Music

Chastity Brown transforms despair and tension into beautiful music that draws from blues, soul and Americana.

One could argue that the last time punk poet Patti Smith played with any connection to her hero –  fellow South Jersey native Walt Whitman – was during her 1997 reading-rocking event at Whitman’s Center for the Arts and Humanities in Camden.

I like making lists like this one. They serve as an archival resource—a permanent snapshot of a fleeting cultural moment. Even when they’re not definitive, then, they’re useful. You’ll probably detect my stylistic biases here, naturally; I’m not that into noise, punk, contemporary jazz, metal, country or modern classical music. Those are...

For the past three decades, Cleveland-born saxophonist Joe Lovano has been the hardest working man in the jazz business, performing and recording in bop, opera and third stream formats and in duo, trio, quartet, nonet and symphonic configurations. But for the last few years, Lovano’s been leading his Us Five quintet, a...

Going bananas for an up-and-coming Philly musician.

It’s been rolling for weeks now. You click on an interesting link–Keira Knightley upskirt photo, per chance–and you find yourself instead watching the video for Rick Astley’s 1987 transatlantic No. 1 hit “Never Gonna Give You Up.” You’ve just been Rickrolled–as have an estimated 13 million others. The gag–started on 4chan.org, the website...

Just when you thought Mars Volta couldn’t get more strange, more alien, they let long-dead spirits write the lyrics for their new album The Bedlam in Goliath. And not just any long-dead spirits. Evil long-dead spirits. Ask anyone who knows (Art Bell, Ray Parker Jr.). They’re the worst kind. The story goes...

Young folks in Philly have embraced Baltimore club music as their own, but they’ve had very little to do with the production end of the genre’s sound. Enter Dante “Dwizz” Winn, Philadelphia’s first bona fide party music artist and club music pioneer. Dwizz’s original tracks “Salt Pepper Ketchup & Hot Sauce” and...

“If you can’t rip it, you got ripped off!” A tall black-haired kid thrusts fliers into the hands of people passing by Tower Records on South Street. He’s being loud. But he’s not advertising any promotion at Tower. In fact, Tower employees emerge from the store shortly after he starts handing out...

… Chamillionaire Real name: Hakeem Seriki Age: 26 Hometown: Houston. Some background: Chamillionaire started off on Houston’s Swishahouse label with Paul Wall. They left in search of more money, put out the Get Ya Mind Correct mixtape and eventually parted ways on bad terms. Before his major label deal, Chamillionaire’s Mixtape Messiah (2004) was infamous on the streets and sold...