Common (Rapper)

Noise Pop: Thao & the Get Down Stay Down Charm the Great American, 3/2/13

Thao & the Get Down Stay Down Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside Before the Brave Kacey Johansing March 2, 2013 Great American Music Hall // Noise Pop 2013 Better than: DJ sets. Noise Pop has been doing its homework. Saturday's show at the Great American Music Hall was a thoughtful billing, ... More >>

Jailed Heart: Thao Nguyen Finds Inspiration in Prison

G.O.O.D. Music's Cruel Summer: A First Listen

Kanye West has officially become the bad guy, people. He's rich, he's rude, he's entitled, he's a rock 'n' roll legend who's awaiting a legit artistic backlash any year now, and he's also a smart businessperson. After Taylor Swift-gate and record sales of his third Pazz & Jop-winning "masterpiece" f ... More >>

Before Hip-Hop Squares: Eight Links Between Rap Music and TV Game Shows

A game show that people have ever cared about -- even a little bit -- can go down, but it will never truly be out. Know the Dick Clark version of Pyramid that started in the 1970s and continued throughout the decade? No? Well, you've probably encountered the Bill Cullen version (also from the '70s), ... More >>

Q&A: Hieroglyphics' Casual on Being a '#RapGod' and Battle-Rapping in Middle School

Casual​ For his latest project, the Oakland-raised rapper Casual has anointed himself a rap god. It's a lofty and arrogant title, but one that the Hieroglyphics crew's undisputed battle champ has earned the right to coin, having now clocked up a near-20-year recorded career with new album He T ... More >>

Distortion 2 Static's Top Five Celebrity Guests

During its 10-year run, the Distortion 2 Static hip-hop TV show graduated from profiling local upcoming artists to chatting it up with rap superstars. Started by Prince Aries, Ariel Nuñez and DJ Haylow, the show signed off on its broadcast run back in September; a farewell shindig will be going dow ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

The Antidote to Watch The Throne: Why We Need Chuck D's "Notice -- Know This"

Public Enemy's Chuck D​ The luxurious sheen of Jay-Z and Kanye West's Watch The Throne has beamed brilliant over the last couple of weeks of the hip-hop hype cycle. But amongst the chatter marveling at the upscale audacity of it all, there came a sobering and grounded moment just before the al ... More >>

Lil B's I'm Gay: More Bashful Than Expected

​ I love the idea of Lil B -- a member of Berkeley one-hit wonders the Pack who wasn't gonna go out like that, and has since thrown anything and everything at the wall via Twitter and Mediafire to keep attention, fans and fame -- yet I've scarcely heard a note of his music. Loved his stint on ... More >>

Common: Five More Reasons for Talk Radio Conservatives to Hate Him

This man is dangerous!​Turns out, we were wrong. For all these years, we considered Chicago rapper/romantic comedy star Common just a hair more hardcore than Jamiroquai. We thought of him as a somewhat conscious MC boasting a warm baritone, some strong tracks, and the allegiance of white guys who ... More >>

Good Rappers Who've Made Terrible Actors

The trend of rappers shifting into acting is nothing new, and in theory it makes sense. Both roles focus on emotive storytelling, right? Unfortunately, that transition isn't always a smooth one--a point hammered home repeatedly by the new film Just Wright, starring Queen Latifah and Common. It's 100 ... More >>

Flagrant Foul: "Just Wright" is just wrong

Over the Weekend: Black Keys, Common, Les Claypool, and N.E.R.D at NASA Ames

Richard Haick​Black Keys, Common, Les Claypool, and N.E.R.D at Yuri's Night Saturday, April 10, 2010 NASA Ames Q: What Russian cosmonaut made famous for being the first human to orbit earth in 1961 would eventually bring burners, hip-hoppers, rock fans, and space nerds together for ... More >>

Monday Morning Hangover: Sopping Wet

This weekend's torrential downpour was enough to keep us inside with a bottle of Jim Beam's finest, streaming Hallmark made-for-TV Criterion movies on Netflix. But in spite of the wretched weather, we managed to pull on our on-trend galoshes and slog out into the night.Richard Haick​Nerds and musi ... More >>

Last Night: Gil Scott-Heron at Yoshi's

Image Courtesy of: Mischa Richter​Gil Scott-Heron
 Tuesday, March 16, 2010 
Yoshi's 
Better than: Anything on TV Gil Scott-Heron is old. For those born in the 1980s, you might have heard his "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" for the first time in a Nike commercial, which ... More >>

Video of the Day: Preview the New J. Dilla Doc

J. Dilla was unquestionably one of the most respected, if not constantly referenced, hip-hop producers of the past decade. Born James Yancey in his hometown of Detroit, Dilla was a prolific, inspired artist dedicated to the craft of classic, sample-based hip-hop, which he made for the likes of De ... More >>

Rock the Bells

Experiencing a Virtuoso

Karriem Riggins Yoshi's original Oakland spot was the place to be last night. Loads of scenesters were in the house, from ABB records honcho Beni B to KPFA's Weyland Southon to SF's beloved DJ RasCue to hip-hop professor Dawn-Elissa Fischer to photographer/videographers Brian Cross and Eric Coleman ... More >>

Track of the Day: Kid Cudi

If there was any doubt that Kid Cudi's on his way up in this world, the Brooklyn (by way of Cleveland) rapper's latest single should help cement his ascendency. "Make Her Say" samples Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" hit and adds two star attractions on the mic: Kanye West and Common contribute their sexual ... More >>

Rock the Bells Announces Bay Area Dates

Rock the Bells 2007, San Francisco America's premier (and possibly only major) hip-hop touring festival, Rock the Bells, has announced the date and venue for the 2009 edition: August 9, at the Shoreline Auditorium in Mountain View. While ASD much prefers the parking lot of the stadium where the Gia ... More >>

Chela Simone Tonight at Levende

Back to Burn: Chela SimoneLevende Lounge's weekly emerging talent showcase "We All We Got" heats up tonight with an appearance by Chela Simone, one of the Bay Area's rawest female emcees. Imagine the lyrical finesse of MC Lyte with the revolutionary intellectualism of Sister Souljah--but coming fr ... More >>

Rock the Bells Announces Lineup

EKAphotography Not to be outdone by the massive, monumental Outside Lands lineup, hip-hop's annual extravaganza Rock the Bells has announced its lineup as well: Nas & Damian "Jr Gong" Marley,The Roots, Common, Big Boi, KRS-One, House of Pain featuring La Coka Nostra, Reflection Eternal (Talib Kw ... More >>

Capitol MC

The Knux: From street warfare to soirées with socialites

MP3 of the Day: The Knux

Common and N.E.R.D. play Berkeley in Sept.

The Roots’ state of the union address

The Roots

Rising Down (Def Jam)

Common and Just Blaze Remix "The Light" in the Name of Delicious Vodka

Italians Always Do It Better: Joakim and Glass Candy

Madlib, Stones Throw Brings B-Ball Zombie War to the Independent

Repertory Film Listing

Nothing in Common

To right-wingers, all rap is the same. It's not.

CD Review: Common -- Finding Forever

Lupe Fiasco

Food & Liquor (1st and 15th/Atlantic Records)

Rock out with your Goblin Cock out!

Hip Hop, Year 2 A.J.

The Education of Kanye West

The College Dropout rethinks his stance on education in the year 2010

Hear This

John Legend and De La Soul party on till the brink of dawn. Prog-psych rockers Datetenryu bring the noise from Japan

BeatBox

Mr. Lexicon reminds us that rap can be smart and funny; the crew that produces News Breakz brings the jams; the Last Poets deliver classic agitprop -- and a writing workshop

Talib Kweli

The Beautiful Struggle

Consequence

Take 'Em to the Cleaners

BeatBox

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Air Apparent

The Justice League and Cafe Du Nord survive the winds of change

Common

Electric Circus

Riff Raff

Have you heard? The Bay Area music scene is dead. Somebody killed it.

Beats, Rhymes, and Laughs

A failed record deal hasn't dampened the Mountain Brothers' sense of humor

Reviews

Reviews