Arizona

Meet 9 Arizona hip-hop artists anointed as essential by Bandcamp

Published

1 year ago

August 23, 2024

Meet 9 Arizona hip-hop artists anointed as essential by Bandcamp

The music streaming platform Bandcamp has posted a story headlined “Desert Heat: Diving Into the Arizona Hip-Hop Scene.”

It begins with a shout-out to two local hip-hop veterans.

“The Copper State’s never really had a national breakout star,” Dash Lewis writes, “though Shug, an emcee signed to Def Jam in the 1990s, and Willie Northpole, who signed with Disturbing Tha Peace in 2007, both came close.”

The writer says Murkemz, “a charismatic young rapper from Phoenix with a dazzling smile and an animated voice, currently seems poised to garner a mainstream audience, thanks to the virality of his recent track ‘We Outside’ and an impressive appearance on Sway’s Universe.”

The story notes that Injury Reserve and Mega Ran have both amassed “substantial underground followings and positive critical reception, frequently packing mid-size venues around the country.”

For those tapped into Arizona hip-hop, Lewis argues, there’s “plenty of reason to be proud and passionate.”

The story then goes on to shine a spotlight on nine Arizona records well worth tracking down.

Lando Chill & The Lasso, ‘māyā. maia. Mayu’

Lando Chill & The Lasso’s second collaboration is hailed as “a beguiling slab of hip-hop, psych-funk and R&B,” “an excellent example of the spacious ‘Arizona sound’” and “an effortlessly listenable, rapturous EP that seeps through the speakers like an essential oil diffuser, offering a pleasant, exceptionally vibey 20 minutes.”

Psypiritual & Apetight, ‘Free God’

The writer explains that “Free God” is, in part, the result of the producer coming back from a trip to Japan with an array of obscure Japanese funk, jazz and pop records, which he “chopped, looped and warped” into “a trove of woozy, heat-dizzy beats” in Phoenix, sending the results to Tucson rapper Psypiritual.

“The resulting record,” Lewis writes, “is beautiful — breezy, bright, and as gently psychedelic as an Arizona sunrise” with lyrics that “examine heady topics like self-doubt, often disappearing into billowing clouds of weed smoke to escape the day-to-day challenges of existence.”

REY & DVOID, ‘Chipped Painted Pictures’

This one is hailed as “a great entry point to the highly talented, dizzyingly prolific TWELVOTWO collective,” “a real sonic feast” and “a deeply rewarding album” whose “trippy, three-dimensional beats are thick and drone-y, slowly uncurling like a snake on a warm rock, while REY raps in dense, elastic paragraphs.”

Injury Reserve, ‘Floss’

This entry begins with “No list of Arizona hip-hop albums is complete without at least one Injury Reserve record,” which is true. He chose “Floss,” Lewis writes, because it’s such a perfect introduction for the uninitiated, one that “perfectly showcases a group in the midst of a transformation, moving away from the Neptunes-indebted club bangers they started with to a more jittery punk energy, foreshadowing the all-out destruction they’d achieve with 2021’s ‘By The Time I Get To Phoenix.’”

RiTchie, ‘Triple Digits’

RiTchie with a T of Injury Reserve recorded “Triple Digits” as a solo record after the untimely death of Steppa J. Groggs while the future of the group was still uncertain. Lewis calls it “delightfully weird” while noting that “instead of the airiness present in so much Arizona rap, ‘Triple Digits’ is soupy, every sound slowly melting under the punishing desert sun.”

He also writes of RiTchie rapping with “a desperate, exasperated groan, as if the oasis within view keeps moving back a few feet.”

Halal Boys, ‘Black Blues Brothers’

Halal Boys’ second album, Lewis writes, “might be one of the oddest, funnest entries on this list,” noting that “the duo favors simple, hypnotic production untethered to a genre, but it all works — the bubbly synth-bap of ‘2 Days Before Juneteenth’ sits comfortably next to the churning flute trap of ‘FatLips.’”

Maze Overlay, ‘AZTECAZ’

Lewis calls this one “a shining star” in the north Phoenix rapper’s “vast body of work” spanning nearly two decades. He also says the record “leans into the trudging boom bap commonly associated with the Umbrella Collective and the Lynn, Massachusetts, scene (Maze frequently works with members of both), but with an Arizonan aesthetic.”

It’s also what Lewis describes as “a celebration of Arizona, packed with references to desert ecology, vision quests to the vortexes in Sedona and the cleansing rains of monsoon season.”

Grim Moses, ‘Skeletor’

Lewis writes that “much like frequent collaborator Maze Overlay, Grim Moses traffics in cerebral street rap… spitting hard-nosed raps over dusty, greyscale beats” while “rapping in a cold monotone that feels like holding eye contact for too long.” The album’s “heavy vibe,” he writes, “sounds almost post-apocalyptic, recasting the arid Sonoran Desert as a frozen tundra.”

Cash Lanksy, ‘Man of the House’

This Tucson rapper’s debut was singled out as “a grown, soulful take on the Arizona sound, much more indebted to the region’s reverence for lowrider oldies” with songs that “seem built for when the car show or park hang winds down, when brown liquor splashes into cups and lawn chairs sag with the weight of years.” It’s a “meditation on aging,” Lewis writes, “reaching back into his memories to assess the arc of his life so far” at times while offering “a stark take on existentialism, acknowledging that each choice one makes is a fork in the road.”

Ed has covered pop music for The Republic since 2007, reviewing festivals and concerts, interviewing legends, covering the local scene and more. He did the same in Pittsburgh for more than a decade. Follow him on X and Instagram @edmasley and on Facebook as Ed Masley. Email him at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com.

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Arizona

Arizona, career nights from Burries, Krivas beat K-State

Published

12 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Arizona, career nights from Burries, Krivas beat K-State

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Brayden Burries scored 28 points, Motiejus Krivas added a career-high 25 and No. 1 Arizona remained unbeaten with a 101-76 win over Kansas State on Wednesday night.

Arizona (15-0, 2-0 Big 12) is off to its best start since winning the first 21 games of the 2013-14 season. Arizona won by at least 18 points for the 10th consecutive game, matching a mark Michigan had earlier this season that tied for the longest such run since 2003-04.

Burries had his fifth 20-point game and matched his career high by going 12 for 16 from the field while adding nine rebounds. It was his 10th straight game in double figures, including at least 20 points in five of those, after just one over his first five.

Krivas was 7 of 10, making 11 of 13 free throws, and had 12 rebounds.

Koa Peat had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Tobe Awaka added nine and 11 as Arizona outrebounded Kansas State 55-32. Arizona shot 49.3% from the field but was just 3 of 16 from 3-point range.

Kansas State (9-6, 0-2) went 8 for 36 from deep and shot 33.8% overall. PJ Haggerty led the way with 19 points on 8-of-20 shooting, while Nate Johnson added 15 and Dorin Buca 12.

Down 15 at the half, Kansas State pulled within 58-49 with 16:09 left on a 3-pointer by Johnson. Arizona responded with a 6-0 run and kept the margin at least 12 the rest of the way. Back-to-back dunks by Burries and Peat and a corner 3-pointer by Jaden Bradley keyed a 13-0 run to put Arizona ahead 92-65 with 3:31 remaining.

It built a 10-point lead less than six minutes into the game and upped it to 20 with 2:52 left in the first half. Burries had 16 before halftime.

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Arizona

Arizona HS football’s No. 1 2027 prospect has ASU, Miami high on list

Published

24 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

Arizona HS football’s No. 1 2027 prospect has ASU, Miami high on list

Hildebrand is ranked as the No. 13 overall offensive tackle in the nation for the 2027 class by 247Sports.
Arizona State, Miami, Alabama, Texas A&M and USC are among his current favorites.
The 6-foot-6 left tackle has started every varsity game since his freshman year at Chandler Basha.

Chandler Basha left tackle Jake Hildebrand, the state’s No. 1 2027 college football prospect, said Arizona State and Miami are among the top potential schools on his recently revealed 10-best list.

Miami is playing in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff semifinal against Ole Miss at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Jan. 8.

Hildebrand, 6-foot-6, 293 pounds, has started every varsity game since his freshman year and helped lead the Bears to the Open Division state title this past season. He won’t be able to attend the Fiesta Bowl because he’s in San Antonio, getting ready to play in the Jan. 10 Navy All-American Bowl. The game airs at 11 a.m. MST on NBC.

Hildebrand also has CFP semifinalists Indiana and Oregon, along with Texas A&M, Alabama, USC, Ohio State and Texas among his top 10 colleges.

“A few schools that are my favorite from the top 10 are ASU, Alabama, Texas A&M, Miami and USC,” Hildebrand said in a direct message to The Arizona Republic. “They have definitely been the schools that have been contacting me the most and built the best relationship with.”

There is no timetable for when Hildebrand will commit. He could wait until he makes trips this spring, summer and fall. But he is among the most coveted left tackles in the country, who has 38 offers, according to 247Sports.

The 247Sports Composite has Hildebrand ranked as the No. 13 overall offensive tackle in the country in the 2027 class. He is ranked No. 1 in the class of 2027 by The Republic.

Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don’t miss a thing. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert

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Future of Arizona’s Oak Flat faces pivotal day in Phoenix courtroom

Published

1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

Future of Arizona’s Oak Flat faces pivotal day in Phoenix courtroom

Three lawsuits are before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to prevent the U.S. Forest Service from transferring Oak Flat to a mining company.
The site, sacred to Apache and other Native peoples, would be destroyed by a proposed copper mine by Resolution Copper.
The land exchange was authorized in 2014 through a last-minute addition to a defense bill, sparking a decade-long battle.

Three lawsuits aiming to keep the U.S. Forest Service from turning over Oak Flat to a mining company for a massive copper mine go in front of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for arguments Jan. 7.

The British-Australian firm Resolution Copper has long sought the exchange to build a mine that bodes to obliterate a site Apaches and other Native peoples hold sacred. It also is one of Arizona’s few functional wetlands.

Two lawsuits filed by the San Carlos Apache Tribe and a coalition of environmentalists and the Inter Tribal Association of Arizona challenged the land exchange, authorized by a last-minute amendment to a “must-pass” defense bill in December 2014. The arguments in the lawsuits are based on the tribe’s religious beliefs and on environmental concerns, including disputes over water usage and possible damage of one of central Arizona’s key aquifers.

In the third suit, the latest to be filed, a group of Apache women who have spiritual and cultural connections to the site argue that the exchange would violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the First Amendment’s religious rights protections and two environmental laws.

Their lawsuit also brought two new factors into play: a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that affirms parental rights to direct their children’s religious education and references to Justice Neil Gorsuch’s blistering dissent to the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear another case related to the land exchange.

A three-judge panel will hear the cases at the Sandra Day O’Connor U.S. Courthouse in Phoenix.

Religious rights advocates and First Amendment experts have said the ability of Native peoples to exercise their religious rights is at stake.

Oak Flat story: As an Apache girl enters womanhood, lawsuits and tariffs cast shadows

The struggle over Oak Flat nears 30-year mark

For more than two decades, Oak Flat Campground, known to Apaches as Chi’chil Biłdagoteel, “the place where the Emory oak grows,” has been ground zero in a battle over Native religious rights on public lands as well as environmental preservation for a scarce Arizona ecosystem.

The 2,200-acre primitive campground and riparian zone, within the Tonto National Forest about 60 miles east of Phoenix, also lies over one of the nation’s largest remaining bodies of copper ore.

To obtain the copper, Resolution, which is owned by multinational firms Rio Tinto and BHP, plans to use a method known as block cave mining in which tunnels are drilled beneath the ore body, and then collapsed, leaving the ore to be moved to a crushing facility.

Eventually, the ground would subside, leaving behind a crater about 1,000 feet deep and nearly 2 miles across, obliterating Oak Flat.

Resolution Copper, a British-Australian mining firm, sought Congressional approval to exchange other parcels of land it had purchased with the U.S. Forest Service for nearly 10 years when the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and other officials engineered a late-night rider to a must-pass defense bill in December 2014. Then-President Barack Obama signed the bill and ever since, tribes, environmentalists and their allies have fought to stop the exchange.

Resolution has said that the mine would bring much-needed jobs and revenues to the economically challenged Copper Triangle to the tune of about $1 billion a year. The company has provided funding to support recovery from the floods that devastated downtown Globe in October and has supported other community organizations.

In November, Resolution announced it had completed rehabilitation of the historic No. 9 shaft at the Magma minehead, including deepening it to nearly 6,900 feet and connecting it to the No. 10 shaft, which plunges about 6,940 feet below the surface.

Vicky Peacey, president and general manager of Resolution, said the shaft project was a huge milestone, employing homegrown talent from surrounding communities to get the job done.

Despite the ongoing litigation, she said, “We are ready to advance this important copper project, enabling thousands of high-paying jobs, billions in economic development for rural Arizona, and access to a domestic supply of copper essential to American security and modern infrastructure.”

Grassroots group Apache Stronghold, led by former San Carlos Apache Tribal Chairman Wendsler Nosie, filed the first lawsuit to stop the exchange. That litigation was declined twice by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2025, but Apache Stronghold continues to fight the land exchange as the group supports the other three lawsuits.

Debra Krol reports on Indigenous communities at the confluence of climate, culture and commerce in Arizona and the Intermountain West. Reach Krol at debra.krol@azcentral.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @debkrol and on Bluesky at @debkrol.bsky.social.

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