Spank Rock

Now 29, Young combines a disarming, girl-next-door earthiness with energetic, upbeat dance music. Read More

The war hawks involved in the battle for the soul – hell, the continued existence – of indie rap could not ask for a clearer distillation of the differing viewpoints and what's at stake in their fight than recent albums by four artists on the frontline. Read More

Here's an interesting interview conducted by CTRL (a Top Man yokey) with Diplo where he reveals he is working with Rolo Tomassi, Sleigh Bells and Lil Jon, his love of metal and the artists that are doing it for him right now. Read More

Amanda Blank is part of a new wave of genre-hopping female rappers who also traffic in the business of party-starting. Read More

If Trullie—disarmingly warm, friendly, and open in conversation—doesn't quite match up in reality with that too-cool-for-school persona, she sure knows how to work it for the cameras. Read More

On CTRL each month a different band edits the MySpace blog then curates a live show. Read More

Kid Sister, aka Melissa Young, runs her finger across a long scar on her elbow. Read More

In late May the old-school hip-hop site Unkut.com put up a post called "The Search for the Biggest Douchebag in Hipster Rap." Site curator Robbie Ettelson defines the hipster-rap scene as a "new wave of 'ironic' rappers who seem hell-bent on achieving new levels of sucking," dismissively calls their style "Party Rocking," and complains about the "gimmicky, calculated vibe" of everything they do. Read More