Questlove

Rap Genius Wants to Expand Our Understanding of Southern Rap

DJ Quick Chris was a Guiding Light for Dallas Hip-Hop: R.I.P.

Last Sunday, Dallas lost a true beacon in the scene. Christopher Evans Kelly, a.k.a. DJ Quick Chris, died of pneumonia and congestive heart failure after a year-long fight with lymphoma. "Even through his ongoing stays in the hospital, Chris continued to create new and original sounds," says his si ... More >>

The Nine Best and Funniest Moments from Saturday at ACL 2012

The return of terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad rain made Saturday a muddy but fun mess. Thankfully, the downpours didn't dampen the spirits of the crowd on day two of ACL, but it did seem to thin out the herds. Aside from remembering how to walk in inches-deep goop like we did back at the Dillo ... More >>

Bonnaroo 2012, The Wrap-Up: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Alice Cooper, Skrillex and Bouts of Vomiting

See also: Bonnaroo Thursday See also: Bonnaroo Friday Do not, under any circumstances, forget to bring earplugs to a Mogwai concert. Thank the concert gods I didn't learn this lesson the hard way during their Saturday evening set at Bonnaroo, having just bought a pair from some high-schoolers rais ... More >>

How I Got Into The VIP Section At The 2 Chainz Show: One Random Night Clubbing in Downtown Dallas

I was feeling anti-social on Friday night, which is difficult considering the Deep Ellum Arts Festival had drawn a thousand or so extra faces to the neighborhood. I had a soft goal in mind: to end up at the 2 Chainz concert at Main Event Center. No phone calls had been made. No emails had been writt ... More >>

Good Friday: 35 Denton Isn't the Only Thing To Do This Weekend

​It would be slightly unfortunate to have scheduled a concert on the same weekend as 35 Denton, but it's not like everyone's going up there, right? [Crickets chirping; the entire office is headed North on I-35.] But, for those of us left behind, there are still plenty of things to do around town, ... More >>

Spoon, Jane's Addiction and This Week's Show Announcements

​It's been quite a few years since Austin's Spoon played an open-to-the-public show in Dallas. Odd considering that most notable Austin acts play in Dallas at least a few times a year. But that's what makes this show announcement so special. On Thursday, April 12, Spoon will perform at Granada The ... More >>

Play-N-Skillz Launch New Sunday Residency at Rio Room This Week With Guests Mya, Ray J

Hey, we know those dudes!​ Unless you've been living under a rock, this is old news: Rio Room is kind of killing it these days. Forget the fact that Playboy named it one of the best clubs in the states last month; the Travis Street hotspot has played host to the likes of Erykah Badu (twice!), Ques ... More >>

Playboy Names Rio Room One of the Best in the US

​In the latest issue of Playboy, the magazine synonymous with naked ladies and nightlife, the publication's editors compiled a list of the 14 best nightlife hot spots across the US. And we'll be damned if Dallas wasn't included. The uber-trendy Travis Street night club Rio Room made the cut -- for ... More >>

Michael Rapaport Talks A Tribe Called Quest and His New Documentary on the Group

​On July 8, actor Michael Rapaport's directorial debut, a documentary called Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest, will earn its release theaters in New York City and Los Angeles. Later that month, on July 28, the film will begin a run locally at Dallas-area Angelika Theat ... More >>

The Strangest Stage Names In Music History

Metta World Peace​When Lakers forward Ron Artest announced last week that he is legally changing his name to Metta World Peace, the Internet exploded with bafflement and criticism. Obviously, this is coming from sports fans. We in the music world are accustomed to odd stage names. Dallas' own Eryk ... More >>

Dirk, Diplo, Others Flocked to Rio Room on Saturday For Erykah Badu, Questlove DJ Sets

Via Diplo's Twitter accountDiplo and Dirk Nowitzki​Yes, it's true: Dirk Nowitzki celebrated turning 33 years old yesterday by hitting the town on Saturday night -- stopping off, even, at Rio Room to catch DJ sets from Questlove and Erykah Badu. There, as the clock struck midnight, the Mavericks fa ... More >>

City Officials Investigating Events Leading to Death, Hospitalizations During Electric Daisy Carnival at Fair Park Saturday Night

Photo by Kevin TodoraThe scene in the Esplanade Fountain at Fair Park last night during Electric Daisy​Shortly after 11:30 last night, not long after an infinitesimally small amount of Dallasites elected a new mayor, the calls and email began pouring in, all saying more or less the same thing: Cha ... More >>

Soulqarians Reunion? Erykah Badu and Questlove Set to DJ Rio Room on Saturday

​A Soulquarians reunion? Almost! Tomorrow night, after an affair last night that saw NBA champion/Mavericks guard JJ Barea and even Miss Universe stopping on by Rio Room for DJ Klever's set (Mavs Championship Party Tour 2011 is the best!), the posh Uptown spot will host another pretty massive deal ... More >>

When Erykah Badu Met The Roots... (Or: How ?uestlove and Every Other Member of The Roots Fell For Dallas' Queen of Neo-Soul)

The strong bond between Dallas' Own Erykah Badu and Philadelphia's The Roots has been cemented for years -- since back in 1996, actually, when Badu enlisted the would-be Best Band in Late Night for work on her debut release from 1997, Baduizm.Why Badu wanted to work with The Roots? Well, that much i ... More >>

DC9er Mixtape, Vol. 30: Dean Dillinger

​Christian Dean Ward, perhaps better known around town as Dean Dillinger, got his start spinning records way back when, as a producer/board operator at WERQ-92.3 92Q Jams in Baltimore. "I used to play records for Reggie Reg and K-Swift (Rest In Power) when they went to the bathroom, or were on the ... More >>

Erykah Badu Announces Summer Tour Plans, Schedules North Texas Performance For June 14

​ We'd been wondering when Erykah Badu would schedule a hometown performance in support of her new album, New Amerykah, Pt. 2: Return of the Ankh. Earlier this week, when Badu announced her tour schedule, we got our answer: She'll be playing the Nokia Theatre in Grand Prairie on June 14. After the ... More >>

Download: Erykah Badu and The Roots -- "I Wanna Be Where You Are (Michael Jackson Cover)"

There's no video to be found at the moment of Erykah Badu's performance alongside The Roots on Friday night's episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon anywhere we know of on the Internet, which sucks. (What gives NBC?) But there's this: Over the weekend, Questlove, The Roots' drummer, post ... More >>

The Biggest Stories in North Texas Music, Circa 2008

In a year that saw Ozzy, the Jonases and The New York Times storm through North Texas, which area music stories will go down as the most important of 2008?

Weekend Roundup: Ghostland Observatory, the Roots, the Cardinals, More

Last Night: The Roots, Gym Class Heroes And Estelle At The Palladium Ballroom

Seeing a Ghost

Yeah, Grandmaster Flash graced the ones and twos at Ghostbar this weekend. But who cares? The people there didn't seem to.

The Halftime Report

With six months X'd off of the calendar year, we look back at the best music of the year—and wonder which albums we'll remember come December

The Roots

Tuesday, June 17, at House of Blues

Al Green

Lay It Down (Blue Note)

Dave Chappelle: Not Dead

Last Night: Erykah Badu at the House of Blues

Erykah Badu Has Returned

The songstress burst through her stuggles with writer's block and created a solid record

Erykah Badu Brings Some Fire.

Dipping Further Into Erykah's "Honey"

Soul Chanteuse Sharon Jones' Time Has Arrived

She is the songstress Amy Winehouse wishes to be

Review: The Roots at House of Blues

Prince

Planet Earth (Sony/BMG)

It's All in the Music

The evolutionary ?uest of the Roots

Shine On, Golden Warriors

The Roots, Lupe Fiasco

Monday, February 19, at Gypsy Tea Room

Are You Ready for Some Soup?

Blackalicous, Lifesavas, Fatlip, Pigeon John

Tuesday, March 14, at the Gypsy Tea Room's "Tea Room"

Get Down With Dave

Chappelle returns with a raucous Block Party

Little Brother

Thursday, August 25, at the Gypsy Tea Room's Ballroom

Secret Code

The Roots

The Tipping Point (Geffen)

Okay, Player

Rap has always been about community. Now the community is online.

This Week's Day-By-Day Picks

Common and Talib Kweli

March 25

DJ Krush

March 12

True Believer

Cody Chesnutt's lo-fi album is a raggedy, sprawling, beautiful mess. Think he cares?

Maxwell, Angie Stone

December 7 and 8

Mass N.E.R.D.er

Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo are revolutionary producers. Now they're doing it for themselves.

Untamed Lion

There will always be a little Miles Davis in electric jazz. And maybe some Christian McBride, too.