Afrika Bambaataa

These Are the Strangest Hip-Hop Soda Commercials

Earlier this month Mountain Dew pulled its Tyler, the Creator directed commercial wherein a trash-talking goat in a police lineup (full of black men) taunts an assaulted women attempting to identify the perpetrator. Accused of both racism and trivializing violence toward women, it was another Tyler ... More >>

World Star Hip-Hop's Founder Defends His Site

Lee "Q" O'Denat, is the founder of WorldStarHipHop.com, a site once known mainly for rap videos that is now synonymous with grainy urban street fights. (When one breaks out nowadays, you can bet smartphones will come out and someone will yell "World Star!") Q recently came to L.A. for a round of pr ... More >>

WonderCon's Hip-Hop and Comics Event Might Be the Best Convention Panel We've Ever Seen

In Nineteen Eighty Five, the comic book series by James Reitano, a group of teens come of age as hip-hop hits Santa Cruz. Their lives are shaped by the a then-budding youth culture revolving around DJs, MCs, street artists and break dancers. Technically, the story is fiction, but it's inspired by Re ... More >>

The Ten Best Latin Alternative Albums of 2012

It has become difficult to define what Latin Alternative is these days. The genre seems to encompass everything from traditional roots band playing an accordion to a progressive hip-hop MCs to singer-songwriters crooning romantic ballads -- and can be sung in Spanish, English or Spanglish. It's a hy ... More >>

In Advance of his 12-Hour 12/12/12 Extravaganza, Peanut Butter Wolf Picks His Top 12 12" Inch Singles He Bought at Age 12

Since unleashing his metal-themed 666 mix and DJ set on June 6, 2006, Stones Throw chief Peanut Butter Wolf has spent the last half-dozen years watching the signs of the beat. July 7, 2007 brought forth his 777 spiritual podcast mix, following by performances on seven consecutive nights in seven c ... More >>

Here Are Pictures of Dr. Dre's New $13 Million House

See also: The Original Original Gangsta: Ice-T talks about his star-studded directorial debut, his famous affiliates and his life with Coco in New York Ice-T's ambitious documentary Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap comes out today, and in honor of the occasion we spoke with him for our music ... More >>

Loco Dice is The Antidote to Cheesy, David Guetta House: He DJs Tomorrow at The Music Box

Loco Dice.​We're glad trance is finally over (isn't it?), but something just as cheesy has stood up to take its place. While we won't name any names (Afrojack, Swedish House Mafia, David Guetta), they call this new sound "house." Now, if you've been alive since Clinton was president you know ... More >>

Scarface Is Out Of Jail, Performs At Key Club Tomorrow: Excerpts From His Last Interview

​Scarface plays the Key Club tomorrow night. This is big news, considering most folks didn't even know that the greatest of all southern rappers was out of the pen. In October 2010 he began a term at Montgomery County Jail in Alabama over numerous unresolved child support cases. (There is also ... More >>

Afrika Bambaataa Plays Tomorrow, Inspires Our Top Five Electro Anthems Of All Time

Afrika Bambaataa​Along with Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa is a card-carrying member of hip-hop's holy trinity. Back in the genre's baby years, Bam helped bring competing Bronx streets gangs together in the name of musical unity, and cut the seminal electro track, 1982's "Pl ... More >>

Egyptian Lover & Arabian Prince - Freak City - 9-17-11

Lina Lecaro The Prince and the Lover....​Egyptian Lover & Arabian Prince Freak City September 17, 2011 Better Than: Old school hip-hop Serato DJ sets we've seen lately. Though the sound and style of West Coast rap music has evolved over the years, the lyrical bravado and the boldness of bea ... More >>

Nite Jewel - Hard Rock Cafe - 8/10/11

Sam BlochRamona Gonzalez of Nite Jewel​Nite Jewel Hard Rock Café Hollywood 8/10/11 Better Than: A school night concert at Fresno's Tokyo Garden. I wasn't at the first installment of LA Weekly's RE:Play LA series, but unfortunately this week's edition, with Ramona Gonzalez of adult contempor ... More >>

Sure, He Knows About Secret Societies, But Does He Know Even Snooki Gets $22,000 for a Lecture?

Shafiq Husayn, Sa-Ra Creative Partners and the Sound of Leimert Park Hip-Hop

Zulu rising (again)

An Interview with Techno Kingpin Juan Atkins: "L.A. is Still Behind the Curve Three or Four Years"

Cybotron's "Clear," from 1983 More than any other person, Detroit's Juan Atkins is credited with creating techno. Of course, electronic dance music, which fills clubs, warehouses and festivals each weekend, provides sounds for car commercials, movies and public radio, and fuels the technology of c ... More >>

Post-Coachella Recovery at Shadowscene, Linda Perry's Evening With Women

The Ding Bat Show (Starring Clown College Alumni)

LA's New Robotics: L.A. Riots, Guns N Bombs, Caxsio and Others Are Revolutionizing the City's Dance Clubs

Screw the hazy, lazy indie-rock tunes of Silver Lake; the biggest L.A. revolution is happening in the clubs

Tonight at the Silent Movie Theatre: Rare Footage from the Delicious Vinyl Vaults

Cinefamily at the Silent Movie Theatre has been on fire this month, each week delivering films from the birth and golden era of hip hop. This is the final week of the month-long series. Tonight they're turning over the reigns to the estimable Delicious Vinyl crew, who will be screening rare foot ... More >>

In the Beginning: Hip-Hop at the Movies

Rapper's delight

The Many Moods of Rock the Bells

Hip-hop's been in a lull. Meet the new torchbearers

John Tejada Rides the Wave of L.A.'s Techno Renaissance

California boomin'

SXSW Flashback: Interview With Del Tha Funky Homosapien

It was my third night in Austin. Devin had just blazed through an epic set that had been celebrated in the appropriate fashion , El-P was currently on-stage and I was wandering around the Def Jux party with four cups of Jack in my stomach, a head full of smoke and the strange desire to approach p ... More >>

Mashed Oates

The once-mustachioed member of a legendary duo reflects on their influence and their collaboration with Gym Class Heroes

Moon Men

Echo Park psych-rockers feel connected to it all

Math Rock, M.I.A., and the Secret of iTunes Plus

The King Is Dead. Long Live the King!

James Brown, 1933–2006

Music Picks

For the week of August 17 - 24

Tiara Girlz

Music Picks

For the week of May 11 - 18

Freaky Kinky Nation

The weird-ass, beautiful history of ’80s hip-hop, as curated by Tommy Boy records

Beyond Bubbly

The Style Council’s New Year’s Eve party mixes

Dub

The once and future music of revolution

Buckets of Rain

Turntablin’

Scratch takes its beats beyond the bling-bling

The Nine Lives of Rave

Music of the Heart and Other Organs

You can’t dance to everything

Vintage Valiance

Who put the funk in the hip-hop boom?

Dr. Kool's Pop Quiz

Keith Thornton, Ph.d., an old professor from the new school, knows rap is here to test you

Still D.R.E.