Hip Hop

BEIJING - Mongolia's hip-hop scene caught Benj Binks off guard. The young Australian expected the descendants of Genghis Khan to be mostly nomads and herders, cantering over wild, bleak plains. Instead, when he arrived in the country's capital of Ulaanbaatar in 2004 he found nightclubs, graffiti and guys rocking baseball caps and baggy pants. An aspiring filmmaker, Binks' first thought was to make a comedic short, perhaps bringing Sacha Baron Cohen over to do interviews in character as Ali G. But he was soon drawn into this extraordinary community and only emerged six years later, having created "Mongolian Bling," a thoughtful, feature-length documentary, which will be screening at New York's First Time Fest on Sunday and at San Diego's Frequency Film Festival in May. Watching this documentary, it becomes clear that while there is much that is recognizable in Mongolian hip-hop, there are big differences.

The VH1 biopic of platinum-selling girl group TLC is taking shape. Rapper and VMA stage crasher Lil Mama, Keke Palmer and actress-singer Drew Sidora (“The Game”) are set to portray the groundbreaking R&B/hip-hop/pop trio known for its brazen anthems and fiery interpersonal drama. "I would sing 'No Scrubs' over and over again to the point my parents would have to tell me to stop, but I never did, I had my little hairbrush as my mic and nobody could tell me I wasn't the fourth member of TLC," Palmer said in a statement announcing her casting.

Among the most important rap albums released over the last year or so, one contains a song about Nas' complicated relationship with his teenage daughter. Another has a track in which Killer Mike outlines President Reagan's contribution to the prison-industrial complex. A third disc finds Drake pondering the impossibility of real-life romantic connection in the age of the nip-slip Twitpic. The title of Drake's record, which last week won the Grammy Award for rap album? "Take Care.

Food and hip-hop; hip-hop and food: two dissimilar things as intriniscally linked as a combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. Up for a quiz? You can even get busy in a Burger King bathroom. More quizzes from Jonathan Gold:   Feet | French fries  |  Food and punk rock .articlerail, #pmad-rail {display:none;} ALSO: Valentine's Day recipes   Taco Tuesday: The Mysterious Spuderito Counter Intelligence: Le Ka's a bit of this and that, for the beautiful people  

When first generation rapper Doug E. Fresh, former Roots beatmaker Rahzel or "Yo Gabba Gabba" rapper Biz Markie learned to mimic a hip-hop rhythm using only their voices, chances were they had little idea what they were actually doing with their mouths. "Beatboxing,” as it came to be known, includes laryngeal lowering and lingual retraction, labial approximation, velic raising (to seal the nasopharynx off from the oral vocal tract, of course) and rapid raising of the tongue dorsal.

Jurassic 5 called it quits in 2007, and if the hip-hop act's catalog isn't exactly old enough to be found encased in amber, there's been little noise on the group since its breakup. It's OK, for instance, to have been completely surprised to see Jurassic 5 near the top of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival lineup released last week.  The reunion -- or "rebirth" as  DJ Nu-Mark is calling it -- is so new that Jurassic 5 has yet to even rehearse for its dates in the desert city of Indio.

Is José James a jazz singer or a soul singer? Old school or new school? A guardian of tradition or a seeker of thrills? Yes, yes and yes. This 35-year-old vocalist, born in Minneapolis and now based in New York, has spent the last decade working to prove those dichotomies false. He's released a string of impressive, slyly audacious albums that mingle cool supper-club singing and fractured hip-hop beats and has performed with artists ranging from the veteran jazz pianist McCoy Tyner to the hipster electronic whiz Flying Lotus.

Dom Prieto will graduate with a degree in public relations from Cal State Fullerton in May, but that hasn't stopped him from forging his career in advance. Over the last six months he's worked to establish an up-and-coming event production company called BTE, which stands for Beyond Tonight Entertainment. BTE produces a monthly themed party at Pomona's Fox Theater called "College Night. " The parties draw more than 1,000 revelers who relish dressing up according to the given theme and dancing the night away to music Prieto and his team carefully curate.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Doug E. Fresh, 2 Chainz and MC Lyte were among those on hand to be honored at Sunday night's Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball at the Harman Center for the Arts in Washington, D.C. But none let the fact that they were collecting hardware keep them from taking the mike. MC Lyte and Doug E. Fresh -- hip-hop icons both credited with influencing many of the genre's current artists -- showcased their talents while receiving lifetime achievement awards. Stepping back on-stage after her acceptance speech, Lyte flashed a quick smile.

All eyes will be on Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson and James Taylor when they take the stage at Monday's presidential inauguration. But they're far from the only major artists partaking in the festivities. A slew of performing artists will be taking the stage at parties, balls and galas in the nation's capital throughout inauguration weekend. And not just for the official inauguration events. With nearly every venue in Washington hosting multiple events, inauguration weekend has no shortage of music fixes for those craving a good show but not invited to the president's official parties.