Curren$y

Talking Louis C.K., South Park and Popcorn With Talib Kweli

Editor's note: In Tweets is Watching, Phillip Mlynar asks local artists questions based solely on the contents of their Twitter timeline. Talib Kweli is gearing up to release his fifth solo album, Prisoner of Consciousness, on May 7th. The project features collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Curren ... More >>

Ten Rappers We'd Like To See on Reality TV

So many reality shows, and so many of them are terrible. But people watch this stuff, despite feigning revulsion. "Trash culture" is on the rise, and with everyone from Consequence to The Game are landing "roles" in a reality show, we wanted to get in on the action and list some potentially quality ... More >>

Curren$y Smokes Tons of Weed, and Still Works Much Harder Than You

Let that man multitask. In between bong snaps and awaiting a new episode of The Regular Show to come on New Orleans' rapper Currren$y is also having an extensive conversation with SOTC about the scattered array of topics potheads tend to have. Like about cartoons for instance. And snacks and shit. ... More >>

The Ten Best Concerts in New York This Week, 1/28/13

Here are the ten best concerts to check out around the city this week, in no particular order.

Javelin+Guardian Alien+Life Size Maps

The Ten Best Concerts In New York This Week

These are the 10 best concerts in NYC this week.

Harry Fraud's Top Five Procers This Year: "Alchemist, Alchemist, Alchemist, Alchemist, and Alchemist"

Harry Fraud has quickly risen as New York rap's go-to producer since helming French Montana's anthemic "New York Minute" featuring Jadakiss (and later, Nicki Minaj and ostensibly every rapper in the Tri-State Area) and "Shot Caller." He's also produced tracks for everyone from Action Bronson and Ric ... More >>

11 "Minor League Rappers" We Want To Hear on Hot 97

Last week Hot 97 Program Director Ebro Darden offered a weak explanation about his stations narrow playlist and why they don't play up-and-coming locals, saying--in so many words--that artists not getting spins on the station simply aren't ready for them. They're too underground. They haven't worked ... More >>

Q&A: Nitty Scott MC On Moving To New York, The Boombox Diaries Vol. 1, And Blurring The Line Between Mainstream And Underground

Nitty Scott MC is fresh out of her teens and she's already had three career changes, though she's remained a writer throughout. Within the last few years she's made a name for herself among New York's tough crowds as a legit MC who only includes organic hip-hop ingredients in her dishes. Nitty
... More >>

Q&A: Dom Kennedy On The Yellow Album, Maybach Music Group Rumors, And Funkmaster Flex's Tupac Comments

Over the last few years, hip-hop artists who grew up in the hood but wanted to go beyond clichéd gangsterisms have been on the rise—Kendrick Lamar, Curren$y, A$AP Rocky, Big K.R.I.T. Hailing from Los Angeles's Leimert Park neighborhood is Dom Kennedy, another subscriber to the school of thoug ... More >>

The Top 13 Hip-Hop Songs For Summer

Free lunch, fire hydrants on full blast and beach chairs on the sidewalk—yep, the summer's here Need a hand composing a playlist to go along with a hot and lazy day's activities? Just in time for the official start of summer (and today's 90-plus temperatures), SOTC has put together a list of t ... More >>

Live: Curren$y And Styles P Bring The Jet Life To Webster Hall

Direct Flight Tour: Curren$y w/Styles P, Smoke DZA, Fiend 4 Da Money, Corner Boy P, Trademark Da Skydiver, Young Roddy Webster Hall Thursday, May 31 Better than: Staying on the ground. Last night, the New York stop on the Direct Flight Tour—with the Jets Styles P and Curren$y, as well as a ... More >>

Q&A: Stalley On Getting To New York And Hooking Up With Rick Ross

Humility is a rare trait—especially among rappers, who tend to preen and bop about like fighters convincing boxing promoters that they are in their prime. Stalley, however, subscribes to a different G code. Perhaps it's his humble beginnings in a small town outside of Cleveland, where a blue- ... More >>

Hip-Hop's 25 Best Weed Songs

In honor of today being 4/20—every smoker's favorite day of the year—SOTC has compiled the 25 Best Rap Songs relating to weed. Though some may be more about bud than others, all are guaranteed to make your high all the more enjoyable. Be forewarned, though... this list doesn't have any h ... More >>

Radio Hits One: Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj, And Young Money Bring Crew Love Back To Rap Radio

If you've listened to much urban radio lately, or even a little, you may have noticed that Lil Wayne and his Young Money Entertainment labelmates, particularly Drake and Nicki MInaj, are quite popular. You may have also noticed the same thing in 2011. And in 2010. And 2009. But perhaps nothing under ... More >>

10 Curren$y Songs That Prove He's More Than Just A Weed Rapper

After a couple of failed attempts at riding under someone else's banner (No Limit, Cash Money), Curren$y ventured out on his own and struck gold, amassing hundreds of thousands of loyal followers and lighting (pardon the pun) the way for rappers like Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller to carve out their own ... More >>

Five Reasons Why XXL's Freshman Class Issue Is Going To Be A Yearly Ritual For A While

As traditions go, XXL's annual "Freshman Class" issue is neither all that time-honored or worthwhile. The magazine's been putting rappers it calls freshmen on its cover since 2008, but hasn't exactly been kingmaking or future forecasting in doing so: 2008's list featured Crooked I and Joell Ortiz, h ... More >>

Underwhelmed And Overstimulated, The Finale: Jay-Z And Kanye West Fiddle While The Underground Gets Wasted

Smell that money burning. ​This concludes Sound of the City's year-end roundtable, a conversation about pop music in 2011 between Tom Ewing, Eric Harvey, Maura Johnston, Nick Murray, and Katherine St. Asaph. Read it all again. Thanks for the handoff, Nick, and thanks to Katherine, Tom and esp ... More >>

Da Capo's Second-Best Music Writing 2011: 112 Of Last Year's Most Notable Music Stories

The 2011 edition of Da Capo's annual anthology Best Music Writing— which this year was guest edited by The New Yorker classical writer and The Rest Is Noise author Alex Ross; Daphne Carr has been the series editor since 2006—contains 32 essays and is augmented by a a jumbo-sized "Other N ... More >>

Live: Method Man, Curren$y, Big K.R.I.T., And Others Smoke Out The Best Buy Theater

Method Man w/ Curren$y, Big K.R.I.T., Smoke DZA, Fiend & Cornerboy, Marcus Manchild, and more Best Buy Theater Friday, October 14 Better than: Hanging out in my own living room (barely). Last time Curren$y and Big K.R.I.T. rolled through Manhattan on the Smoker's Club tour (sans Method Man), both ... More >>

Wild Flag, Method Man, Cyndi Lauper And More: Your Guide To The Weekend's Biggest Shows

Those Darlins, hangin' out in those giant pipes.​The mouse-headed DJ Deadmau5 finally finished his six-night stand at the Roseland Ballroom earlier this week (in one of the week's strangest press releases, I learned that the event was commemorated by a fancy cake that placed his signature head ... More >>

THE CHRONIC

Smoker's Club blazes through New York

Live: Spaceghostpurrp Turns Raps Into Dubs And ASAP Rocky Has A Ball At Santos Party House

ASAP Rocky w/ Spaceghostpurrp Santos Party House Thursday, September 8 Better than: The Santos Party House takeover of Saks 5th Avenue earlier that evening. (Apologies to Chris Bosh.) At 1:30 Friday morning—three and a half hours after the scheduled start time—Spaceghostpurrp emerged ... More >>

Ten Trends That Watch The Throne Could Kickstart

​It's way too early to have a critical judgment on Watch The Throne; didn't you read the rules? But since Kanye West and Jay-Z's colossal collaboration plopped into the raging waters of Internet opinion early Monday morning, I've been watching for ripples. Here are ten new things that Watch Th ... More >>

Live: Wiz Khalifa Smokes Out Central Park

Wiz Khalifa w/Big Sean, Chevy Woods Central Park Monday, July 25 Better than: Hanging out with your parents. In September 2008, Wiz Khalifa stood onstage in front of less than ten people on the Bowery, the whole of Crash Mansion abandoned after performances by Mickey Factz and Charles Hamilton. ... More >>

Theophilus London's Indie-Rock Admirers, And His Mutual Affection For Them

​Here is a list of artists who have endorsed or collaborated with the gloriously monikered Theophilus London: M.I.A.; TV On The Radio's Dave Sitek; Sleigh Bells; Sara Quin from Tegan and Sara; John Hill of Santigold production repute; and one-time Jealous Girlfriends member Holly Miranda. Not, ... More >>

Curren$y's High Productivity

What's the secret behind the rapper's immense output?

This Week in the Voice: Citizen Bloomberg

​This week in the Voice, Harry Siegel reflects on what he views as the end of Mayor Mike Bloomberg's political career in light of his shaky third term "marked by the Snowpocalypse, the snowballing CityTime scandal, the backlash to Cathie Black and 'government by cocktail party,' and the reject ... More >>

This Week In The Voice: Curren$y Soars, Jazz Musicians Organize, Marissa Nadler Goes Solo

John RicardCurren$y.​In this week's Village Voice, on a street corner near you: J. Pablo looks at the prolific output of the rapper Curren$y; Larry Blumenfeld talks to jazz musicians and festival producers about the labor tensions underscoring this June's jazz festival slate; and David Raposa ... More >>

Q&A: Big K.R.I.T. On Making People React To His Lyrics, Crate-Digging And Crafting Playstation Beats

​ It's been a big year or so for Big K.R.I.T. Shortly after signing with Def Jam last June, he was booed off the stage at the Highline Ballroom; later in 2010 the Mississipi-bred MC hit the road on the Smoker's Club Tour (with Curren$y and Mac Miller) and the Wake And Bake Tour (with Wiz Khali ... More >>

Live: Curren$y Cruises Through Irving Plaza

Curren$y Irving Plaza Monday, June 6 Better than: "Dude, I'm so high right now." There are few ways to describe a Curren$y show without it sounding like a meeting of a cult, or an extremist political party. The place is packed, overflowing into the hallways of Irving Plaza. Giant flags proclaimin ... More >>

Ms. Lauryn Hill And Nas To Headline Rock The Bells Festival, Which Hits NYC In September

​The Rock The Bells festival returns to the New York area with a Sept. 2 date at Governor's Island. This year's installment is headed up by a slew of full-album sets that includes run-throughs of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Illmatic (which Nas will perform with AZ, Pete Rock and DJ Premie ... More >>

Curren$y And The Alchemist Get Chilly On "Covert Coup"

​The New Orleans-based Curren$y is a weed rapper, which means his job is to make something usually associated with directionless demotivation seem badass. The art of weed rapping is the art of bragging about surpassing low expectations, and there are a couple ways to do this: the current big m ... More >>

Q&A: Raekwon On Getting His Third Wind, Rapping About Crime In A Soft New York, And Giving RZA Tough Love

"Just growing up when we grew up and how we grew up and of course where we grew up . . . I seen enough to keep me inspired for decades, man." ​From the moment we all heard those kung fu effects on "Protect Ya Neck," the world was hooked. Smitten by the rugged wordplay and seemingly endless li ... More >>

The Fame Cookie: 2011 Grammy Awards Live Blog

It's the return of the most talked-about Grammy Awards live blog--a collection of quips, blips, and arguably insightful observations that dares to match the actual Grammy telecast in terms of pure spectacle and Justin Bieber mentions. Please join our hosts Tom Breihan and Ryan Dombal below, and keep ... More >>

Q&A: "White People Rapping Poorly" Mastermind Connor Toole On What Makes Terrible White Rappers So Amusing

Asher Roth, one of the good guys​Today, the Internet is filled with more depravity and embarrassing footage than anyone could have ever thought possible. Fortunately for us, people like Connor Toole are seeking out the best of the best (or worst of the worst), and posting these .gifs or YouTub ... More >>

Pazz & Jop Stats II: Calculating Enthuasiasm, Hipness, Metalism, And, Uh, Kvltosis

Time to learn about this album​Pazz & Jop's album chart is officially ranked by points: Each voter has 100 to hand out, with no album receiving more than 30 or less than 5. There are, of course, a bunch of ways to turn that mass of music data into revealing lists. Here are four of them.

Pazz & Jop Stats: On Kanye West's Dominance, And What The Poll Would've Looked Like Without Him

​"If there was any way you could confirm Kanye's inevitable victory early, that'd be a big help art-department-wise." So began Pazz & Jop editor Rob Harvilla's first note to me after voting closed in late December. Inevitability is not a statistical quality, but the magnitude of My Beautiful D ... More >>

Odd Future, Wiz Khalifa, and the Internet-Rap Atomization

Lil B et al. build tiny kingdoms, and rule them

2010: The Year In Music Photos

​The year in music, circa 2010, started at the Cake Shop, with a shred-down to the New Year courtesy of Siren Festival MVP-to-be Marissa Paternoster and her band Screaming Females. After a tour through the NYE fetes of the Lower East Side and Williamsburg, that night ended amidst a marathon sh ... More >>

Was 2010 The Best Year For Music Ever? Throw Taylor Swift In A Well

Welcome to Sound of the City's year-in-review rock-critic roundtable, an amiable ongoing conversation between five prominent Voice critics: Rob Harvilla, Zach Baron, Sean Fennessey, Maura Johnston, and Rich Juzwiak. We'll be here all week! Pay Rich Juzwiak what you owe him, Jay Leno. Twitpic by Dav ... More >>

Sneaker Pimps Exhibition Hosting Ghostface Killah, Redman, The Lox and Friends in NYC

​There will no be shortage of New York City hip-hop at the local NBA Jam-sponsored 2010 stop of the Sneaker Pimps tour, which centers around "over 1,500 pairs of rare, limited edition, vintage, celebrity signed, artists collaborated sneakers and a collection of sneaker inspired artwork, fashio ... More >>

Week in Review: Report Gang Activity

Have seen you seen this man?​In the week we wondered if it was still possible to sell out in 2010 (short answer: no), we also found ourselves introduced to the horrific new term "rape gaze," about which the less that's now said, the better. Cleanse your palate with the six best things you can ... More >>

Live: Curren$y, Big K.R.I.T., And More Light Up Santos Party House

Curren$y (left) and K.R.I.T., models of menace and/or nonchalance. Photos by Nick, more below.​Curren$y/Big K.R.I.T./Smoke DZA/Mac Miller/Boaz/Etc. Santos Party House Tuesday, October 5 Better Than: Stealing your roommate's weed and watching Stella on DVD all night. Again. The weather in New ... More >>

Live: Drake Brings Out Jay-Z, Trey Songz, Birdman, and Fabolous at Radio City Music Hall

Drake Radio City Music Hall Wednesday, September 29 Better Than: Pitbull. (And Curren$y!) Drake isn't the best at arena-swallowing mega-hop, as evidenced by a guest appearance from Jay-Z, who casually uncorked Radio City with his verses from advice rap touchstone "Light Up" and ... More >>

Bun B Is Not Playing Saturday Afternoon's Rock Yard Show; Big K.R.I.T. And Curren$y Will Pick Up The Slack

​Per the folks at Jelly comes confirmation that deified Houston rapper Bun B (whose new Trill O.G. rates either five mics or a 5.0, depending) is not performing tomorrow afternoon at the Rock Yard, but the show will nonetheless go on:

Dipset's Jim Jones and Dame Dash Crashed Das Racist's Show at Death By Audio on Friday Night

Jim Jones gives punk rock the gas face. All photos by Rebecca Smeyne.​These are strange, wonderful times for hip-hop fans in New York. Former Roc-a-Fella mogul and Jay-Z cohort Damon Dash is running a modern day version of Warhol's factory out of a rented loft in Tribeca. Curren$y kills time a ... More >>

Q&A: Curren$y and Producer Ski Beatz (and Damon Dash) Talk Pilot Talk, BluRoc, and Eating at Bubby's in Tribeca

Jonah Schwartz​Sir Lucious Leftfoot and Teflon Don have (justifiably) monopolized the conversation in recent weeks, but there's at least one other new hip-hop album worth clearing earspace for: Pilot Talk, a soothingly mellow alternative from the Damon Dash-backed Tribeca transplant Curren$ ... More >>

Week in Review: Female Guitar Players Are the New Black

The beach is in Bed-Stuy, suckers. Photo by Rebecca Smeyne.​In the week we asked a Georgia-certified divorce attorney whether The-Dream had left his wife while she was eight and a half months pregnant because he would have had to pay more child support had he waited the full nine (or was it ju ... More >>

Damon Dash Resurrected

Cast out of Jay-Z's kingdom, a notorious hip-hop mogul takes a kinder, gentler, hipper approach to reinvention