Chuck D

Bun B’s II Trill: An Underground King, alone on the throne

Turning the Screw: Fela Kuti, Jay-Z, Left Eye, Lil Wayne, Ed McMahon, Ciara, DMX and More

Whiggin' Out

Avant-rock takes shape in the Afghan Whigs and its wild front man

Playbill

Avant-rock takes shape in the Afghan Whigs and its wild front man

Rotation

Avant-rock takes shape in the Afghan Whigs and its wild front man

Rap of Ages Inc.

Avant-rock takes shape in the Afghan Whigs and its wild front man

Rotation

Avant-rock takes shape in the Afghan Whigs and its wild front man

Rapumentary

Avant-rock takes shape in the Afghan Whigs and its wild front man

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?

Rotation

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?

Rotation

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?

The Distillery: N.A.S.A.'s The Spirit of Apollo

Truth be told, we envy N.A.S.A.'s bumptuous production acumen almost as much as we envy principal astronauts Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon the depths of their Rolodexes - even if, somehow, they couldn't rope Lil Wayne into their genre-mashup free-for-all. Seriously - as you'll see below - N.A.S. ... More >>

Local Music News

Truth be told, we envy N.A.S.A.'s bumptuous production acumen almost as much as we envy principal astronauts Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon the depths of their Rolodexes - even if, somehow, they couldn't rope Lil Wayne into their genre-mashup free-for-all. Seriously - as you'll see below - N.A.S. ... More >>

Remembering Martin Luther King Jr. in Song

In the Name of Love

Bun B's II Trill

In the Name of Love

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band

What's Going On?

Spank Rock

Yoyoyoyoyo

Farewell to the Twenty Nickel

Looking back on the '05 and dreaming in the '06

A Pack of Mutts

The lone wolves of 2005

Jada Rocks

Mrs. Fresh Prince brings her "spiritual hardcore" to the Scout Bar. Deal with that.

Feelings, Nothing But Feelings

The New York Times misses the point in its attack on "rockism"

Classics Rock

Which Greek god is your favorite musician?

Dead Prez

RBG: Revolutionary But Gangsta (Sony/Columbia)

Dizzee Miss Lizzee

The Boy in Da Corner comes out swinging

Die Like an Eagle

Michael Franti and friends fight the hawks with hits

Messing with Texas

Rockers bash Bush, with varying results

Over Their Heads

Nobody understands the Politics of the Business like Prince Paul. In fact, almost nobody understands it at all.

Pop Goes the Bastard

Unlike the UK, Houston resists the urge to commit plagiarhythm

Coming This Week

Kool Keith

Kamikaze Rap

Public Enemy's Chuck D. speaks

Rotation

Public Enemy's Chuck D. speaks

Found Magazine’s Denim and Diamonds Tour

Davy and Peter Rothbart share their latest trashy finds

(Don't) Book 'Em, Dano: 42 Artists Who Have Absolutely No Business Touring Together

​ When Rocks Off received word last week that indie duo The Big Pink was embarking on a 2010 tour with NYC's A Place to Bury Strangers, our initial thought was, "Cool," followed closely by, "Ew." For once, there's a promo poster we really have no desire to see. But then our next thought was, "Coul ... More >>

Some New Stuff From Our "Washington Shore" DJ Dave Wrangler

Rocks Off is pleased as punch to announce that Houston mash-up maestro Dave Wrangler will be providing the tunes for our douche-tastic "Washington Shore" party at the Washington Avenue Drinkery on February 11. Wrangler also agreed to craft some custom Washington Shore mash-ups we'll be bringing you ... More >>

Fails Of The Week: The Runaways, Pete Doherty, The Strokes And Liam Gallagher

If you're reading this, you're either on the Internet, or else you've mastered multi-dimensional thought-projection processes that would make Michio Kaku cry like a little girl. We'll assume the former, and just in case you don't already know, the Internet has decided that the word "failure" is too ... More >>

Fails Of The Week: Glastonbury "Ice Ice Baby," Sony "No Beyonce On YouTube," Fat Mike The Peeing Clown And... Bono

If you're reading this, you're either on the Internet, or else you've mastered multi-dimensional thought-projection processes that would make Michio Kaku cry like a little girl. We'll assume the former, and just in case you don't already know, the Internet has decided that the word "failure" is too ... More >>

5 Rappers Who Dissed The Radio, Sucka!

​ "Radio - suckers never play me" - Public Enemy, "Rebel Without a Pause" Eazy-E once walked up to legendary disc jockey Greg Mack and asked him what he could do to make his music radio-ready. Mack's reply? "Well, you could start by cleaning up the lyrics." Ever the savvy businessman, Eazy returne ... More >>

Top 10 Anti-Drug Rap Songs

​A kabillion rap songs out there celebrate ganja and booger sugar - case in point: Young Jeezy at the Arena Theatre this weekend - but anti-drug rap songs are insanely rare. You have a better chance of finding a mastered copy of Detox. Luckily for you, Rocks Off went digging and found 10 great ... More >>

The Top Five Hurricane Katrina-Related Rap Songs

​New Orleans is home to many rappers, including Lil Wayne and Juvenile. So, when Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast five years ago this weekend, it only felt natural for hip-hop to step up and capture the debacle on wax. It's been five years since the disaster and this Katrina-inspired playlist ... More >>

HCC Professor Uses Hip-Hop To Jazz Up His Classes

RizohWilliam Moore in his element at HCC​William Moore can recite The Roots' "How I Got Over" from top to bottom, down to Black Thought's rhythm and cadence. The only thing he's missing is Thought's mean mug and dark shades; he prefers an amiable smile and rimmed glasses. ​Moore, a Hous ... More >>

Elvis: 30 Famous Quotes About The King

​Rocks Off is celebrating Elvis week this week - the King would be 76 years old on Saturday. (Or hell, maybe he will be 76 years old on Saturday.) That's more than three-quarters of a century, but it just doesn't seem like a very long time. Maybe that's because whether or not he actually died ... More >>

Everlasting House

House of Pain reignites Celtic pride that once had nation jumping around.

The Odd Afterlife Of House Of Pain's "Jump Around"

A couple of weeks ago, Rocks Off told our younger brother, eight years our junior, that we were interviewing legendary '90s hip-hop group House of Pain. He gave us a confused look. So we started singing: "Jump around. Jump around. Jump up and up and get down." "Oh yeah, the song from Mrs. Doub ... More >>

The Odd Afterlife Of House Of Pain's "Jump Around"

​A couple of weeks ago, Rocks Off told our younger brother, eight years our junior, that we were interviewing legendary '90s hip-hop group House of Pain. He gave us a confused look. So we started singing: "Jump around. Jump around. Jump up and up and get down." "Oh yeah, the song from Mrs. ... More >>

Out Today: Steve Earle Is Alive, Bootsy's Aged Funk, And The Late Poly Styrene's Last Disc

​Yep, it's the third week now that we have been listening to the new Foo Fighters album, Wasting Light. We even acquired it on vinyl this weekend, so we are doubly screwed. Now we just need it on cassette tape and one of those toothbrushes that play music in your skull like you are schizophren ... More >>

Five Rappers You Didn't Know Had College Degrees

​Myth: The ability to string rhymes together automatically kills brain cells, thereby making it impossible for said stringer of rhymes to obtain a college degree. Fact: Many of your favorite hip-hoppers are college graduates with funny-sounding honorary titles. Myth: Street education is a pr ... More >>

10 American Anthems That Tell It Like It Is

​Captain America, Marvel's newest superhero movie, comes out today. We'll pause until the excitement passes. ... Rocks Off likes Captain America. The three comic books we read with any regularity as a scupper were Cap, Batman (Detective Comics), and Spider-Man. But we love America. The land ... More >>

Punk Rock's 10 Most Potent Women

David EnsmingerExene Cervenka at Cactus Music​Women are the resilient backbone of punk, providing creative DNA for the movement since the "zero hour," including Houston's own MyDolls and members of AK-47 and Bevatron, among others. Up 'n' comers like Vivian Pikkles keep the faith as Zipperneck ... More >>

St. Ides & Hip-Hop: Would Today's Rappers Endorse Malt Liquor?

​The early '90s was a time when some of the best hip-hop music ever was being made, and the beverage of choice was malt liquor. Before rappers glorified Cristal, Ciroc and even their own branded alcohol, there were many hip-hop-inspired malt liquor ads. St. Ides in particular enlisted several ... More >>

And, Uh, Um, OOPS: The Third Members Of Great Musical Trios You Probably Can't Name

​Last night we all watched as Governor Rick Perry blanked on the third department he would do away with if he was elected president. It was one of those moments - a la Scanners - when we all tensely waited for his head to explode, figuratively. Of course we love the guy and he's too precious t ... More >>