On the heels of a well-received self-titled project, PRhyme, the collaboration stage name of Detroit’s Royce da 5’9″ and legendary hip hop producer DJ Premier, have set out on a limited national tour – including Ann Arbor. On February 26, PRhyme will perform at Ann Arbor’s famed Blind Pig, which will undoubtedly provide…
In honor of Detroit’s most iconic late music producer/emcee, J Dilla (James Yancey), a YouTube user with the pseudonym “Houston Loves J Dilla” has released a mind-melting visual accompaniment, set to one of Dilla’s most infamous albums – Donuts. The 44-minute visual hodgepodge weaves all 31 Donuts tracks through a seemingly-infinite collection of media, both…
The annual South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival (SXSW) began in 1987 and has grown to encompass not only music, but also film and emerging technology. The music festival, however, is now the largest of its kind in the world, with more than 2,200 official performers and bands playing in more than 100 venues….
Detroit rapper Eminem once famously used an interpretation of Aerosmith’s “Dream On” for the chorus of his track “Sing for the Moment,” but on Sunday he made a terminally ill teenager’s dream come true, and this time it was with relatively little fanfare. Seventeen-year-old Gage Garmo, a student at Rochester High School, has fought…
Detroit native Jack White is best known for his hand in the revival of garage rock and punk blues, among other retro styles, but lately he’s been dipping his toes into the world of hip-hop. Last week his label Third Man Records tweeted the opener for the artist’s January 30 show at Madison Square Garden in…
Sex, drugs, and… waterfalls? When you’re in Microphone Phelps’ world, you learn to expect the unexpected, and that extends to his choice of metaphors. In the case of “Waterfall,” from his recently released full-length debut The Grand Design, the aquatic gush of the eponymous body of water stands in for the erotic flush of a woman’s body. The track’s narcotic production, provided…
Detroit’s rap almighty, Eminem, is being accused of using an unlicensed sample within his 2013 tongue-twisting hit “Rap God,” according to reports by TMZ. The sample in question is a clip from Chicago-based rap group Hotstylz’s 2007 smash single “Lookin Boy.” Members of the group, Krazee, Meatball and Raydio G, claim that a…
As if following up 2013’s phenomenal album Old weren’t enough of a challenge, Detroit rap god Danny Brown is also becoming a children’s book author. In a recent interview with Australian radio station Triple J, Brown cited inspiration from Dr. Seuss and his 13-year-old daughter: “It’s really about self-esteem in black girls … You know how…
The album has been declared dead nearly as many times as the Motor City has, but if you needed any proof that such bold pronouncements need to be taken with a grain of salt, look no further than the list below. Detroit acts released a veritable treasure trove of great full-lengths in 2014,…
Our city has always been an unyielding spring of exciting new hip-hop and this year was no different. Passalacqua and Tunde Olanrian kept things fresh and unpredictable, stretching the genre so far until it was almost unrecognizable. Danny Brown was the highlight on an album by one of the most explosive young producers in…