The Cool Kids Take Hip-Hop Back to the '80s

There's still hope for full-length debut

(NEWSER) - The Cool Kids aren’t as cool as they once were—but “even when they’re on autopilot, their icy flatness has style,” writes Tom Breihan for Pitchfork. Gone Fishing, the internet phenoms’ recently released bundle of free downloadable music, “should be a major event in the group’s evolution,” but instead it sounds like “a collection of castoffs that weren’t good enough” for their upcoming full-length debut. More»

(NEWSER) - Beastie Boy Adam Yauch has had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in his salivary gland and is recovering at home, Rolling Stone reports. The rapper says he had the procedure a week and a half ago, and spent just one night in the hospital. Though his recovery is going well, Yauch dreads the “torture” of upcoming radiation treatment. More»

Sure, her life wasn't all hard, but don't write her off as a rapper

(NEWSER) - “Even in a ‘post-race’ world, street sells,” writes Amy Granzin for Pitchfork. That would explain why some looked at Speech Debelle—the once-homeless UK rapper turned Mercury Prize nominee and "hip-hop's next big thing"—and spun “a tiny bit of flash into blinding bling.” The truth is, Debelle had a middle-class, “girl-next-door” upbringing—but don’t write her off. Her debut, Speech Therapy, is “fine, fresh, serious (yet never dour),” and it “speaks for itself.” More»

(NEWSER) - Busta Rhymes is back with his first album in three years, and if his record release party last night is any indication, he's barely missed a beat, writes Jayson Rodriguez in Rolling Stone. Rhymes—whose Back On My B.S. is out today—"has long been recognized as one of hip-hop’s premiere live performers and just doesn’t have it in him to disappoint," writes Rodriguez. He delivered "a tight, raucous, burst of energy over an 85-minute set." More»

(NEWSER) - Asher Roth’s image isn’t classic hip-hop: He’s a white kid who wears sweatshirts and calls himself a “dork.” But that image, along with the breakout hit “I Love College,” has earned him a top-10 spot on iTunes and millions of MySpace streams, the Wall Street Journal reports. The ode to college life—zeroing in on partying, beer pong, and sex—hits a niche “bullseye,” says a music marketer. More»