Music, hip-hop

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Eminem to perform in Glasgow in summer 2013

28 Jan 2013

The American rapper will be appearing as part of the new Glasgow Summer Sessions concerts

American rapper Marshall Bruce Mathers III, better known as Eminem, has been announced as the first headliner of DF Concerts & Events Glasgow Summer Sessions series of concerts. Eminem will be performing on Tuesday the 20th of August at Bellahouston…

The Weeknd - O2 ABC, Glasgow, Thu 21 Mar 2013

16 Apr 20134 stars

Abel Tesfaye's performance features flawless delivery tempered by a vulnerable stage presence

As a mysterious and media-shy artist (he's never given a full interview), The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye) faced mixed anticipations at his debut Scottish appearance. Purposely performing a varied mix of songs from his dark and explicit compilation album…

Open Art Surgery: Experiments in Hip Hop

16 Nov 2012

Breakin’ Convention hip hop theatre event featuring Bigg Taj, Jackin’ the Box and Ready Ready Sauce

A big round of applause and a few cheers says it all when you’ve enjoyed a performance. But what if it wasn’t quite what it could have been? If you’ve ever felt like giving feedback after a dance show, now’s your chance. Hosted by Breakin’ Convention’s…

New announcements for RockNess 2013 include Lianne la Havas, Rolando and Kerri Chandler

28 Mar 2013

Reverend & The Makers, Dog is Dead, Henrik Schwarz and more join the line up

The latest additions to 2013’s RockNess festival include soul singer Lianne la Havas; upbeat indie poppers Dog is Dead; Sheffield’s Reverend & The Makers fronted by the outspoken Jon McClure; Detroit techno master Rolando (Underground Resistance/Soma…

Kendrick Lamar - ABC, Glasgow, Wed 16 Jan

24 Jan 20134 stars

An energetic, confident show from the fast-rising Compton hip hop artist

‘My name is Kendrick Lamar,’ our host informs us. ‘I come from a place called Compton California. You know? West Coast, Tupac...’ That’s all he needed to say to remind us of the lineage he’s already managed to hustle and work his way into, after his…

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Stanley Odd - Reject

8 Oct 20124 stars

Cerebral, socio-political hip hop from the six-strong Scottish ensemble

Edinburgh six-strong hip hop ensemble Stanley Odd are the first to acknowledge that their debut album, Oddio (2010), was not hugely forward-looking in its sound, and it’s this sonic volte-face, teamed with MC Dave ‘Solareye’ Hook’s electrifying…

Lil B - Nice N Sleazy, Glasgow, Sun 6 May

22 May 20124 stars

22-year-old Berkeley rapper describes himself as ‘an art history project’

It must be the Californian in him, but the BASEDGOD, despite his lyrics about eating white booty, his VIP lifestyle, and his resemblance to Jesus/Michael Jordan/Miley Cyrus and Paris Hilton, is basically a hippie. Top off, shades on, tiny muscled torso…

Young Fathers - Tape Two

15 May 20134 stars

Textured and intriguing album from Edinburgh hip hop group who have come of age at last

(Anticon) As if their breakthrough release of Tape One earlier this year on groundbreaking Los Angeles intelligent hip hop label Anticon wasn’t vindication enough of the promise that Edinburgh trio Young Fathers have been putting in the bank for…

A$AP Rocky presents debut album to the UK

15 May 2013

Controversial Harlem hip hop star gets seductive

The good thing about being a rapper is that when you do something idiotic, one of your peers will be along shortly with a different cock-up to steal the limelight. Take A$AP Rocky, the languid and beguiling New York MC and the recent furore over his…

Extreme hip hop/noise posse Death Grips coming to UK

16 Apr 2013

MC Ride, Zach Hill and Andy Morin set to play London, Glasgow and Brighton

After their recent South by Southwest showcase set, Death Grips’ live show was memorably described by SPIN magazine as a journey into ‘chaotically thrilling what-the-fuckness’. All 33 minutes of it are available to watch below, featuring fearsome…

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Rita Ora and Frank Ocean join T in the Park 2013 line-up

22 Mar 2013

Additions include Frank Ocean, Rita Ora, Tyler, The Creator and Earl Sweatshirt

Rita Ora and Odd Future rappers Frank Ocean, Tyler, The Creator and Earl Sweatshirt are among the latest acts announced to perform at T in the Park. Bringing a decidedly hip hop flavour to this year’s festival at Balado, Kinross over the weekend of…

The Weeknd set for UK tour

15 Mar 2013

Soulfully-voiced Toronto Canadian eschews rap's chiches

All the familiar tropes of hip-hop’s seedy side – narcotics, booze, girls very much in the plural – lurk in the shadows of The Weeknd’s spacey, chilly synthscapes, as nights typically become day and then night again. But if there’s a marked contrast…

Young Fathers - Tape One

19 Dec 20124 stars

A head-turning mini-album of dancefloor-ready hip hop tracks from the new Anticon signees

Edinburgh rap trio Young Fathers have been the pick of the new music litter for countless critics over the past three years. Mixing dancefloor-ready hip hop and pop sensibilities with an old school party spirit, their live shows have been consistently…

Wu Block - Wu Block

19 Dec 20123 stars

Soulful but inessential hip hop collaboration between members of Wu Tang Clan and D-Block

With countless ‘affiliated’ Wu Tang releases on the go, from themed collaborations, bit-part reunions, half-cocked mix-tapes and Wu-inspired compilations inbetween regular solo runs and the rare full-clan outing, it’s difficult to keep up, let alone cut…

Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar to play debut Scottish show in Jan 2013

18 Dec 2012

The hip hop star has been praised by Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and The Game

When Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and The Game crown you as the ‘new King of the West Coast’, you’ve got a lot to live up to. Luckily, Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar is doing just that. The California-native, who goes by the full name of Kendrick Lamar…

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Big Sean - The Arches, Glasgow, Thu 29 Nov 2012

18 Dec 20123 stars

The Kanye protege succeeds at getting the party started, but lacks the star power of his best tracks

If the scene in the ladies is anything to go by, you'd think you were backstage before a disco-dance competition. Fake-tanned skin contradicts the freezing night, with Big Sean even tweeting about the cold before his debut Scottish appearance. The…

The DOT - Electric Circus, Edinburgh, 19 Oct

23 Nov 20124 stars

Intimate indietronica show from Mike Skinner (The Streets) and Robert Harvey (The Music)

Where do you go after shifting tons of albums, topping the charts then folding your much loved project? For Mike Skinner it seems that life after The Streets has led to a far more personal project. Once again teaming up with Robert Harvey, of defunct…

The Weeknd - Trilogy

15 Nov 20124 stars

A collection of three outstanding mixtapes from the thoughtful hip hop/R&B artist

Major-label signings are usually hyped to bits purely on potential. Soulfully-voiced Toronto singer/producer Abel Tesfaye emerges from the underground, brandishing substantial proof of his idiosyncratic, convention-defying talent. Trilogy collects…

Why? - Mumps, etc.

24 Oct 20123 stars

Yoni Wolf’s hipster-friendly fourth album is inventive but lacks heart

Yoni Wolf – part-founder of indie label Anticon and band leader of alt hip hop ensemble Why? – is the very definition of a musical hipster. He sports thick-rimmed glasses and a moustache; he crams high and low-brow references cheek by jowl into his…

You Are God

1 Oct 20122 stars

Bleak Polish drama about hip hop group Paktofonika

You Are God follows the career trajectory of Magik, Fokus and Rahim, aka Polish hip hop group Paktofonika. Trudging through their various dead-end existences in the bleak region of Silesia, the trio banded together to create something representative of…

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Azealia Banks – O2 ABC, Glasgow, Sat 29 Sep 2012

1 Oct 20124 stars

High energy performance from the Harlem hip hop artist

Before Yung Rapunxel takes to the stage tonight, the crowd are put through a thorough preparation session. The gimp-mask-and-leather-shirted support act Zebra Katz lets everyone know this is not a family show, and Banks’ own DJ Cosmo performs a half…

Exposure: Azealia Banks

17 Sep 2012

The Harlem hip-hop artist with a filthy mouth and great hair hits Glasgow this month

Well done to Harlem’s Azealia Banks, who’s managed to build the foundations of an entire career with three and a half minutes of non-stop, glorious filth. We never knew swearing could get quite so eloquent until we heard last year’s ‘212’, the…

Hudson Mohawke on Lunice collaboration TNGHT - interview

2 Aug 2012

The new project will air at LuckyMe's Festival party

‘The whole thing was never meant to be a big project,’ says Ross Birchard, aka Hudson Mohawke, on the line from his place in London. The ‘thing’ he’s referring to is TNGHT, one of many projects he’s got on the go at the moment, this one being a…

Wu Legends - 02 ABC, Glasgow, Thu 12 Jul

27 Jul 20123 stars

Lacklustre hip hop show from GZA, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon

In a career plagued with creative inconsistency and marred with personal conflicts and criminal indictments, the chequered history of hip hop's greatest collective, The Wu Tang Clan has often hindered their creative output rather than informed it.

THEESatisfaction, Young Fathers – Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, Sun 3 Jun 2012

6 Jun 20125 stars

Soulful house party set from the Seattle hip hop duo

Seattle hip hop/soul duo Stas and Cat, aka THEESatisfaction, are perfectly suited to the DIY music scene. With just two microphones and a laptop in the way of stage set-up, you can easily imagine them playing house parties (an image aided by the video…