Shreveport

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 >>

DJ Mustard and the Story of Ratchet

[Editor's note: Weekly scribe Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. His archives are available here.] Hip hop is constantly inventing new slang for getting down and dirty. You could get buck, crunk, and freaky. Wild out or act a fool. This summer was the ... More >>

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

10 Best Foie Gras Dishes in Los Angeles

On July 1, the boom finally drops: The country's first statewide ban on foie gras goes into effect in California, making it illegal to serve or sell. For more on this, check out our critic Besha Rodell's consideration of the Last Days of Foie Gras. In honor of the work by chefs and kitchen staff do ... More >>

Ice-T vs. Soula Boy: Who Won?

​[Editor's note: In honor of Soulja Boy's performance at L.A. Memorial Sports Arena this Saturday, August 20, along with Kid Ink, Travis Porter and many others, here's an excerpt from my book Dirty South: OutKast, Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, and the Southern Rappers Who Reinvented Hip-Hop, which wa ... More >>

Guest Blogger: Letters from Rasputina, Part 1

Guest Blogger: Rasputina's Melora​ [Rasputina's Melora Creager, the undisputed doyenne of cello-based, kinda-goth, steampunk-avant-la-lettre indie music, has graciously agreed to guest-blog for West Coast Sound in anticipation of their upcoming LA gig at the Troubadour, this Saturday, August 1 ... More >>

Movie Reviews: Crazy On the Outside, Daybreakers, Leap Year

Also, Bitch Slap, Youth in Revolt and more

Movie Reviews: All About Steve, Loren Cass, Ink, Walt & El Grupo

Also, Sandstorm, No Impact Man, Gamer and more

The Quicksand

Tommy Sands sinks and swims

The Old Ball Game

L.A.’s future is fine without football

Big Stick

Inglewood schools super McKinley Nash cows his critics