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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2012 Stories by Shea Serrano

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  FEATURED STORY

  Kirko Bangz Has a New Free Mixtape Out Right Here

  published Sep 05, 2012

  About a year and a half ago -- or maybe it was two years or 20r You get the point -- at some only mildly nice bar on 59, I watched a Kirko Bangz show. This was when "What Yo Name Iz" had gained stre... More >>

• Celebrate Kyle Hubbard's Birthday With This Chopped Not Slopped Version Of His Album

  published Sep 04, 2012

  Rewind: Let's All Take a Second And Enjoy One of the Most Compelling Local Rap Songs of the Year First Play: Kyle Hubbard's "New School Slang" Vs. hasHBrown's "Grand Champion" Artist of the Week: Ky... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Marcus Manchild + Delo + Doughbeezy + Propain + Michael Artis = A Headache For Everyone Else Competing

  published Aug 31, 2012

  Here's how you be successful in three simple steps: 1. Take four of the city's very best young rappers, ace sirs that have been recognized by brands like MTV and XXL, and put them on a song togeth... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  The Niceguys Have A Video For "Magick" And It's Just As Great As The Song Itself

  published Aug 30, 2012

  Last month, The Niceguys released a song called "Magick" and we all fell all ourselves to throw compliments at it. Earlier this week, the video for it came out. And holy fuck. It's wonderful. I co... More >>

• Here's Some Very Aces New Music From Houston Rappers

  published Aug 28, 2012

  Botany Boys: Not new, still great. The amount of music that is coming out in Houston -- specifically the amount of GOOD music -- has grown to such an unignorable volume that it not only forces me t... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Hey, Teacher, Leave Those Kids Alone: A Back to School Playlist

  published Aug 27, 2012

  I have been a teacher for six years now. I joke about it, but it really is the best job of all, and remains to be the only one I've ever had that didn't make me want to drive right the fuck into a tre... More >>

• Rob Jay Gets Really Weird On "#Bars Intro"

  published Aug 23, 2012

  Not sure what to do with this. Rob Jay, as surmised by temporary rap-group mate Hollywood FLOSS, reads too much. He's too smart for his own good, too meta for meta, too heady for anything other th... More >>

• Kidd the Great: Why You Should Go See a Rapper You've Likely Never Heard Of

  published Aug 22, 2012

  A few years ago, fellow Houston Press writer Rolando Rodriguez and I conspired to create a bilingual underground Houston rap version of those "Pass The Mic" videos that were popular for a very brief p... More >>

• Undergravity Goes Extra-Funky On Enjoyable New Single

  published Aug 20, 2012

  "We are choosing to up the funk." -- Mac Undergravity is an anachronistic rap duo maybe most easy to appreciate when calibrated within the context of last year's positively perfect summer record "S... More >>

• Without a Face's New Video Is Not Without Awesome

  published Aug 16, 2012

  8:53: The lead singer is extremely entertaining. At one point he removes his shirt to expose his frail white body and angrily hollers into the mic, "Are you ready to rock, Chicagor!" That's from a... More >>

• Love Dominique: The Anti-Hate Dominique

  published Aug 16, 2012

  Some weeks, 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 that... More >>

• Ask a Rapper: Bigg Fatts & Rap's 7 Best Food-Related Moments

  published Aug 15, 2012

  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 ... More >>

• Rap Round Table: What Is Your Favorite Non-Rap Activityr

  published Aug 14, 2012

  Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Sometimes Rocks Off has some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week's Panel: Bun B, ESG, Delo, UZOY, Surreall, ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Here's a Video of the Entire Geto Boys Show From Saturday's Juggalo Gathering

  published Aug 14, 2012

  There are benefits to going to a concert, of course. Like, there are the obvious things. The surge in energy in the room right before the performer comes out is always fun. It will never not be cool... More >>

• New Music From Scarface, Nas, Trae, Kirko Bangz, Bun B, Slim Thug, Paul Wall, Z-Ro... In 2 Songs

  published Aug 10, 2012

  Let's not dance around this too much. Two songs came out Thursday that you need to hear. The first inexplicably comes via DJ Khaled, rap DJ/producer/screamer/barterer. His new album(!r) comes out ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  The 10 Silliest Headlines In Rap News This Week

  published Aug 09, 2012

  You are a human and you have eyeballs and you also have the Internet, so you've likely read some things. That's sort of what this is, except sort of not too. We went through a ton of headlines of h... More >>

• Introducing the Rappers of Kickback Sunday's New Cypher Video

  published Aug 08, 2012

  We've written about Kickback Sundays before, an event hosted by clothing/apparel store SF2 that champions the Houston underground rap scene. The weekly (but seasonal) competition for upstart rappers... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  What Are the Seven Best Songs to Come Out in 2012r

  published Aug 07, 2012

  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 ... More >>

• Doeman's The Understatement Debut Tape Is Hardly Understated

  published Aug 03, 2012

  That young man up there, that's Doeman. He is yet another talented local rapper hoping to rise above Houston's intimidating Talented Rapper scrum. He recently released a tape called The Understateme... More >>

• Houston Music Showcase: A Semi-Talk With B L A C K I E

  published Aug 01, 2012

  See also Craig Hlavaty's review of B L A C K I E's new album GEN. This week brings us the Houston Press Music Awards and the feature story is a profile of B L A C K I E (all caps, with spaces), a no... More >>

• A Quiet Moment With the Very Loud B L A C K I E

  published Aug 01, 2012

  See also Craig Hlavaty's review of B L A C K I E's new album GEN. To go with the Houston Press Music Awards issue, this week's feature story is a profile of B L A C K I E (all caps, with spaces), a n... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  What the F Is F.D.R.r: Two Minutes With Hollywood FLOSS

  published Aug 01, 2012

  Beginning last week, Rocks Off started receiving emails about something called "F.D.R." Beyond that it involved a person and/or people saying words that possibly rhymed, the details were sparse. But a... More >>

• Scouting Report: Trae's Son, Rapper Lil' Jared, Hits the Court

  published Jul 27, 2012

  The kid shooting the free throw, that's Jared. He's a rapper. And this is kind of about him, but also about some other people. Because this is kind of about rap, but also about some other things. Ja... More >>

• Dustin-Prestige, The Niceguys Help Us All Grow Cooler

  published Jul 20, 2012

  Here's a way to say some new rap music is good without talking directly about it: There are a few different categories that emails from rappers/friends of rappers pretending to be publicists/publici... More >>

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  Is O.N.E. Becoming a Houston Rap Folk Heror

  published Jul 19, 2012

  There's a scene in 1997's Good Will Hunting where Matt Damon is talking to Robin Williams about getting beaten as a child. He tells Williams that his foster dad used to lay out things on a table (wren... More >>