It seems as if every song flooding radio airwaves and streaming services has an air horn intro and a DJ name drop. Though the act was once synonymous with hip-hop mixtapes, the prevalence of DJ shoutouts seems to grow with each new album release. Read more...
Photo: DJ Khaled marks his song with “We The Best!” (Flowzyt/YouTube)
Hip Hop Explosion would have been a medley of incomprehensible noise without Isaiah Rashad. Students bounded up the steep, low-lit staircase leading to Ackerman Grand Ballroom, chatting about how excited they were to hear hip-hop performers Rashad and Casey Veggies at the Cultural Affairs Commission’s Hip Hop Explosion concert event Thursday. Read more...
Photo: Rapper Isaiah Rashad transformed the Hip Hop Explosion stage into a melodic, neo-soul space where the audience grooved along to soft beats. (Daniel Alcazar/Daily Bruin senior staff)
Each week, Daily Bruin A&E will explore the instruments of the World Musical Instrument Collection and their performers that all contribute to the musical landscape of the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Read more...
Photo: UCLA ethnomusicology graduate student Ryan Vig plays the Levantine buzuq, a long-necked fretted lute and folk instrument, with roots in Arab communities across Lebanon and Syria. (Laura Uzes/Daily Bruin)
Raymond Mai’s foray into rap was motivated by a pretty girl sitting next to him in class. Determined to catch her attention, Mai scribbled in his notebook a love poem, which he rapped to her during break. Read more...
Photo: UCLA alumnus Raymond Mai, known as MACKmai on stage, released his first mixtape “Second to None (220)” Saturday on SoundCloud. Mai, who grew up in a black- and Latino-dominated community area in southeast San Diego, became aware of other Asian-American students at UCLA. He realized the hardships his immigrant parents went through and decided to preserve their legacy through his mixtape. (Shelby Scoggins/Daily Bruin)
Princess Fortier sat in her home studio soaking up the fast-paced rhythms and percussion instrumentals of a track sent to her by a producer via Facebook. Read more...
Photo: Princess Fortier (center) and her sister Destiny created a music video for Princess’ song “Dirty Ballerina.” The duo were joined by backup dancer and fourth-year mathematics and economics student Patrick Malkoun (right). (Zinnia Moreno/Daily Bruin)
Pop singer Kesha Rose Sebert, known professionally as Kesha, lost a bid Friday to be freed from her recording contract. Kesha alleged that her music producer Lukasz Sebastian “Dr. Read more...
Photo: Kesha has not released an album since “Warrior” in 2012, yet Sony did not contractually release her after she alleged that producer Dr. Luke sexually assaulted her. (Courtesy of RCA)
This just in: Kanye West announces the beginning of Yeezy Season 4. Though it’s been just over a year since the premiere of Kanye West’s Yeezy Season 1, the hype is as strong as ever. Read more...
Photo: Rapper Kanye West showcased his fashion line Yeezy Season 3 and his album “The Life of Pablo” at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 11. He announced the creation of Yeezy Season 4 on Thursday. (Creative Commons photo by Rodrigo Ferrari/Flickr)
