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Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

All content by Ali Breland
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Park commercialization needed for economic growth

Ali Breland September 4, 2014

Editor’s Note: Continuing our Friday point/counterpoint series, this week two Plan II students take a look at the recent plans to commercialize green spaces in central Austin. To view the opposing...

Students should take active role in housing discussion

Ali Breland April 8, 2014

On March 31, the new City Council Stealth Dorm ordinances went into effect. As a consequence, for the next two years, the occupancy limit of unrelated individuals in newly built single-family homes in...

UT System should divest from companies supporting genocide in Sudan

Ali Breland March 21, 2014

After 11 years of war, human rights violations and genocide, the conflict in the Sudanese region of Darfur persists. A brief cease-fire brought temporary peace to the area, but 2014 has ushered in a flare-up...

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UT system can do better than Governor Perry’s choice for chancellor

Ali Breland March 6, 2014

On Monday, the Austin American-Statesman reported that Gov. Rick Perry’s choice for UT System chancellor, Kyle Janek, was being considered by the UT System Board of Regents. Janek, who is currently...

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UT alum’s generosity to Junior does nothing for the rest of Austin’s homeless community

Ali Breland February 18, 2014

Last week, UT alumnus Benjamin McPhaul raised roughly $30,000 to get Ishmael Mohammed Jr. — known to many on campus as “The Wendy’s Guy” for the 13 years he spent working at the...

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How decriminalizing marijuana would benefit Texas’ health, equality

Ali Breland February 7, 2014

At The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland two weeks ago, Rick Perry spoke in favor of decriminalizing marijuana, stating, “What I can do as the governor of the second largest state in the...

UTPD’s warrantless access to students’ whereabouts crosses the line

Charlotte McClure and Ali Breland July 31, 2013

In the wake of the recent outcry surrounding the NSA’s constitutionally questionable surveillance activities, UTPD revealed its own policy of ID surveillance. According to UTPD spokeswoman Rhonda...

Why KXBT was a bad buy

Ali Breland October 8, 2012

Last month, the UT System Board of Regents accepted KUT’s proposed $6 million acquisition of KXBT, a radio station that currently plays oldies music. At first glance, the acquisition seems like a...

On-the-rise indie rappers to perform at SXSW

Elijah Watson and Ali Breland March 9, 2012

Outside of Kanye West and Jay-Z, rap can be a foreign genre to even the most diehard indie fanatics at South By Southwest. The genre has managed to become one of the most multifaceted and diverse in music,...

Neiliyo releases bold, lyrically-focused EP

Ali Breland February 14, 2012

If music were represented by places, then Neil Petty, a.k.a. Neiliyo’s, latest EP would be the Montauk Yacht Club meets ’80s South Beach. On Aquinnah, Austin’s self-proclaimed electro-funktionaire...

Tyler, The Creator heralds new incarnation of hip-hop

Ali Breland December 5, 2011

Editor's Note: The Life & Arts senior staff combed through this year's pop culture and selected the artists, albums, books and movements that they think, in one way or another, helped define...

Winter Arts Preview: Music

Editor's note: The following tracks contain explicit lyrics Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa, Mac & Devin Go to High School Released Dec. 13 Hip-hop veteran Snoop Dogg and rising rap superstar...

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis collaborate in sold-out tour

Ali Breland November 29, 2011

Very little music of worth or at least notoriety has come out of Washington since the heyday of Kurt Cobain and grunge music. In the ’90s, Sir Mix-A-Lot managed to move out of the Seattle scene and...

‘Small Demons’ website catalogues details in books

Ali Breland November 17, 2011

The inherent nature of the novel is to exist in a realm beyond reality. As members of reality ourselves, we often try to escape into the highly idealized realm of fiction. Small Demons offers an interesting...

Adidas ‘largest marketing campaign in history’ brand hip-hop

Ali Breland November 16, 2011

Ever since Adidas’ contested and innovative sponsorship of Run DMC in 1986, it has been apparent that the company’s brand is explicitly attempting to permeate hip-hop and urban cultures. The...

Childish Gambino offers off-beat rap album

Ali Breland November 15, 2011

With piercing poignancy and unparalleled punchline delivery, Childish Gambino doesn’t occupy a conventional place in rap. That’s because he isn’t from traditional rap origins. After a...

Detroit band uses music to tackle serious, silly issues

Ali Breland November 9, 2011

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. is fairly unique in that it has managed to create a dreamy pop, alternative sound, vaguely reminiscent of something that’s very west coast, despite it’s Detroit origin. It...

Design work on hold for creative force behind Tycho

Ali Breland November 2, 2011

Tycho’s west coast-inspired electronic music elicits a grainy, almost detailed image of a beach. Sacramento native Scott Hansen, who writes and performs electronic music under the moniker Tycho,...

Bieber surprises with catchy Christmas classic

Ali Breland November 1, 2011

Under The Mistletoe, Justin Bieber’s Christmas album, is first and foremost an attempt to create an exceedingly accessible and marketable Christmas album. Justin Bieber’s music already falls...

Ridiculous questions with Das Racist

Ali Breland October 28, 2011

The words “Das Racist,” devoid of any connotations created by the band, are just perplexing. “Das” is lighthearted slang. The term “racist” is serious. Those things...

Q&A: Carter Tanton starts fresh with latest album

Ali Breland October 25, 2011

Carter Tanton has managed to carve out a unique niche for himself within music. Despite giving off the appearance of a folk, singer-songwriter acoustic type, his music runs the genre gamut. His debut album,...

Kreayshawn represents fundamental shift in hip-hop music

Ali Breland October 20, 2011

“Right now, the highest selling rapper in hip-hop is white. The most discussed up-and-coming rapper is white and female. The most important consumer of rap music is white,” said Phillip T....

Q&A: Research based rapper tours eccentric new album

Ali Breland October 20, 2011

Andy Bothwell, who raps under the moniker Astronautalis, is perhaps the most eccentric and intriguing rapper you’ve ever heard of. Honing his skills as an MC on the Jacksonville, Fla., freestyle...

Q&A: Jamestown Revival describe what folk means to them

Ali Breland October 17, 2011

Austin-founded group Jamestown Revival is on its way to becoming a big deal in music. Since the release of Knives and Pipes, Jamestown’s rise has occurred within a relatively meteoric time frame,...

B L A C K I E strays from original style with more coherent new album

Ali Breland October 13, 2011

After three years, Houston grime-punk rapper, B L A C K I E All Caps, With Spaces is back sporting a fresh hair cut and a fresh album, True Spirit and Not Giving A Fuck. After ditching his signature B...

Rapper Murs seeks to maintain a unique perspective

Ali Breland October 10, 2011

At age 33, underground rapper Murs possesses both the composure and collectedness of a nearly jaded veteran and the vitality of a kid fresh to the expansive world of hip-hop. He has his plate full with...

Tabi Bonney’s latest album keeps lyrics light

Ali Breland October 5, 2011

In terms of intellectual insight and emotional depth, Tabi Bonney’s latest album, Summer Years, is a wasteland devoid of both of those things. Summer Years, for the most part, is just a compilation...

Domo Genesis struggles to find his own sound on mixtape

Ali Breland September 28, 2011

Of the next generation of heavily associated hip-hop stoner acts, Odd Future’s Domo Genesis definitely sits at the top the field. Domo’s peers in the field, Curren$y and Wiz Khalifa, have either...

Large Salvador Dali art collection on display in Austin

Ali Breland September 28, 2011

Austin is home to many artists, including extremely talented ones, so it only makes sense that Austin should house the largest collection of copper etchings created by one of contemporary art’s greatest...

Soulja Boy cranks out new uncharacteristic album

Ali Breland September 22, 2011

The dissonant and awkward style characteristic of Soulja Boy has been met by extremely harsh criticism in hip-hop since the rapper’s breakout hit “Crank Dat.” Album after album, and song...

Das Racist mixes cultural commentary, impressive beats

Ali Breland September 22, 2011

If Odd Future has a competitor for the title of most controversial, angry rap group, it would be Brooklyn-based alternative rap trio Das Racist. Inflammatory to an extreme, in a clever way, Das Racist...

Toro y Moi drops lo-fi album to boister chillwave credentials

Ali Breland September 21, 2011

Chillwave front runner Chaz Bundick, who performs under the pseudonym Toro y Moi, has managed to expand the burgeoning genre again. His new EP, Freaking Out, moves in a direction similar to Toro y Moi’s...

ACL 2011 Recap

Ali Breland, Aaron West, and Julie Rene Tran September 19, 2011

This weekend was the 10th annual Austin City Limits Musical Festival in Zilker Park. Thousands of music fans from across the country and around the world descended on the park for three days of grand performances....

ACL holds its own against top music festivals

Ali Breland September 15, 2011

The moment the “Star Wars” theme plays this Friday at Zilker Park will mark the 10th anniversary of the Austin City Limits Music Festival. The festival has come a long way since its inception...

Broken Social Scene rocker reflects on forgiveness, family

Ali Breland September 15, 2011

In the brief moment Kevin Drew, founding member of indie rock band Broken Social Scene, and I spoke on the phone for our Austin City Limits Festival preview coverage, I was taken by his manner —...

Q&A: Theophilus London collaborates with Gucci, Tommy Hilfiger

Ali Breland September 15, 2011

Theophilus London has been making a name for himself — his brand has almost taken precedence over his music. He managed to collaborate with Gucci, Cole Haan and Tommy Hilfiger, and meet Kanye West,...

Hip-hop exhibits punk, DIY attributes

Ali Breland September 13, 2011

Hip-hop has never been associated with hundreds of kids in mob formation chanting a band’s name on the verge of a violent riot in the streets of a major metropolitan area. In contemporary music history,...

Fall Forms of Entertainment: Music

Ali Breland September 9, 2011

Blakroc 2 | Fall TBD Blakroc is a collaborative effort between The Black Keys and various rappers they enlist on each record. A teaser for the new album popped up in August and featured a tiny portion...

Changing ‘uncool’ tastes turn hipster fashions preppy

Ali Breland August 31, 2011

Nantucket Reds, Sperry Top-Siders, Brooks Brothers shirts and knit v-neck tennis sweaters delicately draped over the shoulders have been the traditional garb of the Northeastern elite who spend their weekends...

Matty Dee raps with dark, drug-related lyrics

Ali Breland August 26, 2011

“I don’t like you,” Matty Dee said, describing his mentality on life. “No, not you personally,” he clarifies with a sly chuckle. “We’re nasty-ass creatures. We...

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Gallery exhibits art prints based around bike theme

Ali Breland May 5, 2011

Austin, in all its diverse glory, isn’t built on the traditional American apple pie and baseball paradigm, but instead on the bike and art one. It is only fitting that this Thursday, Austin’s...

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Local mashup artists Beat Logic release second album

Ali Breland May 3, 2011

Five years ago when Girl Talk broke into mainstream success, critics labeled his music a novelty act. Detractors said with certainty that Greg Gillis’s mashup was a gimmick and his popularity...

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Rapper’s talent, ambition show promise

Ali Breland May 3, 2011

Ogden Payne came out to Fifth and Baylor streets, spotted us and then led us into an alleyway. In his moments as a tour guide, he kept pausing to interject reassurances of the legitimacy of the place we...

Popularity of preteen musicians results in increase of disapproval

Ali Breland April 25, 2011

COMMENTARY The growing trend of music for the preteen generation in recent years, and especially in recent months, has increasingly been placed under tremendous scrutiny. Justin Bieber’s...

DJ discusses career, diversifying genres

Ali Breland April 20, 2011

A-Trak has risen to prominence as one of the world’s premier turntable DJs since he won the DMC World DJ Championship at the age of 15. As the first DJ to win all three major DJ titles, he eventually...

‘DJ’ label defies simple definition

Ali Breland April 19, 2011

What does a high octane performer, who conducts wild, bacchanalian dance parties every night to masses of drugged out youths, have in common with a chubby, Fat Joe look-a-like called Khaled, who spends...

Media locates Odd Future rapper sent to Samoa for schooling

Ali Breland April 15, 2011

Complex magazine reported yesterday morning the alleged location of Earl Sweatshirt, the 17-year-old rapper of the phenom hip-hop group Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All. Sweatshirt, legally known...

Energy, uniqueness make up for cons of album

Ali Breland April 12, 2011

Bass Drum of Death sounds like California, 40 years ago, which in contemporary California terms is swag. The groups newest lo-fi album, GB City, is reminiscent of a band ripping out hard, fast chord...

Disc jockey makes big noise in local hip-hop music scene

Ali Breland March 7, 2011

Turntablism, the manipulation of sounds through turntables and a DJ mixer, has never been a glorified role within the rap scene. DJs are often required to put in a tremendous amount of work centered...

Documentary brings to light problems facing music scene

Ali Breland February 23, 2011

Despite the Austin music scene’s illustrious history, it has been harboring fundamental flaws that stand to compromise the interests of the artists involved, the core of its reputation, and what...

Radiohead plays safe with ‘King of Limbs’

Ali Breland February 22, 2011

Four years after the release of the critically acclaimed In Rainbows, Radiohead abruptly released The King of Limbs on Friday after announcing the album’s release only days before. The King...

Adele matures, polishes vocals in ‘21’

Ali Breland February 22, 2011

Adele represents something truly unique within the realm of female singer-songwriters. Her vocal ability is unparalleled and the staying power of the music she creates is unmatched. For every album...

Memoir by Jay-Z examines rapper’s beliefs, childhood

Ali Breland November 19, 2010

From even before its release, rapper Jay-Z made it apparent that his new memoir, “Decoded” was going to be an ambitious piece of work through its extremely unique marketing campaign. HiphopDX,...

Rappers push boundaries on stage

Ali Breland November 16, 2010

Doomtree alone is a perplexing word. It creates an image of some sort of ominous plant exuding an aura of foreboding darkness. When applied to the rap group, the word Doomtree becomes even more...

Kid Cudi’s album entices listeners with dark themes

Ali Breland November 16, 2010

Kid Cudi’s Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager plays essentially the same as his debut album, Man On The Moon: The End of The Day. Both are like lucid dreams with dark undertones, with...

Singin’ the blues every Monday

Ali Breland November 9, 2010

Blues has generally maintained a reputation for its spontaneity and improvisational characteristics. Since its inception dating back to the days of bands such as Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf,...

Bold album proves high in variation

Ali Breland October 28, 2010

Zeale’s third mixtape, Disasterkrft, is littered with an assortment of songs that run the gamut of what occurs within the hip-hop world. This time around, he has tightened things and set the bar...

Rapper moves away from battling, focuses on music

Ali Breland October 28, 2010

At midnight on a Tuesday in early October at Mi Casa, a bar on Sixth Street, there is a crowd of people packed in, all in anticipation for Austin-based rapper Zeale’s performance. As soon as he...

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