Run DMC

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By | January 01, 0001

Fresh legends

Somebody pinch People Under the Stairs
Nine out of 10 rap legends prefer People Under the Stairs. (The holdout is a crackhead.) That's no joke — in my hundreds of interviews with dudes who brought the noise and funk before the big ship sunk ( circa 1997), California underground heroes Thes One and Double K have been as popular a subject as the exploitation of old-school luminaries.
By CHRIS FARAONE | January 13, 2010

The end that could have been

Three missed Aerosmith break-up opportunities
For a few wonderful days, it seemed that Aerosmith were finally kaput.
By DAVID THORPE | November 18, 2009

Smack downer

Hip-Hop Misogyny: It Ain’t What It Used To Be
I haven’t come hereto academically justify West Coast credos about assimilating hoes into housewives. Instead I’ve come to mourn the commercialization of misogynistic rap lyrics.
By CHRIS FARAONE | July 23, 2009

The Thriller is gone

For Michael Jackson, Bad ain't good
With the release of Bad (Epic), Michael Jackson ends a recording hiatus of nearly five years. He could have stayed away for 10 years and still not have escaped the shadow of Thriller , the biggest-selling album of all time.
By JOYCE MILLMAN | June 30, 2009

By | January 01, 0001

Word to the mother

Hip-hop moms serve waaay more than dinner
As a prepubescent thug, I often complained about the audio rotation on my father's car stereo, which primarily consisted of a steady mix of Moody Blues and books on tape.
By CHRIS FARAONE | February 02, 2009

Here they come a-wassailing

Rock bands, throat singer, and a partridge in a pear tree
There's not a whole lot of Yuletide-themed activity on Boston's musical fringes this year, and that makes the holiday rock show at the Milky Way this Sunday all the more welcome.
By SUSANNA BOLLE | December 19, 2008

ohGr

Tracing Ogre’s trajectory
Skinny Puppy's Nivek Ogre has made the rounds for the better part of this decade as ohGr, with a more cut-and-paste approach to the electric misanthropy his old band pioneered.
By MATT PARISH | December 05, 2008

Satan's little helpers

Thrash legends Wargasm only 99 percent pure evil
Everyone knows that metal is the most evil of all music, what with all those references to the occult, destruction, drinking, the color black, and long hair.
By BARRY THOMPSON | September 10, 2008

Lucky, beautiful, and, now, holy

Rev Run runs straight
He was the king of rock, there was no higher . The sucker MCs, they should call him sire .
By JIM SULLIVAN | August 20, 2008

Alien lanes

Free candlepin Mondays at the Milky Way
By 9 pm last Monday, the Milky Way’s seven lanes were thoroughly stuffed.
By MICHAEL BRODEUR | August 12, 2008

Dream on

Aerosmith can’t make Guitar Hero sing again
It is somehow fitting that the Guitar Hero series should follow the trajectory of the countless rock bands who achieve too much success too soon.
By MITCH KRPATA | July 28, 2008

Seven easy steps to battle-rap supremacy

Spitting prattle that’ll rattle
Spitting prattle that’ll rattle
By CHRIS FARAONE | June 17, 2008

Coverings

Jeffrey Lewis’s Crass, and Dirty Projectors’ Black Flag
If the title teen of Juno can dismiss Sonic Youth as “just noise,” what would a representative of a generation for whom quiet is the new loud make of the even harsher sonic barrages of first-wave punk?
By FRANKLIN BRUNO | March 10, 2008

Boston hits Detroit

Peter Wolf joins forces with Kid Rock
There’s a dirty little secret about the J. Geils Band — one that diehard Boston fans don’t always appreciate hearing.
By MATT ASHARE | January 29, 2008

Defending the universally loathed

The Phoenix looks with loving eyes at some of the worst people, places, and things in the world — and gives them a big hug
Forsaken entities deserve a second chance.
By PHOENIX STAFF | January 14, 2008

Chairmen of the boards

Our critics pick the 14 producers with the fattest, meanest beats
Not unlike Swedish, Tagalog, and Esperanto, music is a language, with its own conjugations and (lewdly) dangling participles.
By PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | October 18, 2007

Ooh La La

Miss Fairchild sexes up New England a second time
You know that scene in The Blues Brothers where Jake and Elwood are buying instruments for the band and find themselves organ shopping with Ray Charles?
By SAM PFEIFLE | August 22, 2007

Still nasty

How 2 Live Crew blew up from hip-hop comedy act to multi-platinum provocateurs
“I think a lot of our music got overshadowed by the girls,” says legendary DJ Mr. Mixx of 2 Live Crew.
By BRIAN COLEMAN | July 18, 2007

Just the facts

Letters to the Boston editor: November 17, 2006
I’m writing about your article “ Pardon Us .”
By LETTERS | November 15, 2006

Jam Master Jay's mom slams DMC

Beef overshadows Berklee's Milestones
Nobody expected it to get ugly.
By MATTHEW M. BURKE | September 25, 2006

Jurassic 5

Feedback | Interscope
Major-label “positive” rappers like this decade-old crew have defended the old school like schoolmarms upholding the five principles of hip-hop as if they were as much fun as the three R’s. Jurassic 5, "Work It Out" feat. Dave Matthews Band (Quicktime)
By FRANKLIN SOULTS | August 21, 2006

How to waste a DJ

Prince Paul and Lovebug Starski fall on deaf ears at Axis
“This is real nostalgic for me,” Lovebug yelled on the mic. “Twenty-three years ago I was at this exact same club, performing my number one single ‘You Gotta Believe’.”
By MAC CARROLL | July 21, 2006

Tougher than leather

The evolution of Darryl McDaniels
Run-DMC nearly killed Darryl McDaniels. Sarah McLachlan saved his life. Now, with a new style, a new album, and even new parents, the king of rap ponders his next act.
By ANDREW GRAHAM | April 04, 2006

Hip-hop history interview and podcast

Hip-hop journalism comes of age
Authors Jeff Chang and Brian Coleman talk about the latest wave of hip-hop criticism.
By CARLY CARIOLI | March 09, 2006

Life, love, and sneakers

The culture of high-end kicks is about to blow up in Boston. How many pairs do you have?
Rob Heppler got his sneaker schooling in jail: "Anyone that had super-awesome sneakers, it was for a reason. It meant you were a huge drug dealer or you were rich or somebody cared about you on the outside."
By CAMILLE DODERO | February 18, 2006