Willy Northpole

IROC Expands His Hip-Hop Empire With Paranormal Thriller Blood Ink

25 years ago, the Phoenix hip-hop scene was virtually non-existent. That's when Irin Daniels -- taking the name IROC -- got involved, and since that time he's become one of the most respected hip-hop entities in Arizona. If you have had any resemblance of a career in this state, there's very good c ... More >>

Turnt Up Thursdays and So Fly Fridays Take Over 27th Ave Bar & Grill

See also: DJ John Blaze and PhoenixHipHop.net Team for New Mixtape Valley music fans have a pair of new club nights where they can get their hip-hop fix, without having to travel all the way over to the east side of town. Rick Sanchez, A.K.A. Mav of Sol Camp, and Zig Zag of NB Ridaz are now hostin ... More >>

DJ John Blaze and PhoenixHipHop.net Team for New Mixtape

See also: The Writer's Guild Release Song in Response to Dark Knight Rises Shooting in Colorado Local music website PhoenixHipHop.net has been an advocate of the Valley's hip-hop scene since its inception in 2009. Sticking to its promise to "help continue the growth of the Phoenix area's hip-hop s ... More >>

Writer's Guild: Don't Call Mr. Miranda, MC Pennywise, Mega Ran and RoQ'y TyRaiD a "Supergroup"

See also: Mega Ran Drops New Project in Time for Phoenix Comicon Phoenix hip-hop collective The Writer's Guild has grown weary of the politics and standard operating procedures employed by promoters and venues around the Valley. They've tired of the lack of cohesion between musicians and the variou ... More >>

Four Must-See Shows This Weekend (And One Psychedelic Movie)

Saturday, May 19: Yellow Submarine @ AMC Desert Ridge The actual Beatles don't actually show up in the 1968 animated flick Yellow Submarine (not until the end at least, and that's not John, Paul, George, and Ringo providing voices), but don't let that dissuade you from taking in a special noontime ... More >>

MC Trap Taps '80s Drama and Real Life in Equal Measure

Happy Birthday Arizona: 100 Songs that Define Arizona, Pt. 4

Editor's Note: An abridged version of this article appears in this week's issue, featuring 100 Songs that Defined Arizona. In celebration of Arizona's centennial, we've rounded up sound clips for (almost) everything featured in our list. Thanks to everyone who submitted song suggestions, all of our ... More >>

100 Years of Music That Defined Arizona

Rich Berra, What Are You Listening To?

Rich Berra​Rich Berra Berra is one of the hosts of the Johnjay and Rich radio show heard on 104.7 KISS-FM here in Phoenix. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play? It sounds like a scam, but I listen to KISS to hear what our station sounds like af ... More >>

Willy Northpole Drops "Two Fresh Too Cool"

​Disturbing Tha Peace/Def Jam recording artist Willy Northpole has been busy lately -- dropping new tracks via his Twitter and Tumblr sites. Recent tracks include "George Kush" and "I'm Gucci," and last week he released "Two Fresh Too Cool," hinting at a seriously poppy direction. The track is ... More >>

Oct. 5 In Blogs: Russell Pearce, Steve Jobs, Willy Northpole, Mrs. White, and Jeff Flake

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:

The Eight Best Local Records of 2011 (So Far)

​July is almost upon us, which means we're more than halfway through 2011. It's already been a busy year for local music, with dozens of Valley bands releasing new albums, playing local shows, and heading out on tour. We've picked eight of our favorite local albums released so far in 2011. It w ... More >>

Gift Of Destiny's "FU1070": Tempe Metal Band's Anti-SB 1070 Track

​It's been nearly a year since Governor Jan Brewer signed SB 1070 into law, unleashing a shitstorm that's still going although the law was blocked by courts and will likely never take effect in any meaningful way.While The Sound Strike, the organization promoting a boycott of Arizona led by out-of ... More >>

PhoenixHipHop.net Announces Nominees for 2010 Online Hip-Hop Awards (Vote Here!)

​Local hip-hop website PhoenixHipHop.net posted the nominees for its 2010 Online Hip-Hop Awards this weekend. Unlike those stingy bastards at the Grammy Awards, who only dole out five nominations per category, Phoenix Hip-Hop errs on the side of inclusiveness, with just about everyone who's done a ... More >>

Random, DJ John Blaze Release Free Albums

​The calendar says it's September, but it must feel like Christmas for Valley hip-hop fans thanks to a pair of free, downloadable releases from PHX hip-hop mainstays Random (aka Megaran) and DJ John Blaze. Random recently released a free 10-track album, Heroes, Volume One, as a gesture of thanks t ... More >>

Thoughts on Dave Brookhouser's List of "Non-Suck" Local Bands?

The CenPho.TV team is very popular with New Times, not only because of all the fun, positive stuff they say and do, but because they're one of the few local blogger-type outlets that'll let someone have it.So we have Dave Brookhouser's list of local bands that don't suck. Thus, it is implied that i ... More >>

Buy A Line In The Sand: A Compilation of SB 1070 Protest Songs

​We put out the call and Arizona's music community responded.Phoenix New Times is very proud to officially introduce A Line In The Sand, a compilation of protest songs from Arizona artists opposed to SB 1070, the crazy new immigration law which will, in effect, mandate racial profiling of Hispanic ... More >>

Year in Music: Our List of the 10 Best Albums of 2009 Sadly Features No Local Music

Feedback from the Issue of Thursday, December 10, 2009

Trap Is a Local Rapper Working Overtime to Put Phoenix on the Hip-Hop Map

Queen YoNasDa, Phoenix MC with Ties to Louis Farrakhan, Wu Tang Clan and Radical Native American Group, Preps Album

Our experience with Sonny Long -- and the subsequent support for his fraud by people who should know better, but maybe have more in common with him than they'd like to admit -- shows me that a lot of folks in Phoenix's small but boastful hip-hop community are full of shit. With publicity materials t ... More >>

Phoenix City Councilman Michael Johnson Honors Willy Northpole as "Friend of the City"

William OgluinWilly Northpole: "Friend of the City"Phoenix-born hip-hop artist Willy Northpole can add another accolade to his growing resume of accomplishments on Monday, June 22, as Phoenix District 8 Councilman Michael E. Johnson honors Northpole as an official "Friend of the City."Northpole grew ... More >>

Willy Northpole Wants Hip-Hop Fans in Phoenix to Feel Tha Connect

Sonny Long Is a Legend in His Own Mind

Rapper Greydon Square Is an Atheist Icon

Phoenix's Top 10 Local Hip-Hop MCs

As our readers have pointed out before, "Top 10" lists are subjective. The list that follows is our take on the ten best hip-hop MCs in the Valley. But since there are dozens and dozens of rappers in the PHX, we're sure to leave somebody's favorite out.

GALLERY BLU RE:Def

Fright Nights

Hip-Hop Hooray

Night Frights

Roca Dolla

Roca Is a Classic
(5Fith Coast Records)

You Asked for It: Roca Dolla

Rollin' with the Homies

No way you can hate on this

Best of the Fests: Mondo music blowouts abound this weekend

Local MC Justus wants you to “get your A’z up”

Music editor Niki D'Andrea hangs with Ludacris at his star-studded Super Bowl concert

Where's the party? A quick guide to a dozen hot Super Bowl soirees

Snoop and Diddy headline a cast of stars destined to steal the spotlight from Super Bowl XLII

Letters from the issue of Thursday, January 31, 2008

Letters from the issue of Thursday, January 24, 2008

Letters from the issue of Thursday, January 17, 2008

The Bird pecks aways at the white hip-hop poseurs in P-town

A response to complaints on Arizonabeats.com about the "Raising Terrazona" story

Ain't no beef: Roca Dolla and Cinque clarify their alleged conflict

Willy Northpole and the Phoenix hip-hop scene explode

Raising Terrazona: Check out these clips from some of Phoenix's hottest hip-hop acts