rap

Veteran Portland Rapper Cool Nutz Believes It’s Still Possible to Find Common Ground With the Police

As Portland hip-hop’s most respected elder statesman, rapper and promoter Terrance “Cool Nutz” Scott has spent a lot of time over the last three decades talking to police officers.

Damian Lillard Is Embroiled in Another Rap Beef, This Time with Shaquille O’Neal

On “Reign Reign Go Away,” Lillard dismantles Shaq’s playing career with some hot takes of his own (“Kobe won you those rings”), disses his commercial endorsements (“Icy Hot poster boy”), acting career (“Space Jam not Blue Chips”) and, of course, his free-throw shooting and turns one of O’Neal’s lines against him: “Said yourself I’m a Tesla/No longer need Diesel gas.” Really, though, the best part is probably just the SoundCloud art.

R.I.P. Tali, One of Moshow the Cat Rapper’s Furless Cats

Tali was one of the first cats that Molock adopted, and is the mother of two of Molock’s other pets, Queen Sushi and MegaMam. She’s appeared in most of Molock’s videos, including in his recent video “Catta$tic,” which features Tali perched on Molock’s shoulder, and Queen Sushi and MegaMam crawling on his head.

Fountaine Creates Shape-Shifting Hip-Hop That, Like His Personal Health, Is in Constant Upheaval

When Fountaine scored an invite to Anderson Paak’s album release show last November, he didn’t expect to meet anyone famous. He certainly didn’t expect to meet Dr. Dre, or for it to happen while the Portland rapper was stoned.

Bocha Processes Heartbreak and Homelessness Over Booming Tracks

For many of us, heartbreak comes at the hands of a lover. For William Bocha Hayes, it came at the hands of a loved one.

Karma Rivera Wants to Be the Next Rapper to Take Portland Hip-Hop into the Mainstream, and She’s Bringing Other Queer Artists in the Scene Along With Her

Karma Rivera didn’t think it was a big deal when she donated some stage time to Maarquii during last summer’s Portland Hip-Hop Day.

Rapper ePP Almost Stopped Making Music. Then He Released His Most Affecting Album Yet.

A few years ago, ePP sat on his front porch, smoking a joint and contemplating the end of his career.

At His Portland Show, A$AP Rocky Tried to Turn Spectacle into Substance

During the opening run of Testing highlights, Rocky took out 30 seconds at the end of two songs to first pound some taiko-esque drums, then create a makeshift glitch remix by mashing buttons on an iPad hooked up to the sound system. Other props included three racing coupes suspended from the ceiling, two masked hype men, and above all, women’s underwear.

In the Wake of Mac Miller’s Death, Lil Xan Cancels His Portland Show to Recover From Addiction

Along with Miller, fentanyl has claimed the lives of Prince, Tom Petty and Lil Xan’s SoundCloud rap contemporary, Lil Peep. But Xan told TMZ that Miller’s death was particularly effecting. “Mac hurt the most,” he says. “It definitely changed my everything.”

On Her New EP, Portland MC Raquel Divar Takes Control

The title comes from the chorus on the smoky “Smith n’ Wesson.” But it’s also an ode to Missy Elliott’s “The Rain” and a general claim to power. “There’s a lot of references about just like running shit and being boss,” says Divar. But that raw bravado is new for Divar.

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