The L.A. Weekly has named Ben Westhoff as its music editor:

Westhoff has written for L.A. Weekly, the Village Voice, Pitchfork, Spin, XXL and NPR. He is a former staff writer and writing fellow at the Riverfront Times in St. Louis. He got his start as a freelance contributor to SF Weekly in San Francisco.

Westhoff’s book Dirty South, released earlier this year by Chicago Review Press, is a look at Southern hip-hop. It was described as “a gem” by The Source.

Westhoff will replace Gustavo Turner, who stepped down last month and is still a contributing writer at the paper. Westhoff officially starts on July 12.