Missy Elliott

Last Night: Baauer & Danny Brown at Fitzgerald's

Baauer, Danny Brown Fitzgerald's April 09, 2013 At first glimpse, packing a horde of subjects into the throne room of the EDM version of Game of Thrones' King Joffrey shouldn't be hard. After all, Scoremore had pulled the feat off when hosting its grand-mansion SXSW afterparty spot, The Illmore. ... More >>

Top 20 Songs Dedicated to Drank, Part 1

Some call it lean; others call it barre or simply drank. Whichever you prefer, promethazine with codeine cough syrup is the ever so popular recreational drug used by many people. Houston's hip-hop culture has made lean something everyone has wanted to talk about or even try for decades. If you type ... More >>

Exploring Songza: Four Offbeat Playlists From the Curated Music Service

We introduced you to Songza -- the service that acts as a "music concierge" -- a few weeks back. Using curated playlists sorted not only by genre and theme, but also by activity, Songza helps you pick the best songs for the occasion. More importantly to me, the playlists are expertly curated, mean ... More >>

Remembering Hip-Hop Mogul Chris Lighty

Sitting at my desk for the past day or so, I've struggled to come up with words about numerous subjects. Since Sunday, I've had to assume control of my dad's company with him being in the hospital threatening critical condition. I've never been more scared or felt more vulnerable at that point - f ... More >>

Musically Speaking, What Is the Best Zodiac Sign?

Sometimes some musicians just can't even be put in the same sentence as one another. Depending on people's musical preferences. It's hard to compare and can be a bit confrontational. But one thing is for sure the day on which someone is born can't be changed. And then that's where astrology comes in ... More >>

Material Girl: Madonna's Top 10 TV Commercials

They don't call Madonna the Material Girl for nothing. She's definitely a self-promoter when it comes to her music. Better yet, when she does this, it's never the same advertised persona. Take, for example, when she first came onto MTV and performed "Like A Virgin" at the 1985 VMAs versus her perce ... More >>

Here's The Pitch: Top 10 Commercials Starring Musicians

Madonna's infamous "Like a Prayer" Pepsi ad, 1989​Every now and then, name-brand companies need a little extra pizzazz when it comes to advertising, and often they turn to the music world to do this. Either way, it's a win-win situation for both the artist and the company because the artist us ... More >>

Express Yourself: The 10 Best Deep Tracks of Madonna's Career

Daniel KramerPhoto by Daniel Kramer.​Madonna is one of those artists that does it all: she sings, dances, acts, and occasionally writes. The main thing that keeps her fans begging for more is that she always seeks to reinvent herself - whether it be her 'Borderline'-era '80s street-style or th ... More >>

He's Alive! Top 9 Musician Death Hoaxes of 2011

It seems like 2011 was the year of the celebrity death hoax which involved many musicians. We use that term loosely for the sake of this blog. Death is never a joking matter but you can't help but chuckle at the thousands of folk who got punked over fake death reports. Let's run through the most m ... 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 >>

Top 10 Most Underrated Music Video Artists

The Material Girl. The King of Pop (and his sister). The Chili Peppers. Mr. West. Very few artists have become the musical equivalent of the two-sport athlete: Making memorable music and monumental videos. When those people had a new video to premiere, it wasn't a just a video, it was an event. I ... More >>

A Simple Question This Week: Where The Ladies At?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday Rocks Off will have some of them hear discussing issues relevant to their culture. Photo illustration by John Seaborn Gray​This Week's Panel: Nosaprise, Yung Redd, Kyle Hubbard Not Invited: Girls, apparently. Actually, w ... More >>

Sophia Fresh Work For T-Pain, Stay True To DJ Screw

Photos courtesy of Atlantic Records​Crystal, Skye and Cole Rose, collectively known as Sophia Fresh, may be one hit away from national fame, but they're unwavering in their loyalty to the Bayou City. Case in point: Sophia Fresh recently unleashed a remix of the DJ Screw classic "June 27" in ho ... More >>

Has 50 Cent Jumped The Shark?

Photos by Marc Brubaker / Click here for a slideshow​9:24 p.m.: While waiting at the box office to get our tickets a kid walks up and asks, "Excuse me, how much are tickets?" He looks absolutely crushed when he hears that they're about $50. It's super sad to see. I mean, he just wanted to see ... 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 >>

How Low Can He Go?

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

8 Songs Guaranteed To Get Those Damn Relatives To Leave Already

​But if I really say it, the radio won't play it, Unless I lay it between the lines! - Peter, Paul and Mary, "I Dig Rock and Roll Music" We know, we know. It's late Christmas evening, you've had a few too many glasses of nog. That turkey is starting to take its toll, and yet you've still got a hou ... More >>

Tonight: Starbucks Mixed Media Series at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Rap's Rapidly Vanishing Female MC

The Why Chromosome

Eels: Meet the Eels: Essential Eels Vol. 1Useless Trinkets

Keyshia Cole

Just Like You

Performance Art

Visit the Scenic Woods

Desi on Deck

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Wack's Very Special Holiday Music Guide

Let There Be Rock

Ten albums that make it easy to avoid fretting about your old-fashioned, Rockist ways

I'd Much Rather Be with the Girls

Critics might damn Fantasia's music with faint praise, but we say she's keeping up a sacred pop tradition

ODB

A Son Unique

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Lyin' Scion

How deep is this Toyota subsidiary's love of hip-hop?

Missy Elliott

The Cookbook

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

Trend-Spotting

In a scandal-ridden election year, the year's top ten music stories were all about winning the popular vote

God Save the Scene

Sassy Brits, hoochie mamas and a dude named Beans attempted to invigorate a stagnant year for hip-hop

God Save the Scene

Sassy Brits, hoochie mamas and a dude named Beans attempted to invigorate a stagnant year for hip-hop

Trend-Spotting

In a scandal-ridden election year, the year's top ten music stories were all about winning the popular vote

Boxing the Rock

Six of the year's best multi-disc sets (and one of the worst)

Chasing Mandy

A pop-star-turned-actress tries to move into her "mature phase"

The Class of '03

Grab your gift certificates and trade in your white elephants -- here's what you really wanted for Christmas

Not the Sweetest Thing

What a bad feeling -- and taste -- Honey leaves behind

Hail to the Freak

Interesting times call for an interesting man of the year. We nominate Michael Jackson.

Richard X

Richard X Presents His X-Factor Vol. 1 (Astralwerks)

Mariah Carey

Thursday, August 28

Beyoncé

Dangerously in Love (Columbia)

Shakin' That Smart Ass

DJ /rupture's bombastic genre pastiche is incredibly cerebral, not to mention surprisingly fun to dance to

Fannypack

Saturday, July 12

Missy Elliott

Under Construction (Elektra)

Not on Your Nelly!

Nelly Furtado refused to forget her roots or dress like a tramp. She won a Grammy anyway.

Rotation

Rotation