Email Author Ben Westhoff

Awards

• 2007 - National Association of Black Journalists Awards

  "Ace of Spaides"

• 2006 - National Association of Black Journalists Awards, published September 14, 2005

  "Rap vs. Rapture"

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2009 Stories by Ben Westhoff

• Regina Spektor

  published November 12, 2009

  Regina Spektor combines a whimsical, Björk-like sensibility with singing chops and genuine compassion, and she's usually... More >>

• Mumiy Troll

  published November 5, 2009

  One of Russia's biggest rock bands, Mumiy Troll's members grew up in Vladivostok, a city of a half-million people in the far eastern... More >>

• Owl City: The Latest In A Long Line Of Rip-Offs

  published October 29, 2009

  There are many reasons to dislike Owl City, the electro tweepop project spearheaded by Owatonna, Minnesota's 23-year-old Adam... More >>

• Jay-Z

  published September 10, 2009

  A recent poll of influential hip-hop writers determined that Jay-Z's 2001 work The Blueprint is the best rap album of the decade. The... More >>

• Whitney Houston

  published September 3, 2009

  With the exception of a collaboration with Akon, Whitney Houston's new album, I Look to You—her first studio album in seven... More >>

• Third Eye Blind

  published August 27, 2009

  Though Third Eye Blind hails from San Francisco, it has found success by merging the Northern and Southern California aesthetics; the band... More >>

• The Five Most Interesting Things You Didn't Know About Soulja Boy

  published August 20, 2009

  I interviewed Soulja Boy recently, who I'll just go ahead and call by his real name, DeAndre Way, and it was pretty wild: The Atlanta-based,... More >>

• Method Man vs. Redman: Tale of The Tape

  published August 6, 2009

  Is there a more beloved duo in hip-hop than Meth and Red? Known for sharp and hilarious contributions to albums like their 1999 collaboration... More >>

• Maino

  published July 30, 2009

  A Brooklyn-bred MC who reportedly taught himself his craft while serving 10 years in prison, Maino rhymes with understandable urgency. The... More >>

• Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs

  published July 23, 2009

  Few pop rockers have as luscious, uniquely reassuring voices as Matthew Sweet and The Bangles' Susanna Hoffs. Their first collaborative album,... More >>

• How To Succeed As An Indie Rock/Dance Punk Duo, With Matt And Kim

  published July 9, 2009

  Brooklyn duo Matt and Kim's self-titled 2006 debut album didn't make much of an impact, but the group's latest, Grand, has made critics... More >>

• Wu-Tang Clan

  published July 9, 2009

  Like 2005's Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture, Wu-Tang Chamber Music is not an official Wu album. An "official compilation,"... More >>

• Regina Spektor

  published July 9, 2009

  Regina Spektor combines a whimsical, Björk-like sensibility with singing chops and genuine compassion, and she's usually able to... More >>

• Sunset Rubdown

  published July 2, 2009

  Other than his insistence on giving his projects ridiculous monikers, Montreal singer-songwriter Spencer Krug can't seem to do much wrong in... More >>

• B-Real vs. Bizzie Bone: Tale of the Tape.

  published June 18, 2009

  Veterans of two of the best-selling hip-hop groups of all time, Cypress Hill's B-Real and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's Bizzy Bone, are touring... More >>

• Jason Lytle

  published June 11, 2009

  It may be a relief to fans of Grandaddy that former frontman Jason Lytle's solo debut Yours Truly, the Commuter sounds exactly like a... More >>

• Wipeout

  published June 11, 2009

  BMX freestyle pro Rick Thorne has 27 screws in his head. His worst accident was probably a 1996 crash into the corner of a loading dock,... More >>

• Magnetic Subtraction | Classic Schlock

  published May 28, 2009

  "Magnetic Subtraction," by Jim Schutze, May 21 More >>

• Eminem

  published May 21, 2009

  Having fought a prescription pill addiction and mourned his murdered friend Proof, Eminem has chosen new album Relapse as... More >>

• Please Stop Listening To Classic Rock

  published May 21, 2009

  A virus is currently spreading among today's young people. If left unchecked, it could have the far-­reaching effect of rendering an entire... More >>

• Lady Sovereign

  published May 14, 2009

  Lady Sovereign was the Asher Roth of 2006, the subject of a tremendous marketing blitz preceding the U.S. release of her debut, Public... More >>

• Substance Abuse Will Get You Kicked Out of Papa Roach, Unless it Doesn't

  published May 7, 2009

  It's not easy to promote your new album when most people think you vanished a half-decade ago, but then again, that's not Papa Roach's only... More >>

• Asher Roth

  published April 30, 2009

  Being a privileged white guy from the Philly suburbs doesn't disqualify Asher Roth from legitimate hip-hop MC status. But not being able to... More >>

• Neil Young

  published April 16, 2009

  So here's the deal. Old Neil had his 1959 Lincoln Continental re-jiggered so it could run on some sort of bio-hydro-electric propulsion system,... More >>

• Jim Jones

  published April 9, 2009

  While many established rappers are being downsized from major-label deals to "independent" contracts, Harlem MC Jim Jones is climbing the food... More >>