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(Was) Popular
- VH1 Soul is dead, long live Centric posted on March 29, 2010
- The ten most popular indie-rap artists… posted on January 11, 2011
- Digable Planets fracture, cancel tour posted on March 22, 2009
- Superlists!: Top Ten Femcees posted on March 24, 2009
- The Plug One Q&A: Flying Lotus posted on June 10, 2008
- Review: Atmosphere, “To All My Friends, Blood Makes The Blade Holy” posted on September 9, 2010
- R.I.P. Paper Thin Walls posted on August 29, 2008
- Zion-I tour dates posted on February 25, 2009
- Vibe’s demise posted on July 1, 2009
- Why Plug One survives posted on March 17, 2010
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Tag Archives: Scratch
Scratch brings Kanye West, others to “Loss 4 Wordz”
Tis’ the season for goofy, unexpected mashups — see N.A.S.A., the BPA and MSTRKRFT’s latest for proof. And with his new album, Loss 4 Wordz, former Roots member Scratch has added to the micro-trend. The track listing for his second … Continue reading
Scratch, Straight No Chaser RIP
This fall brings the demise of two venerable music magazines, Scratch and Straight No Chaser.
Many expected that Scratch, the better known of the two here in the States, wouldn’t last long. Originally launched in 2004 by Harris Publications, it was a failed attempt to capitalize on a burgeoning interest in hip-hop production, studio musicians and crate-digging. In some respects, it was a mainstream version of the same culture that Wax Poetics (launched in 2002) had already successfully targeted. But while Wax Poetics focused on "classic" hip-hop, soul, jazz and deep funk artists such as Pete Rock, the late Weldon Irvine and Roy Ayers, Scratch — which was launched with the help of several Wax Poetics editors — spotlighted the modern-day rap industry.
Straight No Chaser was founded by several veteran UK journalists, including a former editor at The Wire. From the start, its mission was to highlight the acid jazz bubbling around the world. Taking its name from Thelonious Monk’s classic song, it became a standard bearer for underground, soul-influenced beat music. Its cover subjects ranged from Madlib to Bjork, and from Jeff Mills to Meshell Ndegeocello.