Hip Hop

Television Review: “The Get Down” — Netflix’s Flashy Hip Hop Melodrama

August 20, 2016
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The Get Down has the tragic resonance it deserves, though Baz Luhrmann pulls back from confronting the narrative’s political implications.

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Album Review: B L A C K I E — Conflating the Barbaric and the Beautiful

August 26, 2014
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Imagine Yourself in a Free and Natural World finds B L A C K I E reaching an ambitious artistic high, delivering potent pieces of jazzy discord that impressively conflate the barbaric and the beautiful.

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CD Review: Shabazz Palaces’ “Lese Majesty” — Out-of-This-World Hip-Hop

July 28, 2014
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Some listeners are undoubtedly going to dismiss Lese Majesty as a collection of vignettes or motifs, formless for all intents and purposes. That would be a shame.

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Dance Feature: Wonder X 2

June 23, 2014
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In red gloves and dark glasses, popping and locking, the Wondertwins are both imposing humans and robotic objects, organic and mechanical reproduction.

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CD Review: Death Grips — Hands On the Modern Moment

November 18, 2013
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Hopefully, Death Grips can keep finding new ways to convey contemporary dissonance, because as it stands now they have produced four of the most important musical works of the 21st Century.

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Fuse CD Review: Jay-Z’s “Magna Carta Holy Grail” — More Miss Than Hit

July 5, 2013
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Those cynical about the album’s extravagant promotional campaign will be glad to hear that Jay-Z’s latest studio effort is very hit-or-miss.

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Album Reviews: Killer Mike and El-P — A Hip Hop Match Made in Heaven

July 2, 2013
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With “Run the Jewels,” El-P and Killer Mike have turned out one of the most passionately rapped and impeccably produced hip hop albums in recent memory.

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Music CD Review: Kanye West’s “Yeezus”—Taking on the Mainstream

June 18, 2013
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Every aspect of “Yeezus” has been shaped to alienate Kanye West’s fanbase – from the lack of cover art to the undernourished track list of ten songs.

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Coming Attractions in Jazz: February 2010

February 1, 2010
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There may not be any Lester Young tributes scheduled for Presidents’ Day, but the entire month of February is nothing less than a valentine to jazz piano. By J. R. Carroll Pianist Jason Moran hasn’t yet encountered a piece of music (or even raw sound) that he couldn’t transform into a jaw-dropping improvisation. Johannes Brahms,…

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Film Review: Spin Crazy

August 8, 2005
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The critically acclaimed documentary “Rize” claims to be about a new form of hip hop dancing, called “krumping,” that transcends commercialism. By Debra Cash The commercial calculation of MTV, smoggy and as near at hand as central LA, lurks in the margins of the new critically admired hip hop dance documentary, “Rize.” The film examines…

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