BDCWire Staff

James Miller Correspondent

Raised on chess pie and cheese grits, moonlights as the Butt-Naked Strangler. He likes rap music, China, and chocolate milk. He writes about the same things. Dairyfest, ho.

Stories by James Miller

BDCWire
12heard-08
Boston has a weak local hip-hop reputation. But why?
BDCWire

Is Boston a trap for new hip-hop artists? Boston’s scene isn’t new nor is it just becoming dope. Why haven’t more artists from Boston made it nationally? There have been several acts (7L and Esoteric, Guru, and Benzino) who have made noise outside of Boston, but each one disassociated with the city or stayed in the playlists of hip-hop heads and backpackers. Last fall, both Complex and XXL recognized the vibrancy of Boston hip-hop, but little has changed. In December, Akrobatik told us, “Boston’s rap scene is embraced more so by people in other regions and other parts of the world than by the locals themselves.” It’s time for Boston’s scene to be recognized on a larger scale and for artists from the city to get the respect they deserve. More

Music
riffraff
With new album, Riff Raff is the evolutionary white rapper
Music

Riff Raff has been an Internet mainstay for at least two years and his artistic credibility has been defended and derided. His Warhol-esque skin, with pop culture references from the BET logo to Slimer the ghost tattooed on his body, Riff Raff has become the poster child for the new age of sardonic Internet-based hip-hop. More than that he is pioneering new ground for white rappers. How exactly does Riff Raff fit in to the history of white rappers? Before hip-hop’s fastest rising and most divisive star releases his most anticipated album, “NEON iCON,” on Jan. 28 on Mad Decent, we take a look. More

Music
juicyj
How does Juicy J continue to reinvent himself and stay relevant?
Music

Who is Juicy J? Ask a Top 40-loving tween and you’ll be told to turn up, while hearing about Miley Cyrus and last week’s twerking scholarship. Ask a bar mitzvah DJ 10 years ago and you’ll hear about the rapper’s Academy Award, “Poppin’ My Collar,” and “Stay Fly.” Ask a Memphian 20 years ago and you’ll hear about the Kings of Memphis Underground, “Smoked Out Loced Out,” and beef with Bone Thugs. Throughout his three major career changes, Juicy J has mastered his audience and maintained relevancy. While the consumers of Juicy J’s music change every 10 years, he has never relinquished artistic integrity. Since 1990, he has repped South Memphis and stayed high. No other rapper has changed so frequently and achieved such success, while maintaining credibility (Mase tried). More

Music
kanye1
Evaluating Kanye West’s music: Revolutionary or overrated?
Music

Kanye West is not a God. In the amazing interview with the BBC’s Zane Lowe that led to his beef with Jimmy Kimmel, Kanye described himself as a “young revolutionary coming from Chicago.” But, how revolutionary can an artist be when they have won 23 Grammys and become known as a connoisseur of leather pants? Before his show Sunday at the TD Garden with Kendrick Lamar (to which tickets normally cost around $200), we’re left wondering: Does Kanye remain innovative and alternative or is he an entrenched part of the mainstream? More