LAMPIN'

I’m embarrassed as I write this. I just listened to Vic Mensa’s new album V TAPE, and an artist who I completely wrote off years ago has just proved me wrong. 

I, like most, don’t like to be wrong, but that’s not why I’m ashamed. I feel this way because I gave up on Vic — who at one point in my life was one of my favorite music artists — to the point of where I never thought he’d make anything worthy of my ears again. 

I first c...

We’re in a time where sports are virtually nonexistent. Media outlets like ESPN and Bleacher Report are reaching further for content than ever before (I don’t know how many more happy birthdays to irrelevant athletes I can handle), and leagues whose seasons have been suspended have reached back into their archives of classic games. 

Yet, it seems like baseball has hardly been missed. Most of the pining I’ve seen on social media...

I know, I know. You’re probably thinking, “Nev, you’re from the Bay Area, if you’re going to write about a regional rapper, why not do Mac Dre?”

As tempting as it was, the thought never really took hold. Mac Dre, born Andre Hicks, is first in everyone’s mind when it comes to Bay Area products, and since his murder in 2004, has upheld the title of King of Bay Area rap. The father of the hyphy movement and all that.

He developed...

Bryson Wallace is an up-and-coming MC originally from Bakersfield, CA, but currently reps the Bay Area. Nev sits down to talk to the jazz-influenced, humble, old-soul that is Bryson Wallace.

Censoring an art form like rap that relies so much on freedom of expression raises issues that can be turned into an article of its own. However, there are some (albeit very few) benefits, whether intentional or not, to clean rap music. I could explain this in writing but I feel like this anecdote from my childhood does a better job: 

A landmark moment in my life was when I got an iPod Mini on my 10th birthday. I brought it to...

Every once in a while the perfect song will come on during the perfect scene of a movie. It doesn't happen often, but when it does it's magical, kind of like a solar eclipse. From that point on, whenever you hear that song you'll think of the movie, and whenever you think of that movie the song will play in your head.

In most cases, both the song and movie would be just as iconic on their own, but when put together, they c...

The Lampin' Blog presents Top 10 Tuesday. On certain Tuesdays we bring you our favorite 10 tracks from one of our favorite music artists. Enjoy.

I think I can speak for Nev when I say T-Pain is one of our favorite artists from the '00s. Say what you want about his gimmicky autotune, T-Pain influenced a whole generation of hip-hop, for better or for worse. Dude has pipes without autotune anyways. 

Along with Akon (the debate...

During the 2000s, the Southern rap scene was booming. Artists like Ludacris, Lil’ Wayne, and Young Jeezy broke out into superstardom, and hip-hop icons Outkast, UGK, and Clipse, were all in peak form.

However, this article is not focused on these giants. During this flourishing time in the South, there were plenty of artists who broke into the scene as quickly as they faded out, either as one-hit wonders or gimmicky dance rappe...

Before the Vitamin Water commercials, Kanye "beef," subpar acting gigs, and bankruptcy filing, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson was the rawest mainstream artist rap had seen since Ice Cube. With a hypnotic voice, sensational ad-libs, and uncanny knack for writing hooks, it was no secret as to why Fiddy gained so much success in the early-mid 2000's (not to mention one of the greatest laughs hip-hop has ever see...

We decided to do this Top 10 in light of recent events involving our beloved Mr. West. We at Lampin’ choose to look not upon the convoluted political rants and societal critiques, not the Twitter beefs or the ridiculously delayed, and may I add, underwhelming (fight me) Life of Pablo.