Lil' Wayne

High Five: A Handful of New Songs You Need to Hear, From Mwahaha, Lil Wayne, Marnie Stern, and More

Welcome, time-crunched and over-stimulated music fan, to All Shook Down's High Five -- a place where Byard Duncan wades through the shit to find you the hits. Well, five of them, anyway. If there's anything uniting the tracks in this week's inaugural installment, it's a sense of urgency. From Dutch ... More >>

Lil Wayne, Drake, and Future Play Misogyny Mad Libs in "Bitches Love Me"

Occasionally, a music video comes along that plumbs the depths of absurdity to such a grand degree, we feel like we're watching an SNL parody. Or a Dave Chapelle skit. As far as we're concerned, the only person who's allowed to make unintentionally comedic music is R. Kelly. Because when he does it, ... More >>

Here Is Lil Wayne Singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at the Giants-Cardinals Game Last Night

Well, this didn't make it to our Fox-fueled TV screens yesterday: Rap star/walking tattoo warning Lil Wayne was on hand at AT&T Park to sing -- we use that term loosely -- "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Yes, and with enthusiasm! Which raises several questions: 1. Lil Wayne is a Giants fan? (He's ... More >>

New Orleans Rapper Dee-1 on Meeting Lil Wayne and Playing Basketball with Master P

Back when he was in high school, New Orleans rapper Dee-1 was working at a local Circuit City store when Lil Wayne came in and ordered a TV. Dee ended up installing the goggle-box into Weezy's car. These days, Dee himself works closely with Mannie Fresh, the architect of the classic Cash Money sound ... More >>

2012 MTV Video Music Awards: The 10 Lost Categories

The MTV Video Music Awards is an annual occasion for thrill and intrigue. An arena for a slutty young Madonna to writhe around the ground in a wedding dress, or even for a slutty old Madonna to French kiss a couple of aging pop tartlets. A place for pyro and pasties and grand interruptions -- I'mma ... More >>

Hear Le1f's "Wut": A Hot Track From an NYC Rapper Who Is, Oh Yeah, Openly Gay

Being a black male who raps and is open about his sexuality is still a big, controversial deal in post-Frank Ocean 2012, if the headlines and blog comments surrounding New York rap breakout Le1f are any indication. But before we get into that whole ugly issue of rap's latent homophobia, let's deal w ... More >>

How To Not Piss Off Tyga at His S.F. Show

Los Angeles rapper Tyga's March 19 concert in Omaha, Nebraska didn't end well -- after the show, there was a shootout. The rapper told XXL that a local act was mad because Tyga wouldn't let the group open up for him on the spur of the moment, and that the locals started throwing debris on the stage ... More >>

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

The Worst Moments from SXSW 2012

The last few days, Village Voice Media's indefatigable music staff has been regaling you with stories of the best from SXSW 2012. In the midst of these discoveries, we've been culling another list: the worst shit. The acts that ranged from huge bore-fests to downright lame. Below, you'll find our cr ... More >>

The Best of SXSW Music: Thursday 3/15/2012

If you're familiar with chaos theory, which in its basic form is the attempt to find patterns in the random acts of shit on Earth, then you may understand the difficulty that comes with describing a full day at SXSW. To break down the bright, scintillating chaos, Village Voice Media's roving music e ... More >>

Trombone Shorty on New Orleans Attitude, Growing Up With Hip-Hop, and Covering Lil Wayne

Trombone Shorty plays Friday and Saturday at the Fillmore.​ "I've been hearing hip-hop music since I was born." So says Trombone Shorty, the brass-playing band leader who grew up in the Tremé district of New Orleans' 6th Ward and has already amassed a Grammy nomination for his debut jazz albu ... More >>

It Was All a Dream

Drake's Take Care: A First Listen

​ Funny thing about Drake: I'm forced to care. This goes beyond my duties as a music writer; rap now is in a state where someone like Drake or Rick Ross becomes the sun and everyone surrounding becomes an orbiting satellite. I'm a huge fan of co-Money Youngins Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj, and I ... More >>

Friday: Lil Wayne Apologizes for the Swearing at Shoreline

Lil Wayne's family-friendly fun.​Lil Wayne Friday, September 2, 2011 @Shoreline Amphitheatre Better than: Rap shows without fireworks and fake gunshots "I apologize to the parents who brought their kids because of the cussing," said Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. at the end of a nearly two-hour ... 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 >>

How To Be a Band's Tour Manager (Without Murdering Anyone)

Casey Schafer is an ex-tour manager with more than a decade of on-the-road experience, working with a variety of artists, including pop-punk bands (MxPx) and rap superstars (Lil Wayne). He now owns and operates the North Beach-based record label Burning House, and manages artists with whom he n ... More >>

Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, and Rick Ross in Oakland: Photos from Last Night's Show

Richard HaickLil Wayne in Oakland!​ Lil Wayne Nicki Minaj Rick Ross April 24, 2011 Oracle Arena, Oakland Lil Wayne! Lil Wayne! Lil Wayne! Weezy himself appeared in Oakland last night for a blowout show with friends Nicki Minaj, Travis Barker, and Rick Ross. Judging by these photos from Richard Ha ... More >>

Point/Counterpoint: Is a Sober Lil Wayne a Good Thing?

But are you any good sober?​ Lil Wayne emerged from Rikers Island late last year. Now, owing to the terms of his probation, he must lay off drugs and liquor for three years or return to prison. And, by all accounts, he's kept kosher. And yet something doesn't quite sit right. For the man wh ... More >>

The Top 5 Most Regrettable Rapper Tattoos

Rappers lead the world when it comes to ridiculous tattoos. But while it's easy to mock Lil Wayne getting the EPSN logo on his arm or Eve's decision to stamp cat paws on her breasts, sometimes rappers themselves have second thoughts about their ink art. So with Gucci Mane recently revealing a freshl ... 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 >>

Trey Songz: Show Preview

Rap Albums You Probably Don't Know But Should, Part I

Illmatic isn't Nas' only good album, despite what you may have heard​Since many recent Next Big Things in rap have proven disappointing -- see Wale, Asher Roth and B.o.B. -- it might be time to consider the possibility that hip-hop tastemakers don't know what to look for in the first place. T ... More >>

50 Cent is the last of the millionaire rappers

Will Lil Wayne's Stardom Survive Lockup? Look To 10 Other Jailed Rappers

RJ Shaughnessy​Lil Wayne, perhaps the most commercially successful and critically-lauded rapper of the past few years, was recently granted a reprieve from his date with destiny. Due to be sentenced on February 9th after pleading guilty to gun possession, the proceedings have been delayed until Ma ... More >>

Fish & Farm's Chad Newton: The SFoodie Interview

C. NewtonChad Newton: Wants Gordon to keep yelling.​Growing up in Mountain View, Chad Newton got a taste of restaurant glory via family trips to Stars, Jeremiah Tower's watershed Cali brasserie. "I used to always gravitate toward the regular menu, not the kid's menu," Newton said. He graduated ... More >>

13 Reasons Why Yoga-Hop Is Gonna Be Huge

Doze Green"Kali Dwapar"​ Big tip o' the ASD hat--hey, do we have hats?--to SF Weekly Clubs Editor John Graham for passing along this tasty tidbit about what could be the Next Big Hip-Hop trend. In JG's words: "Now that MC Chris has agreed to appear at Insane Clown Posse's Gathering of the Jugg ... More >>

NPR: Rap as Geopolitics

Il(l) like Kim Jong: Lil' Wayne National Public Radio has an interesting take  on beef in the rap world: it's essentially a mirror of global politics, according to Marc Lynch, a professor at George Washington University and the director of the Institute of Middle East Studies. ""The way that ... 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 >>

Town Bizness Cancels SF Show

EKAphotographyTown Bizness Too $hort's highly-anticipated supergroup Town Bizness  has canceled their scheduled March 27 show at the Grand Ballroom. No official reason was given for the cancellation, and the show has yet to be rescheduled. A representative for $hort's label Up All Nite, reach ... More >>

Eight Steps to a Better 2009

Hitsville: The Year in Music, by the Numbers

By Randall Roberts You don't need a half-wit music critic to tell you it's been a remarkable year for America, one historians will be discussing and researching for centuries to come. War, financial collapse, politics, technology: All have been dinner-table topics for many Americans. Racial barrier ... More >>

The Worst Lyrics of 2008: NCAA-Style Showdown

And now it's time for the "I love you like a fat kid loves cake" memorial Worst Lyrics of 2008, March Madness-style tournament, this year a terrifying mélange of appalling oral-sex requests, bargain-bin philosophies, grammatical atrocities, and cringe-inducing pillow talk. To elevate the drama, I p ... More >>

The Worst Lyrics of 2008

The Year in Music: 2008's Top Ten Pop Songs

By Annie ZaleskiPop music often gets a bad rap for being disposable or vapid, and in many cases that's true. (Katy Perry, Danity Kane and the Pussycat Dolls, step right up!) But every year, a few irresistible bits of innovative ear candy rocket up the charts and seep into our subconscious. The foll ... More >>

Lil Wayne’s crappy performance record

Listomania: If You've Got a Little Time on Your Hands!

By Meredith Brody We love lists, as it happens, almost as much as magazines and their cover blurb writers do (as in Cosmopolitan's invariable "365 New Sexual Positions!" and O the Oprah Magazine's "53 Ways to Give Your Looks a Lift" and Allure's "52 Tips for Irresistible Hair, Makeup, Skin - and At ... More >>

Busted Rhymes: The Top 10 Most Preposterous Rap Songs of 2008

By Ben Westhoff Hip-hop A-listers including Rick Ross, Akon and Plies were caught grossly exaggerating their gangster credentials this year. (Turns out they were painfully law-abiding. The horror!) But even if your favorite rapper wasn't caught in a lie, you can bet he or she put out a hilariously ... More >>

Lil Wayne at Oracle in Dec.

It's official -- America loves Lil Wayne. He's come a long way from being the rapper who coined the atrocious term "bling bling," to getting himself parodied on the cover of Mad Magazine and making a superfluous appearance at the Country Music Awards. If all this Weezy fuss isn't enough for you, t ... More >>

Border Beats

Lavelle’s Yer UNKLE

The Cataracs have the fans, lack the lyrics

Saturday: Undisputed Champions [Bored of the Rings] at Muse Photo Studio

Tiny Monsters

A brief history of vocal fakery from Zapp to "Lollipop"

Why?

Alopecia (Anticon)

Del's 'The 11th Hour' CD - Review and Del Interview

My Tunes: Lyrics Born

Quannum projects star and alt-rap icon

CD Review: Little Brother -- Getback

Little Brother

Getback (ABB)

The Call of Katrina

Dirty Dozen Brass Band gives sonic insight into New Orleans' stormy history