Best Time Warp: JD McPherson For about an hour, Norman wasn’t in the year 2013, but instead 1953. Broken Arrow native JD McPherson has turned the success of his debut, Signs & Signifiers, into spots on Conan and more, and Norman got a chance to see just what it is NPR and the like have […]
rap
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Breezy Burnz — Product of My Enlightenment
While he recalls Odd Future and Childish Gambino (“Beautiful,” “Rappin’ Ass”) in some moments, and Drake and Kendrick Lamar (the remarkably produced “Everything I Want,” “Ask Me If I …”), Burnz is very much his own rapper. He’s a lewd and crude dude — cheeky at moments, more thoughtful in others — but seemingly most […]
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MilitantxMindz — #RIOT
It’s times like this we need those enlightened messages more than ever, and yet, they’re exceedingly harder to find. Enter MilitantxMindz, a collective of “artists, freedom fighters and poets” who are starting a revolution right here in Oklahoma. And the revolution sounds pretty damn good. “Rebel Life” is right on par with the most choice […]
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Lil’ Wayne wants back in the ‘Peake
The oft-troubled rapper announced a slew of dates that includes an August 21 stint in Oklahoma City – a place in which he claimed he felt “unwelcome” and “unwanted.” In case you forgot, here’s a refresher: Wayne had requested courtside seats to an OKC Thunder-San Antonio Spurs playoff game last year but was denied entry […]
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Spyda “the Wise Musician” — Mr. Metaphor
Yes, it’s filled with the typical big-balls braggadocio that has become a hallmark of most hip-hop, but what makes Spyda’s album so refreshing is the way he backs those balls up: He has a sound harder than anything on the radio right now. In a world of punk-ass Tiger Beat tween faves like Drake and […]
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Street cred
In grade school, a lot of us were too busy playing Nintendo and sipping Capri Sun to even think about attempting anything artistic. But not Jabee Williams, aka Oklahoma City rapper Jabee. “I wrote my first rap when I was 7. That’s when I started,” Jabee said. “It just went on from there. I went […]
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SXSW 2013: Guardant / The Del Toros / The Kamals / Josh Sallee
It only took Guardant 30 seconds to win me completely over to its team. The quintet’s hyperactive, quirky dance pop is simply irresistible. The group head-bobbed, shared microphones, switched instruments, clapped for each other, clapped in songs, and generally had as much fun as possible. Its incredibly peppy sound was anchored by herky-jerky keyboards, speedy […]
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ADD it up
ADDverse Effects, a new collective based out of Norman, offers something fresh to the growing hip-hop scene in Oklahoma. Drummer Boyd Littel came up with the idea after a last-second gig he played with vocalist Joshua “Fiji” Rehanek and a couple other musicians. With that show’s success, he recruited the current lineup, and the band […]
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‘Tik Tok,’ Russell
But Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook definitely tunes into her. The point guard not too long ago was caught jamming out before a game to the music of Ke$ha, who performed in Houston last night as part of the NBA All-Star Game festivities. “It was the cutest, hottest thing ever to see a basketball […]
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A$AP Rocky — Long.Live.A$AP.
There has been a lot of buzz surrounding the freshman disc, especially since it leaked over a month ago. After just one listen, it becomes clear that Rocky has put together something special. Like Rocky’s popular mixtape, the similarly titled Live.Love.A$AP, this album features a collection of songs about everything from poverty and violence […]