Southern Rap

Foxy Brown Lies About Jay-Z's Sex Life and Other Controversies

Where to begin? #raptwitter had a big day yesterday, with big stories breaking left and right. From a Foxy Brown hoax to a pseudo-Big Tymers reunion, here are your biggest hip-hop news stories of the week: Yesterday started off with a shocking report of Foxy Brown dishing out some pretty wild alleg ... More >>

Why SXSW is Worth it, Even if You Have No Plans and No Access

Every year something happens that nearly prevents me from going to South by Southwest. This year was no different. A professional obligation on Thursday was threatening my travel plans, and I was considering giving it all up, joining in the chorus, of "It's too crowded," or whatever and staying in D ... More >>

Top Show Announcements: Big Boi, Smashing Pumpkins, Bruno Mars, Black Flag and More

This particular announcement post stirs up some old memories: The last time Big Boi was in town, a handful of my friends--after dancing with him onstage--somehow made their way onto his tour bus, and proceeded to happily dance, smoke weed and partake in all sorts of fun, drunken debauchery. I was st ... More >>

Trae Tha Truth, Z-Ro, Snow Tha Product

Sunday, November 25, at House of Blues

The 2012 BET Hip-Hop Awards Cypher Breakdown

In the last couple of years, the BET Hip-Hop Awards have proven to be the most ironic awards show on television. There's little to no merit in an artist actually taking home an award anymore, unless you get the I Am Hip Hop lifetime achievement honor. The most important accolade an artist can really ... More >>

What The Hell Is Trap Music?

By Rebecca Haithcoat You may have heard the term "trap music." You may even realize that what people are calling "trap music" today, which sounds a whole lot like dubstep, is not necessarily what people were calling "trap music" a few years ago. So, what the hell is trap music? Not too long ago, ... More >>

Five Reasons Why 2 Chainz Should Make A Presidential Bid

I don't know about you, but this election coverage is really starting to wear on me. Headline after headline, months and months of media saturation, all to try and convince me to wake up 25 minutes earlier on November 4 to hit an elementary school on the way to work. I'm so fed up with the overkill ... More >>

Waltz Around Our 100 Best Texas Songs

The 100 Best Texas Songs: The Complete List

100. Tripping Daisy, "Sonic Bloom" Before this album, the band had a grunge-pop affectation, but this song, from 1998's Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb, was more heartfelt than anything they'd done before. - Daniel Hopkins 99. Pleasant Grove, "The Plaque at 16ft" Bret Egner wrote "The Plaque at 16ft, ... More >>

The Best Texas Songs of All Time: #59-40

Best Texas songs, #100-80 Best Texas songs, #79-60 The Spotify playlist for songs #59-40 59. Tum Tum, "Caprice Music" For years, the Dallas hip-hop community's had a love affair with the Chevy Caprice Classic. Tum Tum's "Caprice Music" was an ode to that car culture, illustrating the unique trend ... More >>

12 of This Weekend's Top Concerts: Coldplay, Fungi Girls, Chamillionaire & More

Coldplay, Robyn, Wolf GangJune 22, June 23 at American Airlines CenterIs Coldplay the biggest band in the world? That's what they were always shooting for. Their latest album, Mylo Xyloto, has only continued their ascent. Its syrupy melodies and sincere lyrics pull in fans by the truckload and make ... More >>

Top 10 Modern Hip-Hop Ad-Libs

Throughout hip-hop's history, rappers have sought to distinguish themselves through a variety of methods. While some have focused exclusively on lyrical content, others have focused on style and cadence. As of late, hip-hop has experienced a fundamental shift from an emphasis on substance to an emph ... More >>

2 Chainz - Main Event Center - 4/6/12

2 Chainz Main Event Center Friday, April 6 Friday night, precipitous persona 2 Chainz arrived in a white stretch Hummer limousine, packed full of women and choice entourage at the Main Event Center. With a wingspan rivaling most NBA power forwards, 2 Chainz's menacing frame appeared not a moment to ... More >>

Saturday's 35 Denton Review: Bun B, Best Coast, Rain and Rap

Live your life like it's one in, one out. That's a motto I've started living by this weekend. Last night especially, as the rain upon Denton reached Biblical proportions. I imagined a scenario in which Denton flooded and hundreds of drunk, high fans were washed away in the most epic fashion. But the ... More >>

Legsweeper and More Come Out of the Swamp

Friday, February 3, at 406 Arts

A.Dd Plans a Texas Takeover With the Red Bull Skooled Tour

​Local rap duo A.Dd continue their ascent, this time enlisting corporate support from Red Bull, who's sponsoring an early February tour that will see them hit six Texas cities in the span of seven days. This will be a coming-out party of sorts, with A.Dd playing shows with some of Texas' mo ... More >>

Over The Weekend: Lil Wayne and Rick Ross at Gexa Energy Pavilion

Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Keri Hilson, Far East Movement, LloydGexa Energy PavilionSeptember 10, 2011Better than: a Super Bowl halftime show. Mike MezeulLil Wayne at Gexa on Saturday night. For more photos, check out the slideshow.​ Lil Wayne is a shapeshifter -- and, at that, one who has alrea ... More >>

Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Keri Hilson, Far East Movement, Lloyd

Saturday, September 10, at Gexa Energy Pavilion

Beats by Dallas' Own Hip-Hop Doctors

Symbolyc One Explains How He Came Up With Kanye West and Jay-Z's "Excellence" Joint

Symbolyc One's on fire.​In this week's paper, you'll find a heads up of sorts about what's really going on in Dallas hip-hop these days -- essentially it's no longer the rappers making waves so much as it's the producers. And that's not just fluff. As noted in the article, in the past couple of ye ... More >>

Meet Wiz Khalifa, Big Sean and Curren$y's Secret Weapon: Fort Worth Producer Cardo

Cardo's a dude worth knowing.​Ronald La Tour very clearly remembers the first time he met Wiz Khalifa. It was a few years back at this point, when Khalifa was just starting to make a name for himself, releasing mixtapes at an impressive clip and earning endless praise for each. After some fruitful ... More >>

Listomania: Top Ten Songs About Ingesting Cough Syrup for Leisure

​Ahh, codeine cough syrup. It started off innocently enough, as a remedy for a sore throat. However, if it can get you high, people will use it to get high. And, if it gets you high, someone will at some point write a song about it. Purple drank, sizzurp, lean -- whatever you choose to call ... More >>

Play-N-Skillz Sue Lil Wayne -- And His Entire Posse -- For $1 Million Over "Got Money" Rights

Steve VisneauPlay-N-Skillz​For two years now, Juan and Oscar Salinas, the Dallas-based production duo known as Play-N-Skillz, have publicly and repeatedly claimed that they had never received payment for their work on the 2009 Grammy-winning T-Pain and Lil Wayne collaboration, "Got Money," from L ... More >>

Play-N-Skillz Goes Electro: Grammy-Winning Duo Remixes Kanye, Collabs With David Guetta

Seems Play-N-Skillz is on a new tip these days. A couple weeks back, the Grammy-winning, Dallas-based production duo behind such hits as Chamillionaire's "Ridin'" and Lil Wayne and T-Pain's "Got Money" released an electronic remix of Kanye West's "All of the Lights" (see the video for their remix a ... More >>

Five Things Dallas Hip-Hop Could Learn From The Rest of The Dirty South Movement

​[Editor's Note: On Thursday night, Ben Westhoff, a frequent contributor to our print edition and a sometime contributor here on DC9, will be stopping by Cliff Notes in Oak Cliff for a reading and signing session to promote his new book, Dirty South: OutKast, Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, and the Souther ... More >>

35 Conferette's Coming Into its Own.

Q&A: Big Boi Talks About His Decision To Go Solo, The Preparations For His Next Album and Why He Hardly Considers Himself A Hip-Hop Act.

Stephen MaskerBig Boi during his 35 Conferette headlining performance on Sunday night.​There's little doubting Atlanta duo Outkast's place in hip-hop history. The twosome of Andre 3000 and Big Boi practically invented the southern hip-hop sub-genre, developing a crazy style to call their own -- an ... More >>

Last Night at 35 Conferette: Big Boi Brings The Outdoor Stages To A Joyous Close

Big Boi8:10 p.m., Main Stage OneStephen MaskerBig Boi​After a brief word from festival founder Chris Flemmons, in which he thanked the crowds and organizers for helping the festival finally reach its goal of being a completely walkable deal in downtown Denton, Atlanta rapper and festival headliner ... More >>

The Must-See Acts at 35 Conferette

Welcome To The Golden Age of Dallas Hip-Hop.

XXL Magazine Names Oak Cliff Rapper Lil Twist To Its 2011 Freshman Class

To find Lil Twist, just look for the mohawk​Last night, the cover for XXL Magazine's fourth annual "Freshmen Issue" leaked, revealing a picture of Oak Cliff rapper Lil Twist along with 10 other young hip-hop artists that the prominent hip-hop magazine has its eye on in 2011. At 18, Twist is alread ... More >>

Big Chief Signs To Cash Money Records

Big Chief​A little more than two years has passed since we openly wondered if Big Chief, long one of Dallas' premiere underground street rappers, has what it takes to be the Next Big Thing out of the Dallas hip-hop scene. Now, though, it seems as if we're closer to our answer. The ever-prolific Ch ... More >>

Picture Show: Zouk Kicked Off Super Bowl Week Last Night With Lil Jon. What? YEAH!

All photos by Roderick PullumCheck out more crunk shots of Lil' Jon in Roderick's slideshow​Before the sleet made the roads look like a scene from The Mighty Ducks, legendary crunkmaster and rapper Lil Jon held a Super Bowl week kickoff party last night at Zouk. This, of course, is the first of ma ... More >>

Big Boi Joins 35 Conferette's Increasingly Impressive Lineup of Performers

Big news out of 35 Conferette camp this morning -- literally and figuratively, actually -- as the Denton-hosted, pre-SXSW festival has announced that iconic Atlanta rapper Big Boi will join an already crowded and impressive group of performers at this year's third annual go in March.The rapper, half ... More >>

How To: Make A Hit Southern Hip-Hop Track

​After years of extensive research, we finally feel as if we've cracked the code of how to make a successful southern hip-hop track.So, with that, we present to you, after the jump, a major breakthrough -- a blueprint teaching people how to make a southern hip-hop song, no matter whether you hope ... More >>

Watch: Play-N-Skillz Show Bun B Around Dallas For Trill OG's Latest Single, "Ridin Slow."

Bun B​A few weeks back, on the same weekend when Dallas-based super-producers Play-N-Skillz were hosting auditions for their in-development MTV reality show, the Brothers Salinas also welcomed a Texas hip-hop legend and long-time collaborator to town. Turns out Juan and Oscar Salinas, who produced ... More >>

Last Night: Talib Kweli, Ozomatli and Surprise Special Guest Bun B Rock RedBull's SoundClash at the Palladium Ballroom

​Red Bull SoundClash with Ozomatli, Talib Kweli & The Rhythm Roots Allstars with Special Guest Bun BPalladium BallroomOctober 28, 2010Better Than: Anything else worth the $10 ticket price.The Palladium looked a little different last night.Instead of the conventional one stage people have becom ... More >>

Bonus MP3: Dorrough feat. DJ Drama, Diddy, Yo Gotti, Bun B, Diamond, Shawty Lo, Wiz Khalifa & Maino -- "Get Big (Remix)"

Dorrough's getting bigger.​Well, we're a week in to the official release of Dorrough's sophomore album and it looks like the disc going to be the successful follow-up Dorrough that was hoping for. Or, at least, the singles are still doing well. Currently, lead single, "Get Big," 14 weeks after bre ... More >>

Picture Show: Epic Cars and Rap at 97.9 The Beat's Custom Car Show & Concert

Roderick PullumThoughts on making a Ice Cube pun when it's so hot outside? Nah, we'll skip it.​KBFB-97.9 FM The Beat's sixth annual custom car show and concert jam-packed a massive lineup of rap stars and souped-up cars at the Dallas Convention Center Sunday, August 22. The event's headliners were ... More >>

Good Friday: KBFB-97.9 FM The Beat's Custom Car Show, Analog Rebellion, Dead Twins, Goo Goo Dolls, Switchfoot, Green River Ordinance, The Budos Band, Tanya Morgan, Brave Combo, More!

​This weekend marks 97.9 The Beat's sixth annual custom car show, which will take place on Sunday, August 22, at the Dallas Convention Center. This year, the event's headliners are Gucci Mane, Ice Cube, Waka Flocka Flame, Plies, Bun B, Trina, Slim Thug and a man who will definitely show off his ic ... More >>

B.o.B. Finally Figures It Out

B.o.B.'s Album Isn't As Adventurous As He'd Like

Last Night: Big Boi and Girl Talk at SMU

Big Boi, Girl TalkSouthern Methodist UniversityApril 15, 2010Better than: Big Boi's set getting canceled as well.Mattie StaffordBig Boi played SMU last night. Girl Talk didn't.​Many unsuspecting local music fans had the same reaction upon hearing that there would be a free concert on the SMU cam ... More >>

Picture Show: Big Boi, Not Girl Talk at SMU

Mattie Stafford​So, as you can read from our Big Boi and Girl Talk review on DC9, Girl Talk didn't play last night at SMU. Big Boi still did, though. And Mattie Stafford was there to capture it before the Highland Park Grannies dialed 9-1-1. Check out the rest of Mattie's photos here.

Gig Alert: Girl Talk and Big Boi Play SMU Tonight. For Free.

​ OK. There are certain things that are undoubtedly cool about living in a big city. Like when huge shows evade the radar of just about everyone. How huge? How about Spring Concert, put on by Southern Methodist University's Program Council, featuring one of the most influential mash-up artists in ... More >>

Ballers and Shotcallers: Zo & Magic's 8-Ball Challenge

Mattie StaffordAlonzo Mourning lines up a shot. For a whole slideshow from this event, click here.​Zo & Magic's 8-Ball ChallengeCentennial Building in Fair ParkThe red carpet walks kicked off at 7.30 p.m., with Mourning's appearance leading the way. Early attendees were held in a "reception ar ... More >>

Ballers and Shotcallers: Play-N-Skillz's Welcome To All-Star Affair

Gloria LevarioModel Gloria Velez, Dallas Cowboy Ken Hamlin and Bun B hang in Plush's VIP section. For more photos from the night, check the full slideshow here.​Play-N-Skillz's Welcome to All-Star AffairPlushSeemed it was a late-arriving crowd at Plush, for the first of Play-N-Skillz's four nights ... More >>

The D-Town Boogie Positions Itself For A Big Score This All-Star Weekend

Things You Probably Didn't Know About The Goodie Mob

Get Small

Li'l Abner visits Plano