Email Author Sire Esquire

2006 Stories by Sire Esquire

• State of the Art

  published December 21, 2006

  Live hip-hop music — MCs performing alongside an actual band — is rare these days, unless you count VH1's annual attempt with Hip-Hop... More >>

• John Legend

  published December 14, 2006

  Traditional male R&B acts are tough to find these days, but John Legend has been one of the few to consistently deliver without settling for just... More >>

• Christina Aguilera feat. Termanology

  published December 14, 2006

  Songs like this one — by multiplatinum artists going off the beaten path to create music that comes right from the heart, or at least the... More >>

• Sa-Ra

  published December 14, 2006

  The hype surrounding Sa-Ra has been tremendous, owing to this silver-screened promo, which showcases the trio's penchant for Eighties drum... More >>

• Lady Sovereign

  published December 14, 2006

  The twenty-year-old British S-O-V, affectionately nicknamed by Def Jam president Shawn Carter, delivers her first U.S. single for rebellious young... More >>

• Cam'ron

  published December 14, 2006

  The Pink Panther puts down summertime game on the sampled, candy-apple Eighties R&B flavor of the S.O.S. Band's original. Killa spits signature... More >>

• Butta Verses

  published December 14, 2006

  Fort Lauderdale MC Butta Verses lately has been making noise on the underground circuit and continues to put in work with this aptly titled... More >>

• Carat Marks

  published November 2, 2006

  You've seen Joan Rivers and Oprah Winfrey wearing it on their daytime talk shows, you've caught most rappers and hype-men flossin' with it on... More >>

• Suenalo Sound System

  published October 19, 2006

  It's tough to encapsulate the sounds of a city into one medium, let alone an eleven-track disc. However, through the mixture of Colombian cumbia,... More >>

• Eric Clapton

  published October 19, 2006

  Continuing to build on his blues-tinged foundation after collaborating on an album with the legendary B.B. King titled Riding with the King... More >>

• Family First

  published October 5, 2006

  Since Garcia dropped his independently released debut album, Anti-Social, in the summer of 2004 to the tune of more than 25,000 units, the... More >>

• Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself

  published September 28, 2006

  What is it with groups/MCs from hip-hop's late-Eighties/early-Nineties era trying to resurrect their careers of late? Both Boot Camp Clik and... More >>

• DJ Spinna

  published September 21, 2006

  The Aquabooty crew rolls out the red carpet this weekend for producer/DJ extraordinaire DJ Spinna, straight from Crooklyn. One of the frontrunners... More >>

• LexOne feat. Cynic and Manifesto

  published August 31, 2006

  Hollyhood, stand up! Off the debut album from the Broward resident, the three MCs rip the up-tempo, Biggie vocal-sampled track with punch line... More >>

• Bugz in the Attic

  published August 24, 2006

  The West London collective has a dance classic with Back in the Doghouse, and this single definitely sets the table with the electric... More >>

• Big Boi feat. Scar and Sleepy Brown

  published August 24, 2006

  From the Idlewild soundtrack, this drumline-inspired song sampling Morris Brown College's Marching Wolverine Band showcases one-half of... More >>

• Garcia

  published August 24, 2006

  After Fidel finally falls, what's going to be the anthem for the celebratory concert in Miami? Garcia might have the front-runner right here, as... More >>

• Get in Check

  published August 17, 2006

  In the Miami of the early Nineties, the hip-hop scene that existed apart from bass music and Uncle Luke wasn't large, but it did encompass a... More >>

• Soul Strut

  published June 29, 2006

  If you've been listening to South Florida radio for the past decade, chances are you've caught the unmistakable sound of Terror Squad/Big Dawg... More >>

• Wrekonize

  published June 8, 2006

  Moooore fiyah out of the Southbeat camp as DJ Spinna laces the bouncy single off Wrek's debut album complete with cut-up Jeru the Damaja dialogue... More >>

• The Randy Watson Experience feat. Donn

  published June 8, 2006

  Randy Watson, a.k.a. ?uestlove from the Roots crew, takes listeners on a nine-minute adventure — from broken beat to drum 'n' bass and... More >>

• Pharrell feat. Kanye West

  published June 1, 2006

  Combine two of the most superstylish icons in urban music today with synthesizers and a Michael Jackson backdrop, and what do you get? Pure... More >>

• DJ Khaled feat. Kanye West, Consequence, and John Legend

  published June 1, 2006

  G.O.O.D. music meets the Terror Squad on this boom-bap heavy joint for Khaled's DJ album. With John Legend presiding over the chorus, Kanye and... More >>

• Mobb Deep feat. 50 Cent

  published May 25, 2006

  These gangstas are religious? Hav, Prodigy, and the crooning 50 Cent combine their commentaries on Heaven and Hell, backed by the soulful Rhodes... More >>

• Antibalas

  published May 18, 2006

  With all the reissues and edits of classic Afro-Latin and funk gems, one of the only bands to keep hitting you consistently with new flava is this... More >>