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Music Review: Little Brother

By Benn Wineka | Apr. 21, 2010

On Little Brother’s final LP Leftback, Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh sound defeated, beaten — content with being Interweb royalty at the sacrifice of fame.Stretching what was conceptualized as an EP into a 13 track adieu, the Durham natives lack the gritty, take-on-the-world mentality that won them both acclaim. The shift that began on the group’s third album, its first without former member and producer 9th Wonder, has now been fully realized.

Durham hip-hop duo Little Brother give their best “not giving a damn” for a press shot. Courtesy of Little Brother

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Little Brother: One more last time

By Benn Wineka | Apr. 21, 2010

Little Brother is done. After eight years at the fore of N.C. hip-hop, the Durham duo, Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh, has decided that its new album Leftback will be its last. Before Tuesday’s release, the two talked with Diversions Staff Writer Benn Wineka, weighing in on goodbyes and the state of N.C. hip-hop.

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Music Review: Wu-Massacre

By Benn Wineka | Apr. 7, 2010

The three most talented MCs from the Wu-Tang Clan alone on an album is like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without the crust or starting with dessert. You get directly to the best part of the meal.Masquerading as an LP when it’s really a glorified EP, Wu-Massacre is an updated, albeit stripped-down version of classic Wu-Tang LPs like Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Only 12 tracks and half an hour long, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon and Method Man don’t waste time with half-ass verses and filler skits, save a cameo by Tracy Morgan and an old-school interlude.

Seared Foie-Gras with Quince and Cranberry

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Music Review: Asher Roth

By Benn Wineka | Mar. 31, 2010

On Asher Roth’s 2009 debut, Asleep in the Bread Aisle, the pale and lanky MC set out to do a lot. Between emphatically condoning his approval of university life and preference for Lisa Turtle, Roth eloquently broke into diatribes concerning his similarity to Eminem, the War on Terror and race.

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Music Review: Gorillaz

By Benn Wineka | Mar. 17, 2010

When cartoon group Gorillaz emerged in 2001, it didn’t promise to be more than a temporary distraction, a foray into hip-hop from former Blur frontman Damon Albarn. With a mix of Brit pop, rap and electronic influences, Albarn and his ‘toon troupe delivered an eclectic product, yet the potential had obviously not been realized.Now into the group’s third full-length, Albarn has found a formula that works. The hip-hop aspect is on point with collaborators Mos Def and De La Soul contributing to some of the album’s most potent tracks.

Jessey Dearing

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Operatic puppets prove robots can feel the love

By Benn Wineka | Mar. 3, 2010

The word robot derives from the Czech robota, meaning drudgery and compulsory slave labor. It is now defined as an oft-fictional machine that can perform complex actions but lacks the capacity for human emotions. If this is true, then can someone tell me why the hell dancing automatons are recounting an ancient story of love and sacrifice over at the ArtsCenter? “It’s a new telling of a story of heart and passion, just using the vehicle of robots,” explains Donovan Zimmerman, co-founder of Saxapahaw’s Paperhand Puppet Intervention.

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Music Review: Dessa

By Benn Wineka | Mar. 3, 2010

If there’s one thing that comes to mind right away when listening to Dessa, it’s a comparison to Lauryn Hill.The Minnesotan Doomtree artist is a renaissance woman. Coming from a collective known for its alternative hip-hop predilection by way of founder P.O.S., Dessa adds another stratum to what could otherwise quickly be labeled as self-absorbent heartland heartache.

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Music Review: Neil Diamond

By Benn Wineka | Feb. 17, 2010

Have you ever seen that commercial where the kids don’t recognize their father as he gets a little loose on a cruise ship? I imagine that’s how a lot of college students would feel if they accompanied a parent to a Neil Diamond concert. Diamond doesn’t get much credit from today’s youth, besides maybe being known for a bit role in 2001’s “Saving Silverman.”