David Drake

Though not as revelatory as 2004's excellent "2nd Anniversary" mix, this new label-only compilation of electro-house tracks is just as inspired. GetPhysical's best output balances subtle attention to sonic detail...

Before OutKast became a genre-hopping supergroup, they were quite a bit like Da Backwudz: a young duo from the Atlanta area spitting rhymes about Southern life with promising breadth and...

Americans have not made a huge impact on the world of German house, but one of the genre's most promising talents is from the United States. With a gorgeous voice...

Two characteristics keep pimp-rapper Suga Free's music from devolving into cliche: He's charismatic and funny, with a rapid-fire-yet-conversational style that splits the difference between comedy and poetry, and his albums...

While charismatic rapper Young Jeezy set a benchmark for crack rap, Yo Gotti's latest album simply follows in its footsteps. Not to say the Memphis rapper's album isn't interesting; the...

There's been lots of activity in the Cracker camp this year. Following a greatest-hits set that was wholly re-recorded to thwart their former label's conventional compilation (of which the band...

In the mid-1990s, Chicago rap trio Do or Die signed to Texas heavyweight label Rap-A-Lot, and rode the strength of their breakthrough single "Po Pimpin'" to multiplatinum success. After flirting...

People Under the Stairs aren't particularly popular, and it is unlikely their fourth album, "Stepfather," is going to reverse that status. That isn't to say that the group's reverence for...

With the San Francisco Bay's renaissance, scores of artists new and old have latched on to the uptempo "new-Bay" sound. A blend of tradition and revitalization is epitomized in the...

As a member of the talented West Coast rap group 3xKrazy, Oakland's Keak da Sneak had a distinctive gravelly voice, but didn't seem like a star in the making. By...