Noise: Posts Tagged ‘ Hip Hop ’

On Monday afternoon, MTV News blew up the rap blogosphere with some news regarding up-and-coming Baltimore rapper Los and legendary hip-hop label Bad Boy Records. “We have a new artist named Los that we signed,” Sean “Diddy” Combs told MTV cameras in an interview taped last week. It was an interesting choice of words...
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McCracken | Image by City Paper Digi-Cam™ Wednesday night was my first time checking out the downtown venue Bedrock since it started booking music in recent months, though I remember going to shows in the same building years and years ago, when it was called the Vault. Not much has changed since then, both...
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It only happens once or twice a year, but now and then it feels like the whole Baltimore hip-hop community converges together under one roof for a particular show, where damn near half of it is on the bill and much of the remainder is in the audience networking. Usually, the occasion is the...
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At this point, I’m developing fatigue from appearing on judging panels for various MC battles and talent competitions and should probably learn to say “no,” at least some of the time. But I definitely couldn’t turn down at least one more request, from local rap duo the Unstoppable Nuklehidz, to participate in their Battle...
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When local hip-hop band Soul Cannon played a release party for its new album at the Ottobar on Friday, it made a decision that could be interpreted as either really smart or really unwise: booking two opening bands that have fervent local followings and reputations as great live acts. Sure, the inclusion of Pittsburgh...
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As many local hip-hop artists drop new albums and mixtapes on a near-weekly basis, you’d think more of them would synergistically pool their promotional resources together. At least two MCs, E Major and Ab Rock, teamed up for a joint release party April 2, ushering in their sophomore albums at Fletcher’s. The two frequent...
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While the bludgeoning chorus claims “We want some Pu-Pu-ssaaaay,” everything about the ridiculously NSFW video for “Pu$$y”–from Spank Rock’s Bangers and Cash side project–seeks to negate this. For a bootie rap, the crudely animated images of disembodied vajayjays–quite literally hammered and bitch-slapped–look, well, thoroughly unsexy. Repulsive even, and maybe that’s the point. Lyrically, the...
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| Image by Sexy Fitsum/iLLIMETER Taxlo fixture DJ Dave Nada has been busy spreading his rowdy blend of Baltimore club and hip-hop far beyond the East Coast. Despite a gnarly cold, Nada was kind enough to check in with Noise during a lull between touring, to discuss recent shows in California and Canada, his...
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A few years ago, the big novelty in the touring industry was instant live albums, CD recordings of a concert that were available almost immediately after the show was over. And it would make sense that instant concert DVDs would follow, but surprisingly, the first we’ve ever heard of anyone taking on the enterprising...
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It’s been exciting to watch HBO’s The Wire use more and more music from the city it depicts, culminating in the January release of the album Beyond Hamsterdam: Baltimore Tracks From The Wire, in conjunction with the beginning of the show’s fifth and last season. At the same time, however, it’s been frustrating to...
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