Subject: Kid Cudi

• Turning the Screw: Dustin Prestige, Kid Cudi, King Tut, Rick Ross/50 Cent, Ludacris, Lil' Kim, T.I./Chris Brown, Fat Pat and More

  Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off's weekly rap post. It probably won't rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: "Dope," Dustin Prestige Wire To Wire Kid Cudi was tasered at an NBA All-Star Game party in Phoenix for wearing Jordans. One day after being released from jail on bail, Dipset BFF King Tut was charged with stabbing a woman. (No word on whether or not she was wearing Jordans.) He was origina

  February 16, 2009

• Turning the Screw: OG Ron C, Bun B, "5000" Watts, DMX, The Kanye, Rihanna/Chris Brown, Big HAWK and More

  Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off's weekly rap post. It probably won't rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: "Killa Joe," Michele Thibeaux Wire To Wire Houston's OG Ron C, head honcho of the GO DJ Coalition, was allegedly assaulted and tased by security at TOC Bar this past Thursday night. Chris Brown doesn't see what the big deal is. Bun B is talking about the final UGK album again, so we're liste

  March 2, 2009

• Turning The Screw: Spitten King, Paul Wall, The Kanye, KiD CuDi, Steve Lobel, Common, Weezy, Rick Ross, Pastor Troy, Mos Def, Grand Puba, The Chuck E. Cheese Conspiracy

  Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off's weekly rap post. It probably won't rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: "The Gold Room," Spitten King Wire To Wire: A regular reader of Turning the Screw (who asked to remain anonymous) passed along a 2008 mixtape of Paul Wall's greatest hits. (Available here.) We made it through, like, four songs, and then, inexplicably, we started making I'm-[adjective]-like-[noun]

  March 23, 2009

• Washington Avenue's upscale but low-key Pandora Lounge

  March 12, 2009

• Five Spot: The Laid-Back Genius of Devin the Dude

  Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we'll examine a recent bit of music news and, sometimes awkwardly, tie it to a bit of Houston rap. It's five videos and occasional cussing. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Ohio's rapper-turned-Internet-sensation Kid Cudi signed his first major deal yesterday. We'll wait for the applause to die down before we continue... ... When Cudi's A Kid Named Cudi mixtape came out last year, everyone fawned over his "lovable stoner persona." Admitted

  April 17, 2009

• Distant Early Warning: Asher Roth, Dax Riggs, Franz Ferdinand, Peter Frampton and More

  Ace Enders, Person L, The Gay Blades, The Dangerous Summer: Wed., July 15. The Java Jazz. Asher Roth, Kid Cudi: Fri., July 31. House of Blues. "The Battle Of Sam: Battle Of The Bands": Sat., June 6. The Showgrounds @ Sam Houston Race Park. Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp: Sun., Aug. 2. Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. The Cab, A Rocket To The Moon, Eye Alaska: Mon., Aug. 3. Warehouse Live. Dax Riggs, Michael Kingcaid: Sun., May 31, 9 p.m. Rudyard's. George Strait, Blake Shelton, Sugar

  May 12, 2009

• The Last Roundup: A Palin Resignation Playlist, Texas Heat Fizzles, Mathletes LP Release and More

  There's always that one thing that makes the week great, even though it's barely begun. This week, it comes courtesy of Houston Music Examiner David Sadof's three-part playlist for Sarah Palin's resignation. The Texas Heat Music Festival's goose was cooked, says 29-95. Thought things were slow over on Weworemasks, then these remixes (Jay Z, Kid Cudi, E-40, etc.) came up. Post-holiday Mondays are always the worst. That probably explains the Black Heart Procession MP3 in Dryvetyme's Media Mon

  July 7, 2009

• Aftermath: Trae Day (Pre-Shooting) at TSU Stadium

  [Note: These are the notes from Trae Day prior to that whole pesky "six people getting shot" thing. For more info on that, check out our reports here and here.]Photos by Henry Rizoh/ Click here for a slideshow  Aftermath and hip-hop blogger Rizoh from The Rap Up arrived nearly two hours after Trae Day was supposed to start, and we're still too early. There are maybe 200 people here. On the bright side, at least it's really hot. There are two ambulances parked near the entrance of the parkin

  July 23, 2009

• Aftermath: Asher Roth and Kid Cudi (and Bun B) at House of Blues

  Photos by Shea Serrano​ 8:18 p.m.: Walking in, Pac Div, a serviceable hip-hop trio from L.A., is just finishing up their set. They're cool. They make fun of some guy for wearing a Fubu jersey. We automatically like them for it. 8:21 p.m.: There are two hipster-rap fans in here, one close to 13, the other close to 30, dressed almost exactly alike. The weird thing though is that one that's 13 looks adorable and the one that's 30 is deplorable. Revelation of the day: Hipster-rap fans are like dog

  August 3, 2009

• Turning the Screw: Surreall, Asher & Cudi, Eminem vs. Mariah, Slum Village, Young Jeezy, Ghostface, Nas, DJ Hero, Guerilla Maab, etc.

  Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off's weekly rap post. It probably won't rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: "#1 Dame in the Game," Surreall Wire To Wire Kid Cudi continues his rapid ascension to stardom, scores gig acting on an HBO sitcom. Saw him in concert this weekend. That's a bad boy fa sure. And Bun B cosigned Asher's performance, which makes Asher good in our book. And the award for the best example o

  August 3, 2009

• Turning the Screw: Chamillionaire, Kid Cudi & Jay-Z, Mike Epps, The Kanye, T.I., Chris Brown, DJ AM, Slim Thug, etc.

  Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off's weekly rap post. It probably won't rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: Chamillionaire, "Good Morning" Wire To Wire Despite what you initially want to think about Cham's new single "Good Morning," it is very cool. We know people are going to try and hate on it like, "This sucks. Pimp C sampled 'Free Fallin'' like ten years ago." To which we'll reply, "Actually, it was thre

  September 8, 2009

• Ask a Rapper: Troublesum on Why There Are Always So Many People Standing Onstage

  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@gmail.com. This Week's Rapper: Troublesum This Week's Subject(s): Do rappers really think it's fun for concert goers when performers just stand around on stage with a bunch of people gathered aroun

  October 6, 2009

• Artist of the Week: Electro-Proggers The Live Lights Assure Us the "Sky Will Fall"

  Each Wednesday, 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 isn't awful? Email their particulars to introducingliston@gmail.com.Photos by Elias Ibanez​ Sometimes, you happen across a band at exactly the right moment to make them meaningful or important or good or whatever to you. It's less about genres or musical tastes and more about sentiment (which

  October 7, 2009

• Five Spot: Jigga, Skiing, Gay Sex and Swishahouse

  Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we'll examine a recent bit of music news and list five reasons why it's either brilliant or dumb-assed. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. We've got this notebook that we carry around pretty much everywhere with us. A few bullets from there before we get into the videos. Skippy-dippy do! Jay-Z just announced new tour dates, and guess which major Texas metropolitan area landed a show? Yep. You got it: Dallas! (Oh, yeah, Houston scored a spot, too

  November 6, 2009

• Minute by Minute at Robin Thicke's Sex Therapy Listening Party

  Photos by Marco Torres​ 7:15 p.m. Ack. Parking on Washington Avenue at night is just about the worst. It's such an uneasy feeling. If we had to choose between parking on Washington or juggling knives with no pants on, it'd end up being something we actually had to think about. We mean, we're just saying we'd consider the alternative. We'd eventually pick the parking. C'mon, it's knives. We're not entirely retarded. 7:25 p.m. We finally settle on a dark, anonymous lot a block or so over from th

  November 10, 2009