by BBG

Ghostface Killah at Rock The Bells (more by Andrew St. Clair)

CMJ is almost here, and as usual hip hop is well represented with appearances from the greats as well as those on the upswing. Ghostdini (aka Ghostface Killah) obviously is one of the former, and he'll headline BB Kings on 10/22 with Sheek Louch (of D-Block), and Frank Dukes. Tickets are on sale, or you can get in with your CMJ badge.

Audible Treats have announced their 2010 showcase at Sullivan Hall in NYC, and once again it's chock full of interesting indie hip hop. Veterans Black Sheep will join Nottz, Diamond District, Big Pooh (ex-Little Brother), Chip Fu (of Fu-Schnickens), Rah Digga, Von Pea, Moe Green, DaVinci, and The Left (Apollo Brown, DJSoko, Journalist103). The show goes down on 10/21 and tickets are on sale.

Von Pea of Tanya Morgan will play two shows at SOBs in the coming months, with the first happening on 9/29 when he supports Pac Div along with STS and Beyond Belief (tickets). Then less than two weeks later, Von Pea will play the venue again with J-Live in tow to celebrate the release of his new record Pea's Gotta Have It. Tickets are on sale.

And while we're on the subject of former members of Little Brother, Foreign Exchange (aka ex-Little Brother member Phonte and producer Nicolay) will play a CMJ how at BB King's on 10/23 with Darien Brockington, Zo! and a live band in tow. Tickets are on sale. Darien Brockington, who also contributes to Foriegn Exchange, will also be at SOBs in the coming weeks as part of a collaborative show with R&B singer Yahzarah on 10/14. Tickets are on sale.

Duck Down will team up with Blacksmith Music (Kweli's label) for the Duck Down vs Blacksmith CMJ Showcase with appearances from Jean Grae, Pete Rock, Strong Arm Steady, Pharoahe Monch, Skyzoo & !llmind, Marco Polo with Torae & Ruste Juxx, Team Facelift and Boot Camp Clik (Sean Price, Buckshot, Smif N Wessun, Heltah Skeltah & 9th Wonder). Sounds amazing. Tickets are on sale for the 10/19 show at LPR.

The Duck Down CMJ show is part of a "15 Year Anniversary" tour for the label. All dates below.

And for those of you planning next week, keep in mind that Talib Kweli will play Brooklyn Bowl on Tuesday (9/28) with Res and K-Salaam. Tickets are on sale.

And speaking of Pete Rock, BB King's will host a night curated by the year 1992, as Pete Rock & CL Smooth will team with Brand Nubian and Das EFX for a show at BB King's on 10/20. Tickets are on sale. Pete Rock & CL Smooth reunited at Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest earlier this year.

Eric and Parrish are making more dollars at Knitting Factory on November 19th, as the duo known as EPMD will team up to tear down the joint with D-Money. Tickets are on sale.

Joell Ortiz of recent Slaughterhouse fame will play SOBs on 11/9. Tickets are on sale.

Pittsburgh weed kingpin Wiz Khalifa will play the Best Buy Theater on November 13th as part of a huge US tour dubbed the Waken Baken Tour. Tickets are on sale. All dates below.

Statik Selektah & Termanology's new collaborative LP, 1982, gets an album release party on October 25th at SOBs. Tickets are on sale for the show, which will feature support from REKS & more special guests TBA. Dig on the recent video by 1982 featuring Bun B & Masspike Miles, "You Should Go Home", below.

Some videos and tour dates below...

Continue reading "upcoming hip hop shows & tours -- CMJ, Duck Down & more "

words and photos by BBG

Black Milk at Audible Treats showcase, SXSW 2010

Duck Down Records (meaning Buckshot, Smif N Wessun, Torae, Ruste Juxx, Marco Polo, "and more") will showcase their infinite rhymes with a show at NYC record store Fat Beats along with Black Milk (with a live band), AG (of DITC and Showbiz & AG fame), Von Pea (of Tanya Morgan), 88 Keys, Soul Khan, and DeeJay Element in celebration of Record Store Day Saturday (4/17). Flyer for the show is below.

Both General Steele of Smif N Wessun and Ruste Juxx with Marco Polo recently dropped their new albums on Duck Down, Amerikkka's Nightmare part 2: Children of War and The Execution respectively.

Black Milk plays SUNY Purchase tonight (4/16) as part of Culture Shock 2010. The Detroit beat killer headlined one of the stages at our Attitude Adustment show at Red 7 and then the BV-sponsored Audible Treats show on 3/20 during SXSW. Lost pics from the latter and and flyer for Fat Beats (with set times) are below...

Continue reading "Black Milk played SXSW (pics), playing Culture Shock (today) & Fat Beats (w/ Duckdown artists & others) on Record Store Day"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Black Milk - "Dreams" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Bisco Smith - "Vibrations" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dres of Black Sheep - "Doin It Wrong" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Crown Royale - "Photographs" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Diamond District - "Who I Be" (Marco Polo Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Finale - "Motor Music" produced by Black Milk (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: ILL-Literacy - "Gentlemans Kool Aid" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: League510 - "Alienated" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: One Be Lo - "The Pigs" feat. Mike Posner (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Tanya Morgan - "The Drop" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: TRUTHLiVE - "Shoot Me Down" prod. by Tha Bizness (MP3)

Tanya Morgan is a (good) rap group. (more by Paul Birman)

Much like CMJ last year, we are proud to announce our sponsorship of the Audible Treats SXSW showcase at The Independent (501 Brushy Street) on March 20th! The Austin show will feature some of of the brightest in independent hip hop including the incredible Black Milk, bonafide hip hop legends Black Sheep and the rhyming 2/3 of Tanya Morgan! Full lineup is as follows:

Audible Treats 2010 SXSW Showcase lineup
Black Milk
Black Sheep
Donwill & Von Pea (Tanya Morgan)
Diamond District
Crown Royale (Buff1 and DJ Rhettmatic)
League510
One Be Lo (of Binary Star)
Ill-Literacy
Truthlive
Bisco Smith
Amp Live (Zion I)

Black Milk, who along with Buckshot and Torae, also plays Attitude Adjustment at Red 7 in Austin on 3/20, is prepping to release his new LP, Album of The Year, the follow-up to the incredible Tronic which impacted in 2008. He'll also appear at SXSW as a member of Random Axe, the supergroup which will team him with Sean Price and Guilty Simpson. Random Axe have a new LP on the way too.

Dres of Black Sheep is scheduled to play SOB's TONIGHT (3/11), as well as on May 21st with Naughty By Nature at Brooklyn Masonic Temple (as a member of Black Sheep). Tickets are on sale.

Donwill will drop his solo LP Don Cusack in High Fidelity shortly after the SXSW show.

Diamond District is the meeting of Oddisee, YU, and XO, and they released their critically acclaimed debut In The Ruff last year.

Crown Royale is the new project featuring Buff1 with legendary turntablist DJ Rhettmatic. The duo recently completed mixing their debut LP.

One Be Lo will regroup with Binary Star to team up with DJ Abilities, Donny Goines, and Nyle at Knitting Factory on April 28th. Tickets are on sale.

SXSW show fliers and some videos are below...

Continue reading "Black Sheep playing Brooklyn (w/ Naughty by Nature) & the Audible Treats SXSW showcase w/ Black Milk, others (lineup)"

words by BBG, photos by Paul Birman

Souls of Mischief

Congratulations and sincere thanks go out to all who attended the Brooklyn Vegan sponsored Audible Treats Showcase at Southpaw on 10/22. Filled with an action-packed lineup of independent hip hop, Heiro legends Souls of Mischief headlined the show that also included the ever energetic Tanya Morgan, the all-star Trinity, aggressive spitter Kam Moye, the laid back flow of Oddisee, D-Town representer Finale, Jern Eye, and Truthlive. Southpaw was positively brimming with intelligent rhymes and equally killer beats from the artists as well as the house DJ fo the evening, Keelay of Keelay & Zaire. Hosted by Che Grand and the hilarious Wyatt Cenac (The Daily Show), there was no such thing as downtime on 10/22.

Admittedly, the crowd took a while to warm up: West Coast MCs Truthlive and Jern Eye had to work hard to get onlookers involved in their brief opening sets. Jern Eye leaned on material from his newly issued sophomore CD, Vision (just out on MYX Music), a mature, confident effort. Detroit rapper Finale -who'd arrived from Motor City shortly before his performance, and announced he'd be heading back home directly after- ripped through a fiery set previewing material from his upcoming disc, A Pipe Dream and a Promise, as strong a debut as any we've heard this year.

DJ Keelay kept the energy high between sets, and showcasing new material was a theme that extended throughout the evening: Washington, D.C.'s Oddisee... kicked off his set here with even newer material and welcomed Diamond District bandmate yU to the stage for a cameo. Then came Kam Moye, who declared he was representing for "grown-ass men," and Trinity, who presented an explosive set and flung almost as many T-shirts as syllables... Tanya Morgan was down a member -Ilyas, stuck at home in Cincinnati- but compensated with tons of attitude and energy, not to mention an oversize cadre of Lessondary cohorts. By the time Souls of Mischief took the stage with a mix of fresh tracks, deep cuts and repeated salutes to the late turntablist Roc Raida, the crowd was whipped up to an ideally receptive fever pitch. [Time Out]

Roc Raida was also being honored over in Manhattan at BB King's on the same night. How was that show?

More pictures and some videos from the Southpaw show, below...

Continue reading "Audible Treats @ CMJ 2009 - pics (Souls of Mischief, Tanya Morgan, Trinity, Oddisee, Finale, Jern Eye, Truthlive)"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Souls of Mischief - "LaLaLa" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Souls of Mischief - "Tour Stories" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Tanya Morgan - "So Damn Down" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Tanya Morgan - "Bang N Boogie" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Tanya Morgan - "Never Enough" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Tanya Morgan - "So Damn Down" Keelay & Zaire Remix (MP3)

Prince Paul & Hiero, I know, they're fly bro.

We are proud to announce that BrooklynVegan is an official sponsor for the Audible Treats official CMJ Showcase featuring a killer lineup of independent hip hop including west coast Hieroglyphics greats Souls of Mischief, recent faves Tanya Morgan, Trinity, Kam Moye, Oddisee, Finale, Jern Eye, and Truthlive! DJ Keelay, half of the production team Keelay & Zaire will be on the wheels. The show goes down on 10/22 at Southpaw in Brooklyn. Tickets are only $5 in advance, or $10 on the day of the show (or you can try to get in with your CMJ badge).

The Southpaw show will be Souls of Mischief's ONLY CMJ appearance, which will be in celebration of their new LP, Montezuma's Revenge. The album, which is produced by evil genius Prince Paul, is due on Dec 2nd via the crew's label Hiero Imperium.

Trinity, a group made up of AG of Show & AG, Sadat X of Brand Nubian, and DJ Jab, will make their debut at the show. Meanwhile, a solo AG is scheduled to team up with fellow DITC-er (and part time Organized Konfusion-er) OC for a show with RA The Rugged Man at Southpaw on 10/15. Tickets are here.

Kam Moye drops his new LP, Splitting Image, on October 27 via MYX Music Label. Samples from LP by the man formerly known as Supastition are above.

Jern Eye's Vision is set for release on October 13th, but as a teaser, he dropped The Eye Exam Mixtape here.

The Southpaw show on 10/22 is now one of THREE official CMJ showcases we're involved with this year.

1. on 10/20 it's indie rock/pop/singer-songwriter @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
2. on 10/22 it's hip hop @ Southpaw (this post)
3. on 10/23 it's metal @ Fontana's

Three parties. Three genres. Three neighborhoods. (and a bunch of day parties TBA)

Full Souls of Mischief tour dates, a whole bunch more MP3's, a flyer and some videos are below...

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan presents the Audible Treats hip hop CMJ showcase w/ Souls of Mischief (on tour) & more @ Southpaw"