hip-hop

Hamilton Nolan · 06/25/13 08:04AM

Fat Joe has been sentenced to four months in prison for failing to pay taxes. Can accountants save hip hop?

Is Snoop Dogg the Best We Can Do for a Weed Icon?

Rich Juzwiak · 06/11/13 05:49PM

The most recent issue of Rolling Stone — the one with the This Is The End guys on the cover and the accompanying story all about how James Franco farts a lot, and how Jonah Hill won't discuss farts, and how Danny McBride's underwear becomes unwearably dirty after just a day — has a special "The New Stoned Age" section all about weed. In all but two of this section's big stories, Snoop Dogg is name-dropped. This happens casually in pieces that he has no formal link to, such as "Weed City, USA," which is about the booming growing business in Denver:

Erykah Badu Loves You: A Conversation With the Artist

Rich Juzwiak · 06/10/13 03:09PM

Erykah Badu has mastered the modern art of giving interview. A mixture of wit and earnestness, of insight and leftfield references, hers is the kind of rare personality that should earn an open invitation to the talk-show circuit regardless of promo and just 'cuz, a la Amy Sedaris on Letterman. Badu is cool to death, she makes music that is cerebral, challenging and sometimes extra-terrestrial. But make no mistake, this woman is a star's star.

Nicki Minaj Hands DJ His Ass, Calmly Talks the Chip on Her Shoulder

Rich Juzwiak · 05/28/13 02:45PM

Nicki Minaj and Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg. Together. At last. If this means nothing to you, fair enough: the story has been over for almost a year. Last June the morning-show host rather rudely dissed Minaj's pop tendencies at Summer Jam just hours before she was supposed to perform at the Hot 97-sponsored festival. She ended up pulling out of the show and discussing the whole thing with Hot 97's Funkmaster Flex.

Here's Riff Raff Impersonating James Franco on One Life to Live

Rich Juzwiak · 05/07/13 12:22PM

The hardest working assclown in showbiz, rapper Riff Raff, appears on today's episode of the soap opera One Life to Live (now brought to you by Hulu) as a “art dealer, multimillionaire” named Jamie Franko. It is a predictably unsubtle jab at James Franco, whose Spring Breakers character Alien was clearly inspired by Riff Raff. As detailed in Amos Barshad's excellent Grantland piece "The Curious Case of Riff Raff vs. Spring Breakers," director Harmony Korine initially invited Riff Raff to appear in the film, but that eventually changed. Franco gave more credit to Florida rapper Dangeruss as "a main source of inspiration" for the role in an essay he wrote for MTV. Dangeruss does appear in the film.

Here's DMX Repeatedly Freaking Out and Getting His Ass Handed to Him

Rich Juzwiak · 04/14/13 11:55AM

DMX, the Lindsay Lohan of hip-hop whose messiness has far superseded his art in terms of the current attention he courts, brought his erratic brand of emotional splattering to a 90-minute episode of the OWN series Iyanla Fix My Life last night. Though he spoke as if he had mainlined coke into his larynx, he denied being high to self-help guru Iyanla Vanzant. Her main objective was to reunite him with his son Xavier, to whom he had not spoken in a year and a half. Over the course of their discussion about DMX's infidelity and substance abuse, X repeatedly lashed out at Vanzant, referring to her as "lady" and "bitch." He apologized only to freak out at her again, and her reciprocal smackdown was, in a word, cathartic.

The Most Important Word in Tyler, the Creator’s Vocabulary Is Exactly What You Think It Is

Rich Juzwiak · 04/02/13 04:50PM

It's hard to imagine a purportedly heterosexual artist who has a more intimate relationship with the word "faggot" than the rapper Tyler, the Creator. His frequent use of word has defined his career to many (especially those who haven't taken the time to listen to his music or are generally hip-hop avoidant), its legend reaching exaggerated proportions – an oft-quoted, erroneous post on NME says he uttered the word and variations of it like "fag" 213 times on his 2011 sophomore album Goblin. Fader, in a more measured post of various Goblin stats, counted only nine.

Beyoncé Releases a New Song Commanding Her Adoring Public To 'Bow Down'

Rich Juzwiak · 03/18/13 10:51AM

Beyoncé is so cute when she gets angry: If the art accompanying her new song(s) "Bow Down / I Been On" is any indication, she looks like her prepubescent pageant-girl self Photoshopped onto a picture of her old living room/trophy display area. That's only the first indication the weirdness of the release, which came via Beyoncé's Tumblr yesterday. The song amassed over a million streams on Soundcloud in less than 24 hours, which must be some sort of record.

Self-Appointed Privilege Police Officer Denounces Macklemore’s Pro-Equality Anthem

Rich Juzwiak · 03/07/13 05:11PM

Racialicious has a piece today about the Macklemore and Ryan Lewis song "Same Love" (featuring Mary Lambert), and people seem to care about it. The gist of "Race + Hip-Hop + LGBT Equality: On Macklemore's White Straight Privilege" by Hel Gebreamlak is that because Macklemore, a white indie rapper based in Seattle, did not say something the way Hel Gebreamlak would have said it, Macklemore is wrong. How internet of Gebreamlak.

Kid Rapper's Adult-Themed Music Videos Alarm Child Services

Neetzan Zimmerman · 02/26/13 02:29PM

A 9-year-old rapper who goes by "Lil Poopy" and whose music videos include sexually suggestive scene and references to drug use has received a visit from Massachusetts child welfare authorities after an anonymous individual phoned the police to express concern for his well being.

Kanye West's New Song Goes, 'WAAAA WAAAAAAAAAAAAA'

Rich Juzwiak · 02/25/13 01:30PM

Kanye West concluded his Sunday concert at London's Hammersmith Apollo by repeatedly howling, so you know it was a great show. He was performing 2006's formerly breezy single "Touch the Sky" when he unleashed and then threw down his mic. Apparently, this made as little sense within context as it does without. Says GQ UK:

Record Company Says It's Censoring Lil Wayne's Emmett Till Reference

Rich Juzwiak · 02/15/13 02:25PM

A few days ago, a remix of Autotuned warbler Future's "Karate Chop" made its way onto the Internet. Metaphorical extraordinaire Lil Wayne guests on the track and in his own Autotuned warble, delivers the line, "Beat that pussy up like Emmett Till."