 If the team behind Roderick "Dolla" Burton is any indication of a promising music career, the Atlanta rapper is well on his way.
The 20-year-old rapper -- who first caught the attention of rapper/producer Akon in 2000 as part of the rap group the Rascals (Dreamworks) -- last year signed a deal with Jive Records via Akon's Konvict Muzik.
As if Akon's assist wasn't enough, Dolla's entry single, "Who the F*ck Is That," features another big-wig, rapper/harmonizer T-Pain, who is also partially responsible for coming up with the song's concept.
"I'm 20-years-old but I look like I'm 17. So when I go out to the club with Akon and T-Pain, people always ask, 'Who's he?'" explains Dolla about the idea |
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 Bowerbirds were born of the natural surroundings in the rural Carolinas and with song titles like "Bur Oak," "Hooves," "In Our Talons" and "Olive Hearts," the trio wears their organic sound on their (album) sleeves. "A lot of the songs feel more like praise songs to me," frontman Phil Moore says. "Praising what is still wild in and around us."
Serving as a sort of field guide of contemporary folk, Bowerbirds' 2007 album "Hymns for a Dark Horse" is a collection of raw recordings complete with breaths, sticks clicking on drum edges and the sounds of fingers sliding over frets left in the mix. Utilizing a bass drum, tamborine and mallet as the only traditional percussive elements, multi-instrumentalists Mark Paulson and Beth Tacular build their structures inst |
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 TL Cross comes from a musical background that spans back to when his grandfather hosted his own radio show and further extends to his father, aunts and uncles, most of whom were major-label gospel artists and musicians.
Nowadays, the 25-year-old singer/songwriter/producer has successes of his own. His writing credits include "I'll Make It Right" (Usher), "Whereareyougoing" (Musiq Soulchild), "I'll Be Right There" (112) and "Get It On Tonite" (Montell Jordan), which hit No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in 2000. He's produced for such artists as Ghostface Killah ("Never B the Same Again," featuring Carl Thomas) and DMX ("Goodbye") while Yolanda Adams, Donnell Jones and Case are among those who have tapped him as a backing singer. |
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 When Snoop Dogg hit CNN's "Larry King Live" Feb. 1, the segment may have brought into focus all of what's working for the rapper-turned-singer these days.
For starters, there was his burgeoning hit, "Sensual Seduction," playing in the background as Snoop took the talk show host to the Los Angeles hangout Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles. The electro-funk, '80s-influenced song oozed funk—and Snoop's heavily vocoded singing voice—while the rapper enlightened King to the ways of fried chicken and waffles.
The song is shaping into one of the fastest-climbing crossover hits of his career. After just 14 weeks on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart "Seduction" resides at No. 8, and No. 7 on the Hot 100. The song's |
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 "Most bands have to be live bands. That's the nature of the beast these days," says Steve Kille, bassist for Matador rock troupe Dead Meadow. "Record sales aren't the driving source of popularity anymore. Instead, if people wanna go out and are like, 'You wanna see a band that sounds like Led Zeppelin?' or something that's gonna be fun, then they seek that kind of band out."
That's precisely how the Washington, D.C., natives have aggregated their loyal fanbase, though record sales of their fourth full-length, "Old Growth" haven't hurt either: the set came in at No. 26 on the Top Heatseekers chart. Still, the trio's often-intense live set has been their bread and butter, having kept them on the road for hundreds of performances since their inception a decade |
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 If you happen to be in Houston during Karina Nistal's monthly residency at the GRAB (Game Room & Bar), you might learn her signature dance. "Stand straight forward—one step to the right, swing your hips, [step] left, swing your hips, drop," Nistal says of crowd favorite "Trabajalo."
The Spanish track is from the breakbeat/dance/electronic artist's bilingual 2006 debut, "Nistyle," on Houston indie Starlight Beats & Breaks. The dance "is my sales pitch for the CD sometimes," says Nistal, who has performed in Houston for 10 years with the Rebel Crew collective of breakdancers, DJs and musicians. She's earned additional attention from her licensing deal with Dodge; the company loaded up a flash-drive key chain for the Dodge Avenger with her music |
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