Evan Nabavian dreams of electric beats. “Kill My Nightmare” begins with a scene from any slasher movie. There’s a steady heartbeat and a background of white noise. Then a woman’s scream, a wet stab, and the sound of the killer’s breath. The heartbeat slows. Yelawolf uses Friday, May 13th as an occasion for a cold, […]

First “Zombie Nation” now a Pearl Jam sample. Jayceon Taylor is going for that brodown Bonnaroo money come hell or hydraulics. “Rough” posted for posterity, but also because I am partial to “emo” Game. See also: “My Life,” all of “Doctor’s Advocate,” none of that stupid facial tatoo. Emotional > sensitive. Really rappers, stop bitching […]

Simultaneously effective and everything I feared would happen, the first collaboration between the new Shady roster capitalizes on the crew’s strengths and exposes their weaknesses. First the good: these guys are good at rapping and their entire raison d’ etre is to let you know that they are GOOD AT RAPPING. Their worldviews were forged […]

Always a wise decision to wait until the major label foots the bill for your video. Though Catfish Billy and the formerly stone-pocketed Bun B opt to keep things reasonably minimal, save for the flashy epilepsy-inducing graphics. I saw Yelawolf two weeks ago, my third time in the last year, and easily the most impressive […]

I was going to post this at the Tumblr, but the combination of Catfish Billy and the Truth deserves the marquee. With enough time and energy, I suspect that these two could come up with something superior to this quasi-boiler plate run-down of hardships witnessed. However, off sheer ability and the Herb Alpert-lite brass, it’s […]

The official release for Yelawolf and Gucci Mane’s “Wanna Party” video hit it a snag when it leaked two weeks ago. Word circulated that it was unfinished, prompting a Polly Pocket-style recall. When the the official version arrived several days later, it had minimal alterations. Of course, hackers hit all the time — but usually […]

The term “blog rapper” was always an easy crutch. Aside from Mickey Fact and Charles Hamilton, the latter of whom actually had a blog and released mixtapes every time he flushed his RSS Feed, it lumped a whole bunch of rappers who didn’t deserve to be compared. “Boutique rapper” was better and this isn’t 2007-08 […]

While the rest of the world salivates over the human clitoris (© Hex Murda), I would prefer to divert the attention to a rapper worthier of the approbation. The abridged version of this interview — along with a mini-feature — appeared at Pop & Hiss. Comparing Drake and Yelawolf is unfair but not necessarily invalid […]

The last decade was the 80s redux, so it’s natural that the next one will be defined by 90s nostalgia.  You can see it everywhere. From the 8-bit beats booming out of Bristol (Joker, Guido, Gemmy), the Low End Theory, and Hyperdub’s latest linchpin, Ikonika. Or examine the child-like chillwavers, continually fascinated by cassette tapes, […]