Yung Nation – Trees – 12/29/12

Yung Nation, A.Dd+, Mathew Clay, Lil Ronny MothaF, -topic, Dustin Cavazos, Bobby Sessions Trees Saturday, December 29 Before 2013 hits, the community came together to finish out the year with a strong local lineup. It felt like a celebration of what we’ve accomplished together this year, and of what’s to…

Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s Creole Christmas

Since 1961, Preservation Hall has been a cultural hub for the brass band jazz sound of New Orleans, and since its inception in the French Quarter, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band has had a steady roster of rotating members. On December 21, the legendary ensemble will make the Texas stop…

The 10 Best Rap Albums of 2012

10. The Idea of Beautiful, Rapsody The black mamba of super producer 9th Wonder’s Jamla Records team reached a new pinnacle in her career, and in her evolution as an artist this year. Sprinkled with collaborations from Big Remo, BJ the Chicago Kid and Childish Gambino, Rapsody takes us on…

Five Rap Albums That Changed the Game in 2012

Before the storm of best-of lists to come, I wanted to take a second to put aside the artistic merit aspect of the year in review, and take a look at what happened in the cultural landscape of rap music. Some of these albums were really good, some of them…

Five Local Rappers to Watch in 2013

As a city, we’ve been developing culturally and economically at a rapid pace over the last few years. Built around a scene of prominent weekly events like Beauty Bar’s Big Bang Thursdays and Prophet Bar’s Wednesday night open mic jam sessions, local rap artists get the chance to interact and…

Dom Kennedy – Trees – 12/8/12

Dom Kennedy, Raw Elementz Trees Saturday, December 8 On Saturday, Dom Kennedy saved the best for last. On the final date of his Yellow Album tour, he sold out Trees, making him the third West Coast rap act in three months to sell out a Dallas date. Not only was…

Five Rap Albums That Changed the Game in 2012

Before the storm of best of lists start hitting the blogs, I wanted to take a second to put aside the artistic merit aspect of the year in review, and take a look at what happened in the cultural landscape of rap music. Some of these albums were really good,…

Trae Tha Truth, Z-Ro – House of Blues – 11/25/12

Trae Tha Truth, Z-Ro, Snow Tha Product, Doughbeezy House of Blues Sunday, November 25 Last night at House of Blues was not the smoothest Scoremore-booked show we’ve seen recently. While they’ve been on a roll, booking sold-out Dallas shows for the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Wiz Khalifa, the crowd…

Joe Budden

Jersey’s Joe Budden will be promoting the upcoming release of his new mixtape, A Loose Quarter, due out the day after Thanksgiving. Budden also recently announced that his new album, No Love Lost, is slated for release January 22. As he slowly leaks tracks and details on the Internet, we…

Here are the Winners of the 2012 Dallas Observer Music Awards

Best Album Best Solo Act Best Female Vocalist The Body Wins, Sarah Jaffe Sarah Jaffe continues to be on the lips of North Texas music lovers in 2012, with her second LP, The Body Wins, revealing a tougher, darker side to longtime fans, and certainly gaining some new ones in…

Tum Tum and Big Tuck – Dada – 11/8/12

Tum Tum, Big Tuck, A.Dd+, Dustin Cavazos Dada Thursday, November 8 While Top Shelf Shows has plenty to be proud of lately, last night really proved the fairly new local booking upstart a force to be reckoned with. Though marketed as “The Day Dallas Stood Still,” Dallas rap fans did…

Kendrick Lamar – South Side Music Hall – 10/31/12

Kendrick Lamar, Dustin Cavazos, -topic South Side Music Hall Wednesday, October 31 Thanks to Scoremore and AEG, Dallas rap fans are currently having one of the best Halloweens ever. By the time candy prices are marked down again, our city will have seen Nas with Lauryn Hill, Asher Roth and…

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…

Five Must-Have Dallas Mixtapes For The Rest of 2012

Another season has come and gone, and with a 10-degree temperature drop comes the jones for new playlists. Dallas rap fans have much to look forward to. Things already kicked off toward the end of the summer with the release of the long-awaited TyCity mixtape, Good Look On the Listen…

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 convince me to wake up 25 minutes earlier on November 4 to hit an elementary school on the way to work. I’m so…