It is difficult to pinpoint what exactly it is it that qualifies a song or artist as being hip hop these days. The way in which hip hop has diversified over the past few years has left many people confused as to how to accurately describe the genre. Do you merely need an emcee and [...]

To commemorate the 47th anniversary of Malcolm X’s death, Yasiin Bey – formerly known as Mos Def – released a video for his remix of “N****s in Paris,” a hit single off of the Jay-Z/Kanye West album, Watch the Throne. Titled “N****s in Poorest,” Bey’s version paints a picture far darker than the original.  Known [...]

There can be no denying that France has had its fair share of international music successes. From Gainsbourg and Hallyday, through to Daft Punk, the Ed Banger Records crew and superstar producers like David Guetta and Bob Sinclar, there’s definitely global love for our Gallic friends. French hip hop may be harder to sell abroad [...]

If you like your beats served with a slice of controversy then look no further than After The Smoke‘s track OIAM (One In A Million). A dispute over the production rights to the song – involving a previously unreleased, leaked track with Yelawolf and collaborators rapping over the original beat – ultimately led to OIAM [...]

Apparently, there is more to DJ-producer Diplo than some sick beat making skills and an impressive collaborative music resume. The Philly born artist is known for manipulating some of the dopest tracks, from house to hip hop. He is also credited for working with MIA, founding the record company Mad Decent, being 1/2 of Major [...]

For this week’s Heavy Rotation, we’ll stick with last week’s regional theme, swimming across the sonic sea from the UK to Sweden and Denmark. Let’s begin with a few electro-dream-pop sounds and end with some hybrid neofolk. I hoped you enjoyed those genre names, for they are complete nonsense. Little Dragon The new album Ritual [...]

2011 can easily be described as the year of R&B mixtapes; there have been a great number of successful R&B mixtapes that match up to that of the traditional rap mixtapes. Basically, what can be more tempting than free downloadable music pouring straight from your laptop, into your well equipped iPod and directly into your [...]

Once again, this summer proves to be an exciting and worthwhile one: despite the tremendous heatwaves, controversial kidnapping news reports and on going trials. Pop/rock icon Prince, and sultry songbird Andy Allo have joined forces – musically that is, – and are touring this summer, to show Europe and America exactly what performance is all [...]

Two words: Beyonce Knowles. The beautiful, vocally endearing siren with the most vulnerable words to sing and the most seductive dance moves to entice. Well, that was more than two words. However, how could one accurately explain such a songstress who has been in the music game since ’97, one of the best girl group [...]

In all honesty, Justice’s 2007 debut album † is one of the best electronic albums of the past decade. Probably of all time. It set the stage for a dance explosion that took over the US and the world by storm, and created a style of its own that only Gaspard Augé and Xavier de [...]

After 3 years of mixtaping, rapping, and scaring, Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All is finally receiving the attention they have been striving for. The band erupted from Los Angeles, California in 2007, lead by the horrifyingly creative Tyler, The Creator, and composed of Hodgy Beats, Domo Genesis, Frank Ocean, Mike G and Earl [...]

Coldplay, London’s beloved alternative rock group, is back on the music scene! They are stronger than ever with Chris Martin’s ethereal voice and the band’s playful star-bright sounds. The band is currently putting the finishing touches on their fifth album, which is scheduled for release this autumn. Nonetheless, the anticipation for their new production is [...]

Our fellow brooklyner took over “la croisette”, the famous promenade in Cannes, during last week’s film festival. Theophilus had more than one reason to be excited about Flying Overseas to the film festival: For one, his unique sound was introduced to a large audience in France through the very popular canal+ program, Le Grand Journal. [...]

The summer music festival season is bookended by the giants; Coachella in April and Austin City Limits in September, with Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and scores of other smaller festivals in the middle. The most wonderful time of the year kicked off last month in Indio, California with Kanye West and Arcade Fire headlining Coachella with fantastic [...]