Harold Stallworth lives close enough to the Pentagon to say he lives in the Pentagon. He lays claim to the largest collection of Queensbridge vinyl in the continental United States. His writing has been published by Washington City Paper, The Bookends Review, WAMU 88.5’s Bandwidth and Passion of the Weiss, among others. Occasionally, he'll share his adventures in beer and shellfish on any number of quasi-defunct social media accounts. He’s currently writing a short story about the perils of a clinically depressed club bouncer.
Currently Listening:
Miguel - Wildheart
George Benson - Space
Tragedy Khadafi - Against All Odds
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Currently Watching:
Adina Howard 20: A Story of Sexual Liberation
True Detective
Ballers
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Currently Reading:
Jabari Asim - Only The Strong
Harold Stallworth has flats in other continents. Mobb Deep’s brief tenure with hip-hop’s evil empire G-Unit Records had few salvageable moments. But such moments certainly did occur. I’d like to think of “Shark” as the belated fruit of 50 Cent’s puppeteering, a remnant from that steep trough in the duo’s corrugated career arc. The Alchemist-produced […]
| The Boldy James Workout Plan: “Crunchin” | July 9, 2014 |
Harold Stallworth wears his leather in the winter Bobby Shmurda wedging his stage surname into the hip-hop lexicon will ultimately have more impact, but Boldy James gets my vote for this year’s most valuable slang editorialist. The greatest slang is functional. It rolls off your tongue like a folk song and tastes good in your […]
| Raekwon Reminisces Over You | June 27, 2014 |
Harold Stallworth fell to the third round of the draft. Shallah Raekwon is more observant than the secret service. He whips the Call of Duty Wrangler, frequents warehouses furnished with strippers, punches holes through his lady’s drywall partitions, and occasionally serenades bitches. These are just a few of the devilish details from “Stop Tripping,” the […]
| Summer Mixtape: Harold Stallworth | June 23, 2014 |
Harold Stallworth held you down for six summers. Last week, after many months of grueling deliberation, I finally trudged down to my leasing office and served the property manager with a notice to vacate. In the very near future, I’ll bid a fond farewell to the quaint streets of Montgomery County, to the farmers markets […]
| Cormega Wears The Crown of Basquiat | June 20, 2014 |
Harold Stallworth doesn’t know how to spell Basquiat. The bad news is that the latest leak from Cormega’s long-awaited sixth album, Mega Philosophy, bears the unfortunate title of “Rap Basquiat.” The good news is that said record, produced by the incomparable Large Professor, is the furthest thing from shallow art gallery bluster. Drake would be […]
| Friend or Foe: Your Old Droog | June 16, 2014 |
Harold Stallworth is but one of Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s many pen names. With the release of his self-titled debut EP, an elusive Coney Island-based rapper by the name of Your Old Droog has leapfrogged the likes of Ali Vegas, Mic Geronimo, The Game, and Biggie’s mock baby picture to become the most convincing Nas impersonator […]
| Boldy James Never Catches a Goose Egg | June 2, 2014 |
Harold Stallworth nicknames everything. For the those keeping tabs, “Goose Egg,” a cut originally featured on DJ Frank White’s Bout That Life mixtape, is the first real Boldy James record to surface since his Alchemist-helmed LP dropped last fall. The modest buzz from My 1st Chemistry Set earned a cosign from Nas, a vague partnership […]
Harold Stallworth always bets on blue and cream. There’s plenty of reasons to thumb your nose at “Industry,” the latest leak from Cormega’s long-delayed fifth album, Mega Philosophy: Large Professor’s smooth, polished production, while impressive in itself, simply doesn’t mesh well with Mega’s abrasive style; there’s an absolutely tragic mention of “swag” chased by a […]
| Spring Mix – Harold Stallworth | May 13, 2014 |
Harold Stallworth will always roots for the villain. This year’s spring has been absurdly slow in arriving to Washington D.C., but better late than polar vortex. Bidding farewell to old man winter is a bittersweet occasion, seeing as how my dearest strains of music and fashion were born out of blistering winds and torrential snowfall. […]
| Admire The Realness: J-Love x Ghostface x Cormega | May 12, 2014 |
Harold Stallworth carries switchblades on the reg’, duke. Revenge is the sweetest joy next to drinking D’usse. It took precisely a decade, but it would seem that Cormega finally redeemed himself for the thrashing he took at the hands of Ghostface Killah on “Tony Montana,” a standout cut from the first—and, unfortunately, last—installment of his […]
