Subject: T-Pain

• "Does This Bowtie Match My Grill?"

  July 13, 2006

• Wait a minute ...

  May 2, 2007

• Turning the Screw: Bun B and Q-Tip Team Up, Jennifer Hudson, Ludacris, T-Pain, G-Unit, MF Doom, Cypress Hill and More

  October 27, 2008

• Beastie Boys, Cypress Hill and the Roots of Alt-Rap

  Beastie Boys, "So What'cha Want" Today is one of those cosmological coincidences so uncanny it may be no coincidence at all: the Beastie Boys' Mike D and Cypress Hill's Sen Dog were both born this day in 1965. (Scorpios represent!) In the late '80s and early '90s, from opposite sides of the U.S., no two groups were more responsible for spreading hip-hop culture beyond its roots in black American inner-city neighborhoods and into suburban middle-class neighborhoods, marijuana-clouded college do

  November 20, 2008

• Turning the Screw: T-Pain & Friends, Pimp C, Asher Roth, Kanye vs. Colbert, Q-Tip, Suge Knight, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Young Jeezy, Paul Wall and More

  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: "Chopped and Screwed" Lil' O, T-Pain and Ludacris Wire To Wire Matt Sonzala et al. paid tribute to the late Pimp C last week on KPFT's "Damage Control." If you didn't hear it, download it here. As Mr. Sonzala is fond of saying, "It went down, mayne." Arrest warrant issued for DMX. In related ne

  December 8, 2008

• Top Ten Dance Collections of 2008, Both Mixed and Unmixed

  Any knucklehead with DSL and a laptop can now make an electronic track. With a half hour of clicking and fiddling, you can sample enough cheesy beats and mashups to clog arteries from here to Berlin. Simple dropdown mouse maneuvers can transform electro tracks into progressive house tracks (from dry and synthetic to wet and gushy), rhythm tracks can be tempo-tweaked with an upward toggle to change a Timbaland beat into a Chromeo one. Add some T-Pain-esque pitch-correction vocals to your between-

  December 19, 2008

• Top Ten Hip-Hop Albums Of 2008

  A couple of weeks ago, an expert on the Harry Potter series told an audience of high school kids how lucky they were to have this Big Shared Experience--these seven books and 41,000 words in common. What does Harry Potter have to do with hip-hop in 2008? In an age when many year-end lists should be subtitled "Ten More Albums You've Never Heard of and Will Never, Ever Hear," plenty. Technology has made the world smaller, and in response, we've found smaller and smaller worlds to inhabit. Thin

  December 18, 2008

• Busted Rhymes: The Top Ten Most Preposterous Rap Songs of 2008

  Hip-hop A-listers including Rick Ross, Akon and Plies were caught grossly exaggerating their gangster credentials this year. (Turns out they were painfully law-abiding. The horror!) But even if your favorite rapper wasn't caught in a lie, you can bet he or she put out a hilariously absurd record or two in 2008. Here are the most preposterous rap songs of 2008. RICK ROSS, FEATURING T-PAIN "The Boss" (Def Jam) Though Rick Ross claimed on his debut album, Port of Miami, to know Manuel Noriega, T

  December 24, 2008

• Top Ten Pop Songs of 2008

  Pop music often gets a bad rap for being disposable or vapid, and in many cases that's true. (Katy Perry, Danity Kane and the Pussycat Dolls, step right up!) But every year, a few irresistible bits of innovative ear candy rocket up the charts and seep into our subconscious. The following ten singles saturated the Top 40 -- or what passes for hit-oriented radio in this topsy-turvy musical climate -- while proving that accessibility doesn't necessarily preclude creativity.

  December 29, 2008

• Hitsville: The Year in Music, by the Numbers

  You don't need a half-wit music critic to tell you it's been a remarkable year for America, one historians will be discussing and researching for centuries to come. War, financial collapse, politics, technology: All have been dinner-table topics for many Americans. Racial barriers in 2008 were demolished by a Midwestern black man, and gender barriers were hurdled by an Arkansan and an Alaskan.Democracy has a few awesome new dance moves rolling into the Obama presidency, and it'll be a feast for

  December 31, 2008

• Rotation: Plies' Da REAList

  Plies, Florida's 32-year-old snarl with a rapper hidden underneath, is nothing if not a work horse. Over the last 16 months he's released three(!) full-length albums: The Real Testament ("Shawty" feat T-Pain), Definition of Real ("Bust it Baby Pt. 2"), and, most recently, Da REAList. (That's three more than Q-Tip released between 2000 and 2008, in case you're curious.) The immediate concern, then, becomes obvious: With an abundance of content created, will his message not wane in substance? The

  January 16, 2009

• Artist of the Week: Coline

  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 introducingliston@gmail.com. How else to say this than with bold, forthright honesty: we thoroughly enjoy campy R&B. It's shameful, we know. But while Z-Ro, Trae and The Last Dragon dominates our references, sweet R&B calls forth our sincer

  January 21, 2009

• Turning the Screw: Dustin Prestige, Kid Cudi, King Tut, Rick Ross/50 Cent, Ludacris, Lil' Kim, T.I./Chris Brown, Fat Pat and More

  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: "Dope," Dustin Prestige Wire To Wire Kid Cudi was tasered at an NBA All-Star Game party in Phoenix for wearing Jordans. One day after being released from jail on bail, Dipset BFF King Tut was charged with stabbing a woman. (No word on whether or not she was wearing Jordans.) He was origina

  February 16, 2009

• Mike Jones Wants to Get "Next to You"

  Asylum RecordsWho is Mike Jones? Well, not long ago, he was Trae's punching bag at the Ozone Awards, which at least reminded people he was still alive. Well, Jones has a new single, "Next to You," from his forthcoming album The Voice (due April 14), and it's probably not going to enhance his 'hood reputation a whole lot either. Or the line "I love to cuddle up" won't, anyway. Obviously geared toward the ladies, "Next to You" finds Mr. Jones extolling the virtues of a 

  February 17, 2009

• Chart Check: Texans on Billboard

  A periodic look at how Lone Star natives are faring in the national music biz...Hot 100 (singles) 10. Kelly Clarkson, "My Life Would Suck Without You" 12. Jamie Foxx feat. T-Pain, "Blame It" 16. Beyonce, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" 21. Beyonce, "Diva" 41. Beyonce, "Halo" Billboard 200 (albums) 6. Beyonce, I Am... Sasha Fierce 9. Jamie Foxx, Intuition 87. Miranda Lambert, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 100. Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel, Willie and the Wheel

  March 11, 2009

• Turning the Screw: K-Rino, Nosaprise, Method Man, T.I., Devin the Dude, Trick Daddy, Flo Rida, The Kanye, Jim Jones, Botany Boyz and More

  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: K-Rino, "Past, Present, Future" Wire To Wire In case you forgot about him, here's the link to Houston rapper Nosaprise. We caught his performance at the Westheimer Block Party and felt obligated to mention that, after some early sound trouble, he ripped it the last half of his set. Bad week for T-

  March 30, 2009

• The Lonely Island: Incredibad

  April 9, 2009

• Young Mammals Chow Down on First LP Carrots

  Dynamically Yours

  February 26, 2009

• T-Pain, Thr33 Ringz

  January 22, 2009

• A New Class of Rappers Finally Bucked Houston's Syrupy Stereotype This Year

  It Is What It Is

  December 25, 2008

• Kanye West: 808s & Heartbreak

  December 4, 2008

• Turkey Trot

  Artists choose the songs that rocked their 2008 worlds

  November 27, 2008

• Ghostface Killah

  November 22, 2007

• Chris Brown

  The fleet-footed teen idol's latest

  November 15, 2007

• Real Recognize Real?

  Promotional Cacophony at Miami's Ozone Awards

  August 23, 2007

• T.I., Yung Joc, Ciara, T-Pain, Lloyd

  Screamfest hollas 8 p.m. Saturday, August 4, at Toyota Center, 1510 Polk. 713-627-9622.

  August 2, 2007

• Cred Sheet

  Stuff you need to know to avoid musical ostracism

  December 7, 2006

• Prom 2K6

  What do seniors really do on prom night? The Houston Press investigates

  June 15, 2006

• Idol Beat: The Top Five Results

  Photos by Frank Micelotta/ FoxAuto Pilot: Jaime Foxx "performs" on American Idol Wednesday night.Blame it on the vodka, blame it on the Henny, blame it on whatever you wanna, but I'm going to place blame for the hiply generic feel of Jamie Foxx's new single squarely on the shoulders of everybody responsible for perpetuating the increasingly dispiriting ubiquity of AutoTune-slimed pop hits this decade: Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Akon, and most especially T-Pain. See, "Blame It" - the T-Pain-assisted

  April 30, 2009

• Rick Ross: Deeper Than Rap

  June 25, 2009

• Flash Drive

  June 18, 2009

• Aftermath: Trae Day (Pre-Shooting) at TSU Stadium

  [Note: These are the notes from Trae Day prior to that whole pesky "six people getting shot" thing. For more info on that, check out our reports here and here.]Photos by Henry Rizoh/ Click here for a slideshow  Aftermath and hip-hop blogger Rizoh from The Rap Up arrived nearly two hours after Trae Day was supposed to start, and we're still too early. There are maybe 200 people here. On the bright side, at least it's really hot. There are two ambulances parked near the entrance of the parkin

  July 23, 2009

• Five Spot: We Are Totally In the Tank for T-Pain

  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.​As indicated in that italicized synopsis above, this is usually an area where we find some news that we can funnel into an opportunity for us to talk about whichever Houston rapper we happen to be jamming at the time. However, we hit up the T-Pain show last night (full revie

  August 28, 2009

• High-Fiving T-Pain, Wondering Why We Can't Quit Plies' "Plenty Money"

  [Note: Thursday night T-Pain, Wale and DJ MOS performed a private concert at downtown nightclub Venue. Our man Shea Serrano was on the red carpet and inside.] Photos by Larami Culbertson"Is it true what they say about the size of a man's chain?"​ 9:17 p.m.: Yo, the PR camp from Heineken, that company that's putting this concert on, is extremely organized. At one point while we were getting the rundown of how the show would play out from the main PR guy, a woman standing near him placed her fin

  August 28, 2009

• Ask A Rapper: Grammy-Winning Electro-Songbird T-Pain

  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@gmail.com.Larami Culbertson​ Note: We'd just like to mention that in the scant two-month history of the Ask A Rapper column, we've brought questions to two Grammy winners. You know, it's nothing r

  September 1, 2009

• Turning the Screw: Dustin Prestige: ESG, 50 Cent, Lil' Jon (Whaaaat?!), Lil' Wayne, Snoop & Dre, Taylor Swift's Revenge, 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.Courtesy Dustin Prestige​Single of the Week: Dustin Prestige (right), "Polos and AKs, Pt. 2" Wire To Wire Counting down the days until ESG releases his album. Please don't let it be crappy, please don't let it be crappy, please don't let... And for this week's installment of Books That Probably Aren't Helping The Book Ind

  September 14, 2009

• Turning The Screw: Z-Ro, Cham, Plies, 50 Cent, The Kanye, Lady Gaga, Jay-Z, DJ Mr. Magic, Fabolous, T-Pain, The Undergods and more.

  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: "Haterz Got Me Wrong," Z-Ro feat. Gucci Mane and C-Ward [This is another leaked single from the phantom Z-Ro album we wrote about last Friday. If this does happen to be Heroin repackaged, do not be surprised to find Ro in a dumpster somewhere very soon. J. Prince does not fuck around.] Wire To Wire:

  October 5, 2009

• Ask a Rapper: Karina Nistal Loves Common, Mike Jones Not So Much

  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@gmail.com. This Week's Rapper: Bilingual Latina femmestress Karina Nistal This Week's Subject(s): Rappers switching genres; Rappers getting that money. Sadia Zubair​Ask A Rapper: Okay, we might be

  October 20, 2009