Last fall, DMV rap duo DTMD dropped Makin' Dollas, one of the year's better local releases, which was rich in nostalgic soul sounds and thoughtful lyrics. Today, the duo released the video for "Raw," which incorporates all the things you'd expect to see in a throwback rap visual: hooded sweatshirts, dirty stairs, and a rooftop. [...]

If nothing else, Judah knows how to indulge his fantasies, no matter how bizarre or outlandish. On 2010's The Amber Rose Instrumentals, the Northeast D.C. native imagined a brief rendezvous with Rose, only to be dumped for her then-boyfriend Kanye West. Following the moderate success of the summery "Sundresses and Sandals," Judah promoted the song with [...]

In this saturated rap town, you can easily grow tired of the same 'ol, same 'ol: sixteen-bar rhyme patterns, haters, formulaic production, and so on. There's tons of great music happening, of course, but it's still pretty refreshing when something truly different comes along.
Sound of the City is certainly different. The ten-piece band is capable [...]

You might know very little about Sean Born, a gruff, gravel-voiced MC from Prince George's County, Md., whose forthcoming album, Behind the Scale, is a cinematic journey through the small Queen Anne town in which he grew up. Born tells of his struggle over booming beats from Kev Brown, Dunc, and Oddisee, and others.
Born's impressive mixtape, 909 Jack BTS Pause [...]

Lyriciss is certainly keeping busy. Just two months ago, he released the first of his four scheduled EPs from "The Balance" series, Respect, on which the energetic New Carrollton, Md., MC assessed his place among his rap peers and chastised facades—immature dudes, materialistic women, etc.
Released today, The Balance EP: Money finds Lyriciss discussing all things monetary: the [...]

Last year, DJ 2-Tone Jones and his business partner Gerald Watson released two impressive mixtapes—Shaolin Jazz: The 37th Chamber and The Gil Scott Suite—which blended vocals from Gil-Scott Heron and the Wu-Tang Clan with various jazz instrumentals.
Now, Watson and 2-Tone have the follow-up: a T-shirt line?
Here's the deal: Following the release of the Shaolin Jazz project [...]

In September 2010, Prince George's County native Substantial and Seattle producer Marcus D. released their Bop Alloy project, a greasy hip-hop album more suited for adult contemporary radio than urban airwaves. Sure, piano chords, string arrangements, and horn solos aren't foreign to rap, but the abundance of such instruments made songs like "Chillaxation" and "Still [...]

Javier Starks isn't a look-at-me rapper. He's nothing if not respectful, even referring to his male peers as "sir." And while Starks is energetic, he often keeps to himself in public, quietly reciting his own rhymes or studying the performances onstage.
Perhaps that humble demeanor made it easier to secure guest spots for his Faces of [...]

Phil Adé is certainly prolific. When he isn't flooding the DMV with an endless stream of free music—he dropped four (four!) mixtapes in 2011—the young MC headlines local shows and lends his fiery wordplay to songs like this. All of which is welcome news for his dedicated listeners, if not for his haters (listen to his verse [...]

In preparation for his new album The Indie Life: Hate, Love & Money dropping next Thursday, DMV rapper SmCity has released a new single: "Mr. IDGAF," featuring MC/producer Oddisee and star-in-waiting Phil Ade.
In case you really need to know, "IDGAF" stands for "I don't give a fuck." On the brassy Oddisee-produced track, the three MCs chastise the [...]