Douglas Martin’s favorite Hemingway book is “The Sun Also Rises.” Twenty-one years ago, Chris Lombardi had the same idea many young and enterprising music lovers have had: he would form his own record label. Whether he was deeply enthralled with Spanish culture or just stoned and eating Frosted Flakes while watching the episode of Looney […]
| The Passion of the Weiss Winter Mixtape | February 8, 2010 |
Why a winter mixtape? Because your Wu mixtape with “Winter Warz” and “Cold World” cracked in half. Because London just got through the biggest snowfall in decades. Yes, this mixtape is being posted on a website better known for summer jamz, but I’d argue that winter transcends weather. I’ve lived in Canada for most of […]
| The 50 Best Albums of 2009 (#25-1) | December 31, 2009 |
Brought to you by our sponsors, Brother Love and The Honky Tonk Man. 25. Diamond District – In The Ruff [Mello Music Group] Taking artists at their word is a notoriously tricky enterprise. Even allowing for 100 percent sincerity, intentions and ambitions are often discordant with the final results. Luckily, anyone attempting to assess Diamond […]
| The 50 Best Albums of 2009 (#50-1) | December 30, 2009 |
Brought to you by our sponsor: “Piper’s Pit.” 50. Exile – Radio [Plug Research] Best known for producing 2006’s acclaimed collaboration with Blu, “Below the Heavens,” Exile emerged as a viable creative force in his own right on “Radio,” a found-art opus that found him re-configuring taped snippets of everything from old commercials to evangelical […]
| The 10 Greatest M.O.P. Couplets | February 10, 2009 |
When not shouting, “BROWNSVILLE, HOME OF THE BRAVE,” at high decibel levels, Aaron Matthews writes about hip hop, movies, and videogames at Canned Thinking. He also contributes to Metal Lungies, and Hip Hop Is Read. There are two things you need to know about M.O.P. 1. M.O.P. are always angry. 2. During their brief […]
| A Bluffer’s Guide to Analog Turntablism by Matt Shea | December 4, 2008 |
Matt Shea is an occasional contributor to waycooljnr and a regular contributor to The Cool Hunter, Scene Magazine and a part-time copywriter for the man. He can be contacted at [email protected] In the digital age of music, turntablism has remained a bastion of the analogue, a smoky backroom where arguments over white labels, pick-ups and […]
| Summer Jamz ’08 #11: Jeff Weiss | July 9, 2008 |
Summer Jamz ’08 #11: G’Z Up, Prose Down http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4NBDRWLQ Each Summer Jam is proudly co-hosted with Screw Rock N’ Roll and What Was it Anyway. Parliament-“Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker) N.W.A.-“Alwayz Into Somethin’” Dr. Dre-“Nuthin’ But a G Thang” Above the Law ft. 2Pac & Money B-“Call It What U […]
| Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Week Day 3: Why “1st of Month” is the Greatest Song Ever Written About Welfare | February 28, 2008 |
Sometimes, I feel sorry for the 13-year olds of today. I can’t even begin to imagine how disgruntled my adolescence would’ve been had I been forced to listen to “A Bay Bay” and “Low” everywhere I went. We got “Regulate,” and “Hip-Hop Hooray,” they got the Soulja Boy dance. And of course, there was “1st […]
| Who’s the Best?: Debating DJ Khaled | February 22, 2008 |
Last week, DJ Khaled announced the creation of his We the Best Music, a new vanity label that will be distributed and released under the Def Jam umbrella. In a press conference to promote the pact, Khaled repeatedly proclaimed “we the best” and that “we taking over internationally.” As I find Khaled neither “the best” […]
| Passion of the Weiss Interviews: Pete Rock | February 21, 2008 |
Pete Rock needs no introduction. His new album NY’s Finest drops on Tuesday. While it might not be a classic on the level of a Soul Survivors or Mecca & The Soul Brother, it’s a strong record with occasionally great moments. But buyer beware: Jim Jones yells “floooosssssiiiin'” no less than four times. Q: […]
