Schoolboy Q’s long-awaited album Oxymoron leaked last week and was officially released on Tuesday, and it lives up to his name. Q embraces the contrasts and contradictions within him, and it gives his album a unique and intriguing perspective, proving that Q is more than just Kendrick Lamar’s prankster friend.
I watched the Grammys on Sunday night. Well, I watched it secondhand. In this, the year 2014, awards shows and most major television events are not entertaining in themselves so much as they are entertaining for the tweets, GIFs, and thinkpieces they spawn on the Internet. Grandiose, antiquated events like the Grammys are splintered and distilled into a select few talking points that are mulled over and recycled until no one can think of any more Macklemore jokes.
Over Thanksgiving break, I got to listen to a lot of Seattle music. On Wednesday, I went to see the Seattleite rapper Sol along with a bunch of other local rappers. On Friday, I saw Pearl Jam in Spokane in their penultimate show before they ended their tour in Seattle, where they started out decades ago.
A couple weeks ago, Whitman hosted a concert for the bands Kitten and Shy Girls. Shy Girls turned out to be a bunch of men, while Kitten played alternative rock that certainly did not make anyone think of a cuddly feline. However, both names somewhat fit the bands; Shy Girls played a kind of seductive, thoughtful R&B that would probably woo many a shy girl, while Kitten looked like a group of hipsters who probably love looking at kitten memes online. The manner in which their names complement their music changes one’s perception of the music. Here are a list of some other great names of artists and groups, both in how cool the name is by itself and how it relates to the actual music:
In a hip-hop landscape teeming with entertaining characters, Action Bronson is one of my favorites. He is a fat, bearded Albanian from Queens who took up rapping a few years ago after leaving his career as a chef. Through the handful of mixtapes he’s put out, Bronson has cooked up a character for himself, who boasts preposterously of his outrageous good looks, gambling prowess, and athleticism, while mixing in plenty of references to fine cuisine and ‘90’s sports stars.
My seventh-grade self will always defend Kanye West. His Late Registration was the first album on my first iPod and I have stuck with the guy ever since. While he still creates brilliant music, West’s role in the public conscience has gone from gifted artist to ridiculous diva. And the shame is that we don’t recognize the relationship between the two.
Frats aren't always known for musical diversity, but this was not the case at the TKE house on Friday night. Hosting their all-campus "Space Jam" party, the house was able to display both sides of the...
The release of Jay-Z's Magna Carta Holy Grail was the day rap became mortal. Mr. Carter, one of the greatest rappers of all time, not only put out a mediocre piece of work––it was boring. Over eccentric...
