Music writing

I recently became aware that many of these links are no longer active due to a web redesign at the New Haven Advocate. I will upload hard copies at a later date. Apologies for the inconvenience!

Vivian Nereim

Nas: "Untitled" (Def Jam)
Post-Gazette - July 17, 2008
For those of us who spent the past year of hip-hop releases beating our heads against the wall and cursing Soulja Boy, the release of Nas's ninth studio album is long-awaited.

Major League: Breaking through in New Haven's small, cut-throat hip-hop scene
New Haven Advocate - Sept. 25, 2008
Let's put it this way: A.B., one half of the local hip-hop duo Northern League, knows how to work people. Our waiter never stood a chance.

Sir Mix-a-Lot: Girl Talk melds the top 40 hits you'd never dance to on their own
New Haven Advocate - April 24, 2008
Girl Talk is the most appropriate anthem for the attention-deficit-addled music consciousness of my generation, split open in digital form. Reference is our way of life. And who's to say collage is not a worthwhile creative pursuit?

Concert Preview: Voxx bears the mark of a gritty rapper
Post-Gazette - July 03, 2008
In person, Damien Voxx is a walking stereotype; he "cannot confirm or deny" if Voxx is his real name, and he wore sunglasses during an entire recent (indoor) interview.
Similarly, after a once-over, it would be easy to write off "Speakaz Don't Lie" as a solid if unimaginative effort with overly repetitive hooks: See "Yeah yeah, [expletive] him cuz he's not real/Yeah yeah, [expletive] her cuz she's not real/Yeah yeah, [expletive] them cuz they ain't real," from the eponymously titled "They Ain't Real."
Neither that first impression nor that first listen does Voxx justice, though. Peel back the layers --  you'll be surprised.

Money and Soul: The Wu-Tang Clan at Toad's Place
New Haven Advocate - Dec. 18, 2008
Much like a married couple that harbors too many grudges to count but stays together to save on taxes, the bloated array of artists who fall under the Wu-Tang umbrella are a family in the truest sense of the word: They can’t agree on anything.

Supernatural Flow: Modifi Sci brings the noise to the paranormal, and makes it rhyme
New Haven Advociate - April 14, 2009
Modifi Sci builds on an established tradition of horror rap (think Insane Clown Posse), but they've uprooted the concept and dragged it even deeper into the mist.