Wu-Tang Clan

Adrian Younge: New Soul Legend

The composer and producer reimagines old-school hip-hop

The Best Concerts to See in L.A. This Weekend

Friday, April 13 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival EMPIRE POLO CLUB Although it's unlikely that the Rolling Stones and their sprawling entourage will descend on this sun-baked music festival for a surprise set, as was rumored earlier this year, there are still many intriguing storylines scatte ... More >>

KDAY Is Closing? A Eulogy to the Best Station in L.A.

[Editor's note: Weekly scribe Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," normally appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. His archives are available here.] "Remember KDAY?" Tupac asked that question on "To Live & Die in LA," but the answer was obvious. Makaveli never even lived in Southern Califor ... More >>

Under-the-Radar Acts to See at Coachella

[Editor's note: Weekly scribe Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. His archives are available here.] Beware any tutorial about the "right way" to do Coachella. Stay sentient, steer clear of phosphorescent forms in spirit hoodies, drink water, and never m ... More >>

Tokimonsta on Asshole DJs and Her Twitter Game

Tokimonsta is the subject of our music feature this week; for the story, we hung out with the beat scene DJ/producer at the dinner party event celeb chef Roy Choi whipped up for her at his restaurant A-Frame. A few days later we sat down with her over green tea to talk about her recently released so ... More >>

Coachella 2013 Lineup Announced

The Coachella lineup is here. It's actually here! There have been ten tons of fakes, some quite convincing, and many of which had the Rolling Stones headlining. (West Coast Sound, however, broke the story that they would not appear.) But never mind all that! The lineup is here, and the headliners a ... More >>

I Gave My Grandma Master P's 1995 Album Ice Cream Man. It Didn't End How I'd Hoped

First there was this, the video of DMX, a man who built a career being scarier than nuclear war, charming everyone's pants off with a Christmas carol about a reindeer with a nose that is both excellent (Kids: "Yay! Red nose! You're adorable, Rudolph!") and terrible (Doctors: "Oh no. Red nose. You're ... More >>

L.A.'s Top Five Actors-Turned-Rappers, Including Warren Beatty

See also: *Top 20 Greatest L.A. Rap Albums Of All Time: The Complete List *Here Are Pictures of Dr. Dre's New $13 Million House Only a decade ago everyone was complaining about how the rappers were taking all of the acting roles in Hollywood. But nowadays the pendulum has swung in the other direct ... More >>

Buyepongo Bring the Motherfucking Ruckus

South Central band Buyepongo is known for digging deep into the neighborhood's Latin roots and serving up a new formula for grinding on the dance floor. They're inspired by Wu-Tang Clan and manage to live up to their name, which means, literally, "to cause a ruckus." Originally formed in 2005, they ... More >>

RZA of Wu Tang Clan to Teach Teens in Juvenile Hall How to be Better Fathers

Hey young dads, want to learn how to change your baby's diaper or dress her up properly? Let RZA, the legendary hip-hop producer and member of the Wu-Tang Clan, teach you how. Seriously. Because you want the guy who produced "Protect Ya Neck" to demonstrate the proper way to protect ya baby from ra ... More >>

Flying Lotus - Coachella - 4-14-12

See also: *The Best Of Coachella: Saturday, April 14 *Coachella: The Black Lips' Cole Alexander Goes Full Monty, Plays Guitar With His Ding-Dong Flying Lotus Coachella, Gobi Tent 4-14-12 Better than: The scene at the Sahara Tent. Flying Lotus' appearance at Coachella felt like an occasion; it ... More >>

Odd Future, Dipset, Ab-Soul - Paid Dues 2012 - 4/7/2012

Paid Dues 2012 NOS Events Center, San Bernardino 4/7/2012 Posted by the Paid Dues media check-in, the announcement, "ATTENTION: Photo Pit Closed for Odd Future Performance," seemed an ominous sign. Though it likely was just to ward off further lawsuits, it felt a little pretentious -- and Murs' ind ... More >>

Mama, I Don't Want to Die! My 4-Year-Old Identifies With Freddie Mercury

I have twin 4-year-old sons. They have normal names, but I mostly call them Bay and Meechy. I tried to explain to them how they earned those nicknames once. It took a good three minutes (the names' origins are vaguely associated to The Wire and the Black Mafia Family, naturally). As soon as I was do ... More >>

Curren$y, Method Man - Music Box - 11/5/11

Timothy NorrisCurren$y​Curren$y, Method Man, Smoke DZA, Fiend, Corner Boy P Music Box 11/5/11 Better than ... hanging with Curren$y at his crib. Oh, wait. The average person would use a broken ankle as a reason to relax and take a little time off, especially if said person had succeeded Dev ... More >>

The Hip-Hop World's Bizarre Co-Sign Of Justin Bieber

Hip-hop fanatic Justin Bieber​See also: What Will Be The Most Popular Music-Related Halloween Costumes This Year? And How Can They Be Made Slutty? Rivaling his teenie fans' feelings for him, Justin Bieber has a big case of hip-hop fever. Despite being known for unabashedly poppy tunes, the Bi ... More >>

"It Was Dark as F*ck on the Streets": Hip-Hop Does Halloween

TheUrbanDaily.com​The Halloween season is here again, which means very soon the streets will be filled with trick-or-treating children as well as women dressed as everything from slutty kittens to slutty paperclips to slutty sluts. If you're throwing a Halloween party you're going to want your ... More >>

Music Picks: Ravi Shankar, Marilyn Scott, Duran Duran, Burkina Electric

Also, Emmylou Harris & Her Red Dirt Boys, Odd Future, Gillian Welch and others

Top Ten Rap Remixes Of '90s R&B Songs

Take that​This Friday, the Stokely Williams-fronted Mint Condition will be taking the stage at Club Nokia. The group came to prominence in the '90s with the huge hit ballad "What Kind Of Man Would I Be?" But beyond Mint Condition's slick soul moments, the band also embraced the mid-'90s trend ... More >>

Don't Call It a Comeback: Red Hot Rio 2's Paul Heck

​Since the late 1980s the Red Hot Organization has released over a dozen music compilations to help raise funds for AIDS research with help from artists as varied as George Michael, Wu-Tang Clan, Nirvana and Alice Coltrane. This year the Organization will be releasing Red Hot Rio 2 - a star- ... More >>

Eleven Weirdo Rock Star Alter Egos

​Something about achieving major fame in music seems to drive creative artists to assume new personae. Whether it be fodder for an epic concept album, a stab at a different genre or just plain boredom, many of our favorite stars have conjured up characters in order to explore and indulge their fan ... More >>

Music Picks: The Psychedelic Furs, Orgone, Raekwon, Beach Fossils, The Raveonettes

Also, Thao & Mirah, Sun Araw, Cass McCombs, Trinket and others

Sure, He Knows About Secret Societies, But Does He Know Even Snooki Gets $22,000 for a Lecture?

SXSW: Day 2 Round-up with Budweiser Tall Boys, Wu-Tang and a Totally Tricked-out Hipster Playground

photo by Wendy GilmartinTall Boys O'Plenty​ Any normal SXSW day is spent guzzling back brews, taking in the sunshine and partying in general, so when the festival lands on St. Patrick's day, the only logical solution to upping the ante is - yes, you guessed it - to make the dang beer can tall ... More >>

Bootsy Collins and LA Art Group Unveil Funk Portrait

bootsycollinsart.comHe's got the art funk: Bootsy Collins​A few months ago, the Wu-Tang's RZA unveiled a limited-edition piece of art billed as his "self-portrait"--a large image of himself as George Washington crossing the Delaware. The artwork was conceptualized by the RZA aided by Scene Fo ... More >>

The Wu-Tang's RZA Dedicates Free Song 'Gone' to Late Quentin Tarantino Editor Sally Menke

RZA releases "Gone," a memorial.​Wu-Tang production mastermind, aspiring filmmaker and L.A. resident RZA has released a new free song called "Gone," which he's dedicated to Sally Menke, the longtime editor of Quentin Tarantino's films who passed away last week. Via his Facebook profile, RZA f ... More >>

Music Picks: Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, Bad Religion, Non

Also, The Wedding Present, Phil Alvin and others

Eliot Lipp

Passion of the Weiss Releases Ace Winter Mixtape [MP3]

​Our friend, colleague and LA Weekly feature scribe Jeff Weiss has posted an ace winter mixtape on his music blog, Passion of the Weiss, and it's a nice way to spend these oh-so-grueling winter days in Los Angeles. [It was downright chilly at the beach in Santa Monica the other day!] Mixed by ... More >>

Rock Picks: GZA, the Ettes, A.A. Bondy, Mose Allison

Also, the Kris Special, Jesse Sykes, Mamak Khadem and others

The Knux Release Free Five-Song 'Fuck You EP', Decry Coked-Up LA Women [MP3]

Yesterday the Knux dropped a five-song bomb called "The Fuck You EP," which features an incendiary, defiant track about Los Angeles and the glamour/club crowd. The brothers Knux -- Kentrell "Krispy Kream" Lindsey and Alvin "Rah Almillio" Lindsey -- who moved to LA from New Orleans after Katrina, ca ... More >>

Meshell Ndegeocello: Like a Real Revolutionary

“I’m no longer subjected to the Top 10 or the Top 100. I get the music from the last 100 years”

As Tall As Lions at El Rey MP3

Dreamy Digiprog Rockers, As Tall As Lions Soar at El Rey Tonight MP3

Awesome Merch Alert: Stones Throw Offers Line of Cold Chillin', Biz Markie T-Shirts

Nothing says funky like Cold Chillin', the legendary hip hop imprint of the 80s and 90s that, in its prime, was one of the hottest labels in the country. During its remarkable eight year run, Cold Chillin' released classics by Biz Markie, Kool G Rap and DJ Polo, Marley Marl, Big Daddy Kane, Masta ... More >>

Last Night: Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon Previews New Documentary at Intimate Hollywood Art Gallery

Erin BroadleyEngine Collision Fest director Burke Roberts and Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon Hollywood parking lots are overpriced, especially considering the 10-20 bucks you shell out will get you a big dent in the door, or worse. Last night, in the parking lot of art gallery Studio 1636 off Wilcox and Ho ... More >>

Last Night: Jay-Z Reopens the Palladium

Jay-Z and Memphis Bleek on stage at the Palladium. Click on image to view entire slideshow. Photo by Timothy Norris. The irony of Jay-Z being asked to open the revamped Hollywood Palladium wasn’t lost on the man who calls himself “the black Frank Sinatra.” After all, it was 68 years ago las ... More >>

The B-Sides: Bishop Lamont Interview

Q: What was it like for you growing up in Los Angeles during the 80s? A: It was the LA of the Reagan administration. Drugs were really heavy in the streets at that time…more crack addicts…crack babies. It was a good time simultaneously because there was more creativity within the music and it ... More >>

A Tale of Two Samples: Fela Kuti's "Mr. Grammarticalogylisationalism Is the Boss" and The Roots' "I Will Not Apologize"

I'll leave the thorough sample de-constructions to Dan Love or O-Dub, but couldn't help but feel compelled to share a discovery I made the other day in my on-going quest to listen to every known bit of music ever recorded by Fela Kuti. Namely, the afro-beat derived sample for "I Will Not Apologiz ... More >>

Weekend Music: Wolf Eyes, Megapuss, RZA, Bostich Fussible, and More

FRIDAY, JUNE 21 Devendra wears his mega-dick and plays in Megapuss. Crazy. If you don't know by now, Megapuss is the side project Devendra Banhart (sorry, but if he's ballsy enough to put those glasses on in front of paparazzi, we're kind of compelled to use the photo). He's playing a secret show ... More >>

The Weekend in Music: Quiet Storm Action with Keith Sweat, Abe Vigoda, Punky Reggae and The Parson Redheads

If you're looking for some nookie this weekend, as in: your special one has been hesitatin', and you've been motivatin' but there is no reciprocatin', well, maybe you need to butter up with some Keith Sweat. For example: Tonight you can check out Hot Buttered Sweat at the Greek Theatre on a bill ... More >>

Ghostface Killah has 115,000 MySpace Friends But No Sales

Watch as Ghostface comes face to face with the new math reality of the downward death spiral that we call the recorded music industry. You got to love his honesty here. Ghostface's new album has gotten great notices, many saying it's better than the Wu-Tang Clan album. But the soundscan numbers? ... More >>

It's a Wu-Tang Life

What to do in Los Angeles this week

Rock Picks: Hank III, Joe Strummer Tribute, Wu-Tang Clan

For the week of Dec. 21 - 27

Coming Up

Every week or so, we'll update a list on concerts announced, shows going on sale, and other things happening soon that you may want to know about. James Blunt - Wiltern, Feb. 7 with Sara Bareilles. Tickets go on sale Saturday Cave Singers - Echoplex, Dec. 3 Circle Jerks - Henry Fonda, Jan 4. On ... More >>

Watching the Apocalypse

Cinefile

Seattle's Bumbershoot

The Shins, The Lashes, Panic! at the Disco, The Frames, Wu-Tang Clan and many more descended on Seattle for three days of music, arts and fun. Photo by Marcella D. Volpintesta Seattle Weekly gives you MP3s, pictures, interviews, blogs and more from the weekend's festivities.

Mom & Pop Hip-Hop Shop!

33third records brings the licorice pizza (and live in-stores) back to Pico

Kill Them All. Kill Them All!

Music and video games: an endless, wretched love affair

Screen and Be Seen

Black Steel

Common in commotion

Under the Skin

The 52nd Festival de Cannes