Chuck D: Give this man a Classic Rap radio program, stat!
Way back in 1991, I made a prediction that the airwaves would be saturated with Classic Rap Radio by the late '90s/early '00s. That sparkling future obviously hasn't come to pass. Although there are a few such stations on the 'Net (here and here) and the odd show devoted to it on terrestrial radio, not much '80s/'90s rap gets excavated for public appreciation (see this blogger's take on the subject).
It seems like the time is way overd
Del, in his more bizarre days.
[We didn’t have space in the paper to run this feature by Ben Westhoff, but we think it’s worth posting on Heard Mentality in advance of West Coast underground-rap luminary Del’s appearance Wed. Feb. 20 at the Vault 350.]
Richmond, California emcee Del The Funky Homosapien was a weird rapper long before Lil Wayne, Andre 3000 and Kool Keith made it, well, kool. He’s not quite so bizarre these days, and that’s a shame. The release of his fifth solo albu
Last Night: The Faint, Kool Keith, Passion Pit at the Grove of Anaheim, Nov. 3, 2008.
Better Than: "The Jagermeister Music Tour" with Hinder, Trapt and Revelation Theory at the Grove the night before. Well, I'm sort of guessing, but I feel pretty confident. (How great is it that those bands are sponsored by Jagermeister? Talk about knowing your audience.)
Download: Any of The Faint's albums. They're all pretty sweet.
When it was first announced, the idea of New York rapper Kool Keith (under
Kool Keith is a man of many mysteries, many personalities and, of course, many surprises. Since the twilight years of hip hop's Golden Era, Keith (aka Black Elvis, aka Dr. Octagon) has held the torch for rappers who dare to be different, and a little eccentric. You'll definitely get a taste of that in this excerpt of a phone interview he did with the Weekly in preparation for a totally awesome, totally random gig at Slidebar in Fullerton this Sunday with Free Moral Agents and Speaker Junkies.
