Email Author Shea Serrano

Awards

• 2012 - Best of the West/First Amendment Funding, Inc., published February 10, 2011

  "Getting Past the Bouncer"

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2011 Stories by Shea Serrano

• The 25 Best Rap Albums from Houston's Glorious 2011

  published Dec 30, 2011

  Counting down the 25 best local rap albums of ANY year is less than easy. Counting them down for this year, the most energetic, frenzied year for Houston rap since 2005, it is more than impossible. Ra... More >>

• Artist of the Week: Best of 2011 Edition

  published Dec 29, 2011

  An appointment into the Houston Press Artist of the Week fraternity is perhaps the greatest achievement any musician can attain in his or her career. Here's a stat that will reflect exactly how amazin... More >>

• Ask a Rapper: The 10 Best Posts of 2011

  published Dec 28, 2011

  The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place - lots of times, you're even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good - so once a week we're going to get with a rapper and ask th... More >>

• Rap Round Table: The Ten Best Discussions of the Year

  published Dec 27, 2011

  Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Each week Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. Welp. Ya heardr That's that. It's the last week ... More >>

• Review: Young Sensation's C.H.I.L.L. (Cool High Intellectual Loving Life)

  published Dec 26, 2011

  "Niggas making rap lists. And I ain't ever on 'em." - Young Sensation Maybe it was a ruse, a misdirection of sortsr Maybe he's like the drunk villager in the kung-fu movies, fumbling around, moving i... More >>

• Look At This Now: The Niceguys' "Ari Gold (Remix)," Featuring Bun B

  published Dec 23, 2011

  So good. The song. The video. The idea. The levels. Bun's stoicism. Yves's bombast. Yves's during the chorus. YVES DURING THE CHORUS. 2:47 to 2:51. The intro. The outro. Basically everything betwe... More >>

• Aftermath: ABN, Performing Together For The First Time Ever, at Warehouse Live

  published Dec 23, 2011

  11:04 p.m.: This is going to be a good show. Somehow, this is the first time of the universe that Trae and Z-Ro have performed as ABN, the group a lot of people were saying could've maybe been as nati... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  The Top 25 Songs From Houston Rap's Glorious 2011: The Mixtape

  published Dec 21, 2011

  So here. These are the 25 best songs from Houston rap's glorious 2011. They've been pressed onto actual cassettes (not pictured above). We only made ten of them, because, fuck, it takes a long time.... More >>

• Artist of the Week: Payton Rae Quietly Eyes Fame

  published Dec 21, 2011

  Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist... More >>

• Ask A Rapper: DJ Mr. Luke Picks The Most Intriguing Rap Storylines Of The Year

  published Dec 20, 2011

  The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place -lots of times, you're even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good- so once a week we're going to get with a rapper and ask them... More >>

• Rap Round Table: What Do You Want For Christmas, Rapperr

  published Dec 19, 2011

  Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Each week Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week's Panel: Z-Ro, C-Stone, Kyle Hubbard, ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  The 35 Best Shit-Talking Lines From Hoodstar Chantz's Before The Fame

  published Dec 16, 2011

  Officially: Hoodstar Chantz, Houston's motor-mouthed motor-mouth, is Dionysius. And Before the Fame, his latest tape, is his pinecone-tipped staff. There are choruses here and bits there that can be... More >>

• Artist of the Week: The Curious, Courageous Second Lovers

  published Dec 14, 2011

  Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist ... More >>

• Trae Honors Murdered Brother With "R.I.P. Clip"

  published Dec 14, 2011

  Of course, this is a delicate subject. Recently, Clip, associate and spoken brother of Trae tha Truth, was shot and killed outside of a nightclub. Details were murky. No suspects were/are known or p... More >>

• Ask A Rapper: These are the Best Non-Houston Samplings of Houston Rap

  published Dec 13, 2011

  The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place - lots of times, you're even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good - so once a week we're going to get with a rapper and ask th... More >>

• Rap Round Table: Who is the Best Shit-Talker in Rap Currentlyr

  published Dec 12, 2011

  Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Each week Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week's Panel: Bun B, Slim Thug, medicine G... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  These Are The Five Best Chopped Not Slopped Tapes of 2011

  published Dec 09, 2011

  In the paper this week is a listing of some of our favorite local albums. One of the tapes on the list -debatable in its localness--is OG Ron C and DJ Candlestick's chopped not slopped version of Fran... More >>

• Review: Trakk Sounds Intervention

  published Dec 09, 2011

  Download that. It's Intervention, a compilation album from 21-year-old producer Trakk Sounds (with help from the MP3 site Tha Fixx). It's fun; all original tracks (16) with all original verses (60!)... More >>

• Artist of the Week: The Underappreciated O.N.E. Suits Up

  published Dec 08, 2011

  Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist ... More >>

• That Purple Bastard and D-Risha Plumb Houston Rap for Gold on "Ebonics"

  published Dec 07, 2011

  Earlier this year, rapper D-Risha released a mixtape called Big Trouble in Houston, Texas. On it was a song called "Ebonics," the stand alone best track because it somehow managed to be accessible whi... More >>

• Ask A Rapper: Teenaged Rapper Lil Chris On Lils' Bow Wow And Romeo

  published Dec 06, 2011

  The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place - lots of times, you're even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good - so once a week we're going to get with a rapper and ask th... More >>

• Last Night: Kanye West, Jay-Z and the Watch the Throne Tour at Toyota Center

  published Dec 06, 2011

  8:08: You know what's just never a slick mover Red wine in a plastic cup. Just an FYI, ladies. "Oh, you're drinking red winer That's classy. Wait. Is that a plastic cupr Never mind. I forgot this was ... More >>

• Rap Round Table: What Is The Best Song You Have That Was Inspired By Another Humanr

  published Dec 05, 2011

  Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Each week Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week's Panel: Bun B, Young Sensation, Fat ... More >>

• The Ten Best (Non-Houston) Rap Albums of 2011

  published Dec 05, 2011

  A deal, then: Let's pretend like this was some really clever, insightful preamble; ideally, when you finished reading it, you would've immediately said, "Dang. That was a really clever, insightful pre... More >>

• Introducing Break Dem Boyz Off, Only Five Years After They Should've Been Introduced

  published Dec 02, 2011

  The video above, that's by Break Dem Boyz Off, an enjoyable fescennine rap conglomerate that's somehow been functioning since 2006. Members include DJ Young Samm (the figurehead, it appears), Hoodst... More >>