Once upon a time, rapping in D.C. wasn't so cool. In the 1990s, long before artists like Wale and Tabi Bonney put D.C. hip-hop on a national stage, local MCs couldn't spit a rhyme without being deemed a New York wanna-be.
Instead, aspiring rappers not named Asheru, Head-Roc, or Black Indian spit their rhymes alongside prominent go-go bands [...]

"The music industry has imploded," a sarcastic male voice says seconds into Poem-Cees' new album, Everything You've Always Wanted. "The economy sucks, and you want Poem-Cees to release a record now."
Just when that statement was recorded is a mystery. For whatever reason, the D.C. trio of D.P., Black Picasso, and DJ Stylus recorded this full-length [...]

The one and only Afrika Bambaataa will be arriving in Chocolate City to “Planet Rock” funk it up for the “Funk 4 Peace” concert being held at U Street Music Hall this Sunday. The undisputed grandmaster and godfather of hip-hop culture will perform live and direct with D.C.’s international culture break-beat funk stars, Fort [...]

An occasional feature in which esteemed D.C. rapper Head-Roc shares what’s on his mind.
OK, so I'm looking at the front cover of this past week’s Washington City Paper “2010 Music in Review” edition. Wait, or is it “2010 in Music Review?” I honestly don’t know. It’s a little confusing to me. Still, I get that [...]

An occasional feature in which esteemed D.C. rapper Head-Roc shares what’s on his mind.
On Facebook, I’ve been in a somewhat intense discussion with D.C. luminary DJ RBI, of WPFW’s Monday night “Ill Street Grooves” show, about the support D.C. hip-hop music veterans and superstars receive from the DMV's club and on-air-DJ community.
I plaster my personal [...]

I’ve been pumping Mustock as the best D.C. indie music festival for at least five years. This is now its eight year.
Mustock is the love child of the one and only Mustafa Akbar. The first time I went to his ancestral farmland in Lignum, Va., I was blown away by the festival the brother had [...]

An occasional feature in which esteemed D.C. rapper Head-Roc shares what’s on his mind.
On Saturday, August 22, Mustafa Akbar (Riddems Crew ,Thievery Corporation, Fort Knox Five, Nappy), hosts the 7th annual MuStock, a D.C. indie music festival held on his ancestral farmland down in Lignum, Va.