The room was charged the moment the doors opened. Richmond showed up ready—you could feel it in the air, like the bassline of a song you know by heart. And at the center of it all stood The Ghost himself: Styles P. Live at Ember Music Hall. A masterclass in presence,...
Rising RVA hip hop artist Isaiah Jeremiah just released a new single for the people that love their city, an anthem for hip hop lovers and th Rising RVA hip hop artist Isaiah Jeremiah just released a new single for the people that love their city, an anthem for hip hop lovers and those alike that love tribute songs to their hometowns. And if I...
This year, RVA Magazine will be celebrating our 10 Year Anniversary--and in honor of our first decade of publication, we'll be taking a look back and some of our favorite articles we've run over the past 10 years. Today, we revisit our interview with Pharrell Williams, the cover story from our Summer 2010 issue. It is around 3:30PM and we're in...
That new Pharrell single, "Happy," sure is a lot of fun, right? So much fun, apparently, that all of RVA had to get into the act in this new video from local production company JI Live. Featuring everybody from Mayor Dwight C. Jones to legendary muralist Ed Trask, plus the NBC 12 news crew, the VCU Rams mascot, and a whole lot of other people...
We lost one of the nicest guys in the Richmond music scene this weekend. Rapper Joe Threat passed away late Saturday night of unknown causes. In a scene with competition and beef around every corner, Joe was everyone's friend. We've heard from a lot of people around town who are shattered to learn that he's gone. A lot of us here at RVA Mag knew...
Here’s a challenge for any person reading this, a challenge that I struggled with for nearly a week while getting ready to write this piece: name another hip-hop group that can rival the one-two punch of bubblegum harmony and filthy lyrics Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony have been providing for nearly two decades. Go ahead, I’ll wait. You’ve got nothing,...
It is around 3:30PM and we're in South Beach Studios in Miami Beach, Florida, shooting a music video with Pharrell Williams. Alex Germanotta, the DP of the video and I began talks with VA natives Clipse a little while ago. We wanted to shoot a video off of their album Till the Casket Drops, which features Pharrell, and fellow Virginia native...
Even though I’d sworn off going to a hip hop/ rap show ever again, I went to go see Snoop Dogg perform at the National for a few reasons. One, to hang out with an old friend. Two, the tickets were free. Three, I didn’t have anything else to do. But I couldn’t say I was excited about it. Even though I’d sworn off going to a hip hop/ rap show ever...
