Rick Ross

Rick Ross May Not Even Know It, But AZ Hip-Hop Isn't Down with Date Rape

When rapper Rick Ross proudly proclaimed to having the detestable ability of slipping psychedelic stimulants into the drinks of unsuspecting ladies, he did more than upset a few women activists and anti-sexism organizations. Shoe giant Reebok dropped Ross as a spokesperson in April, and local gras ... More >>

MC Magic Explains Why "We Can't Stop" Is the Right Move For Miley Cyrus

Within 24 hours the new Miley Cyrus single, "We Can't Stop," hit over two million plays, and I predict 100 million within a week. At first listen it feels like the intro for a new song by 2 Chainz, especially considering the stamp producer Mike Will Made It leaves on it. (To say MWMI is currently a ... More >>

Why Talk More About Jay-Z's Cuba Trip Than Rick Ross's Date Rape Rap?

Having solved all of the country's economic problems, come to an agreement on DOMA, and figured out what to do about gun control, the American government finally has time to focus on what really matters: where richer-than-God superstars Jay-Z and Beyoncé spend their obscenely luxurious vacations. ... More >>

Country Thunder, Man Overboard, Hot Buttered Rum and Other Just Announced Shows

And so it begins. Now that the all the decorations have been put away into the attic and holiday season is firmly in the rearview, so ends a relatively dead period in the local concert calendar. As the days grow longer and the temperatures begin to climb, big shows and even bigger acts will hit loca ... More >>

Taylor Swift, Warren G, Rick Ross, and More Just Announced Shows

Taylor Swift is coming to town on Tuesday, May 28, at Jobing.com Arena. And...never has the thought of the pending apocalypse been so appealing. Sure, Swift has her vocal detractors (like me), but her new album, Red was released in October and quickly sold a whole bunch of copies, which is somethi ... More >>

Top Five Must-See Shows This Weekend

Yeah, yeah, yeah...we get it. Mondays suck (we've read Garfield). But it means the start of a new week, which means a bunch of killer shows in and around Phoenix. And here are a few of the coolest -- our top five must-see shows this week.

Top Phoenix Music Stories of the Week

The news waits for no one -- at least that's what we read somewhere -- so it's perfectly understandable that you, the reader, might have missed out on a musical tidbit, breaking news about your favorite venue, or one of our rants. So enjoy this digest-style sampling of some of our biggest stories f ... More >>

Kanye West Brags About (and Hangs Out With) Kim Kardashian In New Video

See also: Kanye West's "Mercy" Explained By Phoenix Producer Lifted If you've had "Mercy" on repeat for the past couple of months, you'll be pleased to know that Kanye West and Rick Ross appear in the double-video/double-single, "I Wish You Would"/"Cold." Hype Williams combined both of these songs ... More >>

Big K.R.I.T.'s Blowing Up, But the Rapper's Got Underdog Appeal

oOoOO Makes Terrifically Scary Pop

Glass Popcorn Drops "Goin' Hamburger" Video (The Beef Eating Jam of the Summer)

See also: Glass Popcorn: Is This High School Rapper "Destroying Hip-Hop?" If my previous ink on local 15-year-old cloud rapper Will Neibergall, aka Glass Popcorn, left too much to the imagination, the day has finally come for his YouTube chrysalis to crack. He has spread his high-def wings and prem ... More >>

Jackie Morales, What Are You Listening To?

Jackie Morales Morales is the mid-day DJ for 101.5-FM Jamz. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? Of course, 101.5! What's the first album you bought? I honestly don't go out and buy very many albums, but when I heard Mariah Carey's Em ... More >>

Waka Flocka Flame @ Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion

Snow Songs, Cass McCombs, Rick Ross and More in This Week's Issue

The brand new issue of Phoenix New Times is on stands and online now. Here's what we've got for your this week: Serene Dominic sits down at Harvey's Wineburger with Snow Songs, one of Phoenix's "most evocative and engaging bands" to discuss how bands will get their music out in the future. Ideas fl ... More >>

Incoming: Childish Gambino, Andrew Bird, Rick Ross

​Comedian, Community actor and now rapper Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino, is coming to try out his new material on a Scottsdale crowd.His album Camp has been receiving an awful lot of good hype from the kids lately. (Some serious hate, too: Hipster Runoff has been slamming him for months ... More >>

Kreayshawn at Marquee Theatre, 11/19/11

Kreayshawn Marquee Theatre Saturday, November 19, 2011 I love Tempe for the most part. This city has lots of great restaurants and bars, but there are certain elements that drive me crazy. Thanks to a free Kreayshawn show and the big ASU/U of A game, most of the things I hate about Tempe came out ... More >>

Rapper Hannibal Leq Celebrates Birthday, Hype Music Deal With New F-O's Show at The Roxy

​ The Hype Music project has added another Arizona rapper to its family. Mesa's lyrical linguist Hannibal Leq has joined the MTV and Extreme Music partnership. The last time we saw Leq he was rocking the microphone alongside New F-O's MCs Pancho and Lifted in our exclusive video. As a membe ... More >>

Money Power Respect Entertainment Pushes Local Hip-Hop on a Large Scale

Cahleb Branch, head of Money Power Respect, works at his desk.​How much does it cost to book GZA from Wu-Tang Clan? Or Lil Jon? Or Nicki Minaj?Cahleb Branch knows, because his company, Valley-based Money Power Respect Entertainment, books international shows for them, among a slew of other well-kn ... More >>

May 17 In Blogs: Ethnic Studies, Corey Busboom, Killing Joke, Big Macs, and Ben Quayle

​​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

Metallica, Arcade Fire, The Black Keys and More of April In Concert Photos

The Black Keys at Mesa Amphitheatre ​May already? Yup. In case you are in the same work-induced haze that I am, you may need a reminder that April is, in fact, over. Luckily hindsight is twenty-twenty. You'll appreciate that as you look back at the best concert shots from April. April was one ... More >>

Travis Barker Calls His Critics Nazis

​Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker is not responding well to those who have critiqued his new solo album, Give the Drummer Some, according to Spinner.Many fans of his work with Blink-182 have recently expressed that they don't particularly care for his solo work. Barker responded by calling his crit ... More >>

DJ Drama @ Club Trinity

Beyonce and Sleigh Bells Collaborate in the Studio

​Diplo says noise pop duo Sleigh Bells have been hitting the studio with Beyonce, according to NME.The producer recently blogged about being in the studio together with the three musicians. Sleigh Bells' album Treats was played for the good people who work for Beyonce, and now they're working on s ... More >>

Travis Barker's Upcoming Album Has More Guest Artists Than Kanye's Did

​Blink-182 drummer/plane crash survivor Travis Barker is set to release a solo album on March 15, according to Consequence of Sound.Turns out he won't exactly be doing the project by himself, though. After Travis made some announcements about the album via Twitter without the knowledge of Intersco ... More >>

Incoming: Coheed and Cambria, Flosstradamus, Of Montreal, Rick Ross, Toad The Wet Sprocket

Toad The Wet Sprocket - bastion of the 1990s​Clubs editor Benjamin Leatherman describes this week's just announced shows thusly: "huge fucking week."Things are so fucking huge that Martin Cizmar went ahead and already announced the Janet Jackson show slated for this April -- yet there are still pl ... More >>

Jan. 11 In Blogs: Merc Bar, Edward Sharpe, Papago Brewing, and Jared Loughner

​​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

EPMD @ Celebrity Theatre

Nostalgia, Miami, and Expose

Rap Songs Fit for a Tea Party: Hip-Hop Songs with a Right Wing Bent

​Maybe you've heard: Today is election day.This year's election is a little different than the 2008 one, though. It seems not everyone is happy with the progress the Kenyan/Indonesian/Martian guy who usurped the presidency has been making toward converting our economy to socialism. Crazy, right? S ... More >>

What's Selling: Zia Records Phoenix

​Fans of Zia Records Phoenix largely shopped for hip-hop, rap and metal this week.Disturbed topped the chart with Asylum.Iron Maiden's latest release made the list, and Fabolous slipped into the mix too.1. Disturbed, AsylumSee the entire list after the jump...

What Can Apple Do With $75 Mil Instead of Running iTunes?

​Apple co-owner Steve Jobs has more money than God by now, which is why Apple has unlimited options for what they could do with everything they've earned from iTunes alone.According to Hypebot, it costs around $75 million per month for Apple to operate iTunes. Prefix pulled together a solid list o ... More >>

What's Selling: Zia Records Phoenix

​The music lovers who frequent Zia Records in Phoenix tend to favor heavier fare -- typically metal and hip hop. But they always pepper in a few surprises. While the latest from Bun B comes out on top this week, The Black Keys slide right in the middle. The newest Arcade Fire record that indie-hip ... More >>

What's Selling: Zia Records Chandler

Eminem, Recovery​This week we decided to report on a record store in the deep south. While typically our charts go to the indie shops rooted in CenPho and Tempe, we thought it important to note that people in Chandler buy records too. This week the folks that shop at Zia Records in Chandler are s ... More >>

Diddy's "Hello Good Morning" Makes Your Boyfriend Feel Like a Groupie

​Even though Sean "Diddy" Combs is much better at producing train wreck television (Making the Band) then he is at rapping, for some reason, his horribly monotonous track "Hello Good Morning," by Diddy-Dirty Money, is still getting radio play, and it's not even a song that is lady-friendly in the ... More >>

Tokio Hotel: Are the Fans More Crazy Than the Band Is Lame? Or Vice-Versa?

What the fuck?​Perhaps it's not that evident for a casual observer, but this week is painfully slow for new music releases. It is my job to select one album that comes out every Tuesday and find some reviews of said album to post on Up On The Sun for my Review Roundup. Some weeks it's difficult to ... More >>

Cottonwood Rednecks Freak Over Korean Statue of Mother Earth Named "Mago"

from MagoEarthParkGalleryWhat's all the hubbub? Looks pretty cool to me...To cop and alter a line from Mel Brooks' History of the World, Part I, the rednecks are revolting! Yeah, man, they stink on ice.Like you needed more proof that Arizona's chock full of backwards, toothless puddin'heads who ... More >>

Rick Ross

Ear To The Street: Rick Ross and Flo-Rida at Celebrity Theatre

Flo Rida

Mail on Sunday
(Atlantic)

Future Shock: Mike Ness, Flo Rida, Nevermind, and more

Valentine's Day Massacre

Drive-thru Deliverance

It's not called est anymore, but you can still be ridiculed into self-awareness in just one expensive weekend

What's $2.995 Million Between Former Enemies?

Stunning settlement frees cult deprogrammer Rick Ross from almost all of $3 million judgment

Letters

Cult Expert Must Pay

Nationally known deprogrammer loses bid to discharge $3.4 million civil debt

Letters

Letters

Letters

Letters

Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlatans

Clients of deprogrammer Rick Ross call him a savior. Perhaps that's why people he's branded cult leaders want to crucify him.