Mannie Fresh

Is That All There Is?: Philosophy's Greatest Hits

I love Queen, and the late Freddie Mercury had the best rock voice ever (in my opinion), so it pains me to say that some of music's worst thought-out lyrics are scrunched into the opening lines of "Bohemian Rhapsody." "Is this the real life?/ Is this just fantasy?", the song begins, but mere breath ... More >>

Last Night: 2 Chainz at House of Blues

2 Chainz House of Blues September 26, 2012 "It's ya birthday, It's ya birthday! Bad bitch contest, you in first place!" -- 2 Chainz At the #MadeInAmerica festival in Philly a few weeks ago, only two performers graced the main stage both nights. The first was Jay-Z, the mastermind and curator of th ... More >>

A Houston Rap-Related Shooting Timeline

Most people will tell you that Houston rappers are overall a peaceful bunch, but people do carry guns. No less a beloved figure than Pimp C was caught after he got into an altercation at the Foot Locker in Sharpstown Mall; supposedly a policeman saw a gun under Pimp's coat during the fight, followed ... More >>

Last Night: Red Bull Skooled Tour at Warehouse Live

Check out our slideshow of last night's Red Bull Skooled Tour launch. "Excuse me while I get the turntables straight. Til then, let me help you get some pussy. This the "help you get some pussy hour"!" Before spinning a single record on the turntables, New Orleans' most noted producer/part-time em ... More >>

Somehow, Red Bull Has Become Very Important To Underground Rap In Texas

A white guy, two black guys and a Mexican walk into a club. Harharhar. This coming Wednesday, February 1, Warehouse Live will host the inaugural show of the Red Bull Skooled tour. (If you've any concerns about the validity of the relationship Red Bull has rap, you're encouraged to read this, whi ... More >>

Top 10 Hip-Hop Album Intro Tracks

​Before iTunes and Amazon gave us the luxury of picking and choosing which tracks we want off an album, we had to buy the entire CD or cassette tape to listen to everything we paid for. The intro tracks are usually what help us decide if the album is something we were going to love start to fi ... More >>

9 Musical Costumes Couples Should Avoid This Halloween

Norman See/last.fmNice threads, but... yeah. Don't go there.​The other day, a friend of ours asked us for our opinion on some ideas for "couple costumes," as in Halloween, including Han Solo and Princess Leia. Ugh. Do you happy couples really start this early in September? Rocks Off thinks ... More >>

Top 10 Louisiana Bands Of All Time

​Pardon the geographical pun, but besides Texas, our neighbor to the east may be the most musical state in these United States. And in terms of per capita, Louisiana, which ranks 25th in population to Texas' second, is probably second to none. Outside Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, the program m ... More >>

Five Spot: The Hot Boyz Are Reuniting, Watch Your Knees

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. Note: A regular reader passed along a story that interested us greatly, so fo ... More >>

It's Trae Day... and Everybody's Celebratin'

To commemorate the one-year anniversary of the City of Houston's proclamation of "Trae Day," the chairman and CEO of Houston's Assholes by Nature is throwing a giant block party from 3-9 p.m. in the parking lot of TSU Stadium at Cleburne and Tierwester in the Third Ward (or, appropriately enough, t ... More >>

Slim Thug: Boss of all Bosses

Frankie J

Priceless

T.I.

King

Bun B

Trill

Rotation

Back to School

Big Daddy Kane and friends revisit the era of the flattop

Big Tymers and Lil' Wayne

Friday, December 13

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

Ruff Ryders boast about boozing; Cash Money brags about billfold size. At least the rap's good.