Since his classic debut, Illmatic, Nas has been mostly coasting on his charm, gift for public relations, and skills as an MC. But on Untitled, he’s clearly hoping that by name-dropping big issues (reparations, single motherhood, media control) and dazzling you with his acrobatic flow (“I’m over they heads/Like a…

Last year Jacksonville quintet Black Kids released a free four-song EP full of electro-tinged dance songs addressing themes of incest and gender ambiguity. Girls went wild — well, bloggers did anyway — and somehow the group got signed to Columbia Records. The band’s debut full-length, Partie Traumatic, contains all the…

Last year marked the inaugural local installment of the traveling hip-hop extravaganza known as Rock the Bells. Breathing some much-needed golden-age and conscious-type air into Miami’s bling-ridden environs, the lineup featured everyone from Jedi Mind Tricks to Mos Def and Talib Kweli to Nas to a recently reunited Wu-Tang Clan…

Seeing Sounds is the third album from N.E.R.D., the “artist” project from Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo of production team the Neptunes, along with their buddy Shay Haley. It’s the musical equivalent of an ad campaign trying to appeal to the sorta-grown-and-totally-sexy Red Bull and BlackBerry generation. “It’s gotta be…

Lil Wayne is not batshit insane. Let’s be clear about that. Okay, he regularly refers to himself as an extraterrestrial and seems to have an utter disregard for the rule of law and for his health. He has even publicly kissed his surrogate father, Cash Money Records head Birdman, on…

Husband-and-wife team Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner seemingly make gorgeous indie pop songs as easily and casually as the rest of us shower in the morning. Much has changed since their duo Mates of State’s 2006 debut on Barsuk, Bring It Back; they have moved to New York and had…

Destined to be a stoner classic, Tha Carter III should silence critics who think Lil Wayne can’t make a cohesive album. His vision and self-confidence have improved exponentially since the humorless mishmash of styles that was Tha Carter II. III is pop-rap to giggle to and marvel at, from “Phone…

You really can’t fault entertainers claiming “player for life” status — at least they’re being honest. Everyone from Rod Stewart to Karrine “Superhead” Steffans knows that the promiscuous can’t be reformed, that once you get the taste of the easy-lovin’, high-livin’ lifestyle, it’s almost impossible to let go. That’s what…

It’s natural that Foxy Brown is the object of Ali G’s affections — with her foul mouth and short skirt, she epitomizes the fake gangsta-ism he parodies. At least she has the track record to support it: Brown recently finished a stint at Rikers Island, having violated probation stemming from…

If the recent Smirnoff showcase in New York — in which Common, Q-Tip, and KRS-One disconcertingly sold their skills to the British-owned vodka company for some quick stacks — is any indication, the state of “conscious” rap is in serious flux right now. It seems to stand mostly for vague…

If there’s one thing the self-satisfied, liberal, tofu-munching, cappuccino-sipping, in-vitro-fertilization-using coastal elite hate, it’s FOX News. The Rupert Murdoch-owned channel even has the audacity to declare itself “fair and balanced,” which is approximately as accurate, liberals would argue, as Paul Wall calling himself African-American. Which brings us to the coastal…

The characters given life by Slug on Atmosphere’s new album have unenviable situations, but they’re not all painting that shit gold. (Whatever that means.) Vagrants, single parents, and dope-addled fiends, they live, work, fuck, and wallow in their misery, giving the emotional indie rapper a chance to traffic in someone…

The greatest Morrissey songs aren’t just sad, creepy and boastful; they also contain telling details, counterintuitive punch lines, and surprise turns of phrase. On Greatest Hits, we get winners such as “The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get.” But sometimes Morrissey doesn’t channel Morrissey properly, and one of…

All of my life, my father encouraged me to be open to all good music,” St. Louis rapper Black Spade sings on the intro to his debut album, To Serve with Love. On his MySpace page, he reaffirms his dad’s influence on this genre-defying new work, describing the sound as…

We expect a lot from our indie-ethos, crossover pop stars nowadays, even from a duo as inspired as Gnarls Barkley, a.k.a. DJ Danger Mouse and rapper Cee-Lo. We expect guilt-free yet radio-worthy earworms such as “Crazy,” plus genuine pathos, groundbreaking production and minimal amounts of filler, all of which GB…

It’s Grammy weekend, and Fat Joe, the self-described “Susan Lucci of the Grammys,” is boycotting the festivities. He’s in L.A., but he’s not going to the Staples Center’s main event this year, because he’s sick of losing out to the “booji backpackers,” those conscious rappers who, he says, run a…

Mike Relm is single-handedly introducing turntablism to parts of middle America on his second stint with Blue Man Group, opening its current production, How to Be a Megastar Tour 2.1. With between 7,000 and 12,000 people at each show, it’s the San Franciscan’s biggest gig. He’s already a YouTube celebrity…

Golden Smog and Jayhawks alum Gary Louris has a knack for crafting heartbreaking yet inspiring pop songs. At his best, on Jayhawks tunes like “Save It for a Rainy Day,” “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me,” and “It’s Up to You” — plus all the incredible tracks he wrote with…

Del the Funky Homosapien is an outer-space hip-hop trailblazer, helping to pioneer a weird-for-its-own-sake rap style by focusing on absurdist rhymes and sci-fi storytelling. Though a cousin of Ice Cube’s and a onetime member of the Da Lench Mob, the Bay Area-based Del abandoned his mentors’ gangster tropes but maintained…

As a member of legendary Minneapolis underground band Hüsker Dü and leader of the wildly acclaimed Nineties outfit Sugar, Bob Mould was known for blanketing bleak tales of relationship woe with layers of electric guitar and driving choruses. Having settled comfortably in Washington, D.C., he turned his attention to electronic…

Lenny Kravitz hates it when critics call him retro, contending that, like Mark McGwire, he’s not here to talk about the past. Further, he goes on, love, revolution, and smooching should belong to every generation. But the problem with Kravitz’s new album, It Is Time for a Love Revolution, is…

Irrational exuberance is so widespread in hip-hop right now that Alan Greenspan might freak out — if he understood rap lyrics. There are no two ways about it: Hip-hop sales stink. Album sales dropped 30 percent in 2007, a figure that includes digital downloads. And ringtones, which have given folks…