The Roots (Band)

Five Bands Who Could Replace The Roots On Late Night

This past Sunday, NBC announced that Seth Meyers will officially take over as the host of Late Night, when Jimmy Fallon succeeds Jay Leno as host of The Tonight Show in early 2014. But with Meyers set to inherit a show with a tradition of turning talk-show hosts into late-night greats (David Letterm ... More >>

A History of Violence

Django Unchained upends the western — and America's original sin.

ACL 2012: Saturday's 9 Best & Funniest Moments at Zilker

The return of terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad rain made Saturday a muddy but fun mess. Thankfully, the downpours didn't dampen the spirits of the crowd on day two of ACL, but it did seem to thin out the herds. Aside from remembering how to walk in inches-deep goop like we did back at the Dillo ... More >>

6 More ACL Acts to Look Out For This Weekend

I'm what you can call a late bloomer when it comes to music festivals. Before coming to work for Rocks Off, my festival expertise was regulated to the Houston International Festival and that one SXSW that I spent bar hopping on Red River then somehow managing to sneak into Stubbs through the artist ... More >>

5 Bands to Avoid & 5 Bands to See at This Year's ACL

If you are lucky enough to be going to ACL this weekend, you have no doubt been sitting in front of your concert schedule plotting your movements for this coming weekend. Alternately if you are missing out on ACL, a lot of the bands playing have been through Houston lately, or will be in town this ... More >>

Upcoming Events: Speakeasies, Hoedowns and Free Yoga Classes

A shuttered business on downtown's Main Street is getting a new tenant -- for the night. 304 Main will be hosting a one-night-only speakeasy on Monday, October 1, from 7 to 10 p.m., sponsored by Knob Creek Rye Whiskey. Local bartenders will be shaking cocktails featuring the rye and chef Jonathan Jo ... More >>

"Miss Sassy Jazz," Other Locals Lend Library Tunes at Noon

The Houston Public Library would like to give you a little music while you read this month. Friday morning the library announced Tunes at Noon, a new free concert series starting the Tuesday at the main library's Julia Ideson Building (550 McKinney). The first performer, Cassandra Tyson, is an alum ... More >>

Fanning the Flames: The Top 10 Performances at Woodstock 99

This week marks the 13th anniversary of Woodstock 1999, the iconic festival's much-maligned third iteration that kinda dissolved into rape and looting towards the end. As 200,000-strong anarchic gatherings go, everything went off rather pleasantly for much of the festival, but the bonfires, looting ... More >>

Laughing & Rhyming: 4 Great Hip Hop/Comedy Crossovers

Fans of Childish Gambino can be split in to two groups: those who like hip hop and appreciate his wordplay, and those who use the phrase "I don't normally like hip-hop but..." before admitting that they just happen to like the guy from Community a lot. That he's a strong enough on the mike to gain t ... More >>

Top 10 Things to Expect at ACL Fest This Year

The Austin City Limits Music Festival burned the midnight oil overnight, announcing the 2012 lineup at precisely 12:01 a.m. Mercifully, all the rumor-spreading and speculation is now at an end and people can either go about the business of buying $200 three-day passes or shutting the hell up about R ... More >>

RIP Adam Yauch: Beastie Boys' MCA Dead At 47

Well, damn. Adam Yauch, the gravel-voiced third of Noo Yawk '80s and '90s rap-rock superstars the Beastie Boys, has died at age 47, Rolling Stone reports. The exact circumstances of his death were unknown at press time, but Yauch had been battling cancer since being diagnosed with a tumor in his sa ... More >>

Rap Round Table: What's The Scariest Movie You've Ever Seen?

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: Doughbeezy, B L A C K I E, Chane, Willie D, ESG, Kyle Hubbard, Propain Not Invited: Tom Six, director of Human Centipede and Hu ... More >>

The Week in TV: The Muppets Now Control Everything

Not much happened last week, what with everyone taking extra naps and blaming it on the turkey. Still, it wasn't a totally uneventful week in TV Land: • Having been dragged back into the mainstream spotlight by Jason Segel, the Muppets are now eyeing a return to TV, the medium that first brought ... More >>

HPMA Preview: Get This Party Started Edition

Courtesy of GenesAddiction.net.Gene's Addiction (rock and roll all night and party...you know)​Music is primal. Sure, it can be intellectual, make you think and even change perspectives. But, at it's heart, music is about making you want to shake what your momma gave you. After all, rock and r ... More >>

Five '60s Soul Stars Jay-Z & Kanye West Should Hit Next

thelocal478.comWelcome back to Billboard, Otis.​Say what you will about Watch the Throne - and people, including several members of Team Rocks Off, have said a lot - but it's all anyone in music seems to be talking about these days. Which makes sense; it's not every day that two megastars (the ... More >>

The Best Episodes Of MTV's Unplugged

​MTV Unplugged was like health food for your soul during its heyday on the music channel, which was full of junk food. When artists stuck to the template and went untethered to electronic instruments and really dug into their music with new eyes it was amazing. Debuting in 1989 with Squeeze ... More >>

The Octanes

Out Today: Tyler, The Creator's Goblin, The Cars Restarted...

​We now live in a world where Adele is a chart-topping artist, placing at number one slot the past few weeks, rubbing shoulders with the Foo Fighters, Katy Perry, Mumford & Sons, and Britney Spears. If Adele's 21 isn't on the top of everyone's best-of 2011 lists, there is no justice in the wor ... More >>

Saturday: Questlove, Bun B & Jimmy Fallon At Red Bull Music Academy

Photos by Marco TorresQuestlove (left) and the king of the trill talk shop.​Red Bull Music Academy feat. Questlove, Bun B & Jimmy Fallon House of Deréon Media Center, Music World Entertainment March 5, 2011 See more photos of the "On the Floor!" event in our slideshow. Saturday night, Red B ... More >>

L.A. Rapper Gets Signed, Eats A Roach

​The members of Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All - or Odd Future, if you're into the whole brevity thing - have been on the online radar since last summer, and have already managed to make the Coachella cut and late-night talk-show circuits in 2011. At the outset, however, the most recogniz ... More >>

The Rap Renaissance

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

Ten Bizarro Christmas-Carol Covers

​Thanks to holiday-themed compilations like A Very Special Christmas and Little Steven's Christmas A Go-Go, we often hear our favorite modern artists putting their spin on holiday classics. But for those who are tired of forcing Mariah Carey's eight-octave "All I Want For Christmas" on their f ... More >>

Yo Gabba Gabba!'s Greatest Hits

​A year ago, in honor of Sesame Street's 40th birthday, Rocks Off brought you a list of the beloved television program's 10 Best Musical Appearances. But 41 years ago, Nickelodeon didn't exist. Now the network is known for its retro-cool vibe, thanks to bringing back shows from the golden age ... More >>

Sane - and Afraid

The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington, D.C., leaves our correspondent hoping for true activism from the alleged silent majority.

The Rally To Restore Sanity: Did It Succeed?

Preaching to the choir?​What's the point?It was a question I asked myself more than once in the last month: while I was booking the hotel room, then sitting on the flight from Houston to Washington, DC, and finally walking with tens of thousands of others down Pennsylvania Avenue to attend the Ral ... 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 >>

Rap's Top 10 Heroes Of 2010 So Far, Part 1

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 introducinglisto ... More >>

Nine Rappers About To Be Eaten By Their Own Beards

musiconplay.net​In today's crowded music industry, it's becoming increasingly difficult for artists to stand out from the pack, but sometimes a facial package of ample weight and gargantuan growth will do the trick. Look out, these hip-hoppers are one hair strand away from disappearing into th ... More >>

The Top Five Hidden Rap Tracks

​Life bursts at the seams with mysteries we'll never fully understand, like the Texans' decision to pass on Vince Young, Kesha's entire existence and the strange concept of hidden songs. Some of them are superior to the ones that make an album's final cut and track listing. Why hide a song th ... More >>

HCC Professor Uses Hip-Hop To Jazz Up His Classes

RizohWilliam Moore in his element at HCC​William Moore can recite The Roots' "How I Got Over" from top to bottom, down to Black Thought's rhythm and cadence. The only thing he's missing is Thought's mean mug and dark shades; he prefers an amiable smile and rimmed glasses. ​Moore, a Hous ... More >>

Dr. John & the Lower 911

Z-Ro's Heroin Due Next Month... Maybe

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: "I'm Hungry," Coota Bang Wire to Wire The "Dirty South" will be honored at this year's VH1 Hip-Hop Ho ... More >>

Aftermath: Booker T's Rock-Solid Soul And Farm-Fresh "Onions" At Wired Live

Photos by Brittanie SheyThat's right, Booker T also plays guitar.​ Booker T has had a hand (well, two hands) in crafting so many pop, soul and R&B staples that the hardest part of his pre-concert routine must be making out his set list. Where do you put "Green Onions"? How many of the dozens o ... More >>

Live with Me

The best Houston concerts of 2009: U2, George Strait, Kid Cudi, Jandek, Peaches and even T-Pain.

Tonight: Houston Filmmaker Raymond Gale's Electric Purgatory at Domy Books

Electric Purgatory screened almost two years ago at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, but Rocks Off still hasn't seen Houston director Raymond Gayle's film about the plight of the black rocker. We're gonna miss the next screening too - tonight at Domy Books - due to Thanksgiving travel, but we are ... More >>

Aftermath: Common and The Roots Crew's Private Engagment at the Corinthian, With Special Guests (Cough, "Nite and Day")

Photos by Larami Culbertson​ 9:10 p.m.: We pull up to the front of The Corinthian and hand the car off to the valet. He says, "It's $20 plus tip." Oh, so it's $20, then? Got it. Thanks. 9:20 p.m.: Common just walked in. He's way more stout than we imagined him to be. His skin is also less clear th ... More >>

Alamo Heights

San Antonio's the Krayolas steam into their second act.

Incubus, the Duke Spirit

Things to Do This Weekend If You're (Almost) Broke

​Generationals, Floating Action. 5:30 p.m., Cactus Music. Free. Molly & the Ringwalds celebrate six years of "Time After Time" and "Livin' on a Prayer" at the Continental Club. 6 p.m., free. The Brilliance of Suffering, Vehement, Sinister Minister, A Cyanide Suicide, Based on Death, My Ending ... More >>

Summer Stock

HPMA: Guess What? More Winners: Sideshow Tramps, Homopolice & A Dream Asleep, DJ Sun

Chris Gray​ Well, Little Joe didn't sit in with the Flamin' Hellcats, but Scarface sure did. Dude's got some serious Chuck Berry mojo going on. Who knew?Best Tribute Band: Beetle. Thanking a multitude of Houston music royalty. Beetle really is a sight to behold, and about a minute fraction of the ... More >>

Gipsy Kings

The pAper chAse

Grammy-nominated music producer fronts sinister Dallas rock quartet

The Bermondsey Joyriders

UK punk threesome is the real McCoy

Reprogram Your Life

An omnivorous three-headed DJ monster wants to rewrite your old musical code with hip-hop vibes

Rap Space

Will hip-hop ever find a home in Houston?

Rotation

Rooting Interest

The Roots make rap for both your hips and your head

Sound Check

Rotation