NO TRIVIA

March 29, 2012 – MDNA is Madonna's modern day EDM exploration, past-present meta-pop career summation, and Lady Gaga beef record. Pitting female pop stars against each other is what goofy white males like myself seem to do often, and though I hesitate to continue such a dopey tradition, the annoying presence of Lady Gaga does hang over much of MDNA.

March 28, 2012 – Since 2008, Supa Villain has worked closely with Rich Boy, providing the sturdy though often lost Alabama MC with a whole bunch of emotive, synth-rap beats. It has lead to a dependable mixtape discography in lieu of a "proper" follow-up to 2007's Rich Boy, which, as the years go by, seems more and more unlikely of ever happening. The Gulfport, Missisippi producer/rapper himself, has released nine mixtapes.

March 26, 2012 – "I'm just thinkin' out loud," Huntsville, Alabama rapper Zilla admits on "My Thoughts," a roving, confessional song from his upcoming mixtape Zilla Shit 2. Over an ornate, wide-open take on trap-rap from the Block Beattaz, Zilla — who you recently may have heard on Jackie Chain's Scatman John-sampling "Ladies In The House" — captures the feeling of riding out, being inside of your own head, alone, though not isolated.

March 23, 2012 – The best rap song from this week is Nicki Minaj's "Beez in the Trap," but I scratched my chin over that one enough already. My other favorite rap song right now is more than a month old and it isn't technically a rap song at all.

March 23, 2012 – As rap production moves further into the territory previously left to musicians on labels like Acephale or Holy Mountain, it seems important to call attention to equally cloudy hip-hop that isn't being marketed as such. A few weeks ago, it was Lee Bannon's gauzy glitch-rap release Fantastic Plastic, and here, we have Los Angeles producer/rapper Jonwayne's Oodles Of Doodles, a beat-up sounding beat tape from earlier this month.

March 21, 2012 – So, "Beez in the Trap" is Nicki Minaj's gangsta rap record, right? In the loose, street-rap context that shouts out crack sales and rounds up a guest verse from 2 Chainz, for sure, but also because of the way it nods to the late-'80s, minimalist origins of the genre. She matches the vocal delivery of Schoolly D's "P.S.K What Does It Mean??" and Ice-T's "6 N' The Mornin'," and quotes that Dr.