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Category Archives: News
New website: Humthrush.com
Hi, if you found this site through a search engine or some other means, then welcome. Feel free to take a look around. However, please note that Plug One is inactive, and hasn’t been updated since September 2011. My latest project is Humthrush.com. … Continue reading
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Atmosphere’s “Family Vacation” tour dates
8/06/11: Grant Park, Chicago, IL (Lollapalooza) 8/07/11: Crofoot Ballroom, Pontiac, MI 8/09/11: London Music Hall, London, ON 8/10/11: Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON 8/12/11: Bangor Waterfront, Bangor, ME (Kahbang Festival) 8/13/11: Northern Lights, Clifton Park, NY 8/15/11: House of Blues, … Continue reading
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New site: Rapture
As mentioned earlier, Plug One is no more. The new website is Rapture. It’s not completely finished, but it will be where you can find me for the foreseeable future. Click on the image designed by Stephanie Gardner Ornelas to … Continue reading
The end of the beginning…
Okay folks, after a year of vacillating I have finally decided to conclude the Plug One Mag project. The good news is that I am starting another hip-hop webzine. It will focus on music and cultural criticism and history, with … Continue reading
We’re Still Here
Don’t worry…Plug One is still in effect and I’m developing some new content for the site. Stay tuned.
The ten most popular indie-rap artists…
So who are the ten most popular indie-rap artists right now? I decided to find out using Rhapsody’s internal reports. The music service generates a weekly spreadsheet that ranks artists according to the amount of “plays,” or the number of … Continue reading
Posted in Greatest Hits, News, Superlists
Tagged indie rap labels, industry apocalypse, major-indies, population control, Rhapsody
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A flood of reviews from 2010
This weekend, I’ll post the rest of my Rhapsody reviews from 2010. Why did I wait until the end? I originally planned to write new reviews for these albums but, unfortunately, I’ve run out of time. Last April, I announced … Continue reading
Kid Cudi, Eminem and the Perils of Addiction
Rap Is Not Pop: Kid Cudi, Eminem and the Perils of Addiction This post is inspired by a commenter on my recent piece about Eminem and his album Recovery. “Somebody’s finally on the radio talking about NOT doing drugs. That’s … Continue reading
The Foreign Exchange and the Soul Revival
Rap Is Not Pop: The Foreign Exchange and the Soul Revival Earlier this year, the Foreign Exchange earned a Grammy nomination for “Daykeeper,†a dreamy ballad filled with soft percussion and cooed phrasings of “She Loves Me.†Cited for Best … Continue reading
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Tagged Aloe Blacc, Foreign Exchange, hip hop is dead, indie-soul, Little Brother, Mayer Hawthorne, rap is not pop, Rhapsody
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The wonderful world of Gucci Mane
Rap Is Not Pop: The Wonderful World Of Gucci Mane Several years ago, I interviewed Radric “Gucci Mane†Davis at the office of his former label, Atlanta indie upstart Big Cat Records. He had just finished a six-month bid for … Continue reading
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Tagged Dirty South, gangsta rap, Gucci Mane, mainstream rap, rap is not pop, Rhapsody
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Rap’s new generation
When I posted my article on the so-called “Blog Rap’s Second Wave” yesterday, I realized I haven’t posted other entries from my Rap Is Not Pop column for Rhapsody. Actually, I didn’t re-post this one because I wasn’t happy with … Continue reading
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Tagged B.o.B, blog stars, Drake, hipster rappers, mainstream rap, popapocalypse, rap is not pop, Rhapsody
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Blog rap’s second wave
This essay on the latest crop of street rappers was posted August 10 on Rhapsody.com’s Music Stuff Place blog. I wrote it for my Rap Is Not Pop column. I freely admit that I don’t specialize in breaking new artists. … Continue reading
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Tagged Big K.R.I.T., blog stars, Freddie Gibbs, Lil B, rap is not pop, Rhapsody, Shabazz Palaces, Wiz Khalifa, Yelawolf
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Dipped in blackness: Shabazz Palaces
This essay on Shabazz Palaces was published in the July 14 issue of the San Francisco Bay Guardian. Dipped in blackness What lives in the mysterious Shabazz Palaces “I’m a bright light on the dark side of town,” raps “Palaceer … Continue reading
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Tagged blog stars, dread bass styles, Ishmael Butler, Northwest scene, post-silver age, Shabazz Palaces
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Are iTunes sales an elaborate hoax?
Tommy Boy Entertainment CEO Tom Silverman made an interesting claim during an interview Wired.com posted on July 9: Silverman: People are telling me that the majors have teams of people who actually buy singles on iTunes to try to drive … Continue reading
Dungeon Family’s Future: Big Boi
This essay on new-era Dungeon Fam was posted on Rhapsody.com’s Music Stuff Place on July 7. I wrote it for my Rap Is Not Pop column. Prince once sang, “All The Critics Love You In New York,” mock-celebrating the rock-crit … Continue reading
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Tagged Andre 3000, Big Boi, Cee-Lo, Dirty South, Dungeon Family, Janelle Monae, Khujo Goodie, mainstream rap, OutKast, rap is not pop, Willie Isz
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A Brief History of Rap and Bullshit: Drake
This essay on Drake was posted on Rhapsody.com’s Music Stuff Place blog on June 15. It analyzes Thank Me Later‘s mix of hip-hop and R&B. Obviously there’s a lot more to be said about Drake’s rap and vocal performance, the … Continue reading
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Tagged auto-tunin', Drake, it's all Diddy's fault, mainstream rap, R&B vs. soul, rap and bullshit, rap is not pop, Rhapsody, urban radio, Young Money
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Photo(s) from Free Kutmah benefit in Los Angeles
Last week I got a request from a publicist to post a few photos of the June 3 Free Kutmah benefit at the Echoplex in Los Angeles. I was assured that they hadn’t been posted on the Internet yet. Alas, … Continue reading
What’s the write word?
Last month, veteran journalist and Internet pioneer Jason Gross (he co-founded the e-zine Perfect Sound Forever in 1993) invited me to contribute to a collection of advice on music writing. The series, “What’s The Write Word?” was published in four … Continue reading
Lies, Relatives and Revolutions: Nas, Talib Kweli and Sage Francis
This essay was posted on Rhapsody.com’s Music Stuff Place blog on May 25. I wrote it for my Rap Is Not Pop column. ————————————- Rap Is Not Pop: Lies, Relatives And Revolutions Do rappers even rap anymore? When B.o.B’s The … Continue reading
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Tagged Damian Marley, Hi-Tek, lyrics to go, Nas, rap is not pop, Reflection Eternal, Rhapsody, Sage Francis, Talib Kweli, true school
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Kon & Amir’s greatest breaks
On May 13, Complex magazine published a list of the top 50 hip-hop samples from certified DJs and crate-diggers Kon & Amir. If you’ve ever been casually interested in breaks, or been curious about that culture, then this is a … Continue reading