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CHRIS FARAONE

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Random Axe | Random Axe

Duck Down (2011)
It's no wonder that it takes a 10-ton Uzi to get rap fans psyched about posse cuts these days.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | July 12, 2011

Phyllis Karas finds Whitey

Good timing
Good timing

By: CHRIS FARAONE | July 05, 2011

Vast Aire | OX 2010: A Street Odyssey

Man Bites Dog (2011)
Although it's an imperfect effort in some regards, the somewhat conceptual OX 2010: A Street Odyssey testifies to Vast's highly developed steez, and does so with complements from MCs who effortlessly jibe with his arcane rhyme selections.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | June 29, 2011

In a rundown office, two watchdogs struggle to keep an eye on $2.4 Billion

City sticklers
Steps inside the entrance of 152 North Street, exposed electrical boxes dangle out of a demolished drop ceiling. Dust fills the light beams bouncing through the hallways. There's a layer of gray soot fused into the tiles of the bathroom.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | June 22, 2011

Hickey's Current event

Tinseltownie Dept.
Four months ago, the Boston Phoenix published an exclusive story about Charlestown native Johnny Hickey, and his metamorphosis from Oxycontin bandit, to undercover anti-drug agent, to aspiring filmmaker. In the time since, his feature-length hometown tragedy, Oxy Morons, had a successful two-month test screening at Showcase Cinemas in Revere, where it placed second in the theater's box-office sales in its first week of showing.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | June 21, 2011

Telling the story of comedic genius Bill Hicks

Wild ride
Some people throw parades for firemen. Others wave flags at Marines: "Thank you for your service." But for those of us who live to subvert authority — and who have sensed a strange hilarity emanating from this shitty planet since before puberty — the late comedian extraordinaire Bill Hicks is the quintessential American icon.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | June 09, 2011

With Boston Ruit, beer pong gets ready for its close-up

Pong stars
Mikey Connors of Peabody growls at his opponents from across the folding table. Whipping the crowd into hysterics, the beer-pong heavyweight steps back from the edge and starts to kick his heels up like a bull about to charge.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | June 08, 2011

Akrobatik: down but not out

The beat goes on
It's hard to evaluate life-threatening illnesses if you skipped med school to kick rhymes.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | June 08, 2011

Our guide to the great outdoors

Patios patois
We picked five neighborhoods and visited two patios in each that highlighted the scene contrasts in those communities.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | June 09, 2011

Digital Death

Where does your data go when you die?
I don't plan to live past 50. If I keep this pedal pinned to the floor, even that might be pushing it. Death is something that I ponder daily, usually between my morning blunt and Burger King breakfast run.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | June 01, 2011

Quiet D silenced?

Desperate times dept.
Boston bohemians and other fans of quirky television have new reason to hate conservatives.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | June 06, 2011

With Big Bang Records, Natural Born Spitters and Virtuoso create a unified front

Common theory
For the past decade or so, there have essentially been two Greater Boston hip-hop scenes — one for which the audience is black, and one for which the audience is not-so-black.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | May 25, 2011

Open for change

Don't quote me
Last Saturday's first flash of dry weather in a week didn't stop dozens of Boston activists from holing up in a Chinatown loft, and plotting to protect citizens from Clear Channel, FCC oppressors, and other threats to an open, fair, and honest media.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | May 26, 2011

Storming New York with Harold Camping's Rapture warriors

There were nine days left
I'm riding shotgun through Times Square in a flatbed truck draped with placards, advertising the impending End of Days: HAVE YOU HEARD THE AWESOME NEWS?

By: CHRIS FARAONE | May 19, 2011

Radio clowns

How freeform Internet radio is giving voice to the strange, the crass, and the stoned
A hooker, an axe murderer, two white supremacists, and a little girl with pigtails are discussing their differences on air.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | May 12, 2011

Saying farewell to The Office's Michael Scott

Human resources
I've been Dunder Mifflin's in-house cameraman for about seven years, during which time I have followed Michael Scott around his office and his world and, occasionally, to the restroom.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | May 10, 2011

Classified | Hand Shakes and Middle Fingers

Decon (2011)
Classified is to Canada what Jay-Z is to the States in that both are pre-eminent rappers in their respective countries.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | May 12, 2011

Odd Future blew up out of nowhere. But they didn't do it alone.

Making the brand
By now you've heard about how post-this, uber-that, and pre-apocalyptically radical the Los Angeles collective Odd Future is. Or maybe your little sis came home with ringleader Tyler the Creator's tag tatted on her teenage ta-ta's.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | May 12, 2011

Odd Future blew up out of nowhere. But they didn't do it alone.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | May 09, 2011

Zion I & the Grouch | Heroes In the Healing of the Nation

Z&G Music (2011)
The only category Bay Area MCs Zumbi (of Zion I) and the Grouch (of Living Legends) squeeze neatly into is "Decisively West Coast," what with their nonchalant pre-swagger and hella dope lingo.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | May 06, 2011

upcoming concert with Homeboy Sandman at the Middle East

Homeboy Sandman rises through the hip-hop ranks

Enter MC
I knew within one minute of watching Homeboy Sandman that he would eventually command a top spot in hip-hop. It was about three years ago at the Bowery Poetry Club, and I was riding out my annual pre-Christmas mushroom bender and hip-hop scouting trip to New York City.

By: CHRIS FARAONE | April 28, 2011

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