Passion of The Weiss
Forbes
Prussia, IA, United States
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Past articles by Jeff:
Blue Note Label Boss, Don Was, Is Not Ready To Give Up On Jazz
Max Bell speaks with Blue Note boss Don Was about the challenges of running a jazz label, new models to widen the label's audience, and how he discovered jazz music as a boy. → Read More
How Much A Dollar Cost?: On Prince's "Money Don't Matter 2 Night"
Dean Van Nguyen examines Prince's capitalistic critique, "Money Don't Matter 2 Nite," on the song's 25th anniversary. → Read More
The Only "Coachella Survival Guide" You'll Ever Need
Tip No. 1: If you’re wondering whether that’s Chloë Sevigny, it’s always Chloë Sevigny. → Read More
Samiyam's Gritty New Album Animals Have Feelings Is the Soundtrack to a Vanishing Venice
The hip-hop producer's latest Stones Throw collection captures those dirty corners that gentrification can’t sweep away. → Read More
Lounge Act Legends Marty and Elayne Celebrate 35 Years of Jazzing Up the Dresden Room
For a city with a million entertainment options, the L.A. tourist checklist can be streamlined with relative ease. There’s Griffith Park and the Observatory; your preferred beach and favorite taco spot; the Getty Museum or Villa; and a trip to the Dresden Room to sip a Blood & Sand and... → Read More
Metta World Peace Grew Up Around Hip-Hop Greats — Now He Wants to Be One
The realest moment in NBA postgame memory occurred after the Lakers won the 2010 championship. As Craig Sager interviewed Metta World Peace (né Ron Artest) about his clutch fourth-quarter play, the Lakers forward abruptly shouted, “Queensbridge in the building.” Then he made the salmon-suited Sager emphatically blurt, “Queensbridge!” Many viewers... → Read More
Who Killed 2Pac and Biggie? A New Documentary May Have the Answer
I have dozens of questions for former LAPD homicide detective Greg Kading, but only one really matters. “How sure are you about your theory of who killed Biggie and ’Pac?” “One hundred percent,” responds the lead investigator behind the task force commissioned by the city of L.A. to unravel the... → Read More
A Decade After "Crank That," Soulja Boy Is More Influential Than You Think
Soulja Boy is somehow only 25. That’s barely old enough to rent a Bentley, but he’s been driving them since he had a license. It’s been nine years since “Crank That” created the template for DIY Internet rap stardom and the modern viral dance phenomenon. That’s the distance between the... → Read More
20 Years After Its Release, 2Pac's All Eyez on Me Remains West Coast Hip-Hop Gospel
All Eyez on Me was our bible. That’s usually an overwrought cliché, but in this instance, it’s the only appropriate analogy. If you were a West Coast teenager in the 1990s, you illegally procured Thug Passion, memorized 2Pac’s blueprint to moneymaking and knew how to properly explain the differences between... → Read More
Kanye West Just Called DJ Dodger Stadium Up to the Big Leagues
The request was so weird that it had to be true. About a month ago, the social media pages of DJ Dodger Stadium and their management blew up. Kanye West wanted to see them immediately. Could the dance-music duo come to his home studio in Calabasas? They said “Yes” faster... → Read More
A Grammy Win for Kendrick Lamar Would Be a Win for All of Hip-Hop
The Grammys have misused their influence for three straight decades. Outside of flat earth society champions, no collective body has been so consistently incorrect. The Recording Academy didn’t recognize hip-hop as a worthy album art form until 1996. Young MC, Arrested Development and Iggy Azalea own statuettes, but Nas, 2Pac,... → Read More
To See L.A.'s Best Hip-Hop Shows, You'll Have to Drive to the Observatory in Orange County
Santa Ana will never be mistaken for southwest Atlanta, but tonight is as close as it’ll ever get. On a cold Thursday in January, a rowdy, all-ages mob of a thousand Orange County kids chants, bounces, sweats and yelps the most popular hooks and deep cuts of ATLien anti-gravity agent... → Read More
Why Roy Choi Is Your Favorite Rapper's Favorite Chef
At all of Roy Choi's restaurants, including the just-opened LocoL, the soundtrack is almost as important as the food. → Read More
King Lil G, Descendant of Zapata, Is Leading His Own Hip-Hop Revolution
If you want to understand King Lil G, start with Emiliano Zapata. According to family lore, L.A.’s most popular Latino rapper since Cypress Hill descends from the famed Mexican revolutionary. With mild imagination, it’s easy to draw parallels between the iconic advocate for the dispossessed and the socially conscious people’s... → Read More
The Not-So-Hateful Eight: Quentin Tarantino's Eight Greatest Music Cues
Near the start of Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, you’re reminded why he’s Quentin Tarantino. It’s not via violent shootout or gorgeous tracking shot across fresh snow but rather the brutal artfulness with which he uses music. The filmmaker sets a grotesque beating to “Apple Blossom,” a bittersweet marriage proposal... → Read More
Why N.W.A's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Matters
Pick the one that doesn’t belong: Chicago, Deep Purple, Cheap Trick, Steve Miller Band, N.W.A. Save for Steve Miller and Eazy-E’s shared affinity for midnight toking, it’s obvious that the Compton gangsta-rap pioneers are outliers in this year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class. Just contrast them with their... → Read More
Thanks to Brainfeeder Releases Like Kneedelus, West Coast Jazz Is Cool Again
The Daedelus/Kneebody collaboration caps off an amazing year for innovative jazz in Los Angeles. → Read More
Jeff Weiss' Best L.A. Albums of 2015, in Haiku Form (Part Two)
Nostalgia is the easiest crutch. No matter your decade of birth, it’s scientifically proven that the best music coincided with your high school years. You might convincingly argue that the golden ages of hip-hop, funk, jazz and soul are behind us. But years like 2015 allow you to make the... → Read More
How Logic Scored a No. 1 Rap Album Without Any Hits
It’s rare to watch someone’s dreams unfold in real time. At his six-bedroom, seven-figure estate in the Tarzana hills, Logic reels from news he received earlier this morning. Projected sales for his sophomore album, The Incredible True Story, are 135,000 units, giving him his first No. 1 on the Billboard... → Read More
Why Country Singer Sam Morrow Chose L.A. Over Nashville
"I used be one of those people who would say, ‘Anything but country,’ when someone would ask, ‘What do you listen to?’” Sam Morrow says this sheepishly, wearing a denim jacket and old-style cowboy hat — guitar just a few feet away. It’s several hours before he plays the Honkytonk... → Read More