Q+A

In the current state of hip-hop, there's without a doubt a demand for women who spit legitimate bars. The two biggest female names in hip-hop right now, Nick Minaj and Iggy Azalea, have trounced the stereotype of the female MC who only makes poppy music without substance or lyricism behind it...

Tonight, the Green Bay Packers kick off the 2014 NFL season with a matchup in Seattle against the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks. When they do, it will be with reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Eddie Lacy in the backfield next to all-world QB Aaron Rodgers ...

Jack White has moved out of the garage, but this year has seen a healthy amount of disjointed, scuzzy, glammy basement rock to fill the void, from Black Bananas' Electric Brick Wall to Ty Segall's recent Manipulator. King Tuff's sprawling, immediate, and ridiculously fun third album, Black Moon Spell, is the latest entry into this field...

When I arrive at the handball courts adjacent the hardwood at world-famous Rucker Park to get my allotted interview time with Shaquille O'Neal, I have to wait. It's a humid Monday in Harlem, and the emcee for the evening is just quickly confirming Shaq's career accomplishments, so that he can properly intro The Big Aristotle a few minutes later to the hordes of assembled fans (the line for last Mo

"I used to fantasize about hanging out in the Turtles' lair and eating pizza with the Turtles." Minae Noji's unbridled excitement is audible over the phone. Noji — who grew up reading Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic books, watching the various cartoon incarnation,s and studying the TMNT film series — plays Karai, Shredder's granddaughter, in the 2014 re-boot that hits theaters today..

Brittany Howard's got moxie, as they say. The guitarist and frontwoman for roots-rock outfit Alabama Shakes, Howard is known for gritty, towering vocals that defy gender. (Your parents may already know her from that song in that commercial...

When you first listen to a song by British trio The Wytches, they draw you in with a lull of spooky surf-rock, but that '50s noir illusion is usually pulverized at the chorus with a righteous storm of hair-raising shrieks, dissonant guitar squalls, and low-buzzing bass...

Deniro Farrar isn't a household name in rap yet, but the North Carolina MC has already made himself the center of a movement, as the self-proclaimed leader of cult rap. He has amassed a passionate following, thanks to his mix of grizzled street lyrics, gravelly vocals, and an affinity for swirling, gloomy beats...

Karl-Anthony Towns Jr. is not your average high school kid. That's because Towns is seven feet tall. Which, in the halls of St. Joseph High School in Metuchen, New Jersey, makes him stand out. You know, that plus his averages of 20.9 points, 13...

Last week, after making an early-morning trek from North Carolina to New York with his crew, Los Angeles rapper Ty Dolla $ign stopped through our office and plopped down on the couch. Currently signed to Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang Records and Atlantic Records, the 29-year-old is the musical genius behind mega-hits like "Paranoid" and "Or Nah," and was recently named to the 2014