Hip-Hop and Rap

2012: A Landmark Year in L.A. Hip-Hop

L.A. hip-hop hasn't seen a year like this one since 1992, when the word G-Funk was (re)defined and art-rap was steadily making noise in and around Leimert Park. Twenty years ago saw, of course, the release of The Chronic, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde, The Predator, Spice 1, and Way 2 Fonky, among ot ... More >>

The Five Best Concerts in L.A. This Week

Monday, December 10 Lamps PEHRSPACE Lamps are punk (like Chrome? Or Suicide?). They're from space (like Hawkwind?) but also from hell (like Electric Eels!), where everything melts together into a big hot white ball of confusion that's bright enough to give off some sick kind of light but which will ... More >>

The Five Most Annoyingly Overplayed Songs at Greystone Manor

Greystone Manor is the trendy WeHo nightclub usually filled to capacity with A-listers, desperate housewives, Arabian sheiks, ball players, dot-com CEOs and others who have something to do with reality television. Any given Sunday night you might witness Drake buying twenty bottles or Rihanna and Ch ... More >>

Clyde Carson Finally Has a Big Hit with "Slow Down"

Last December, Bay Area rapper Clyde Carson recorded "Slow Down." Within a couple months, a DJ named J-12 had invented a dance specifically for the song, inspiring dozens of kids to upload their own versions to YouTube. A year later, it's inescapable, with Power 106 playing it every hour on the hour ... More >>

I Gave My Grandma Master P's 1995 Album Ice Cream Man. It Didn't End How I'd Hoped

First there was this, the video of DMX, a man who built a career being scarier than nuclear war, charming everyone's pants off with a Christmas carol about a reindeer with a nose that is both excellent (Kids: "Yay! Red nose! You're adorable, Rudolph!") and terrible (Doctors: "Oh no. Red nose. You're ... More >>

Top Five Ratchet Songs of 2012

Ratchet music emerged in 2012 as the preferred sound for rap fans on the west coast looking to party. Though it kicked off in Shreveport, Louisiana, Los Angeles producer DJ Mustard uprooted the formula and molded it for folks like YG, HBK and Tyga. The result? An inescapable mesh of raunchy lyrics, ... More >>

Nas & Lauryn Hill - The Wiltern - 11/30/12

Nas & Ms. Lauryn Hill The Wiltern 11/30/12 Better than...a Kelis and Wyclef double billing Nas & Lauryn Hill have a strong incentive to tour recently -- tax problems. Ahead of their double billed show last night at the Wiltern (they play again tonight) fans were hoping that they as well as the IRS ... More >>

Everybody's a Critic: Readers Respond to Our Food, Movie and Music Critics

Rap Genius Got $15 Million in Investor Financing. So Why Does Everyone Hate Them?

In Malibu last weekend, an ebullient crowd including rappers Mike G and Shawn Chrystopher have gathered for the birthday party of Mahbod Moghadam. Champagne is poured into red solo cups, while a volvano vaporizer circulates. Moghadam is an eccentric character who is the face of the extremely succes ... More >>

Xzibit Carries the Weight

Post–Pimp My Ride, the rapper strides forward

Greydon Square Is the Atheist Rapper

Midway through an interview with Greydon Square, I sneeze. "Bless you," the 31-year-old rapper born Eddie Collins says instinctively. He catches himself. "I know, an atheist that says, 'Bless you.' Habits, man." Greydon Square is the atheist rapper. In hip-hop, a genre in which where rappers thank ... More >>

Jay Rock: Our Interview With Kendrick Lamar's About-to-Pop Crewmate

Kendrick Lamar's good kid, m.A.A.d city is the frontrunner for hip-hop album of the year, and one of its most discussed verses comes from his Black Hippy crewmate Jay Rock. Far from new to the game, Jay Rock has put out music both on major labels and independently, he's been in boardrooms and boarde ... More >>

Let's Raise a Glass for the Underrated Warren G

This weekend Warren G turns 41, celebrating with a show at the Key Club on Friday. But while everyone knows him for "Regulate," his signature duet with Nate Dogg, he's actually had important roles in hip-hop history, many of which have gone under-discussed. Warren Griffin III started his career as ... More >>

What's the First Rap Song I Should Play For My Newborn Son?

In maybe one or maybe eight or maybe two or maybe six days, my third son will be pulled from my wife's womb. (C-section life, bitches.) He has a name, but I'm not going to tell you what it is. If you want to refer to him as Boy C, that's cool. That'll do just fine, I imagine. There are a bunch of r ... More >>

Waka Flocka Flame - Club Nokia - 11/4/12

Waka Flocka Flame Club Nokia 11/4/12 There's this great moment midway through rapper MGK's video for "Wild Boy," on which Waka Flocka Flame is featured. "You think you're a good rapper?" MGK asks Waka. "Fuck no," Waka replies. See also: Our slideshow of the concert That was the general consensus ... More >>

Kendrick Lamar's Mood Music

The Compton rapper carries the expectations of his city on his shoulders. It's tiring

Suburban White Fake Rapping Dads Are the Worst

Gangsta rap jokes are almost as old as gangsta rap itself, with seminal hip-hop comedies CB4 and Fear of a Black Hat dropping in 1994. There are probably earlier examples in song; indeed, short of hair metal, few musical genres are more ripe for parody. Since then gangsta rap gags have not abated, ... 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 >>

Lupe Fiasco and Big Sean - Big Boy's Block Party - 10/17/12

Big Boy's Block Party The Palladium 10/17/12 Last night, Big Boy's Block Party at the Palladium, hosted by the venerable Power 106 DJ, featured a little something for everyone. Headliner Lupe Fiasco brought his loyal fanbase and politically charged lyrics. Backed by a six-piece band, the black-clad ... More >>

Kendrick Lamar - Club Nokia - 10/17/12

Kendrick Lamar Club Nokia October 17, 2012 From a distance, it looked like a lazy protest was being staged at L.A. Live last night -- a handful of people dressed alike in baggy white t-shirts wandered the sidewalk or propped themselves up on fire hydrants, occasionally waving placards that announc ... More >>

I Hung Out With Ty$ the Other Night. Things Got Out of Hand

10:00 PM, Monday, Oct 8: I'm standing outside Paramount Recording studios on Santa Monica Boulevard waiting for the publicist for rapper Ty Dolla $ign -- aka Ty$. The plan is for me to hang out with the Hollywood denizen, who rolls with the Pushaz Ink label crew (YG, DJ Mustard, Fuego). Ty$'s blowin ... More >>

Will the Golden State Project's Album Ever Come Out?

Any hip-hop journalist knows that rappers aren't known for their punctuality, and neither are rap albums. Of course, Dr. Dre's Detox is famously delayed -- it's been more than ten years -- but there's actually an anticipated album (or, perhaps a once-anticipated album) with L.A. ties that's taken ev ... More >>

What the Hell Is Trap Music (and Why Is Dubstep Involved)?

You may have heard the term "trap music." You may even realize that what people are calling "trap music" today (which sounds a whole lot like dubstep) is not necessarily what people were calling "trap music" a few years ago. See also: Flying Lotus' Nocturnal Visions: Once believing himself destined ... More >>

Why Folks Are Complaining About Lil Wayne Breaking Elvis' Record - And Why They're Wrong

Last week, rapper Lil Wayne added to his already-quite-substantial legacy by breaking Elvis Presley's record for most songs on the Hot 100 charts by a solo artist. Immediately, however, many began squawking that this record deserved an asterisks, a la Roger Maris' 61 home runs. See also: *My Broth ... More >>

Murs and Fashawn On Their Kinship and Their New Album

California-bred rappers Murs and Fashawn have much in common. They're both former graffiti writers, skateboarders and independent-minded rappers who have affinities for collaborating with one specific producer per album. But they're also more than a decade apart in age -- Murs is 34, Fashawn 23. *M ... More >>

Freddie Gibbs and Madlib, Blu and Exile, Nocando - LACMA - 9/20/12

Freddie Gibbs and Madlib, Blu and Exile, Nocando LAMCA 9/20/12 Better than... wine and cheese at a museum We remember the first time LACMA held a Through the Mic hip-hop concert. They did not know what to expect from this new audience they were bringing to the museum. Just as the show got underway ... More >>

Compton Rapper Problem Wrote the Name of His New Mixtape in MDMA

Compton rapper Problem has worked heavily with hip-hop icons Snoop Dogg and E-40 -- his collaboration with the latter, "Function," is one of the catchiest songs of 2012. But he's also just about the only MC in the game who isn't scared to look happy about his success. Hot on the heels of his new mix ... More >>

Homeboy Sandman on His Black Thought Man-Crush

Five years ago, you could find an aspiring New York rapper named Homeboy Sandman bombarding the subway cars of the 7 train with promotional material claiming that rappers Mos Def, Big Pun, and The Roots' Black Thought considered him the next great rapper. It was a promotional ruse, but one that seem ... More >>

The Five Upcoming L.A. Rap Albums We're Most Excited to Hear

Top Ten Rap Albums For People Who Don't Know Shit About Hip-Hop Top 60 Worst Lil Wayne Lines on Tha Carter IV Top 20 Greatest L.A. Rap Albums Of All Time The 20 Worst Hipster Bands Ah, the fourth quarter. The season of brown leaves, event records and holiday shopping -- also known as "the least bad ... More >>

Rapper Wax Loses Def Jam Deal, Regains His Mojo

See also: Rapper Wax on 'Rosana' and Little Mamacitas Who Don't Play Recently L.A. rapper Wax told us about his Internet-generated fame, the raunchy hit video for "Rosana," and being signed to Def Jam. But even more recently he had surprising news: he's parted ways with the label, after being on it ... 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 >>

A Hip-Hop Love Story

When Jon Whitfield moved to Los Angeles in 2008, he had no aspirations of seeing Hollywood Boulevard or hitting the beach in Malibu. He didn't come from his home state of Mississippi to play tourist. Then again, he also didn't come to fall in love, get married and merge his burgeoning musical career ... More >>

French Montana Tells Us How to Win the Ass-Shaking Competition He's Hosting Tonight

See also: Popping That Ass: The Ladies Who Won Diplo's Contest Tonight rapper French Montana is hosting a party at a strip club, L.A.'s King of Diamonds Sin City. More specifically, it's a "'Pop That' Event," during which dancers will compete by twerking to Montana's wildly catchy summer anthem "Po ... More >>

Lil Wayne Isn't the Only Musician Who Hates New York

See also: Top 60 Worst Lil Wayne Lines on Tha Carter IV "I don't like New York," Lil Wayne said earlier this month, following a show he did in the city. His comments came out of his frustration for being arrested and jailed there, he explained. Still, New York State Senator Malcolm Smith promptly h ... More >>

2 Chainz Has The Year's Funniest, Creepiest Sexual Boast

[Editor's Note: Fuck Guilty Pleasures celebrates the over-produced, commercial, artless, lowbrow music that we believe is genuinely worthwhile. Like, among the best music ever.] Formerly known as "Tity Boy," Atlanta rapper 2 Chainz is best known as a member of Ludacris' Disturbing tha Peace crewand ... More >>

A Brief History of the Blowjob in Pop Music

Currently dominating charts, Flo Rida's "Whistle" recycles the wholesome Disney chorus "whistle while you work" as a blowjob instructional. Like many before him, Flo Rida enjoys receiving oral sex, and like almost as many, he has turned the practice into a popular song. Over the years, tracks discu ... More >>

Meet Brooke Candy: Rapper, Stripper, Warrior

Brooke Candy's given name is Brooke Candy, and she was born on 4/20. (Trust that we used our journalistic skills to verify this information.) Her father worked behind the scenes for Hustler when she was growing up in Oxnard. If her parents are surprised that she's become a stripper and rapper who sm ... More >>

What the Dodgers' Musical Taste Says About Them

[Editor's note: Weekly scribe Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. His archives are available here.] Forget phrenology, both the overrated Roots album and the 19th-century pseudo-science. Ignore palmistry, psychotherapy and Rick Warren. The best way to b ... More >>

How's That "Millennium of Aftermath" Going?

See also: *Here Are Pictures of Dr. Dre's New $13 Million House *The Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2012 Thus Far It was November of 1999 and we were on the cusp of the millennium when Dr. Dre famously proclaimed that the next one thousand years would be "the millennium of Aftermath," on the song "Forgot A ... More >>

Mac Lethal Gives Away the Chick-fil-A Recipe

See also: *These Five Rappers, Like Frank Ocean, Should Boycott Chick-fil-A *The Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2012 Thus Far Chick-fil-A's CEO Dan Cathy turned his chicken chain into to a political lightning rod by insinuating same-sex marriage would be "inviting God's judgment on our nation." It's inspi ... More >>

Nicki Minaj - Nokia Theatre - 8/8/12

Nicki Minaj Nokia Theatre 8/8/12 Plenty at Nicki Minaj's show last night proved to be distractions -- lackluster choreography, tacky costumes that looked straight out of Target and no thematic cohesion. But it was more than that; she's clearly not ready to headline her own show. Last year, Minaj ... More >>

Is The Dove Shack's "Summertime in the LBC" the Perfect Summer Song?

[Editor's note: Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. Be sure to also check out the archives.] See also: KDAY, the Gangsta Rap Oldies Station, Breaks New Ground by Playing Music From the Bad Old Days This is the city and the season for the summer jam. Yo ... More >>

KDAY, the Gangsta Rap Oldies Station, Breaks New Ground by Playing Music From the Bad Old Days

KDAY's Tattoo Explains Why He Got a Forehead Tattoo That Says "I Slept With Shaq"

See also: KDAY, the Gangsta Rap Oldies Station, Breaks New Ground by Playing Music From the Bad Old Days Our big story this week is on L.A. radio station KDAY, one of the only terrestrial outlets in the country playing classic hip-hop. The station -- which is independent but gets great ratings -- c ... More >>

Let's Play 'Guess the Rapper'

See also: KDAY, the Gangsta Rap Oldies Station, Breaks New Ground by Playing Music From the Bad Old Days Below are some illustrations of rappers. (The top is an example.) They also contain hints to help you guess who they are. There are 15 total. If you miss more than three, you lose and everyone ... More >>

La Coka Nostra Returns, With Scars

See also: Don't Call Him Country. Everlast is Hip-Hop, Dammit. In the back lounge of venerable Mid-Wilshire Irish pub Tom Bergin's, West Coast hip-hop supergroup La Coka Nostra members Daniel "Danny Boy" O'Connor, 43, and George "Slaine" Carroll, 34, take their seats at a table covered with creased ... More >>

Top 10 Sexiest Hip-Hop Video Vixens

LMFAO 'Bikini Girl' Says She Was Fired For Being 'Big Boned' Top Ten Sexiest Album Covers We've Ever Seen Top 60 Worst Lil Wayne Lines on Tha Carter IV Top Ten Rap Albums For People Who Don't Know Shit About Hip-Hop Top 20 Greatest L.A. Rap Albums Of All Time: The Complete List Thoughts From A Rando ... More >>

Ratchet Up: Street Hero YG Eschews Gangsta Rap in Favor of Party Music

Rapper Kid Ink Only Began Writing in Order to Sell His Beats

A slight guy in nondescript white t-shirt and baggy Nike basketball shorts is bent over the vintage jewelry case at Fairfax's Dope Couture. Bracelets encircle both of his wrists; nevertheless, he points to a YSL piece whose thick links glint. It pairs nicely with the well-polished chain already slun ... More >>

N.W.A's MC Ren Now Lives 
in Palm Springs

The best fake fact on Wikipedia is that MC Ren studied classical literature at Brown. It's a strain of truthiness so absurd as to be almost believable. Except when I mention it to the former enforcer of N.W.A, he roars. "Fuck no, I didn't go to no Brown," says the man born Lorenzo Patterson. "I didn ... More >>