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Rick Ross—Mastermind

Record Routine: Rick Ross invited too many friends on new album

Rick Ross’ most recent addition to his canon, Mastermind, is a continuation of his 2009 release, Deeper Than Rap. Here, however, instead of retreading former grounds, Ross expands his expertise in the hip-hop world.

Action Project: First Wave offers culture, community

Most people have little or no exposure to spoken word. Maybe a YouTube video posted to a friend’s Facebook wall or a clip from HBO’s “Def Poetry.” MTV doesn’t carve out a ton of time for it and you’re not going to hear it on mainstream radio. Spoken word is rap music without the frills, and people love their frills. But take out the cars and chains, cut the beats and fame, and spoken word is what you’re left with. Rhythmic poetry. A landscape of words crafted to flow smoothly so that background music isn’t necessary or even wanted. The University of Wisconsin-Madison instituted a program in fall of 2007 to foster this art form and give interested students an opportunity to get involved.

Record Routine: Debut EP fails to revitalize synth pop music

Evan Ønly’s attempt to recreate 1980s era synth pop is messy at best. When it comes down to it, his debut EP, No Matter What, is an unoriginal and exhausting listen. Upon initially hitting ‘play,’ I thought I had accidentally stumbled across a Rick Astley album, and the second time listening through the six-track EP, I had to pause to give my ears a break.

Milo and company bring aural intensity to the Sett

January ended spectacularly last night with a concert from rapper Milo and DJs FOANS and *hitmayng in the Sett in Union South. *hitmayng, it should be noted, is the moniker of Ian Carroll, a recent UW-Madison graduate whose most recent album is a collaboration with rapper CRASHprez.

Men's Hockey: Badgers get first two Big Ten victories over Penn State at home

Wisconsin (2-2-0 Big Ten, 6-5-1 overall) wanted to prove that they could bounce back after two tough road losses against conference foe Minnesota. When Penn State (0-2-0, 3-9-1) came to the Kohl Center for the second Big Ten matchup in as many weeks, the Badgers were ready to get their message across.

Republican evolution still necessary

Squish! You might remember that sound. That was the sound of the vanquished Republican Party under the feet of Democrats in last year’s general election. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney—a formidable, moderate candidate who ran on the far right to win his party’s nomination lost to President Barack Obama, failing to win nearly all swing states. This, too, was the case in Congress. Democrats won nearly every important seat in the Senate, like that of Sen. Claire McCaskill in Missouri, where her opponent famously asserted women’s uteruses have magical powers to undo the pregnancies of rape. They even reigned in Indiana, a state Gov. Romney won, after Sen. Joe Donnelly’s opponent made similar comments about these pregnancies being “a gift from God.” President Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress trounced their Republican opposition despite the intense winds of the economic downturn blowing against them.

The Record Routine: ‘Shangri La’ slices up a little piece of heaven

Nineteen-year-old Jake Bugg wowed the U.K. with his self-titled debut album in late 2012, but the indie grassroots rocker didn’t have as much success in the U.S. when he released the album here in April 2013. The most publicity he’s gotten in the States has probably been his recent Twitter throw-down with the pop sensation boys of One Direction, where he (being the angsty British punk he is) publicly insulted their musical abilities. They got really upset and he got absolutely butchered by teenage girls and the media. But, despite being number one on U.K. charts and no higher than 75 on the U.S. billboard charts, Jake Bugg decided to make a move to California and record his sophomore album, Shangri La (named after the Malibu studio where it was recorded), with American producer Rick Rubin.

LL Cool J made waves with 'Radio'

Nov. 18, 326: St. Peter’s Basilica (the first one) is consecrated.

Getting funky with Old Gregg

Nov. 11, 1620: The Mayflower Compact is signed.

State Assembly approves package of seven workforce development bills

The state Assembly approved several bills Tuesday aimed at bolstering workforce development and improving students’ skill sets for the future.

2013 Badger football season predictions

Summer is normally a barren wasteland for Badger sports, where fans wait patiently for the first day of football season. With all the recent success on the gridiron, everyone is wondering: How will the Badgers fare this year?

State, UW leaders respond to surplus

The release of a state audit that revealed the University of Wisconsin System held a balance of over $1 billion at the end of June 2012 has prompted discussion among state legislators, system administrators and campus leaders over the role of tuition dollars and cash reserves.

State Assembly passes bill defining additional illegal uses for food stamps

The state Assembly passed a bill Tuesday that further defines illegal uses for food stamps in the state, including selling or exchanging food stamps for money and goods.

UW-Madison students at Boston Marathon safe after two explosions

University of Wisconsin-Madison students who were at the Boston Marathon Monday are confirmed safe after two powerful explosions near the finish line left over 100 injured and three people dead, according to local authorities.

Column: Louisville’s team unity leads to championship

As I contemplated what to write my column about this week, I came to a standstill. Should I write about the mess at Rutgers and the mind-boggling severance package head coach Mike Rice received? Eh, perhaps. What about the allegations regarding the 2010 Auburn national title championship team? No, allegations surrounding championship programs should be old news by now. While I could have torn Rutgers and Auburn a new one, I had the odd urge to be nostalgic and sentimental with my column for the mere reason to shy away from the norm.

Diversity forum

First Wave scholar Dominique Ricks gives a spoken word performance at Monday’s Ethnic Studies Roundtable.

Beef: it’s what’s for Twitter

I’m a proud carnivore: the beef is served on my dinner plate. Slabs of tenderness, doused in grease and love with some sort of potato-based side dish; perhaps a cola, if you will. So pardon my disappointment… but I feel like there’s a shortage of beef in hip-hop right now. We’re getting a little too used to the cloned meat we taste through subliminals in songs. The hors d’oeuvres we scrape up from an empty shot on Twitter or someone straight flexin’ on Instagram leaves me, to simplify, empty.

Football: Late turnover, second-half struggles lead to Badgers' third straight Rose Bowl loss

PASADENA, Calif.—Since Montee Ball announced he would return for his senior season 360 days ago, almost nothing has been predictable for the University of Wisconsin football program. 

Football: Badgers looking to run through Buckeye D-line

Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema looks to remain undefeated in Senior Day games as the Badger head coach while senior running back Montee Ball is looking to move into first place on the all-time touchdowns list Saturday against the Ohio State Buckeyes (6-0 Big Ten, 10-0 overall).