It’s 1996, and young Richmond native Joseph Cannella is playing Pokémon Red on his grimy, well-loved Game Boy. Enchanted by the world-building, he wishes he could explore Richmond the same way he explores Pallet Town, the first area of the game. The simple overworld...
Every Friday night, RVA Mag drops one scorcher of a playlist curated by Virginia's most influential artists, musicians, and institutions. This week Richmond rapper, Illa Styles, launches the ground truth and curates a playlist that will drive your night work in whichever direction it needs to go. Go make moves tonight Virginia....
FEATURED SHOW Saturday, August 25, 11 AM Vinyl Conflict X Rest In Pieces Customer Appreciation Day, feat. BIB, Nickelus F, Nosebleed, Slump, Deviant, Sinister Purpose, Benderheads @ Vinyl Conflict/RIP parking lot (324 S. Pine St) - Free! It happens once a year, lasts all day, and is hot as hell. Sure enough, I am talking about the Vinyl Conflict...
Hip-hop is more than the cliché of "money, hoes, and clothes." Students at Virginia Union University are peeling back the layers of the 45-year-old art form, and discovering that faith and religion are an important part of the music. The collegiate focus is only the latest transformation in how American culture views hip-hop. From block parties...
We were already knocking back our second shot of whiskey when Nickelus F walked into Commercial Taphouse, the prolific rapper just returning to Richmond after his first national tour. Sliding into the booth alongside us with a worn backpack and noticeable jet lag below his eyes, you wouldn’t suspect that he is one of the most dominant rappers on...
Every Friday night, RVA Mag drops one scorcher of a playlist curated by Virginia's most influential artists, musicians, and institutions. This week, Ladygod, the squad from the "Rock N' Roll Kaliphate" and Richmond's cult rock and roll heroes, curates a collective history where the past is ever present. If you're making moves this weekend, this...
FEATURED SHOW Thursday, August 16, 8 PM Big Freedia, Jafar Flowers, Sofia Lakis, DJ Skrt Skrt @ The Broadberry - $20 in advance/$22 day of show (order tickets HERE) The Queen Of Bounce is back! Big Freedia is one of the foremost practitioners of the New Orleans-based style of music known as bounce, and she's brought the sound worldwide with an...
These blurbs originally appeared in RVA #33 Summer 2018. You can check out the issue here, or pick it up around Richmond now. Natalie Prass "The Future And The Past" (ATO) In the three years since Natalie Prass made her debut on Spacebomb Records, she's been evolving as an artist -- and that evolution is clear from the very first listen to...
My first live show, apart from Sunday's choir, was the 2011 Winter Meltdown show in Norfolk. The headliner was the iconic alternative rock group, Cake, a band formed in 1991, years before I was born. I knew a few of their hits, but had never truly "gone the distance" in their lengthy discography. I didn't know what to expect, but my other options...
Every Friday night, RVA Mag drops one banger of a playlist curated by Virginia's most influential artists, musicians, and institutions. This week, Richmond party king Pete Curry aka FM Skyline, co-owner of Crystal Pistol Records, brings you into an esoteric world of sounds, reverbs, and echoes needed to make moves anywhere at anytime this...
