Subject: Dirty South

• The Trill Is Gone: Pimp C, RIP

  The Dec. 4 death of UGK rapper Pimp C (Chad Butler, 33) in Los Angeles' Mondrian Hotel has prompted much mourning and reminiscing. Our sister paper Houston Press has a substantial coverage of the much-respected H-town MC on its blog. Along with UGK partner Bun B, Pimp C helped to bring Southern rap to prominence and paved the way for several Houston hip-hop artists who've gone on to stardom. Butler's death is currently being investigated. You can view a tribute video to C below.

  December 6, 2007

• “The Efron Scandal” Gets Internet's Panties in a Bunch

  Wayne and Zac: brothers from other mothers, fo' sheezy. Have you read Ben Westhoff's “The Efron Scandal” feature yet in this week's OC Weekly? Dozens of thousands of 'net surfers have (enough—30,000 and counting—to crash our site, temporarily). Among those readers are those who work for very popular hip-hop magazine XXL, snarky pop-culture rag Radar, snarkier music blog Idolator, high-traffic rap blog nahright.com (can't find the link now, sorry), A Socialite's Life gossip spot, gossip

  December 18, 2007

• Lil Wayne in Big Trouble

  Police near Yuma, Arizona have arrested Southern rap star Lil Wayne for possession of “dangerous” drugs, narcotics and drug paraphernalia, TMZ is reporting. This incident follows a 2007 arrest in Idaho, also for drug possession. If Wayne (real name Dwayne Carter Jr.) had kept in the responsible company of Zac Efron, this mess probably would've never happened. In other news, somebody has absconded with Lil Wayne's chin.

  January 23, 2008

• Outkast Blast

  October 16, 2003

• Get Out!

  June 22, 2006

• 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 following ten singles saturated the Top 40 -- or what passes for hit-oriented radio in this topsy-turvy musical climate -- while proving that accessibility doesn't necessarily preclude creativity.

  December 17, 2008

• 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 absurd record or two in 2008. Here are the most preposterous rap songs of 2008. RICK ROSS, FEATURING T-PAIN "The Boss" (Def Jam) Though Rick Ross claimed on his debut album, Port of Miami, to know

  December 29, 2008

• Rumored/Confirmed Coachella Artists Start to Trickle In

  LAist has about 20 artists they say are "confirmed" for Coachella (coming up soon! April 17-19!), and many more that are "rumored"--and given that just about every act of note is "rumored" for Coachella at this point in the year, a classification that's about as meaningful as last night's Golden Globes (though any night when Tracy Morgan and Bruce Springsteen both get to give acceptance speeches is pretty awesome).Here's who they say are confirmed:

  January 12, 2009

• [CD Review] T.I., 'Paper Trail' (Atlantic)

  October 9, 2008

• Who Wins In the Worst Lyrics of 2008 Tournament? You Do

  December 18, 2008

• Rapper The Game Doesn't Care About Success. He Just Wants Everyone to Care About Him

  August 21, 2008

• Ricked-Out

  June 26, 2008

• Ice Cube's Powerhouse Show at Honda Center Will Show If He's Still Got Game

  June 19, 2008

• [CD Review] Dizzee Rascal, 'Maths + English' (Definitive Jux)

  May 29, 2008

• Why Southern Hip-Hop Is the Same as FOX News

  May 1, 2008

• Ohio Screamin'

  April 24, 2008

• Murs' Paid Dues Fest, With Sage Fancis and Dilated Peoples, Gives Indie Hip-Hop a Major Platform

  March 20, 2008

• Saved by Lord Byron and Lil Wayne

  Sole and the Skyrider Band find poetry in the darkness

  January 10, 2008

• Hits!

  Virgin Megastore Orange

  August 2, 2007

• Crunk Bonds

  Southern-rap icons Ying Yang Twins find a balance

  April 12, 2007

• Ice Work If You Can Get It

  Rapper Paul Wall's diamond life

  April 5, 2007

• Indie Vs. Major: Who's Got the Flavor

  Urban music in 2006 was typified by what it wasnt as much as what it was

  December 28, 2006

• About a Boi

  August 24, 2006

• Hits!

  July 27, 2006

• Thug-Adonis Veneer

  May 18, 2006

• This Week in Scandalous Hoes

  December 22, 2005

• Get Out!

  December 22, 2005

• V.I.P. Records

  September 1, 2005

• SHOCKING THEMSELVES

  JUNE 23-JUNE 30

  June 23, 2005

• Live Previews

  February 24, 2005

• Live Previews

  February 17, 2005

• Live Previews

  February 10, 2005

• Goth Not

  February 20, 2003

• Say Watt?

  April 26, 2001

• [CD Review] Ciara, 'Fantasy Ride' (Jive/RCA/LaFace)

  May 14, 2009

• [Sound Guy] For Your Shoppertainment: Bands In Malls!

  July 23, 2009

• Lil Wayne

  August 13, 2009

• Top Five Little Known Facts About Soulja Boy

  ​I interviewed Soulja Boy (who I'll just go ahead and call by his real name DeAndre Way) recently, and it was pretty wild. The Atlanta-based, teen millionaire rapper wore his colossal, eponymous pendant--which he says contains a hundred Gs of diamonds--and bragged about how all the big names in hip hop have been kissing his ass lately. No idea how much his chain is worth, but the latter claim actually holds up. Though in the wake of his gimmicky 2007 YouTube smash "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" no

  August 14, 2009

• Outgoing: Sleepy Brown at Galaxy Theatre Canceled

  In the latest chapter of the weird saga of the Sleepy Brown show scheduled for this Friday at the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana--the same show that rather dubiously advertised superstar duo Outkast (who haven't performed together in forever) as a supporting act, which was later confirmed to be "one member" of Outkast that was never identified--has been canceled.I complained earlier that it's pretty odd to advertise Outkast, who are universally defined as the collective duo of Big Boi and Andre 300

  July 15, 2009

• TONIGHT: Jamie Foxx at the Grove of Anaheim

  Jamie Foxx, leave something for the rest of us. He can act, he can tell jokes, he can sing the hooks of smash-hit Kanye West tunes, and now he's got his own solo career going, too. His third studio album, Intuition (not to be confused with the Jewel song of the same name, not that anyone would), came out late last December, and hit #3 on the Billboard 200 despite some middling reviews.Sure, it would be easy to make Eddie Murphy/"Party All the Time" jokes if he wasn't working with legit hip-hop s

  July 2, 2009

• Outkast Playing at the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana?

  In the "things that make you go 'hmm'" department: the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana is advertising Outkast as performing at their venue on July 17. (Click on the flier to see a bigger version.) Hmm.Yes, the same Outkast that gave us "Ms. Jackson," "Hey Ya," "The Whole World," etc. etc. etc. The same Outkast that hasn't toured or performed together as a duo in years. Surprising, then, that they would pick the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana, of all places, to make a return, huh? And that it would be i

  July 1, 2009

• In Love with Night

  October 1, 2009

• Slideshows: Lil Wayne and Soulja Boy at the Honda Center, OC Pride: Picnic in the Park

  Chris VictorioLil Wayne's all "whoa, dudes."​We saw some stuff over the weekend. While some may argue whether or not it was better than midget wrestling at the Galaxy, it was still pretty swell. Well, maybe it's not right to say "we" saw stuff over the weekend--these were both Chris Victorio specials. First there was the show Friday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, with Lil Wayne (pictured) and our new friend Soulja Boy doing their things. Those pics are here. On a rather different note,

  August 17, 2009

• Last Night: Powerhouse at Honda Center

  ​Last Night: Powerhouse 2009 at the Honda Center featuring Jay-Z, Black Eyed Peas, Pitbull, Lil' John, Flo Rida, Sean Paul, LMFAO, Kid Cudi, Far East Movement, New Boyz and Ya Boy.Better Than: A long, shitty drive to San Manuel Casino.Download: Pssh, like you really need ME to tell you what to download. Striding through a police-patrolled crosswalk in a sea of skinny jeans, fluorescent tees and accessorized millennial swagger, hallmarks of hip hop's new generation were unavoidable at Powerhous

  August 9, 2009