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Yousif Kassab on August 10, 2017
Twenty years into their career, it’s clear that Atmosphere will go down as one of the best underground hip-hop groups ever. The Minnesota duo’s early albums feature a quick-witted Slug using his silver tongue to couple glib remarks with intricate and braggadocious rhymes, all while producer Ant drops some seriously dope beats.…
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Bill Kopp, Yousif Kassab on August 10, 2017
From classic jazz to the cutting edge, there’s so much to see at San Jose Jazz Summer Fest. Here is a round-up of great performers taking stages all over downtown San Jose this weekend.
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It was late and I wanted a smoke (I know, I know—I should quit) but the urge was too great, so I took a seat on the patio and inhaled the sweet relief of nicotine and early onset lung cancer. I usually don’t sit on the porch late at night, as the…
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When hip-hop heads lovingly refer to the “West Coast sound” or Prince fans regale his potent pairing of musical prowess and sartorial eccentricity—or when a kid in suburbia picks up a bass after hearing “Give It Away” by Red Hot Chili Peppers, or a new Talking Heads convert is pulled into the fold…
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Yousif Kassab on August 9, 2017
This year marks the tenth edition of the Outside Lands music and arts festival, which means it’s just short of its big double-digit anniversary. The festival isn’t saying goodbye to its prepubescent years without a fight. The lineup this year is full of artists with albums of new material to play—with the…
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Yousif Kassab on August 9, 2017
Music is typically a pursuit for the ears, but some songs occupy a time and place. Just as the olfactory sense can bring back vivid memories of things past, music has the power to transports listeners to new places. Los Angeles producer Mndsgn (pronounced “Mind Design”) conjures smoke-filled rooms and dimly lit house parties…
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Yousif Kassab on August 9, 2017
Some music is just universal. No matter what kind of day you had, or how subconscious you might feel, once you hear it you have to move. The work of Seattle producer Sango falls in this category. His newest project, De Mim, Pra Você is a combination of baile funk and light…
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Generations before the fantastical cast of characters from the Harry Potter series captured the imagination of America, the British were worming their way into our collective consciousness through rock & roll. From The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Kinks on to Oasis, Blur and Pulp, our allies across the pond have…
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Camille Miller on August 4, 2017
Latin Grammy-nominated DJ Dusty’s trap inventions are a tribute to life on the Southern Texas border where Latin music history and the infinity of MPC sampling collide. The producer’s bass-heavy dance music is a tropical soup of Tejano classics, Chicano soul music, classic rock, and hip-hop that beckons to his roots in…
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Yousif Kassab on August 3, 2017
Famed guitarists and songwriting duo Rodrigo y Gabriela have been doing this for awhile. Across their 17-year career the rock and new flamenco players have released five studio albums, performed at countless festivals and even played a set for Barack Obama during his presidency. Their self-titled sophomore LP was just re-released with…
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