Old School Hip-Hop

Happy Rare Disease Day! 5 Musicians With Odd Ailments

Like all good people, I want to kick cancer in the dick, but I will say one thing for the bastard: when you're as widespread horrible an attack on the human body as cancer is, you at least leave behind you a network of survivors, support groups, foundations and so on for people to participate in a s ... More >>

Saturday Night: Rakim at Fitzgerald's

Rakim Fitzgerald's February 16, 2013 In the beginning, The God MC, legally known as William Michael Griffin, Jr., best known as Rakim, became one-half of one of hip-hop's very first groups, Eric B. and Rakim. The pair recorded a series of classic albums (Paid in Full, Follow the Leader) that have ... More >>

Last Night: Run D.M.C. at Fun Fun Fun Fest

Run D.M.C. Fun Fun Fun Fest Auditorium Shores, Austin November 2, 2012 SLIDESHOW: Run D.M.C., Bob Mould and Val Kilmer: Fun Fun Fun Fest 2012 Day 1 Ten years ago, almost to the day, Hip-Hop lost one of its most adored and influential pioneers. His passing left a void that neither his family, his ... More >>

#MadeInAmerica: The Rain, Restrictions & Randomness of Day 2

Day two of the first-ever Made In America music festival felt considerably less hectic and crowded than day one. The blazing heat of the previous day was replaced with scattered showers, and the humidity that follows, making for a sticky and slippery situation on the Ben Franklin Parkway. The crowd ... More >>

Run-D.M.C. Reuniting at November's Fun Fun Fun Fest

The surviving members of the Kings of Rock, Run-D.M.C., will headline Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest November 2-4 at Auditorium Shores, the festival announced this morning. The performance will be Joseph "Run" Simmons and Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels' first since DJ/producer and founding member Jam Master J ... More >>

Top 10 Interesting Things From Ice-T's The Art of Rap

Friday night, Ice-T's new hip-hop documentary The Art of Rap opened in theaters nationwide. I went and watched it at the AMC Studio 30 at Westheimer and Dunvale. Here are ten things from the movie that are interesting and one thing that will be picked over: 10. Grandmaster Caz Is Ruthlessly, Seaml ... More >>

New Doc The Art Of Rap Spills Hip-Hop's Secrets

Rap wasn't always like Lil Jon's yelling his famous "What!?" and "Okay!", or repeating your name over and over throughout the song like Houston's own Lil Flip. Nowadays most see rap as lyrics telling a woman how to position herself or look for a man, rhymes about money and talk of toking up. But th ... More >>

Metro's Rapping Puppets Make Sweet Beastie Boys Tribute

When December rolls around, of all the days of the year, I imagine I will remember last Friday pretty well. I have not felt the kind of sadness I felt when Craig called from New Orleans to make sure I knew that Adam Yauch, MCA of the Beastie Boys, had died in a while. (I didn't know.) Losing Levon ... More >>

Rapper's Delight

North Houston's shrine to old-school hip-hop may be the only bar of its kind anywhere.

The American Bandstand (Extended) Hot 100

Somehow it's hard to believe that Dick Clark was only 82 years old when he died after suffering a "massive heart attack" Wednesday morning in Santa Monica, Calif. (Since I managed to survive one myself, I've noticed that anytime someone dies of a heart attack, it's always "massive."). Despite his yo ... More >>

Rap Round Table: The Best Female Rapper Of All Time Is...

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Each week, Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week's Panel: Zavey, hasHBrown, Scooby, Medicine Girl, Nicki Minaj, Renzo, Rob Gullatte, more. Not Invited: Hologram Tupac This Week's Promp ... More >>

No Surprises: Rock Hall Set To Induct Guns N' Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys

Photo By Marco TorresGuns N' Roses are Rock Hall bound, but which version of GNR will show up? ​This morning (well, it leaked last night) the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland announced their 2012 class of inductees. Included on the list are Guns N' Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Bo ... More >>

1986: Best Musical Year Ever?

​For almost two weeks now, Rocks Off has been obsessed with the year exactly 25 flips of the calendar backward from this one. It started when Steve Earle did one of his "Time Machine" shows, where the singer-songwriter who plays House of Blues Wednesday spotlights a dozen or so of his favorite ... More >>

10 Great Instances Of Rappers Honoring Other Rappers

​People often forget that hip-hoppers are humans, too. They breathe, sleep, eat, and salivate at the sight of buttermilk donuts just like us. And, every now and then, they'll geek over other rappers, just like us. It would have been so much easier to compile a list of rappers dissing other ra ... More >>

Friday Night: Legends Of Rap At Verizon Wireless Theater

Photos by Marco TorresRakim​"Legends of Rap" featuring Rakim, Slick Rick, Whodini, Big Daddy Kane, MC Lyte Verizon Wireless Theater October 15, 2010 For more photos from Friday, see our slideshow here. Friday night at Verizon Theater was a celebration of hip-hop legends, the types that would ... More >>

Bon Jovi, Rock & Roll Hall Of Famers? It Could Happen...

Stay classy, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame...​This morning the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced this year's ballot of nominees, with the winners to be announced in December and inducted next March in New York. Fifteen names are on this year's ballot, ranging from hip-hoppers, proto-metal icons, ... More >>

Top 10 Anti-Drug Rap Songs

​A kabillion rap songs out there celebrate ganja and booger sugar - case in point: Young Jeezy at the Arena Theatre this weekend - but anti-drug rap songs are insanely rare. You have a better chance of finding a mastered copy of Detox. Luckily for you, Rocks Off went digging and found 10 great ... More >>

Top 10 Rap Covers By Non-Rap Artists

​Artists have many ways of expressing admiration for their peers. Name-dropping those who inspire them in liner notes and offering them groupies on the tour bus are just a couple of ways of showing respect. Covering one of their popular songs? Now that's the ultimate tip of the hat. That's an ... More >>

Atmosphere

Yo! MTV Rap Fest

Distant Early Warning: Houston's Concert Horizon

[Ed. Note: Since we already run a list of concerts just added/announced in print, we figured we might as well do it online too.]3 Doors Down: Sat., June 27, 8 p.m. Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Baskery: Thu., Sept. 10. McGonigel's Mucky Duck. Cameo, One Way, The SOS Band: Sat., Aug. 15. Arena Th ... More >>

Pioneers of Hip-Hop Tour

KRS-One

Whodini, Big Daddy Kane, Kool Moe Dee, Willie D

Miss Pop Rocks: Rev. Run’s Clan v. The Kardashians: There is No Real Comparison

Drenched in Blog: Hall of Fame Nominations a Big Cleveland Steamer

Honor Bound

A fictional look at the future of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Various Artists

The Kings of Hip Hop, Compiled and Mixed by DJ Premier and Mr. Thing

Whitey on the Mike

The all-time greatest white-boy rhymes

Merry Christmas, Beeyotch!

Forget caroling. Here are a few hip-hop jammy-jams to warm your yule log.

Letters

Back to School

Big Daddy Kane and friends revisit the era of the flattop

The Lyricist Lounge Tour

Friday, January 31

Snapping Rappers

The right pals send a photographer down the right path

No Deposit, No Return

A broom-brandishing KRS-One sweeps away the future of hip-hop at Fitzgerald's

Damn, That DJ Made My Day

Jam Master Jay, 1965-2002

True Dat

A Run-act play starring the Simmons brothers, Russell and the Rev

Ugly Kid Slug

Atmosphere MC Sean Daley saves the world by saving his circle of friends

Masta Ace

Saturday, July 13

The Kidz Are All Right

KTSU's Kidz Jamm attains voting age along with the hip-hop it nurtures

Money Mark

Change Is Coming (Emperor Norton Records)

Kamikaze Rap

Public Enemy's Chuck D. speaks

Overseas Transmission

Hip-hop's origins in a German synthesizer?

Weighty Rap Power

Sounds of Freedom

Rap Gets Puffy

Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs fathers a return to hip-hop pop

Rooting Interest

The Roots make rap for both your hips and your head

Rotation