Eclectic electric - I specialize in hip-hop, R&B, soul, funk, reggae, dance and electronic. First record was Sesame Street Fever. First CD was Herbie Hancock’s Future Shock. My alter ego J Boogie produces music, remixes and DJs in nightclubs from San Francisco to New York.
You’ve been waiting all day for the chance to be alone, and when you get that moment, the vibe’s got to be right. You want to set the mood and impress…
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SXSW Hip Hop and R&B day delivered a diverse lineup of talent that lit up the Pandora Den. Bibi brought a tight band that laid out some classic soul updated…
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Can you believe it’s less than one week until our Discovery Den at the Gatsby in Austin? Until then, we’re rocking out to our #PandoraSXSW station with artists from the entire lineup….
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Black History Month represents a myriad of meaningful aspects to the diverse listeners who tune into Pandora. From California to Georgia, Baltimore to the Bay – each individual has a…
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Hi, my name is Justin Boland (aka J Boogie) and I’m the hip hop curator at Pandora. I’m a music fiend who has been selecting tunes and sharing them with my friends and fans for over 20 years. I have a soft spot for soul and reggae too, so you can find me digging into several genres for the music you hear on Pandora. My job is to make sure we have the best music library for you, no matter what you like. From well known to emerging artists, I spend all my time thinking about acquiring music and programming new genre stations. I also help write our blog and social media posts, interact with artists when they visit our Oakland office and get lost listening to anything I can get my hands on. Before I joined the team at Pandora, I worked at a radio station, record store, night club, record label and one of the first internet radio services, Spinner.com.
Quavo, Offset and Takeoff have taken the crown in Atlanta on Yung Rich Nation. Shining like a neck full of gold chains, Migos’ new album bounces between club hits and…
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Hip hop is a powerful artistic tool for expression. In celebration of Pride we are highlighting some of the LGBTQ performers who’ve chosen hip hop as their canvas. These are MC’s who come out with courage, rocking rhymes with an emphasis on sexual orientation and gender expression. The music blasts a message of empowerment to the communities they represent, from the underground to the mainstream.
The Beginning
Often under fire for lyrically depicting misogyny and homophobia, hip hop may seem like an unlikely medium for LGBT artists, but not so. LGBTQ hip hop has roots in old school classics. Rappers like Queen Latifah, Da Brat, Medusa, Bahamadia and Invincible were showing and proving back in the day without wearing their identity on their sleeve. Those who loved and supported these artists saw the writing on the wall and connected with their art, style and vibes. This began to tear away the fear and open up opportunies for artists like Cazwell, Deadlee and Angel Haze to put their stamp on hip hop.
