R. Kelly

Mr. ORNG, What Are You Listening To?

Mr. ORNGMr. ORNG is the official Phoenix Suns Fan Ambassador -- and an avid Suns fan. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? Ha-ha -- no key, keyless start. But to your point, 98.3 FM or 101.1 FM The Beat will be the main stations.What' ... More >>

Ten Awesome Mixtapes To Download Right Now (NSFW)

In this week's print edition we profile rapper Childish Gambino. Of course, if you don't recognize the name you might better know him as Troy Barnes on NBC's Thursday night comedy Community. Childish Gambino is just one of many up-and-coming talents who are breaking the hip-hop mold, and a big part ... More >>

Raphael Saadiq Keeps Riding The Soul Train

In this week's print edition we profile rapper Childish Gambino. Of course, if you don't recognize the name you might better know him as Troy Barnes on NBC's Thursday night comedy Community. Childish Gambino is just one of many up-and-coming talents who are breaking the hip-hop mold, and a big part ... More >>

R. Kelly Wants to Make 32 More "Trapped in The Closet" Chapters; Why This Needs to Happen

​Immoral rapper/lyrical genius R. Kelly is itching to keep his famous hip-hopera going. I don't know what he spends his money on, how much he's making these days, or how much it costs to produce an hour-plus music video. In any case, R. Kelly is seeking investors to fund 32 more chapters of "Trapp ... More >>

Balam Acab's Alec Koone Lives With His Mom, Quietly Reviving R&B

​Immoral rapper/lyrical genius R. Kelly is itching to keep his famous hip-hopera going. I don't know what he spends his money on, how much he's making these days, or how much it costs to produce an hour-plus music video. In any case, R. Kelly is seeking investors to fund 32 more chapters of "Trapp ... More >>

Alice Cooper, Balam Acab, Savant, and More in This Week's Issue

​Alice Cooper is a lot of things: Shock rock pioneer, radio personality, golfer, restauranteur, and advocate for at risk youth. This weekend's 11th annual Welcome 2 My Christmas Pudding event is yet another instance of Alice Cooper atoning for his dark, dark past (you know, like the chicken t ... More >>

Terrible People Explain "Bill Murray"

​If you've ever been dumped, you know the therapeutic value of locking the doors, shuttering the windows, and losing your sorrow in a movie marathon. We've all got our favorites films and actors-- and for Cary Miller, who runs Surface to Air Records and fronts the rock band Terrible People -- ... More >>

The Ten Best Posthumous Albums

​Today, Universal Music Enterprises will re-release a handful of albums by the late Tupac Shakur, including the posthumous album R U still Down? (Remember Me). Originally released in 1997 (a year after Shakur's murder), R U Still Down? was one of the rapper's best-selling albums, going quadruple ... More >>

Damon Brasch, What Are You Listening To?

Damon Brasch​Welcome to What Are You Listening To?, a new weekly feature on Up on the Sun where notable locals talk about their favorite music. Damon Brasch Brasch is the owner and chef of Green restaurant in Tempe with a new location coming soon to Phoenix. He is also the guitar player for the b ... More >>

Singer/Assailant Chris Brown Added to Roster for Phoenix Celebrity Shootout

​Yesterday I kinda bagged on the "celebrities" committed to playing in this year's version of the annual Jack in the Box Celebrity Shootout at US Airways Center.Today organizers added another big name. The Good News: The name is big. REALLY big. Pretty much everyone who cares even a little about ... More >>

Incoming: Lucero, B.B. King, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Sebadoh, Keith Sweat

Who wasn't twisted over Keith Sweat circa 1996?​There's no formal way of choosing which artist to write about for any given week's incoming shows. I usually just pick the one that jumps out at me and makes me harken back to the days when MTV actually played videos -- good videos. That's why K ... More >>

World Cup Theme by Shakira Plagiarized?

While Americans don't take to football ("soccer" in our land) the way the rest of the world does, there's something special about the World Cup. Something so special, that even musicians can't help put take part in all the excitement. While R. Kelly wrote an official theme for the global quadrennial ... More >>

The Gourds

Swampadelic hippies the Gourds rock the Casbah all the way to Jericho

Jason DeRulo Breathes New Life Into One Relationship and, Just Maybe, R&B

Swampadelic hippies the Gourds rock the Casbah all the way to Jericho

6 Last Minute Valentine's Day Don'ts

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aussiegall/374268661/None of this either. ​ News flash: Valentine's Day is in less than 48 hours. If you don't have plans now, you will be tempted to take dangerous paths towards Valentine's Day merriment. Luckily for you, we have experienced all of the possible p ... More >>

Jason DeRulo Breathes New Life Into One Relationship and, Just Maybe, R&B

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aussiegall/374268661/None of this either. ​ News flash: Valentine's Day is in less than 48 hours. If you don't have plans now, you will be tempted to take dangerous paths towards Valentine's Day merriment. Luckily for you, we have experienced all of the possible p ... More >>

Creepy Tokio Hotel Record Cover, Roxanne Shante Doctorate a Fraud, R. Kelly Works on Jackson Tracks

Electric Mustache: Videos: Miniature Tigers at The Ice HouseIdolator: Tokio Hotel's Frontman Reveals That He's Either A Robot Or A Real DollIdolator: Don't Go Calling Roxanne Shanté A Doctor YetNME: Ryan Adams records hair metal song for blogNME: R Kelly to complete songs recorded with Michael Jack ... More >>

Epitaph Tour Comes To Marquee on September 21

Every Time I Die.​Epitaph Record's self-titled tour will be coming to Marquee Theatre in Tempe on Sept. 21. The tour features Buffalo hardcore act Every Time I Die and UK metalcore band Bring Me The Horizon. The latter was involved in a notable imbroglio when the singer was accused of pulling ... More >>

New Smashing Pumpkins Drummer is 19, Weezer Names Album Raditude, New Wavves Song

NME: Smashing Pumpkins confirm new drummerElectric Mustache: mp3: Headlights "Get Going"Idolator: Tommy Lee Plays With Fire, Gets BurnedIdolator: R. Kelly And Keri Hilson Make Love On The RadioPitchfork: Weezer Reveal Ridiculous Album TitleRolling Stone: Flaming Lips Road Test Dark New Tunes From "E ... More >>

Nayo Jones: You Asked For It

​Nayo Jones My Name Is Nayo Soul (PowerMove Records) Grade: C Critics have been commenting on the death of R&B for a few years now, to the point it's almost universally accepted that the genre is artistically bankrupt, with few if any quality acts still practicing the time-honored craft of m ... More >>

Other People's Blogs: New R.Kelly, Rock Smells, Dandy Warhols Promote Pot

Electric Mustache: Photos: Dusty Rhodes and the River Band @ The Yucca Tap Room 5/30Rolling Stone: R. Kelly Preps For New Album With Debut Mixtape, "Demo"Idolator: The Most Horrifying Song You Will Hear All Day: It's Like "Butterfly Kisses" Meets The Birds And The BeesWaved Rumor: Smells Like....Roc ... More >>

Conchords in Concert

Electric Mustache: Photos: Dusty Rhodes and the River Band @ The Yucca Tap Room 5/30Rolling Stone: R. Kelly Preps For New Album With Debut Mixtape, "Demo"Idolator: The Most Horrifying Song You Will Hear All Day: It's Like "Butterfly Kisses" Meets The Birds And The BeesWaved Rumor: Smells Like....Roc ... More >>

Joking Off

Andrew Jackson Jihad brings serious sing-along

Rotten Tomatoes' Ofay-Centric Critics, and the Biggie Smalls Biopic Notorious

"It was all a dream..."There are very few film critics I can read without getting at least mildly peeved at their gasbaggery. But the critics' pool on the geek-fan site RottenTomatoes.com really ticks me off, particularly in regards to the Biggie Smalls biopic Notorious, which I caught over the week ... More >>

R&B Is “Rap & Bullshit”

"It was all a dream..."There are very few film critics I can read without getting at least mildly peeved at their gasbaggery. But the critics' pool on the geek-fan site RottenTomatoes.com really ticks me off, particularly in regards to the Biggie Smalls biopic Notorious, which I caught over the week ... More >>

Hitsville: The Year in Music, by the Numbers

By Randall Roberts You don't need a half-wit music critic to tell you it's been a remarkable year for America, one historians will be discussing and researching for centuries to come. War, financial collapse, politics, technology: All have been dinner-table topics for many Americans. Racial barrier ... More >>

Haunted House Review: Final Destination III

By Randall Roberts You don't need a half-wit music critic to tell you it's been a remarkable year for America, one historians will be discussing and researching for centuries to come. War, financial collapse, politics, technology: All have been dinner-table topics for many Americans. Racial barrier ... More >>

T.I.

Paper Trail
(Atlantic)

The worst jobs in rock

Paper Trail
(Atlantic)

Stevie Wonder

Paper Trail
(Atlantic)

Joking Off

Andrew Jackson Jihad brings serious sing-along

Caramel Kisses

P-town's bi-Beyoncé and her chubby Chamillionaire check up on some Latin flava at Pan Dulce

Ginuwine

Throw your clothes on the floor

Death Pool for Cutie

Everybody's gotta go sometime

Hip-Hop's Trends in 2005

A genre as big as Texas

They Did What?

2005's top WTF? moments

New Times' top DVD picks for the week of November 1

2005's top WTF? moments

Critical Fatwa

Michael Jackson

Overseas MP3s

For pennies a tune, you can build a primo music library and support free enterprise in Russia

TNA TKO

Jett and her faithful manservant, Kreme, pop by Pantera's for a Tuesday night of Foxy Boxing.

What's Selling

Top 10 selling CDs at Circles Records (800 N. Central Ave.) for August 22 through 28

Original Soul

This time, it's personal: Our look back at an intimate year in music.

Musiq

Soulstar (Def Soul)

Avant
Private Room (Geffen)

A Fan's Notes

Ideas that were forgotten but not gone in 2003

JS

Ice Cream (DreamWorks)

The Isley Brothers

Body Kiss (DreamWorks)

Wallpaper Chase

On the coffee-house circuit, the trick is in outperforming the decor

Pretty Vacant

New Times' panel of critics searches for musical gems in a disheartening 2001

Aaliyah

Aaliyah (Blackground)

Maxwell

Now (Columbia)