Shad's music contains a secret weapon as unlikely as his upbringing: heart. The rapper, who was born in Kenya and raised in Ontario, might never have had the chance to turn his hobby into a career if not for a talent competition held by a local radio station. Winning the competition allowed Shad to record a debut album in 2005 and since then, he has recorded three more full-length albums and won Rap Recording of the Year at the 2011 Juno Awards, beating out Drake.
If you're not familiar with the 1988 album Vivid by Living Colour, you're either a hermit living in the wilds of Appalachia, or simply too young to remember. Vivid not only hit No. 6 on the Billboard 200 that year, it also went double platinum.
Since 1999, Killswitch Engage has been widely recognized as one of the bands that helped propel metalcore into the mainstream with its 2002 album, Alive or Just Breathing. That very same year, however, lead vocalist Jesse Leach decided to part ways with the group rather unexpectedly, leaving the rest of the band scratching their heads.
If you want to break out, you have to hustle, at least according to hip-hop artist Grieves. Before signing with independent hip-hop label Rhymesayers Entertainment in 2010, Grieves (real name Benjamin Laub) was simultaneously writing new music, playing gigs and trying to get his material heard by as many people as possible.
We haven't heard much from Cymbals Eat Guitars, the NYC-based indie rock outfit responsible for 2009's Why There Are Mountains and the 2011 follow-up Lenses Alien. What's a young band to do after getting stamped with a "Best New Music" label by the hype machines? For CEG, personnel changes and relocating back to Brooklyn have kept the group busy and given them something of a new look.
If you keep your ear to the local music scene, you are probably already aware of Grand Rapids hip-hop artist Rick Chyme.
If you are not, this is him in a nutshell: A crazy talented artist; long beard; says "5iveit" a lot. So, what does "5iveit" even mean? Chyme's got your answer
Days and nights filled with art and music. What more could a child want? Oh, some early holiday festivities with good old Santa. It's never too soon to start sucking up...
Indie rock band Born Ruffians will play in Grand Rapids for the first time during its upcoming fall tour.
For his latest album, Holding My Breath, singer-songwriter and pianist Jon McLaughlin signed a campaign with PledgeMusic. A crowdfunding source similar to Kickstarter or Indiegogo, PledgeMusic is strictly for musicians with notable users such as The Lumineers, Luke Bryan and Gang of Four.
The excitement of a new album for fans also shakes with a dose of nerves. With the music industry continually changing and many musicians conforming, the worst fear for fans is the album will drop with a sound of unrecognizable content.
Fans of The Chariot will have one last chance to see the band live on its upcoming farewell tour, celebrating the end of 10 years as a band. The Atlanta-based act will play its final Michigan show in Grand Rapids late this October at The Pyramid Scheme.
These days, Mustache-themed merchandise, events and everything else that pays homage to the upper-lip surprise is considered a tad cliche.
However, among this throng of mustache pop culture is one man that could be considered an original mustache connoisseur and he tailored a local music showcase around a mustache theme five years ago.
Through a smoky haze, endless microbrews and foot-long hair, so rises the sludge metal trio Mountain Goat.
Seattle-based outfit Minus the Bear is a band that revels in musical experimentation and employing a diverse set of techniques to acquire its signature catchy indie mathrock sound. Vocalist Jake Snider attributes the band's openness to new sounds to a rather laid-back approach to songwriting.
