photos by Brook Bobbins

In the Stretch & Bobbito world, mainstream was a four-letter word.

...For the eight years it ran, from 1 to 5 in the early hours of Friday morning, "The Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito Show" gave early exposure to artists like Jay-Z, Nas and the Wu-Tang Clan, who eventually went on to mainstream stardom. But for every one who made it, there were several who remained in the underground, happily or otherwise.

Of the many guests on Thursday night [at Le Poisson Rouge, Feb 10th]-- including Raekwon and Masta Killa of the Wu-Tang Clan -- the underground stalwarts were the fiercest, and often the most visibly moved. There was the fantastically gravelly Rock, of Heltah Skeltah, who performed a bit of "Laflaur Leflah Eshkoshka," and Artifacts, who were the night's first guests, and whose "Wrong Side of da Tracks" was still sturdy, more than 15 years after it was released.

After solo sets, Masta Ace and Buckshot collaborated for an impromptu reunion of two-thirds of the Crooklyn Dodgers, the one-off group assembled for the soundtrack of the 1994 Spike Lee film, "Crooklyn." Nice & Smooth closed the night, and almost stole it, with vintage hits, a tribute to Guru of Gang Starr, who died last year, and boundless energy.-[NYTimes]

In addition to the above-mentioned artists, the Stretch & Bob reunion featured appearances from DJ Premier, The Beatnuts, Natural Elements and many many others (and is that Spike from Top Chef in one of the pics?). More pictures from the indie hip-hop star-studded event below...

Continue reading "Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito reunited w/ many special guests in the house (pics from Le Poisson Rouge)"

"After announcing the closing of their New York and Los Angeles locations, Fat Beats is excited to present a send-off worthy of their hip-hop legacy. A week-long series of in-store performances and music industry panels at both stores will allow the music community to not only learn about the history of Fat Beats and what the future of the music industry holds, but to also celebrate the legacy of one of the strongest music brands in the company of their favorite artists. These week-long in-stores are sure to go down in hip-hop and New York history. Everyone is welcome to come and all events are free.

Today marks the official start of the week-long in-stores for the New York location. This location will host artist performances every day this week from 4-9pm until it closes its doors for the final time on Saturday, September 4th, 2010. Additionally, both locations will be selling limited edition commemorative t-shirts, as well as discounted music and merchandise"

The schedule for the New York location is as follows:

Continue reading "free in-stores all week @ Fat Beats (leading up to closing)"