What Would the World Be Like Without College Dropout?

This week 10 years ago, an anxious producer from Chiraq (Chicago), Illinois had just released his debut into the rap arena, College Dropout. Heavily manipulating the hip-hop scene musically, stylistically, and socially even at the time, a far more subconscious Kanye West went on to gain international acclaim, travel through…

Childish Gambino vs. Vic Mensa: Who Owns the Internet?

Dallas is in for a techie treat with upcoming concerts by two of hip-hop’s most promising internet by-products: Childish Gambino (March 7 at South Side Ballroom) and Vic Mensa (February 1 at House of Blues). With Gambino’s release of Because the Internet and Mensa’s full-length solo debut, Innanetape, 2013 introduced…

Why Beyoncé Could Be a New Leader for Texas Hip-Hop

Last summer, Houston’s one-woman pop monopoly Beyoncé Knowles introduced the world to one of her grittier alter-egos with the unleashing of Third Ward Trill. With chopped-and-screwed rap deliveries, à la promotional single “Bow Down/ I Been On,” fans received a taste of the hip-hop influences to follow on Jay Z’s…