Ludacris

Chart Check: R. Kelly

Give Us a Hand

Turning the Screw: Bun B and Q-Tip Team Up, Jennifer Hudson, Ludacris, T-Pain, G-Unit, MF Doom, Cypress Hill and More

Rotation

Turning the Screw: Von Won, Lil O, Ludacris, Flo Rida, the Roots, Suge Knight, Too $hort, The Kanye, Ghostface Killah 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.       (Churchy) Single of the Week:  "I Love You," Von Won     Wire To Wire     ... More >>

Turning the Screw: T-Pain & Friends, Pimp C, Asher Roth, Kanye vs. Colbert, Q-Tip, Suge Knight, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Young Jeezy, Paul Wall 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: "Chopped and Screwed" Lil' O, T-Pain and Ludacris Wire To Wire Matt Sonzala et al. paid tribute ... More >>

Dave Wrangler Mauls Animal Collective, Stands Up Ludacris

Houston mash-up master Dave Wrangler recently remixed Animal Collective's "My Girls," from the Brooklyn buzzmongers' brand-new Merriweather Post Pavilion, for German Web site Byte.fm. It's something of a hit - "Since I put it out, I've had numerous inquiries for DJ bookings all over the country ... More >>

Ludacris: Theater of the Mind

Houston mash-up master Dave Wrangler recently remixed Animal Collective's "My Girls," from the Brooklyn buzzmongers' brand-new Merriweather Post Pavilion, for German Web site Byte.fm. It's something of a hit - "Since I put it out, I've had numerous inquiries for DJ bookings all over the country ... More >>

T.I.: Paper Trail

Houston mash-up master Dave Wrangler recently remixed Animal Collective's "My Girls," from the Brooklyn buzzmongers' brand-new Merriweather Post Pavilion, for German Web site Byte.fm. It's something of a hit - "Since I put it out, I've had numerous inquiries for DJ bookings all over the country ... More >>

Devin the Dude, Ludacris, Murs

My favorite rapper's favorite rapper

Song Title Scrabble

Mixed-up monikers

Juvenile

Reality Check

Rock Floozies Write

Wack peruses some doozies in the groupie tell-all canon

Boyz N the Studio

Hustle & Flow is short on action, long on scenes of recording

We're No Angels

In Paul Haggis's Los Angeles, good and evil Crash into each other

...And Justice for All

Rock's prime offenders face the music

Where's the Beef? Right here in H-town

T.I. and Lil' Flip rumble in Cloverland, bringing one of the great rap feuds of recent years to a head

Playbill

T.I. and Lil' Flip rumble in Cloverland, bringing one of the great rap feuds of recent years to a head

Devin the Dude

To Tha X-Treme (Rap-A-Lot)

Blizzard of Oz

Dubya, Ashlee and Bill O'Reilly have spun Racket's mind into the twilight zone; also, two local retro-cool institutions bite the dust

On Da Lingo

Tracing Houston roots in three omnipresent hip-hop terms

Cee-Lo

Cee-Lo Green... Is The Soul Machine (Arista)

Family Feud

Hip-hop turns 25, and the battle lines are drawn

Letters

Hip-hop turns 25, and the battle lines are drawn

Unfair and Unbalanced

Ludacris rankles the white pride of the National Alliance and Bill O'Reilly

Rappin' Up Gifts

A lucky seven underground hip-hop releases to slip into Christmas stockings this year

Ludacris

Chicken & Beer (Def Jam South)

The Neptunes

Clones (Star Trak/Arista)

The Distillery: The Cool Kids' "Going Fishin'" mixtape

Photo by Hryck. Chuck "Chuck Inglish" Ingersoll (Michigan) and Antoine "Mikey Rocks" Reed (Illinois) - the Cool Kids, to you - may qualify as the 00s' biggest teases. Since 2007, they've unleashed a cavalcade of individual tracks and mixtapes, massaging Internet buzz into a sort of droning hum: 80s ... More >>

In Honor of Michelle Obama and "Shortsgate," the Best Ass Songs of All Time

In a year when the biggest news stories aren't about war or the environment but a mentally unbalanced woman having a litter of children and the death of a creepy pop singer who hadn't put out a decent album in 25 years, it should come as no surprise that so many people would be up in arms ... More >>

Five Spot: A Crap N.O.R.E. Track Reminds Us of Bun B's Better Days

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.Marco Torres​ Yesterday, N.O.R.E. released "Set Trip," a wispy, "Look How Tough I Am," available-via-Internet tr ... More >>

Aventura

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.Marco Torres​ Yesterday, N.O.R.E. released "Set Trip," a wispy, "Look How Tough I Am," available-via-Internet tr ... More >>

New iPhone? Rocks Off Has an App for That.

Photo illustrations by John Seaborn Gray​ We know a ton of you got iPhones over the holiday break. Well, good news: Rocks Off has spent the last few months developing our own iPhone applications (or "apps," as the urban kids are saying) and we're thrilled to debut them here. All inquiries, critici ... More >>

Turning The Screw: Chamillionaire, Bun, Trae, Mystikal, Swizz Beats, The Game, Tila Tequila, Maury Povich, Jay Electronica 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: "Creepin'," Chamillionaire feat. Ludacris Wire To Wire Cham's Major Pain tape is supposed to be release ... More >>

Turning The Screw: Guerilla Foco Clan, Z-Ro, Devin, Lots Of Bun, Kid Cudi, Juvenile 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: "Reflection," Guerilla Foco Clan Wire to Wire Of course, the universe spun out of control this week. De ... More >>

Bun B Joins Gumball 3000 Rally; Nirvana Chopped And Screwed

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. Mark C. AustinNosaprise at the 2009 Houston Press Music Awards Showcase​ Single of the Week: "Start Today," Nosaprise Wire ... More >>

How Low Can He Go?

Ludacris escorts female MCs into hip-hop's boys-only club, but it's a bit gross.

Bun B Hurt At Gumball 3000 Rally Concert

Careful there, Bun.​Bun B jumps onstage at Houston-area hip-hop concerts so often that the idea of the II Trill rapper getting hurt under the lights is almost inconceivable. But apparently that's what has happened. Allhiphop.com is reporting that Bun, whose presence will no doubt be missed at toni ... More >>

Ludacris And Monica A-Town Stomp Arena Theatre

Photos by Marco Torres​ 8:22 p.m.: Ah, yes, the rap concert double-decker of safety: Walking through a metal detector and then getting a very handsy full-body pat-down. How is it that this actually makes you feel less safe than if there were no precautions at all? 8:29: Oh, man. We love when white ... More >>

Girl Talk Toilet Paper Mash-Ups Balloons = Party!

Marc Brubaker​ Aftermath didn't think it was possible to up the ante any more at this year's Summerfest until Girl Talk took the stage Saturday night. In our estimation, it was the biggest and baddest Summerfest party to date. We might even venture to say that achieved the biggest and baddest summ ... More >>

Rap's Top 10 Heroes Of 2010 So Far, Part 1

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 >>

Too $hort

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 >>

10 Sexually Suggestive, Food-Related Album Covers

​ If there are three things we report on quite well here at Houston Press Blog Central, it's food, sex and music. So, hell, let's merge 'em! Here is a rundown of ten of the most sexually suggestive, food- related album covers that caught our eye and gave us the craziest cravings. 10. Katy Pe ... More >>

Top Five Hip-Hop Foes Turned Friends

Marco Torres​Some rivalries are beyond repair. You'll never catch Kobe and Shaq trading smiles at a joint family picnic. 50 Cent and The Game will still be mugging at each other at the 2021 VH1 Hip-Hop Honors. Batman will always despise that sonamabitch The Joker. Truth be told, hip-hop is a ... More >>

Movin' Out: Songs That Will Scare Off Bad Roommates

​Often times in our young adult lives, we come across a roommate who initially seems like a good match. They're capable of paying their rent on time and seem nice enough, so the possibility of your living arrangements blossoming into a sitcom looks fair. Then in a month's time, the Friends r ... More >>

Top Five Athlete-Rapper Team-Ups

​Speak of the devil... Give an NBA player a mike and he'll give you one of the worst performances of all time. Put the same athlete in the company of a decent rapper and the result might surprise you. If you're still haunted by the bitter taste of our worst rapper-athlete collaborations, here ... More >>

Remember Doughbeezy's Reggie Bush and Kool-Aid?

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. ​Doughbeezy Reggie Bush and Kool-Aid (Self-released, 2010) Doughbeezy is, at the moment, one ... 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 >>

What Is The Best Boxing-Match Entrance Music?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday that isn't a national holiday, Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. Photo illustration by John Seaborn Gray​This Week's Panel: Bun B, Paul Wall, One Hunnidt, Mac, O.N.E., Brad ... More >>

The Six Best Movie Samples In 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. Have something you always wanted to ask a rapper? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. ... More >>