Andre Benjamin

Jambalaya Festival at Bayou Music Center, 5/23/2013

Jambalaya Festival Bayou Music Center May 23, 2013 Ingredients: Houston, Texas A roomful of screaming, dancing teens G-Eazy, RL Grime, Big Boi, Zeds Dead, Earlwolf Instructions: 1. Open the doors of Bayou Music Center at approximately 4 p.m. Allow scores of teenage hip-hop enthusiasts t ... More >>

I Hate Beyonce's New "Back to Black" Cover With My Entire Soul

Since the first thing that comes to mind about New York during the roaring 1920's is dubstep, Autotune, and, of course, Andre 3000 and Beyonce, the producers of the new The Great Gatsby movie have forced this little ditty upon us from the upcoming soundtrack. Bey and Andre's collaboration on Amy Wi ... More >>

T.I. Unveils Trouble Man at Houston's Wire Road Studios

T.I. is no Marvin Gaye. Or is he? Both men were blessed with supreme talent as musicians and songwriters. Both men exhibit an overflowing charisma and a flair for the dramatic. Both men chose acting as a supplementary alternative expression of their talents. Both men were also cursed with an unfor ... More >>

That Purple Bastard: Houston's Reluctant "Remix King"

"Can I call myself a Remix King when nobody knows who the fuck I am?" --Purple Bastard Purple Bastard has a beard. Or maybe A Beard has a purple bastard? Not sure. No matter. It's not important. What is is that he stands out, even though it's the least overwhelming STANDS OUT of all. And that's ma ... More >>

Friday Night: El-P & Killer Mike at Warehouse Live

El-P, Killer Mike Warehouse Live June 22, 2012 A small but lively crowd packed into the studio at Warehouse Live on Friday night for performances by two polarly opposite yet complementary artists, who together have created two of the most adventurous and innovative rap productions to be released th ... More >>

Spotify's Houston Top 10 Singles Is, Uh, Yeah...

This past weekend I was at Academy near my house filling out paperwork to buy a shotgun and the One Direction single "What Makes You Beautiful" was playing over the store speaker system. Before that moment I had thought that One Direction only existed in emails from PR agents, my music listings, and ... More >>

We Tell You Who Will Win Grammys So You Don't Have To Watch Them

SPOILER ALERT​The best thing about the annual Grammy nominations and awards shows is the clamor of anger that rises up when the mere mention of the event even comes up. Immediately people begin calling it a travesty, trotting out all the people who have been snubbed -- Jethro Tull beats Metall ... More >>

Smooth: 10 Definitive Neo-Soul Tracks

Nearly 12 years after the release of Voodoo, Michael Eugene Archer, better known for his stage name, D'Angelo, has emerged out of his self-imposed exile. After doing battle with drugs and alcohol for a decade, last week the singer kicked off a European tour entitled The D-Tour, for his first live pe ... More >>

Hip-Hop, Interrupted: 7 Rappers That Should Be More Active

Hip-hop is a genre full of guys who put out a new album or mixtape seemingly every single month. They just can't stop, even when they're incarcerated in some cases (see: Lil Wayne, Gucci Mane, and TI). It's as if rapping really is as much of a competition as they make it out to be and they're in a r ... More >>

Rap Round Table: If You Could Only Listen To One Musician For All Of Time, Who Would It Be?

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: Killa Kyleon, Zavey, kyle Hubbard, Brad Gilmore, Mac, Doughbeezy, A.D.D., Medicine Girl, more. Not Invited: The guy at our sons' ... More >>

5 Young Jeezy Quotes To Get You Laid On New Years

If you've spent the better part of six years needing a hood, ignorant (and in the words of Jay Bilas' prophetic) New Years celebration, leave it to Young Jeezy to supply all your needs and demands. Who cares if you don't flip bricks or do things that the Snowman does -- just know he has you covered ... More >>

Five Musical MILFs Who Rocked Pregnancy

Beyoncé's ever-changing baby bump.​In the world of prominent celebrities, it's headlining news even if that famous person sneezes. So in when Houston's own Beyoncé announced her pregnancy at the 2011 VMA's in August, the media and fans went into a frenzy of reactions. Some were elated, some ... More >>

Is Tha Carter IV Really Better Than Watch The Throne?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday that isn't a national holiday (and soon after when it is), Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. Photo illustration by John Seaborn Gray​This Week's Panel: Chane, Kiotti, Dough ... More >>

Last Night: Bootsy Collins At Warehouse Live

Photos by Groovehouse​Bootsy Collins & Funk U-Nity Warehouse Live June 16, 2011 See more fabulous funksmanship in our slideshow. Funk is good for the soul. There's no denying it. After 12 hours at the office Thursday, Aftermath entered Warehouse Live clenched tight as an oyster. A whopping t ... More >>

Beyonce Throws A "Party" With Kanye, Andre 3000 & Slick Rick

​Beyonce's wildly anticipated 4 has leaked three weeks ahead of its scheduled release date. One of the songs on the album, "Party," finds Bey joining forces with Kanye West and rap's greatest hermit Andre 3000. It starts with a classic Kanyeism: "You a bad girl and your friend's bad too/Oh, y ... More >>

The Best & Weirdest Pictures Of Prince 4 U

The symbol for "scrumptious"...​Today is Prince's 53rd birthday, making him just 4 days older than Rocks Off's dad, which puts things in perspective. When Prince was wearing an assless catsuit on televsion and writing "slave" on his face, Craig Sr. was teaching his son how 2 throw a baseball. ... More >>

Top 10 Musician Movie Cameos

Rocks Off has no idea why Mick Jagger might prefer Performance to Ned Kelly.​Over recent years, Rocks Off has been repeatedly surprised by the quality performances of musicians in films. Naturally, there are some duds in the mix; even Mick Jagger himself, who starred in 1970's Ned Kelly, disow ... More >>

Top Five Rap Duos That Will Probably Never Happen

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 to explain things. Have something you always wanted to ask a rapper? Email it to sheaserrano@gmai ... More >>

Three Overrated, Underrated And Perfectly Rated Rappers

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 to explain things. Have something you always wanted to ask a rapper? Email it to sheaserrano@gmai ... More >>

The Top 10 Female-Friendly Rap Songs

streethop.comLadies Love Cool James: LL Cool J on The View​Chris Rock once said that women don't pay attention to rap lyrics. Truth be told, most casual hip-hop fans - male and female - rarely pay attention to lyrics. As long as the beat is catchy, they'll drop down and get their eagle on all ... More >>

Is Chris Brown Officially Unshunned?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday that isn't a national holiday, Rocks Off will have some of them hear discussing issues relevant to their culture. Photo illustration by John Seaborn Gray​This Week's Panel: Yung Redd, Fat Tony, Thurogood Wordsmith, Kyle Hu ... More >>

Is Tupac Really One Of The Top Five MCs Ever?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday that isn't a national holiday Rocks Off will have some of them hear discussing issues relevant to their culture. Photo illustration by John Seaborn Gray​This Week's Panel: Trae, Mr. Lee, V-Zilla, Fat Tony, Candi Redd, Yung ... More >>

Wine-O: Ex-Spiritual Rapper Set To Go "Bang Bang"

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 to explain things. Have something you always wanted to ask a rapper? Email it to introducinglisto ... More >>

Remember Devin The Dude's Waitin' To Inhale?

Houston's history is dotted with albums that, fairly or not, have been swept aside. We'll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. Devin the Dude Waitin' to Inhale (2007, Rap-A-Lot) ​For the breadth of his decade-long caree ... More >>

Big Boi's Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Best Rap Album Of The Year

​Big Boi has never been a particularly imposing rapper. He just hasn't been. Now wait a second, fuckers. Before you get all "No, he's phenomenal!" just out of sheer contrarian instinct, think on it for a second. When have you ever heard his name mentioned in any Greatest Rapper Ever discussio ... More >>

Does Being An Actor Compromise Your Rap Career?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday that isn't a national holiday, Rocks Off will have some of them discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week's Panel: Paul Wall, Damien Randle, Sam Sneed Not Invited: Freekey Zeekey, for getting Dipset back together ... More >>

Musical Moms That Make Us Melt

​ With Mother's Day fast approaching, we can't help but recognize all the hot rocker mamas out there making music and babies. It can't be easy to write the next great pop song and have a tiny human being inside you sucking nutrients from your body, in the process girding their loins for making you ... More >>

The Dude Abides

Houston hip-hop's No. 1 pot advocate checks into Suite 420, but there's more than weed smoking going on.

Leaving His Mark