Killer Mike

Why Artists Should Stop Playing Their Seminal Albums Live

On a wispy evening last October, my housemate and I went to see GZA perform his magnum opus Liquid Swords in full at D.C.'s swanky Howard Theater. I wasn't the only one with high expectations. The crowd's hunger escalated with Killer Mike slaying his opening set, pulling out perfectly punctuated sho ... More >>

Defend Your Ballot: Steven Hyden, Pazz and Jop 2012 Contributor

You can't really know where you're headed unless you know where you've been. For that reason, we're taking a look back at Pazz & Jop 2012 to drill down into the ballots of contributors and voters who participated. Maybe amongst the rubble we'll find clues about what lies ahead for music lovers in 20 ... More >>

Defend Your Ballot: Michael Tedder, Pazz and Jop 2012 Contributor

You can't really know where you're headed unless you know where you've been. For that reason, we're taking a look back at Pazz & Jop 2012 to drill down into the ballots of contributors and voters who participated. Maybe amongst the rubble we'll find clues about what lies ahead for music lovers in 20 ... More >>

Pazz & Jop: Top 42 Singles

Pazz & Jop: Top 40 Albums

Pazz & Jop 2012 Tabulation Notes

Weak consensus versus inspiring diversity

Five Hip-Hop Albums We're Excited For in 2013

The new year is right around the corner, and while we're sure you're squeezing every last bit of new music you can from the few remaining "Best of 2012" lists, it's important to look toward the future and keep in mind all of the great music still to come. While we've all but given up hope that 2013 ... More >>

The Ten Best New York City Rap Albums of 2012

There's been a repetition about year-end New York rap round-ups for a while now. They usually involve noting how the city isn't the commercial powerhouse of hip-hop it once was (shocker!), and then speculating on whether a few artists might be somehow bringing it back (from precisely which era is ne ... More >>

An Oddisee Crash Course: From PG to NYC

One of the most intriguing new voices in hip-hop, Maryland MC Oddisee has amassed one of the most loyal word-of-mouth grassroots fanbases in indie-rap today. Acclaimed for his work both behind the mic and behind the boards (he's produced for Talib Kweli, Freeway and Homeboy Sandman), what makes Oddi ... More >>

A Killer Mike Crash Course

Tonight, one of Atlanta's favorite sons, Killer Mike, plays with Wu-Tang Clansman GZA at Irving Plaza. In many respects, this has been a banner year for Mike, whose El-P produced album R.A.P. Music has given him the most accolades of his career, as well as his work touring with the Into the Wild tou ... More >>

Make Time for These Hip-Hop Shows at CMJ 2012

By all means, enjoy the whispy waifs warbling their sensitive indie ballads up and down the city during CMJ. But make time for some hip-hop while you do. Here are a few acts worth your time. See Also: - Don't Miss These Bands At CMJ - Handy CMJ Flowchart Panel Selector

GRIND TIME

GZA and Killer Mike take on Irving Plaza

El-P and Killer Mike, Survivors

The pair teams up and confound expectations

This Week In The Voice: The Afghan Whigs Return; El-P And Killer Mike Team Up; Turing Machine Honors Its Drummer's Legacy

This week in the Voice, out now: I chat with Greg Dulli about the return of his powerhouse soul-punk outfit the Afghan Whigs; Jayson Greene talks to Killer Mike and El-P about their shared love of hip-hop and working together on R.A.P. Music; and Brad Cohan looks at the way Turing Machine completed ... More >>

El-P And Killer Mike Talk Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Anger As A Positive Force, And The Unlucky Fate Of Their Favorite HBO Shows

A few drinks into my conversation with Mike and El-P about their new collaboration R.A.P. Music (Williams Street), the tone shifted, as it tends to under the influence of multiple makeshift White Russians. EL-P's drink-ordering became relentlessly efficient. Things became a little more candid. The c ... 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 >>

Pazz & Jop 2011: Seth Colter Walls On Craig Taborn, Matana Roberts, And Voting From The Fringe

To supplement this year's Pazz & Jop launch, Sound of the City asked a few critics to expand on the reasonings behind their voting. We'll start off the series with Seth Colter Walls of New York City, who has a constant itch to do the deep dive and find the single-voter albums out there. Find his bal ... More >>

Holler! The Ten Loudest, Shoutiest Rappers

Waka Flocka Flame is the sort of of hip-hop artist who doesn't so much rap or flow as he shouts his ass off. It's a formula that imbues the Atlanta-based rapper's songs with a boisterous, visceral appeal—and one that he's looking to continue with the release of his second studio album, Triple ... More >>

This Week In The Voice: The Melvins' Metal Blueprint, Mountains' New Sounds, And Mike Bigga's Super-Charged Rhymes

​In this week's Village Voice, out now: Christopher Weingarten looks at the influence of the Melvins' 1992 album Lysol on the current underground metal scene; Andy Beta talks to the two Brooklyn soundcrafters who make up Mountains; and Jayson Greene raves about the ferocious new mixtape by Mik ... More >>

Mike Bigga Lets Loose

The Atlanta MC's Pl3dge is an exhilarating, politically charged ride

Top Ten Greatest Rap-Acronym Anthems

​Kanye West and Jay-Z's Lex Luger-produced "H.A.M." is a creative union of the two biggest currently recording rap stars in the world -- as the lead single to the duo's upcoming Watch the Throne project, it's a feisty statement of intent. But more importantly, it's a fresh edition to the canon ... More >>

Q&A: Bertolain Elysee, Co-Curator of the Maysles Institute's "Country Rap 2: The Gulf States" Series, Opening This Weekend

​The Maysles Institute's documentary film series "Country Rap 2: The Gulf States" and its accompanying program "Katrina: Five Years Later"--both opening this weekend--tie the rich spirit and deep history of Southern hip-hop to recent tragedies like Katrina and the Gulf oil spill. Films about M ... More >>

Go Ham or Die Trying: Pill's Calm Path to Mixtape Stardom

SXSW's 2009 Partial Performers List: If You Can Afford to Go, You Must Be Running a Ponzi Scheme

Dark Meat at last year's SXSW, photo by Rebecca Smeyne See, it's totally lame, don't worry, you're not missing a thing South by Southwest just firebombed everybody's inboxes with a partial list of names playing this year's barbecue-and-booze blitz. A quick scan reveals the midsize marquee names to ... More >>

Status Ain't Hood's Greatest Hits

Status Ain't Hood Podcast 43

Status Ain't Hood Podcasts 35 & 36

Status Ain't Hood Interviews Killer Mike

Killer Mike's Long-Lost Time-Capsule Album

Status Ain't Hood Podcast 20

The Quarterly Report: Best New Albums

The Quarterly Report: Status's Favorite New Singles

Lycanthropy

Carnies, wolves, and goblin cocks transmogrify CMJ indie-rock fest

The Other Foot

The FCC sweeps Eliot Spitzer's payola findings under the rug

Your Guide to CMJ 2004

Love and Crunk

Rowdy Big Boi and fly Andre 3000 divide and conquer the Dirty South book of hiphop rules

Music

Unconscious with a Conscience

Dope Opiate and the Hip-Hop Heart of a Too-Smart World

The South Does It Again, Sort Of

Rap Trounces Rock Below the Mason-Dixon

Panda Not Dubya

Indie Kids With New Chords Need Love Too

Songs in the Key of Z

Make My Crunk the P-Funk