Butterfield was a Chicago bluesman and harmonica player who broke out with several albums in the late 1960s. Pryor still plays rockin’ blues across the state and often in our fair city. (Check his gigs at stevepryorband.net.) Other rockers nominated for this prestigious induction include … rappers LL Cool J and N.W.A., disco icon Chic, […]
rap
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Taking the bus one stop too far
And especially when you’re rapper 2 Chainz, huddled on your post-concert bus with 10 others and possibly using narcotics after being pulled over by Oklahoma City police for a broken bus taillight. The rapper, real name Tauheed Epps, was arrested early morning Aug. 22 after an almost nine-hour standoff, multiple news sources reported. NewsOK reported […]
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Disorderlies
While most of it is my fault, I like to take comfort in the idea that I was doomed from the get-go: • Blame a Depression-era father who forced me to clean my plate through shame and guilt.• Blame a public school free-lunch system that taught gravy as a food group.• Blame cable television for being so […]
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Bowled over
Photo: Kerry Amanda Myers Description defies Oklahoma City trio Bowlsey. With guitar, organ, synthesizers, rapping and singing all making their way into the mix, “music” is about the only apt descriptor for the sounds Bowlsey makes. “People will ask us what we think we sound like, and I honestly don’t know what to tell them,” […]
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Takeoff Eyeslow — The Prescription
So if Kanye wants to go off on his Alan Vega/Suicide jag, let him. We have a homegrown replacement right here in Takeoff Eyeslow, dropping an album that is a better follow-up to Graduation than anything West has done since. On The Prescription, the Norman rapper exudes sleepy passion. The first track, “Papa Robert,” doesn’t […]
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Kanye West — Yeezus
Ego alone isn’t what makes Mr. West such a fascinating figure; any other schmo with a head his size would be scoffed and discarded as parody. There’s actually a certain degree of legitimacy that keeps his maniacal sense of self-importance from devolving into full-scale megalomania: that Kanye’s vision and production chops are currently unmatched in […]
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KD to the Izzo
Credit: Brad Gregg Not impressed yet? OK, how about a sports-management agency on the cusp of signing one of the NBA’s elite superstars? Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant is leaving Landmark Sports, his representation for the last year or so, to join Mr. Z’s Roc Nation Sports. The move would come as quite the […]
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Joe Average — The Lullaby Goodbye
The latest evidence of that is The Lullaby Goodbye. The newest project from OKC-by-way-of-Arkansas rapper Joe Average reads like the offspring of Kid Cudi and Citizen Cope, a soulful record that recalls Belize as much as Brooklyn. “The Reaching,” an assured bonfire ballad that sounds like the few moments before falling asleep, is bookended by […]
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Mack the strife
The latest manifestation of the Emerald City’s green-eyed monster came today courtesy hip-hopper and Seattle native Macklemore, aka Ben Haggerty. On Twitter, he expressed displeasure that his latest hit song with Ryan Lewis, “Can’t Hold Us,” has been used to energize Oklahoma City Thunder fans at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. “OH HELL NO!” tweeted the […]
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Big Worm — Bench All-Stars
His music is so far removed from the East Coast/West Coast style of hip-hop that with each subsequent release, Oklahoma rappers are forging their own coast — Red Dirt Coast, if you will. After spinning this album, I’m pretty sure Worm could be the mayor of the Red Dirt Coast. And why not? With their […]