Killer Mike

The Coachella 2013 Awards

The brunette in the backward pink mesh trucker hat and booty shorts grabs a megaphone and addresses her fellow campers. "WECOME TO COOOOACHEELLLA." The congregation of twenty 20-somethings lustily applauds. It's Thursday night, a dozen hours before the festival officially begins, and the rules ar ... More >>

Paid Dues - San Manuel Amphitheater - 3/30/13

Paid Dues Independent Hip-Hop Festival San Manuel Amphitheater 3/30/13 Traffic was hellish. Parking was a mess, the outhouses were a disaster, the lines for food were ridiculously long, and one edifice labeled "will call" was not, in fact, will call. The dust was Coachella-like, and after the boil ... More >>

Hip-Hop Albums We're Excited For in 2013

The world didn't end, the new year is upon us, and it's time to get pumped about 2013. While we've all but given up hope that 2013 will be the year we see Detox, there's still plenty of releases either officially announced or highly likely to land that have us excited. It's with the boom-bap baby ne ... More >>

S.S. Coachella Gossip: We Stalk Jarvis Cocker

No one's really interested in reading about the actual performances taking place on this musical ship of contradictions, the S.S. Coachella, amirite? (Well, if I'm wrong, here's our report from the first day.) Instead, you want a spoonful of gossipy anecdotal sugar, straight from the decks of this f ... More >>

Music Picks: Culture Collide, Nick Lowe, Screaming Females

Comedian Eric Andre Trained at Berklee and Had a Band Called Blarf

[Editor's note: Weekly scribe Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. His archives are available here.] Shortly after Eric Andre enrolled at the Berklee School of Music, he formed the band Blarf. The goal was to be the gonzo zygote of Frank Zappa and the Be ... More >>

The Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2012 Thus Far

*Top Ten Rap Albums For People Who Don't Know Shit About Hip-Hop *Top 20 Greatest L.A. Rap Albums of All Time Only ten days into January we jokingly picked the year's top rap albums of 2012. But it turns out that 2012 has in fact shaped up as a pretty amazing year for hip-hop full-lengths -- arguab ... More >>

Pulp to Headline Coachella Cruise: Here's the Full Lineup

All aboard. Let the Coachella branding begin! Goldenvoice today announced a pair of Coachella boat tours; each will leave in December from Fort Lauderdale. Pulp will headline, with Hot Chip, Yeasayer, Girl Talk and Sleigh Bells among the bigger names.

Jimmy Cliff, Liars, Jesse Sykes

Also, New Edition, Kátia Moraes & Sambaguru, Milo Greene and others

Killer Mike - Echoplex - February 21, 2012

Ben Westhoff​Killer Mike w/ Busdriver, Nocando, and Open Mike Eagle Echoplex February 21, 2012 Better than: John Rocker Killer Mike is conscious without being boring, a street preacher rapper who knows that no one will listen to your message if your beats aren't dope. He's an obvious heir to ... More >>

Save Sessions LA

Billy CalderonColby Evans, one of Sessions LA's producers​Eighteen-year-old Argento Zavala (not his real name) became homeless this summer. After an argument with his mother, he got kicked out of the house. He'd been exposed to drugs since he was in 8th grade, but he began a new daily routine: ... More >>

How Many Adult Swim Musical Tie-Ins Can You Name?

MC Pee Pants​Adult Swim is integrating all sorts of hip music folks into its late-night shows: Odd Future shot a pilot for the cable channel, and word is that Major Lazer has something in the works. But the cutting-edge programmers have long been musically inclined. MC Chris came to prominen ... More >>

Music Picks: Talib Kweli, Pete Yorn, Lucy Schwartz

Also Rise Against, Piney Gir, Deradoorian and others

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 >>

Bedroom Confidential: New Crop of Boutique Record Labels in Town

Corporate counterparts may want to study this model

The Whole Damn Thing

Outkast, Dead Prez in the freedom stakes

So Fresh, So Clean