…this world is more than who we are as individuals. We are all in this room together and no matter what we believe in or love there is always going to be someone that does not feel the same way. We should not be so quick to anger that we miss what there is to gain from one another.

Can pop music have meaning, depth, substance? There are no small numbers of musicians who would answer yes. Among them is the Austin-based band Language Room. They conceived, composed and recorded their debut album “Things We Wish For” to explore [...]

Perhaps one of the most anticipated rappers we’ve seen in years has stepped to the plate. He has been run through the hype machine, magazines, mixtapes, TRL, BET, ER and of course, studios. 50 Cent, born Curtis Jackson, has risen from the streets of Jamaica, Queens, and has bullet scars to prove it. While hustling the streets he ran across the now late Jam Master [...]

Who doesn’t remember Boyz II Men? They set a new standard for boy bands, they did it with class and style bringing their own flow of love. The Boyz managed to stay pretty consistent and peaked out on their second album “II” (which was outstanding to say the least), after that they mistakenly waited too long to put out another album and instead put out a [...]

With a name like Common, one would perhaps expect some music of the regular sort. Yet, as average as the name comes across, Common is nothing short of irregular. Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, born Lonnie Rashied Lynn, Common made his solo debut in March of 2000 with “Like Water for Chocolate” gaining street praise and rave reviews. You may recognize him from hits such as [...]

Who ever would have guessed that Alaska would produce a woman with beauty, charisma, innocence, sincerity and a talent to sing R&B? Unbelievable as it is, Amerie is native to Alaska. Not that she’s exactly a newbie on the hip hop scene anymore, since she has been having some grand appearances with the likes of Nas, Royce Da 5′9″ and LL Cool J, along with [...]

You say the name Bone Thugs, my mind immediately springs to “East 1999 Eternal”, or perhaps I hear a female voice chanting “It’s the thuggish ruggish bone”, yet even still the enchanting “Crossroads” may come to mind. One step further? Sure, how about Mo Thugs “Family Scriptures”? My point? Well, the Cleveland group has a pretty astonishing track record, but latter releases such as “The [...]

Positive. That’s right, positive. I’ll start and end with just that, positive. I’m positive you have heard GRITS before, whether or not you recognize the name, but true hip-hop heads will automatically know the name. Hailing from Nashville, Tennessee and bringing their own flavor of hip hop to the board every time they touch a studio or microphone, their voices are easily recognizable in an [...]

Are you freakin’ kidding me? My favorite prolific producer just picked up a mic and dropped an album, and he *produced* it also? Hmmm. I hope he ain’t like some of these solid producers who only think they can rap but really should stick to making beats. Kanye has been making major waves in the music pool, he got a big start on Jay-z’s CD “The Dynasty – Roc La [...]

After pushing the limits on The New Danger, Mos Def returns from adventures in deep space and on the silver screen with a new album, which showcases a more stripped-down and rootsy side of one of hip-hop’s most versatile men. Continuing his streak of making innovative, conscious and soulful music, the Renaissance man’s latest release True Magic is exactly what the title says. The album’s [...]

Raw. Unpolished. Bare. These are words to describe Diamonds to Dust, the latest album by Gurf Morlix, Austin’s man-behind-the-man. Best known for his work with Americana big-shots like Lucinda Williams, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Robert Earl Keen, Jimmy Lafave, and Slaid Cleaves, every now and then Morlix is prone to doing his own thing, on his own terms. His fourth solo effort is eleven tracks of [...]