For the past two years, Myrical has been working with some of the most talented hip-hop musicians in Colorado and abroad, and #WorkFlow Vol. 1 is a presentation of that work. Myrical is not a trendsetter, for now, but he does follow them well: By tape’s end, he and his…
ACTION BRONSON @ CERVANTES’ | 11/29/12 The building wasn’t full, but it certainly wasn’t empty either when Action Bronson stepped onto stage. The crowd was a little cold. Clouds of ganja smoke floated across the room. Everyone was a little subdued. When Bronsolino started rhyming, there was that requisite anticipatory…
It’s almost a shame when people as talented as Epoch When (aka Alex Koutsoukos) make an album as unflinchingly introspective as GRIM because it’s almost certain to not get as much attention as it deserves, which is a lot. His lyrics, which tend to be dense and challenging, are consistently…
Before he gained notoriety as an MC with his 2011 studio debut Dr. Lecter, he was well respected as a New York chef (his lyrics are still garnished with references to foods of all sorts). But while he shares a profession with Raekown, another well known New York Chef, the…
Whereas many rappers quantify their lavish lives in terms of drank and weed, Action Bronson’s primary vice has been and probably always will be food. Before he gained notoriety as an MC with his 2011 studio debut, Dr. Lecter, he was well respected as a New York chef (his lyrics…
BurntMD’s Not So Black & White combines relatively old-school production with a new-school flow that draws from MCs as diverse as Pharoahe Monch, Xzibit, Aesop Rock, Canibus and Mos Def and seems to change dramatically with every track. The sound is anything but repetitive and is tricky to pin down…
The worth of athletes is so highly quantified — by their physical measurements, their stats, their contracts, the numbers on their backs — that it’s easy to take football players for granted as tools designed specifically to dominate the gridiron. Easily overlooked is the hard work and personal sacrifice offered…
BURNTmd, a Brooklyn born, Denver-by-way-of-Vermont transplant, recently released Not So Black & White, a project eight years in the making, which features his well honed but constantly changing flow, plus old-shcool hip-hop legends Craig G of Marley Marl’s legendary Juice Crew, and production from Madlib, J Glaze and Copywrite, among…
We’ve got a fresh batch of hip-hop for ya, and it sounds goood! King FOE and Yonnas Abraham of BLKHRTS rap scary in “Goth Swag,” Naeem Oba and brikAbrak open eyes with “La La La” from their upcoming EP Bread and Circuses, Myrical gets dirty with his new banger, “Ass…
ASHER ROTH @ CERVANTES’ OTHER SIDE | 11/14/12 The key word for the Asher Roth show was “community.” In fact, it’s almost like it wasn’t the Asher Roth show at all. When he wasn’t off the stage, deep into the frenzied crowd, the crowd was up on the stage with…
Ask Broncos fans to name the most hated team figure of the last fifteen years and nearly everybody will automatically answer, “Josh McDaniels.” To be certain, the Broncos were dismal under his watch. He orchestrated some much maligned trades, made a plethora of questionable draft picks and, most unforgivable of…
There’s a ton of fresh music from the scene, including Colorado Crates Vol. 1, a free compilation hosted and mixed by SP Double and featuring a bunch of local favorites, including SP, Mr Midas, Innerstate Ike, Foodchain, Cola Diva, Spoke In Words and more. Speaking of Spoke In Words, he’s…
Many hip-hop fans, those who love rap — hell, even some rappers — have an aversion to gangsta rap for its objectionable content. Common named the rise of gangsta rap as one of the many steps in hip-hop’s downfall in “I Used to Love H.E.R.” — a sentiment that, of…
Wu-Tang has been immersed in kung-fu for so long, it was inevitable that one member of the Clan would make a major appearance in a martial arts movie at some point. The RZA appeared briefly in Ghost Dog in 1999, but only for a passing moment, though he did produce…
Young Americans have lots of experience with war, right? I mean, we’ve lived (very remotely) through wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and we’ve got hard-hitting blockbusters like Battleship and Red Tails to learn from. We can even step into a soldier’s shoes with video games like Call of Duty,…
For much of this year, the Denver Botanic Gardens has been an intersection for Asian and American culture. It began with the Kizuna: West Meets East outdoor exhibit, for which bamboo specialists Tetsunori Kawana and Stephen Talasnik created several site-specific sculptures. They were up in time for the June opening…
RAEKWON @ ROCK THE VOTE ROAD TRIP / AURARIA | 10/25/12 “Whether there’s twenty people or 2,000,” said Raekwon, painfully aware of which side of that spectrum this small gathering was on, “I’m always gonna give it 200 percent.” And he did, with grace. He spoke directly to the front…
The scene from A-Trak’s house party last night at Rhinoceropolis: People were pushing, shirts were off, sweat was dripping to the ground like so many leaky faucets then rising from the beer soaked floor to form the most disgusting sauna you can imagine. The best moment of the show, which…
Somewhere between soul, hip-hop, jazz and funk lies Ten Pound Elephant’s self-titled EP, five tracks that stand alone as complete, diverse and distinct pieces, but that also hold together to an extent. Ten Pound Elephant’s sound is characterized by idiosyncratic funk guitar, smooth sax and tight, straight-ahead drums. The instrumentation…
Do you love opera, operatic television commercials or even opera-themed cartoons? This weekend’s Titans of Italian Grand Opera, a show tailor-made for theater newbies and aficionados alike, is sure to be scores of fun. Conducted by world-renowned Chilean maestro Maximiano Valdes, the show will have plenty of international flavor, but…
A$AP ROCKY @ OGDEN THEATRE | 10/16/12 A$AP Rocky walked onto the stage with his crew in tow, ski mask over his face, looking like some radical of ill repute. Odd Future and Pro-Era have pulled the same stunt, only more effectively. The rapper invigorated the Ogden immediately with overwhelming…
KENDRICK LAMAR @ OGDEN THEATRE | 10/8/12 The stage was set by an erupting smoke machine, thundering bass and a massive light spectacle, all in preparation for a dynamic, five-foot, six-inch MC in old-school high socks and a voice that seems too powerful to come from such a little body…
