Hip-Hop and Rap

Big K.R.I.T. on country rap, dream cars, and playing Soundset

Related:How Rhymesayers set up the Soundset FestivalSoundset 2012 lineup announcedDanny Brown on XXX, almost signing to G-UnitFrom the jump, Mississippi rapper Big K.R.I.T is full of interesting paradoxes. He represents dirty-south rap with endless country swag that juxtaposes hip-hop's decidedly ... More >>

Top 20 best Minnesota rappers: #10-1

Related:Top 20 best Minnesota rappers: #20-11How Rhymesayers set up the Soundset FestivalTop 20 best Minnesota musicians: The complete listTop 20 best Minnesota songs: The complete list10> Mictlan Origin: Minneapolis/Hopkins/Los Angeles | Active: 2001 - present | Songs: "Prizefight," "Game Over, ... More >>

How Rhymesayers set up the Soundset Festival

Minnesota's biggest annual hip-hop showcase enters its fifth year

Top 20 best Minnesota rappers: #20-11

Related:How Rhymesayers set up the Soundset FestivalTop 20 best Minnesota musicians: The complete listTop 20 best Minnesota songs: The complete listIn 2012, rap music is as definitive a part of Minnesota lore as the Mall of America -- or anything else Muja Messiah name-checks in "Leech Lake" or Slug ... More >>

Summer Set Festival 2012 lineup

The 2012 Summer Set Music and Camping Festival arrives in late August, and the lineup is a doozy. Combining the powers of jam bands, electronic music, hip-hop, reggae, and all of the confluences that exist between these many worlds, this year's edition should be a shock to the system. To say nothing ... More >>

Rick Ross at Epic Nightclub, 5/18/12

Rick RossEpic Nightclub, MinneapolisFriday, May 18, 2012Since his undeniable hit "Hustlin'" in 2006, Miami's Rick Ross has banked on the legend of his namesake by crafting a string of street anthems touting his wealth and ability to move drugs in large quantities. While the subject matter has certai ... More >>

Lil' Kim

Soundset 2012 videos: Brother Ali, MaLLy, I Self Devine, & Aesop Rock

Related:Soundset 2012 lineup announcedWith Soundset 2012 less than a month away now, the Rhymesayers Entertainment folks have launched a rapid-fire barrage of new videos.Conveniently enough, the guys featured in these fresh clips -- Brother Ali, MaLLy, I Self Devine, and Aesop Rock -- will all take ... More >>

De La Soul at the Cabooze, 4/27/12

De La SoulThe Cabooze, MinneapolisFriday, April 27, 2012View a slideshow from the concert here. De La Soul have always been on the outside edges of hip-hop. They have tight rhymes, sharp, smart beats and a manner about them that's incredibly magnetic. But they weren't and aren't part of the gangsta ... More >>

De La Soul

Best of Coachella 2012: Sunday, April 22

See also: Our complete Coachella coverage By the third day of Coachella's second weekend -- the sixth and final day of this year's festival -- folks had more or less learned to ignore the dust and the heat. Here are our intrepid writers' favorite things about the final hours of the 2012 event.

First Avenue's 20 best concerts: #10-1

Related:Slideshow: First Avenue: An archived history via flyers, riders & contracts First Avenue's 20 best concerts: #20-11First Avenue's 40 years of rock 'n' rollTop 20 best Minnesota musicians: The complete list10. Basement Jaxx, First Avenue, 10/08/01Basement Jaxx's first appearance in Minne ... More >>

Five identity crisis songs: Danny Brown, Garbage, & more

​This week's edition of 5ingles spotlights songs by artists who seem to be undergoing an identity crisis -- musicians who aren't quite themselves, who apparently woke up a bit off of their game. So these five tunes sound sort of like what you've come to expect from their creators, but not quite, w ... More >>

Critics' Picks: Skream & Benga, Black Milk, and more

Black Milk

B-Boy J-Sun Presents: Hip Hop?

Shabazz Palaces

Lil' Twist on Adele, his name, and his mentor Lil Wayne

​Minneapolis has a tendency to become so preoccupied with the local backpack rap mainstays that commercial hip-hop oftentimes gets lost in the periphery. Chalk it up to Rhymesayers loyalty or the fact that a majority of big-ticket rap promoters have settled on dismissing Minneapolis as a flyover c ... More >>

Soundset 2012 lineup announced, includes Big K.R.I.T.

​ Officially on its fifth year of making the Twin Cities a legitimate festival destination for hip-hop lovers, Soundset will celebrate a handful of years when it returns to Canterbury on Sunday, May 27.

Dessa, Tupac, the Roots, and the rap misogyny problem

​The mere announcement that Doomtree rapper/poet/writer Dessa is giving a lecture/performance at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum this evening has already stirred up a bunch of debate regarding her qualifications to give the talk. "Mic Lines: Art, Ethics, and their Contested Connections," is expected t ... More >>

AraabMuzik

Get Cryphy 4 Year Anniversary at First Avenue, 2/24/12

​Get Cryphy 4 Year AnniversaryWith Plain Ole Bill, Jimmy2Times, Last Word, Fundo, and more.First Avenue Mainroom,Friday, February 24, 2012View a slideshow from the concert here.The combination of crunk and hyphy hip-hop subgenres serves as a decent shorthand for what the four-man Get Cryphy crew s ... More >>

7 Ghostface Killah songs showing his softer side

​For the many who hold Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers among their favorites, Ghostface Killah's upcoming visit to Minneapolis is an event that'll be remembered for some time. Mark 4/20 on your calendar, and along with De La Soul coming, Cabooze is pulling to get that "flyover rap capital" thing re ... More >>

Hip-Hop Valentines: The 14 most romantic rap songs

​Valentines Day is here and you need some help to win over the heart of that sexy B-girl or B-boy?We know hip-hop doesn't have the best history romancing the opposite sex, "bitches better having my money" and "skeeting on walls" doesn't really set the mood.But don't worry, we have you covered. So ... More >>

Up in the air: How Minneapolis became a flyover city for major rap artists

​It was 1998, the Smokin Grooves Tour was in its second year, and a group of friends and I were geeked out about going to the show. Public Enemy, Gang Starr, Wyclef Jean, Cypress Hill and others were booked, but everyone was waiting and most excited for Busta Rhymes, known for his killer live show ... More >>

Wu-Tang Clan at Epic, 1/7/12

​They might be battle-hardened rap assassins, but the Wu-Tang Clan aren't above having a good time.  The Clan were clearly up for a party on Saturday night at Epic, with Method Man admitting that hip hop is supposed to be fun:  "Since when are hip-hop fans too cool to put their hands in ... More >>

Wu Tang's Inspectah Deck talks new album & retirement

​ The Wu Tang Killa Bees are on the swarm and headed toward Minneapolis tomorrow, and among the crew members ready to deliver a hot set of old favorites and new jams at Epic is Staten Island native Inspectah Deck. Whereas counterparts Method Man and Ghostface are known for their hyped-up character ... More >>

Sims kicks off Doomtree Blowout Week, 12/4/11

Photos by Nick Wosika​Sims Blowout night with One Be Lo, Astronautalis, and Brother Ali December 4, 2011 7th St. Entry, Minneapolis For anyone else, seven nights in a row of one musical act would be over the top. When that act is the Doomtree crew, seven consecutive nights of the Twin Cities ... More >>

5 worst rap songs of 2011

​Is it safe to say the hip-hop's current era of triumphantism is officially over? Does anyone really troll R&B/rap stations expecting to be challenged in any way? The answer to the first question is a resounding yes; the answer to the second is a booming no. There's no way around the fact that ... More >>

Waka Flocka Flame

Yelawolf at First Avenue, 10/19/11

Photo by Denis Jeong PlasterYelawolf at First Avenue in March​YelawolfOctober 19, 2011First Avenue, MinneapolisFor his second appearance in Minneapolis, Alabama rapper Yelawolf ripped up a sold-out mainroom crowd of mostly diverse dudes in flat-brims and girls in short minis. For fans of Eminem wh ... More >>

Wize Guyz bring old-school to Minneapolis hip-hop

Lojik and Dextro recall the genre's roots

50 Cent Lil Wayne Beef: Fiddy rips Weezy for skateboarding, hot pants

​50 Cent attacks Lil Wayne on a new track, "Love, Hate, Love," which also takes a swipe at former G-Unit member Game.Fiddy has long been known for his takedown tracks -- he became famous with "How to Rob," which took on just about every rapper in the game, and famously feuded with Ja Rule.Sure, a ... More >>

Sylvia Robinson, 'Mother of Hip Hop,' passes away at age 75

​Sylvia Robinson, singer, producer, and founder of hip-hop label Sugar Hill Records, passed away this morning of congestive heart failure at Meadowlands Hospital in Secaucus, New Jersey. She was 75.

Audio Perm Block Party

Soundset Series: Big Boi, De La Soul, Slaughterhouse, and Curren$y

Big Boi​Each year, much debate occurs from fans and festival organizers alike about who outside of the Rhymesayers roster is going to play Soundset.  In an attempt to both showcase a wide spectrum of regions and definitions of independent rap, Soundset manages to bring together some surprisin ... More >>

Guilty Simpson

Talib Kweli talks about his new tour, album, and the role of role models in hip-hop

​On the heels of his latest effort Gutter Rainbows, Queens rapper Talib Kweli rolls through Minneapolis this Sunday at Epic, with a live backing band and recent XXL freshman Fred the Godson in tow. The album, released online and containing some seriously sick beats and impressive flows, is a prec ... More >>

Diddy Dirty Money with Lloyd and Tyga at Epic, 4/13/11

Photos by Erik Hess​Diddy Dirty Money with Lloyd and TygaApril 13, 2011Epic NightclubFor this write-up, I could have skated by making jokes about how Diddy changed his name three times during the show or whatever -- but I'm a journalist dammit, not Jay Leno.  I came to check out the Dirty Mon ... More >>

Owl City and Big Boi collaborate on new record

​We're still sifting through the onslaught of interviews and other coverage that took place over the week of SXSW, but this caught our eyeballs: Apparently Owl City's next record is going to feature some sort of collaboration with OutKast's Big Boi.

Dipset: Reunion Tour

Dr. Dre: An abridged history in honor of Dre Day

​Dre Day, our annual bluntsmoked, brass monkeyed, and ingeniously tended get-down in honor of the one and only, was started by the local design firm Burlesque of North America nine years ago Saturday, when those multi-disciplinarians were banded around Life Sucks Die Magazine. And for all the ridi ... More >>

The Grammys: The good, the bad, and the really, really awkward

​Perhaps the biggest surprise from this year's Grammy Awards broadcast is that there are actually some honest-to-god surprises to report, the biggest of which was notoriously indie artists Arcade Fire coming out on top in the Album of the Year category.Here, we present a rundown of some of the mos ... More >>

The Tribe and Big Cats! aim for 'real hip-hop without the elitism'

​"We are not underground artists.  We have no desire to be underground," declares Truth Be Told, MC from the rap trio the Tribe and Big Cats!, during our interview at Waterbury Studios.

Snoop Dogg

Ms. Lauryn Hill

Wu-Tang Clan at Epic, 1/9/11

Photos by Tony Nelson​Wu-Tang ClanJanuary 9, 2011Epic NightclubFor a hip-hop collective with a back catalog as formidable as Wu-Tang Clan's, the potential is there, during a live performance, to just count on the fiery nature of your hits to carry you through a show. Playing the last gig of their ... More >>

Wu Tang Clan, Dearling Physique, and more

DMX: Will the Ruff Ryder rise again?

Hear exclusive new songs from the troubled rapper

Wu-Tang Clan