Dr. Dre

The 11 Best Fictional Bands of All Time

Who the hell needs real bands when there are so many great fictional ones? Here's some of the best -- our list goes to 11, of course: See also: Top 10 Concert Films to See Before You Die

Five Lesser-Known Soul Men Worth Your Attention

You're right to believe Frank Ocean was robbed by Mumford & Sons for Album of the Year at the Grammys Sunday. But nevertheless, last year was a good one for r&b, one that saw different facets of the genre take center stage. By extension, Frank Ocean is now a household name. And though Kelly Clarkson ... 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 >>

Dead Sara Is Weathering the Storm

Blazing hard rock might signal a sea change

Q&A: David Banner Talks Sex, Drugs And Video Games In Hip-Hop

Sex! Drugs! Video games! Nope, that isn't the hedonist's new trifecta—it's the title of Mississippi rapper David Banner's new free album, which you can cop now. The project in question might not go all-out on the salacious tip; Banner says, "The title is used to draw people in to think that it ... 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 >>

The Wu-Tang Clan (4) Battle Rammellzee (13) As The Brooklyn Division Of SOTC March Madness Begins

The Round of 64 for Sound of the City's own version of March Madness—in which you, the Sound of the City voting public, help determine the quintessential New York musician—continues, and you get to vote on who makes it to Round Two. Today, our Brooklyn division kicks into action when its ... More >>

Coming This Week: SXSW Coverage

by Chris Gray "What I want from each and every one of you is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area." —Tommy Lee Jones, The Fugitive You don't have to spend much time at South By Southwest to know that all of ... More >>

Live: Skylar Grey Peeks Out From Behind The Curtain

by Steven J. Horowitz ​Skylar Grey Dominion Tuesday, December 6 Better than: Remembering how much you listened to Evanescence back in the day. Skylar Grey has hustled the last couple of years, writing hits for everyone but herself along the way. The 25-year-old helped pen 2010's "Love the W ... More >>

Live-Blogging The 2011 American Music Awards: We Could Have Had It All (But Then Adele Had To Go Have A Vocal Cord Hemorrhage)

Welcome to Sound of the City's liveblog of the 2011 American Music Awards, the annual salute to the most popular popular music that exists in the American wild this year. While Lady Gaga and Adele and Beyoncé are absent, this year's show apparently has one performance that will cost $500,000 to pul ... More >>

Q&A: araabMUZIK On His Influences, His Name, And Filling His Records With Crazy Beats

​Innovation keeps culture moving forward. Some hungry kid will always figure out how to put a new spin on things his predecessors have already done. Just ask araabMUZIK. He's still young, but his production track record is strong—he's worked on tracks by Tragedy Khadafi, 50 Cent and Vad ... More >>

Q&A: Questlove on Winning Three Grammys, the Glory of Esperanza Spalding, and Having His Parties Closed Out By Bill Murray

Grammy fresh. Photo via @questlove​You'd think between the tapings of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, being shuttled from to gig to gig, and freaking out at Prince concerts, it'd be hard to pin down Questlove for 15 minutes, but it was surprising painless. We caught up with the Roots' drummer an ... More >>

Live: Matt & Kim Get Interplanetary For One Step Beyond At The Museum of Natural History

At least they're enjoying themselves. Pics by Chris, more below.​One Step Beyond Featuring Matt & Kim, Nacey, and AraabMuzik American Museum of Natural History Friday, January 14 Better Than: Night at the Museum Astronomy: It's so hot right now, from the recent zodiac-sign hoax to the rele ... More >>

My 10 Favorite Concerts Of 2010, Starring Jay-Z, Pavement, And Michael Bolton

Stephen Malkmus, at the first of Pavement's 50 shows here. Pics by Rob unless noted otherwise.​The 100-plus shows I saw this year spanned from the Cake Shop to Radio City Music Hall, from Williamsburg block parties to Michael Bolton's house in Connecticut, the events that occurred therein all ... More >>

Dipset Reunites, and Vado Ascends

Harlem's finest are back, but Cam'ron's new protégé might steal the spotlight

Week in Review: All Kanye, All The Time

​In the week Kanye West finally let us in on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (for the small price of $3.99!, we informed you of the rapper's last-minute Bowery Ballroom show, interviewed an intern who typed his Captcha faster than we did, and ultimately gave you a song-by-song breakdown of h ... More >>

Detroit Rap City: Jay-Z and Eminem Kick-Start A Hometown Recovery

Jay-Z And Eminem Will Probably Be Bringing A Shit-Ton Of Famous People With Them To Yankee Stadium

​Jay-Z and Eminem began their triumphant two-city, four-show run last night at Detroit's Comerica Park, and if that show's any indication, when they show up at Yankee Stadium September 13 and 14, they'll be bringing along every famous rapper they (or you) can think of.

Is "Classy Downtempo Music" Really More Appropriate For Children Than "Gangster Rap"?

And so children's day continues at SOTC...​Yesterday an entertaining screed penned by an outraged tenant of the Financial District luxury palace 90W and posted on StreetEasy made the rounds, causing great mirth. "Here's a review of my horrible experience living at 90 Washington Street," it beg ... More >>

Week in Review: I Sweat Nonsense

Ever feel like Sid Vicious is just kinda watching you? Photo by Sam Horine.​In the week we made Jay-Z's signature gas face at the bunch of hacks and pretenders posing as Guns N' Roses until dudes got the hell out of town, we also posted rants about everything from LMFAO not punching Mitt Romne ... More >>

News Roundup: The Decemberists, Death Row Records, Neko Case, Monty Python

​ --The Decemberists have added a New York date to their "A Short Fazed Hovel" tour. The band hits Terminal 5 on September 19th. Colin Meloy and Co. will take a break from playing the epic Hazards of Love in its entirety, instead planning a "special lottery show." In an e-mail, the band said: ... More >>

Interview: Raekwon on Only Built for Cuban Linx II, Auto-Tune, J Dilla, and the Future of Rap

"You've got some fans that wanna stick up for me and say, 'Rae's still got it!' And you got some that say, 'Nah he'll never beat that album!'" ​ In the 5000 or so days since Raekwon released Only Built for Cuban Linx, long considered one of the greatest of all solo Wu-Tang albums, the Chef h ... More >>

Eminem's Comeback Neither Shocks Nor Amuses

Eminem Endorses Red Bull on New Song "For Old Time's Sake," Featuring Dr. Dre: "It's An Incredible Energy Drink," Says Rapper

I suppose that the excitement behind the promise of an Eminem comeback was the implication that the guy was coming back for a reason. He'd been in rehab in 2005. His best friend was shot and killed in 2006, the same year he remarried and then redivorced his wife. His daughter, whose baby talk and wi ... More >>

Another Love TKO: Teens Grapple with Rihanna vs. Chris Brown

An unsettling conversation, to oft-disturbing and potentially lasting effect

Live: Kanye West Justifies Everything

Foxy Brown Wimps Out on Brooklyn's Don Diva

Inga Marchand blows a chance for real insight into both the world's insanity and hers

The VMAs: A Running Diary

New Jack Comeback

Can a series of six-minute web films revive Barry Michael Cooper's storied career?

Yo! YouTube Raps

Rap videos have changed dramatically, as any teen or old-school icon will tell you

Preview: Timbaland's Shock Value

Die Another Day

Crafting another eulogy for hip-hop, Nas breeds a few improbable near-masterpieces

Diddy's Little Helpers

Why hip-hop ghostwriting is an art now, and an actually respectable one

Does Anyone Care About Busta Rhymes?

A Business, Man

Coffeehouse song-and-dance star and his lady friend beat back boredom

Ignorants and Know-Alls Keep Out

Eight inauthenticities hard to resist, even when hard to understand, or impossible to love

The '80s Girl Inside Reveals More Doubts Than Boundaries

The End of Eminem

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

Top Ten Plus

Hey Get Ya Mom a Crazy Milkshake in Da Club

Body of work an extreme-makeover St. Lunatic wonderland

Horoscope

October Symphonies

Alien

Turkey Shoot 2001

Vagina Monologues

Labels and Labeling

Five Corporations Cope With Content

Letters

Forever Old

NARAS Sifts Through an Arty Bunch in a Don't-Miss Year

Erykah in Stanklove

The 1999 Pazz & Jop Critics’ Poll