Nicki Minaj

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 >>

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

Kanye West Says He's Like Picasso. Here Are 5 Equally Egomaniacal Musicians

Well, it's been a few months, so we shouldn't be all that surprised but Kanye West's ego has been running amok again. This time the behemoth emerged while West was onstage in Paris last Saturday, and said: "No matter how they try to control you, or the motherfucker next to you tries to peer pressure ... More >>

Here Are the Songs They Play at a Middle School Dance

[Editor's note: The following post by Houston writer and ESL teacher Shea Serrano was named the best blog post of the year in the first-ever Voice Media Group music writing awards. Originally published by our sister blog at LA Weekly, It's a sidesplitting minute-by-minute account of an afternoon he ... More >>

The 10 Best Bay Area Rap Anthems of 2012

2012 was a fertile year for Bay Area rap, a time when the intellectual, the brazen, the sexed-up, and the chilled-out all took center stage at one point or another. There were songs that inspired dances, songs of Bay Area pride and protest, and more of that straight mack flow that still bumps around ... More >>

2 Chainz Practices His 'Tru' Religion at The Warfield, 12/16/12

2 Chainz Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012 The Warfield Better than: Ratchetness at home. At one point in the middle of his second consecutive sold-out show at The Warfield, the Atlanta rapper 2 Chainz turned his set into a sermon and preached the values of the lessons he was giving on his B.O.A.T.S. Tour (sh ... More >>

The First Listens of 2012: What We Got Right, What We Got Wrong

As evinced bu my initial take on Tyler, the Creator's Goblin and my final opinion, a lot happens between one's first listen to an album and their final conclusion after taking it in several times. What I love about writing these features is that you get to read my pure, unvarnished thoughts about a ... More >>

2 Chainz's 10 Best Song-Stealing Guest Verses

Atlanta rapper 2 Chainz (aka Tauheed Epps, 35) is no one's sidekick. He sold out his first night as a solo artist at The Warfield on Dec. 15 (tickets are still available for the Dec. 16 show) and has a Gold-certified single ("No Lie" featuring Drake) and a Grammy nomination (Best Rap Album for Based ... More >>

T.I. Previews His New Album Trouble Man in San Francisco

When T.I. took a seat on a couch at S.F.'s Studio Trilogy last night to show guests the short film that accompanies his forthcoming album Trouble Man: Heavy Is The Head (due Dec. 18), he had no idea that he was sitting underneath a photograph of Marvin Gaye, whose own album of the same name was part ... More >>

Madonna Does MDNA at HP Pavilion, 10/6/12

Madonna October 6, 2012 HP Pavilion Better than: Doing the "Lucky Star" dance at home. Madonna's MDNA Tour has been protested across the globe almost steadily since it began last May. In Warsaw, public exorcisms were conducted in order to expel Satan from the star's lithe body and punish her for p ... More >>

Kreayshawn's Somethin 'Bout Kreay: A First Listen

Kreayshawn's contribution to Western culture is one classic line: "One big room/ Full of bad bitches." It's still awaiting its hot song. Her success is somewhere between William Hung and Jesse Camp and the 8th Street Kidz. She's an eliminated contestant without a reality show. From her phenomenally ... More >>

Bay Area Rappers Remake 50 Cent's "How to Rob" With a Misogynist Twist

San Francisco-bred rapper Messy Marv and J-Diggs, president of Vallejo's embattled Thizz Entertainment, have just released "211 on a Industry Nigga," a remake of 50 Cent's 2002 debut single "How to Rob." Both call out specific rap and R&B stars -- many of the same names, in fact -- and detail how th ... 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 >>

Friends of Nicki?: Five Black Musicians Who Supported Republicans

You've probably already heard about Nicki Minaj's Mitt Romney-related lyrics, in which she claimed she was going to vote for the Republican presidential candidate. So, did she mean it? Was she being ironic? Is this a publicity stunt? The only thing we know for sure is that the online furor over this ... More >>

Worst New Song of the Week: Karmin's "Hello"

Man. When we heard that really ironically-titled new 3OH!3 song ("You're Gonna Love This"), we were like "Wow. Nothing could ever be more inane and vacuous than this auto-tuned piece of shit." But then we heard the new Karmin song, "Hello," and decided it should be the first in our new Worst Song of ... More >>

Frank Ocean: The Only Band That Matters

Frank Ocean. Even his name sounds like it was dreamed up, because it was. Ocean is 2012's Clash, its Radiohead, its -- if you insist -- Animal Collective. From his no-name-on-the-cover mystique to the 10-minute opus, pre-career record company troubles and a grassroots indie following, he's an altern ... More >>

The Top 10 Most Disappointing Albums of 2012 (So Far)

It's a little past the halfway point of 2012, but mid-July still seems like a good time to round up the albums that came out this year and simply failed to meet our expectations. Some of those expectations were admittedly (and deservedly) sky-high -- leading to decent records that still felt like a ... More >>

"Ice Age: Continental Drift": A Good Concept Set Asea

Justin Bieber's Believe: A First Listen

Like my colleague Andrew Stout, I have mostly managed to avoid Justin Bieber for what I'm pretty sure are good reasons. He's a typical "innocent" white male singer trying to represent universality to nonwhites and nonmales. Then there's his musical blandness: bits that crept through my defenses of " ... More >>

Usher's Looking 4 Myself: A First Listen

For some reason, I've always managed to ignore or miss Usher. "You Make Me Wanna..." is a classic, of course, but I managed to resist the supposed charms of "Yeah!," "Burn," "Love in This Club," and "Lil Freak." This year the Diplo-produced "Climax" stopped me dead in my tracks. So I'm willing to be ... More >>

Australia's Gotye on Taking His Offbeat Pop to the Top of the U.S. Charts

K.Flay's Smart-Aleck Rhymes Could be the Bay's Next Big Export

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 >>

A Smart Aleck with Rhymes

Meet K.Flay, the Stanford grad who might be the Bay's next big female rapper

Madonna's MDNA: A First Listen

​Sure, I heard bad things about MDNA, but when's the last time critics actually jumped for Madonna? In the pre-"poptimist" era of 1999, with Ray of Light, I'm pretty sure. Music was a billion times better, and the oft-cited failure American Life is actually pretty strange and fun (vocoder and rapp ... 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 >>

The Grammys: A Timeline of Madness and Misery

The 54th Annual Grammy Awards happened yesterday. Which we're sure you know already. If you missed it, however, you may have missed some of the weirdest details. So here, for your convenience, is a timeline of events. Get comfortable, 'cause this thing was a three-and-a-half-hour carnival of absurdi ... More >>

Madonna Is Playing the Bay Area This Fall

Fresh off her headline-generating performance with M.I.A. and a few other people at the Super Bowl this past weekend, Madonna announced a huge run of tour dates today, including a Bay Area show. The Madge will of course be touring behind new effort MDNA, which is out March 26 and includes "Give Me A ... More >>

The Top Five Most Bizarre Superbowl Halftime Shows

​Oh, the hallowed and hyped Superbowl halftime show. This Sunday, we will bear witness to the unholy alliance of Madonna, M.I.A., and Nicki Minaj performing together, which will be -- well, beyond interesting, we're not quite sure. Sometimes, though, the stars align and something truly magical hap ... More >>

Prince Paul's "Negroes on Ice" Wants the Rap World to Take a Joke

In-Ear Monitors: A Post-Christmas Buyer's Guide to Making Your Music Sound Better

The Bowers & Wilkins C5 will make your iPhone sound great.​ It's after Christmas, and you're flush with gift certificates and $5 checks from Grandma. Still, you never received the present that hits all the right notes for on-the-go listening. No matter your post-holiday budget, it's possible ... More >>

Signal to Noise: A Look at Five New Tracks You Will Be Hearing on SF Dancefloors

Joy Orbison is one happy dude.​ Ever found yourself at a club without a clue as to what the DJ is playing? Signal to Noise is a brand new column that looks at the music that's currently being played (or that will be played) in San Francisco's many dance halls. For this week's inaugural edition ... More >>

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 >>

Weekend Party Preview: Thundercat at Low End Theory, Creep at 120 Minutes, A Month of Funk, and More

Creep performs at 120 Minutes on Friday.​ Halloween might be over, but did you know there's a much more subtle holiday on the way? No, not Thanksgiving -- I'm referring to the end of daylight savings time this Sunday. It's the only time of the year when Californians are allowed an extra hour o ... More >>

Nicki Minaj's Chicken Wing Necklace, and 10 Other Crazy Musical Accessories

Oh, look at that. Nicki Minaj just emerged with a chicken wing around her neck that had been painted hot pink and dressed up like a necklace, and called it fashion. Hot! ... Or not, depending on your perspective. Regardless, in Minaj's avian-slaughtering honour, we'd like to take a look back at 10 o ... More >>

Consciousness vs. Sex: Jean Grae and the Plight of the Underground Female Rapper

Jean Grae​ Jean Grae, who performs tonight at the New Parish, is a very talented rapper. That's not just a very talented female rapper, but a very talented hip-hop artist who deserves to be considered on nothing more than her own lyrical merits, and shouldn't be given some sort of a rap pass d ... More >>

OMG! Britney Spears and Nicki Minaj Get Into (Imaginary) Catfight in San Jose!

mediatakeout.com​As far as we could tell, Saturday night's Britney Spears and Nicki Minaj show at HP Pavilion in San Jose went off without a hitch -- unless you count the two fire-and-brimstone picketers that harassed fans outside. The set times conformed almost exactly to the schedule provided to ... More >>

Limp Bizkit's Gold Cobra: A Catalog of Disaster

​ Why did I choose to subject myself to Limp Bizkit? Because with the myriad of styles coming back -- think LinnDrum R&B ballads featuring on Bon Iver and Frank Ocean releases; the meaty '90s alt of Yuck and Male Bonding; the retrospective thrash metal of Kylesa -- it seem just about every era ... More >>

Britney Spears in San Jose: Pop Star Believes She Can Fly

Calibree PhotographyBritney Spears at HP Pavilion on Saturday​ Britney Spears June 18, 2011 @ HP Pavilion Better than: Not crossing a two-man religious picket line on a Saturday night in order to (apparently) celebrate fornication, homosexuality, and general hell-raising. "God hates Britney ... More >>

Rethinking Tyler, the Creator's Goblin: Why It May Be One of the Year's Best

​I know. You're sick of reading about the little shit. So am I. What I couldn't have known during my miserable first run through Goblin is that I wouldn't be sick of listening to it as July approaches. Not by a long shot, not nearly as much as I thought I'd be when I slogged and blogged my way thr ... More >>

Before Kreayshawn: 10 Underrated and/or Forgotten Female MCs

Kreashawn: Oakland's latest female rap sensation.​Last week, around the fifth time someone sent me a link to Kreayshawn's "Gucci Gucci," I started having a feeling toward the diminutive rapper that was not entirely positive. This discomfort grew a few days later, when she reportedly signed a $ ... 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 >>

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 2011 Grammys, A Timeline: Lady Gaga's Boob Armor, Who Is Lady Antebellum, and What the Hell is Cee-Lo Wearing?

In which we sit through three and a half hours of Grammys twaddle, so you don't have to: 8:01 p.m.: Show opens with an Aretha Franklin montage. Okay... 8:03 p.m.: Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Florence Welch, Yolanda Adams, and Martina McBride perform "Natural Woman" together, then take i ... More >>

Metallica Plans New Record That's Not Actually a New Metallica Record

​The latest less-than-clear-message from the Metallica camp: Cigar aficionado/lead guitarist Kirk Hammet has let slip that the band is planning to head back into the studio in May -- but not exactly to record a new Metallica record. Hammet said the new project will only take the band two weeks -- ... More >>

Five Attempted Pop Comebacks Even More Annoying Than James Blunt's

It came to my attention that James Blunt is back with a new album this week. Considering that the mere sight of his face evokes my inner rage, the thought of his actual music is enough to make me want to drive off a cliff. If you remember, he was that guy in 2006 with the song "You're Beautiful" whe ... More >>

My Top 10 Tracks of 2010, Apparently a Good Year in S.F. Rock

All hail the Fresh & Onlys, local proprietors of one of my favorite songs of 2010.​No, this isn't some not-so-sly effort at hometown boosterism. Three of my favorite songs from this year just happen to come from artists who nominally call S.F. home. Seriously. Anyway, some of the others on her ... 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 >>

Trey Songz: Show Preview