OutKast

Big Boi, Danny Brown, Moe and More Show Flyers

Big Boi of Outkast is headlining the first annual Memorial Day BBQ at Atomic Cowboy on May 27th. Danny Brown stops at Old Rock House on April 29th. Moe will headline the Summer Camp Music Festival May 24-26 in Chillicothe along with fellow jam bands, Umphrey's McGee and Trey Anastasio Band. More sho ... More >>

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 >>

Top 5 Awesomely Silly Dancing GIFs From the Outside Lands Festival

The following is a dispatch from Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco, from our sister paper, SF Weekly. One thing crowds at San Francisco's Outside Lands festival do pretty well is get down. Despite the relentless wind, heavy fog, and numbing temperatures, we saw plenty of good moves last wee ... More >>

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 >>

Black Milk at the Gramophone, 3/11/12: Review

Black Milk | J. Pinder | A.Dd The Gramophone March 11, 2012 One of the Motor City's finest underground emcees, Black Milk, made a stop in the Grove last night, bringing with him an impressive lineup of hip-hop acts from across the country for his Claps and Slaps tour. Unfortunately, hardly anybody ... More >>

The Six Best Song Count Offs

​In popular song, the count off is a tool of function. Somebody counts from one to four (or three, or if people have even once compared the band to Don Cabellero, seven), and the musicians know when to begin playing and how quickly to play. Some have used the countoff as a jumping off point fo ... More >>

The Drug Cocktails That Might Fuel Five Of Our Favorite Musicians

Big Boi mugs for the camera.​Did you hear the one about the rapper who got busted for Ecstasy and Viagra? Earlier this week, Outkast rapper Big Boi got pinched for MDMA powder, Ecstasy pills, and an illegal prescription of the little blue pill for his disco stick. Which got us thinking -- what ... More >>

Andre 3000 Beams Down to Join Beyonce and Kanye West on "Party": Put Some Swagu On It

​Summer jam alert: Beyonce's 4 is almost here. It doesn't come out for another couple weeks (June 24th, to be exact), but we like what we've heard so far and nothing more than the Kanye West and Consequence-produced "Party," which "leaked" today. In the first few seconds of the track (listen b ... More >>

The Force: Meet Your RFT Showcase Main Stage Headliners

Jennifer Silverberg​Seems a little redundant at this point to introduce you to the Force. You've heard their names, seen their videos, worn the pits and lands off your copy of Everybody Wins, and you'll be seeing them on the Showcase mainstage for free, free, free. We talked to Finsta, Hot 104 ... More >>

Dirty South author Ben Westhoff on his time covering St. Louis hip-hop and the new book

​What y'all really know about the Dirty South? Enough to write a book, apparently. Congratulations are in order to RFT alum Ben Westhoff, whose second book will be officially released on May 1. The book, entitled Dirty South: Outkast, Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, and the Southern Rappers Who Reinven ... More >>

Celebrating 420: Eight Classic Songs About Pot

The many faces of 420.​It's almost that time of year again -- April 20th. Better known to millions of people as 420, the (un)official holiday for stoners and pot enthusiasts everywhere. In honor of this day, we present eight classic songs celebrating the herb that has brought laughter to many, ... More >>

Ten Songs Colder Than Old Man Winter

Wikimedia Commons​While the Snowpocalypse largely missed the St. Louis metro area, the aftermath of the sleet-storm lingers, in the form of frigid temperatures, bitter wind chills and icy roads and pavement. This is the perfect time of year for hot tea, wool blankets -- and cold, cold music. T ... More >>

2010: The Year In Music

Ten Memorable Shows at The Pageant, In Honor Of Its Tenth Birthday

This Saturday, the Pageant celebrates its tenth birthday with a concert by Chuck Berry. $35 general admission tickets are still available; balcony seats are sold out. The show starts at 8 p.m. with a set from Shooting With Annie. In the venue's lengthy history (a PDF listing its shows is a whoppi ... More >>

Five New Local Songs to Hear: Pokey LaFarge, Tef Poe, Illphonics, Dots Not Feathers, Jon Hardy & the Public

In recent weeks, a bunch of local musicians unleashed new tunes on the masses. Here's a brief round-up. Know of anything else? Leave a comment. Tef Poe​ Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three, "Brick Thieves" Occasional RFT contributor Bill Streeter is making a documentary about the city's uniqu ... More >>

Download: Black Spade's Build & Destroy -- Hear St. Louis Hip-Hop at Its Very Best

Peep the praying mantis on the left just chillin​Black Spade dropped his new mixtape Build and Destroy yesterday and the whole album is available for free download over on the Smoking Section. Click over there immediately, then get our your ear buds and put this baby on repeat. Incidentally, Spade ... More >>

John Legend, Bradd Young and Aloha at Fair St. Louis, Saturday, July 3

You couldn't have asked for better weather for Saturday night's festivities on the riverfront. Granted, it was a little on the hot and humid side, but still surprisingly mild for St. Louis in July. The crowd was as enormous as you might expect; many came out specifically for John Legend, while oth ... More >>

Preview Interview: Big Boi's Album Listening Party at Shock City Studios, Tuesday, June 22 2010

​In anticipation of his new solo album, Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty, Big Boi has been holding private listening parties in select cities across the country. Last night St. Louis got a sneak peek at the upcoming project, as local entertainers and media personnel came out to ne ... More >>

Photos Review Setlist Video: The Black Lips Destroy The Firebird, Wednesday, April 7

photo by Keegan HamiltonThe Black Lips got bum rushed during "Bad Kids"​I'd heard some wild stories about Black Lips performances -- instances where the band pissed in their own mouths, cut themselves and bled all over the stage or hocked loogies into the air and caught them in their mouths. Basic ... More >>

Tally Hall

Scripts 'n Screwz

The New Noise
(Villainous Entertainment)

Tally Hall

6 p.m. Tuesday, March 18. The Bluebird, 2706 Olive Street

Duck and Cover

Some of the city's best-known bands go incognito at Off Broadway.

OutKast

Idlewild (LaFace)

Blackalicious

The Craft (Anti-)

Funky Bunch

Mark Wahlberg stars in an odd remake that, oddly, isn't so bad

Film Openings

Week of August 10, 2005

On the Down-Low

Shovel away all that Usher, Prince and Lil Jon youve been jamming and dig this years buried black-music treasures.

Film Openings

Week of December 15, 2004

Mos Def

The New Danger (Geffen)

Usher Wants His MTV

Why a pop megastar still feels neglected by the mainstream

Owl on a Wing

A local rapper breaks down the difference between St. Louis and Atlanta

Goodie Mob

One Monkey Don't Stop the Show (Koch)

The Roots, with 311

Wednesday, June 30; UMB Bank Pavilion

Cee-Lo

Cee-Lo Green Is the Soul Machine (Arista)

Dance This Mess Around

What a bad feeling -- and taste -- Honey leaves behind

Kurt, I Am Your Father

Rams vs. Chiefs for control of the Empire

Made With Love

Rosanne Cash is the friend who will say, or sing, what you can't

Nappy Roots

Watermelon, Chicken and Gritz (Atlantic)

Cee-Lo, with the Aaries and Musiq

Saturday, May 11; Pageant

Cleaning Up

Our intrepid reporter's New Year's resolution yields some unexpected bonuses

Crunk and Disorderly

Timbaland and Organized Noize are making the music go bang, and rap radio's never sounded so good

Outkast with Ludacris

Monday, March 19; Pageant.

Ode to Joy

The RFT music staff indulges itself by picking the best work of 2000

The Best Music of 2000

From hip-hop to house, from techno to rock, from country to dub, the resident music geek picks his favorites

Certified Organic

The Roots roll into town with their earth-toned "Okay Player" show

Sound Checks

Listening Post