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LOCAL LOVE CORNER This Week: Omaha, Nebraska The Evolution of Buck Bowen By Kyle Eustice For five years, Buck Bowen was a constant fixture on Omaha’s hip-hop “scene,” but all of a sudden, he bowed out of all his responsibilities and took off. He sold his car and his possessions then simply vanished. Turns out, Bowen was on a sort of self-imposed exile from America and globetrotting around Mexico, El Salvador and Costa Rica. At this point, he had already become disenchanted with hip-hop and essentially, anything having to do with it. After a year south of the border, Bowen settled in Long Beach, California. It was here that he finally felt he was able to come out from behind the mask he’d been wearing in Omaha for so long. He was free to be himself. I remember an arrogant

Aesop Rock is now back on track to resume his tour, which was postponed after he broke one of his ribs. Rob Sonic, DJ Big Wiz and Busdriver will all provide support during the tour, which includes two dates at Coachella on April 12th and 19th.   Check out the official tour dates below: Feb 6- Baltimore MD- Soundstage
 Feb 8- Philadelphia PA- Union Transfer
 Feb 9- NYC- Irving Plaza
 Feb 11- New Haven CT- Toad’s Place 
Feb 12- Boston MA- Paradise 
Feb 13- Pawtucket RI- the Met
 Feb 15- Burlington VT- Higher Ground 
Feb 16- North Hampton MA- Pearl Street 
Feb 18- Cleveland Heights OH- Grog Shop
 Feb 19- Columbus OH- A&R Music Bar
 Feb 20- Newport KY- Thompson House 
Mar 1-Minneapolis MN – First Aven

THE LOCAL LOVE CORNER
 Shining Some Light on the Nation's Up and Coming Emcees WAKE SELF of Albuquerque, New Mexico Andy "Wake Self" Martinez has been instrumental in expanding Albuquerque's local hip-hop scene for years now. From his project with Zoology to his recent solo efforts, his concentration on the hip-hop community has been intense. His time to shine has arrived and it's no coincidence his first video off of his new upcoming album, Healing Process, is for the track, "Sunshine." The positivity he radiates is infectious and he's got the skills to prove it. Martinez took a second to talk to RAPstation about Gang Starr, the first time he heard A Tribe Called Quest and his healing process. –Kyle Eustice There are so many "rappers" these days. What sets y

2013 Winter NAMM Show and Music Production's Hottest Products for the upcoming year By Paul Cortez for RAPstation.com The 2013 Winter NAMM Show has officially ended, but, as always, left us wanting more. Rather than just focusing on the free key chains, there are guest lectures and appearances, music education sessions, and after parties (with a particular special appearance by Stevie Wonder, who couldn't help but jump on stage and show us why we write about him on history books). This year, we have concentrated on the highlights of the show that will help you kick off the year with an eye on the upcoming products to make your music the freshest sound, whether beginner or professional. Not to mention, new toys for your studio make you feel like it's Christmas all over again. For

Los Angeles emcee Blu's oft-delayed masterpiece has been the talk of the internet for years, but has never seen a proper retail release. Now, the album (which includes production from Flying Lotus, Exile, Shafiq Husayn of Sa Ra, Daedalus, Dibia$e, and Samiyam) will be released in deluxe CD and vinyl editions, available on March 26th, 2013. CD includes 12-page booklet plus an exclusive poster, and the vinyl comes in a limited-edition four-LP set with three non-CD bonus tracks. All pre-orders include instant free download. Please visit https://store.nature-sounds.net/store/bluyork/ to pre-order the album and check out the official tracklist below. 1. Doin Nothin (ft. U-God) (prod. Flying Lotus) 2. Everything's OK (ft. Jack Davey) (prod. Flying Lotus) 3. Everybody Nose (ft. S

It's been over a decade since Demigodz took the Hip-Hop world by storm with the release of there Godz Must Be Crazy EP in 2002. That EP resulted in the group being courted by a slew of major labels and would eventually result in Apathy inking a solo-deal with Atlantic Records. While signing to Atlantic as a solo artist may have seemed like a bad deal for group, Apathy readily assures it only strengthened the Demigodz' relationship. "I know people would probably assume that's wack, but Celph and I were completely fine with it. We're like Redman and Method Man, or Ghost and Rae, we're partners no matter what. Celph was worked into the contract and was happy, because he didn't really wanna make that jump yet, but we do stuff regardless, so it was a perfect scenario," says Apathy. In the r