The name “Anticon” has always been a code for how you viewed what hip hop could be, not how it should sound. Last year, Anticon celebrated their 15th anniversary. Unlike their contemporaries Stones Throw, Def Jux, and Rhymesayers, there were no documentaries, festivals, or goodbye parties thrown in their honor. It’s hard to celebrate an […]

It’s hard to keep up with Serengeti. He’s dropped three or four projects this year to little or no promotion — all good to great — all proving that our most interesting artists are usually the most eccentric. I’ve said before that he’s the rap game, Andy Kauffman. No amount of Jerry Lawler or UFC […]

Kenny Dennis is indomitable but generous. He is the type to spot a young boy at the Sharper Image around Christmastime and bestow him with a AM/FM shower radio. “A GOOD PIECE OF EQUIPMENT.”  Yes, he might be up in arms over a faulty fog-less shaving mirror, but he is a man who demands high […]

B Michael Payne keeps an eye out for gypsies. George Lucas ruined everything great about my childhood. Now substitute “Yoni Wolf” for “George Lucas” and “confused young adulthood” for “childhood.” I know, I know – we all grow up, see The Dark Knight and feel vaguely disappointed when we agree with the re-heated idea of our […]

The man known to Rabbinical scholars as David Cohn drops C.A.R. today on Anticon. In conjunction with its release, Anticon dropped a Soundcloud stream to “Geti Life,” my favorite song from the record. According to this track, “Geti Life” means laying next to the sweaty wife, having a huge nose like ‘that girl on Blossom,’ […]

Willie Schube also pops at The Tape. After a brief and fairly disappointing detour into the world of soft/art-pop/rock, Yoni Wolf and his cohorts are back with a dive into the folk-hop genre that the dude basically pioneered. After WHY? released Alopecia in 2008—a record full of angst-y, self-loathing and extremely clever raps—the group plowed […]

In which a Chicago-born rapper enlists a sotto voce indie rock star to warble auto-tuned hooks over wintery raps. But before the s/s/s super-group of Serengeti, Sufjan Stevens, and Son Lux gets accused of sharking KanyeIver, it’s worth noting that this track was recorded at least one or two Casimir Pulaski days ago. Besides, I’d […]

To quote Trey Kerby, wry humorist, shrimp burrito connoisseur, semi-professional Brad Miller impersonator: “If this video doesn’t blow your mind — which seems impossible, but I’ll allow that maybe it is too early for you to really appreciate it — then the story surely will. A made-up, mustachioed alter ego throwing shots at one of […]

It’s been a rough week for Shaq. Last night, Kobe Bryant passed him in scoring on the all-time list, now Serengeti has unleashed the power of the Killa Deacon on the Big Aristotle.  For those who don’t know the back story, Kenny Dennis (Kdz) and Tha Grimm Teachaz were signed to Jive Records in ’93. […]

Take your sub-Dipset technicolor Dreamcoat hyperlink rap, I will opt every time for the caustic smirk of Serengeti and his former Saluki, Open Mike Eagle. Admittedly, there is home field advantage at work, now that both Chicago natives are permanent residents of my smog-scarred birthplace. I have a feature in next week’s LA Weekly on […]