Bushwick Bill

The 30 Best Texas Albums

Ranking the 30 best Texas albums of the past 30 years seemed like an impossible task. We did it anyway.

Rock vs. Rap: Who Really Ruled H-Town?

The early to mid-'90s were good times for underground music in Houston. At clubs like the Axiom, the Vatican and Fitzgerald's, an eclectic mix of punk, metal, funk and ska bands like deadhorse, Sprawl and more regularly played packed shows in front of 500 fans. Much has changed since, but those o ... More >>

10 Things We Learned At The Awready! Houston Hip Hop Conference

The much-anticipated Awready! Houston Hip-Hop Music Conference was held Wednesday at the University of Houston, drawing in academics, screwheads, and media alike. The conference is a joint venture between the University of Houston Libraries and Rice University's H.E.R.E. Project (Houston Enriches Ri ... More >>

Rap Boom Reload

In 2005, rappers put Houston on the map. Then the spotlight moved on. Some musicians are working hard to turn it back this way.

Making It Rain

Author suffers strip clubs, skeptics for book on Southern rap.

Friday Night: Legends Of Rap At Verizon Wireless Theater

Photos by Marco TorresRakim​"Legends of Rap" featuring Rakim, Slick Rick, Whodini, Big Daddy Kane, MC Lyte Verizon Wireless Theater October 15, 2010 For more photos from Friday, see our slideshow here. Friday night at Verizon Theater was a celebration of hip-hop legends, the types that would ... More >>

The Ultimate Houston Rap Battle Royal: Who Should You Fight?

Photo illustration by John Seaborn Gray​Of all of the Rap Round Table columns that have gone up, none generated more emails than this past Monday's "Which Rappers Would You Fight?" segment. Some people were pissed, some people were entertained, but most everyone had the same basic question: Wh ... More >>

Sage Francis Transcends Genres At House of Blues

Photos by Marc Brubaker/See the slideshowSage Francis with members of Free Moral Agents​Sage Francis' new album Li(f)e should have received better reviews than it did. Although the reviews it got weren't terrible, none of them seemed to acknowledge that Sage managed to marry rap and rock witho ... More >>

Hip Hop Honors Doesn't Totally Embarrass The South

VH1 honored the Dirty South for the 2010 edition of Hip-Hop Honors. We flew out there and sat in on the taping this past weekend. Or we Tivo'd it while we put our kids to bed and then watched it afterwards. One of those is true. Willie D​ 8:00 p.m.: Oh, good. Darrell from The Office is hosting to ... More >>

Donald Ray Spencer: Tiny Terror Tries To Grab Cop's Gun After Burglary Bust

Photo courtesy HCSOSmall, but feisty​It's a cliché, but criminals come in all shapes and sizes.On Saturday night, the Houston Police Department picked up 20-year-old Donald Ray Spencer for burglary of a habitation, a felony.Evidently Spencer did not go down without a fight, because he is also cha ... More >>

Smoot On Shamed Texans LB Brian Cushing

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 introducingliston@ ... More >>

The Hot Seat: Lee-Coc, Richmond Revolutionary

Every Friday, Rocks Off will beam hip-hop artists into our demented, imaginary, incredibly witty, fantasy world of pretend scenarios. We predict it'll soon be known as a feared interrogation of hip-hop artists, revealing their most-inner thoughts and desires. In reality, it's just a fucking cool Q&a ... More >>

The H-Town Countdown: Clearing the Table and Tying Up Loose Ends

Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Or we were. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com. Well, it's over. We stretched it out just about as long as ... More >>

The H-Town Countdown, No. 1: Mike Jones' Who Is Mike Jones?

Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com. Mike Jones Who Is Mike Jones? (Asylum, 2005) ​Before you fire off some ... More >>

The H-Town Countdown, No. 2: UGK's Ridin' Dirty

Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com. UGK Ridin' Dirty (Jive, 1996) ​When UGK first came into focus with th ... More >>

The H-Town Countdown, No. 3: Scarface's The Diary

Roughly 84,000 rap albums that have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com. Scarface The Diary (Asylum, 1994) ​Honesty time: Last week's post ... More >>

The H-Town Countdown, No. 4: UGK's Too Hard to Swallow

Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. UGK Too Hard to Swallow (Jive, 1992) ​How cocksure is Bun B? The first time ... More >>

The H-Town Countdown, No. 5: Lil' Keke's Don't Mess Wit Texas

​There are roughly 84,000 rap albums that have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time. We'll be here every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com. Back in July (when this here Count ... More >>

The H-Town Countdown, No. 7: Fat Pat's Ghetto Dreams

Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. Fat Pat Ghetto Dreams (Wreckshop Records, 1998) ​During the course of resear ... More >>

The H-Town Countdown, No. 10: OG Style's I Know How to Play 'Em!

Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com. OG Style I Know How to Play 'Em! (Rap-A-Lot/Priority, 1987) There are a ... More >>

The H-Town Countdown, No. 11: Z-Ro's Let the Truth Be Told

Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. Z-Ro Let the Truth Be Told (Asylum, 2005)​This is our second entry from Jos ... More >>

The H-Town Countdown, No. 13: DJ Screw's 3 N' Tha Mornin' Pt. 2 (Blue)

Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com. DJ Screw 3 N' Da Mornin, Part 2 (Big Tyme Records, 1995)​While researc ... More >>

The H-Town Countdown, No. 14: Trae's Restless

Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com. Trae Restless (Asylum, 2006) ​Disclaimer: We dissected this album wit ... More >>

The H-Town Countdown, No. 15: Chamillionaire's Original Mixtape Messiah, or 20-Plus Ways to Dis Mike Jones

Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com. "You drop one track, he's still alive." - Chamillionaire, on why he ai ... More >>

Ask a Rapper: Soulbrotha

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 >>

SPC Weekend Plumbs the Roots of Houston Rap

South Side Symphony

The Houston 100: The Master List

Houston's Very Best Songs Ever

...otherwise known as the H-Town 20

Billy Joel and Goldfish Sandwiches

Four artists share their guilty, and not-so-guilty, pleasures

Bayou City Music Mindbender, Part II

Another chance to test your knowledge of local lore

Souchin' into Bethlehem

Greg Wood's latest health scare costs him a few pounds of flesh and almost takes his arm

Follow Your Nose

Jasmine, weed, liberty and failure -- the smells of a Sunday night on the town

World Views

Jimmie Dale Gilmore loses fans over his political views

World Class?

Houston can't join the ranks of other cities until it has an anthem of its own

Static

Rotation

Rotation

Big Talker

From the Geto Boys to his new nationally syndicated radio show, Willie D has kept his mouth moving. But where his rap was once down and dirty, not it's--gasp!--respectable. Has the gangsta of love sold out, or just grown up?

Can't Touch This

Scarface hasn't simply weathered gangsta rap, he's conquered it

Sounds Like a Winner!

1996 Houston Press Music Awards

Houston Press 1996 Music Awards

Rotation