One less-obvious thread of the Jeff Tweedy narrative that too easily gets glossed over sometimes is that fact that he's a funny guy. Hilarious, even.
MUSIC
TWICE THOU THEN & NOW: THE BOSTON RAP ICON RETURNS YET AGAIN
While a lot of MCs from the '90s and early 2000s try in vain to chase trends set by rappers half their age, Twice Thou avoids this pitfall. He's mature, and instead reflects on hard lessons learned while sticking to the formula he's had for two decades ...
WHEN THE MOB RAN RAP MUSIC IN BOSTON: TDS MOB WAS THE HUB’S FIRST HUGE HIP-HOP HOPE …
I interviewed Kool Gee the day after he rocked Wally’s. At his request, we met at the place where the TDS Mob story begins—the stoop of the old Tower Records on the corner of Newbury Street and Mass Ave. From there, he took me back to 1989, when TDS ran the calendar with a year of rap perfection.
LAWTOWN’S FINEST: THE LYRICAL RISE AND TRAGIC DEATH OF MASS RAP LEGEND SCIENTIFIK
"He was gone before his time ... People didn’t really get to experience his full potential like we did … He was right on the cusp of doing some even bigger stuff musically [that] could have been commercially successful.”
THREE RAP HISTORIANS AND A MICROPHONE: TURNING THE TAPE RECORDER ON HIP-HOP AUTHOR BRIAN COLEMAN
With the publication of Check the Technique Volume 2 on October 14, Coleman puts forth an impressive 544 pages and 25 chapters of new material, complete with more than 350 images for 80 interviews with rap legends ranging from Ice Cube and 3rd Bass, to Stetasonic and Mantronix, to MF Doom and Mos Def.
EXCLUSIVE BOSTON EXCERPT FROM BRIAN COLEMAN’S ‘CHECK THE TECHNIQUE 2’: ‘LIFE OF A KID IN THE GHETTO’ BY ED O.G
When I went about compiling my list of hopefuls for this next volume, Ed’s classic from 23 years ago was at the top of my list. And the more I analyzed it, as well as interviewed the people who helped make it happen, the more its classic status was confirmed to me.
THE UNTOLD STORIES OF HUB HIP-HOP
Like so much history about communities of color, the narrative of Boston hip-hop has been largely buried, ignored, forgotten. Thankfully, there remain innumerable artists, writers, fans, and even academics who, in the storytelling tradition rap music is rooted in, have kept dope alive via marvelous multimedia tributes. This whole package is dedicated to them.
FOTOBOM: RISE AGAINST AT HOUSE OF BLUES
Post-hardcore and political punk converged on the House of Blues stage in Boston last Monday night. No noses were bloodied.
SWAG BAGS BE DAMNED: BOSTON MUSIC AWARDS KICK OFF WITH FREE CONCERT
Ever wonder why everyone besides Bill Murray looks so happy at the Oscars, even when they leave empty-handed?
GETTING EXPERIMENTAL WITH BUKE AND GASE
Brooklyn DIY multi-instrumentalists Arone Dyer and Aron Sanchez are gearing up for their third full-length, but being such a musical tour de force, the path to get there is more crooked than ever.