Before Kendrick Lamar, Dom Kennedy and YG, it was Nipsey Hussle who was dubbed the next big L.A. MC. The Crenshaw neighborhood native was called the next Snoop Dogg and featured on XXL's Freshman cover in 2010 with Freddie Gibbs, Big Sean, J. Cole, and Wiz Khalifa. That same year Hussle left Epic ... More >>
Years are divided into seasons, and each one is three months. The latest, fall, just started! As far as L.A. music, it's shaping up to be a winner. Big things are expected from veterans and rookies alike. Here are our picks for five you should look out for.
The rapper built a huge fan base through Darwinian promotional methods
Don't forget to check our constantly-updated Los Angeles Concert Calendar Friday, September 6 Anticon 15th-Anniversary Party featuring Baths, Daedelus, Doseone, et al. ECHOPLEX Tip your hat to 15 years of Anticon greatness: The label/collective founded by Oakland's Adam "Doseone" Drucker has champ ... More >>
Don't forget to check our constantly-updated Los Angeles Concert Calendar Friday, June 14 LoveyDove CASEY'S PUB One of Los Angeles' choicest homegrown musical sensations, boy-girl adventure team LoveyDove have created an unusually irresistible blend of artful expression, psychedelic atmospherics, ... More >>
For nearly two years Truth Studios, a recording space in the Fairfax District, has been a haven for West Coast rap talent. On any given night, you might find clothing reps chattering, owner Nick Breton rolling blunts with rappers, and intoxicated laughter absorbed by the muted walls. The combination ... More >>
[Editor's note: Soon-to-be-award-winning gonzo music journalist Danielle Bacher prowls the late late night scene for West Coast Sound. For this installment, she hit the town with Demrick, aka Young De, a rapper and songwriter who has collaborated with Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill, Kurupt and Xzibit. Als ... More >>
As Max Bell noted in his round-up of L.A. rap earlier this month, it was a very good year for hip-hop in our city, with all corners of the varied scene -- from Open Mike Eagle's smart 4NML HSPTL to Odd Future's rambunctious The OF Tape Vol. 2 to Ty$ and Joe Moses' raunchy Whoop! -- well represented ... More >>
By J. Pablo Top 20 Greatest L.A. Rap Albums Of All Time: The Complete List Over the last few years, hip-hop artists who grew up in the hood but wanted to go beyond clichéd gangsterisms have been on the rise; Kendrick Lamar, Curren$y, A$AP Rocky, Big K.R.I.T. Hailing from L.A.'s Leimert Park neig ... More >>
See also: Our review of Rock the Bells 2011 Last night Guerilla Union announced this year's Rock the Bells 2012 dates, headliners and lineup. Beginning in 2010, the hip-hop festival's headliners -- famous acts whose first few albums often outshine their later work -- have performed their classic ... More >>
Also, Slow Club, Kneebody, The Pretty Reckless, Apparat and others
See also: Meet OverDoz: L.A.'s Freakiest, Cheekiest Collective OverDoz The Roxy 11/22/11 A beat before the curtain dropped on their show last night, OverDoz's de facto leader, Kent, addressed the audience soberly, "We did this shit all by ourselves." He could have been referring to any number of ... More >>
CalmaticOverDoz's core four: Joon, Sleezy, Kent, and CreamieThe small army splayed around a table on the patio of Inglewood's Simply Wholesome is focused on the black Range Rover parked just outside the door. Stevie Wonder's in the passenger seat. The eight members of Los Angeles collective O ... More >>
Also, J*DaVey, the Decemberists, Dragon Head, Wye Oak and others
In the beginning ... As announced in a trailer released this morning, MTV will air a weeklong look at L.A.'s hip-hop scene in a segment "we're calling 'The New West: An In-depth Look at L.A. Hip Hop.'" Though we're much obliged to them for referencing N.W.A.'s LA Weekly cover, we think the ... More >>
Inside Curren$y's customized culture
Ask Dom Kennedy where he came from, and he'll say Leimert Park. Ask him where he's headed, though. Following the lead of his shiny new video for "Locals Only," he'll probably leave the question open-ended. Directed by Bryant Robinson for The Topshelf Company, the video's shot in one of L.A. ... More >>
Thursday's cover story on Gary, Indiana-raised rapper Freddie Gibbs, engendered a substantial response within the hip-hop blogosphere, with prominent sites Rap Radar, Nah Right, Fake Shore Drive, and The Smoking Section, all taking note. Even Wale twittered a congratulations message. Cons ... More >>
