Rick Ross

Where Have All of Diddy's Bad Boys Gone? (To Prison, Mostly)

At a concert in New York this past weekend, Bad Boy Records presented its recent signee King Los. Other members of the crew, including MGK, are currently getting some shine as well. But what about the Bad Boys of yesteryear? What are they up to these days? Glad you asked! Here's a rundown.

Edrina Martinez Is a Space Cadet Called Astronautica

[Editor's note: Weekly scribe Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. His archives are available here.] When Edrina Martinez was a little girl, she wanted to be an astronaut or a rock star. Two things got in the way of the 21-year-old electronic producer wh ... More >>

Producer Khalief Brown: Beats for a Space Brawl

[Editor's note: Weekly scribe Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. His archives are available here.] It's rare that you hear a rap song on the radio and your only thought is, "Who produced this?" That's what happened last summer when I first heard Kid In ... More >>

The Top Five Rappers That Fans Love and Critics Can't Stand

Not all rappers need critical adoration to achieve commercial success. Some use negative reviews as motivation, others dismiss them as hate, and a few of them probably don't know what constitutes a review. But it's commendable anytime an artist reaches some level of success. In fact, some of the mos ... More >>

Smoking Wax Weed With Rapper Demrick

[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 >>

Why This Songs Sucks: The Worst Rap Tracks of 2012

Welcome to another installment of the worst rap songs of the year, brought to you by Why This Song Sucks. See also: Why This Song Sucks: The Worst Rap Tracks of 2011 They are all here this year: The all-the-way aged king, the suddenly mortal demigod, the former darling, the current darling, the m ... More >>

Music Picks: No Doubt, Nikki Hill, Alice Cooper

Milo Greene Aren't Just Hopeful; They're Working Their Asses Off

For a newly-signed band criss-crossing the U.S. touring, maintaining exuberance shouldn't be hard for Milo Greene to do. But the Silver Lake dream pop quintet, having just started their biggest tour, is already a bit road worn.

Music Picks: Rusko, HARD Summer, SMOD

Also, Beachwood Sparks, Jesca Hoop, Ravi Coltrane and others

Kurt Vile Gets Folky, Plays Largo Tomorrow

Kurt Vile's music doesn't immediately sound folk. When listing off his early influences, the Philly-born singer-songwriter points to bands like Sonic Youth and Pavement. But underneath the distorted tones his songwriting style -- however brash it may come off at times -- is undoubtedly influenced by ... More >>

Is Riff Raff Serious?

One thing's for certain: This maddeningly inscrutable white rapper is more entertaining than you are

Drawings Of Rappers, Made By My Sons

That's a picture of Tyler, the Creator that my one of my twin sons drew. Why did he draw a picture of Tyler, the Creator, you ask? Well, see, when you're a parent (if you're a good one, at least), you spend no small amount of time worrying. When the kid is a baby, a lot of it involves putting bumpe ... More >>

Trayvon Martin Hoodie Photo Project by L.A. DJ Adam 12 Features 'Freeway' Rick Ross, Others

Adam 12, the sometime DJ for President Obama's campaign fund-raising and a photographer as well, embarked on a project over the weekend to bring attention to the Trayvon Martin case. He photographed several musical and cultural luminaries in hooded sweatshirts. (Teen Martin was unarmed and wearing ... More >>

Gangrene Get High, So High

Alchemist and Oh No's label gave them a weed budget

Music Picks: Barry Adamson, Joanna Malfatti Trio, Clare Fischer Big Band

Also, Eleni Mandell, Steve Reich, Call Us Forgotten and others

Main Attrakionz, DaVinci, Jonti - Bootleg Gallery - September 30, 2011

Main Attrakionz, DaVinci, Joni Bootleg Gallery September 30, 2011 Better than ... the indie band in the other room. Throw a pop-up show for say, Prince, and the place is packed within minutes of the doors opening. But for groups still teetering on the verge of simply Internet fame, it's riskier b ... More >>

Blu Interview: We Chop It Up With ​L.A.'s Patron Saint of Lyricism

Blu ​Blu soundlessly materializes in Silverlake's La Mill coffee boutique. The rapper's aura is so serene it forms a barrier against the sounds of jittery fingertips flitting across keyboards and conversations that seem to be in fast forward. I think of a line from "Down to Earth," a song from ... More >>

Spaceghostpurrp on Being Compared to Odd Future, Not Dissing the Taylor Gang, and Why Miami is Satan's Playground

Spaceghostpurrp's spaceship just dropped him off​Two months ago, Miami rapper and producer Spaceghostpurrp's YouTube channel registered a few hundred views. But one dip into the then-nineteen-year-old's world of viscous sound waves had us hooked: It sounds as though he's sunk a creaky, abando ... More >>

USC Students Have More Sex Than UCLA Rivals, According to OkCupid

John Martinez PavligaWoot-woot: USC slaps UCLA, again.​USC Trojans. With a name like that, it figures that the young men and woman of Troy are claiming yet another victory over crosstown rival UCLA. Yep, Trojans have more sex than Bruins. Duh. Trojans were practically made for sex. That USC ... More >>

Music Picks: Duran Duran, Jessie Evans, k.d. lang, The Dodos, Swahili Blonde,

Also, Janet Jackson, Greg Laswell, The Crystelles, Big Audio Dynamite and others

Grammy Party Report #2: Model DJs at Colony, MSTRful Turntablism at Roxbury, and an Un-Friendly Reception at Paramount

Lina LecaroDance floor fatales at Colony​ One of the best things about Grammy Party Weekend? Getting to check out the velvet roped dens du jour one might not frequent in Hollywood in fell swoop. Most pre-Grammy events this year were at the newest and nicest swankpits in town (Roxbury, Supper ... More >>

Slow Soul: The Rise of Neoclassical Soul

Can R. Kelly’s latest be called “throwback” when all of R&B seems to be playing Back to the Future?

Music Picks: Sweaters, Jonathan Richman, Hanni El Khatib, Henry Rollins

Also, Aloe Blacc, Maren Parusel, the Greenhornes and others

First Thoughts on Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak

"You can't judge me on this because it's a reflection of my heart and soul. It's like judging a grandmother's love. Can you judge a grandmother's love by giving it 2.5 mics, or saying that it only sold a million?"--Kanye West, directly after the first unveiling of Heartbreak & 808s So Kanye's ... More >>

Nico the Beast's "No Beast So Fierce" And The Power of the Plain White Tee

Odds are on any given day you can catch Nico the Beast rocking plain white tees. They're his uniform of choice. Not because he's trying to sell some D-boy image to get that Plies money.* but rather because they symbolize what Nico reps: a sort of basic no-frills, rock-ribbed fundamental rap. Or ... More >>

Who's the Best: Debating DJ Khaled

Last week, DJ Khaled announced the creation of his We the Best Music, a new vanity label that will be distributed and released under the Def Jam umbrella. In a press conference to promote the pact, Khaled repeatedly proclaimed "we the best" and that "we taking over internationally." As I find Kha ... More >>

Raiders of the Lost Art

Sometime after 50 arrived, the art of the narrative wandered into a blizzard of coke raps, artificial hood mythologizing and pandering simplicity. Complexity no longer moved units, and with sales sliding, Scarface xeroxes and ringtone rappers became the safe bets. You can't blame the suits either ... More >>

Hip-Hop Is Dead

...and other reports that have been greatly exaggerated

Demonios en la calle Broadway

Milagros, exorcismos, anticatolicismo: cómo irse a la ruina en la Iglesia Universal del Reino de Dios por Joseph Treviño

Demons on Broadway

Miracles. Exorcism. Catholic-bashing. Going for broke in the Universal Church.