The quality dance party is an understated art form. While a cornucopia of great music exists, true masters of the wheels of steel are hard to come by. Cold rocking the party is not for the faint of heart. To find a dance party where these artisans only work off of 45s is even more [...]

Of all the Monday night tasting dinners going on in the 5 boroughs, Louro (142 W. 10th St., NY, NY, 212-206-0606) may just have the most imaginative of the lot. Take the menu for this upcoming Monday night (Feb. 10): Chef David Santos proposes a Mid-Winter Tropical Rum-ble to guests, celebrating the history and culture surrounding the [...]

Lissie is usually described as a folk rock singer, which is a label that pops up whenever someone likes to play acoustic guitar. Her music might roots in the folk tradition but her talents transcend genre, she’s a solid singer and songwriter of the purest sense. She even found a way to make Kid Cudi [...]

It’s a sweaty summer day in 2003. Tallahassee is vibrant with a fresh import of anxious Florida A&M University (FAMU) students. A bus shuttles the new ‘Rattlers’ on a mall trip, when a few students in the bus interrupt the still, nervous air. Amir Windom (“AW”) and Maurice Slade (“Moe”) were doing what they naturally [...]

Photos by Alexander Mayo Clarence Fruster has been a pivotal part of New York City’s music scene for years. As Jah C he spent his early years making noise with the NYC collective New Rap Order. When he ran out of venues that would let him and his fellow MC’s perform (keep in mind even [...]

  The Rock the Bells Organizer On Beats, Rhymes and the Touring Life If you want to know how most musicians feel about promoters just check out the lyrics from the A Tribe Called Quests’ song “Rap Promoter” – “If there ain’t no dough, there ain’t no show”.  Historically, the relationship between the musician and [...]

Kenna’s been making forward thinking music for a long time. The songs have the same stick to the ribs attribute that make a great pop song, but the structure, the sound, the ideas have always seemed two steps ahead of everyone else. That’s why even from groups that begrudgingly give praise, fellow musicians and critics, [...]

I wish that I could tell you when we became friends. I want to say it was sometime around the CMJ festival three years ago. Here I am on my first major assignment for The Couch Sessions. I’m a new blogger who just wants to share my thoughts on music. We’d see each other in [...]

In preparation for Sango’s #StayGoldNYC performance on September 1, here’s a cool video interview of Sango done by Aboutherfilms. His laid back humble demeanor and dedication to the craft definitely is refreshing compared to a lot of the folks in the industry. But don’t be fooled, his beats are far from meek. Check out the [...]

In the middle of her six-city North American summer tour, Lianne La Havas greeted me with a huge smile, a warm kiss on the cheek and the best hug I’d had in a while. Her quaint British accent made me pay attention to her every word as we had small talk in Baltimore Sound Stage’s green [...]

      One of the coolest things about music is getting to know different artists in different bands. It is also not a secret that one of my favorite instruments is the bass guitar. As a lover of soul music, gospel, jazz, and the likes, a common denominator in the bands or production credits [...]

Well after midnight on July 19, 2013, the Howard Theatre was packed with hip-hop heads (backpacks and all) waiting on the battle to ensue between icons Pete Rock and DJ Premier. It was 1AM when the show finally started and the two legends went head to head in a continuous exchange of hip-hop hits and [...]