Mos Def

Out Every Night: The Best Shows in St. Louis from April 1 to 7

Spring has sprung (supposedly)! Celebrate by checking out the spry variety of shows going on this week. There's plenty to see, including an assortment of traveling acts such as Useless Eaters, Night Birds, Deerhoof and Hot 8 Brass Band. Get hopped up on all that leftover Easter candy and see what re ... More >>

Toreador, Don't Come on the Floor: Opera Theatre plays it safe, fast and loose with Carmen

The Vijay Iyer Trio combines math, diplomacy and dancing

It's a Man's World

DJ Needles On Growing Up With Vinyl And His Gold Records

Photo by Jon Scorfina​On the verge of the release of the RFT "Best of St. Louis" 2011 issue, Last Collector Standing decided to meet with last year's winner for "Best Club DJ," DJ Needles, to discuss what it takes to make a great DJ. Of course, vinyl was involved. Needles (a.k.a. Nodzill, a.k. ... More >>

Phife Dawg Heads to the Tivoli Tonight For A Tribe Called Quest Documentary

​Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest will be making an appearance at the Tivoli Theatre tonight in support of the premiere of Michael Rapaport's documentary Beats, Rhymes & Life. Phife Dawg will introduce Beats, Rhymes & Life and host a Q & A session after the 7:30 p.m. showing.

Talib Kweli/Fred the Godson/Earthworms

Doors at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 19. Pop’s, 401 Monsanto Avenue, Sauget, Illinois.

New Release Highlights for April 5, 2011: the Raveonettes, the Kills, Cold Cave and More

(New albums are typically released on Tuesdays, i.e., today. What can you spend your hard-earned pennies on this week? Find out below.) ​*Cold Cave, Cherish The Light Years The Guardian says of Cold Cave's latest: "'Take me to the future. I'm ready,' sings Wesley Eisold. That may be true, but ... More >>

Talib Kweli Coming to Pop's

Talib Kweli, the emcee who's collaborated with HI-Tek, Mos Def and MadLib, will be coming to Pop's on Tuesday, April 19. Tickets are $18 in advance, $20 day of show and are on sale March 11 at 5 p.m. Kweli's fourth solo album, Gutter Rainbows, came out last fall. "Never Been in Love"

Last Collector Standing: Kate Eddens on Working at Thrill Jockey and Vintage Vinyl, and Her Musical Education (and Evolution)

Jon Scorfina​As major record labels have struggled to adjust to the new digital landscape, independent labels have thrived by sticking to the tried and true demand for vinyl. We caught up with Kate Eddens, a former employee of both Thrill Jockey records and Vintage Vinyl, at her south city hom ... More >>

Tef Poe fights against complacency, and defies pigeonholing, with War Machine

Interview: Tef Poe on War Machine, His Fantastic New Album

courtesy of Tef Poe​Tef Poe's War Machine is a nineteen-track tour de force. The Force member's musical versatility has always been his calling card, and so it's not surprise that Machine embraces diversity and defies pigeonholing. Genre-wise, it touches on warm R&B, ominous hip-hop, celebrato ... More >>

Top Sellers At Area Record Stores for 2009

Who says the record store is dead? Not us here in St. Louis, where both Vintage Vinyl and Euclid Records sold a lot of tunes. Below, please find the top selling albums from both stores, including a separate top vinyl list from VV. Enjoy! Vintage Vinyl: Top CDs ​1. Murphy Lee - You See Me 2. ... More >>

The Best of 2009 in Music

Top Sellers at Area Record Stores: Week of July 27-August 2

Every Monday (Tuesday this week -- sorry, Warped Tour), A to Z publishes the best-selling releases from area independent record stores from the preceding week. An asterisk after an album name indicates that the act is coming to town. And so without further ado: Euclid Records 1. SON VOLT: American ... More >>

Spinning Blues Into Lies: Cadillac Records can't handle the truth

Film's Rolling: The St. Louis International Film Festival celebrates its seventeenth year

Show Review: Nas, Talib Kweli, Jay Electronica at the Pageant, Wednesday, 9/3/08

Fifth Anniversary of the One Dollar Mix, DJ Trackstar's Debut CD, All Tonight at the Gramophone

The Hood Internet

9 p.m. Friday, May 9. Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street

Exclusive MP3: Kidz in the Hall featuring Nato Caliph, Talib Kweli, Bun B, "Work To Do" (remix)

Download Trackstar's Boogie Bang 13 Here

Face the Nation

We find out what rocked across the country in 2007.

Can't, Won't, Don't Stop?

Is misogyny in rap permanent?

2006: The Year in Music

Week of December 28, 2006

A Bigger Fish to Fry

B-Sides attends a local radio station's Lenten fish fry, explores why a local jazz TV program didn't get off the ground and recommends this week's primo download

Get Down with Dave

Chappelle returns with a raucous Block Party

Film Openings

Week of March 2, 2006

Hard Ride

Stuck with Bruce Willis in rush-hour traffic? You could always walk.

Bum Rap

50 Cent wants to be an actor...but he's not

Black Eyed Peas

Saturday, July 2; Fair Saint Louis (Gateway Arch grounds)

Extended Sentence

A convicted pedophile earns his release but can't escape from himself

Double-flushers

We list this year's real stinkers, get some critical advice from the folks and look at some scary new downloading laws

Mos Def

The New Danger (Geffen)

Steal These Albums

The ten most radical hip-hop records of all time, including NWA, Public Enemy and...Mos Def?

Talib Kweli and MF Doom

Sunday, May 16; Mississippi Nights

Common, with De La Soul at the 2004 Mixx DJ Competition

Saturday, April 24; the Pageant

Kanye West

College Dropout (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam)

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Week of February 4, 2004

Safe, Cracked

The Italian Job, a remake better than the original, is a steal

Rick It Up

Rick Springfield knows who's the biggest badass

Film Openings

Week of October 9, 2002

Banging Bigotry

A racist Billy Bob gets funky in Monster's Ball

Hi-Tek

Hi-Teknology (Rawkus)

Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek

Reflection Eternal: Train of Thought; Rawkus

Lyricist Lounge Tour featuring Mos Def

Thursday, Oct. 5; Firehouse

Dilated Peoples, Jurassic 5 and Talib Kweli

Thursday, May 4; Galaxy

De La Soul, Pharoahe Monch and Biz Markie

Monday, Dec. 13; Club Monastery

HIP-HOP FROM THE TOP

Underground rap comes up from The Basement, DJ Needles' program on The Beat (100.3 FM)

Meet the Beat

Hip-hop's here. Deal with it. Check the local MCs and DJs moving up from the underground.