When iconic musicians embark upon reunion tours, often it’s because they’re broke. That’s not the case for legendary hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim. Their debut album, Paid In Full, released in 1987, is considered one of the most influential ever made in hip-hop or any genre. Its release began…
Things are about to get extremely trippy in Denton. The second annual Acid Koolaid Fest begins today. Organizers of this psychedelic rock extravaganza decided to expand the production this year to intensify the experience. Last year’s inaugural event took place over two days with two stages at Backyard On Bell…
Although he’s a hip-hop legend, Talib Kweli has a humble demeanor. That was apparent Tuesday night when he stopped by Spinster Records in Oak Cliff for a meet-and-greet session organized by producer J. Rhodes before Kweli’s performance at Trees. Those in attendance witnessed Kweli’s humility in real time as he arrived…
With the heavy lifting of programming completed, the team behind Fortress Festival is now focused on sales and promotion. This morning they announced the daily schedule for the burgeoning festival’s second year. The first round of performers, on Saturday, April 28, will include De La Soul, RZA featuring Stone Mecca,…
For faithful JMBLYA fans the wait is over. ScoreMore Shows announced this morning that acclaimed North Carolina rapper J. Cole will headline the sixth installment of the annual Hip Hop/EDM music festival. With Fayetteville’s finest anchoring this year’s lineup the complete roster of artist includes, Migos, Cardi B, Kevin Gates,…
Dallas hip-hop artist Bobby Sessions announced today that he has signed with Def Jam. The announcement comes almost three years to the day since Sessions quit his day job to pursue music full time. In a 2015 interview with the Observer, Sessions said that he only had $50 in his…
EDM is a visual experience as much as it is an aural one. Dallas’ Lights All Night, which has grown to be one of the largest music festivals in the state, features giant LED boards, complex lighting systems and a troupe of ethereal performers hired to enchant the crowd of…
It’s three months away, and anticipation is building for the sixth annual JMBLYA, which is expanding to Houston this year. ScoreMore Shows just released the locations for each date of the hip-hop and EDM festival — which stops in Dallas and Austin first — as well as the majority of…
A Dallas couple is showing its love for Deep Ellum through their free artwork. Painter and Lash Loft owner Preston Pannek and his girlfriend Adrienne Casey have started the 10 Mural Project through their company, House of Pannek. “We are starting off by donating 10 free murals to Deep Ellum…
Dallas-Fort Worth is fertile ground for celebrity tattoo artists. Rudy Hertzer, owner of Dallas Tattoo & Art Co., is a former cast member of Oxygen Network’s Best Ink; Oliver Peck, owner of Elm St. Tattoo, is still a host on Ink Master; and the late Clint Cummings, who owned Sparrows, was…
Beauty pageants can be homogenous — but the one at House of Blues next month won’t be. On Sept. 23, the 2017 Miss Inked USA pageant will celebrate women who have turned their bodies into canvases for art of all kinds. Photographer Art Cantu founded Miss Texas Inked in 2014, and…
Denizens of goth and industrial communities are preparing to descend upon Dallas this weekend. A seminal goth festival, Convergence, is being hosted here for the first time in its 23-year history. The Convergence festival got its start on online forums in the early ’90s, enabling members of the subculture to…
Steve Aoki has been an icon in EDM for over two decades, as an artist, a promoter and a label executive. He’s also had plenty of critics, who’ve accused him of being a champagne-spraying, cake-throwing showman first and a DJ second. But what’s never been called into question is his…
Each week on HBO’s Crashing, budding comic Pete Holmes stays on the couch of a different, established comic as he struggles to build a career in New York City. This story is a familiar one to Della Temple, who also endured homelessness on the path to a career in comedy…
The bromance between Michael Lewis and Michael “Bubba” Lindblom began in middle school. The Garland natives and co-frontmen of folk rock band Loyal Sally bonded in 5th grade over their first names and shared taste in music. Soon they were trying to make some of their own in Lewis’ garage…
Veteran Dallas DJ and promoter Willie Trimmer has served as an ambassador for the Dallas house and techno scenes for nearly two decades. Through his promotion company 12InchPimps, he’s organized parties, managed DJs and held down several residencies himself. Now he’s leveraging his experience and connections to start the four-day…
The American dream is becoming harder and harder to achieve, but the ABC reality show Shark Tank is doing its small part to keep it alive, one creative idea at a time. Since its debut in August 2009, over 300 entrepreneurs have obtained financing and partners for their companies through…
Hip-hop producer Malik Abdul-Rahmaan is a staunch believer in the power of music to transcend cultural barriers. He’s trying to harness that power with Field Research, a series of albums that will see their first release in early 2017 via the Brooklyn-based Indi-label Paxico Records. Field Research is the musical…
On a Friday afternoon in October 1991, 33-year-old Don Nedler was handed the keys to the building located at 2424 Swiss Ave. after paying $12,000 for first and last month’s rent. This weekend, the business he built there, Lizard Lounge, will celebrate 25 years as a mecca for Dallas’ rave and…
In the perpetual hot today/cold tomorrow world of the nightlife industry, party themes are a common way to carve out a niche. But few have been able to garner the cult-like following of the All/Everything Sunday night series at RBC, which launched in February. If you don’t believe the hype,…
Thursdays are a night of show-and-prove for local producers. On that day every week, Crown & Harp on Greenville Avenue plays host to Beat Assembly, a monthly meeting of musical minds. It’s one half party, the other half a workshop of original instrumentals. Producer battles aren’t anything new, but hip-hop…
Kings of the Mic Tour WIth LL Cool J, Bone Thugs N Harmony and more Gexa Energy Pavilion, Dallas Friday, June 26, 2015 For a while on Friday night, it seemed that Mother Nature maybe didn’t want the Kings of the Mic Tour to happen. Ominous clouds had been threatening…
