Email Author Andrew Friedman

2005 Stories by Andrew Friedman

• Juelz Santana

  published December 7, 2005

  Charisma in the rap world usually equals the strut of someone who knows he's untouchable. Someone like Cam'ron, whose savant flow came with the... More >>

• Lady Sovereign

  published November 30, 2005

  Had Kano's superb Home Sweet Home seen a stateside release this year, grime could have progressed beyond something that's only frequently... More >>

• DANGERDOOM

  published November 16, 2005

  To the average music fan, Dangermouse is the genius whose collision of Jay-Z with The Beatles, The Grey Album, earned him international... More >>

• Whoa, Nelly!

  published October 26, 2005

  GWAR at Pop's, 1403 Mississippi Avenue, Sauget, Illinois. Show starts at 7 p.m. Monday, October 31. Tickets are $18; call 618-274-6720 for more... More >>

• Busta Rhymes

  published October 26, 2005

  On "What More Can I Say," Jay-Z allowed for a few slights in his career, among them being "not as animated as....Busta Rhymes." Well... More >>

• Paul Wall

  published October 19, 2005

  Three Houston veterans -- Mike Jones, Slim Thug and Paul Wall -- helped Texas slowly invade the rap world in 2005. But Mike Jones dropped the ball... More >>

• The Juan Maclean

  published September 7, 2005

  The Juan Maclean's "Give Me Every Little Thing" stood in melancholic contrast to the rest of DFA Records' second compilation. On a disc full of... More >>

• Slim Thug

  published August 3, 2005

  Lil' Flip's 2004 disc U Gotta Feel Me helped put Houston's mammoth rap scene on the national map, but the city was not behind him: The... More >>

• Missy Elliott

  published July 27, 2005

  In 1997, Missy Elliott rocked a garbage bag in a video where she sort-of rapped over an Ann Peebles sample that was filtered through outer space... More >>

• Boom Bap Project

  published July 20, 2005

  Open-mindedness is the key to Seattle-based Boom Bap Project's success. On Reprogram, DJ Scene and rappers Destro and Karim take a... More >>

• Fat Joe

  published July 13, 2005

  Like the Democratic party, New York hip-hop is suffering from a lack of a unified front. Superstars like 50 Cent and P. Diddy move units, but... More >>

• Mike Jones

  published June 1, 2005

  To say Houston artist Mike Jones is a better promoter than rapper is like saying Bo Jackson was better at football than baseball. It's not that Bo... More >>

• Searching for Pearl

  published April 13, 2005

  DJ Trackstar's One Dollar Mix Tape Vol. 4 could sell itself without the ridiculously low price. The fourth installment of the... More >>

• Various Artists

  published April 13, 2005

  With Roots Manuva, Rodney P. and a handful of others comprising the notable exceptions, British hip-hop is largely forgettable. Hip-hop culture... More >>

• Beanie Sigel

  published April 6, 2005

  Theoretically, Philadelphia's Beanie Sigel could be preparing for rap superstardom. Jay-Z's "retirement" has created a power vacuum in the... More >>

• LCD Soundsystem

  published March 16, 2005

  It had been long enough; disco was ready for a comeback. The gods of percussion came to James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy one night, coked up and... More >>

• 50 Cent

  published March 16, 2005

  On the original cover for The Massacre, 50 Cent rocked a fly suit, a hat and a crossbow. The image was less threatening than absurd -- he... More >>

• T.I.

  published February 9, 2005

  Some time last year, a short war of words broke out between T.I. and Houston's rising star, Lil' Flip. As claims escalated and the disses piled... More >>