SPIN

May 23, 2012 – Detroit producer Skywlkr, best known for his contributions to Danny Brown's XXX, has been releasing beat-tapes — actual cassette tapes — before every blissed-out beatmaker jumped on the post-Clams Casino instrumental mixtape bandwagon. In 2010, Skywlkr released Strawberry Cough and following the success of XXX, he pressed-up a sequel, Blueberry Cough.

May 18, 2012 – One of my favorite songs by the late Chuck Brown is 1988's "That'll Work (2001)," a go-go version of Richard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra." The credits on the 12-inch read like this: Written by Richard Strauss, arrangement by Deodato, additional arrangement by Chuck Brown. So specifically, "That’ll Work" references Eumir Deodato’s take on "Also Sprach Zarathustra" from 1972’s Prelude.

May 18, 2012 – Twenty years after the Pharcyde's debut, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde, it seems like that pack of self-deprecating MCs are finally getting the credit they've always deserved.

May 18, 2012 – LoveRance's "UP!” is currently number four on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop chart, with a rather curious "featuring" credit: "LoveRance featuring Iamsu! & Skipper or 50 Cent." "UP!" was a minor hit last summer and began sneaking onto radio playlists in the fall. It seemed of a piece with Chris Brown's similarly spare "Strip.” Then, Tyga's "Rack City" arrived and brought with it a sudden, nationwide demand for minimalist hip-hop.

May 17, 2012 – A French presidential candidate — now president — using a viral political advertisement featuring a song from Watch the Throne, Jay-Z co-signing president Barack Obama's pro-same-sex marriage sentiments, and the president shouting out Young Jeezy and slow jamming the news, are all reasons to rejoice in the cultural and political exchange that hip-hop has enabled.

May 11, 2012 – I've been thinking a lot about André 3000 starring in this Jimi Hendrix biopic. The biopic is one of the worst movie subgenres because conflating someone's life into two hours and hitting all the "necessary" dramatic beats just never works out. By the time the studio's bad ideas and test-screened audience comments and all that are considered, a life story's been cleaned up and compacted beyond recognition.