New group of the day - Palace of Shabazz (not 1 025)

Worthy of the factory/4AD levels of abstraction package... Shabazz palaces

Hometown: Seattle.

Range: Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler (music, vocals).

Background: Shabazz palaces, the first hip-hop Act to sign to Sub Pop, are an Enigma, wrapped in mystery, inside an enigmatic spirit belonging... who? Well, Shabazz palaces are, or perhaps just is, Palaceer Lazaro, the name currently used to conceal the fact also that he was once - and technically speaking rest - Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler. Why he would want to do, keep his identity quiet? Because Butler spent the 1990s in a hip-hop act won a Grammy called Digable Planets, which were good, while a boho way jazzily and titled intriguing issues such as Reachine (a new refutation of time and space), but in rap, as in rock, nobody wants to be seen as the last decade, let alone the last but his.

Anyway, the point is, Butler wants to focus on music, it is now. No MySpace page there, it own-produced two albums in 2010 with little or no attempt to promote their and his first album that Shabazz palaces include credits, with package achieve Factory/4AD levels of abstraction and mystique. He name the other people involved in the project, nor is it particularly keen on advertising, and when he finally agreed to an interview with Pitchfork, he refused to send them a picture, suggesting that they use a chart instead.

Why all the shadowplay? Perhaps because that he uses all his words on the titles of songs, leaving with nothing else to say. He obtained a 32 called leaves plunged into blackness Making clouds forming altered carbon, while the other, relatively snappy, is entitled An Echo of the hosts that profess Infinitum. Fortunately, it retains some energy back for music, which, in the case of 32, leaves... is more dark and John Carpenter-I that we remember Digable Planets being, while an Echo... is dirgey and dare we say, future istic musically a bit strange.

Butler is not the only comrade value of your time (E-40 has been brought to our attention by a reader last week). When we say the song-title Church has a wobbly bottom, we are talking about the deep, booming bass influenced by dubstep, step fat saggy ass sound. There is here to study, the video to Blast it for a movie called link difficult that Butler scored on children at the Kenya glue sniffing, to the Meridian Belhaven short, which is where Spike Lee meets Spike Jonze. Elegant and stark, smooth yet intense, a kind of mellow murk - whatever info sleeve, check the heavy and elegant atmosphere.

Buzz: Hands down our favorite album of the year so far - Gorilla vs. Bear.

The truth: Although useful, without being worthy, which Digable Planets were a little.

Probably to: Be tense.

The least likely of: Be terse.

What to buy: First album Black Up was released by Sub Pop on June 27.

File next: Kool Keith, Talib Kweli, company Flow, Digable Planets.

Links: shabazzpalaces.com.

New band Thursday: The Jezabels.

Tyler, the creator: Goblin - review

Fundamentally adolescent outlook... Tyler, the creator

Last week was interesting for the controversy in hip-hop. Low attempt on Fox News to present the invitation of the common to the White House as a threat to the Republic because reflected rapper was once rude on the police seemed relevant in the light of the debate online simultaneously raged on Tyler, the creator, the player star worship 20 years the collective odd future Wolf Gang Kill Them All and the musician again more hotly discussed in 2011. Subsidiary Fox Boston, recognized at least, the phenomenon by pointing out a record-store turbulent signature where the police has been called to "suppress the shenanigans".

Shenanigans, if not, are the odd future operating mode. As they emerged in 2008, their releases in richly offensive line led gigabytes of debate (in short: "is - this OK for this?"), which reached a mass critique with the first official album of Tyler. Since its debut in 2009, Bastard, Goblin is presented as a session with his therapist, but this time - after a year or more wandering the internet mirrors hall - it is also address his alleged audience. Most of the title song, to quote another lyricist young chippy, is Whatever People Say I am, that's what I'm not: a pre-emptive strike to potential criticism. "They get, ' cos is not for them,"Tyler aligned."." In theory, it is a strategy of critic-proof: listeners who embrace him without reservations are only qualified to comment on. But the music cannot be closed, and there are many listeners outside the following odd young future core which is simultaneously fascinated and dismayed. As Eminem, NWA or the Sex Pistols before them, odd future invite one of the most compelling issues in pop: who are these people and they want?

It is a shame Goblin will be the introduction of the many odd future gifts superior as Bastard online or Earl intense Earl joltingly sweatshirt. Although dense, relentless, antisocial of the future odd music is hardly unprecedented, synth-heavy production is artfully eerie and strangely agile rhymes. But Goblin is too long and oppressive, giving the listener time to become exhausted, annoyed, disgusted, or worse, bored by Misanthropy of Tyler - which includes, but is not limited to, casual homophobia and rampant misogyny (uses Fader tallied 204 "bitch" over its 73 minutes magazine).

Goblin is undeniably, intentionally unpleasant, and any attempt to wave away the inconvenience is false. In contrast to, say, NWA, whose violent nihilism can be considered a hard outline, but necessary to their environment, Tyler escapes a sociopolitical alibi. Neither persuade as pure satire, that Tyler is the most agile, triple - bluff satirist of modern times. And while Bastard had some jokes absurd winningly ("I go to gatherings of Obama screaming out"mccain!""), Goblin is oppressive solemn and covered.

If Goblin had a smell, it would be fug Rassi, the bedroom of a teenager, whose resident, hormonal as Tyler admits on her cheek "Xbox cell full of wet socks. Tyler's Outlook is basically young: lonely, attention seeking, deficient, defensive, bellicose, confused, self-aggrandising and self-hating. On the window it rappe: "at school I was a zero, now, I am the every boy hero," but the zero remains with him and his more frank material supplies. It looks too porn, cries, nurses grudges, contemplates suicide. It is "boring and I am ugly, most niggas't wanna punch me". On the runway most endearing, him, he wrestles with conflicting responses to the romantic rejection: "I can slander his name and then em say I probably fucks / I could tell them the truth, that she liked not me much.". As anyone who spends too long time insisting on the fact that he is not giving a kiss, it clearly.

But Tyler requires the listener to understand everything showing precious little to someone else. When he lashes out, its targets are equally obvious. The anthem of the heavy potential rebels radicals shakes little system at its core with the news that he does not like: a school, religion (b) and (c) the people telling him what to do. At least it tries to break up instead of down. Worse still is the implicit assumption that his self-disgust permits him to vent his frustrations in the backward misogynistic fantasies of Transylvania, male or female Boppine. Far from being offensive, they are sadly predictable: not a future odd but the ghost of the past of hip-hop bullshit. Moral scruples apart, this stuff is all bad art.

So you can claws on the best bits of the Goblin, like her, the unique calling card Yonkers ("I am a walking fucking paradox / no, I am not") or the pleasantly succulent instrumental Au79 and feel in the presence of an exciting talent who moves quite quickly to leave behind its more mundane provocations quickly enoughbut mass, this is a self-defeating waste of talent. Tyler wants to be loved or hated, in or out, with you or against you. The truth, which will be probably annoy him without end, is that the Goblin treachery leave most ambivalent listeners.

Snoop Dogg - review

As law & order valiant Ice - T and are we there yet? Star Ice Cube, Snoop dogg is proof that a generation of the corrupter of morals is the national treasure of the next. The erstwhile "evil bastard" (Daily Star, 1994) is now a warmly ubiquitous pop presence, buried to the neck in sand (video of California Gurls by Katy Perry) or Pare as Admiral insurance advertising (Gorillaz' Welcome to the world of the plastic beach). Approaching 40, Snoop is almost as soft as his namesake comic.

Snoop DoggO2 Academy, LiverpoolOn 18 May.Box Office:
0845 603 8576More details

Still thin cadaverously and germination braid of its trade mark, it makes light of her former prominence. "I have yet to make a crime in the United Kingdom", he smirks. "I ain't fucking with your efficient and shit." His subsequent chant of "fuck the police!" feels elections because Snoop has never been particularly defiant. Or a hard gangsta, a cultural striver as Jay - Z or a psychological as Eminem car crash, it is a pleasure-seeker, pure and simple: little more complex that the figure he presents Gin and juice, pleased with a drink and a smoke and "my mind on my money and my money on my account." Its laidback, almost feminine delivery hinders his lyrical machismo. Even a song also deeply questionable as ain't no Fun (if the Homies can't have none) is the number of women in the audience cheerfully sing.

Essential superficiality of the Snoop means its recorded output has traced a classic trajectory of descent from Doggystyle in 1993, but it makes him a reliable showman. Hip hop shows are notorious for sound songs, truncated muddy and purely fictious blurry, but Snoop has raised his game. First such success that cover deep are dynamic and fat beautiful showcases for his lazy stream, lizardy and his signature, a "yeeyuh" sleepy exclamation, elongated. And it does not just mine its own past but hip hop in General, with of tributes to Tupac, Biggie and his late friend Nate Dogg and a powerful breath of evergreen Jump autour House of bread.

It is as much, because the most recent material is rotten. Seduction sensual lewd self-parodically could be a flight of the Conchords collaboration, and sweat is just as catastrophic as can be expected to be a song written for night deer of Prince William and remixed by David Guetta. Perhaps this is considered his first crime in the United Kingdom. He quickly restores goodwill by ending the old favorites Drop It Like It Hot and what is my name and a gushing profession of his love for the "london, England. East London love back? Yeeyuh.

Voice of rappers in Benghazi hopes for Libyan democracy - video

A group of young rappers and artists of Benghazi spoke of their hopes for freedom and democracy in Libya. The video was produced by below, which shows that essential supplies including food, medical hygiene articles and base decreased and limited amounts of aid arrived in the continuation of the fighting

Pass notes no 2,974: Leeman Brothaz

Leeman Brothaz: straight outta Wall Street. Photo: YouTube

Age: 29.

Appearance: Bankers absolute and total.

These are the idiots that led the world economy to its knees? Only in a very small way. You mean: "Is it the Wall Street investment bank that went bankrupt in 2008, helping to trigger the worst banking crisis since the great depression?"

I guess I do Then the answer No.?It was Lehman Brothers with an ERS with h.

If I knew how to spell stuff, I would not work for the Guardian. The Brothaz are a couple of white guys in costume of rap on subprime, quantitative easing and "corporate drones". They just put out a video called greed is good, in which they swagger around Wall Street waving tickets $100 and the theft of homeless.

I hope that it's quite funny if you've never heard of Loadsamoney. It is satire or something? This is certainly something. One of the Brothaz spent seven years working for a mortgage company. "I have had thoughts of doing business with consumers for a long period of time," Theo Pappadopolous told New York magazine. "I just put my thoughts for her and it came out in a song."

I like people who speak of writing as if it was the sausage-making. "I just put the pork in, and he came out as terms"?

Specifically. What were the "thoughts"? Borrowers are thick. Or, as the video, "" we bankers ain't liars/Wall Street was ready to bring you big spenders consumers / a sub-prime meant a non-doute loan / us has contributed to the Main Street to buy some sick-ass homes. ""

Don't stop. My doctor said that must be my tension blood up "you say Wall Street of greedy, that ain't right/greed is not the problem, it is your lack of foresight.

I think that we should have a go at this lark rap. Then, you start.

The greed of bankers/good bonus so give their wood... They call themselves the Brothaz/but they encounter as mothaz.

should not be confused with: JP organ, Goldman, sex, Swizz of credit.

New music: Frank Ocean - U Got It

Tyler, the creator has become the most famous member of sprawling rap crew odd future, but it is Frank Ocean which may have recorded the best music. In February, the singer and the producer have released a free album entitled nostalgia, ULTRA and which presented his skills of production - transform Strawberry Swing Coldplay's a lament of atmospheric breakdown-, but also its way with melody, creating perfectly made R & B jams of character. It is not surprising that shortly after the mixtape has emerged, Ocean found in the studio with Beyonce, working on his new album to be published. U Got It is a new song that has emerged online earlier this week and does seem out of place on major radio playlists, with drum simple claps, fizzing synth and a middle-eight featuring an acoustic guitar interlude. Keep an eye on it.

‧ Download free nostalgia, ULTRA

Rakim: still preaching "non-profit".

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Social rhymer ... Rakim is in the UK for two shows with De La Soul, Mos Def and Talib Kweli. Photograph: Ollie Millington/Redferns

William Michael Griffin Jr, aka Rakim Allah,?remembers the first time he came to England. It was November 1987; the 19-year-old rapper, then partnered with DJ Eric B, had hardly ever left New York state before. Together with LL Cool J and Public Enemy – also on the bill – he flew to London for a show that would change not only the lives of many in the crowd, but a few of those on stage too.

"That gig Ewas like New Year's Eve," he says, sat in a hotel room in Dublin, the morning after a show. "The crowd all seemed to have tambourines and whistles; they put this whole new spin on what we were doing. The way that we were accepted and respected was very important to us all – it gave all of us a whole new sense of what hip-hop could be."

Over the next five years Rakim, whose first Billboard magazine review in 1986 noted how the "soft-spoken MC [has] fine rhymes, timing and syncopation", was responsible for some of the most forward-looking, conscious and exploratory hip-hop ever created. His lyrics were not about what he had or what he wanted, but largely about what he felt, what he knew, what he believed. You listened to him and you understood that this person's self-worth was determined by something infinitely more profound than his bank balance. Despite being routinely named the greatest rapper and/or lyricist of all time, Rakim's own solo career has spluttered into and out of life since ever since he split with Eric B (full name Louis Eric Barrier) in early 1993, with gaps as long as a decade between records.

Now he is back in the UK for two shows with De La Soul, Mos Def and Talib Kweli, artists who share a fundamental vision of hip-hop as not only a living art form but one capable of effecting positive mental and social change. Rakim (whose father was an engineer for American Airlines, but won't fly after "a few too many bad experiences") sailed along with his wife into Portsmouth a week ago after six days aboard the Queen Mary, before heading to Ireland for a string of gigs. "It's a real nice boat," he says. "We look on it as a vacation." They left their three children at home with their grandparents. He, like Posdnuos, Mase and Trugoy from De La Soul – like hip-hop itself – is coming to terms with middle age. How do you keep going? How do you stay creative? How do you retain an element of political consciousness in a business that only venerates cash?

"It's hard," Rakim says. "The conscious level is definitely low and the substance of the music is so much lighter, but you have to understand the game is young in new places. It's still growing."

In 1997, when Rakim's album The 18th Letter was released, he said: "The prophets once came with Qur'ans and Bibles, now they come with mics … " Fourteen years later, does he still believe that?

"It's not as true now as it once was," he admits. "We really need some of that consciousness, that fly on the wall that watches over us and comments. I like BOB and Lupe Fiasco a lot, they're both exploring the music, but I don't see a lot of artistry out there."?

Rakim, who made headlines when he signed with Dr Dre's Aftermath label in the winter of 2000 – only for the deal to be annulled, with no music released, in July 2003 – says he has always resisted the outside pressure to change his lyrical style.

"I was an athlete in college," he says. "A quarterback, a leader, so people telling me what to do doesn't work. I stick to my guns – that's what keeps me going as an artist. Stevie Wonder never changed from what he wanted to do and each new album that came along was dope."

But Wonder also sold millions of records and had the support of a big label. That's not Rakim's situation. His last album, 2009's The Seventh Seal, sold only 12,000 copies in the States. So how does he actually survive?

"I'm very smart with my paper!" he says. "I stopped buying things for myself a long time ago – now I just buy things for my kids or my wife. Also, my wife is even more conservative than I am. She'll be the first one to say something if I go and get a new plasma TV with too many inches on it. My accountant has me on an allowance. He works out how much money is coming in, how much we have already and he makes it pay over the year. So some weeks we might have $1500, some we might only have $500, but my family understands all that. I'm not a mainstream artist. But I've seen my kids being born, I've seen them take their first steps, I've seen them grow up and start school. That's worth more to me than any umpteen million dollars."

De La Soul's Kelvin Mercer, aka Posdnuos, aka Plug One, will be 42 this August. He's sat in an agreeable hotel room in West London thinking about the brutally short if explosively popular lifespan of early 90s hardcore rappers Onyx.

"Those guys were huge for a minute," he says, "but they had a problem that no one could see at the time – you can't be crazy forever. I like a lot of 50 Cent's stuff, but how is he going to feel about those songs about wanting to shoot someone when he's 50? People say to me: 'You don't like these hype new rappers like Gucci Mane or Waka Flocka, do you?' And, no, I'm not the biggest fan of their rhymes. I grew up with Rakim and KRS One – both amazing lyricists, but as a kid I loved Too Short just as much and he was the very opposite of conscious."

In one of the very first big De La Soul interviews, an excruciating piece in Spin magazine from summer 1989 written in faux-hip speak ("thiz iz duh daisy age & we need a buddy" etc), the trio are already being pitched against those rappers who only desire "a million dollars, [a] truck [and some] jewels."

"That's why it's funny to me that this discussion about conscious rap v party rap or gangsta rap still exists," smiles Pos. "Our first big tour was with the Geto Boys and NWA, artists with very different mentalities from our own, but we hung out all the time. I never missed an NWA show on that whole tour – they were amazing. Dre and Yella would come out first, then Ren, then Cube, then just when everyone was going crazy, EZ would wander on! We learnt a lot from them …"

Pos says De La Soul have survived because they realised, very early on, that they loved touring. In the 22 years since their classic debut, Three Feet High and Rising, they have released seven occasionally brilliant albums and have played in "every crack and crevice on the face of the earth. The touring pays the bills and feeds us and our families, but it's music that keeps us together."

De La Soul are now in a position where they don't need the record industry. "No one eats off De La," Pos says. "Just us. Rick Rubin hollered at us about making a record, and we would love to, but we didn't want to sign to Sony. Now he's left Sony – that shows you where it's going."

Pos says that, as a writer rather than an athlete, there's no physical reason he can't keep doing this for years.

"Chuck D can do Fight the Power for the rest of his life, it'll always be relevant. I can do Me, Myself and I forever; it'll always be a part of me. De La Soul still has a lot to say, we're really only just beginning."

Back in Dublin, Rakim leans back in his seat as he talks about records he loves, such as Miles Davis's Tutu or Nautilus Bob James's – the records he reached for when his father's death "tore something" out of him.

"I still want to tackle the things that people say can't be done in rap," he says, sounding as enthused about music as he has ever been. "Time passes, but I promise you this: I will always try to defy any sort of imposed gravity."

‧ Black Star feat. Mos Def and Talib Kweli, De La Soul and Rakim will appear at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo on 10 May and at Manchester Academy on 11 May.

Salomé: Straight outta Tehran

It is not often heard about rappers of the Iran - and it is still more rare to hear of the female MCS - but 25 years Salome is used to being an exception. While hip-hop is more popular with the young people of the Iran (of which two thirds are under 30 years), the theocratic regime that controls the release and implementation of music in Iran were never fans. In 2007, rap denounced Government - has played at parties and in cars by urban teens accustomed defiance of the strict laws of the country - as vulgar and obscene. The Minister of culture has promised to stop producing recording studios. These restrictions are yet not enough to silence Salome.

"Any type of problem you face, there is always a solution," first female MC of the Islamic Republic says airily. But for this charming truculent interpreter, it is difficult to imagine what it would admit, it was a problem. Certainly not the fact that there is a formal ban on women singing in public: Salome simply began creating his own tracks in his bedroom. "When I started, he challenges y," is all that it will admit. "But I don't know if they would not still be there for a man."

Living in Iran, a few months ago, Salome was forced to duck and weave around strict regulations set out by its leaders. This fall, she moved to the Japan to study engraving, but is still releasing tracks on his MySpace page and work on an album. The handful of concerts, she sang were Turkey and the Netherlands. But the Salome, says that it seeks not only to a wider public. "I prefer a person to really understand what I say than a thousand people who want to just shake hands and dance".

Salome discovered hip-hop at the age of 15 years. He helped her to deal with the feelings of isolation and alienation in a new culture, after that a childhood spent in Turkey and the Azerbaijan. Yet despite the Turkish language, in English and Farsi (the national language of the Iran), it can only rap in the latter case. Farsi, says, "is a very poetic language." And poetry is very important in Iran, each room has a book of poems by Hafez. "(Hafez was very influential in the 14th century Iranian poet). "Perhaps this is why hip-hop is so popular,"she said."".

Salome wishes to emphasize that not all his songs are political-"I have suffered more, to love, I have never in politics", she said. Yet, it is hard not to imagine that it was his political songs which attracted the attention of the judges of the freedom to create prize, an international award of art that promotes social justice. Although she did not win, the judges praised her courage - courage which is evident in tracks such as waters, written after the elections of 2009 impugned which saw Mahmoud Ahmadinejad retain his presidency amid accusations of vote rigging, creating huge protests that are known as the muddy green gift movement ' t. Her mild voice in contrast to his angry delivery because it rappe: "" one night, they stole my glimmer of hope / if I remain silent, if I still / who will do right? "" Raw style, emphasizing was born of anger, she said, to what happened in the election, even if it did not take the streets to align itself on any part. "I knew nothing about it the green movement." The police beat me. In the streets, I have seen all different types of people - women in sailing to young girls who were high school students. ?

Despite his outspoken attitude, Salome have so far managed to avoid the ire of the Government. She insists that she has never censored his work but try to be careful to ensure the safety of his family and him. She refuses to reveal his true name, saying that she chose Salome after reading the play by Oscar Wilde, because it expresses on the other side of his personality. "Inside me, there was the shy girl who wanted to hide and a rebel - a girl who wanted to scream, and which was Salome angry."

A large part of his occasional tetchiness drift fear play in that she considers the distorted Iran women's image, which, she says, is reinforced by Iranian artists, such as Shirin Neshat, which won the Venice film festival Director's award. "There are a lot of Iranian women artists outside the Iran using this image here women are oppressed to get themselves famous." If you say things, that the Western media want to hear, then they will adopt you. Women are really important in Iran – 60% of University students are women.

"All this propaganda about how people are oppressed will give Western countries more excuses if they are interested in occupying us." I see the Iran as a family - even if the regime governing the country, at least they are Iranian. ?

It is an idea that she voices in the song green grown on this land. "Do not leave our House burn / the fight will not be / we are still a family but they are strangers.". And Scream to let your voice be heard is a diatribe blasting young Iranians who support Israel as a form of rebellion against the support of the Iranian regime of the Palestinians.

After four months in the Japan, however, the Salome let go says that it is in a more representative atmosphere and will focus on his music and art that she hopes will support him, rather than political. "I do not think that I will never stop as I do - if I do not write poetry, I start to feel bad inside."

New music: Theophilus London - the last name of London

Brooklyn-based rapper Theophilus London is a human relationship. Since his first mixtape in 2008, he worked with Mark Ronson, Damon Albarn, Solange Knowles, Dave Sitek and Ellie Goulding. According to his Facebook page, just Kanye sends an e-mail. And his forthcoming album, production of Timez features are Weird These Days (because this summer) of collaborators including Swedish group Teddybears account and, apparently, MIA producer Switch.

Last name of London joined Cleopatra theme in the annals of songs that reference the artists. It has a back stripped opening, before of choral songs creepy and machine gun-style beats create an atmospheric noise for flow calmly detached from London. "Last name, first name Theophilus London," seems to be a lyric unnecessarily of teaching given how much you are going to read it in the coming months.

Bruno March: Tyler, the creator will have to wait in line stab me

"It is not the first to say something like that myself"... Bruno Mars on Tyler, Diss. creator's photography: Eric Theyer/Julian Berman/Reuters/PR

Bruno March responded to a Tyler diss track, the creator, saying that rapper should "wait in line."

These cynical on the leader of the Future odd nose runs the small pot could say he was picking on an easy target when he threatened to "stab Bruno March in his esophagus them" on the trail of the Yonkers breakthrough. But the Hawaiian crooner replied apparently good morale.

March, said: "(Tyler) was waiting in line if he wants to stab me." (Tyler's) certainly not the first guy who said something like me and it will not be the last. ?

Speaking to Spin magazine backstage at a show in New York, March continued: "Oh, man." How you feel about it? Is that coming up. "You pick up some fans and a handful of hate along the way".

Response of March is certainly more measured than his collaborator BoB. Selected Tyler a fight with rapper, referencing his trail aircraft featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore's: "what you think of Hayley Williams?" / Fuck her / I will crash this plane fucking that nigga BoB bundles is. ?

BoB, alias Bobby Ray Simmons Jr left a trail of response in March, appointed future punningly without warning: "I am far too high for you, even watch / the future ain't promising research these recruits / practical target, but I do even pull the trigger plusparce that it is just a waste of bullets.".

Tyler then used the weapon of sarcasm to respond via Twitter: "I have never heard him spit like this." Took me by surprise, cus it's tight. "In a separate tweet, it provides an assessment of the music of BoB:"same rope progression as fucking Love the way you are lying and that a song by Katy Perry.

New group of the day - not 1,022: Lana Del Rey

Nicki Minaj in the body of Lana Turner... Lana Del Rey

Hometown: Lake Placid.

Range: Lizzy Grant (vocals).

Background: We love Lizzy Grant, aka Lana Del Rey, we really do. A lot. But it makes us nervous. Mainly because the phrases that it uses to describe what it is that it is and how it wants to appear, are better than we could manage. It's great when a new law comes with a vision and a fully realized aesthetic, but please leave us with a work to be done. For example, it is the "Nancy Sinatra gangsta" which means that his music "sonic equivalent to a film by Vincent Gallo." It is very neat and seem more still once you hear his music, which is not so fuse as a choice between the 50 schizoid sensual ballads ooze glamour ruin, which is replete with what she calls "strings Frank Sinatra" pop and modern inflected hip hop hip-hop with advice from the high school drama : think Lil Kim if it was produced by Kim Fowley.

We have sent almost 19 tracks by his "people", all the demos with various producers to the bar, and they are divided intriguing as indicated above, with the 24-year-old New Yorker, and sometimes singing London resident is high and girly on songs as a sort of pop Lolita to present his, or low and husky (she is a former jazz singer) on material which suggests an adult woman who has been through the mill and has emerged from the other side, wearier and wiser, with stories to tell. Our immediate response to these diametrically opposed approaches: play their place and do a concept, double-sided as a vinyl version album or a 12-tracker split evenly and that it includes six pop songs, exuberant, uncompromising as the Paris wrote Guy Chambers, that is, young pitched but playful ("you are such a naughty boy, why you taking that Polaroid?") and six things like the Million Dollar Man, which is more Brenda Lee that Britney more slow and painful.

Then, the drive in cars and hundreds of ticket, it offers a third way: the good girl of Laura Palmer with one side dark, with a foot simultaneously in Twin Peaks and the other in Tinseltown. On the former, in the Spectoresque farm, she shoo shoos as a Shirelle on how all boys were "all had girlfriends but I am the one they want" while on the latter point, it is "the trailer park darling" who likes "tough and mean". The melodies are catchy and beats also hang. And references to liquor abound.

If we were in charge - and with our own series of concerts on the road, without a doubt is that a question of time - would opt us for the route concept. How awesome: an album following the passage of a young girl from adolescence to adulthood, a Pet Sounds for the generation of Katy Perry. Grant has already taken the opening and closing tracks: on Puppy Love it chirrups on the pre-rock era of Jackie O and Dick Van Dyke Show with joy dizzy, ditzy, while on Carmen she sounds almost as weathered and worn as Marianne Faithfull on Broken English. We can't wait to hear this album - in fact, in our free time between the discovery of new bands and put on performances, we D & R if you wish.

Buzz: "Pop dark cinematic wrapped in smoky, sensual and glamorous connotations" - thedailytransmission.com.

The truth: Nicki Minaj is in the body of Lana Turner.

Probably to: The idea of the concept of Park.

The least likely of: The next year into a sandtrap with Van Dyke Parks.

What to buy: Nothing is yet - but, seeing as how we will monitor it, you will be the first to know when the album was released.

next to the file: Sky Ferreira, Britney, Julie London, Julee Cruise.

Links: facebook.com/lanadelrey

New band Monday: Airbird.

Diplo accuses MIA "glamorising terrorism."

Diplo on MIA... "She left itself open to attacks." Photography: Jim Dyson/Getty.

Diplo has launched a scathing attack on MIA, accusing the singer and rapper of "glamorising terrorism."

Former producer of the star, who is also her ex-boyfriend, blamed rhetoric policy of MIA for the failure of his last album, Maya.

The pair found mainstream success with the track plans paper, which is an international star of MIA after featuring on soundtracks for Pineapple Express and Slumdog Millionaire, but separated shortly after.

Diplo, aka Wesley Pentz, explained what happened. WWD told him: "it is celebrated after paper planes." She had already thrown the sponge when fate of this recording. Before that she was like, "I am my retirement." I'm going to marry this guy, fuck it. "Then made paper aircraft explode and it was like: ' Oh shit, I Gotta take advantage. I am in fact an artist now. ? ?

But Unattractive followed album Maya does not build on its success and has been eclipsed by a section of the New York Times writer Lynn Hirschberg, who proposed that the supposed radical was a false truffle-fry food.

The album, filled with references to Sri Lankan terrorists, Diplo said: "Maya left open to attack." It is not an artist easy to criticize because it is very left, is progressive, she is a woman. But when it comes to pure, made in the political field, it is zero. It is nothing. I have him at the beginning of the third record, are not political in this... You just can not glorify terrorism, this is not cool... you cannot hide behind this crap. But it is completely... And Lynn Hirschberg he just ate. If it is not, critics would have eaten him anyway because the record was not good.

Diplo recently assisted with the production on Run single of Beyonce worldwide (girls).

Wiz Khalifa: wake up, baken, it search

The skin of the pinup: Wiz Khalifa shows where he stashes his rolling papers, perhaps.

With the strong odour of cannabis radiating from his lanky presence and Kanye West ex model Amber Rose, on his heavily tattooed arms, Cameron Jibril Thomaz looks - and odour - every inch of the star of hip-hop. "Wake up baken." He smiles entering the lobby of his hotel in Austin, Texas. For "wake up" and "cooking" is apparently preferred alternative of the Wiz Khalifa in a bowl of Coco Pops first thing. The young man of 23 years like weeds. He likes. "I like weeds", he confirms, laughing Cheech & Chong escaping from his lips. "It's just my thing." It is a part of the process of my life, and it is definitely part of my process of studio. When I listen to beats, I Gotta quit, and I gotta be high. ?

Khalifa (ce name means "successor" in Arabic) may love the grass, but under the Snoop Dogg-style talk is a young man incredibly canny. After a short contract with Warner in 2007 which resulted in a single minor hit (Say Yeah), he returned to his hometown of Pittsburgh and indie label forum where he released the singles, album and 10 mixtapes for free music for the next four years. Such was the popularity of a cassette, video Kush and JO, it became a # 1 on Twitter-oriented subject. Wiz has grown from a fallen to in the application; last year, he turned down a slit of support with Drake to undertake its own dates U.S. overall with his colleague up-and-comer Yelawolf. Of wake Baken 50-city tour saw the pair play to more than 90,000 people. in February of this year, he sold two dates in London in 20 minutes. "I am become more independent after the situation with Warner," he says now. "I have the experience and I got the know-how to be able to run my business and do the right way and be really proud and happy with it." When I was working my more harshly and I wasn't making love, it is when I really built up my biggest buzz in my career. "I am not frustrated, I was motivated".

Wiz Khalifa

Atlantic Records signed Wiz last summer, perhaps with the suspicion that he could earn a lot of money. They put him directly in the studio with power production Stargate, known for their work with Rihanna, Beyonce and - lolz - S Club 7. The result was black & yellow, an ode to local American football team of the Pittsburgh Steelers Wiz, which has become so ubiquitous, that son of this same Tom Hanks made a remix. A ridiculously propelling three minutes and 47 seconds to harass the percussion and persistent hook, he said "black and yellow" 38 times. We counted. "I think that it is just years of hard work to build this ball and then clubbing them with it," he said of the non-1 and UK No. 5 has sold copies of 4 m and had views of 65 m on YouTube views. "My formula of writing is really natural;" people do not really know why they like the song, but I've programmed to like the song, "he says, well pleased with himself.

With his latest album, Rolling Papers, selling 200,000 copies in the US its first week, there was a suggestion that the approach of the Wiz success is slightly cynical. If this is the case, he could not give a toss. "If Atlantic want to put me in the studio with the No. 1 pop guys, I am not gonna be like, 'I know everything and you say nothing,'", he said. "Black & yellow is always difficult." "I wanted to combine records big with its edgy, raw and I really feel like we've perfected that".

Wiz attributes a large part of his business acumen to his dad. With both parents in the army, Khalifa has spent much of his youth in the United Kingdom, Germany and the Japan. When his parents separated and left forces, he split his time between them. "We have excellent relations, they always have me the choice. they never fought over me, "says. "My father was a great influence on me, because he has always had his own business." He really taught me business sense and how to be a targeted individual, but also how to have fun and to do everything the world around you have fun. ?

It certainly seems to have many alouettes. During his stay in Austin he lopes on the town of sipping, literally, gin (but not juice) with Lil B and Yelawolf. It also is pals with many of the rappers he appeared once up to, including Snoop ("" we have been quite high, oh yeahhhhhh! "")He laughs). As well as smoking grass, Khalifa also loves a tattoo. Loves them. "I love tattoos," he said, pointing to his neck, back, head and torso. It has a total of property, "it is impossible to count", but there are tattoos on all parts of his body, bar his legs, he was about to. "Just try, you know, diversify, man.". I want to be an icon. "An icon you gotta get tattoos in some places," he smiles again. "Nah, an icon that you just do not be afraid." And I do not fear. Some I do, I do because I want to do and because it is completely, 100% me. ?

And with that - model on the arms, gin in hand and money on his mind - he is disabled in an another puff of smoke.

Snoop Dogg considers the launch of the version of hip hop of The X Factor

Smokin' '... Snoop Dogg. Photography: Robert Vos/AFP/Getty Images

Rapper Snoop Dogg announced he wants to produce an x television program of the factor-style to find the next hip-hop star.

Singer, aged 39, who is in the United Kingdom to promote the launch of her 11th album studio Doggumentary, said that although he thought X Factor and American Idol "big shows", he felt there was space on the market for a "straight" televised talent contest conducted for the hood... the people with no argenttalent just "."

He said: "I seek agreement for a network to find America's hottest artists hood."

A asked what he thought of the pop star Cheryl Cole, who has recently signed up to be a judge on the U.S. version of the X factor, Snoop Dogg replied: "it alright." It does its thing. She has a little bit hardcore, a little edgy. ?

Snoop Dogg, former member of the Crip himself is no stranger to the nervousness. In possibly the most politically incorrect press conference, never seen on these shores, the rapper kept journalists gathered in the club of the gentleman private in London Centre waiting for almost an hour, before appear on stage in clouds of smoke and a multitude of skimpily clad at the pole dancers.

Sipping a drink identified a cup of the Union Jack, Snoop Dogg, born Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr, wore sunglasses throughout that he submitted questions.

Earlier this month, the rapper has released a collaboration with Charlie Sheen called Winning, featuring some of the infamous slogans of the troubled actor. "Charlie Sheen was my friend before," said Snoop Dogg. "I do not judge my friends." If it is my friend, it will remain my friend. He called on a session... must be real people maintained by him. ?

In recent years, Snoop Dogg has successfully branched in cinema and television. In London, he insisted that his plans for the domination of the world did not stop there. "I want to open a supermarket chain," he said. "But I shall call Snoopermarkets."

Snoop Dogg played the Forum, London NW5 Tuesday evening.

New music: Snoop Dogg and Charlie Sheen - winner

Here's what Charlie Sheen had to say about his collaboration with Snoop Dogg: "well, the genesis of the song is," you know, winning. It's just all in life. I think that Snoop has done a very good job to wrap the whole vibe of, you know, the movement. ?

Sensible stuff, you agree to. Now, unless Sheen has a jurisdiction hitherto unknown of drum programming, it is not clear exactly what he had to do on this point, other than sit in the corner with a doob, brandishing of cue cards bearing the many slogans. Snoop throws tiresomely them any low - violent torpedoes of the truth, blood of tiger etc - as a voice of robot croons "win" sounds attractive, elegant of a 1990s big beat remix. It is Snoop, rap is quite fabulous, but it would be difficult to argue that EC is not a new low for popular culture. Still, winning at least is song of SEO-friendly to most Snoop since what he did with Katy Perry.

New group of the day - not 1 021: Mac Miller

Mac Miller crossing... This gifted rapper is already on its way the widest-acclaimed

Hometown: Pittsburgh.

Range: Malcolm McCormick (vocals, beats).

Background: It is not all about Tyler, the creator when it comes to hip-hop, especially in the States. In fact, on the cover of their prestigious annual number of first class, features new hottest magazines XXL 11 of rappers and Tyler not one of them. Instead, there is Mill Meek, Kendrick, Government of Yukon, Lil Twist, Yelawolf, Diggy Simmons, Lil B, Big K.R.I.T., Fred the Godson, Cyhi Da Prince... and Mac Miller. We have audited if Tyler was on the cover of last year - non - or before that: still nothing. Perhaps then there is rap U.S. that means something to the traditional European press, and there are artists such as Mac Miller-white, Jewish - who get taken seriously by the hip-hop publications of America breeds. Bizarre.

In any event. Here's Mac Miller, a 19 years of Pittsburgh - Wiz Khalifa territory - which could not niche for long stay. He wants to "appeal to the heads of hip-hop and people who grew up" listening to the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and the Sex Pistols, and he has already made some progress in this ambition to reach the immensity of crossover: his second mixtape, best day everrecently went "gold", having received over 100 000 downloads, and apparently his videos 5 m average affects each and total approximately 20 m. If that translates into actual sales when he released his first proper album due this fall on U.S. indie ForumIt remains to be seen, but it is certainly moving in the right direction, we said, sounding like 1970s, Radio 1 DJ.

But then it is on the right because Miller sounds like a "golden age of MC" - in fact, it is the label that it is given for its laidback and hip-hop based on sampling. He grew up listening to the period classic rap (A tribe called Quest et al.) and now it is this that its 80 years ancestors did before him: take excerpts from lush soul, sometimes creating simple, other times more complex beats out of them and rap on top. His delivery is cool - not the threat languid Snoop, just suspicious. Perhaps because he is Jewish and white, he had the inevitable bugs and despite the odd playful video comparison is not in the same region parody them. Asher Roth, perhaps.

Good tunes, although, with a keen sense of melody. On and are eye-catching, infectious, breezy and light and, although as no news, in a fresh way. It is a summer party anthem, music for barbeques and swap meets that makes us feel nostalgic of a truly American adolescence that us had never. Koolaid and frozen pizza, as much of Miller, is infused with 70s music soundtrack of seduction, which is very well by us, although good evening quiet of 1980s samples the Isley Brothers' storm classic, between the leaves. Everything seems to come from another time, another place, give or take a track as Nike on my feet, that rhyme "bag" with "panels". Live Free is based on the kind of syncopated, jazzy R & B Tyler probably conducted after a hard day Rapper on cop-killing and mutilation. And cruise control, featuring Wiz Khalifa is lovely - we could listen to an entire album of this.

Buzz: It seems to have found the right formula, and now the sky is the limit - volanteonline.com.

The truth: Miller could be lite, but we highly recommend him.

Probably to: COP a feel.

The least likely of: Kill a cop.

What to buy: His first single, UK Knock Knock, was released on June 13.

next to the file: Asher Roth, Wiz Khalifa, Drake, Gucci Mane.

Links: myspace.com/listentomac.

New band Friday: Lana Del Ray.

Musical pilgrimage Insider Guide

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Hip-hop

JDL from Cold Crush Brothers: the Bronx

The Paradise Theater (2413 Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York, +1 718 220 1015, paradisetheaterevents.com) opened in 1929 and, back in the day, people went there to watch movies. It closed in 1994, but was reopened a few years ago by Cathy Moriarty-Gentile – who is from the Bronx and played Vikki LaMotta opposite Robert De Niro in Raging Bull – and her husband Joseph Gentile, as a great music venue. You get some good old school hip-hop acts playing there.

There aren't any good record shops left in the Bronx now, in the digital age, but SOS DJ (1154 Castle Hill Ave, Bronx, New York, +1 718 829 4000, sosdjshop.com) is a great DJ shop, the best joint to go to for turntables, mixers, amps, you name it.

If you're after vinyl, I would probably send you down to Rock and Soul (462 7th Avenue, New York, +1 212 695 3953, rockandsoul.com), which has a lot of old hip-hop and repressings, as well as DJ equipment.

If you're after some real good soul food, I'd definitely recommend Jacob's Restaurant (373 Malcom X Boulevard, +1 212 866 3663, jacobrestaurant.com) in Harlem. I'll tell you now, that joint is better than Sylvia's (sylviassoulfood.com), which is better known and only two blocks down. Sylvia's is good, but you got to check Jacob's.

You should also check out Doug E's Chicken and Waffles (2245 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd, +1 212 368 4371), from hip-hop pioneer Doug E Fresh. They do amazing cookies-and-cream waffles and peach cobbler waffles. Doug E, the man they call "the original human beatbox" only lives one block over, in an old Brownstone, so he'll be there a couple of nights a week.

Down in Brooklyn, Buffalo Boss (554 Fulton Street, +1 718 624 2677, buffaloboss.com) is quite a new joint, opened late last year, and owned by Jay-Z's cousin Jamar White, and Jay has put some money behind it. They got good sweet potato fries and great chicken wings with a hot sauce they call Fire In The Hole.

‧ JDL is a member of Cold Crush Brothers, one of the earliest hip-hop crews, formed in the Bronx, the home of hip-hop, in 1979. See coldcrushbrothers.com for gigs

DJ Yoda: New York City, Rio, Shenzhen

New York City is really the mecca for any fan of hip-hop. It's true – most of the classic record stores have closed now, and the city's club scene ain't what it used to be. But you can take the Roots of Hip-Hop tour in Harlem (292 Fifth Ave, +1 212 209 3370, hushtours.com), and see 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, the birthplace of hip-hop, where the likes of Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash first scratched a record. The tour is led by old-school rappers too, so it's nice to know old rappers don't die, they just become tour guides.

But a lot of places like Harlem and Brooklyn that birthed hip-hop have slowly become gentrified throughout the years. So it's appropriate that a new, bastardised style of hip-hop, known as "baile funk", is being born out of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. The music is uptempo and raw, and has gained a respectable international fanbase. The last time I DJ'd in Rio was at the TIM festival alongside one of the biggest baile funk DJs, Sany Pitbull, and seeing him playing this music to 10,000 adoring fans was unforgettable.

A less likely place is Shenzhen, in China. I went to DJ there without knowing anything about it. When I got to the city I was surprised to discover that it has a bigger population than London. Everything is new, everyone is young, and they are just discovering western-style hip-hop and clubbing. There is more bling and more flashy cars than P Diddy would ever require, so in many ways it's more hip-hop than most other places I've been. The club I went to was called Babyface (Jiangbei Road, babyface.com.cn), and is a crazy, multi-roomed mega-club with karaoke in one room, a whisky bar in another and then the guest DJ in a big room.

‧ DJ Yoda (djyoda.co.uk) does his AV show at Glastonbury on 26 June (glastonburyfestivals.co.uk)

Dance, disco, electro

Andy Butler from Hercules and Love Affair: New York City

Disco freaks have to visit New York. Neil Aline's Nouveaux New York party which happens at Le Bain at the Standard Hotel (848 Washington at 13th Street, +1 212 645 4646, standardhotels.com/new-york-city) in the Meatpacking District is fun. This part of New York has become a little overrun with people trying to get the Sex and the City experience, but here the crowd is cute, the sound system great and the DJ line-up solid. Expect disco and house of the highest order with Aline of Chez Records fame at the helm. The SubMercer (147 1/2 Mercer St, +1 212 966 6060) is a club underneath the Mercer Hotel in SoHo, which boasts a great mix of DJs. One night they might have a disco legend, the next a quality hip-hop DJ.

Barcelona's best export, Sylvia Prada, has been having parties over in NYC recently. Whether she is hosting a party for fashion boutique Opening Ceremony (openingceremony.us) or throwing her Club Tropicana party at Trophy Bar in Williamsburg (351 Broadway, between 9th and Keap St, +1 347 2278515, trophybar.blogspot.com), you know the music, on a classic house tip, is gonna be good, and the people sexy. Kim Ann Foxman from Hercules and Love Affair plays regularly.

‧ Hercules and Love Affair play Springfestival, Graz, Austria, which takes place from 1-5 June (springfestival.at)

Steve Angello, Swedish House Mafia: Miami

South Beach is my favourite area of Miami. We usually stay at the W Hotel (2201 Collins Avenue, +1 305 938 3000, southbeach.com) and use that as a base. The W is not only the best hotel, it's also where a lot of DJs and the music industry hang out, so if you hang around the bar you end up seeing everyone!

The LIV (4441 Collins Ave, +1 305 674 4680, livnightclub.com) in Fontainebleau, Miami Beach, has an amazing vibe and a great line of great, mainly big-name house DJs. Go to the Delano (1685 Collins Avenue, +305 672 2000, delano-hotel.com) for poolside dining and great cocktails, with an underwater soundtrack. While you're in Miami, make sure you stay up to see the sun come up … and try a drink called Miami Vice, which is a mix of rum, daiquiri and half pina colada.

‧ Swedish House Mafia (swedishhousemafia.com) play T in the Park in Kinross-Shire on 9 July

Kissy Sell Out, DJ: Toronto

There is a very vibrant electronic music scene in Toronto, with many notable artists emerging such as MSTRKRFT and Zeds Dead. The dubstep scene is currently setting the city ablaze, but for big room dance-music connoisseurs there are also huge clubs such as Guvernment Night Club (132 Queens Quay East, +1 416 869 0045, theguvernment.com ), which hosts thousands of passionate clubbers every night to a world-class sound system with decadent interior design to rival any super club.

‧ Kissy Sell Out's new album, Wild Romance, is out on 23 May on sancityhigh.com and ITunes

Annie Nightingale, DJ: Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is the most exciting place I've been recently for an adventurous break, with dance music.

The Sziget festival in Hungary (8-15 August, sziget.hu/festival_english) is brilliant and magical. Near Budapest, it's the size of Reading festival, with a Glastonbury vibe, and takes place on an island in the middle of the river.

My most bizarre clubbing experience there was in Romania, in a resort on the Black Sea called Mamaia (mamaia.com), that was built for workers in Ceausescu's time. It was in a hotel and was like something out of Scarface – very heavy-looking characters who had bodyguards and were surrounded by scantily dressed women. These rich guys arrived around 9pm and sat there with a big bottle of vodka, listening to the most awful Eurotrash music. But then at 2-3pm, all the young promoters took over, all the cool young people suddenly came flooding in, and they took over the night, which was done on a shoestring and basically funded by the rich guys – a clever use of the economic system. The young ones then played all night, very now music.

‧ PLUG??

Tensnake, DJ: Helsinki

Helsinki is a really beautiful city: it's warm and summery and the people so hungry and happy! I played at a place called Club YK (Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 21, clubyk.fi), a beautiful new club with a fantastic sound system and brand new interior. The people were stage-diving and crowd-surfing during my set – it was one of the craziest nights I've ever experienced. They also know a lot about dance music. It feels so fresh.

PLUG??

Indie, shoe gaze

Hot Club De Paris

Back in 2006 during the strong-pound-against-the-dollar days, we found ourselves in a Chicago neighbourhood by the name of Bucktown to make our second album (Live at Dead Lake) with native Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron and Wine) at his studio, Engine. We'd picked the city because of our obsession with its experimental indie rock heritage, and quickly discovered the scene we'd romanticised from afar in Blighty was attentive, accepting, committed and awesome. Long studio days were generally capped with a quiet drink and a bout of guitar perving in Rick Nielsen's (of Cheap Trick) pizza bar, Piece Brewery and Pizzeria (1927 W North Ave, +1 773 772 4422, piecechicago.com). Party nights involved checking out local gig venues like the Empty Bottle (1035 N Western Ave, +1 773 276 3600, emptybottle.com) – where we saw Joan of Arc's Tim Kinsella and Cryptacize, or heading out to bars like the Rainbo Club (1150 N Damen Ave, +1 773 489 5999), in the Ukranian Village area, where Chicago's alt-aristocracy tend the bar. Audio holidayers should go check out Steve Albini's studio Electrical Audio (2621 W Belmont Ave, +1 773 539 2555, electrical.com) to take a look to see where your favourite records were made (he recorded albums for Nirvana, Pixies, PJ Harvey), and to finally see the room around Albini's famous snare drum sound.

‧ Hot Club De Paris (hotclubdeparis.com) play Liverpool Sound City on 19-21 May liverpoolsoundcity.co.uk

Fink, singer, DJ and producer: Paris

Ok, Paris isn't famous for its music to people outside Paris, but if you're into expanding your horizons it can be really rewarding. The African music scene is genuine, exciting and real, and the city is a destination for all artists at some stage in their career, so it really is so much cooler for music than people give it credit for. The venues are established and cool, relaxed and affordable. If you mix your overdue dirty weekend with a cool gig of a band you love, you will not be disappointed. Oberkampf is the most alive and cool street when it comes to music and drinks, but tourists don't go. Le Nouveau Casino (109 rue Oberkampf, +33 1 4357 5740, nouveaucasion.net) is a venue that turns into a club at weekends. The sound system's good; the bar right next to it, Le Charbon (also 109 rue Oberkampf, +33 1 4357 5513), is always packed with trendy people as well as local drunks.

A bit higher on rue Moret you've got L'International, which is the free gig and trendy cool place in town (there are not many of those in Paris). It's rough and ready, locals-only, and the bands that are booked are sometimes rubbish and sometimes surprisingly awesome: She Keeps Bees, or Peter Bjorn on the mainstream vibe.

Keep going up Menilmontant and you'll get a nice view of the town right before you turn into rue Boyer. There you have La Maroquinerie (23 rue Boyer, +33 1 40 33 35 05, lamaroquinerie.fr), a tiny venue with a courtyard where there is always a gig you wanna see (James Blake did one recently, and Foals have too). It's often a band's first gig on their early European excursions.

‧ Fink (finkworld.co.uk) releases a new album, Perfect Darkness, on 13 June

Grunge

Mark Yarm, grunge blogger and writer: Seattle

In late 1992, a Spin magazine writer declared that Seattle was "to the rock'n'roll world what Bethlehem was to Christianity". The religious fervour surrounding Seattle has faded in the intervening decades, but there are still plenty of shrines in the city, both old and new, for the grunge faithful. A necessary stop is the recently opened Nirvana exhibit at Experience Music Project museum (325 Fifth Ave N, +1 206 770 2700, empsfm.org), which houses an impressive array of relics, including the first guitar Kurt Cobain smashed on stage. About 18km to the north, in Shoreline, is London Bridge Studio (20021 Ballinger Way NE #A, Shoreline, +1 206 364 1525, londonbridgestudio.com), which has just started offering guided tours (by appointment only) of the place where the rest of grunge's Big Four – Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains – recorded early classics. After nightfall, keep the spirit of 92 alive by catching a rock show at the Crocodile (Alice drummer Sean Kinney is an investor – 2200 Second Ave, +1 206 441 4618, thecrocodile.com) or engaging in an enduring Seattle scene pursuit – getting drunk – at Hazlewood (2311 NW Market St, +1 206 783 0478, myspace.com/hazlewoodbar) a bar co-owned by Soundgarden bassist Ben Shepherd.

‧ Mark Yarm is the author of Everybody Loves Our Town: A History of Grunge (￡17.99 Faber), which is out in September. He blogs about all things grunge at grungebook.tumblr.com

60s

Greg Wilson, DJ and producer: San Francisco

I'm a bit of a 60s obsessive, so San Francisco holds special relevance, the city having spawned the hippie movement, not to mention the beatniks before them. On my first trip there, I found myself enthusing like a child on seeing a sign for the Cow Palace (where Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters headed in 1964 to watch the Beatles perform; 2600 Geneva Avenue, +1 415 404 4100, cowpalace.com), and my excitement reached boiling point when this was immediately followed by a sign for Candlestick Park (venue of the last Beatles gig, on 29 August 1966; +1 415 656 4900, 49ers.com).

The Haight-Ashbury district was, of course, my first port of call. I was so excited to be at the heartland of hippie that I initially looked at things through rose-coloured specs, almost imagining myself back in the era of the the Free Store (run by counter-culture heroes the Diggers) and the infamous Drog Store Cafe. However, during subsequent visits I've been much more aware of the downside, illustrated by the stream of drug casualties who are still magnetised by its legend well over 40 years after the dream went sour.

‧ Greg Wilson (electrofunkroots.co.uk) plays the Garden Festival in Petrcane, Croatia (6-13 July, thegardenfestival.eu)

Robin Bennett, festival organiser: Woodstock

For most of today's indie kids the Big Pink is a band singing about Dominos. For me it means a hallowed place in Woodstock where Bob Dylan and the Band holed up in a basement crafting dark folk tales of Long Black Veils. I first went to Woodstock a few years back with my brother Joe and our then band Goldrush, choosing this rural idyll in upstate New York for a recording session. Calling on a local for directions, we asked, "Where's Big Pink?"

Turns out it was just a pink house (where some of the greatest songs I've ever heard were penned), but Woodstock – now home to stores owned by ageing hipsters selling faded tie-dye – and upstate New York are well worth the visit nonetheless for all fans of the Band, Dylan and Americana; every log cabin in the mountains seems steeped in musical history and natural beauty.

‧ Robin Bennett's Truck Festival (truckfestival.com) runs 22-24 July, Steventon, Oxfordshire. Wood Festival (woodfestival.com) runs 20-22 May, Braziers Park, Oxfordshire

Soul

Noah Ball, festival organiser: Philadelphia

The musical pilgrimage I'd been planning for a couple of years with a friend from Manchester involved three US cities: Philadelphia, Detroit and LA. Philadelphia was renowned for its Philly soul sound, which brought the Soul Survivors and Teddy Pendergrass into the world; prior to that its jazz scene boasted John Coltrane and Dizzy Gillespie. This legacy of soul and jazz has been kept burning bright in the Philly hip-hop and electronic scene – the Roots, Vikter Duplaix and Bahamadia.

The Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts (736-38 S Broad Street, +1 215 893 9912, clefclubofjazz.org) is a venue that we found highly recommendable, and the Philadelphia Record Exchange (618 South 5th Street, +1 215 925 7892, philarecx.com) is perhaps one of the greatest vinyl shops I've ever been to.

‧ Noah Ball's Soundwave Croatia festival (soundwavecroatia.com) runs 22-25 July, Petrcane

Blues

Jon Stewart, Sleeper guitarist and music lecturer: Memphis

Every Blues fan should visit Clarksdale, 75 miles south of Memphis down the fabled Highway 61. Clarksdale was a cultural and economic focus for surrounding cotton plantations, and for many of the legendary musicians who defined the blues.

Muddy Waters and Son House lived locally and played juke joints in the area – some of which, like Red's (395 Sunflower Ave, Clarksdale), you can still visit. Robert Johnson "sold his soul to the devil" at a crossroads on the edge of town, and Bessie Smith died in the colourful Riverside Hotel (615 Sunflower Avenue, +1 662 624 9163) – home at one time or other to almost every name in the blues pantheon, and where Ike Turner also wrote what is generally accepted as the first rock'n'roll song, Rocket 88.

Stay in a refurbished sharecropper cabin at the Shack Up Inn (1 Commissary Circle, +1 662 624 8329, shackupinn.com) to immerse yourself in the vibe of the Mississippi Delta.

‧ Jon Stewart now lectures at Brighton Institute of Modern Music (bimm.co.uk)

Garth Cartwright, music writer: Chicago

The blues never die – as proven recently by Hugh Laurie – and Chicago remains America's foremost blues city. It hosts its annual Chicago Blues Festival from 10-12 June (explorechicago.org). And it's free! The festival's over by 9pm – the perfect time to head out to one of Chicago's blues bars. Buddy Guy's Legends (700 S Wabash, +1 312 427 1190, buddyguys.com) is a great venue that books top artists. Blue Chicago (536 N Clark, +1 312 661 0100, bluechicago.com) in downtown tends towards pleasing tourists with bands playing standards. On the north side of town you have Kingston Mines (2548 North Halsted, +1 773 477 4646, kingstonmines.com) and B.L.U.E.S (2519 N Halsted, +1 773 528 1012, chicagobluesbar.com) – both stay open late and feature local and touring acts. For the adventurous, Lee's Unleaded (7401 S. South Chicago Ave, +1 773 493 3477, leesunleadedblues.com) in the South Side is where black Chicago parties to soul-blues.

‧ Garth Cartwright is the author of More Miles Than Money: Journeys Through American Music (￡12.99 Serpent's Tail)

Country

Cerys Matthews, singer of Catatonia and BBC 6 Music DJ

Here's how to do Nashville, where I used to live. Stay in the Hermitage Nashville (231 6th Avenue North, +1 615 244 3121, thehermitagehotel.com), where Neil Young celebrated his Prairie Wind launch – I was there and came face to face with Meryl Streep, a Neil Young fan. Opened in 1910, it is an old-school class hotel. Or the Best Western (1407 Division Street, + 1 615 242 1631, book.bestwestern.com), is a stone's throw from a statue of legendary producer Owen Bradley and all of the record companies offices – here you'll see banners hanging from windows celebrating a chart hit and the writers behind it. The hotel bar hosts open-mic nights where you'll hear some crazy songs. Classic Nashville nights.

In the morning head to the Ryman Auditorium (116 5th Ave North, +1 615 889 3060, ryman.com) downtown. Go on a guided tour – stand on the stage and sing through the mic as part of the tour. Learn about the Grand Ole Opry, which on a Saturday night recorded artists like Dolly Parton and Minnie Pearl performing live to be transmitted to homes around the country.

The alley between the auditorium and the Broadway bars is where Hank Williams would slip out of the Ryman where he was performing and into the back doors of places like Tootsie's Orchid Lounge (422 Broadway, +1 615 726 0463, tootsies.net). Enter a bar of your choice for live music till the early hours. No corny tourist fodder – these are the rehearsing rooms of the session musicians who play at the big recording studios – the later the hour, the better the talent. If you're a musician, you can often get up and play with the bands. They play for tips, which you put in a pot on leaving.

For an idea of the current crop of local musical talent, Grimey's (1604 8th Ave. South, +1 615 254 4801, grimeys.com) has savvy staff and new releases on CD. Mark Never's studio, Beech House (myspace.com/beechhouserecording), is close to Grimey's – recent recordings include Caitlin Rose, Candi Staton, Lamb Chop and … well, umm, me.

After three days in Nashville it's time to head for Memphis. It's a three-hour road trip and so worth it, but that's a whole different story …

‧ Cerys Matthews's new album, Explorer, and her debut children's book Tales from the Deep (￡5.99 Gomer Press) are both out now

Traditional British music

Julie Fowlis, folk singer: Ullapool

The best place to hear Gaelic singing and traditional music is the Ceilidh Place (14 West Argyle Street, 01854 612103, theceilidhplace.com), Ullapool on the west coast of Scotland. It's one of the longest-running establishments in this vibrant village for music, with organised gigs and spontaneous sing-songs. I've played there myself – officially and unofficially. It attracts real music lovers, has great food and local beers, rooms to stay in, and is a real rootsy kind of place.

‧ juliefowlis.com

Jackie Oates, folk-pop act: Okehampton

The Devonshire Inn (Sticklepath, Okehampton, Devon, 01837 840626), hosts a sing-around and traditional music session on the first Sunday of the month. It's a tiny, traditional Devon pub, with a stone floor, and large open fire and intimate atmosphere. It is a warm and nurturing environment. I first starting going there as a student: it is the place where I learnt and honed my craft, through listening to older singers, and trying out new songs that I am hooked on.

‧ Jackie Oates is touring with Seth Lakeman and is due to release her album, Saturnine, in September

Irish

Colin Irwin, music journalist: Dublin and the west coast of Ireland

Despite an overload of Glee singers belting out Fields Of Athenry in Dublin, fine musicians can still be found, notably at the Cobblestone (77 North King St, +353 1872 1799, cobblestonepub.ie) in Smithfield, while O'Donoghue's (15 Merrion Row, +353 1660 7194, odonoghues.ie) – indelibly associated with the Dubliners – is also obligatory.

The best Irish music, though, is found on the gorgeous west coast. Lively music bars populate Cork, Kerry, Galway and Mayo (where Matt Molloy of the Chieftains has an eponymously-named pub heaving with live music every night in Westport (+353 098 26655, mattmolloy.com). Yet the heartland of Irish music is County Clare. Great sessions abound in Ennis and Miltown Malbay, especially in early July when Miltown hosts a festival in honour of the great piper Willie Clancy (willieclancyfestival.com). And if you go between 13-22 August, head for Cavan – north-west of Dublin – this year's host of Fleadh Cheoil (fleadh2011cavan.ie), a huge annual gathering of musicians. Wild but wonderful.

‧ Colin Irwin is a music journalist and the author of In Search of the Craic: One Man's Pub Crawl Through Irish Music (￡6.99 Andre Deutch)

World music

Kapka Kassabova, travel writer: Tango in Buenos Aires

It takes two to tango: you and Buenos Aires. You won't understand tango music until you visit – because it's not a music genre, it's a way of life. Walk along Avenida Corrientes, where old tangos play in every bookshop, and stop at music store Zivals (V Callao 395, +54 115 128 7500, tangostore.com). Drop in at the Museum of Tango above Cafe Tortoni (Avenida de Mayo, +54 114 342 4328, cafetortoni.com), and you might catch young tango musicians rehearsing. Avoid over-priced restaurant tango shows and hit the milonga circuit instead, to see glammed-up locals and visitors dance in a sweaty trance at Salon Canning (Scalabrini Ortiz 1331, +54 114 832 6753). Catch tango sensation Fernandez Fierro Orquesta – the heavy metal of tango music – who regularly play at their eponymous club (Sanchez de Bustamante 764, fernandezfierro.com). Go soon, although "tango knows how to wait".

‧ Kapka Kassabova's dance memoir Twelve Minutes of Love: A Tango Story (￡18.99 Portobello) is out in November

Rose Skelton, journalist and specialist in west African music: Mbalax in Dakar

The music pioneered by Senegalese superstar Youssou N'Dour is known as mbalax – a blend of traditional sabar, Cuban salsa and the soaring vocals of west African praise singers – and this high-energy, frenetic dance music is the beat of the street in Dakar today. For a relaxed intro, head to Just4u (Avenue Chiekh Anta Diop, +221 33 824 3250, myspace.com/just4udakar) for an early (midnight!) session of local and international legends. Madison (K1 Avenue Cheikh Anta Diop, +221 77 535 9997, madison-dakar.com) has wild mbalax performances that get going late (2am). But an evening in Dakar isn't complete without a trip to Youssou's own club, where he performs at weekends when he's in town. Le Thiossane (Sicap Rue 10 Point E, +221 33 824 6046) is iconic Dakar: glittery-dressed women, new dance moves created on the spot, and the eye-popping energy of Youssou and his band, doing what they've been famously doing for 40 years.

‧ PLUG NEEDED??

Jan Fairley, music critic and ethnomusicologist: Flamenco in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain

As the modern crucible of the art of flamenco, Jerez draws thousands to masterclasses with top names and locals like the charismatic Manuela Carpio, with whom I did fast bulerias dances this year. Gigs start at 7pm in the Palacio de Villavicencio (Paseo Alameda Vieja, +34 956 326923), part of the Moorish Alcazar fortress. Then go for tapas at the bar abutting the Villamarta theatre (Plaza Romero Martinez) before evening performances there by top choreographers like Eva Yerbabuena or singers like Miguel Poveda.

In the daytime, hang out in Bar Gitaneria (Calle Ancha 18), frequented by guitarist Moraito. Then drop in at the Cafe Arriate (Calle Francos 41) before the midnight show at Sala Compania (Plaza Compania). After that, it's standing room only at local late pena clubs.

‧ festivaldejerez.es, flamenco-world.com, deflamenco.com

2007 Video Hip Hop Mix

DJ Innov8 releases yet another video mix.

This mix contains the tracks...
Monica - Everytime the Beat Drops
Lil Scrappy - Money in the Bank
Wine O - Pop My Trunk (sample)
Yung Joc - You See
Young Dro - Shoulder Lean
Lil Jon - Whatchu Gonna Do
T.I. - What You Know
Cherish - Do It To It
R Kelly - I'm A Flirt

Featured on the mixtape Ghetto Grillz Four.

All Videos Edited and Mixed utilising Pioneer DVJs and Adobe Premiere by DJ Innov8. DJ Innov8 has been video remixing since 1997 utilising Adobe Products. DJ Innov8 initially started out as a NZ turntablist in the mold of Cash Money specialising in beat jugggling, beat drumming and scratching since 1988 having won numerous turntablist competitions. He is also a prominent Sydney based music producer often utilising the MPC2500 into his live dj sets.

Termanology – Nobody’s Smilin’ Video

Nobody’s Smilin’ is the latest hip hop video from Termanology. Nobody’s Smilin’ is the lead single off Termanology’s upcoming mixtape, Time Machine (Hood Politics VI), which will be available September 22. The track is produced by Statik Selektah, who also handled the direction duties for the video.

Fabolous featuring Keri Hilson and Ryan Leslie – Everything, Everyday, Everywhere (Hip Hop Video)

The official hip hop video for Everything, Everyday, Everywhere by Fabolous featuring Keri Hilson and Ryan Leslie. Def Jam is banking heavy on this record. Fabolous’s latest album, Loso’s Way, is in stores now!

Best Hip-Hop Songs from Entourage (TV show) [New 2010]

This is a selection of some of the best hip-hop tracks (including songs by Jay-Z, Kanye West, Tupac, Outkast and others) as heard on the TV show "Entourage". I had to leave some good tracks out because of length but there are at least another 10 that I would've liked to include. Let me know what you think of the selections and what are some of the tracks you think I should have included.

Top 20 Hip Hop Songs of the Decade

HONORABLE MENTIONS
- Empire State Of Mind (Jay-Z)
- Dreams (Game)
- You Never Know (Immortal Technique)
- Been Through The Storm (Busta Rhymes)
- Hip Hop Police (Chamilionaire)
- X (Xzibit)
- Hope (Twista)
- Catalina (Raekwon)
- The Whole World (OutKast)
- Heard Em' Say (Kanye West)
- Wavin' Flag (K'naan)
------------------------------------
20. Jesus Walks - Kanye West (2005)
19. Self Construction - KRS One (2008)
18. One Mic - Nas (2001)
17. Sunshine - Atmosphere (2007)
16. Sing For the Moment - Eminem (2002)
15. Real Talk - Outlawz (2005)
14. Dilemma - Nelly (2002)
13. Hate It Or Love It - Game (2005)
12. Hip Hop Saved My Life - Lupe Fiasco (2007)
11. Winds of Change - eMC (2008)
10. Worst Comes to Worst - Dialated Peoples (2001)
9. Hip Hop is Dead - Nas (2006)
8. Lose Yourself - Eminem (2002)
7. Where Is The Love - Black Eyed Peas (2003)
6. Ghetto Gospel - 2Pac (2004)
5. Ms Jackson - OutKast (2000)
4. Kick, Push - Lupe Fiasco (2006)
3. Stan - Eminem (2000)
2. Invicible - CNN (2000)
1. Dance With the Devil - Immortal Technique (2001)
List was not intended to be biased in anyway, I was aiming to have a Single from each Rapper this Decade. We rated the music by 'meaning', 'lyrics', 'beat' and 'popularity'.
No Copyright Infringement intended.
Entertainment purposes only.

Skyzoo – The Beautiful Decay (Hip Hop Video)

The official hip hop video for The Beautiful Decay by Skyzoo. The Beautiful Decay is the first single off Skyzoo’s upcoming album, The Salvation, which will be released on Jamla Records / Duck Down Records on September 29, 2009. The Beautiful Decay is produced by 9th Wonder.

Best Hip Hop Songs of the 1990's Part 2

More of the best songs from the greatest decade of hip hop; the 1990's. This was back when hip hop was real and true and not like today where most of the songs are about clubbin', girls, cars, bling bling, or dancing or none of that fake stuff.
Back in the 90s it was all better music.

[1990]
The Ghetto -- Too Short

[1991]
Brenda's Got a Baby -- 2Pac
Check the Rhyme -- A Tribe CAlled Quest

[1992]
Jump Around -- House of Pain
Jump -- Kriss Kross
(Juice) Know the Ledge -- Eric. B & Rakim
Halftime -- Nas

[1993]
Check Yo Self -- Ice Cube
Let Me Ride -- Dr. Dre

[1994]
Gin & Juice -- Snoop Dogg
Regulate -- Warren G ft. Nate Dogg

[1995]
Dear Mama -- 2Pac
Big Poppa -- Notorious B.I.G.
Mass Appeal -- Gangstar

[1996]
Hell On Earth -- Mobb Deep

[1998]
Hard Knock Life -- Jay-Z
Twinz (Deep Cover 98) -- Big Pun ft. Fat Joe
Ruff Ryder's Anthem -- DMX

[1999]
Guilty Conscience - Eminem ft. Dr. Dre

Tags: eminem biggie smalls jay-z d12 dr dre wu tang outkast the game lil wayne kanye west top 50 best rappers rap songs of all time hip hop tupac 90's 80's old school new stronger detox relapse greatest most viewed video ever most subscribed police fat joe fabolous cypress hill new jack swing nostalgia billboard decade recovery pop 2011 2010

The Source Presents Hip-Hop Hits, Vol. 10

Synopsis: Songs include: "Let's Go" - Trick Daddy, "Dammit Man" - Pitbull, "Yes Yes Y'all" - Geto Boys, "My DJ" - Lil Wayne, Noila Clap" - Juvenile, Skipe &Wacko, "What U Gon Do" - Lil Jon, "Hold Me Down" - Achemist F/ Mobb Deep, "Wide Body" - Benzino, "Breathe" - Fabolous, "Lean Back" - Terror Squad, "Neva Eva" - Trillville, "Certified Gangstas" - Jim Jones, "Goodies" - Ciara, "Vibrate" - Petey Pablo, "Y'all Heard Of Me" - C Murder F/BG, Bonus Track: "What's Really Hood" - Benzino F/ Scarface

Price: $17.98

Click here to buy from Amazon

WONDERFUL GIRL - C.KhiD

wonderful girl - c khid! ( iTunes ) - http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/black-box-dreams-2/id365443497

The best new hip hop song of july 2010! Do not miss this Wonderful Girl song by C.KhiD. While Hip Hop music seems to fall short of promoting the positive parts of the urban community and Hip Hop culture, C.KhiD comes through once again. Why talk about hoes all day when you can celebrate the Wonderful Girls of the world? This is definitely some new Hip Hop for july of 2010! Bang this in the lounges and upscale clubs where the ladies of elegance, divaness, and sexy flock. This is not for the busted spots where girls with no class chill. Is what it is, shout outs to the Wonderful Girls and Hip Hop music fans!

Totally Hip Hop

The hip-hop entry in Rhino's Millennium Party compilation series doesn't so much capture the sound of the year 2000 as it does that of 1989. In the wake of "Walk This Way," Top 40 radio realized that its listeners would accept the Fresh Prince's tales of teen mock-woe, Tone Loc's Coasters-derived rockers, and Young MC's, er, tales of teen mock-woe. Up to and including Snoop's "What's My Name?" (the CD's newest cut, from '93), this excellent PG-rated set makes nearly flawless choices. Biggest exception: "Tennessee" by Arrested Development, whose leader Speech's nonstop self-righteous mumbling will drive everyone into the next room. --Rickey Wright

Price: $11.99

Click here to buy from Amazon

The Hip Hop Project

From executive producers Bruce Willis and Queen Latifah, THE HIP HOP PROJECT is the compelling story of a group of New York City teens who embark on a unique journey of self-discovery as they dare to reach for their dreams. Inspired by a formerly homeless teenager named Kazi, the young people struggle to write music about the tough issues affecting their lives. Over the next four years, they overcome daunting obstacles to produce a powerful and thought-provoking album, recorded in a studio donated by Willis and hip hop mogul Russell Simmons. Winner of 16 film festivals this critically acclaimed film is a lasting legacy to the teens' transformation through the power of hope and healing.

Price: $14.98

Click here to buy from Amazon

Fes Taylor – The Other Side (Hip Hop Video)

New hip hop video from Fes Taylor for his track, The Other Side. The Other Side features Minnesota Slimz, and is on Fes Taylor’s latest album, Flight 10304. The song is produced by G-Clef. Shout out to Alex and G-Clef!