DJ Khaled

Nas, 2 Chainz, Fabolous, Miguel More - Capitale - 4/30/13

Better Than: Farmville "Why am I here?" That's the refrain that kept running through my head as I walked into Capitale on the Bowery last night, where Nas, 2 Chainz, Miguel, Elle Varner and a whole host of hip-hop and R&B artists emerged to celebrate the launch of Gig-IT, a new performance-based Fa ... More >>

The Ten Best Concerts in New York This Weekend, 3/15/13

Here are the 10 best concerts to check out around the city this weekend, in no particular order.

Mavado

The Top 3.9 Hip-Hop Songs Of The Week

The philosopher Jiminy Cricket once famously said, "Just look at the morning paper. Turn to any page. You'll find the whole world worryin' about some future age. But why get so excited? What's gonna be is gonna be. The end of the world's been comin' since 1903. That's, uh, B.C., of course." Dr. Cric ... More >>

The Top 3.28 Hip-Hop Songs Of The Week

Rap has always had a dividing line between the rapper and the guy that yells out things on stage because it's America, damn it. That man used to be the DJ, who'd spin records for the rapper and rap along to his verses to get the crowd hype. As the years went by and quality DJing became more rare, th ... More >>

The 20 Best Things About "Hot Cheetos And Takis"

Surely you've heard of "Hot Cheetos and Takis," the banger from the Y.N.RichKids, by now? The song, a product of the Minneapolis North Community YMCA's Beats and Rhymes Program, is as infectious as its titular snacks are artificially flavored, with what appears to be a bunch of community school-educ ... More >>

Live: Busta Rhymes Pauses Conversation With Bun B To Perform At Angie Martinez's BBQ

Angie Martinez's Backyard BBQ The Garden At Studio Square Saturday, August 18 Better than: Getting lost coming home from Queens. CBS sitcoms, Tom Wolfe and Republicans alike have all painted New York City as a noisy, grimy nightmare, a melting pot of sex and kvetching, guns and soupy hot dogs, wh ... More >>

The Top 3.66 Hip-Hop Songs Of The Week

Hip-hop is at its best when artists collaborate, challenging one another to create their best work, and this week's best hip-hop tracks are highlighted by a collection of odd couples. DJ Khaled, of incessant yelling and inexplicably giving Ace Hood work, managed to put Nas, Scarface and DJ Premier o ... More >>

Let's Imagine What DJ Khaled's Kiss The Ring Will Sound Like

Despite every living rapper seemingly being just a phone call away, Miami radio personality/record executive/professional shouter DJ Khaled has never once put out a good album. He's been 0-for-5 (yes, DJ Khaled has released five albums), and Kiss the Ring, his sixth record, is on the horizon. Khal ... More >>

Live: Nicki Minaj Takes Off From Summer Jam, Nas And Lauryn Hill Climb Aboard

Hot 97 Summer Jam: Nicki Minaj, Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, J. Cole, Wale, Meek Mill, DJ Khaled, Waka Flocka, Trey Songz, Maino, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, French Montana, Mavado, Tyga, Slaughterhouse (and Nas and Lauryn Hill) MetLife Stadium Sunday, June 3 Better than: Seeing a Nicki Minaj concert. In an er ... More >>

Live: Machine Gun Kelly Is The Valedictorian Of XXL's Freshman Class

XXL Freshman Class 2012: Don Trip, Kid Ink, Iggy Azalea, Roscoe Dash, Macklemore, Hopsin, Danny Brown, Future, French Montana, Machine Gun Kelly Best Buy Theater Monday, April 9 Better than: Ten rappers you're completely unfamiliar with. Every year, XXL selects a group of rappers to label as "fres ... More >>

Oddsmaker: Do Beyoncé And André 3000 Have Enough Swagu To Beat Kanye And His Dozens Of Friends At The Grammys?

​The Grammys created the awkwardly named Best Rap/Sung Collaboration category ten years ago, around the time Ja Rule's various "thug love" duets were dominating the airwaves. The award recognized a growing sector of popular music that didn't quite fit into the preexisting rap, R&B or pop song ... More >>

Radio Hits One: Flo Rida's Accidental Posthumous Tribute To Etta James

The late Etta James remained an active recording artist right up to the end, releasing her final album, The Dreamer, just two months before her death on January 20. But she hadn't been on a Billboard singles chart since the '70s, when a cover of Erma Franklin's "Piece of My Heart" from her 1978 come ... More >>

53 More Great Songs From 2011

Earlier today, Maura offered a list of the 47 songs on her "2011 Awesomeness" Spotify playlist; to complement that, here are the 53 songs from my less cleverly named playlist, "2011." As is the usually the case with these mega-lists, I compiled mine a bit haphazardly, throwing together a substantial ... More >>

Radio Hits One: T-Pain Escapes Lead Single Purgatory

The Revolver cover.​On Thursday Jive Records announced that T-Pain's fourth album rEVOLVEr would be out on December 6. That same day, the rappa ternt sanga's single "5 O'Clock" reached a new Hot 100 peak of No. 25 . The timing wasn't exactly coincidental. The track, on which T-Pain is supporte ... More >>

Live: People Gather To Watch Jay-Z And Kanye's Throne, See The Stars

​ The Throne (Watch The Throne listening session) Hayden Planetarium Monday, August 1 Better than: any listening session I've ever been to. Album listening parties have almost always existed as excuses to drink on the record company's dwindling dime, the music itself largely ignored; backgro ... More >>

Jay-Z And Kanye West Reign From On High With "Otis"

​Jay-Z and Kanye West are not like us mere mortals. These are celestial bodies, ones who can sample seminal Otis Redding tracks ("Try a Little Tenderness") and not worry for a second about clearance. Hell, Hova isn't even worried about cops anymore, bragging "I got five passports, I'm never go ... More >>

Live: Rick Ross Lives Out His Dreams At Summer Jam

​Hot 97 Summer Jam New Meadowlands Stadium Sunday, June 5 Better than: Sitting at home and moping like 50 Cent. Rick Ross closed out Summer Jam. Just so there's no revisionist history here, let's remember how incredible that statement is. Three years ago, Ross was the punching bag of hip-h ... More >>

The Curious 21st-Century Decline Of Hype Williams

On Friday, a link to three-minute making-of video for a scrapped, Hype Williams-helmed clip of "XXXO" appeared on M.I.A.'s twitter. The footage shows M.I.A and a small group of dancers (including Beyoncé choreographer Jonté) painted head-to-toe and gyrating to the song's hissing, whirling beat. Th ... More >>

The 10 Best Posse Cuts of 2010 (So Far)

​Posse cuts are like friendlier versions of the WWE's Royal Rumble -- a platform designed to showcase all of the stars in the game, both up-and-coming and certified. Think back to the Main Source's 1991 "Live At The Barbecue," featuring Akinyele, Joe Fatal, and the debut of a rapper named Nas, ... More >>

Live: Drake And Trey Songz Sneak Into Best Buy Theater, Purr Some Innuendos

Hopefully Drake got a free camera out of this. Pic by Puja.​Drake/Trey Songz Best Buy Theater Tuesday, October 5 Secret, invite-only hip-hop shows don't exist, even if we went to one last night. Then again, with a lineup of Drake, Trey Songz, and Pitbull, we couldn't be too surprised at the l ... More >>

New Venue Report: Get A Fruity Drink, Or A Haircut, Or Just Away From Ke$ha At Blind Barber

​Where two different kinds of magic happen. Pics by Puja.​Traditionally, the neighborhood barbershop serves as a place for a haircut, shave, and some gossip. With the recent opening of the East Village's Blind Barber, you can get a beer and some dancing in while you're at it.

This Week's Voice: Summer Jam 2010, Christina Aguilera, Against Me!, Bret Easton Ellis, and More

Nicki Minaj, in one of many "invincible Street Fighter 2 character" outfits. Photo by Santiago Felipe​In this week's Village Voice, Rob Harvilla keeps a running diary of Summer Jam 2010, where the best highlight Hot 97 could muster was a set from DJ Khaled. What happened, New York? Elsewhere, ... More >>

A People's History of Summer Jam 2010

Drake debuts, Trey Songz gyrates, and DJ Khaled wins at the hip-hop event of the year

Download The Impeccably Curated Nas Tribute Mix 20 Years/20 Verses

​Yes, the bad news is that Nas has been at it for goddamn near two decades now; the good news is that Steady Bloggin' is offering an exhaustive mix of his 20 greatest verses, with each of those verses, from 1989's "Live at the BBQ" to 2010's "Victory" (warning: contains DJ Khaled), transcribed ... More >>

Gucci Mane Is Eating Really Well In Prison, If The Cover Of His Upcoming Burrrprint 2 Mixtape Is Any Indication

​From Rap Radar comes news of the next Gucci missive, out April 13, which promises to be anot--man look at that spread! Three bottles! Such tastefully arranged carrots! And I hear Fulton County Jail's lobster is excellent! Tough TV-viewing angles though. Some PR info on this eagerly awaited se ... More >>

The New Rap Battle: 50 Cent Vs. Rick Ross

Building a new paradigm with fewer rhymes and more costumes

On Jadakiss's Kiss My Ass Mixtape, "Turn My Swag On" Remix, Etc.

There's something reassuring about Jadakiss's promo run up to The Last Kiss. 50 Cent has an album to promote now, too: at the moment, he's surveilling DJ Khaled's family, bragging about having congress with Rick Ross's baby mother, and generally doing everything but killing another human being by ... More >>

Way More Important Things to Worry About

How politics changed how we thought about music, if we thought about music at all

Status Ain't Hood Does Summer Jam, Again

Busta Rhymes, Reanimated

Status Ain't Hood Podcast 38

Things I Like About Rick Ross's Trilla

Flo Rida: Miami Sound Machine

Ringtone-rap titan unleashes a blaring but robotic debut

Fat Joe vs. the Volcano

He's joined forces with the South, whether you like it or not

Rick Ross Rolls

Continuing his pleasantly, audaciously inept hustle

Rick Ross Buries the All-Star Remix

Mr. Roboto

T-Pain triggers the long-prophesized Rise of the Machines

Live: DIY Shows vs. Industry Parties

50 Cent's Empire Crumbles

Status Ain't Hood's Quarterly Report: The Summer's Best Singles

The Motormouth of the South

DJ Khaled is taking over, 200 words a minute and one guest-star at a time

Lil Wayne: Still Ridiculously Great

DJ Khaled's "We Takin' Over": A Scientific Assessment

Status Ain't Hood's Quarterly Report: The Year's Best Singles

Alicia Keys Ruins Everything

The Quarterly Report: The Summer's Best Singles

Anatomy of a Banger: DJ Khaled's "Holla At Me"

Bronx Bomber With Cracked Rear View Ignores Art, Trips Over Big Pun's Torch

The End of Eminem

Can Marshall come out and play? On his new album, Em just wants to be unremarkable.