Jay-Z

Here's a Review of the New Justin Timberlake Album, Using Only K-Pop GIFs

On Monday, Justin Timberlake, the guy from the Facebook movie but also the guy from Saturday Night Live but also the guy from New Myspace but also the guy from music, released the stream for his new album, The 20/20 Experience. It is, as I'm certain you've already read, his first album in 50 years. ... More >>

Where Are the Women in EDM?

In the past three years, one woman has ranked in DJ Magazine's yearly Top 100 DJs poll. (Lisa Lashes, #75, 2009). The international EDM circuit is dominated by men like Justice, Diplo, Skrillex, Swedish House Mafia, Tiësto, David Guetta and Avicii, and the underground scene is as much of a boys clu ... More >>

Animal's Chefs Have Badass Taste in Music

[Editor's note: Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. Be sure to also check out the archives.] You really haven't heard Kanye West and Jay-Z's "H.A.M." until it plays while you dig into a slab of Animal's balsamic pork ribs, delicata squash, arugula and p ... More >>

California Bullet Train's Promise of Jobs is Overstated, Says UCLA

That $100 billion publicly financed bullet train that would connect Angelenos to the Bay Area for the low, low one-way price of $120 (more, in some cases, than airfare) has more problems than Jay-Z. We reported recently that Golden State voters no longer support the thing: You seem to think buildin ... More >>

Top Ten Rap Albums For People Who Don't Know Shit About Hip-Hop

Hip-hop is nearly 40, but many still find this slightly-disorienting world of beats, rhymes and oversize personalities a bit daunting. So consider this our hip-hop Cliff's notes; here are the albums you should know about if you don't want to look silly at cocktail parties. We're not saying these a ... More >>

Top 20 Sexiest Male Musicians of All Time: #20-16

Physical appearance actually has little to do with sexiness. Sure, we've all been known to stare at a shirtless dude, but to give us whiplash he needs to arouse our minds. Whether it's a sidelong glance, the hint of a smile, a swagger that piques our curiosity or just the way he flicks his cigarette ... More >>

Jay-Z and Kanye West - Staples Center - 12-11-11

Christopher Victorio​Jay-Z and Kanye West Staples Center 12-11-11 See also: Our Jay-Z and Kanye West slideshow Better than: Goofus and Gallant "Will they kiss?" my buddy Jeff wondered aloud before the start of last night's Jay-Z and Kanye West show at Staples Center. I was more wrapped up ... More >>

"Niggas in Paris": We Can Now Tell You With Much Greater Accuracy How Many Times Jay-Z And Kanye Will Play It At Staples Center

Sayre Berman​See also: "Niggas in Paris": Jay-Z and Kanye Will Perform It 13 Times When They're Here. Seriously. On November 29 we published a post containing the results of our "Niggas In Paris" linear regression. During the encores of their current Watch The Throne tour, Jay-Z and Kanye Wes ... More >>

Music Picks: Andrea Bocelli, Carina Round, A Hero A Fake

Also, Norma Jean, Jonathan Richman, Jay-Z and Kanye West and others

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 >>

Top Five Rappers In Absolutely Ridiculous Sweaters

Drake and his sweater on Saturday Night Live​The young rap billionaire Drake has a new album out this week. It's probably fantastic! But more important than any critical assessment of his music, it's another opportunity for Drake to assert his commitment to the bemusing art of wearing really a ... More >>

Music Picks: Joan Osborne, Tears for Fears, the Cute Lepers, J. Cole, Low

Also Bon Iver, Cerebellion, Surfer Blood and others

Compton Rapper Game Returns to an Industry That's Gone Soft

Will his old tricks still work?

Top Five Spike Jonze Rap Videos That Are Better Than "Otis"

Kanye and Jay-Z​The Spike Jonze-directed video for Jay-Z and Kanye West's "Otis" debuted late last week. In it, the two professional luxury shoppers (and occasional rappers) gallivant around in a modified Maybach while rapping in front of a giant flag. If you've somehow missed it, knock yourse ... More >>

Interview With The Guy Who Ranks Rich Rappers For Forbes; Dre and Snoop Are On The New List, But What About Black Eyed Peas?

​Zack O'Malley Greenburg is the Forbes writer who puts together the magazine's annual "Cash Kings" list, which estimates the earnings of the wealthiest rappers of the past year and ranks the top 20. Their newest version came out yesterday; Jay-Z topped the list with $37 million, and L.A. is ... More >>

Top Five Greatest Rap Hook Singers

Frank Ocean​Last week we were supposed to get the major label release of Odd Future cohort Frank Ocean's debut project, nostalgia, ULTRA, previously a mixtape. Unfortunately, the suits at Def Jam have apparently stricken it from the upcoming-release schedule, with Ocean reacting by releasing t ... More >>

The Dance Hall Is Back

Meet Death Grips: The Beast Lurking In The Shadows Is Set To Change the Hip-Hop Game

​"I close my eyes and seize it I clench my fists and beat it I light my torch and burn it I am the beast I worship... I am the beast I worship" As the media is shining its hip-hop spotlight on Los Angeles, there is a monster growing in the state's forgotten capital.  Drummer Zach Hill (He ... More >>

Sweetest Taboos: Top 5 Reasons Hip Hop is Way Into Sade

Oh yeah ... she doesn't age physically, either ​Last week's premiere of the remix to Sade's "The Moon and The Sky," featuring Jay-Z, on the rapper's new website Life and Times, was unusual for a couple of reasons. Sade is famously reluctant to do collaborations of any kind, but an LA Times int ... More >>

Top Ten Musician Restaurant Franchises (In Honor of Flavor Flav's New Fried Chicken Joint in Iowa--Yes, Iowa)

Don't Believe the Hype! 10 Musician's Restaurants Less Strange Than Flava Flav's Chicken Joint

How to Headline Coachella the Right Way: Top 5 Coachella Headliners and Acts

Coachella by Night ​ It's getting close to the announcement we're all waiting for: the headliner for Coachella, the festival that kicks off the first of many multi-day music and arts festivals that will take place over the summer, in sweltering heat. What started as a small music festival ele ... More >>

Auto-Tune Justifier Wallpaper Gives in to Jay-Z, Sells His Auto-Tune on Craigslist

​When Jay-Z released his "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" last summer, Bay Area based electro-funk upstart Wallpaper responded by remixing the song and slathering copious amounts of the titular effect on Jay's voice. Now Wallpaper, a.k.a. Eric Frederic,--a vocal advocate for the pitch-fixing rec ... More >>

Music Picks: Tift Merritt, Clinic, Microscopic Septet

Also, J. Cole, the Crazy Squeeze, Wild Flag and others

News Haiku: Gucci Mane Arrested, MC Hammer Is Terrible, Weezy's Last Days in the Can, New Michael Jackson Tracks Fake?

News Haiku: Gucci Mane Arrested, MC Hammer Is Terrible, Weezy's Last Days in the Can, New Michael Jackson Tracks Fake?

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: Vegas, Baby (With Video Links)

bravotv.comAre we noticing a theme here?​In this episode, we got a bit more insight into the relationships the Real Housewives have with their husbands. And my what a spectrum we're working with here. First, the scenario: The gals and all their plus ones jaunted off to Vegas courtesy of Ms. ... More >>

Music Picks: Femi Kuti, Love Revisited, Fol Chen, Riot Grrl Carnival

Also, Dam-Funk, the Outline, CocoRosie and others

Day 3: Jay-Z and Beyonce Nerd Out Over Thom Yorke Just Like Everyone Else

Gustavo TurnerThat blurry guy with the hat? It's Hova--swear to God!​ It's official: Jay-Z and Beyonce loooooooove Thom Yorke's difficult solo material. Coachella audience members to the right of the Outdoors Theater soundboard waiting for Thom Yorke to start his set of material from his sol ... More >>

Tell Us Your Coachella Stories!

Josh "CuriousJosh" Reiss"Does this toothbrush make my ass look big?": Oral hygiene is very important at Coachella. Your stories are too. Tell us.​ Back from Coachella? Back to the daily grind? Everyone who stayed behind asking you "how was it? how was it?" jumping around you like the yappy do ... More >>

Nightranger's Coachella Check-list: Desert Dos and Don'ts

Ready and rarin' to go for Coachella? If you packed days ago, drove up Wednesday or Thursday morning and didn't over do it at the parties last night, then you probably are. Goodie for you. But those of us preparing to battle Friday traffic in hopes of getting there before sunset tonight, well, we mi ... More >>

Talking Hip Hop (and Phil Collins) With At the Movies' Ben Lyons

By Brandon Perkins Perhaps if Ben Lyons' movie chops were as obvious as his hip-hop track record, then sites like StopBenLyons.com wouldn't exist. Ever since the E! personality took the helm of the Siskel, Roper and Ebert's beloved At the Movies, Lyons has been berated with more thumbs down than ... More >>

Psst: Grammy Week Parties with MGMT, Black Eyed Peas, New York Dolls, Chelsea Girls, DJ AM and (maybe) Whitney Houston

The Grammy telecast might be a snooze, but during awards week its host city is anything but. Surprise stage jams and DJ sets, official and unofficial shindigs and a overall anything-can- happen/anyone-might-show vibe and excitement takes over LA's clubs and events... You don't need to be Jay-Z and B ... More >>

Wale 2.0: On the Eve of his LA Show, DC Rapper Talks Twitter Dangers, NCAA Football, and Why Most Interviewers Suck

An interview with Wale by Brandon Perkins Rest assured dedicated Web 2.0'ers, DC rapper Wale has not forsaken Twitter. One of the most committed Tweeters this side of Japanese school children, Wale had sworn off the message posting website after a particular Tweet got him in trouble with the DJ S ... 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 >>

Rock Picks: Antony & the Johnsons, Kings of Leon, Jay-Z

Also, Joan Osborne, Earl Zero, Petra Haden and more

The Many Moods of Rock the Bells

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

The Dap-Kings: Soul's New Royalty

And Sharon Jones is its hardest-working woman

Rock Picks: Meat Beat Manifesto, Jay-Z, Eels

Plus other music shows for April 10-17

Radiohead: Rainbows in Curved Air

The analog pleasures of Radiohead's digital revolution by Randall Roberts (Photo by John Spinks) There are a few different ways to get to Big Sur from Los Angeles, but in the big picture it doesn't matter which route you take, because regardless, you're leaving Los Angeles and going to Big Sur. You ... 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

Retro-futuristic Postmodern house Party

L.A. Music '06: Welcome to Indie Land

The Magic Kingdom has Tomorrowland; we’ve got Spaceland. Plus, more magical local bands, man.

Rock Picks

For the week of November 10–16

Where’s the Funny?

The year hip-hop forgot its dick can fly

Nightranger

Call me Nostradamus

10 signs of the apocalypse

Top of the Pops

Crossed Wires

Freedom Calls

Jurassic 5 reach higher ground

Bring the Sunshine