Kanye West

CD Review: Common -- Finding Forever

The 50 Cent Interview with SF Weekly

CD Review: Kanye West -- Graduation

Kanye West, Rihanna Play HP Pavilion in April

Lollapalooza Lineup Kicks Coachella and SF Outside Lands Lineups in the Balls

MP3 of the Day: Kanye West Mix-Tape

While you wait for the new Kanye platter, 808s & Heartbreak, to hit the stores, check out his mixtape, Sky High. The 19-song set, commissioned by the man himself, is a track-by-track remix of Graduation helmed by DJ Benzi and Plain Pat. Sky High features beats by A-Trak, Scottie B, DJ Stretch Armst ... More >>

Top Ten Hip-Hop Albums Of 2008

By Dan Leroy A couple of weeks ago, an expert on the Harry Potter series told an audience of high school kids how lucky they were to have this Big Shared Experience--these seven books and 41,000 words in common. What does Harry Potter have to do with hip-hop in 2008? In an age when many year-end ... More >>

10 Music Stars Who'd Make Great Soap Stars

Paula AbdulAs people turn away from soap operas in droves, daytime television continues to pull out the dramatic stops in order to keep afloat in the recession. But if Days of Our Lives or All My Children wants a bit of a buzzy boost that a fictional transsexual rock star just cannot provide, the pr ... More >>

Kanye West

808s & Heartbreak (Roc-a-Fella)

Kanye, Jay-Z, Mary J., and Rihanna clamor for diva status

808s & Heartbreak (Roc-a-Fella)

My Tunes: Lyrics Born

Quannum projects star and alt-rap icon

Kanye West

Graduation (Island Def Jam/Roc-A-Fella)

XLR8R magazine celebrates its lucky 13

Graduation (Island Def Jam/Roc-A-Fella)

Get Down With Dave

Chappelle returns with a raucous Block Party

Hip Hop, Year 2 A.J.

Chappelle returns with a raucous Block Party

The Education of Kanye West

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

Go West

Join Kanye and the rest of the music community in sharing your thoughts about Dubya's response to Katrina

Back to School

Kanye West's Late Registration cements him as hip hop's most conflicted -- and fascinating -- superstar

Hear This

Kanye West is everywhere, including Oakland; My Chemical Romance delivers its canned goth-pop

Consequence

Take 'Em to the Cleaners

Hear This

Underground-hero-turned-MTV-darling Twista brings his "Slow Jamz" to the Fillmore

Stage

Underground-hero-turned-MTV-darling Twista brings his "Slow Jamz" to the Fillmore

De La Soul

Underground-hero-turned-MTV-darling Twista brings his "Slow Jamz" to the Fillmore

Friday Night: Simian Mobile Disco at Mezzanine

​Simian Mobile Disco November 27, 2009 Mezzanine Better Than: "Stronger" by Kanye West, or Daft Punk's original for that matter Simian Mobile Disco unpacked its particular brand of electronic fugue Friday at Mezzanine. The British duo of James Ford and Jas Shaw programmed an arrangement of accum ... More >>

Listomania: Top Hip-Hop Picks For 2009

While year-end, catch-all wrap-ups are common to every musical genre, in no other style of music do they turn into the hand-wringing, "state of the game" examinations that hip-hop seems to provoke. (I've certainly written a few.) We worry because we care, of course. But at some point, like a thirty- ... More >>

Track(s) of the Day: Bossasaurus' Giant Tunes

In this week's paper, Phillip Mlynar profiles Oakland remix/production crew Bossasaurs. He writes of this group of hip-hop heads and dinosaur hoodie retailers:All four members of Bossasaurus are serious about their aims to be seen as creators. They openly scorn the current remix scene, dissing "lap ... More >>

Is Fresno Rapper PtheG Purely Clueless Or Just Totally Cynical?

Is Fresno's Princeton the Great One, or PtheG, really "the worst rapper in the Bay Area," or is he having a laugh at rap's expense? The conceit of "Cheeseburger" is asinine, from the rhythmically braindead chorus to the way P keeps forgetting to lip-sync and reaches for the steering wheel instead, b ... More >>

Why Kanye West and Twitter Are Meant To Be

via Kanye West's Twitter​Kanye West was late to join the social media party, but he was caught up to speed immediately upon stepping into Twitter headquarters here in San Francisco earlier this week. At one point, he was gaining 80 followers a second. Where did we learn this? Kanye's Twitter, of c ... More >>

Kanye West on Twitter: Top 8 Things We Want Kanye's Buying Advice On

Kanye and his crew looking ready to dispense some buying advice.​Dear Kanye,In the approximately thirty-four days, five hours and seventeen minutes since you joined Twitter, you have taught the world great deal -- about yourself, about life, and even sometimes about music. But the rarest wisdom ye ... More >>

Exclusive: DJ White Mike's 'Lights and Sounds' Mix

'Lights and Sounds Mixtape' Artwork​San Francisco's DJ White Mike is the man behind this 40-minute mixtape of club-ready sonics, which he calls Lights and Sounds. We've certainly featured Mike and his Get Loose! shindig before, but this upbeat DJ set is something a tad different from the mixm ... More >>

Stop, Drop and Roll: Justin Bieber is White?

Biebster on the mic​I think I can still legitimately claim to have never heard a real Justin Bieber song, which doesn't bother me very much. Doesn't keep me from appreciating his cherubic wholesomeness and his unauthorized novelties, such as the Sigur Rós-caliber majesty of "U Smile" slowed down ... More >>

Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasies: Raunchy Album Covers That Didn't Make It

(Complete scene here.)All-around entertainer Kanye West announced the other day that his forthcoming album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, would come bundled with five different album covers. The only one we've seen so far is a painting by New York-based art-weirdo George Condo that depicts a n ... More >>

Two Kanye West Songs For The World Series-Winning SF Giants

In case you were in a soundproof panic room between 8 p.m. and roughly right now, the Giants won the World Series last night. To help you sort out the complex emotions you are no doubt feeling, here are two apropos songs by Kanye West, both from before the whole I'ma-tweet-about-letting-my-phoenix-f ... More >>

In Which We Judge 5 Upcoming Albums Solely On Their Covers

​With such a fast-moving tool as the Internet, the modern musicphile now has access to way more music than they have time to listen to. And if this tells us anything, then out of all the post-apocalyptic future films, Minority Report probably got it down the best. So here's a way to keep up with t ... More >>

Hilarious Pics: Kanye West's Dark Twisted Fantasy in LOLCats

soldout.squarespace.com​After what will be known in future years as The Week of Kanye -- "perfect" new album released, surprise NYC show packed with stars, signature rant caught on YouTube -- Kanye West has finally risen to the level of a true cultural icon. By which we mean that his latest album ... More >>

Watch: The Pack's Young L Comes Down From Outer Space and Gets 'Conscious' -- for a Second

Young L​If you haven't been paying attention this year, The Pack's Young L has emerged a production tour-de-force, giving birth to some of the most original sounds this year. On his latest track, "Conscious Minds," the Berkeley native steps away from his usual, out-of-this world sounds and plays a ... More >>

On the Fascinating and Often Listenable Feedback Loop That Was 2010

Japandroids at the Fillmore​Ah, twenty-ten. Two thousand and ten. Two years before our state warps and crackles and slides into a boiling sinkhole that used to be the Pacific Ocean. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. There was a pretty good Sage Francis song called "The Best of T ... More >>

A Postcard from the Future

Or, how 2011 was the year everything changed in music.

A Critic Whines About Pazz & Jop: Why Does Consensus Feel So Shitty?

​Let's get this over with as quickly as possible: The results of the Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop Critics Poll were released this week, and, to no one's surprise, it turned out that Kanye West released the most praise-winning album of 2010. Almost as expected was the conclusion that Cee-L ... More >>

5 Things To Spend Your Coachella Money On Now That It's Sold Out

Guess one man really shouldn't have all that power.​If you're wondering why twenty-somethings all over the city are sulking and moping their way through today, it's because they hesitated to buy tickets for yearly Coachella music festival and yesterday it sold out, denying them an opportunity to s ... More >>

Lil B Swags Kanye, Kanye-Style, at the mtvU Woodie Awards

While we wait for someone to upload a higher-quality video than the below (it ain't no fun when Viacom ain't having none), be advised of the following Lil B-related news: last night at the mtvU Woodie Awards, held in Austin -- because God forbid we should try to post about anything other than Lil B ... More >>

R.I.P. Gil Scott-Heron 1949-2011

Adam Turner/WikimediaGil Scott-Heron at SF's Regency Ballroom in 2009​ Poet, author, proto-rapper and political soul/jazz singer-songwriter Gil Scott-Heron died Friday, May 27 at the age of 62. The cause of death has not been confirmed as of press time, but the BBC has reported that he had fal ... More >>

Kanye West's "Monster" Video: Not Gonna Do Kanye's Public Image Many Favors

"Monster," indeed.​The new final clip for Kanye West's "Monster" -- or what may become known as the dead-model orgy video -- makes the rapper look every bit as conceited and shallow and tone-deaf as his detractors say he is. And the disclaimer at the beginning doesn't help one bit. Maybe decoratin ... More >>

The 10 Greatest Music Video Babes of All Time

From the dawn of the music video, there has been the music video babe. Perhaps she's the star of the video, perhaps she's a backup dancer, maybe she just looks longingly at a musician. Most of the music is terrible, a lot of the videos are insipid, and yet somehow these women make it all worthwhile ... More >>

Jay-Z and Kanye West's Watch the Throne: A First Listen

​ Have we been waiting for this? Who knows -- even big fans of Jay-Z and Yeezy know they never shut up for too long. Big-budget collab albums we know aren't Jay-Z's strong suit (Unfinished Business? Collision Course?). And judging by the awful "H*A*M" (now a bonus cut) and the mesmerizing "Ot ... More >>

Dear Kanye West, Please Leave Amy Winehouse's Music Alone

​ Dear Kanye West,Congratulations. You are officially the most bemusing man in music. We say this because it's been seven years since The College Dropout and we still can't figure out if you're a sly genius or a blinkered buffoon.

Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and Lows from the Last Week in S.F. Music

​ Dear Kanye West,Congratulations. You are officially the most bemusing man in music. We say this because it's been seven years since The College Dropout and we still can't figure out if you're a sly genius or a blinkered buffoon.

Bon Iver: Show Preview

​ Dear Kanye West,Congratulations. You are officially the most bemusing man in music. We say this because it's been seven years since The College Dropout and we still can't figure out if you're a sly genius or a blinkered buffoon.

Jay-Z and Kanye West: The 10 Most Opulent Parts of Their Watch the Throne Concert

Christopher VictorioKanye West last night at HP Pavilion​ Jay-Z and Kanye West Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011 HP Pavilion, San Jose Better than: Absolute monarchy. Between the rising, screen-sided platform stages, the frequent spew of fire jets, Kanye's skirt/kilt thing, "99 Problems," the ineffab ... More >>