the most shine, would Guru’s words have…
When somebody bathes in blood and guts, swings from hanging bodies or sews together dismembered parts — that’s horror. And so naturally when rappers embody this realm, it’s called horrorcore. But true horror is more than blood and guts; it is bewilderment in happenings that occur beyond an ordinary level…
The following rappers have all been, at one point, among the best in the game. They were each considered to be the cream of the crop, but even the finest cream goes bad eventually. Sadly, these MCs are all arguably well past their prime, and although we love them and…
The Ill, The Wicked + The Wack, the new mixtape from musical oddballs WAHHH (We Are Hip-Hop Humans!!), is occasionally ill, rarely wicked and frequently wack. This crew seems to have attended the BasedGod school of rapping, throwing out haphazardly assembled cliches, half-rhymes and non-rhymes. The majority of the verses…
We’re back with a new edition of That’s a Rap, a place where we turn you on to fresh local hip-hop. Yes, it’s been a long time. We never should have left you without a strong rhyme to step to, as they say. Anyhow, the pipelines have been bursting at…
AMERICA’S MOST WANTED FESTIVAL @ FIDDLER’S GREEN | FRI, 8/23/13 The America’s Most Wanted Festival features some of the most talented and successful artists to come out of the South in a long time, including Lil Wayne, whose name speaks for itself and whose March album I Am Not a…
Is Molina Speaks the greatest rapper never heard? Perhaps. Without a doubt, he deserves to be heard, and he’s certainly one of the better rappers on the scene. He’s a treat to listen to, mostly because he doesn’t take himself too seriously. His skits, for example, are genuinely funny and…
You know those starving artist types that would rather be broke than go near anything commercial? Thomas Tha Franchise is not one of those artists. Fresh off the release of his debut EP, Caffeine Dreams, he’s signed a contract with LoveCat Music, an independent licensing firm, to hopefully get his…
Features have a long history in hip-hop, one that’s now frequently used in other musical forms, as well. It can serve several purposes: A well-placed feature can present you to a whole new pocket of possible fans. It can also take advantage of another rapper’s current popularity, or it can…
Logistixx is a technically sound rapper. With his ability to rhyme and ride the beat, he complements the music like a lead instrument would; on New Paradigm, this talent mixes with really dope beats to make the album a chill listen all the way through. As a lyricist, Logistixx is…
I don’t have to all of a sudden now become fucking Marilyn Manson if I’m gonna define it as goth,” says Yonnas Abraham of the music his band BLKHRTS is making. “I just gotta…be obsessed with romance, obsessed with death, and obsessed with the color black. “Sex, drugs, violence, money,…
Weird is not a bad thing. It sets you apart. So, in rap, where so often so much music sounds so much like the same thing, weird can be a part of something really, really good. It’s not surprising, then, that some of the weirdest rap albums of all time…
Rapper (G)nosis’s new album, The Midnight Drifter LP, is conscious but not preachy, deep but not overwrought, forward-thinking but not inaccessible. More impressive, there aren’t any bad songs to be found here, and that’s most certainly a feat for such a lyrically ambitious project. On Midnight Drifter, (G)nosis challenges you…
It’s one thing to be a political musician, to point out the inherent wrongs of our social and political constructs from afar. Admirable as that is, it takes a truly special person to take a personal stake in perceived injustice and do something that goes beyond music. A couple days…
Whether it’s been b-boys clashing, graf artists battling or MCs matching wits, hip-hop has always been competitive. These days, the MC has taken preeminence, and the crews are more commercial. Often, they manifest as labels, but sometimes they exist less formally as collectives, such as Wu-Tang or Odd Future. But…
MAC MILLER @ OGDEN THEATRE | TUES, 7/30/13 Following in the footsteps of fellow Pittsburgh native and Taylor Allderdice graduate Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller is well known for making feel-good music. His breakout mixtape K.I.D.S. (Kickin’ Incredibly Dope Shit), an homage to the notably dark Larry Clark film, and followup…
The mass proliferation of Sole continues with No Wishing Up No Settling Down. “I’m substance over style,” the MC declares, “but style’s a perk.” And while his style might not be the coolest or the smoothest, it’s aggressively present and distinctive. As for substance, Sole wastes few words: His lyrics…
Every year at the Westword Music Showcase, we enlist our army of Backbeat wordsmiths to host various stages. In addition to their emcee duties, we ask them to pull double duty by submitting a travelogue of their individual stage. Noah Hubbell hosted the street level stage at City Hall this…
P.O.S, due at this weekend’s Westword Music Showcase, is a founding member of the eclectic and independent Minneapolis hip-hop collective Doomtree. He’s been dealing with kidney problems of late, and although he’s started dialysis and is back performing, he’s still hoping for a transplant. In spite of all this, the…
“Let me tell you what it feels like,” begins Thomas Tha Franchise’s Caffeine Dreams, a reference to Hoodie Allen, a clear influence to whom Thomas also nods in “Thumbs Up.” Both Thomas’s and Allen’s songs are anthemic, suitable for bumping in cars and at frat parties. Like Allen, Thomas has…
Cash Money Records, the label founded by Bryan “Baby/Birdman” Williams in 1991, rose to prominence in the hip-hop scene with its signing of the Hot Boys, consisting of B.G., Young Turk, Lil’ Wayne and Juvenile. Since then, the group has become one of rap’s premier labels, having piggybacked Lil Wayne’s…
