Lupe Fiasco

Five Rap Albums That Changed the Game in 2012

Five Rap Albums That Changed the Game in 2012

Before the storm of best of lists start hitting the blogs, I wanted to take a second to put aside the artistic merit aspect of the year in review, and take a look at what happened in the cultural landscape of rap music. Some of these albums were really good, some of them were really not, but all of ... More >>

The Problem With ... Mac Miller's "Party on Fifth Ave"

When a new, hyped-up rapper appears on the charts, I play a game in which I compare a rapper with others on the charts and judge whether they positively contribute to the hip hop. I call that game "What's! Their! Niche!!!" Today's contestant is ... Mac Miller from Pittsburgh! Come on dooown! Mac ... More >>

Big Sean, Now Really Big

Do The Wash: 12 Songs We're Pretty Sure Ron Washington Hears In His Head During Games

World Series fever has pretty much taken over around these parts again. And for good reason: Having the hometown team participate in the Fall Classic in back to back years is somewhat of a rare treat -- especially for a team that, until recent years, had been as perennially bad as our own Texas Rang ... More >>

Star Slinger, Mux Mool, Shigeto

Thursday, October 13,at House of Blues' Cambridge Room

News and Notes: [Daryl] Reunites, ZZ Top Gets Covered, Badu Gives Birth (Kinda) and More!

That two-year-old listening to KKDA-104.5 FM K104 in Dallas (local tie!) in the clip above is cooler than all of us. But we've got some cool news to share about some artists with local ties -- among them Erykah Badu, ZZ Top, Kelly Clarkson, [Daryl], Teenage Cool Kids and Big hud -- so that's a start ... More >>

Collaboration-Crazy Erykah Badu To Perform With Yo Gabba Gabba! Cast Tonight on Fallon

​Erykah Badu seems like a pretty awesome mom. I got a solid glimpse of as much first-hand about a week back when interviewing the famed Queen of Neo-Soul and proud Dallasite as part of a Dallas Observer Music Awards preview story that's going to run as the cover in this week's paper. About halfway ... More >>

Over The Weekend: Trae tha Truth, JMack and Big Hud at Trees

Trae Tha Truth, JMack, Big HudTreesAugust 13, 2011Better than: trying to act like Dallas has a hip-hop pedigree to compete with Houston.Trae Tha Truth​ There wasn't much of a build-up to Trae The Truth's entrance at Trees on Saturday night. After a particularly high-energy set from JMack and a fun ... More >>

Good Friday: Death Cab, Rock The Bells, Torche, Trae and The Rest of Your Weekend

Death Cab For Cutie​There was a time when Death Cab For Cutie would have Centro-Matic in the support slot of their regional shows. But those days are long gone. On Saturday, Death Cab will be at the Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie with Frightened Rabbit. But if a Centro-Matic-less Death Cab doesn ... More >>

Sore Losers Split: After A Vote, Brown Takes The Band and Blue Is Forced To Go Solo

Blue and Brown, together no more.​ Back in October, Sore Losers was on top of the world. The duo of Vincent Brown and Brandon Blue had capably established themselves as a local force to be reckoned with, a post-Boogie duo worth hyping, a creative source of inventive "New Dallas" hip-hop, a shining ... More >>

Tonight, Tonight: The Kills at the Granada, A-Trak at Trees, The Builders and The Butchers at Double-Wide and AgesandAges at Swiss House

Lots of musical action happening this evening. Kinda feels like half of the Pacific Northwest is in town tonight.

SXSW 2011 Buzz Power Rankings: Odd Future Slips Just Past Kanye, Mostly Because People Are Sick of Talking About Kanye.

Swag!​Well, mercifully, the last night of SXSW 2011 is finally upon us. And, on this final day, in which luminaries such as Kanye West, Perez Hilton and Rachel Ray are finally letting their presence be known, we finally have a new act sitting atop our buzz power rankings.That's right: Later Kanye; ... More >>

SXSW 2011 Buzz Power Rankings: Kanye West Stays On Top, But His Lead Is Shrinking...

Everybody knows he's a motherfucking monster.​Thursday at SXSW 2011 has come and gone -- but Kanye remains solidly in his spot atop our buzz power rankings, as determined by chatter we're hearing on the street. His lead is shrinking, though -- Odd Future is hot on his tail, proving once again that ... More >>

The Problem With... Dr. Dre's "I Need A Doctor"

I've been thinking for a while, trying to pin down what I like and loathe about Eminem's writing. I think I finally got it.

Listomania: The 10 Best Albums That Were Supposed To Come Out, But Never Did, in 2010

​Albums get delayed all the time. (Cue Chinese Democracy joke). Sometimes it's because of the close relation of creativity and procrastination. Other times, business overtakes art. More often than not, though, it's just a sheer mystery. So, in looking back at the year, we decided to think about al ... More >>

Q&A: N*E*R*D's Pharrell Williams Talks Social Commentary, T.I.'s Recent Arrest and Producing The Game's New Disc.

It may not seem like it, but N*E*R*D has been around for almost 10 years now, playing their genre-defying style of urban crossover rock. Featuring Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo and Shay Haley, the band brings its experiences from the mega-successful Neptunes and puts it into a unique rock experience ... More >>

Picture Show: Lupe Fiasco and B.o.B. at House of Blues

Kevin TodoraLupe Fiasco headlined the House of Blues last night.​ Skate rap icon Lupe Fiasco, who, if nothing else, might boast the coolest name ever, rolled through the House of Blues last night. And with him? Atlanta rapper B.o.B., who, last week, hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts with h ... More >>

Show Announcements: Kings Of Leon And Lupe Fiasco Coming To Dallas, Original Music Coming To Frisco, But Sting Ticket Sales Are Suspended

​Kings Of Leon couldn't quite sell out the American Airlines Center last time they came through town, so the band is aiming a tad lower this year, scheduling its 2010 Dallas tour stop for the intimate-by-comparison Superpages.com Center.The band performs Thursday, September 23, with doors opening ... More >>

The End Of The End Of Year Lists (No, Really, This Time): The Top Concerts Of 2008

Melanie GomezFind our slideshow of our favorite concert photos of 2008 right here.I didn't get to Dallas until February, so apologies to any great shows that took place in January--I missed them. But over the past eleven months, I saw plenty of live music--both with touring bands and locals. How man ... More >>

The Cool Kids, Flosstradamus, The Party

Thursday, August 21, at Granada Theater

Sane in the Membrane

Despite drinking enough syrup to kill a small horse, Lil Wayne is actually quite calculated

Last Night: Kanye West, Rihanna, N.E.R.D. and Lupe Fiasco at Superpages.com Center

Video: Lupe Fiasco at House of Blues

Harder, Better, Faster and Stronger Than The Other Tours?

Lupe Fiasco

Lupe Fiasco's The Cool (Atlantic)

The Roots, Lupe Fiasco

Monday, February 19, at Gypsy Tea Room

In With the New

Despite doom-and-gloom predictions, 2006 wasn't at all bad

Music Mentor

Casual music listeners shouldn't suffer from the boredom of radio and MTV