Issue Articles
The Roots of Music: Working on a Dream
On April 30, 1803, James Madison and Robert R. Livingston representing the United States and Francois Barbe-Marbois, a finance minister from France, convened upon the Spanish-built Cabildo. Their mission: to […]
Harn Solo, Journey to the Sky (Independent)
Hip-hop’s fascination with outer space has been well documented to the point where rapper aliens have become a worn-out trope. MCs really have to go the extra creative mile to […]
Cheeky Blakk: Queen Be Hustlin’
Any local may be surprised to learn that New Orleans is a more openly sexualized city than its continental counterparts. While not nearly as over the top as the oft […]
BackTalk: Mannie Fresh, Still Fly
In the late ’90s, with a young, criminally underrated crew hell-bent on partying its way out of the projects, unheralded Uptown label Cash Money Records had the hip-hop charts in […]
Dee-1, The Focus Tape (Independent)
Want a testimony as to how Dee-1 has managed to be so successful? Despite his meteoric rise over the last couple of years and nonstop hustle, he’s getting better. Expectations […]
Matt Miller, Bounce: Rap Music and Local Identity in New Orleans
The bounce music misnomer has been around for decades: DJs with little access to live instruments just shouted obscenities over simple beats to which women can shake their asses. Dismissive […]
DJ Jubilee’s Get Ready, Ready: Get Ready for the Dancefloor
Here’s an abridged history of Congo Square for those unfamiliar: The area in the heart of New Orleans was a market and gathering place where slaves received Sundays off and […]
Dee-1: Good Clean Living
The third season premiere of Snoop Dogg’s web series GGN opens with the West Coast rapper—as a character named Nemo Hoes—smoking weed, bantering with pimp Archbishop Don Juan about if […]
Lyrikill, More Heart More Sole (Elevated Minds Records)
Tennis shoes and hip-hop have been indelibly linked over the past 25 years. There isn’t a single rap album that doesn’t reference at least one pair of kicks as a […]
Lil Wayne, Tha Carter IV (Young Money/Universal Records)
The 2011 MTV Video Music Awards had its highest rating in network history when it aired on August 28. That means more people than ever watched Beyonce’s baby bump. More […]
