Fifteen Albums, Songs That Defined 2009 for Paste's Web Editor
This was a confusing year for me... read more
Found in: Blogs, List of the DayMy 30 Favorite Albums of 2009
Even though it was, musically speaking, my least favorite year of the decade, there were still some great records that came out in 2009. Here are my personal favorites for the final year of the aughties... read more
Found in: Blogs, List of the DayWale: Attention Deficit
On major label debut, mixtape star looks to the West Born of Nigerian parents in our nation’s capitol, Wale rose to prominence in 2008 with The Mixtape About Nothing, where he used his favorite program as a framing device for his technically adroit diatribes on race, rap, and authenticity. “The Kramer,” for instance, sampled Michael Richards’ infamous Laugh Factory tirade, and subsequent apology, to bookend a fearless dissection of racist language. Wale also adopted Seinfeld’s habit of knowing self-deprecation to send up stale rap conventions, titling a track with three guest stars (including mixtape staple Bun B) “The Feature Heavy... read more
Found in: Music, ReviewsCatching Up With... Wale
Things finally seem to be falling into place for Wale... read more
Found in: Music, FeaturesPeter Bjorn and John Ready Free Hip-Hop Mixtape
Kanye West's remix of Peter Bjorn and John's "Young Folks" set a high water mark for the small (but growing) realm of hip-hoppers sampling indie acts. And if just one PB&J remix was enough to make music junkies scramble for their "reblog" buttons, then howzabout a whole album of them? As we just learned from MTV, mixtape maven Mick Boogie will be orchestrating the release of Re-Living Things, a hip-hop remix mixtape (remixtape?) of PB&J's Living Things.... read more
Found in: Music, NewsWale Talks New Album, Due in September
After years of building a name for himself grassroots-style with... read more
Found in: Music, NewsSix More Albums to Get Excited About in 2009
Months have passed since I last got all listy about a batch of exciting albums coming this year. Four months almost to the day, in fact. And even though not all of the records mentioned in that post have even been released yet, there's just so much more to look forward to. This time, then, will be an exercise in brevity. The following is six more albums to get excited about in 2009, each described in six words:... read more
Found in: Blogs, List of the DayWale develops Attention: Deficit on album, tour
In this brave new world of rapid information dissemination... read more
Found in: Music, NewsWale's 10 Reasons Why You Should Go See Wale Live
When I found out the other day that Wale would be playing Atlanta soon (with Decatur's own B.O.B., no less!), I got pretty excited. I've made no bones about my Wale fandom in the pages of this publication and its website, assigning news items, explaining why he qualifies as the "Best of What's Next," and touching on my two favorite of his mixtapes in List of the Day posts past. (Incidentally, I'm making a vow while writing this to not cover Wale in another LOTD for a very long time.)... read more
Found in: Blogs, List of the DayFour 2008 Albums that Sound Even Better in 2009
In addition to getting psyched for the new year, now is the inevitable time where I look back on the preceding year and either a) remember how much I loved certain albums or b) catch up on albums everyone else was talking about that I didn't find as much time as I would have liked to listen to. That sentence was kind of terrible, but the albums below definitely are not. A couple fall into the a) category, and a couple in the b). But I'll let the song from each do the talking. Enjoy! ... read more
Found in: Blogs, List of the Day

