Hip-hop
Nocando Jimmy the Lock
When it comes to Los Angeles' music scene, there's no avoiding the heralded cipher circle Project Blowed and beat-head bastion Low End Theory. Nocando's debut, Jimmy the Lock, lives in both worlds.… Read more »
Madlib with Guilty Simpson Madlib's Medicine Show No. 1 - Before the Verdict
Just when you thought Madlib could get no more bugged-out, along comes the first installment of his monthly Medicine Show series, a 17-track prequel to the upcoming OJ Simpson album with Guilty Simpson (no relation).… Read more »
Donwill Don Cusack in High Fidelity
The 2000 classic hipster film High Fidelity wasn't exactly hip-hop, but Donwill (of Tanya Morgan) channels his inner Rob Gordon to deal with his quarter-life crisis, addressing his relationship woes through a clever concept album.… Read more »
Freeway and Jake One The Stimulus Package
Though the economy is still a mess, we can rejoice in the fact that Freeway and Jake One's The Stimulus Package is here to rejuvenate hip-hop.… Read more »
Souls of Mischief Montezuma's Revenge
Despite not having dropped a group album in almost a decade, Souls of Mischief still have enough gusto to keep hip-hop heads listening.… Read more »
Blockhead The Music Scene
On his years off from making beats for Aesop Rock and others, Blockhead has assembled a group of instrumental LPs that stands solidly on its own, despite the generally shoddy reputation of instrumental hip-hop full-lengths over the past decade.… Read more »
Dam-Funk Toeachizown
Boogie revivalist and long-haired LA electro visionary Damon Riddick (a.k.a. Dam-Funk) wants to make music that lets your hair blow in the wind—a difficult task, but his massive Toeachizown offers just that kind of soothing experience.… Read more »
RJD2 The Colossus
If you never got "Ghostwriter" out of your head, you've probably been waiting for RJD2 to return to his beatsmithing roots.… Read more »
Kid Sister Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet took three years to come out, but that duration only confronts the listener on "Pro Nails," the Kanye-guesting acrylics jam that broke Kid Sister: it sounds not so much dated as simply known—a remarkable shelf life for a blog hit.… Read more »
Del the Funky Homosapien and Tame One Parallel Uni-Verses
In this Parallel Uni-Verse, that funk you like is back in style—if that funk is the laid-back, loop-heavy beat of '90s hip-hop overlaid with amiable wordplay harking back to Native Tongues and the Pharcyde.… Read more »
