Tupac Shakur

Eazy-E and Old Dirty Bastard Holograms will Headline Rock the Bells. We're More Excited About Snow Tha Product

Rock The Bells season is officially here. This Tuesday, promoters Guerilla Union held their launch party/press conference for this year's festival. Hosted by HOT97's Peter Rosenberg, the festivities started off with the longstanding tradition of freestyle extraordinaire MC Supernatural rapping the 2 ... More >>

Talking with the People of The People's Last Stand about Cocktails, Panic and PB&J's

Kartik Rathore opened The People's Last Stand in Mockingbird Station more than a year ago, and the foremost concept was it would be an upscale bar serving high-quality drinks. It was his first endeavor in the restaurant and bar business and he admittedly had a hard time in the beginning. While the d ... More >>

Ten Jazz Albums to Listen to Before You Die

Ten Jazz Albums to Listen to Before You Die

Because there are multiple decades of jazz, it's almost impossible to pick the top 10 albums of all time; the hip cats with their canes and cool shades will throw their used saxophone reeds in my direction and call me a young whippersnapper. The debate is so polemic that I might as well write about ... More >>

Private Social May Multiply, but Will People Come if Tiffany Derry's Not in the Kitchen?

Eater dug up a scoop on Uptown's Top Chef destination, Private Social. A post on the restaurant's Facebook page hints at expansion plans, asking applicants to send in their resumes. Chef Tiffany Derry has yet to release any details on what she's planning on doing with her expanded staff, but rumors ... More >>

The Conversation: 1991 Was a Damn Good Year, But Was It The Best Music Year of The '90s?

​Something happened this week 20 years ago, and music hasn't been the same since: Nirvana released "Smells Like Teen Spirit," the lead single from Nevermind, which would itself come out later in the month. With the song came a new movement in music, a new era. But plenty of other influential acts ... More >>

Erykah Badu to Join My Morning Jacket As Guest For Streaming Tuesday Night Concert

Once-in-a-lifetime events sometimes happen more than once, turns out. Next Tuesday night, when My Morning Jacket performs in its hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, to celebrate the release of their new album, Circuital, they will be joined on stage by one Erykah Badu, just as they so memorably were t ... More >>

Point/Counterpoint: Is Lil Wayne's Newfound Sobriety a Good or Bad Thing?

Weezy F. Baby​Little Wayne emerged from Rikers Island late last year. Now, owing to the terms of his probation, he must lay off drugs and liquor for three years or return to prison. And, by all accounts, he's kept kosher. And yet something doesn't quite sit right. For the man who once composed a l ... More >>

Listomania: The Five Best and Five Worst Alter Egos in Music

​Tonight, groundbreaking experimental rapper Kool Keith will be gracing The Loft with his presence. And we're hella stoked. Not only is the rapper one of our favorites, but his skill set is undeniable and his advancements in the "horrorcore" and "porncore" genres are fairly irrefutable. Plus. he's ... More >>

The Problem With... Katy Perry's "California Gurls"

​Every few years, we all hear songs about California that define that state for a few years until the next. Back in the '90s, it was Tupac and Dr. Dre's "California Love." Last decade, it was "California" by Phantom Planet. Hell, there is a laundry list of iconic songs about the state.Katy Perry's ... More >>

Year in Review: Way Down South With the Best Rap Albums of 2009

Yeah, it stirred the Yankees to the World Series championship, but was there a more boring album this year than Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3? Perhaps it was a geographic thing; with a few exceptions like Raekwon and Kid Cudi, most of 2009's exciting, innovative rap records came from Southern artists. Sur ... More >>

Q&A: Justin Bua Brings "The DJ" And The Rest of His Iconic Work To Dallas

Justin Bua at 4th Wall Gallery.Even if the name Justin Bua doesn't ring a bell, chances are you've seen New York City-raised artist's work--most notably, his almost ever-present piece "The DJ." It's the image on which Bua made his name as a prominently hip-hop-centric artist, leading the way to his ... More >>

Get Out Your "Flashlight"

Dem Souhernfolkz's Incredible Message

The Top 10 Reissues of 2008

It's time to rank the best of what went around and came around again. BILLY JOEL The Stranger (Columbia/Legacy) As punk and disco exploded, the Piano Man's deeply unhip 1978 breakthrough proved that top-shelf Broadway/Brill Building songwriting could still sell - and, occasionally, rock. "Scen ... More >>

Who is Mr. Sensitivity?

Eric Hutchinson and Corey Smith want you to know that they feel your pain

Fox News Akin To Southern Rap

Anti-intellectual appeal and red-state focus are just the tip of what these two have in common.

Making a List, Checking It Twice

Pimp C, Free at Last

Remembering a Down South legend

Life and Death

With his most recent release, Hip-Hop Is Dead, acclaimed MC Nas delivered a bitter requiem for rap. But is it truly a time for mourning?

Living Off Experience

Jacob Rodriguez proves to be a worthy Accomplice

Beyoncé

B-Day (Sony)

Hip-hop's Public Enemy

Minister G. Craige Lewis has one goal: Get hip-hop out of the church. Forever.

Reform School

The College Dropout rethinks his stance on education in the year 2010

Wailing on Each Other

Plus: Seeing Red

2005 Dallas Observer Music Awards

Case Solved: Killer musicians captured, thanks to your tips

God Save the Scene

Plus: Smells Like Indie Spirit

God Save the Scene

Sassy Brits, hoochie mamas and a dude named Beans attempted to invigorate a stagnant year for hip-hop.

Perfect Town, USA

Frisco wants to lure Andy and Opie with a Starbucks. Why is that an evil plan?

Shiny Happy People

The Polyphonic Spree is one Big Moment away from stardom. Right?

Bent Life

Bazooka Tooth isn't a fable. It's Aesop Rock's reality.

That DJ Made My Day

Jam Master Jay, 1965-2002

Straight Outta Left Field

The Dallas Morning News says N.W.A. was "militant." The real answer? N.O.

Hip-Hop Family Feud

Legendary Fritz, Headkrack square off

Ill At Ease

Nas steps back into the ring, fists flying

Psy2ko & Mic L. Moodswing

Blood is Thicker Than Water (AMC/Major Money Entertainment)

In the Screening Room

For the Deep Ellum Film Festival, the third time's the charm

Hop online

Is Russell Simmons' 360HipHop.com the best hope to bring hip-hop culture onto the Internet?

Hip hope

Celebs and poseurs mix-a-lot in this surprisingly effective look at rap, race, and sex

Rubberneckin'

Leap-frogging through history with the Toadies

The road to hell

A Fort Worth crime-prevention group is warning parents about Goth-rock, but is that such a good idea?

Beat down

Dallas' hip-hop scene is more vital than ever, but you'd never know it: no clubs, no radio, no major-label deals. But the musicians, some of this city's best, refuse to give up.

Back in the game

At 38, Public Enemy's Chuck D goes 'where no age has gone before'

Wizards of Wu

How Wu-Tang Clan won the world

Spirit of '96

Last year showed pop still has more than a ghost of a chance

Star maker

Can Interscope do for four local bands what it did for Nine Inch Nails and Snoop Dogg?