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Monthly Archives: July 2008
People Under the Stairs celebrate ten years with greatest hits, tour and “Fun DMC”
This fall, true school hip-hop vets People Under the Stairs will celebrate ten years in the rap game with a series of new projects. First comes a greatest hits collection from Om Records, the San Francisco label which signed the … Continue reading
Shadow and Cut Chemist play final shows for the Hard Sell
DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist are currently in the midst of a third — and final — leg for The Hard Sell. Yes, after over a year and dozens of cities in several countries, the Hard Sell tour seems to … Continue reading
Murs releases “Murs for President”
Murs has scheduled a release date for his long-awaited sixth album and major label debut. Reprise/Warner will issue his sixth album, Murs for President, on September 30. Interestingly, if the initial track listing is correct, Murs for President doesn’t include … Continue reading
Review: Cyne, “Starship Utopia”
Starship Utopia, one of two albums Cyne plans to drop this year, is a Japan-only release highlighting the Gainesville quartet’s strengths and weaknesses. Continue reading
Aesop Rock meets the fans
What do you do when you’re one of the biggest independent hip-hop stars of the past decade and want to capitalize on your big-man status with a green-minting run, but don’t have a new CD to promote? Well, you go … Continue reading
C-Rayz Walz collabos with Kosha Dillz, the Almighty
I often write about unjustly ignored artists who never get their due from either the mainstream music media or the “indie” press that sometimes covers underground hip-hop. But if there’s one dude who’s a veritable litmus test for hip-hop aesthetics, … Continue reading
Common Market paves “Tobacco Road”
On September 9, Common Market will issue its second album Tobacco Road via a joint venture between Massline Media and Hyena Records. As the latest project from rising Seattle collective Massline, Tobacco Road marks a number of subtle but noticeable … Continue reading
Nas shifts from “Nigger” to “Untitled”
The neverending hype machine surrounding Nas’ new album — which has lasted for nearly a year now — will subside when Def Jam releases it on July 15. The big news is that after months of pressure from his record … Continue reading
Cyne’s “Pretty Dark Things” finally arrives
Since last fall, I’ve posted release dates for Cyne’s new album Pretty Dark Things, only to see it delayed each time. In the last notice, I reported that the Gainesville, Fla. quartet signed with Northwest indie-rock label Hometapes (its previous … Continue reading
Special Report: Saigon’s Abandoned Nation
The relationship between mainstream media and the optimistic elements of hip hop is tenuous at best. Constantly being tossed into an abyss of negativity that feeds off the shootings, drug arrests and jail terms; the genre rarely finds itself basking … Continue reading