It's the Supersound

Tiësto, who, whether you like it or not, was recently voted “The Greatest DJ of All Time” by Mixmag, has forged an exclusive residency with Wynn Las Vegas daylife and nightclub venues Encore Beach Club, Surrender, and XS nightclubs for 2012.

The residency with Wynn Las Vegas will feature several headlining dates at XS, Encore Beach Club and Surrender throughout 2012, debuting at XS on Saturday, February 4. Tickets are now available for purchase at wantickets.com. This is just the most recent major news regarding dance music and Las Vegas, which is quickly becoming a sort of mecca not just for the United States, but the world. Being an LA resident (which itself is fighting valiantly for the title of Dance Music Capital of America) I couldn’t be more thrilled with the developments taking place just a short drive/flight away in our sandy backyard.

For more information, just go here.

There’s nothing that kills a pleasant conversation about Gucci Mane like the statement, “I actually got into rap through Salem.” (And nothing that more succinctly sums up art school, for that matter. And no, I didn’t laugh in their face, but it was really hard.) I actually don’t hate Salem, but let’s just say I wouldn’t dare utter their name in a discussion of rap music. Yet I’ve had a metal-guy-turned-rapper who opened for Salem on repeat all week, so maybe I should sit my stereotypical art school ass down for a minute.

Richmond native Lil Ugly Mane not only has one of the best rap names I’ve heard in some time, he’s got a mixtape Criminal Hypnosis that does the angry-sludgy-syrup-sippin’ thing more convincingly than almost all of his contemporaries. The Spaceghost/A$AP vibe is everywhere at the moment, but Lil Ugly Mane makes it sound interesting again, challenging at times (the first track is an almost unlistenable wall of noise). His Virginia accent and classic Southern flow feel so right with his drudging screwed beats, most of which are by Shawn Kemp; I think his (self-made) album art perfectly visualizes his fusion of Dirty South/Cash Money-style delivery with the new wave of creative dudes that like the devil, lean and Jeremy Scott.

My favorite track from Criminal Hypnosis “Radiation (Lung Pollution)”, slips from stuttering trap bass to a silky sax break. The best thing Ugly Mane’s done so far, though, is the Ahnnu-produced version of last year’s “U Ain’t From My Hood”, You can tell that it came out when Odd Future was starting to pop off—but imagine if they were worth the hype, and not fucking playing.

Criminal Hypnosis is up for name-your-price download on Bandcamp.

Frank Ocean – Voodoo

“Darker times. They’re telling boulder heavy lies. Looks like all we’ve got is each other. The truth is obsolete.”

Someone pointed me to this today. Super soulful.

A few months after The White Stripes called it quits, Jack White has announced a solo album, Blunderbuss. The album will be released through White’s own Third Man Records on April 24th, with some distribution assistance from Columbia. You can hear the album’s first single “Love Interruption” now.

Continue reading: Jack White Announces New Album: Blunderbuss, Hear New Single

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