Meet Kajmir Royale. He lives in Colorado Springs, but his view is global, his perspective dynamic and charismatic. Taking a Kanye West approach to the game with a goal of making "popular music," Royale is an MC/producer who's hitting his stride and knows exactly where he's going. Originally from New Jersey, Royale has lived in Colorado for the past seven years, with five of those being in the Springs, where he moved to focus on music and hone his LEA (League of Extraordinary Artists) brand -- and train. "They have the Olympic training center down in Colorado Springs because there's nothing to do except train," notes Royale with a laugh. "That's what I've been doing, just perfecting this music."

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Maulskull (born Jonathan Messinger) is in the midst of one of the more impressive undertakings we've seen in local hip-hop. His Death by Thr33s series is a massive collaborative effort between himself and more than twenty other artists. Every week for the last eighteen weeks has included the release of an EP; volume one in the series dropped in December, and the final installment hits the web this week.

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Hailing from Detroit -- a city where punk rock, hip hop and blues all grow out of the same soil -- Maria Kohler is giving Denver a taste of her rhymes and her eclecticism. "I think everybody has a pretty wide variety of music that they like," explains Kohler, Kitty Crimes' mastermind, who also fronts M and the Gems and has lent her talent to a variety of local bands, including Houses and Science Partner, among others. "And I really like exploring the essence of different genres. I'm really obsessed with seeing how many different things I can apply myself to musically."

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There weren't too many people trying to play in rock bands around Cody, Wyoming, when Wes Roemmich, Levi Wells and Tyler Merkel were growing up there. They eventually crossed paths in high school, but they didn't start playing music together until after they moved to Denver a couple years ago. Known as Trick Doves -- a reference to a tune by their friends in Noise Noise Noise -- the three have just completed a new EP titled Electric Hands that they hope will help feed the rocking masses who hunger for smashing drums and heavy guitar riffs.

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Show up early tonight for Atomga and be prepared to groove.

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 bring their white hot melodies, thunderous vocal stylings and high vibration rhythms to the Boulder Theater tonight. But while Seun, the son of legendary Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, and his band are clearly the main draw this evening, you won't want to miss the opener, Atomga, a local act totally worth catching. Comprising almost a dozen artists who came together to cultivate the traditional Nigerian Afrobeat sound, Atomga specializes in positive vibes, authentic Nigerian Afrobeat and funk/soul sounds ideal for dancing your ass off. Show up early tonight and be prepared to groove.

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While Denver's electronic music scene is thriving, there are some producers who've found that it's tough to make a name if you don't have club bangers. Inspired by more experimental downtempo electronic acts like those found on Flying Lotus's influential Brainfeeder label, local beatmaker Snubluck prefers the more musical approach of jazz influences to the four-bar loops and banging 808 bass of hip-hop and dubstep. And even though that preference makes booking shows consistently a challenge, it hasn't hindered Snubluck (born Corey English) on his musical mission.

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When he released The Ugly Truth last year, Mane Rok (aka Sam Baron) vowed to create an EP with each of the producers he worked with on the album. Staying true to his word, he released the hip-hop purist joint En Stereo with Es-Nine, whose production was stellar, and Santanamation with renaissance producer Dyalekt of Diamond Boiz, which was hauntingly supreme. The remixes that followed were equally dope.

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Dave Herrera

Is Su Charles the next American Idol?

Denver, meet Su Charles (aka SuCh), the latest American Idol hopeful from our city. Aside from having an exceptional voice, Charles has quite an inspiring story. The child of Haitian immigrants, Charles was born in Boston to a pastor and a school teacher. Raised in Long Island, New York, Charles began singing very early on in the church and by the time she was fifteen, she earned a spot with Grammy High School Jazz Ensemble as one of the only non performing arts school students.

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Sarah Law

Dan Barnett (left) and Sean Geisthardt (right) are Goer.

Formed from the ashes of the erstwhile Tulip Wars, Goer is a new local duo pushing an intriguing mix of electronic and psychedelic influences.

Consisting of guitarist Sean Geisthardt and drummer Dan Barnett, the pair has just completed a four-track EP titled Invisible People that draws on the dreamy, somber electro-post-rock of Radiohead and Caribou (circa Andorra), as well as West Coast experimental electronic acts like Jogger and Nosaj Thing.

Geisthardt and Barnett first began collaborating about a year ago as members of Tulip Wars, a five-piece band with a straightforward take on indie and surf-rock traditions. After six months of successfully gigging around town, the band went on hiatus when lead singer Tara Davis moved to Panama, a break that gave Goer an opportunity to explore some new ideas. Their sound evolved with very little discussion, flowing naturally from their shared influences. "We kind of jumped right into it," Geisthardt explains, "just sending tracks back and forth."

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Turner Jackson drops Star Destroyer on Tuesday, February 14.

Sometimes an artist has to go deep into himself in order to produce a product built from pain, tragedy, triumph, motivation and creativity. Whenever this watershed moment happens for the greats who make and love music, the explosion is ground-shattering and usually changes the artists' repertoire forever. Turner Jackson is at this transitional point. Born of life's changes and a will to survive, Star Destroyer (slated for a Valentine's Day release) is Jackson's most pivotal material to date. We caught up with the young MC to discuss supernovas, Big J. Beats of 1984 and the science of everything in life.

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