De La Soul is coming to Royce Hall. No, really. At first, it seems a hip-hop act would hardly consider a concert hall where world-renowned cellists and speakers have entertained fans ushered to their seats by bow-tied employees an ideal venue. Read more...

Rio de Janeiro consists of 600 “favelas” ““ the Brazilian word for an urban slum or ghetto with illegal squatter settlements. Anderson Sá is native to the Vigário Geral favela, which, controlled entirely by an underworld society of teenage drug armies and policemen, is considered the most dangerous of them all. Read more...

Beyond a sweating Bruce Lee dubbed with usually robotic English pronunciation, the history of Chinese martial arts cinema has remained relatively obscure. However, thanks to decades of collecting and newly remastered prints, the UCLA Film and Television Archive is currently presenting “Heroic Grace: The Chinese Martial Arts Film, Part II,” a continuation of the 2003 series intended to change preconceptions of Chinese martial arts cinema. Read more...

To a fan who has only encountered Animal Collective’s harmonious, mellowed-out studio recordings, the group’s raucous live show is overwhelming. Unlike merely listening to the brilliantly layered mellifluous sounds on their albums, the group’s live incarnation incorporates head-spinning visual and audio elements, as well as an unfettered tribal energy. Read more...

As a array of contemporary films and TV shows like “Desperate Housewives” point out, nearly every family has its own secrets and lies meant to keep up appearances ““ a fact Tennessee Williams was all too familiar with when he wrote his play “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” in 1955. Read more...

DJ Muggs vs. GZA/The Genius “Grandmasters” Angeles Records The Wu-Tang Clan has never really been considered an inclusive group. From its ruthless hip-hop oligarchy to its unmitigated disdain for other MCs, the Clan has long isolated itself. Read more...

The opposite of war isn’t peace. It’s creation. In the case of “Rent,” war is the battle for love ““ and against the AIDS epidemic within a 1980s New York City Bohemia. Read more...