Mike Jones

Lil' Flip

Aerosol Warfare: Exhibit, Visual History and Performance Art in One Show

See more pics of Aerosol Warfare's Rock the Lot in our slideshow. There was a lot going on at the Aerosol Warfare artist reception Saturday night for Rock The Lot! Art Attack schmoozed with other gallery wanderers as we took in the art accompaniment of the film Stick 'Em Up!, the documentary abou ... More >>

Rap Boom Reload: Thanks and So Forth

​Every time somebody writes a cover story, there's an accompanying blog post that goes with it, giving some sort of back story or little anecdote or whatever. That's what this is. This week, there will be, including the sidebar, a 4,000-word story in the paper tying what happened with Housto ... More >>

Cy Fyre: Mega-Producer Builds Big Beats, Never Sleeps

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 sheaserrano@gmail.com. ​What we have here is the ... More >>

Rappers Predict Texans' First-Ever Playoff Run

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: Mic Skills, Kritikal, Young Sensation, Kiotti, ... More >>

Hoodstar Chantz Picks The Best Freestylers & Battle Rappers Ever

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 >>

Four More Years

After 1,661 days (and counting) of immersion in the Houston music scene, a look back.

Undergravity's Feel-Good Summer Hit & Other DIY Rap News

3-2-1 for the week in Houston rap: #SouthsideSummertime It seems fair to say that, considering the video now, Undergravity's "Southside Summertime" is the best Houston summer song since Mike Jones' "Still Tippin'" in 2004. It is an absolutely overachieving accomplishment by the duo and guest Da ... More >>

The Rap Renaissance

Genre's local and national acts came back hard in 2010.

Vanilla Ice And 11 Other Artists Dallas Can Keep

​Tomorrow night at 2016 Mainstage, Houston gets to relive its (our?) dark white-rap past when Dallas native Vanilla Ice hits the stage at the venue formerly known Sammy's On Main. Yes, that Vanilla Ice, from our haughty neighbors to the north who can do no wrong in the eyes of Texas Monthly. ... More >>

Does Being An Actor Compromise Your Rap Career?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday that isn't a national holiday, Rocks Off will have some of them discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week's Panel: Paul Wall, Damien Randle, Sam Sneed Not Invited: Freekey Zeekey, for getting Dipset back together ... More >>

Has Eminem Rescued His Reputation On Recovery?

​Eminem is an interesting fellow. He was when he lit the world on fire with The Slim Shady LP back in 1999, and when he followed that up a year later with The Marshall Mathers LP. He was even interesting when he clumsily scrapped together some songs in 2009 and called it an album (Relapse, or, ... More >>

Behind The Cover: Trae Stars In His Own Old School

​Today's Trae cover story was nearly a year in the making. As noted, the whole Trae vs. The Box thing can be traced back to the 2009 Trae Day shooting. Rocks Off was actually at that event and happened to be none too far from where the bullets were fired. We wrote up a little piece about it, did ... More >>

Aftermath: Paul Wall & Chamillionaire, Together Again At House Of Blues

Photos by Marco Torres​ For more pictures from the show, see our slideshow here. 11:03 p.m.: This place is pretty well packed. 97.9 FM's G.T. is on stage. It's unclear whether he's the opening act or is just up there to fill time. He leans on a bunch of Houston classics to gain the support of the ... More >>

"Hood Politician" Delo Chooses A Cabinet Of H-Town Rappers

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@ ... More >>

The H-Town Countdown: Clearing the Table and Tying Up Loose Ends

Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Or we were. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com. Well, it's over. We stretched it out just about as long as ... More >>

The H-Town Countdown, No. 1: The Geto Boys' We Can't Be Stopped

Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday - or we were. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com. Note: With all due respect to Prince Johnny C, Raheem, K-9, ... More >>

Artist of the Week: Why You Should Care About Modern-Rockers Raging Apathy

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 sheaserrano@gmail.com. ​ Thirty-eight simple rules go ... More >>

Happy Anniversary Texas Music Magazine, or "Austin and (Maybe) Everything After"

​Towards the end of last week, Rocks Off got the latest issue of Texas Music magazine in the mail, which just happens to mark the quarterly periodical's tenth anniversary. Naturally, as just about every publication does when it reaches such an august milestone - no mean feat for a magazine in this ... More >>

The H-Town Countdown, No. 3: Scarface's The Diary

Roughly 84,000 rap albums that have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com. Scarface The Diary (Asylum, 1994) ​Honesty time: Last week's post ... More >>

Five Spot: The Kanye Is Not Going To Act Like A Dick In 2010... Until He Does

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. ​We take in a ton of music each week... turns out that's actually a major p ... More >>

The Incredible Truth: The Best Southern Rap Albums (and Mixtapes) of 2009, Part 1

​Yeah, it stirred the Yankees to the World Series championship, but was there a more boring album this year than Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3? Perhaps it was a geographic thing; with a few exceptions like Raekwon and Kid Cudi, most of 2009's exciting, innovative rap records came from Southern artists. ... More >>

Ask a Rapper: A Bunch of Local Rap Types Pick Their Best H-Town Songs of the Year

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 ... More >>

Worst Rapper Alive

Unraveling veteran rhymesmith K-Rino's brilliance in an über-sketchy Third Ward park.

Flashing Back to the Heyday of DJ Screw

Ed. Note: To go along with this week's feature on Mike Jones, Mike Giglio takes a look at the origins of Houston rap's once and future calling card, "screw music." Photos by Mike GiglioScrew: The Next Generation (l-r): Randy, Big Bubb, Bird Wearing corn rows, a wife beater and green courdoroys, ... More >>

Inquiring Minds: Fresh Houston Rappers the Nice Guys

Photos by Jamaal Ellis A few years back, Houston was the city the rap world was talking about. Artists like Paul Wall, Slim Thug and Mike Jones showed the entire nation (and beyond) what H-town had been up to for years. Those days are gone now, though, and the city is left wondering where local musi ... More >>

Creep Show

O Pioneers!!! turns growing up into unrelenting punk rock.

Trae's Son Lil Jared Joins tha Family Business

This iced-out lil' playa is Lil Jared, 8-year-old son of Houston rapper and Assholes by Nature ringleader Trae tha Truth. By his own admission, Jared has been "wreckin' the mic ever since I was two," and even has his own adorable little Assholes by Nature chain. Although he's already appeare ... More >>

Ten Things You Can Find In the Pleasantville Garbage Pile

There's a pile of rotting garbage (some optimistically call it "mulch", but if it's been there since Ike, it's garbage) festering in Pleasantville, near the Port of Houston. It's been there since Hurricane Ike converted large chunks of the city to debris back in September, and now it looks like the ... More >>

Trae's Cartoon Is a Big Hit on the Web

  Go ahead and add "Cartoon rappers smacking the shit out of each other" to the ever-growing list of popular Internet entertainments, then file that under "Things that come as absolutely no surprise at all." Since premiering on worldstarhiphop.com a few days ago, the first installment of ... More >>

Over the Weekend: Bun B, Poison Girl, Katie Pell and Hockey

  Go ahead and add "Cartoon rappers smacking the shit out of each other" to the ever-growing list of popular Internet entertainments, then file that under "Things that come as absolutely no surprise at all." Since premiering on worldstarhiphop.com a few days ago, the first installment of ... More >>

Two Nights Ago: Bun B and Other Members of the UGK Family

  Go ahead and add "Cartoon rappers smacking the shit out of each other" to the ever-growing list of popular Internet entertainments, then file that under "Things that come as absolutely no surprise at all." Since premiering on worldstarhiphop.com a few days ago, the first installment of ... More >>

Master P Makes the KKK Say “Ugh!”

  Go ahead and add "Cartoon rappers smacking the shit out of each other" to the ever-growing list of popular Internet entertainments, then file that under "Things that come as absolutely no surprise at all." Since premiering on worldstarhiphop.com a few days ago, the first installment of ... More >>

Sayonara , Matt Sonzala

Talking SXSW and rap's current malaise with a soon-to-be ex-Houstonian

Tonk Blokes And the Mean Streets Of Da R.O.

Ten things I read about Houston on Urbandictionary.com, the Wikipedia of the hood

Mouth of the South

The South Park Coalition Turns 20

Live Shots: Red Bull Big Tune Beat Battle

The South Park Coalition Turns 20

Rotation: Dueling DJs

The South Park Coalition Turns 20

Get Screwed

The South Park Coalition Turns 20

Chillin' with tha Eskimoz

We have a Whatachat with the guys behind the fast-food rap video

Baller's Ball

Where to party this All-Star Weekend

Cr�e Cuts

On the phone with the M�tley bunch

Zilla's a Thrilla

A Houston hopeful throws down at the Thunda'ground Showcase

Banging with Bang! Bang!

Chicago's rumpy-pumpiest punks dispense the Dan Savage-style advice

Houston's Gone Gaaga for Haaga

A former king of the Texas metal world unites Houston's warring rock tribes and wins a passel of Music Awards

Christmas in July

Six dozen of Houston's finest bands for a mere $7

Thug Life

Slim Thug has paid the cost to be the Dirty South boss

Making the Videos

Rub elbows with the pros at the HBCU Film Festival

Chingo Bling

The Tamale Kingpin (Big Chile Enterprises)

Sold!

Houston is the epicenter of Texas' auction world. But buyer beware -- some auctioneers may only be selling a bill of goods.