Tag Archive for: jay-z

HAUTE HIGHLIGHTS


By
 in
The Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival Friday, Sept. 14-Sunday, Sept.16 · Ports O’ Call Village, San Pedro Cling to the end of summer at this three-day festival, which is essentially a massive lobster bake. Fans of the crustacean will surely have no issue filling their bellies with the $19 Maine lobster meal deal. And […]

Will Coachella’s second weekend repeat the small touches?


By
 in ,
With the first weekend of this year’s Coachella Music & Art Festival wrapped up, it’s time to reflect on the highlights and see what people are anticipating for weekend two. Of course the one thing everyone’s been talking about is the holographic resurrection of music legend Tupac Shakur during the Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre set. There […]

Artist collaborations infuse dynamic firepower into rap genre


By
 in ,
Many successful rap songs feature memorable guest appearances. What would Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” have sounded like without Alicia Keys? Or how would B.o.B’s smash hit “Airplanes” have fared without the assistance of Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams? The hip-hop genre is notorious for eccentric and unexpected, yet highly successful collaborations. They allow rap to […]

J. Cole debut gives hip-hop bright new future


By
 in ,
It’s been a long time coming for rapper Jermaine Cole from Fayetteville, North Carolina. After moving to New York City, attending St. John’s University on an academic scholarship and graduating with honors, he has released several mixtapes between 2007 and this album release, including one entitled The Warm Up, which Jay-Z got his hands on. […]

Festival sales could save the failing live music industry


By
 2 Comments/in ,
It seems like the live music industry gets a little worse every year. At least, that’s the way prominent music publications make it seem. During its end-of-the-year report, Business Wire reported “2010 was a volatile year for the music industry, which saw many tours canceled and a decline in overall concert ticket sales.” Popular artists […]

Music in 2010 ranged from appealing to disappointing


By
 2 Comments/in ,
Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard once whined, “So this is the new year / and I don’t feel any different.” Thankfully, in 2010, things were different from the year before. Sobby emo music like Death Cab was no longer popular, and Kanye West pushed the creative boundaries of contemporary music. Now that it’s […]

Fear and self-loathing in column writing


By
 1 Comment/in ,
I have been writing this column every week for two and a half years, but the process feels more bizarre every time I pick up a copy of the paper. I try to come up with similes to help rationalize what still seems foreign to me. Lately, column writing has begun to take on the […]