A few weeks ago, I wrote a piece discussing the difficulties J Dilla's estate has had in enforcing copyright law and paying off the six-figure IRS debt left behind. In the aftermath of the story's publication, I had the chance to speak with his mother, Ms. Maureen Yancey about Dilla's legacy and ... More >>
Still a little stunned by this one. I suppose we can chalk this up as some minor triumph to the power of the media, at a time when the Fourth Estate isn't exactly going through its finest moment. I'm not in the habit of running press releases in full, but I'll make the exception after the jump. I ... More >>
I can't tell how much I like Q-Tip's, The Renaissance. It's good sure, but it's impossible to listen to without noting the elephant in the room: the fact that Q-Tip has been a.w.o.l. for most of the decade and y'know, that whole "centerpiece of one of the greatest groups of all-time" thing. So wi ... More >>
No introduction necessary. Q: So what brings you out to LA? A: Just business brought me out here. I have an office set up out here and we’re just out here networking and keeping our minds at peace and just working on the album, staying in the studio. I’m doing a lot of things—dealing wit ... More >>
No Age, Chapin Sisters, Mia Doi Todd, the Knux, Flying Lotus, Madlib and more
You better believe they serve Pepsi at Medieval Times. 30. Los Campesinos-Hold On Now, Youngster (Wichita/Arts and Crafts) Gareth Campesinos and Co. clearly grew up not just liking music but being obsessed by bands, and they've done the only honourable thing you can in that position: they've ... More >>
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 >>
Build an Ark at Knobworld "Give me swirly!" Joshua Spiegelman calls out from behind his flute. Three musicians hold handmade strands of bells out in front of them, tracing fancy configurations in the air like delicate kites. "Robust, curvaceous!" Spiegelman exclaims, offering up a poetic biology ... More >>
I love LA. Love it love it love it (except when Indie 103 gets tossed off the airwaves). One reason: nights like tonight, when the music offerings are so far-flung and wide-open that my proto-punk gene is being pulled one direction, my turntablist strand is being pulled another, and my disco-house b ... More >>
David Axelrod, the legendary LA-based jazz/funk/breakbeat king whose work has been heavily sampled by hip hop producers, will perform some of his classic tracks live for the first time ever (though he did do something similar in London in 2004) this spring as part of the Timeless Concert Series, a ... More >>
Erin Broadley Los Angeles is always hot, but it's rarely warm. And cold, cavernous Amoeba Records is hardly an emotional bastion, unless you're talking caustic clerks castigating a moldering collection of Chicago records. But behind me, a group of saucer-eyed sophomore girls, eyebrow rings and flann ... More >>
Randall Roberts (with apologies to professional photographers everywhere)Miguel Atwood-Ferguson conducts his Suite for Ma Dukes at the Luckman Last night at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex composers/producers/musicians Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and Carlos Nino debuted their "Suite for Ma Dukes," a colle ... More >>
Also, Cut Chemist, NOFX, Hal Blaine’s 80th bash and more
Also, Cut Chemist, NOFX, Hal Blaine’s 80th bash and more
Hip-hop's been in a lull. Meet the new torchbearers
Hip-hop producer's legend ascends posthumously; estate struggles to maintain control
Hip-hop producer's legend ascends posthumously; estate struggles to maintain control
In the Ghetto; Peanut Butter party; English food; Capture scratch
Blood soundtrack, Caltroit mixtape and No Disco Future
Ghostface Killah at the Key Club
For the week of Feb. 8 - 15
For the week of Feb. 8 - 15
The fantastical real-life story of L.A.’s Stones Throw Records, a hip-hop legend in the making
The fantastical real-life story of L.A.’s Stones Throw Records, a hip-hop legend in the making
The fantastical real-life story of L.A.’s Stones Throw Records, a hip-hop legend in the making
The fantastical real-life story of L.A.’s Stones Throw Records, a hip-hop legend in the making
The fantastical real-life story of L.A.’s Stones Throw Records, a hip-hop legend in the making
The fantastical real-life story of L.A.’s Stones Throw Records, a hip-hop legend in the making
The fantastical real-life story of L.A.’s Stones Throw Records, a hip-hop legend in the making
The fantastical real-life story of L.A.’s Stones Throw Records, a hip-hop legend in the making
The fantastical real-life story of L.A.’s Stones Throw Records, a hip-hop legend in the making
The fantastical real-life story of L.A.’s Stones Throw Records, a hip-hop legend in the making
Pete Rock needs no introduction. His new album NY's Finest drops on Tuesday. While it might not be a classic on the level of a Soul Survivors or Mecca & The Soul Brother, it's a strong record with occasionally great moments. But buyer beware: Jim Jones yells "floooosssssiiiin'" no less than fo ... More >>
I...listened to all that Death Row stuff....and Lords Of The Underground, Busta Rhymes, Redman and Keith Murray, where your takes had to be so clean and ill to get off the phonetics that you were dropping. Your lines had to be crisp. Other cats don’t come from that school. It took me studying R ... More >>
Echo Park producer and mastering engineer Dave Cooley, who owns Elysian Masters, has worked with a lot of LA bands you know. He's produced Silversun Pickups, Darker My Love and Mickey Avalon, among others. But it's as a mastering engineer that Cooley really seems to thrive. He's been the final ear ... More >>
Takashi Okazaki always liked the idea of being a DJ. In fact, he apparently has a pretty hefty collection of hip-hop, funk and soul on vinyl that needs to upload to his computer. But, as Okazaki said through a translator during our interview at Anime Expo, he thought that all DJs "were really cool ... More >>
Hypnotic Brass Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Ensemble Shake the Explex
Top of the Hip-Hop Or, how Dan LeRoy learned to stop worrying and love da bomb. Â While year-end, catch-all wrap-ups are common to every musical genre, in no other style of music do they turn into the hand-wringing, "state of the game" examinations that hip-hop seems to provoke. (I've certainly wr ... More >>
Top of the Hip-Hop Or, how Dan LeRoy learned to stop worrying and love da bomb. Â While year-end, catch-all wrap-ups are common to every musical genre, in no other style of music do they turn into the hand-wringing, "state of the game" examinations that hip-hop seems to provoke. (I've certainly wr ... More >>
Suite for Ma Dukes Orchestra "Take Notice" Video Premiere [MP3]
(stonesthrow.com)It's no secret that L.A.'s best-kept secret, hip-hop producer extraordinaire Madlib, is a prolific dude. During the aughts, he helmed upwards of 20 albums operating under numerous pseudonyms -- Quasimoto, DJ Rels, Yesterday's New Quintet -- and released a handful of classics ... More >>
J Dilla Day: Remembering the Legendary Producer 4 Years Gone
The late, great Jay DeeAs West Coast Sound scribe Drew Tewksbury just reported, Wednesday marked the fourth anniversary of the tragic passing of legendary hip-hop producer J Dilla, a.k.a. James Yancey. After years of excellent behind-the-scenes production work, Dilla rose to fame as a member ... More >>
