Hip-Hop and Rap

Spike Jonze's Top 9 Music Videos

There's no doubt that Spike Jonze is an enigma of a director and artist. He's worked in all types of mediums: he filmed bullriders at the Astrodome, changed the world of skateboard videography, and visually recreated the brilliance of Maurice Sendak's Where The Wild Things Are. Plus, he's made us al ... More >>

Know Your Local Media: Jim Kovacik of 97.9 The Box Talks About Being White and The Atascocita Thugz

It is difficult surviving local music radio in any city, but Houston in particular. Imagine doing that when you are basically the antithesis of the stereotype most assigned to your position. Think a punk rocker working at a country station. Jim Kovacik -- Jimbo or Jimbeazy as he is known to listener ... More >>

Fist-Fighting With Hip-Hop Headlines: Drake, Iggy Azalea, Etc.

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 hip-hop "stories" from the past week, picked out the most egregious one, pasted them below, then added ... More >>

Alibi Rankz: 6 Songs to Say "I'm Sorry"

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. Something you always wanted to ask a rapper? E-mail sheaserrano@gmail.com. ... More >>

Rap Round Table: Wu-Tang vs. N.W.A. vs. A Tribe Called Quest

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: Mic Skills, E.S.G., Chingo Bling, D-Risha, Kiotti, Mac, Yung Redd, Damien Randle, Yung Truth, Fat Tony Not Invited: Whoever gav ... More >>

Sex and the Radio: A Weekend With 97.9 The Box

For those who may not know, being a blogger and writer also means you sort of have to support yourself with a 9-5. Some chose teaching, others chose busting their ass at a prospective company. Somehow I chose to be a town-car driver. An entrepreneur, a goddamn transporter of people. There are perks ... 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 >>

El-P and Killer Mike Collaborate

"Mad Old Men" rejuvenates underground rap.

Top 10 Interesting Things From Ice-T's The Art of Rap

Friday night, Ice-T's new hip-hop documentary The Art of Rap opened in theaters nationwide. I went and watched it at the AMC Studio 30 at Westheimer and Dunvale. Here are ten things from the movie that are interesting and one thing that will be picked over: 10. Grandmaster Caz Is Ruthlessly, Seaml ... More >>

Nas, Ms. Lauryn Hill

New Doc The Art Of Rap Spills Hip-Hop's Secrets

Rap wasn't always like Lil Jon's yelling his famous "What!?" and "Okay!", or repeating your name over and over throughout the song like Houston's own Lil Flip. Nowadays most see rap as lyrics telling a woman how to position herself or look for a man, rhymes about money and talk of toking up. But th ... More >>

Ask A Rapper: Reggie Eviscerates Rap's Worst Diss Tracks

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. Something you always wanted to ask a rapper? E-mail sheaserrano@gmail.com. ... More >>

Preemo & Tawn P Team Up to Form All Day

Hip-hop, like any genre, changes and evolves, but one thing you could always count on (at least until the early part of the last decade) was the notion of the hip-hop group. When you look at MTV's rankings of the greatest hip-hop groups of all time, you'd have a hard time finding any group -- hell, ... More >>

Rap Round Table: The Most Ridiculous Rap-Related Crimes Of All

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: Mac, Kiotti, D-Risha, Brad Gilmore Not Invited: The guys behind those World's Dumbest Criminals TV shows. This Week's Prompt: ... More >>

Akinyele Puts His Money In Lollypops: This Week In The Music Biz

A great week for chest thumping and big money-making. Pop the hood for the goods. RACKS ON RACKS ON RACKS In news likely to make you hate your job, 90s also-ran Akinyele says he's bagging millions from his new strip club joint. Akinyele is famous for the potty-mouthed anthem "Put it in Your Mouth. ... More >>

Rap's Top 5 Motorcycle Videos

Life may begin at 30, but it doesn't get real interesting until about 150. -- Author Unknown One hundred fifty miles per hour, that is. It's true. The feeling of an open road and an open throttle is unmatched. Rocks Off loves motorcycles. At one point, we owned three, until we found our bike of ... More >>

Ask A Rapper: Krucial Picks Which 2012 Rap Tapes Will Be Crucial

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. Something you always wanted to ask a rapper? E-mail sheaserrano@gmail.com. ... More >>

Friday Night: Chamillionaire, Paul Wall & Z-Ro At Warehouse Live

Chamillionaire, Paul Wall, Z-Ro Warehouse Live May 5, 2012 If you've been staying up nights worrying that Houston's rap legacy will be lost on the city's current crop of teens and young adults, go ahead and sleep soundly tonight. The crowd for Friday night's concert featuring local all-stars Chamil ... More >>

Rap Round Table: The Best Skit On A Rap Album Is...

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: Kyle Hubbard, Preemo, Rob Gullatte, Chuckway, Propain, Delo, Renzo, Yung Truth, Show, Brad Gilmore, more. Not Invited: W. Balls ... More >>

The Knux

The Knux

Ask A Rapper: Tha Centop's Top 6 Sports-Related Rap Songs

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. Something you always wanted to ask a rapper? E-mail sheaserrano@gmail.com. ... More >>

Rap Round Table: Who's Going to Win the NBA Finals?

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, hasHBrown, Chane, Yung Truth, Preemo, Chuckway, Mac, Nosaprise, D-Risha Not Invited: Amar'e Stoudemire's brai ... More >>

Pink Slipped: The 7 Best Artists To Be Dropped From Their Label

Once upon a time, record labels were the most important thing to an artist who chose to work within the music industry. They could make or break anyone and even world renowned artists knelt at the feet of their masters. Getting dropped from a label was, at one time, a death sentence. Even today man ... More >>

Coachella: Best Of Weekend 2, Day 3

Sunday, our friends at LA Weekly and OC Weekly trekked out to the desert for one more day -- ed. By the third day of Coachella's second weekend -- the sixth and final day of this year's festival -- folks had more or less learned to ignore the dust and the heat. Here are our intrepid writers' favor ... More >>

Rapper's Delight

North Houston's shrine to old-school hip-hop may be the only bar of its kind anywhere.

Rap Round Table: The Best Female Rapper Of All Time Is...

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: Zavey, hasHBrown, Scooby, Medicine Girl, Nicki Minaj, Renzo, Rob Gullatte, more. Not Invited: Hologram Tupac This Week's Promp ... More >>

A Letter To Tyga: You Made Us Wait Too Long Thursday

Tyga did finally go onstage... well after 1 a.m.Dear Tyga, Look, Michael -- may I call you Michael? Michael, I'll be honest: What happened Thursday night hurt. A lot. I don't know if you ever showed up -- I heard you went onstage a little after 1 a.m., and I want to believe that, but I believe ... More >>

Ask A Rapper: Killa Cal-Wayne's Dissertation On Gangster Rap

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. Something you always wanted to ask a rapper? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. T ... More >>

Circle Takes The Square: Casting The H-Town Version of Hip Hop Squares

News broke last week that MTV2, MTV's sister network nominally dedicated to actual music, is reviving the classic Hollywood Squares format as Hip Hop Squares, an over-the-top tic-tac-toe game featuring urban personalities including actor/comedian Nick Cannon; record producer DJ Khaled; rappers Fat J ... 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 >>

Bun B's Birthday: "Murder" Still Kills

​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: Slim Thug, Lil O, E.S.G., Delo, hasHBrown, Medicine Girl, Mac, Chane, more. Not Invited: Marcus This Week's Prompt: King ... More >>

SXSW: Lil Wayne's YMCMB Showcase At Austin Music Hall

​"I believe in three things: I believe in God; I believe that I ain't shit without you, and I believe that I ain't shit without you!" - Lil Wayne to his fans After being shut out of the T.I./B.O.B show at La Zona Rosa by order of the fire marshal, I headed over to see Lil Wayne at the Austin Mu ... More >>

Rumor: Eminem To Perform At Tonight's Shady Records SXSW Party

Most of the world's biggest rappers - Jay-Z, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, T.I., 50 Cent - have performed in Austin within the past week, are about to perform, or are at least in the city partaking in the SXSW festivities. Rocks Off was leaving Stubb's late Thursday night and heard Snoop Dogg performing ... More >>

Fool's Gold Makers Dirty And Nasty Discuss... Fool's Gold

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. Something you always wanted to ask a rapper? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. Thi ... More >>

Trae Tha Truth Signs With T.I.'s Grand Hustle Label

Wednesday, Trae Tha Truth, protagonist in one of rap's perpetually involved narratives, announced that he'd joined with multiple Grammy winner T.I., signing to T.I.'s imprint Grand Hustle. Trae alluded to making a "big announcement" on Twitter the day before, though many expected it'd relate to ei ... More >>

Last Night: Big K.R.I.T. At Fitzgerald's

Photos by Marco Torres​Big K.R.I.T. Fitzgerald's February 22, 2012 Big K.R.I.T. ended his set at Fitzgerald's on Wednesday, hand on chest, with a debut performance of his new single, "I Got This," his gift to Houston for supporting his brand of Southern-fried rap. The crowd had cheered him li ... More >>

Rap Round Table: Is Nicki Minaj Overrated?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Each week, Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. *Lil Kim's previous dis song aimed at Nicki Minaj. This Week's Panel: Lil O, Medicine Girl, Delo, Brad Gilmore, D-Risha, Eskabel, Chane, O.N.E., ... More >>

Scruncha Roo Picks The Worst Rap Album/Song Names

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. Something you always wanted to ask a rapper? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. Not ... More >>

Tops Drop: A Larger-Than-Life Fat Tuesday Playlist

​Happy Fat Tuesday, y'all! Rocks Off mentioned in a previous post, about rappers and Houston restaurants, that some of the best artists are "Big" and "Fat": Big Pokey, Fat Pat, Big Moe, etc. Every day is Fat Tuesday for these rappers. They're all about overindulgence and that's why we love th ... More >>

Marcus Manchild Tells VIBE -- And The Nation -- How To Be Trill

It's always nice to see local artists making national headlines, especially when they haven't a) killed someone; or b) died. It's even nicer when that artist is someone with whom Rocks Off has worked in the past. That's why when combing our social-media feeds, Rocks Off was pleasantly surprised to ... More >>

Last Night: Yelawolf At Warehouse Live

Yelawolf Warehouse Live February 16, 2012 My ears salute the kid who told Yelawolf he wasn't hip-hop. Must have been a high-school bully, one of those corny jocks with well defined biceps. We'll call him D'Angelo. D'Angelo probably teased Yelawolf, smacked him around in the bathroom, lol'd when he ... More >>

Top 5 Musical NBA Players

The NBA All-Star Game is coming up in a couple of weeks. There may not be any Rockets on the roster - even ex-Rocket/Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin didn't blow up in time to be added as a reserve - but musical names such as Kanye West, Rihanna (the halftime entertainment), Lenny Kravitz, Josh Groban, ... More >>

Summoning The Dead: Which Six Artists Would You Bring Back To Life?

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. Something you always wanted to ask a rapper? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com.  ... 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 >>

Fast and Ferocious

Marcus Manchild eyes national acclaim.

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 >>

Why 50 Cent Should Consider Retirement

Interscope​I was in college when Get Rich or Die Tryin' dropped. You couldn't go anywhere without hearing "In da Club"-- house parties, techno clubs, AA meetings, everywhere. My friends used to sit around and debate 50's feud with Ja Rule. Anyone brave enough to take Ja's side was ridiculed to ... More >>

The Space City Beat Battle & The Best H-Town Producers Ever

Despite a venue conflict, the championship edition of the Space City Beat Battle will go on Saturday evening at the Mercury Room. If you've never been to one it's almost like watching a ritualistic rite of passage where cocksure arrogance and chest pounding reign supreme. Sample based producers who ... More >>