Nope, you haven’t been smoking too much sticky icky icky and don’t need to rub your eyes. The members of Korn, who’ve always been hip-hop-friendly, are looking a bit different in their new video. Lil’ Jon, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, and David Banner have kicked out the regular crew and are…

Stevie registers his thoughts on our troubled present day with a song that, while blowing up most significantly on the adult contemporary radio stations, has a bop to it that a youthful urban audience would be able to appreciate (if they only had a sense of history). With Prince jamming…

Can they kick it? Yes, they can. Picking up from their last time working together (Stefani’s massive cheerleader-funkin’ “Hollaback Girl”), Pharrell concocts an ultrasaucy slice of pop for Stefani’s extra-girlie vocals. It’s all very dumb — dumb meaning smart, not dumb meaning dumb…

Don’t fret if you’ve got no bloody idea what draped up and dripped out means; it’ll soon be clear. By then, this Houston legend will already have you reciting the chorus and throwing elbows high in the air as he puts out another song of pride for Texas rap and…

Though it’s usually overshadowed by rap, an earlier form of black music is still alive in the classic twin cities of soul — Detroit, where singer Dwele resides, and Philadelphia, home to poet/DJ/producer Rich Medina. Dwele’s 2003 debut, Subject, produced a minor R&B hit with “Find a Way” — a…

New York rapper Santana’s infectious inflections course throughout his songs, and now he has a backing tune that can match wits with his vocal catchiness. A whistled hook and saucy rhymes are rough enough for the fellas and cuddly enough for the ladies: a winning combination to solidify his rising-star…

It’s safe to say no one was begging for a cover of Taste of Honey’s disco classic “Boogie Oogie Oogie,” but R&B singer Valentine turns in a smart urban update that bears only scant resemblance to the original. The certain highlight is the guest spot from West Coast hip-hop veteran…

This rowdy posse cut from members of the Dungeon Family is the lead single from the forthcoming Purple Ribbon All-Stars, a compilation that officially launches the Big Boi’s Purple Ribbon label. “Kryptonite” contains some mesmerizing wordplay; let’s just say they’re talking about a different green crystalline substance than the one…

London’s cavernous, genre-bending nightclub Fabric continues its FabricLive mix series with a jaunty set of electro and techno curated by veteran UK electronic band Death in Vegas. While many collections of this genre often delve into too-deep waters, FabricLive 23 keeps things light and breezy. From DIV’s own Kraftwerkian “Zugaga”…

Cole is on her third single from her phenomenal debut album, The Way It Is, and she has asserted herself more with each one. “I Should Have Cheated” is a middle finger to overly jealous and possessive boyfriends who always think their girls are cheating. With all that stress, she…

Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy has his full shtick in effect here — mainly the same interjections he makes on all of his songs (“yeeeeeah” and “that’s riiiight”). Instead it’s the distinctive tone of guest vocalist Akon, originally from Senegal but now making his home in the ATL, that makes this…

Before there was Bobby McFerrin, there was George Krantz, whose beat-wise vocal scatting made his “Din Daa Daa” a massive, enduring club hit of the Eighties that’s instantly recognizable even today. It now forms the basis of this new cut from the Twins and local rapper Pitbull, who all have…

There’s a powerful air of déjà vu permeating urban pop music, in which the boy bands are lively and snappy and the teen idols are up-front and oversexed. New Edition’s “Candy Girl” days of insinuation and nuance are long gone, but still these young R&B/hip-hop stars of today echo shades…

Duran Duran, “Girls on Film” (1981) The Brit modelizers introduced the original scandalous video chicks. Even the estrogen-filled WWF offshoot GLOW (Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling) took notes on this rowdy, R-rated smackdown. Robert Palmer, “Addicted to Love” (1985) Palmer must regularly turn over in his grave knowing his video of…

Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be in music videos. Yes, sometimes they do get to act, but more often women are little more than silicone-stuffed blowjob machines. It’s especially true in rap, where women-as-pleasure-objects remains the dominant visual paradigm. Many call them video hoes, but we’ll be…

After months of coyly denying speculations, the puppy love between the former “Lil”/now legal Bow Wow and the R&B sensation is officially outed with this sappy duet. The song isn’t much of a musical highlight for either performer, but they do harmonize well together…

Tomiie’s house music resumé is impeccable. His record label of eighteen years, Def Mix, has been home to genre gods such as Frankie Knuckles and David Morales. But despite this pedigree, Es peters out about three-quarters of the way through. Fans of Danny Tenaglia’s dark DJ sets will go into…

A DJ is oftentimes judged on how well he can thread together seemingly disparate genres while stealthily hiding the seams. And by all accounts New York’s DJ Language is a genius with the needle. Language’s latest, Real Music for Real People, proffers a brilliant patchwork of hip-hop legends such as…

With 10 arrangers working with a 22-piece classical group, Alarm Will Sound’s excellent reinterpretations of Aphex Twin’s catalogue make the original efforts sound small in comparison. Aphex Twin is the celebrated British electronic producer who habitually tears apart his computers only to later resurrect them as supermodified weapons of digital…

Faith Evans is nothing short of an urban icon. And it’s not because of the notes she can’t hit or the skimpy outfits she doesn’t wear. We love Faith because she’s tough, a survivor who has weathered battles that would’ve driven lesser women crazy (Mariah and L-Boogie, we’re looking in…

After a seven-year layoff when the group concentrated on DJ gigs, remix work, and their label Yoshitoshi, Deep Dish returns with George Is On. As it leaps from a rock-tinged love song for an unlikely dance capital (“Sacramento”) to whacked-out robot breaths that ideally illustrate club confusion (“Everybody’s Wearing My…

Bronx rapper C-Rayz Walz’s debut album, 2003’s Ravipops, was criticized by several media outlets for not having strong enough music to match the ferocity of his quick wit and voice, the latter of which is evocative of several prominent New York MCs (but to these ears sounds a mite like…