Music is the lifeblood of our city. The late-night sets, the sweat-soaked venues, the dusty record bins filled with sonic treasures and hidden frequencies. Richmond gets this— more than any other city in Virginia. So here’s Weekend Frequency—a weekly,...
Lately, there’s been a surge of new and up and coming hip hop artists and rappers that seem to be pushing the boundaries on what most people think hip hop is or should be. The 2016 XXL Freshman Class comes to mind. You can never quite tell if the reception is negative, ironic, or that the music is on the whole generally well received. But by the...
10:13 AM Vibrant sunrays peer through the blinds, illuminating the meticulously clean, yet homey Museum District apartment. As Roy Ayers’ Virgin Ubiquity 2 plays in the background, there’s a warm, yet comfortable greeting to the place. This article was featured in RVAMag #28: Spring 2017. You can read all of issue #28 here or pick it up at local...
10:13 AM Vibrant sunrays peer through the blinds, illuminating the meticulously clean, yet homey Museum District apartment. As Roy Ayers’ Virgin Ubiquity 2 plays in the background, there’s a warm, yet comfortable greeting to the place. This article was featured in RVAMag #28: Spring 2017. You can read all of issue #28 here or pick it up at local...
Back in August 2012, Richmond lost a community leader and voice when Darrell K. Durant, aka Kleph Dollaz, passed on at the age of 41. Dollaz was one of the first rap artists from Virginia to be signed to major record label Atlantic Records and went on to produce for other artists such as Talib Kweli, Black Moon, and Ol’ Dirty Bastard. But beyond...
Get ready to bob your head and break ya neck because hip hop star Busta Rhymes will make his way to Richmond this summer. From entertaining us in his early days by screaming "Woo Hah!!" to getting us hype with tracks like "Dangerous" and "Touch It" and "Break Ya Neck" his unique videos and stage presence always kept me bumping his jams from my...
As The Gemcutters Prism opens up, a warm string section welcomes you to an album that hopes to empower you with a positive message- a refreshing change of pace in the face of trap-heavy modern hip hop. Before long Cha$e Royale, the emcee who leads us on this musical journey, slides into your ears with the records opening verse. Born in Camaroon,...
As The Gemcutters Prism opens up, a warm string section welcomes you to an album that hopes to empower you with a positive message- a refreshing change of pace in the face of trap-heavy modern hip hop. Before long Cha$e Royale, the emcee who leads us on this musical journey, slides into your ears with the records opening verse. Born in Camaroon,...
Get ready to bob your head and break ya neck because hip hop star Busta Rhymes will make his way to Richmond this summer. From entertaining us in his early days by screaming "Woo Hah!!" to getting us hype with tracks like "Dangerous" and "Touch It" and "Break Ya Neck" his unique videos and stage presence always kept me bumping his jams from my...
In his forthcoming album, The Importance of Self Belief, Richmond rap/jazz musician McKinley Dixon broadens the scope of the challenging subject matter and sentimental dialogue indicative of his prior album, Who Taught You To Hate Yourself?. With an ensemble of gifted jazz musicians and an arsenal of talented collaborators, Dixon brings new...
