Jeff Weiss

Delroy Edwards; Credit: Courtesy Gene's Liquor

Delroy Edwards, One of L.A.'s Best Dance Music Producers, Remains an Enigma

If you’re unfamiliar with Delroy Edwards, that’s in part by design. In an era when obnoxious self-promotion and social media stunting are often seen as unimpeachable virtues, the Silver Lake resident exists as a refreshingly enigmatic alternative. Despite his swiftly rising stature as one of L.A.’s best dance producers and......
A photo of Alice Bag and The Bags from an issue of Slash; Credit: Melanie Nissen

Legendary Punk Fanzine Slash Is Finally Getting the Anthology Treatment

"This publication was born out of curiosity and hope. Curiosity regarding the possible rebirth of true rebel music. Hope in its eventual victory over the bland products professional pop stars have been feeding us. May the punks set this rat-infested industry on fire. It sure could use a little brightness.”......
Linafornia; Credit: B W Banks Photography/Soft Fruit Group

Linafornia Is the Beat Scene's Rookie of the Year

The first time I saw Linafornia, she was mercilessly slaughtering her competition. Last November at the Beat Cinema Beat Battle, the Leimert Park producer artfully incinerated all those vying for the $300 grand prize. The other entrants had talent, but many imitated the Low End Theory vanguards a little too......
Fun fact: Every single Nate Dogg song is the best L.A. summer song.; Credit: Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock

Jeff Weiss' Top 10 SoCal Summer Songs

Summer is the most subjective of seasons. It offers infinite options, particularly in Southern California, land of chronic sunshine and birthplace of surf rock, beach goths and G-funk — whose synthesizer whines are as iconic to the time of year as ice cream trucks, fireworks and barbecues. If the weather......
Joyce Wrice; Credit: Mark Peaced

Joyce Wrice's Buddhist Faith Informs Her Sad Yet Uplifting R&B

A Buddhist R&B singer seems almost as antithetical as a Scientologist psychiatrist or a Mormon beer baron. One tradition is rooted in emotional volatility and the other is a serene religion seeking enlightenment. Bodhisattvas posses wisdom, but Bobby Brown made “Don’t Be Cruel.” It’s a toss-up. If her stellar debut......
Terrace Martin had one of the best albums of the first half of 2016 and produced much of another

10 Great Albums to Prove That 2016 Hasn't Been All Bad (in Haiku Form)

The first six months of 2016 rank among some of the most wretched in memory. We lost Prince, David Bowie and Phife of A Tribe Called Quest. Commander-in-Cheeto Donald Trump threatens to unravel the fabric of American democracy, one Chinese-made “Make America Great” hat at a time. Climate change has......
Jensen “Hot Karl” Karp

Kanye West Owes Me $300 Might Be the Funniest Rap Memoir Ever

If you were a teenage L.A. rap fan in the late 1990s, you know the legend of Hot Karl — the bespectacled battle-rap assassin from the West Valley, whose two months of consecutive victories on Power 106’s Roll Call briefly made him the city’s hottest rapper, and the greatest ever......