Hip-Hop and Rap

The Top 10 Male Rappers of All Time

Since the birth of hip-hop, male rappers have been bringing their unique viewpoint to the art of rhyme. Today, we're shining some long overdue light on their important contributions to rap. We're proud to present our list of the ten finest male rappers, from the smoking-hot hardbodies to the true ly ... More >>

The Six Worst Hybrids Of Country Music and Rap

There is absolutely nothing wrong with cross-genre collaboration. Anything that widens an artist or listener's musical scope is encouraged. Rap and country, as disparate as they can seem, can coexist peacefully within a single track (ie. most of Odelay). But when it's bad, good God almighty it's bad ... More >>

Is Killer Mike Is the Best Rapper Alive in 2013?

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis city. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

The Music Business: We're Surrounded By Some Seriously Sadistic, Self-Centered Bastards

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis city. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

Attention Musicians: Stop Spamming and Start Showing Some Personality

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

Independent Hip-Hop Icon Murs To Play at Gramophone Tonight: An Interview

One of the icons of independent hip-hop for over a decade, Murs comes to St. Louis tonight at the Gramophone. The fearless leader of the Road to Paid Dues Tour, Murs is traveling coast-to-coast to spread the word about the upcoming 2013 installment of his annual festival, which takes place at the e ... More >>

Ghostface Killah is Coming to 2720 Cherokee April 27

The Wu-Tang Clan's Ghostface Killah will be coming to 2720 Cherokee on Saturday, April 27. Joining him will be a ten-piece band, Adrian Younge's Venice Dawn.

Sorry, But Kanye Is the GOAT

Kanye West is the greatest hip-hop artist of all time. He's made the best albums and changed the game the most, and his music is the most likely to endure. One thing before we get going: This isn't one of those arguments meant to piss people off or "start a conversation." I really mean it. And, co ... More >>

Mystikal, Famous Sex Offender / Rapper to Drop New Album in 2013 With Appearances By Rick Ross, Busta Rhymes, Lil Wayne

Mystikal has been getting a lot of attention for an interview he did with Rolling Stone recently. In said interview, he mentions that lately he's been listening to James Brown, Sam Cooke, Master P, Ludacris, and Eddie Murphy lately, and is in the midst of working on a new album (recent singles seem ... More >>

Fresco Kane Releases Video For Latest Single "Fresco Kane"

East St. Louis' Fresco Kane continues his recent rise to hip-hop prominence with the release of a brand new music video for his latest, appropriately named "Fresco Kane." The song itself serves as an introductory banger and may be one of Fresco's strongest singles yet, while the video plays in black ... More >>

The Top 10 Rappers to Whom You Can't Tell Nothin'

By Jennifer Swann  In Macklemore's forthcoming single, "Can't Hold Us," he raps, "Nah they can't tell me nothing," thus continuing a long line of rappers to whom one can not tell nothing. It makes one wonder: Why are people always trying to tell rappers something? Why do the rappers refuse to li ... More >>

Kendrick Lamar is Coming to Chaifetz Arena April 17

Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar will be coming to St. Louis on Wednesday, April 17. Joining the critically-acclaimed rapper will be DJ Steve Aoki, founder of Dim Mak Records and an electrifying showman in his own right. Aoki is also nominated for a Grammy in this year's upcoming awards show, in the ca ... More >>

Quick Questions: Tef Poe Talks to the Creative Minds Behind Hitmakers Basement Beats

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

The Top St. Louis Hip-Hop Artists to Watch in 2013

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

Last Night: Method Man Kicked Me in the Face While Holding My Friend's Hand

A healthy-sized crowd (600 at the door, according to the promoter) showed up to the Coliseum last night to see the Wu-Tang Clan's most charismatic member in action. The inimitable Mr. M-E-F performed in his trademark microphone-dominating style, climbing repeatedly off the small stage and into the c ... More >>

Fatlip (DJ Set)

10 p.m. Friday, December 28. Lola, 500 North 14th Street.

Talib Kweli

7 p.m. Saturday, December 22. Old Rock House, 1200 South Seventh Street.

Timmy Stallone is the St. Louis Rap Rookie of the Year

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

Homespun: Jonezy

Soar Thumbs
jonezy.bandcamp.com

Kendrick Lamar's Debut is One of the Most Important Hip-Hop Albums of Our Era

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

The Six Best Diss Tracks

This month, you won't be able to watch an episode of "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" without seeing a half-dozen attack ads. The music world doesn't have attack ads, it has diss tracks. In honor of the onslaught of negativity in our political process, here are the six best diss tracks of all time. Let us ... More >>

Inspectah Deck

7:30 p.m. Sunday, September 30. Fubar, 3108 Locust Street.

The Demonization of Chief Keef and Lil JoJo

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

East St. Louis rapper Fresco Kane is on the cusp

Meet the (Likely) Next St. Louis Hip-Hop Superstar

This week's music feature, written by Daniel Hill, is about Fresco Kane, the East St. Louis rapper formerly known as Gena who recently signed with Jermaine Dupri's So So Def label. Kane (nee Greg Lawary) grew up playing any instrument he could get his hands on. He's been around the scene for some ti ... More >>

27 Hip-Hop Videos You Should Know from St. Louis and Beyond

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

The Ten Best Shows In St. Louis This Weekend: September 7 to 9

This weekend is a good one for local artists, as it includes two album release shows and a music video release party. Friday night will see the release of Old Capital Square Dance Club's new CD at Off Broadway, as well as Spelling Bee's latest offering at the Schlafly Tap Room. The former is ten dol ... More >>

The Top Five Hip-Hop Albums of All Time, According to Lyfestile

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

Meek Mill

7:30 p.m. Thursday, August 16. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard.

Win Meek Mill Tickets

Update: We have a winner: Matthew, who submits Scarface's "On My Block" via Facebook. What an incredible song. We're all winners, really, because now we get to listen to this. Side note: How 'bout that new commenting system, eh? Philly mixtape prince Meek Mill brings his Dreams and Nightmares tou ... More >>

Life or Death by Music

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

VMA Awards 2012: Handicapping the Video of the Year Nominees

The 2012 VMA nominees are out, and while there are certainly plenty of big names and obvious choices, there are a few surprises buried in there. Frank Ocean gets a nod, as do A$AP Rocky, Jack White and Regina Spektor. But those are curiosities -- Rihanna, Drake, Katy Perry et. al. get the lion's sha ... More >>

Lessons I Learned From Nelly

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

What's Really Wrong with Hip-Hop?

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

Eleven Things Every Independent Artist Should Work On

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

Tech N9ne

6 p.m. Thursday, July 5. Pop's Nightclub, 401 Monsanto Avenue, Sauget, Illinois.

What Makes a Hip-Hop Classic?

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

Rodney King and The Psychotic World We Live In

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

Pusha T

9 p.m. Friday, June 22. The Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry Road.

Does Hip-Hop Respect Women?

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

50-Plus St. Louis Hip-Hop Artists You Should Know

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

12 to 6 Movement on How they Got Raekwon and Others on Thier New Record and Why They Called it Titties Out

It took a while, but local hip-hop trio 12 to 6 Movement finally unleashed their new collaboration-heavy album, Titties Out. Since our last interview with the group, they added songs with Joe Budden, Opio and A-Plus from Souls of Mischief/Hieroglyphics and Psycho Les from The Beatnuts to a tracklist ... More >>

Six Bieber-Free Moments When Boxing and Music Collided

Whether Justin Bieber is being chased by a pack of fans while riding a Segway or pretending to get shot and killed on a popular television show, he can is increasingly dispatched in any setting. Your moment of certainty came this weekend, when Bieber and 50 Cent accompanied Floyd Mayweather, Jr., ... More >>

Hologram Musicians: The Legal Implications

There's no denying that the "hologram" of Tupac Shakur that debuted at Coachella this year is provocative. Some see the visual effect as a celebration of a well-regarded rapper's legacy. Others see the spectacle as a disturbing example of the uncanny valley theory on a particularly grand scale. No ... More >>

Tupac Shakur is Still Alive

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

Rapper's Sheet: Gang life inspired Yo Banga's music. Now it threatens to derail his career.

Slaughterhouse at Old Rock House, 5/25/12

Slaughterhouse | Murphy Lee | Steddy P. | Mathias The Old Rock House April 25, 2012 For hip-hop fans who still appreciate lyricism, Slaughterhouse epitomizes the term "supergroup." Joe Budden, Royce Da 5'9", Crooked I and Joell Ortiz returned to St. Louis last night for the first time since 2009 - ... More >>

Best of Coachella's Final Day

See also: Our complete Coachella coverage By the third day of Coachella's second weekend -- the sixth and final day of this year's festival -- folks had more or less learned to ignore the dust and the heat. Here are our intrepid writers' favorite things about the final hours of the 2012 event.

Just Blaze

10 p.m. Saturday, April 14. Lola, 500 North 14th Street.

The Ten Best Shows In St. Louis This Weekend: April 6 to 8

This weekend is another good one; Saturday especially is virtually overflowing with shows. White Denim, All American Rejects, Flatfoot 56 and 8Ball, MJG and Bun B all come to town that night, as well as somewhere around 40 other shows listed for Saturday on our concert calendar -- please accept our ... More >>