Features

Spacebase Was The Place: The Life Of Ras G, Blunted Saint Of The L.A. Beat Scene

At sunset on July 30th, currents of fragrant incense wafted down a stretch of Vernon Ave. in the Leimert Park neighborhood of South Los Angeles. Outside the gated windows of a small first-floor apartment, a group of friends lit dozens of candles, remembering the life and playing the music of Ras G, who had passed away inside the day before at 40 years old.

The Bizarre and Tragic Ride of J Sw!ft

J Sw!ft believed that he could tour. The immigration judge presiding over his deportation appeal never mentioned any travel restrictions. His lawyer saw no legal complications. So, in the winter of 2014, the hip-hop producer embarked on a European run with his group, Bizarre Ride. Customs authorities arched their eyebrows, but they never prevented him from getting on a plane or returning to his hometown of Los Angeles.

Enter the Dungeon Dragon: Busta Rhymes’s Classic Debut, 25 Years Later

The writing was always on the wall, but in 1993 it was on camera for Yo! MTV Raps. Leaders of the New School were disintegrating in real time. You can read the tension on the face of a then 21-year-old Busta Rhymes, who was appearing on the show with the group that provided his entry to the music industry. And you hear the defeat in his voice as he stands opposite his group and says to the cameraman, “Please don’t film this, B.”