Wu-Tang Clan

10 Songs LBSO Probably Shouldn't Play in a Firehouse

Just like the Wu-Tang Clan, the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra is for the children. If they weren't, the group wouldn't be presenting a family-friendly concert Sunday at the Engine Company No. 8 fire station in Long Beach at 4 p.m. The event, part of LBSO's "Sound & Space" concert series, is an inte ... More >>

Top Five Acts at Paid Dues 2013

A few months into 2013 and we're less than a week away from the first big live hip-hop experience of the year. Last year was filled with immensely enjoyable shows all across Southern California, from Nas at Rock the Bells to Juicy J and ASAP Rocky at the Observatory. And, here we are, ready to start ... More >>

Method Man - The Observatory - March 3, 2013

Method ManThe ObservatoryMarch 3, 2013Orange County's relationship with hip-hop is different than its Los Angeles neighbor. Whether it's Aesop Rock or ASAP Rocky, LA will come out in droves. Later in April, Aesop Rock will be performing at the Constellation Room, a small Observatory offshoot only ca ... More >>

The Five Best Concerts in OC This Weekend

Friday, March 1 Super Diamond House of Blues Anaheim Remember the movie Saving Silverman with Steve Zahn and Jack Black? It was about a couple of lovable loser musicians whose idol was none other than Neil Diamond, the psuedo-rock crooner from your parent's generation. Sometimes truth is stranger ... More >>

Free Ticket Tuesday Thursday: Method Man at The Observatory

At this point, there's no denying that Santa Ana is officially the new OC headquarters for the Wu-Tang Clan. With Ghostface Killah and GZA both making his appearance last year, it seems only necessary that Method Man come through this weekend to christen the building for the first time. Arguably the ... More >>

Top Five Most Shocking Grammy Moments of All Time

This weekend is the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. Viewed by many as music's biggest night, the telecast has been home to lifelong icons finally getting their due, musical phenomenons explode and some of the most shocking moments in broadcast television history. As great as the former are, it's the unpr ... More >>

JD McPherson Gets Drunk on Roots Rock 2.0 (And Nothing Else)

We're not sure if JD McPherson is as strait-laced as he says he is. Sure, he may have cropped, slicked-back hair, a crisp denim jacket and choirboy looks, but it's hard to imagine the gravelly soul erupting in his voice is the product of anything but hard drinking and wild living. After all, why els ... More >>

How Rapper Aliso Black Plans to Hustle His Way to Paid Dues

Aliso Black doesn't like to talk about the dues he's paid to his local hip-hop scene. He'd rather just show you the worn-out soles of his white, high-top Chucks, the armpit stains under his sweatshirt, or a car trunk full of mixtapes and show fliers. Then of course there's the swath of Google entrie ... More >>

Louis C.K. - Hollywood Improv - September 21, 2012

Louis C.K. September 21, 2012 Hollywood Improv See Also: *Kevin & Bean's April Foolishness at Gibson Amphitheatre *Margaret Cho at the Grove of Anaheim Last Night *Wu-Tang Clan Last Night at the Grove Last time Louie C.K. did a show at the Hollywood Improv it sold out in forty-five minutes. ... More >>

The Best Five Shows in OC This Week

Monday, September 24Pawn Shop Kings The Constellation RoomA unique musical style often comes from superior talent and vision, though it can also be a product of geographical diversity. Case in point: Pawn Shop Kings. They're a musical melting pot--a whole lot of Arkansas blended with SoCal's sunshin ... More >>

Pre-School Punks

[Ask Exene] Dressing your baby in band T-shirts doesn't alone make you a cool parent

Spaceghostpurrp is Here to Elevate

The gloomy and spaced-out sounds of Spaceghostpurrp --"trill phonk," as he calls it-- may transport the listener to the crime-ridden swamp-grounds of nineties-era Memphis, but Purrp -earth name Muney Jordan--is not on this mortal plane to corrode or destroy. When it comes to his purpose and his asp ... More >>

Dr. Dre To Produce A Film and 5 Other Rappers To Work In Film

​Though this isn't his first rodeo in film (he's acted before), legendary hip-hop impresario Dr. Dre will be a producer on the upcoming horror/thriller film, Thaw. How this affects his Chinese Democracy-esque album Detox remains to be seen, but in the interim, this is likely to be the latest proje ... More >>

Rush, The Mentors, The Germs and Crass: That Disney Shirt Gets Parodied by Dave Noise

​You know Dave Noise over at Factory Records, right? Well, it turns out that he not only sells records, he's hilarious and pretty good with the Photoshop. Hence his brand spankin' new Tumblr account called "Mickey Mouse Meets Ian Curtis," featuring parodies of the Joy Division-inspired Mickey shir ... More >>

Black Star: We Break Down Mos Def and Talib Kweli's Brilliance

​Hip-hop's history might be strewn with many more notable groups than duos, but time and time again, a couple of guys are able to come together and blow everyone to smithereens. So many great twofers have existed in rap: Eric B. & Rakim, Outkast, Blackalicious, Atmosphere, and Gang Starr. ... More >>

Paid Dues 2012 Headliners Announced

Christopher Victorio​The headliners for the 2012 Paid Dues Hip Hop Festival were just announced via Ustream. The festival will be held April 7, 2012 at NOS Events Center in San Bernardino. Festival creator and indie hip-hop legend Murs released the names of the headliners as well as pre-sale ... More >>

[UPDATE] TICKET GIVEAWAY: GZA at the Galaxy Detroit Bar on Aug. 25

​UPDATE: Aug. 16, 2011, 3:33 p.m.: The GZA show has been moved to Detroit Bar. All winners will be notified by the end of the week.Original post, Aug. 9, 2011, 8:58 a.m.: Apparently cool things are going to be emerging from the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana pretty soon, the first of which is a show ... More >>

Wu-Tang Clan Looking for Intern

​What would you do for the Wu? Because Wu-Tang Management is looking for an intern, with qualifications that include excellent written communication skills, a professional demeanor (meaning no gold chains?) and experience with social networking (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Ning, Blogspot, etc.). We'r ... More >>

10 Best Albums of the Year--So Far

Christopher Victorio/OC Weekly​Hey, the year's half over! Isn't that reason enough to count back through the albums that have been released thus far in 2011 and decide which ones we can safely say are great? Yes, it is.Check out our picks after the jump--and see which ones made it.

Wu Tang's RZA May Join 'G.I. Joe' Sequel

​ Wu-Tang Clan rapper/producer-turned-actor RZA could play a martial arts expert named the Blind Master in the G.I. Joe sequel, says MTV. The character  trained Joe commandos Snake Eyes and Jinx. D.J. Cotrona, who appears on the TV show Detroit 1-8-7, is another potential new face. RZA and C ... More >>

Top Five Hip-hop Stoner Anthems, Interpreted

​Stoners and hip-hop go together like weed and paper. But did you know that there's a lesson to be learned from many hip-hop songs about sweet mary jane? It's virtually Ganja Smoking 101 set to music...read on and get schooled.

"Merry Christmas, Motherfuckers!": Seven Favorite Hip-Hop Holiday Songs

​While it doesn't happen too much anymore these days, the hip-hop world has been known to put out a holiday album or two--and sometimes the  too-bright cheerfulness of Christmas carols pairs up extra nicely with the often humorous and/or the sometimes, uh, adult content of the lyrics.After th ... More >>

'Avatar'-Inspired Song by Victor-E of El Vuh

​ It's hard to believe, but director James Cameron's blockbuster film Avatar just turned one year old last Saturday. The birthday of the highest-grossing movie in cinematic history has coincided with talk of confirmed sequels to come. But before any new Avatar films hit the silver screen, rapper V ... More >>

Warpaint at Mesa Tomorrow, Tuesday!

​So we missed the uber-cool Soko at the seventh C.A.M.M. (Cinema.Art.Music.Movement.) in Mesa last week, but tomorrow, LA buzz band Warpaint is performing at 6 p.m.C.A.M.M. has been bringing in some pretty decent talent to Orange County; aside from Soko, Devendra Banhart was at the launch party, t ... More >>

Rock The Bells 2010: No Lauryn Hill, But Guess Who's Performing?

www.lauryn-hill.com​Yesterday, Urb.com called it: Lauryn Hill would be performing The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in its entirety at Guerilla Union's veritable hip-hop fest, Rock the Bells. When the lineup was announced at the Key Club in Hollywood last night, Rock the Bells announced  ot ... More >>

Record Review: Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Method Man, 'Wu-Massacre'

​The Hype: When legendary Wu-Tang Clan members Ghostface Killah, Raekwon the Chef and Method Man announced their plans to record an entire album together in July 2009, the anticipation among Wu-heads was palpable. Then we waited for it...and waited....and waited. 

GZA of Wu-Tang Clan to Perform at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa

Rapper supreme GZA headed to Detroit BarWu-Tang founding member GZA, aka, the Genius, easily ranks among the greatest hip-hop lyricist of all time. He's a rapper's rapper, delivering erudite--yet street approved--rhymes that never dip into cliche or gimmickry. His flow is melodic and assured, making ... More >>

ALSO TONIGHT: The GZA Returns to Detroit

There's something to be said for the credibility of a music venue when an artist like GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan decides to stop by once and do a show. But twice? Detroit Bar must be doing something right these days. And for anyone who shelled out the $20 for his last appearance at this South County wa ... More >>

Method Man

Big weekend at Detroit...again, yeeesh.

Okay, so most of you who read this blog probably get the sense that us Heard Mentality goons generally like what happens at Detroit Bar on a weekly basis. Sometimes we write about them way too much considering that there are about 100 or so perfectly good (or at least mediocre) places to get drunk a ... More >>

We The People Festival at L.A. Historic Park

(Lede) I don't care what kind of music you came to see, thirty four bands, in thirty two acres of space turned a hot weekend in Chinatown into a non stop sonic binge. Last saturday, thousands of fans from all over So Cal trucked into the dust bowl parking lot across from L.A. Historic Park for the ... More >>

[CD Review] PAS/CAL, 'I Was Raised on Matthew, Mark, Luke & Laura' (Le Grand Magistery)

[Hits!] Top-Selling Records at Music Revolution

[Sprawl of Sound] All Excess Pass

The problem with hipster dance DJs, plus a Mars Volta member's solo album

Hits!

Music Revolution

Hits!

Fingerprints

The Worst Things in Music This Year

Freelancer Ben Westhoff (you may recognize the name from "The Efron Scandal") posted this provocative list on our sister paper Pitch Weekly's blog. We reprint it here because this is a time of giving (said the atheist). By BEN WESTHOFF 1. Worst Album: Arcade Fire, Neon Bible This cerebral garbag ... More >>

Hits!

The Noize Music

Free the Robots, Detroit Bar (Busywork), September 26, 2007

Click the photo for more snaps from the show. I had absurdly high expectations for Free the Robots' OC live debut—and, knock me over with a feather, those expectations were exceeded. That experience is so rare, I'd almost forgotten what it feels like. Seeing Free the Robots (SanTana impresario/mu ... More >>

Cream of Elite

Sporting perhaps the greatest hip-hop bill ever, Rock the Bells enshrines rap's history—and foreshadows its future

Fo' Sizzle!

Summer concerts/festivals to heat the beat

Confusion Is Good

Ima Robot mess with gender, subvert expectations

The Arcane Cocaine Poet

Ghostface Killah reaches a new high

Ah Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha

FEB. 8-FEB. 15

The Modern Organics

eVocals mix of clothes-art-music: Hippie-skater-tagger with a twist

In the Good

Visionaries are the ones weve been waiting for

Get Out!

Special Summer Festival Edition: You are the star!

Get Out!

Party's Over!

New Music

Glowstick Smackdown

Its Narnia vs. Oracle 3 in a big, bug-eyed rave war!