Bun B

Some Terrible Person Stole My Beloved Jeep Cherokee

In November I wrote about how I'd made a mixtape for the guys who were breaking into my car. It was an all the way honest thing, and in the days after it was posted I received several very nice emails, as well as a few Facebook and Twitter messages. I was proud, albeit moderately embarrassed. A coup ... More >>

Announcing the Winners of the First Voice Media Group Music Writing Awards

Each week in our print editions and every day on our blogs, the 13 Voice Media Group papers feature some of the best music writing in the country. That's why we're excited to announce the winners of our first VMG music writing awards. The honor goes to the authors of one blog post and one print pi ... More >>

Check Out My Hip-Hop Coloring Book

I'm writing a book called Bun B's Jumbo Coloring And Rap Activity Book. It's not finished yet, though, so right now it's just a tumblr. It has that name for three reasons. First, because I'm making it with the rapper Bun B -- you know, from UGK, one of the most important figures in the history of a ... More >>

Ten Rap Songs More Republican Than Nicki Minaj

Earlier this week Nicki Minaj stepped in a fresh pile of political shit when she, in an attempt to stir the pot on a "Mercy" freestyle remix, rapped that she is voting for Mitt Romney. People stupid enough to think anything Minaj does or says matters were outraged, and some even sent her death threa ... More >>

Here's an Epic Ice-T Interview: Sure, He Once Wore Leather and Spikes, but He'll Still Fuck You Up

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 *Here Are Pictures of Dr. Dre's New $13 Million House Perhaps because he moved back to the East Coast and became an actor, Ice-T is sometimes over ... More >>

Adam Yauch is Dead: RIP Beastie Boy MCA

See also: Our Adam Yauch slide show Hip-hop pioneer Adam Yauch, better known as MCA of the Beastie Boys, died this morning of cancer, at age 47. The information was reported by Def Jam founder Russell Simmons. The Beasties' legacy spans three decades, crossing genres and mediums. The group had a k ... More >>

Taking Physics Class 
with Professor GZA

[Editor's note: Weekly scribe Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. His archives are available here.] See also: Our review of Wu-Tang Clan's January 21, 2012 show at Club Nokia The Wu-Tang Clan once said if we picked up their double album, Wu-Tang Foreve ... 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 >>

The Outlawz Speak on Tupac and His Ink, Dispute The Meaning of "Thug Life"

​Editor's Note: Yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of Tupac Shakur's death. To commemorate, West Coast Sound is featuring Tupac stories all week. See also: *Bruce Hornsby on Tupac: "The original 'Changes' was a lot dirtier, had a lot of the n-word." *African Rebel Soldiers and Their Eerie ... More >>

Music to Pick Up/Download

Live Review: Friends of Friends' Second Anniversary Party Saturday Night with JonWayne, Anenon, Groundislava, Baths, Shlohmo, Salva, and Mexicans with Guns

​​The Friends of Friends Music second anniversary party at the Echoplex Saturday night showed that label head Leeor Brown has tapped some of the most talented young producers working in Los Angeles right now. With the FoF Network, he knits together the rapidly-expanding corners of the beat ... More >>

Music Picks: Talib Kweli, Pete Yorn, Lucy Schwartz

Also Rise Against, Piney Gir, Deradoorian and others

Music Picks: Balkan Beat Box, Cake, Ted Leo, Vanessa Paradis

Also Red Cortez, Troy Walker, Bun B and others

Music Picks: Amy Kuney, Whispertown, the Civil Wars, Jake Bellows, Plan B

Also, Thom Bresh, Pictureplane, James Intveld and others

Rap Supergroup Alert: Bun B Cool Kids Freddie Gibbs Black Keys Other Guy = P.O.C.

Freddie Gibbs collaborates with Bun B, Chuck Inglish, Chip tha Ripper and Dan Aeurbach​Hey! It's a new rap supergroup and Snoop Dogg isn't involved this time. Our favorite L.A. (via Gary, Indiana) nü-gangsta rapper Freddie Gibbs has teamed up with an almost all-star lineup for an outfit tent ... More >>

O.G. Trilogy

In the age of shuffle, rapper Bun B bets on the concept album

Bun B Releases New Album 'Trill OG': Rapper Remembers Pimp C, Talks Soulja Boy Collaboration and Why Hip-Hop Can't Afford to be Lazy

Oldemar Alfaro[L-R] Talib Kweli and Bun B at the 'Trill OG' listening event​It's 9:27 AM in Houston when rapper Bun B picks up fellow emcee Dizzee Rascal from the airport. In Bun's car they cruise the streets, pull up to a house, and once inside, slide a stack of bills across a table. In excha ... More >>

Live in L.A.: Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek, Broken Bells, Caribou, Massive Attack

​Rapper Talib Kweli and producer Hi-Tek are officially back in business as Reflection Eternal -- a full decade after their first album, Train of Thought. The new Revolutions Per Minute (out this week) might not feel as revolutionary as their debut, but it'll put a smile on the face of anybody ... More >>

We’re Jerkin’ (Starring the New Boyz, J-Hawk and Pink Dollaz)

Gangsta rap is over. Clownin’ and Krumpin’ too

The 50 Best Albums of the Year (#10-1) (Sponsored By My Secret Identity )

And people acted surprised when Jerry O' Connell landed Rebecca Romjin. 10. Why? Alopecia (Anticon) It's tough to write about Why?'s breakout record without anxiously jotting down a few choice lyrics from songwriter Yoni Wolf's notebook. Not to downplay its musicianship, but Alopecia is forem ... More >>

Weiss' 25 Best Hip-Hop Songs of 2008

25. Prafit-"Nice Weather" The nice weather is long gone--the ostensibly immutable Los Angeles sun blotted by kidney colored clouds and cold rain. So Prafit's ode to the sizzle of July feels like an antique postcard documenting endless light, chicken breasts smothered in BBQ sauce, and basement ... More >>

Weiss' 50 Best Hip-Hop Songs of 2008 (#50-26)

Over the next two weeks, myself and a very talented cadre of contributors will be emulating the book above. Unlike said tome, it won't cost money and you'll get free MP3s--which, presumably, serve a tangible purpose. Now go cry into your near-beer, Phillip Ardagh, you lovable rogue. 50. Redman ft ... More >>

Wale-"Nike Boots" Video

Give Wale credit for knowing how to fall back. The D.C. rapper/Mark Ronson bid for street cred has laid low since The Mixtape About Nothing led the blogosphere to declare him "real and spectacular." Now with every Internet dork hunkering down to craft their year-end lists, flagon of Merlot and c ... More >>

The 10 Best Hip-Hop Albums of the Half Year

Yes, I'm aware that this is a month late. I never said punctuality was my strong suit. (That would be rambling, stoned gibberish. ) Look for the best 10 non-rap albums sometime next week. 10 (tie). Nico the Beast-No Beast So Fierce Genre purists and anyone weaned on that mid-90s school of sav ... More >>

An Interview With Nick Thorburn of Islands

Islands are playing the Henry Fonda next Tuesday. As your faithful attorney, I recommend that you attend. Their recent Arm's Way is one of the year's finest records and they put on a fantastic show. Plus, the last time I saw them play in LA, for their encore they decided to light Roman Candles o ... More >>

Wale Realizes the Full Potential of the Mixtape

Last November, Zeus wrote a post dissecting the differences between albums and mixtapes for the benefit of crits and fans who had been mistakenly conflating Pusha-T rhyming over old G-Unit beats for high art. It happens. The post may have been a tad heavy-handed, but its point was salient. More of ... More >>

Weiss' Muxtapes #3 and #4: The Best Hip-Hop Songs of the Year Thus Far

In case you missed it, Sach O of Oh Word touched down briefly last week, taking a break from trying to find Manuel Noriega in the Philippines (He has a mansion?) to bless the blogosphere with one of his hilariously entertaining rants. If you're too lazy to click over, the gist revolves around th ... More >>

The Islands' "Arms Way," Islands' Kona Pie and The Pros of "Miscenegenation"

Last year when Sasha-Frere Jones wrote his now-infamous piece on the whiteness of indie rock, he repeatedly included the phrase "miscenegation" to describe the cross-pollination of sound between black and white music. The diction seemed deliberate, a molotov cocktail designed to rile up the chatte ... More >>

The Kidz In the Hall Demonstrate the Power of A Good Rolodex

When ex-Just Blaze proteges, Kidz in the Hall released their debut album, School Was My Hustle on the newly revived Rawkus Records, I didn't listen to it for a variety of reasons. Chief among them was the "Ivy League Rap" label critics ascribed to the duo of Nawledge and Double-O. Still scarred f ... More >>

Wale ft. Bun B & Pusha-T: "Back in the Go-Go"

With a spot on Entertainment Weekly's "8 to Watch in 08" and Ann Powers' SXSW rave in the LA Times, the Wale hype is getting pretty loud, yet it exists for good reason. After all, how many young guns can go toe-to-toe with Bun B and Pusha-T? Not to say he's quite there yet. From this angle, Bun-B ... More >>

Rapper Pimp C's Death Ruled An Accident

Rapper Pimp C, one of hip-hop's most influential figures, died accidentally due to a combination of cough medicine and his prior history of sleep apnea, according to new findings by the Los Angeles County Coroner. “Due to his sleep apnea along with his prescribed medication it resulted in him pa ... More >>

The 25 Best Hip-Hop Songs of 2007 Pt. 5 (#5-1)

Even if you are a jewel thief, it is never wise to mess with a man whose name is Sgt. Larvell Jones. 5. Jay-Z ft. Nas-"Success" These two. Thing is, this song shouldn't be this high on my Best Of list. Say these guys hadn't spent a decade trying to fuck each other's baby mama's, Sean Carter an ... More >>

Hip-Hop Is Dead

...and other reports that have been greatly exaggerated

Rock PIcks

For the week of Nov. 24 - 30