OutKast

The Rocks Off 100: Mike Meegz, Scoremore's Houston Lieutenant

Welcome to the Rocks Off 100, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community -- a lot more than just musicians, but of course they're in there too. See the entire Rocks Off 100 at this link. Who? Mike Migl, aka Mike Meegz, is Houston ... More >>

Songza: Can a "Musical Concierge" Match Your Mood?

"Working? Relaxing? At the gym? Songza plays you the right music at the right time." Or so it thinks. I do a lot of weird stuff, Songza. As I write this, I am still nursing a swift kick in the feels after a brutally frustrating Sunday-evening Texans loss to the New England Patriots. Where is the ... More >>

That Purple Bastard: Houston's Reluctant "Remix King"

"Can I call myself a Remix King when nobody knows who the fuck I am?" --Purple Bastard Purple Bastard has a beard. Or maybe A Beard has a purple bastard? Not sure. No matter. It's not important. What is is that he stands out, even though it's the least overwhelming STANDS OUT of all. And that's ma ... More >>

Alibi Rankz: 6 Songs to Say "I'm Sorry"

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. Something you always wanted to ask a rapper? E-mail sheaserrano@gmail.com. ... More >>

Last Night: Yelawolf At Warehouse Live

Yelawolf Warehouse Live February 16, 2012 My ears salute the kid who told Yelawolf he wasn't hip-hop. Must have been a high-school bully, one of those corny jocks with well defined biceps. We'll call him D'Angelo. D'Angelo probably teased Yelawolf, smacked him around in the bathroom, lol'd when he ... More >>

Smooth: 10 Definitive Neo-Soul Tracks

Nearly 12 years after the release of Voodoo, Michael Eugene Archer, better known for his stage name, D'Angelo, has emerged out of his self-imposed exile. After doing battle with drugs and alcohol for a decade, last week the singer kicked off a European tour entitled The D-Tour, for his first live pe ... 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 >>

Why 50 Cent Should Consider Retirement

Interscope​I was in college when Get Rich or Die Tryin' dropped. You couldn't go anywhere without hearing "In da Club"-- house parties, techno clubs, AA meetings, everywhere. My friends used to sit around and debate 50's feud with Ja Rule. Anyone brave enough to take Ja's side was ridiculed to ... More >>

Summer Fest Critic's Guide: Who We're Seeing At Tinsley

Jermaine Rogers​In three very short years, Free Press Summer Fest has gone from an experiment most people thought would fail to destination music festival most people wouldn't dare miss even if it is going to be 105 degrees outside. Rocks Off has seen quite a bit of online chatter from people ... More >>

Making It Rain

Author suffers strip clubs, skeptics for book on Southern rap.

SXSW Report Card: Killer Mike, Mistah F.A.B, Tech N9ne, Chiddy Bang

Photos by RizohTech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko​Wednesday night at the Vibe House featured a hip-hop lineup for every taste bud: Mistah F.A.B. for the Bay Area rap flava, Killer Mike for the lyrically inclined, Chiddy Bang for the college kids, Tech N9ne for the weird and wonderful. Here's how they ... More >>

Last Night: Too Short & Devin The Dude At House Of Blues

Photos by Marco Torres​Too Short, Devin the Dude, DJ Kid Capri House of Blues January 16, 2010 The truly legendary lineup of DJ Kid Capri, Devin the Dude and Too Short came together Sunday night for Houston's first major hip-hop show of 2011. The term "legendary" is often just a synonym for " ... More >>

Last Night: Girl Talk At Verizon Wireless Theater

Photos by Jim Bricker​Girl Talk Verizon Wireless Theater January 13, 2010 For more photos from last night's Girl Talk show, check out our slideshow. Girl Talk is a DJ that is ostensibly famous for wearing a headband, but is actually famous for his ability to sew together various songs from v ... More >>

Top 10 Musician Movie Cameos

Rocks Off has no idea why Mick Jagger might prefer Performance to Ned Kelly.​Over recent years, Rocks Off has been repeatedly surprised by the quality performances of musicians in films. Naturally, there are some duds in the mix; even Mick Jagger himself, who starred in 1970's Ned Kelly, disow ... More >>

Top 10 Double Albums That Should Have Stayed Single

​Not all double albums should have been double albums, just as some albums had to be double albums in order for their point to be made. Each case is different with each band or artist. The Who's Tommy and Quadrophenia had to be double albums to tell their stories of teenage wastelands and po ... More >>

The Top 10 Female-Friendly Rap Songs

streethop.comLadies Love Cool James: LL Cool J on The View​Chris Rock once said that women don't pay attention to rap lyrics. Truth be told, most casual hip-hop fans - male and female - rarely pay attention to lyrics. As long as the beat is catchy, they'll drop down and get their eagle on all ... More >>

The Top Five Hurricane Katrina-Related Rap Songs

​New Orleans is home to many rappers, including Lil Wayne and Juvenile. So, when Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast five years ago this weekend, it only felt natural for hip-hop to step up and capture the debacle on wax. It's been five years since the disaster and this Katrina-inspired playlist ... 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 >>

Is Bun B's Trill OG Really Worth The Source's Highest Rating?

Ed. Note: Unlike The Source, Houston Press style abbreviates "microphone" as "mike." ​Bun B's Trill OG has become the first hip-hop album to earn 5 mikes in The Source since 2005. In case you haven't picked up a copy of the magazine since the Clinton administration, here's a breakdown of its ... 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 >>

Hip Hop Honors Doesn't Totally Embarrass The South

VH1 honored the Dirty South for the 2010 edition of Hip-Hop Honors. We flew out there and sat in on the taping this past weekend. Or we Tivo'd it while we put our kids to bed and then watched it afterwards. One of those is true. Willie D​ 8:00 p.m.: Oh, good. Darrell from The Office is hosting to ... More >>

Turning the Screw: Slim Thug & Friends, Bun B & Friends, 50 Cent & Susan Boyle(!), Kid Cudi, Chris Brown, OutKast, Kidz In the Hall, Lil Wayne, Eminem, Sade, etc.

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: Juicy J & Project Pat feat. Slim Thug & New Genesis, "Ike Turner Pimpin'" "I'm a motherfuckin' ... More >>

A Third Ward Pawnshop iPod and the Mysterious Fate of Previous Owner "Scooby"

Whoever he is (was?), Scooby's iPod wasn't short on R. Kelly.​So a couple of weeks ago, after three or four years of increasingly faltering service, Rocks Off's 30 GB iPod finally died. Completely. Out of sheer broke-assedness, we had held on to it for longer than most. By the end, its quirks and ... More >>

Listening Room: What's Been Tickling Our Earholes Lately

As Rocks Off has noted in our periodic Mail Call entries, even though the tide of promo CDs has been greatly reduced by the digital revolution - Rocks Off can count on one finger (the middle one) the times he's actually used the streaming/download email link publicists are ever more fond of these d ... More >>

SXSW Journal: Wild Moccasins, Day 2

[How bassist Nicholas Cody of Houston's Wild Moccasins spent his SXSW Thursday.]Nicholas CodyBig Boi Bumps the Austin Music HallAfter playing three shows in one day, including our official showcase, we all looked forward to being able to relax and having time to watch some free day shows. Thursday b ... More >>

Tonight: Crystal Stilts at Rudyard's

Crystal Stilts hails from Brooklyn, N.Y., and specializes in the sort of shoegaze-indebted garage rock that's so dangerously laid back it's just short of comatose. I've never caught 'em live, but my guess is that their shows are rapturous, daze-inducing events - religious drone-pop experiences, ... More >>

What Do Shepard Smith and Soulja Boy have in common?

Wack's here to tell you: more than you might expect

Best Non-2007 Music of 2007

Chamillionaire: Not So Dirty

Ten Great Rap Albums from 2006

Snap to It

Comeback kids, rhymin' Limeys and songs about partying defined Hip-Hop Nation in 2006

Between the Cracks

Profiling local bands

A Pack of Mutts

The lone wolves of 2005

He's a Maniac

The Nightfly puts his white-boy dance moves to the supreme test at Lizzard's Pub

Get Lost

It'd Be Cool if this sequel were any good. Too bad it ain't.

Rotation

Rock Radio (and Rock Romano) Redux

Bo knows good rock when he sees it. Do Houston radio programmers?

How Long, Oh, Lord, How Long

Another outpost of crap plops onto the Houston dial, as this open letter reveals

This Charming Hombre

Morrissey's mad love among Mexican-Americans

Modest Mouse

Good News for People Who Love Bad News (Epic)

Cee-Lo

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

Medley Fool

DJ Jester mixes and mashes up Willie Nelson, Ice-T, the Carpenters and LL Cool J

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Not the Sweetest Thing

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

David Banner

Mississippi: The Album (Street Records Corporation/Universal)

Made With Love

Rosanne Cash is the friend who will say, or sing, what you can't

Tyrannosaurus Raps

Jurassic 5 will help you remember hip-hop the way it oughta be

Smoke Damage

Jim Pirtle's slipshod nicotine habit spells the end of an era for No tsu oH, but he hopes to rise from the ashes

Age-Old Axiom

The Axiom can't seem to shake its past

Rooting Interest

The Roots make rap for both your hips and your head