AltWeeklies Wire
Rapper Buckshot Thinks, Talks and Records for Successnew
Few rappers give better interviews than Black Moon and Boot Camp Clik alum Buckshot.
SF Weekly |
Ben Westhoff |
06-11-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Usher's Latest Doesn't Break the Rulesnew
On Here I Stand, Usher claims to be a player no more, making the album a bit of a snore.
Warner Bros. Vet Launches Music Site for Baby Boomersnew
Bill Bentley creation Sonic Boomers is a website featuring music from the sixties and seventies.
Black Angels Sophomore Album Plays It Safenew
Directions to See A Ghost isn't spooky, or inspired.
The Roots Still Fight the Fightnew
The state of "conscious" rap is in serious flux right now, which is why the Roots' aggressive, disorienting Rising Down feels timely and urgent.
Jamie Lidell Riffs on the Absurdnew
Though the native Englishman — who was once, believe it or not, vegetarian — is a goofy ad-lib machine in person, Jim is a fairly sober work.
SF Weekly |
Ben Westhoff |
05-23-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Foxy Brown Gets Too Predictablenew
Since her days as a 16-year-old prodigy on her multiplatinum debut Ill Na Na, her voice has lost all traces of vulnerability, and here she's morphed into a law-evading, fucking, materialistic caricature.
The Dirtbombs Surround Us with Sirensnew
There's no better music to both amplify and appease our worries of self-annihilation than guitars that ring like air raid sirens; a double-bass, two-drum front that rolls like an army tank; and a singer who cackles wildly as he stomps through civilization's ashes.
SF Weekly |
Jennifer Maerz |
05-15-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Kanye, Jay-Z, Mary J., and Rihanna Clamor for Diva Statusnew
As Ye-Day approaches, one question looms large: Can any arena contain Kanye West's massive ego?
Tags: Jay-Z, hip-hop, R&B, Kanye West, pop, rap, Lupe Fiasco, Mary J. Blige, N.E.R.D., Rihanna, concerts
Inspired By Who?new
The press release for Alopecia claims that Why? ringleader Yoni Wolf was inspired "as much by MF Doom and Lil' Wayne as J. Newsom and Big Dylan."
Bay Area Picks for SXSWnew
South by Southwest is again upon us, which means the Bay Area's musicians, rappers, DJs, and experimentalists are filling up their gas tanks and heading south. Our loss is Austin's gain, though, as the Texas music marathon gets a peek at what makes the local scene here so robust.
Tags: concerts
Rick Rubin Digs Howlin Rain's Distorted View of the '70snew
Comets on Fire's Ethan Miller is in the (metaphorical) driver's seat as Howlin Rain's frontman.
SF Weekly |
Jennifer Maerz |
02-27-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Howlin Rain, Magnificent Fiend
The Demise of Hyphynew
Thizzle, bling and blunts may have helped bring down the overhyped hyphy movement. But KMEL helped pull the trigger.
Twelve Ways the Hives Could've Made a Better Record for Interscopenew
Beyond employing Timbaland or Pharrell Williams.
Tags: The Hives, Tyrannosaurus Hives
