The year in New Orleans music was full of Grammys, viral videos and unfortunate losses. It all adds up to a historically insular music scene on the verge of getting the national recognition it's always deserved. We look back at 2012 and look ahead to 2013:

In New Orleans, news of the weird and the important news of the day often blend together, and 2012 was no different. From new mugshots to bizarre bamboozles to sordid sagas, there was no shortage of Crescent City drama this year. NoDef revisits this year's news of the weird:

The local rapper behind Wally World was arrested Saturday after allegedly threatening to kill his neighbor, and barricading himself inside his house, according to New Orleans police. Mr. Ghetto - real name Robert Maize - was taken into custody Saturday night following a standoff with a SWAT team that ended after 6 hours with police deploying gas into he 26-year-old's house in Gentilly.

When we interviewed him last year, Mr. Ghetto insisted to us that he had more than just a one-hit ode to Wally World up his sleeve (Well, it had many hits in YouTube terms). Turns out, he wasn't lying. Having recently been to jail and the hospital, Mr. Ghetto has had the city's out-of-control violence on his mind. In his new video, "Close My Eyes," the 7th Ward native ditches the panty-panty-panty-panty-hose, and gets reflective. Check out the video after the jump:

In a city where Do Whatcha Wanna is the mantra, it's no surprise to see odd developments breaking all over the place. Around here, the news of the weird is not simply a chance to laugh at strange things happening to normal people. It also has implications on real-life concerns, like politics and Mardi Gras. So, in no particular order, here's our list of 2011's outliers. It's no surprise that between the lines of this rundown is the story of the Year As It Was. Open wide:

WhoDat! and Happy Boxing Day from NOLA Defender! While, the holiday is English in origin, Boxing Day is a perfect New Orleans holiday. Basically, the holiday exists to provide 24 hours of recovery after Christmas; so, holiday revellers can recover before going to back to work. However, today the Saints are going back to work, and Mr. Ghetto and George Porter will provide some lagniappe after the game.

National entertainment bigwigs have tried and failed to categorize Bounce. For Mr. Ghetto, the posterior-focused genre fits nicely alongside Olivia Newton John in the workout music category. But as the craze got more national appeal, it was only a matter of time before a category would be concocted that was seemingly designed for the N.O. born and bred music form. And who doubted that MTV would be the outlet to do it? Videos for Big Freedia's "Y'all Get Back Now" and Mr. Ghetto's "Walmart" were nominated for the channel's O Awards (online, that is). The category? Too Much Ass For TV.

Since Wal-Mart scorched the tubes, Mr. Ghetto has headed to the Superdome to hang with really drunk people. But that was only a lead-up to his latest, defibrilating effort. "Heart Attack" finds Mr. Ghetto leaving his dance team at home and bringing breakdancers to the ER instead. Click through to see the video.

A moment of fussing wih the tape recorder provided just enough time for Mr. Ghetto's phone to ring, again.

"Wally wally wally wally wally wally wally wally. "

This week, Bounce took one giant leap toward its national breakthrough as we learned what it takes to get a woman's number at Wal-Mart, the Corps of Engineers raced to finish a flood protection system before hurricane season and, as ever, some kids took a senior prank a bit too far. Every week, the news only seems to get stranger. Let the numbers behind the news help break it down. Click through to see the rundown.