In September 2008, Saadiq released his third album, The Way I See It, which landed him the #1 position on iTunes Top Albums of the Year, a spot on Rolling Stone's Best Album's of 2008 and three more Grammy nominations.
Armed with a slick persona, creative song writing and an innate ability to capture ears and audiences, the Grammy winning, multi-platinum artist has sold millions of records without selling out and on his upcoming release Love, War, and the Ghost of Whitey Ford (September 23 Sony/ATV Music) Everlast takes listeners on yet another musical journey.
Outside Lands boasted what was quite possibly the most impressive lineup for a summer music fest this year. Lyrics Born faced some heavy competition for attendee attention as he was scheduled right up against The Black Keys and Beck. Those within earshot though were irresistibly drawn in by his charismatic rhyme style and infectious groovesthat the Lyrics Born band has become well known for.
Far away from the radio-friendly land of Coldplay inspiring us to “Viva La Vida,” indie rapper Immortal Technique instead compels us to “Viva La Revolution” on The 3rd World.
It was an interesting night of music at the Knitting Factory in NYC on this Saturday night. Upstairs there raged the hardcore punk of Step 2 Far, while the Tap Room sported a sold-out hip-hop/funk show.
When you have the fluke hit of the decade, the threat of running into the curse of the “sophomore slum” is an understatement, particularly if you’re the psychedelic soul duo of Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo Green. However, if you’re one that appreciate albums as song-cycles verse explosive pop nuggets, than Gnarls Barkley’s The Odd Couple has something going on.
Five years after his well-received debut, Later That Day…, Lyrics Born (real name Tom Shimura) returns with his Anti- debut, Everywhere at Once, another party-ready collection of danceable rhythms and smooth lyrical delivery.
The Brickhouse in downtown Phoenix was more like an oven on a recent Friday night. Many people cleared the room before the headliner Talib Kweli even entered the stage, as the temperature rose well past 100 degrees. Yet Kweli, with his predictably smooth rhymes and easy backbeats, managed to pull off a compelling show despite the elements and those who stayed were lyrically impressed.
With 16 songs clocking in well over an hour – including the final track which is over nine minutes long – it becomes fairly obvious that there’s a lack of economizing thought. Along the way, the constant name dropping of rappers The Game idolized gets a bit tiring. Those moments throughout seemed contrived, if not plain silly, but the beats are damn good enough to keep one coming back for more Game.
With his latest project Peeping Tom, an album in the works since the mid 90
