REVIEW: DESSA – A BADLY BROKEN CODE (2010)
My first exposure to Dessa just so happened to be on one of the False Hopes that the Minneapolis collective, Doomtree, has been churning out over the 2000s. She’s the countering anchor to heavy hitters, Sims, Mike Mictlan and P.O.S.. With A Badly Broken Code
REVIEW: DOOMTREE – FALSE HOPES 15 (2009)
5 emcees.4 producers.1 house. (give or take)15 false hopes. It’s got the makings of a reality television show. And that’s what’s behind the Doomtree collective out of the Twin Cities. While the one house may be a stretch, False Hopes 15 definitively debuted with Blowou
REVIEW: FELT – FELT 3: A TRIBUTE TO ROSIE PEREZ (2009)
Confession. I hate hip-hop. The beats are repetitive, unimaginative to the point it may as well be techno. Lyrically, it only (mis)treats drugs, abuse, and violence. There no true musicianship behind rap, nothing that makes me want to learn an instrument or be a better artist. Welcome to early 2003,
PHOTOGRAPHY: P.O.S IN PARIS (MAINS D’ŒUVRES)
Minneapolis’ P.O.S. traversed the St. Croix over to Saint-Ouen just north of Paris’ péripherique highway in support of his stellar Never Better, released earlier this year via Rhymesayers. The club is tucked away but still saw a strong showing including a couple more Minneso
REVIEW: JAKE ONE – WHITE VAN MUSIC (2008)
Producer extraordinaire Jake One recently released his Rhymesayers and full on debut album, White Van Music this year, heavily anticipated due to his work with 50 Cent, Young Buck, and De La Soul. It’s a collective work featuring well over a dozen contr
Photography: Mac Lethal & Grieves in Milwaukee
Grieves at Stonefly Brewery, shot by John (Gallery) Grieves is a (young looking) emerging rapper coming out of Seattle. He spent time on CMJ’s Top 20 Hip Hop before coming out with his newest album 88 Keys & Counting via Black Clover, a new label started up by Mac Lethal. A personal
REVIEW: KANYE WEST – 808S & HEARTBREAK (2008)
From the university and parties of 2007’s Graduation, Kanye reigns in a distinct dark departure leaving heart and love in the spotlight. West will alienate many listeners much in the way Beck did with Sea Change in 2002 with this album, especially those seeking follow-ups to the&nbs
ON THE HORIZON: TRANSATLANTIC URBAN POP ARTIST, ZAHO
So in the last Qui? I wrote of a London-based folk group turning heads (and Saturn Vues). This time around, something a slightly different from every genre I’ve previously written about. It happened in Ninkasi Ampère in Lyon last year, over their artisanal beer and f
REVIEW: DOOMTREE – SELF-TITLED (2008)
The Minneapolis collective unveiled their long-anticipated debut. Aside from anthologies of efforts, the self-titled album is first studio album, polished by the artistic visions of five rappers and four producers. Last week I reviewed their previous effort, False Hopes (Doomtree