Recent Posts in hiphop

July 3, 2008

Sled Island 2008 day three - RZA, Yo La, Tegan & other pics

photos by Rae Holtsabum

I scurried over to the sold-out The Grand Theatre to catch most of RZA's set. The Wu-Tang Clan producer/MC performed as his Bobby Digital alter-ego and controlled the crowd with "Long Time Coming" and "Booby Trap" from the just-released Digi Snacks LP. The set was dominated by material from that album, and RZA turned the gig into a kick-ass block party.

Near the end, he broke out older classics "Wu Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing Ta F' Wit," "Reunited" and "Shame On A Nigga" near the end. They all made the crowd of mostly college kids go absolutely ape-shit, and it was a perfect way to close out my coverage of the fest. [Chart Attack]

RZA's tour as Bobby Digital is almost over. He hits Webster Hall in NYC this Saturday July 5th. Tickets are still on sale.

Other artists Rae caught on day three (June 27, 2008) of the Sled Island Festival in Calgary included Broken Social Scene, Tegan and Sara, and Yo La Tengo. The rest of the pics from that day below....

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Posted by brooklynvegan at 10:54 PM | Comments (3)

July 2, 2008

Girl Talk tour, Cool Kids mixtape, No Age video

DOWNLOAD: The Cool Kids - That's Stupid (The Mixtape) (ZSHARE LINK)

The Cool Kids are playing Rock The Bells. All the tour dates below.

I'm assuming Girl Talk will announce a NYC date after All Points West happens. Will it be October 8th to kick off the big tour he just announced or will it be when he gets back in the middle of November after playing Massachusets? The new record is out now. All dates below.

ALSO BELOW: A new video by No Age who are playing NYC soon.

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Posted by brooklynvegan at 12:10 PM | Comments (16)

June 25, 2008

Anti-Pop Consortium, Prefuse 73, a Hiro show & tour dates

APC @ KF (more by Leia Jospe)

Anti-Pop Consortium, Prefuse 73 and Catchdubs are playing Hiro Ballroom on July 3rd. $8.00 tickets are on sale (the tickets are cheaper than the drinks) (except the free Lucky Beer they'll be giving out between 9 and 10). All tour dates below....

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Posted by brooklynvegan at 3:05 PM | Comments (3)

Kanye West offended over "Bonnaroo thing", says sorry (pics)

"Kanye Sux" - Bonnaroo 2008 (cred)

The Grammy winner walked onto the festival stage nearly two hours past his scheduled 2:45 a.m. performance time Sunday morning and was greated by bleary-eyed fans' chorus of boos and chants of "Kanye sucks." [E Online]

"Kanye Hates Hippies" - Bonnaroo 2008 (cred)

Ken Weinstein, a spokesman for the annual festival held on a 700-acre site south of Nashville, said the delay was simply a matter of unloading the Pearl Jam stage (the band went an hour past its scheduled end time, playing until about 1:15 a.m.) and loading the West stage. [AP]

"Fuck Kanye" - Bonnaroo 2008 (cred)

People were mad about the set time. Now Kanye West has reacted to the controversy with an angry blog posting. More pictures, and his ENTIRE ANGRY MESSAGE, BELOW....

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Posted by brooklynvegan at 1:47 PM | Comments (127)

June 24, 2008

Black Star playing McCarren Pool w/ NERD? + win Museum tix

I have one pair of tickets to the previously mentioned Flavorpill event at the Museum of Natural History (flyer below). For a chance at winning them, email BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (subject: One Step Beyond). Include your first and last name. One winner will be notified.

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Posted by brooklynvegan at 3:30 PM | Comments (11)

June 23, 2008

Talib Kweli playing a museum, a store & a benefit

Jun 25 - The Apple Store
Jun 25 - a benefit @ BB King's

Jun 27 - One Step Beyond @ The Museum of Natural History w/ Pete Rock & Buckshot

Enjoy complimentary screenings of the Space Show Passport to the Universe -- an exhilarating flight through a virtual re-creation of our universe, into the Orion Nebula, out of our galaxy, and deep into intergalactic space. After reaching the edges of our known universe, the tour takes a "virtual shortcut" back to Earth -- in a free fall, headlong through a black hole. The Space Show runs every half hour beginning at 10:00 p.m., with the last showing at midnight.

Tickets are $20 and include a free pass to the Museum for future use.

Posted by brooklynvegan at 5:32 PM | Comments (3)

June 13, 2008

Kanye West adds 2nd (actually 3rd) NYC show @ MSG

May 13 - he played already
Aug 5 - sold out instantly
Aug 6 - ON SALE NOW

Posted by brooklynvegan at 12:23 PM | Comments (15)

June 12, 2008

50 Cent and G Unit playing Nokia Theatre, presale tix on sale

50 Cent tickets are on sale. Presale password = pwradio.
Other shows coming up @ Nokia Theatre: Blondie, Gilberto Gil, King Crimson and Chaka Khan.

Posted by brooklynvegan at 6:31 PM | Comments (7)

M.I.A., Mos Def & Afrikan Boy @ MoMA's Garden Party - pics

photos by Ryan Muir

M.I.A. played the same benefit that Special Disco Version did on Tuesday night ("to support the Museum's award-winning educational programs and the care, study, and exhibition of its collection") (June 10, 2008). M.I.A. also played a much bigger and more public and proper show at McCarren Pool in Brooklyn a few nights earlier. At MoMA, the cheapest ticket was $250.

I talked to one person who was at MoMA (but not at the black tie dinner that preceeded the dance party). They said...

It was really fun. The venue was spectacular. The show was so incredibly different from McCarren Pool. MIA didn't start until after 11. I think she's delightful and has an infectious energy no matter the setting, but this was definitely a performance that was catered to the event and the crowd. No wacky outfits, no political videos, no questions about whether we were choosing money or people, etc. Her mic didn't seem to be turned up enough, so her vocals sounded muddled at times. She made a comment about elitism that ironically elicited cheers and she asked the crowd if they had an extra $10 to donate to [didn't catch the cause]. The sightlines kind of sucked for a show with so much movement as there were two large poles on either side of the stage that frequently covered her. I'd say that about 30% of the attendees knew who she was. Again, so different from McCarren.

The crowd was fascinating. Black tie and cocktail dresses. Not my usual scene, obviously, but great people watching.

The stage background was decorated with charts and graphs depicting things like mortality and starvation rates. Like at McCarren, M.I.A. was joined on stage by Afrikan Boy (who told "anybody in the crowd with more than one dollar in they pocket to make some noise"). Unlike at McCarren, M.I.A. was joined on stage by Mos Def. He helped sing "Paper Planes". More pics from the party HERE and below.....

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Posted by brooklynvegan at 9:01 AM | Comments (32)

June 11, 2008

Lil' Wayne, Nas, 50 Cent, Missy Elliott, Black Sheep

some hip hop in the news
* Rapper's Road to Pop
* P Diddy did not change his name
* Fifty Cent and His Ex Get Court Orders
* Nas moves new album back two weeks
* Missy Elliott prepares for a summer "Block Party"
* DJ Green Lantern & Nas release The Nigger Tape
* On 'Carter III,' Lil' Wayne perfects the art of the brag
* Kanye West, Lupe & N.E.R.D. added another NYC show
* Lil Wayne's CD, fueled by leaks, poised to sell more than any album so far this year

Black Sheep are playing Knitting Factory in NYC tonight (6/11).

Posted by brooklynvegan at 11:42 AM | Comments (10)