Hip-hop conundrums Das Racist languorously and happily stop in at a few of their favorite Brooklyn hangouts.

Forgetting for a moment his debut this month on AMC’s post-Civil War drama Hell on Wheels, Chicago-born rapper, actor, and conservative party enemy du jour Common has plenty to celebrate. His memoir, One Day It’ll All Make Sense, topped the New York Times bestseller list not long after it hit shelves in mid-September, and this month he’ll release his eighth album, The Dreamer, The Believer.

Even as the worlds of music and fashion fight to claim Theophilus London as their own, it’s clear the rapper—who’s debuting a line of jewelry and designer duds this season—has swagger to spare.

After conquering a bothersome case of performance anxiety, musician Nika Danilova, who performs under the pseudonym Zola Jesus, released The Spoils, the experimental 2009 debut she recorded in her apartment. She followed that up with last year’s Stridulum II, layering nearly a decade’s worth of opera lessons over haunting beats littered with ghostly echoes and pop-friendly hooks.

"The kids in America are fucking fucked."

When Aleksa Palladino landed the role of Angela Darmody—the New Jersey housewife with dreams of moving to Paris and becoming a painter—on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, the 30-year-old actor, along with her husband and music partner, Devon Church, leapt at the chance to relocate from LA to Palladino’s hometown on the East Coast. “I grew up in New York, where my friend and I used to sneak into the Chelsea Hotel looking for the ghost of Sid Vicious,” she says. “One day, we roamed the halls and came across some blood. Screaming, we ran out and went to go see a movie to calm ourselves down. I remember watching Christian Slater in Untamed Heart, all the while sure that Sid was sitting next to me.”

J. Cole's 'Cole World: The Sideline Story': A Review Roundup

After igniting fans’ interest three years ago with their catchy single “Visions Arise,” the five members of London-based post-punk outfit S.C.U.M. will release their debut album Again Into Eyes on October 4, via Mute. The 10-track LP is a moody compilation reminiscent of the Cure—but its members are way too attractive to have that much angst.

Pop-up venues are all the rage these days since it’s rare to remain “cool” past six months, but this weekend Brisk opened the first pop-up bodega in NYC. Brisk and Eminem’s Shady Records label took over a warehouse space on Bleecker Street, converting it into a casual, chill out spot complete with snacks, beverages, and stickered walls (but no bulletproof glass). Inside, there was a museum-style display documenting ten years of Shady Records, and after museum hours Yelawolf and Slaughterhouse celebrated with a private performance.

“The record ties a lot of places in the world together."