by BBG

"Yankee Stadium was #EPIC last night. Performances by JayZ,Drake,Kanye West,Eminem,G-Unit,Dr.Dre,Nicki Minaj,B.O.B & Eminem all on one stage!" -ThisIsChi_JEG

"Apparently a Coldplay concert broke out in the middle of Jay-Z's Yankee Stadium set last night. Can safely say no one saw that coming." -BarthDoesThings

"I've been trying to find a word to explain the Jay-Z/Eminem Yankee Stadium show.. I got it.. WOW!!!!!" -DJCK_BROOKLYN

Jay-Z & Chris Martin on stage @ Yankee Stadium

Jay-Z and Eminem tore down Yankee Stadium last night (9/13), the first of TWO shows that the pair of MCs will play in the Bronx. And there were guests... Kanye was present. Chris Martin of Coldplay dropped in. Beyonce had her say. Dr Dre was there. 50 Cent too. Not to mention Drake, Nicky Minaj, D12, B.O.B, Swizz Beatz, Lloyd Banks, and many others.

"The concert lasted well past midnight, and a few thousand in the crowd started to make their way to the exits while Jay-Z was still rapping to beat the after-concert rush. But most stayed behind, sensing what Jay-Z told them. ''This is historic: They ain't never gonna be another night like tonight.''

Well, maybe one more night -- the pair has another show at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday." [NY Times]

The madness continues tonight (9/14) at Yankee Stadium. A bunch of videos and both setlists (with guests listed) from last night, below...

Continue reading "Jay-Z & Eminem & lots of special guests played Yankee Stadium (night 1 videos & setlists)"

Tickets are on sale at noon for the Nas & Damian Marley show at Highline Ballroom.

Natalie Merchant is playing shows at Town Hall in NYC on July 15th & 16th. Tickets are on sale at noon.

Tickets are on sale at noon for the Primus / Gogol Bordello show at Williamsgurg Waterfront.

Tickets are on sale at noon for the Gogol Bordello show at Starland Ballroom.

Tickets are on sale for the Brian Jonestown Massacre show at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Tickets are on sale at noon for the Dead Weather show in Prospect Park.

Tickets are on sale at noon for the Gories show at Bowery Ballroom.

Barenaked Ladies are playing Radio City Music Hall on August 13th. Tickets are on sale.

50 Cent is playing Hammerstein Ballroom on June 22nd. Tickets are on sale at noon.

Juliette Lewis plays Music Hall of Williamsburg on August 21st. Tickets are on sale at noon.

Tickets are on sale for the Melvins/Isis show at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

OK Go are playing Terminal 5 on October 29th. Tickets are on sale at noon.

Tickets are on sale at noon for the Phenomenal Handclap Band show at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Tickets are on sale at noon for the Gov't Mule show in Central Park.
Check out the ENTIRE Central Park Summerstage schedule.

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Murs & 9th Wonder - "3:16 Part 2" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: One Be Lo - "The Pigs" featuring Mike Posner (MP3)

Some great upcoming hip hop shows in the coming weeks, starting with Murs who is back with producer 9th Wonder for a new album, Murs 9th Wonder Fornever. Check out the first track from the album, "3:16 Part 2" above. Fornever is due on April 13th, and one week later, the "Bad Man" will kick off a US tour in Arizona that has him crashlanding at Highline Ballroom on May 19th. Tickets are on sale.

DJ Hi-Tek has done beats for the entire G-Unit crew, so in that light, I guess it makes sense that the thematically different Hi-Tek project (with Talib Kweli) Reflection Eternal would play the "This is 50" (Cent) event at Nokia Theater. Although for the life of me, I cant figure out why Reflection Eternal would support Lloyd Banks. Ah, nepotism. Tickets for April 29th at Nokia Theater with Banks and Reflection Eternal are on sale.

One day before the "This is 50" event, One Be Lo will step back into his old role as a member of Binary Star for a show at Knitting Factory (4/28) with DJ Abilities, Pigeon John, Donny Goines, and Nyle. Tickets are on sale. One Be Lo is scheduled to drop his new solo album B.A.B.Y. on MYX later this year, which features appearances from Royce Da 5'9, Freeway, Zion I, Phonte, Jean Grae, and more. Check out a track from the upcoming LP above.

Though Before The Casket Drops has, um, dropped, Clipse is still on the road promoting the record, laying down dates in NYC at Highline Ballroom (5/6, tickets) and Baruch College earlier that same day. Ninjasonik is on board to get the party started. Full tour dates are below.

Finally, a few hip hop greats from the 90s are scheduled to play NYC in the coming weeks. Naughty by Nature and Black Sheep will team up for a show at Brooklyn Masonic Temple on 5/21 (tickets still on sale). Cypress Hill could easily play a room much much larger than SOBs, but look for them at the venue on 4/15 (tickets still avail) and the blastmaster KRS-ONE on 4/20 (tickets). Wait... shouldn't those dates be reversed?

Tour dates and some videos are below...

Continue reading "Murs, Clipse, Cypress Hill & other upcoming hip hop shows"

Lily Allen @ Roseland Ballroom (more by Natasha Ryan)

"I havent written on here for a while but I've taken the time to write this as I think music piracy is having a dangerous effect on British music, but some really rich and successful artists like Nick Mason from Pink Floyd and Ed O'Brien from Radiohead don't seem to think so. Last week in an article in the Times these guys from huge bands said file sharing music is fine. It probably is fine for them. They do sell-out arena tours and have the biggest Ferrari collections in the world. For new talent though, file sharing is a disaster as it's making it harder and harder for new acts to emerge." [Lily Allen on MySpace, September 14, 2009]

Earlier this week 50 Cent called off his Aug. 30 performance at the "40 Day" aka "Family Day" event in Queens, N.Y., after community members and law enforcement officials voiced fear over a possible shootout.

However, a new, more peace-inspired rumor has surfaced on the street: If 50 had, in fact, taken the stage at the G-Unit-helmed neighborhood party, he hoped to have Cam'ron join him. This seemed like an unlikely move from 50 Cent's camp considering the war of words that the G-Unit and Dipset members exchanged a few years ago. But before this story had time to gather too many legs, Killa Cam confirmed to MTV in a video interview that he had no plans of making the trip to Queens, where his beef with 50 first began.

"Nah, I'm not going to no show in Queens," Cam'ron said. "I don't know how true it is ... a few of my people -- associates -- said [some of 50's associates] was trying to reach out. But, I ain't going to no concert in Queens. Come up to Harlem Week. We could sit down and have the roundtable meeting if you really wanna be serious. Or meet anywhere ... we can meet in Benihana's if you wanna be serious. It don't matter. I'm not squashing a problem we had in Queens at your event." [The Boombox]

More importantly, if you haven't seen it already, check out the video of Mike Bloomberg discussing the "50 Cents" situation (and other related videos) below...

Continue reading "'50 Cents', Cam'ron not playing in Queens (Bloomberg video)"

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

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).

A raging fire that one fire official called "definitely suspicious" gutted a Dix Hills home owned by the Grammy-nominated rapper 50 Cent Friday morning, sending six people inside the house to the hospital.

An eyewitness told Newsday that among the injured, all of whom suffered smoke inhalation according to fire officials, were 50 Cent's ex-girlfriend, Shaniqua Tompkins, and their 10-year-old son, Marquise.

"She was all right," eyewitness Frank Hoyte, a Newsday employee, said, adding: "But she was angry." [Newsday]

DOWNLOAD Copperpot - Art of Rap feat. Masta Ace & EdoG (MP3)
DOWNLOAD Baby Elephant - How Does The Brain Wave? ft David Byrne [Produced by Prince Paul] (MP3)

NEWS

• Prince Paul has a brand new project by the name of Baby Elephant. David Byrne appears on one of the tracks. Download above.
• Tickets go on sale Saturday for the September 21st AllHipHop.com Finale concert featuring Lupe Fiasco, Cassidy, Hurricane Cassidy, and Talib Kweli at Nokia Theatre in NYC. Talib just played Nokia Theatre, and he has a free NYC show coming up too. he also just put out a new album. Rolling Stone gave it three stars.
• Miss Info went to the Kanye West/Graduation preview party. Tom went as well. I didn't go, but you and I can hear it too - the album leaked. In related news, Kanye - along with the Smashing Pumpkins - is set to headline Miami’s Bang! Music Festival (Nov 10-11).
• Diddy has confirmed there will be an 'I Get Money' remix featuring 50 Cent, Diddy, Jay-Z & Kanye West.
• The RIAA has shut down DJ Premier's Live from the HQ podcast, while Ludacris gets renewed on XM. See Ludacris when he plays Radio City.
• FromDaBricks wrote a great deconstruction of Jeru Da Damaja
• Ja Rule & The Game are going to be collaborating.
• Time Magazine comments on Hip Hop's decline.
• Much more exciting: GZA & Killah Priest will do an album together. MF Doom & Pharoahe Monch are performing together. Hopefully the real Doom shows up though. Still excited for GZA performing Liquid Swords in Brooklyn.

Continue reading "Wes' Weekly Hip Hop News Roundup (August 31st, 2007)"

DOWNLOAD Dry Yai - Ease Di Tension (MP3)

Sierra Leone's OkayPlayer-approved star Hip Hop artist, Dry-Yai, will be performing at Joe's Pub August 29th at 11.30pm We're giving away a pair of tickets. To win please email us at BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (subject: Dry Yai). Include your first and last name. One winner will be picked at random and contacted.

I guess everyone made up and decided to play nice?

Kanye West, Diddy, 50 Cent @ Screamfest @ MSG, NYC - 8/22 (CRED)

There were close to 20,000 people at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, and it's pretty much a given that none of them believe what they saw. Just imagine how much they've been calling, texting and MySpacing since the show. Heck, you might not even believe this when you read it, but as wrestling legend Kurt Angle would say, "It's true. It's damn true."

T.I. orchestrated a mammoth hip-hop moment, a piece of history in the form of an onstage party featuring the cream of the crop in hip-hop: T.I., Jay-Z, Diddy, Swizz Beatz, Ciara, Kanye West and 50 Cent. They were all onstage performing and partying together ... as in, everybody was onstage at the same time. [MTV]

NEWS

• Speaking of international hip hop (Dry Yai), Soulico (from Isreal) is playing the blogger-curated After The Jump Fest this weekend.
• MF Doom sends a poser to perform in his mask?
• Blender interviews RZA, who also shares his top 10 list of hottest MC's out right now here. I think you'll be surprised at his list. What is your list?
• GZA is performing 'Liquid Swords' in Brooklyn
• With all this Hip Hop beef abound, lets look at how even The Beatles released diss songs targeting each other.
• Cormega will be releasing two projects from his Legal Hustle imprint this year, with one of them being a producer instrumental series titled Legal Hustle Presents Got Beats?. The disc will feature beats from DJ Premier, Alchemist, Ayatollah, Buckwild, Ski Beats, Heatmakerz and more.
• KRS One is to sign with Duck Down Records while The Dogg Pound signs with Cash Money Records.
• TSS reminisces and relives the Up In Smoke tour.
• Go here to read my summary of all the recent 50 Cent drama.
• Hi Tek is set to release his third solo album.

Continue reading "Wes' Weekly Hip Hop News Roundup (August 23, 2007)"

DOWNLOAD Common Market - My Pathology (MP3)
DOWNLOAD Common Market - Succor MCs (Mp3)
DOWNLOAD N.O.R.E. - Set It Off" feat. Swizz Beatz & J. Ru$$ (MP3)
DOWNLOAD N.O.R.E. - That Club Ish" feat. Three 6 Mafia (MP3)
DOWNLOAD Sharen Jones and the Dap-Kings - 100 Days, 100 Nights
DOWNLOAD Aesop Rock - Citronella (MP3)
DOWNLOAD Pieces Of Peace - I Still Care (MP3)

Common Market is one of my favorite recent discoveries. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings are playing the Apollo Theater October 6th (tix). N.O.R.E. is releasing Noreality in the next few weeks, unfortunately with wack cover art. Pieces of Peace are a soul band from back in the day - with an album that was never released (until now), and they should make for great sampling material for today's rappers.

KRS-One performing in Prospect Park - Aug 3, 2007 (CRED)

On top of the positivity and good times, KRS injected the crowd with a dose of inspirational storytelling. See, before BDP fame, way back in 1980, KRS was homeless. His home of choice was Prospect Park. His bed of choice was the Prospect Park bandshell. The very bandshell he was now performing in! He would sleep at night and during the day hang out at the Grand Army Plaza Library getting his knowledge on. As a young KRS poured through books, thoughts of the future danced through his head. A future that consisted of one day rocking a mic in Prospect Park. The very park his was now rocking! Or so the story goes. Can someone fact check this please? Even if it's not true, and something tells me some of it is, the story connected with most and accomplished its modest goal.[Angry Citizen]

• Apparently 50 Cent had a breakdown and tore up his G-Unit offices while screaming on the phone to his label Interscope Records. Ms. Info had a post up that I discovered through this Nahright post. I then found that Ms. Info's post had mysteriously been deleted - not cached by google either. HipHopDX still has some excerpts from the original Ms Info post up. This all is apparently over 50's next single/video "Follow My Lead" ft Robin Thicke being leaked. I'd link to it, but it keeps getting deleted.
• The Beastie Boys played at McCarren Pool and Central Park SummerStage
• Timbaland + Justin Timberlake's new project: Madonna's new album.
• Lupe, Kanye, and Pharrell are hoping to make a full album as CRS
• David Banner tells Al Sharpton to go fuck himself.
• Weiss shares some thoughts on Cage.
• TSS did a Smoking Session interview with Phonte of Little Brother. Little Brother is playing CMJ with Brother Ali @ Highline Ballroom on October 20th.

Continue reading "Wes' Weekly Hip Hop News Roundup (August 15th, 2007)"

DOWNLOAD: Evidence ft Termanology - 'Low IQ' (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: an 18:00 interview w/ Pharoahe Monch (MP3)

Pharoahe Monch is fronting a live band this Friday (June 29 - 11:30pm) at Highline Ballroom in NYC. Black Milk, Polyrhythm Addicts, The Cool Kids, and DJ Ready Cee are opening. It's the official launch party for Pharoahe's new album Desire, which by the way I LOVE. It's a very strong effort with excellent, soulful and cohesive production, diverse and intelligent topic matter, innovative song concepts, and it just has a whole lot of heart --> Highly recommended. Check out another review at About.com, and interviews with Pharoahe HERE and HERE. All tour dates at the end of this post

We have a pair of tickets to give away to the NYC show on Friday. Want to win them? E-mail BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (subject: Monch), and let us know who you wish we'd cover more in this weekly post. One winner will be picked Friday at Noon, and notified. If you don't win, tickets are still on sale.

50 Cent is playing the Hard Rock Cafe in NYC on July 18th. Tickets onsale @ 9am (also the presale password = MTV). Eve is playing the 19th. T.I. is playing that night too.

More Hip Hop below.....

Continue reading "Wes' Weekly Hip Hop News Roundup (June 28, 2007)"