by Andrew Sacher

Three 6 Mafia rapper Juicy J is still kicking, and plans to release his third solo album, Stay Trippy, at some point this year. The album is set to feature last year's party hit, "Bandz A Make Her Dance," his recent chilled out single that he recorded with The Weeknd and Weeknd producer Illangelo, "One of Those Nights," and his other single from January, "Show Out," a collaboration with Big Sean, Young Jeezy, and producer Mike Will Made It, which was just given video treatment. You can watch that new video and stream the other two tracks below.

In support of the album, Juicy J will be heading out on a tour of the US and Canada from late April to early June, and he's taking A$AP Ferg out with him as support. The tour hits NYC on May 14 at Irving Plaza. Tickets for that show go on sale today (3/8) at 10 AM. The release date for Stay Trippy is still TBA but hopefully it will drop before he hits the road.

All tour dates are listed, along with the new video and those song streams, below...

Continue reading "Juicy J has a new video, announces tour w/ A$AP Ferg (dates)"

by Klaus Kinski and Joe Mande

Joe Mande is a comedian and writer. He's been seen on Conan, Comedy Central, and VH1 Best Week Ever. He's also a writer for Parks and Recreation, Delocated, and the upcoming Kroll Show. He's also the brains behind the pitch-perfect project Look At This Fucking Hipster. When you're as brilliantly hilarious as Joe Mande, it's only a matter of time before you get sucked into Olde Man Los Angeles' bosom and have to leave NYC, which is precisely what he did recently much to the dismay of many people who love him, myself included.

I have been an avid fan of Mande since he was knee-high to a grasshopper and getting his start in the NYC comedy scene. There was a time where it seemed like you could catch him on a stage somewhere in this city at least 9-10 times a week. It is his simplest flourishes that kill me the most; for example, his twitter feed is the best. Among other tweet-skillz, he has a knack for re-tweeting the absolutely vapid and pointless horse-shit that a celebrity's pea-brain managed to fart out into cyberspace. And where else can you see a picture like this? I asked Joe for a Top Ten of 2012 list. The results, with accompanying YouTube videos, are below.

Continue reading "Joe Mande's Best of 2012 ("top 10 rap songs I downloaded for free off the internet")"

Frank Ocean at Lollapalooza 2012 (more by James Richards IV)

today in NYC
* Yvette @ The Grand Victory
* Joe Jackson @ Town Hall
* Wye Oak, Callers @ Maxwell's
* Vetiver, Big Search @ Glasslands
* MNDR (DJ) @ Public Assembly
* Et Cetera Festival @ Public Assembly
* Deidre Rodman Quintet @ The Stone
* Digitalism (DJ Set) @ Webster Hall
* Cate Le Bon, Quilt @ Mercury Lounge
* Nass Gnawa, DJ Mickey Perez @ Zebulon
* Erik Friedlander with Ikue Mori @ Barbes
* Frontier Ruckus, Chamberlin @Littlefield
* Laetitia Sadier, Orca Team @ Mercury Lounge
* Love Inks, Ray Raposa, Pastimer @ Pianos
* Gang Gang Dance, Sun Araw @ Public Assembly
* Bonobo (DJ Set) @ Rocks Off Concert Cruises
* Devin, Starlight Girls, Vorhees @ 3rd Ward
* Avan Lava, Spirit Animal @ Studio at Webster Hall
* Ed Sheeran, Passenger, Selah Sue @ Terminal 5
* Chomp, Sleepies, Heaven's Gate @ Cameo Gallery
* Bon Iver, Doug Paisley @ Radio City Music Hall
* The Babies, K-Holes, Sundelles @ Death By Audio
* Fan-Tan, My Summer, Imaginary Weapons @ Big Snow
* Patrick Wolf, Woodpigeon, Mice Parade @ Joe's Pub
* Sam Bardfeld/Napoleon Maddox and Friends @ The Stone
* Bad Powers, Sannhet, The Year is One @ Saint Vitus
* Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band @ MetLife Stadium
* Jimmy Edgar, Mike Servito, Paul Raffaele @ Glasslands
* KISS, Mötley Crüe, The Treatment @ PNC Bank Arts Center
* KNTRLR, Totem, Royal Chant, Field Recordings @ 929 XPO
* Purity Ring, Evian Christ, Headaches @ Bowery Ballroom
* Krallice, Feast of the Epiphany, Mutant Supremacy @ Acheron
* The Roots, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe @ The Capitol Theatre
* The Royalty, Graph Rabbit, Hidden Cities @ The Bowery Electric
* Nobunny, Liquor Store, X-Ray Eyeballs, Bad Sports @ Living Bread
* Michael Kiwanuka, Marcus Foster, Foy Vance @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Midnight Magic, Something In Spanish, Hess Is More @ Cameo Gallery
* The Eric Andre Show w/ Hannibal Buress Victor Varnado, Sammy Bananas @ Santos
* Teengirl Fantasy, Laurel Halo, ITAL, Magic Touch, M Geddes Gengras @ 285 Kent Avenue
* Smoke DZA, HEEMS, Meyham Lauren, Children of the Night, RatKing @ Shea Stadium
* Total Slacker, Indian Jewelry, Black Marble, Plastic Flowers, DJ Heavenly Beat @ Public Assembly
* John Hammond, Jim Campilongo, Dumpster Hunter, Wyndham Baird, Sarah Lipstate @ DROM
* Pictureplane (DJ set), CREEP (DJ set), Physical Therapy (DJ set), Le Sphinxxx (DJ set) @ Public Assembly
* ATP I'll Be Your Mirror - Philip Glass, Tyondai Braxton, Lightning Bolt, Lee Ranaldo, Janeane Garofalo, Kurt Braunohler @ Pier 36

There is just a crazy amount of amazing stuff going on tonight, it's kinda unfair to the discerning New York music lover. Perhaps biggest on the list is ATP NYC. Where else are you going to see Lightning Bolt, Phillip Glass and Frank Ocean all on the same bill?

You could also head to Mercury Lounge for two separate shows that really could have been one big one. The early show features utterly charming Welsh singer Cate le Bon with Quilt supporting; the late show is former Stereolab chanteuse Laetitia Sadier and Seattle's terrific Orca Team Maybe you can talk the door person into a two-fer dicount? (Probably not).

There is also the BV-presented Bad Powers, Sannhet and The Year is One show at Saint Vitus for those who like it loud and heavy.

As hinted at yesterday, Teengirl Fantasy will in fact be the special guest at 285 Kent tonight with Laurel Halo, Ital, M. Geddes Gengras, and Magic Touch. That show is one of the many dance options in NYC this weekend.

There is also the NYC debut of Cloud Nothings offshoot Chomp at Cameo, though Swearin' have had to drop off the bill due to a family emergency. Sleepies replace them on the bill that also includes Heaven's Gate.

Public Assembly's Et cetera festival is music oriented tonight, with Gang Gang Dance in the main room (one of three NYC shows they're doing this weekend) and Total Slacker, Indian Jewelry, Black Marble, and Plastic Flowers playing a free show in the back room. MNDR will DJ late night.

There's also Bruce at MetLife Stadium, and KISS, and Mötley Crüe at PNC Bank Arts Center. Basically, something for everybody tonight!

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In the latest installment of his video series, Canadian national treasure Nardwuar interviews Big Sean. Watch his dazzle the rapper with obscure facts and presents below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?"

by Andrew Sacher

After much delay, rumors proved true and false, and some uncertain info, Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music compilation album, Cruel Summer, is fully confirmed and will be out this Tuesday (9/18). Many of its tracks -- "Clique," "Mercy," "New God Flow," "Cold" (previously titled "Theraflu"), and his guest-filled remix of Chief Keef's "I Don't Like" -- have been floating around the internet for some time now. You can stream all of those and snippets of every album track below.

Though Kanye only actually raps on about half the album, his presence is felt throughout and Cruel Summer succeeds at playing from start to finish with an album flow, despite it technically being a compilation. It opens as huge as you expect any Kanye related release to open, addressing the album not just to his fans, friends or family, but of course, "To The World." The track brings together beat master Hudson Mohawke (who's been having a great year as one half of TNGHT) with R. Kelly and Ye. It immediately follows with the album's strongest track, "Clique," which features one of the best Jay-Z verses in recent years and a towering beat from Hit-Boy, who is also behind Cruel Summer tracks "Cold," "Higher," and of course you may know him as the guy behind "Niggas In Paris."

After it continues colossally with previously released singles "Mercy" and "New God Flow," we get the first track on the album without Kanye's voice, "The Morning." However, there's no lack of all-star rappers on the track. We get killer verses from vets Pusha T, Common, and Raekwon, and if guys like Kid Cudi and 2 Chainz are your thing, well they're there too. Cudi, though not the strongest of Kanye associates, does have a shining moment on the album though. Over a clattering beat in "Creepers," he delivers a solo vocal performance making for a rare standout personal moment from not-Kanye in the midst of Ye's encapsulating ego. That's followed by "Bliss," which sees the return of Hudson Mohawke to the boards and is the album's sole track with all singing, no rapping. A distinct contrast to the hanging out and freestyling feel of the closing "I Don't Like" remix.

Streams and tracklist are below.

Continue reading "Kanye's G.O.O.D. Music album 'Cruel Summer' is out next week (tracklist, streams & more on the album)"

Kanye at ACL 2011 (more by Tim Griffin)

Kanye West will be coming to Atlantic City next month for shows at Revel Ovation Hall on July 6 and 7. Tickets for those shows go on sale Friday (6/22) at 10 AM with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (6/20) at 10 AM. They're his only North American dates announced at the moment.

In related news, Kanye's G.O.O.D. Music group is putting out a compilation album this year which is set to feature Pusha T, Frank Ocean, Jay Electronica, 2 Chainz, Big Sean, and more. They recently dropped a video for the track "Mercy," with Kanye, Pusha T, Big Sean, and 2 Chainz. You can watch that below. G.O.O.D. Music are set to make their debut television performance on the BET Awards on July 1.

Meanwhile, Kanye has been on tour in Europe with Jay-Z and Rap Radar reports that last night (6/18) in Paris they broke their record of amount of times playing "Niggas in Paris" at one show, performing the song a dozen times. (Is anyone else besides Kanye vying for this record?) You can check out a video of this below.

A list of all dates and videos below...

Continue reading "Kanye West playing 2 Atlantic City shows, broke record of times having played "Niggas in Paris" in one show"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Azealia Banks - Jumanji (MP3)

Azealia Banks at Coachella 2012 (more by David Andrako)

Azealia Banks, who recently canceled a bunch of summer shows due to "recording commitments," has now added more shows to her summer schedule. Most of those are in Europe, but she was just added to the Hot 97 Summer Jam lineup which goes down in East Rutherford, NJ at MetLife Stadium on June 3. The rest of the lineup includes Nicki MInaj, Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, Waka Flocka Flame, Young Jeezy, J. Cole, Wale, and more. Tickets for the fest are available. The full lineup is listed below.

UPDATE: She actually plays the Summer Jam pre-show in the parking lot with the even more impressive lineup of Pusha T, Big K.R.I.T., A$AP Rocky, Schoolboy Q, Kendrick Lamar, and Fred the Godson. Your Summer Jam ticket gets you into the pre-show.

In addition to her fickle live schedule, Azealia Banks continues to move around her schedule of releases as well. As of right now, she's planning to get her delayed 1991 EP out on May 29 digitally and June 12 physically via Interscope. The cover art for that EP is below. She'll follow it with the Fantastic mixtape, which is due out on July 4, and includes her recently dropped track, "Jumanji," which was produced by Hudson Mohawke and Nick Hook. Grab that track above or stream it below. Finally, her debut full length, Broke With Expensive Taste, which is presumably the album she's been working on with Paul Epworth, is due out in September.

In other news, fresh off her feud with Iggy Azalea (who plays SOBs TONIGHT [5/17]), she's taken a stab at Lil Kim, who refused to collaborate with Azealia because Lil Kim wanted to write her own verse. Azealia had written it for her and insisted, "Everybody knows Lil Kim doesn't write her own raps." We already know that Kim's got beef with Nicki Minaj. Azealia, however, seems down with Nicki and would possibly collaborate with her, but thinks she should ditch the "ugly wigs and ugly costumes." Maybe they'll meet up when they both play Summer Jam next month. On the other hand, Azealia Banks has collaborated with Missy Elliot and Rye Rye on a remix of M.I.A.'s "Bad Girls." Look for that soon.

A list of all dates, Hot 97 Summer Jam lineup, 1991 cover art, and the "Jumanji" stream are below...

Continue reading "Azealia Banks added to Hot 97 Summer Jam lineup, prepping EP, mixtape, and LP"

The 2012 music lineup was announced today for Bumbershoot: Seattle's Music & Arts Festival, which is produced by non-profit arts organization One Reel and takes place over Labor Day weekend, Sept. 1-3, at Seattle Center. The 42-year-old urban festival stands on top nationally in its variety as it showcases both familiar and up-and-coming regional and national talent in many musical genres, as well as in comedy, theater, literary and visual arts, dance, film and children's programming.

Bumbershoot's Mainstage in KeyArena will feature two multi-act performances each day. Artists scheduled to perform there include groundbreaking alternative rock band Jane's Addiction, jazz legend Tony Bennett, electronic phenom Skrillex, a hip hop double bill with Mac Miller and Big Sean, M83, and AWOLNATION among others. Additional Mainstage acts will be announced in coming weeks.

Tickets are all-inclusive. All festival offerings, including Mainstage admission on a first-come, first-served basis (no separate pass required), and late-night electronic music curated by Decibel Festival for Bumbershoot After Dark, are included in the price of a single-day or 3-day ticket

Continue reading "Bumbershoot 2012 lineup (Jane's Addiction, Tony Bennett & Skrillex are the headliners)"

Rakim @ Rock the Bells 2010 (more by Andrew St. Clair)

Pentagram @ Power of the Riff in LA (photos by Adam Murray)

today in NYC
* ASSSSCAT 3000 @ UCB
* Dayna Kurtz @ Barbes
* Emily Wells @ Ace Hotel
* Chicago @ Beacon Theatre
* Susana Baca @ City Winery
* IDENTITY Fest @ Jones Beach
* Hannibal Buress @ Knitting Factory
* Talib Kweli (DJ) @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Dom, Sheen Bros & DJs @ Public Assembly
* Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Leisure, Emil & Friends, Slam Donahue @ Littlefield
* Rakim, EPMD, Funkmaster Flex @ Central Park Summerstage
* Quitzow, Alexander Trust, WKC, Shock Diamond @ Bruar Falls
* Canadian Rifle, Shaved Christ, Foreigh Objects @ The Acheron
* Stephane Wrembel Presents The Django Experiment @ Barbes
* Iceage, Crazy Spirit, Raspberry Bulbs, Perdition @ Secret Project Robot
* Pretty Good Friends w/ Eugene Mirman, David Cross, AD Miles @ the Bell House
* Pentagram, JEFF The Brotherhood, Valient Thorr, ELKS @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Paul Metzger, Neg-Fi, Eleven Twenty-Nine (Silent Barn Benefit) @ Zebulon
* Doldrums, Zorch, Many Mansions, Say No! to Architecture @ Death By Audio
* People's Champs, Nate Hancock & The Declaration, Mariami, Lyonnais @ Mercury Lounge
* Pizza Hi-Five, Archagathus, Violent Gorge, Powercup, Misanthropic Noise @ Acheron
* Christopher Willits, Jozef Van Wissem, Noveller, Loren Dent, Alexander Turnquist @ Littlefield

The IDENTITY Festival comes to Jones Beach today. It looks like this:

KASKADE 10:00 PM / DISCO BISCUITS 8:10 PM / AVICII 6:25 PM / CHUCKIE 5:10 PM / BOOKA SHADE 3:55 PM / MODESELEKTOR 2:40 PM / JESSIE AND THE TOY BOYS 2:05 PM / DATA ROMANCE 1:00 PM

/ ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK x DIM MAK STAGE /
DJ SHADOW 10:15 PM / STEVE AOKI 8:15 PM / NERO 6:50 PM / STEVE LAWLER 5:40 PM / THE CRYSTAL METHOD 4:40 PM / HOLY GHOST! 3:40 PM / HERCULES AND LOVE AFFAIR 2:40 PM / LE CASTLE VANIA 1:40 PM

Power 105.1 is hosting a show on Governors Island today with Fabolous, Kelly Rowland, Big Sean, Meek Mill, J. Cole, Estelle, Wale, and Ace Hood. Living Social has tickets for $20 each.

JEFF the Brotherhood, who recently played Rockawaway Beach, play LPR with Pentagram tonight.

DOM, who recently played Pier 54, play Rockaway Beach today plays Public Assembly today instead of Rockaway Beach due to rain..

Today at Pier 54 is the Blues BBQ with:

7:30 Bonerama
6:15 Shakura S'Aida
5:00 Walter Trout
3:45 Diana Braithwaite & Chris Whiteley
2:30 Marquise Knox

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"

The above pictures is a screen shot from the Virgin Freefest lineup announcement video that they posted to YouTube. The girl behind the words exclaims, "James Murphy solo!" as she reads her piece of the September 10th free MD festival lineup. The full lineup, video, poster and press release is below...

Continue reading "Virgin FreeFest announces 2011 lineup (includes "James Murphy solo" and many more)"

Quincy Jones, Aloe Blacc, and Kanye West

The above photo comes from crooner/MC Aloe Blacc's site and a benefit show that featured the three. So far, no indication that the trio will form a mega-trio, although if possible it will have to wait until Aloe Blacc returns from his current tour in the EU. Aloe Blacc spent Saturday night (6/25) playing Glastonbury in the UK alongside names like Radiohead, Pulp, Beyonce, and countless notable others. Check video of his performance below.

Aloe Blacc will spend the bulk of July touring overseas before heading back to the US to prep for a new batch of East Coast dates in early September. Those dates include a return to Highline Ballroom on September 2nd. Tickets are on sale.

In other news, Kanye West's GOOD Music imprint has landed a home at Def Jam which is part of Universal (which just lost Common to Warner Brothers).

Kanye's GOOD Music just released Big Sean's LP Finally Famous this week. What do you think of Big Sean? As Pitchfork pointed out, Flying Lotus is not a fan ("This Big Sean album is not sweet. I dunno why I try to like this stuff. I want my time back! same wack ass post drake cadence,talking about the same shit i heard in the last rap album i bought(nothing).more autotune.more snare repeat"). Flylo does however like the new Shabazz Palaces.

Speaking of Flying Lotus and Aloe Blacc, they both performed with the Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Ensemble in LA in 2010. Pharoahe Monch performs with the Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Ensemble in NYC in July 2011.

All Aloe tour dates and some video is below.

Continue reading "Aloe Blacc scheduled more dates, GOOD Music joins Def Jam, Common joins Warner Brothers"

Kanye West & Big Sean @ Irving Plaza Tuesday (Joshua Laboy)

Maybe it was all the excitement of summer finally arriving, but for whatever reason, NYC shows have been pretty heavy on the special guests lately. Here's a few we know about.

Reggie Watts was the secret guest that joined Glenn Kotche and Buke & Gass during 'Wilco weekend' at NYU for the Jab Abumrad's Radiolab Concert on Saturday (6/18). Reggie was a secret because of the two Summerstage shows he's playing this week including the one in Red Hook Park TONIGHT (6/24).

Reptar was a secret guest at the Thee Oh Sees Brooklyn Bowl show on Saturday (Reptar played Governors Ball earlier that day). And as predicted, Thee Oh Sees themselves were the secret headliner at Death by Audio the previous night (6/17).

Reptar, who also opened for Art Brut at Music Hall last night, will open for Foster the People at Terminal 5 on September 27th. The only mystery here is how Foster the People are big enough to headline Terminal 5 already! Tickets are on sale.

Ted Leo showed up as a special guest at the Eleanor Friedberger show at Europa during Northside. Bradford Cox was in the Audience. Catch Ted again at the free South Street Seaport kickoff party for the 4Knots Festival that Eleanor plays at the South Street Seaport a week later. It was just announced that Eleanor will also open for Deerhunter at their Webster Hall shows in August. (Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox must have really liked her set) Tickets for both Deerhunter shows are still available.

As also recently mentioned both Clams Casino and Neon Indian (DJ) were added as last minute surprises guests to the Northside show at Cameo on Sunday (6/19). The show was one day after Neon Indian played Governors Ball. Monday night Cameo hosted semi-secret DJ sets by YACHT, The Miracles Club & Midnight Magic, all who played MHOW on Sunday.

Kanye West showed up at Big Sean's Irving Plaza show on Tuesday (6/21), the same night Big Sean appeared on the Bon Iver episode of Fallon. Despite two of Kanye's friends being on Fallon on the same night however, Kanye did not make an appearance on the show (not even backstage). Videos from Irving Plaza below.

Justin Vernon did not show up at the S. Carey/David Bazan show at Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday (6/22), as we hoped he would. S. Carey is a member of Bon Iver's band and played with Justin the two days previous on both Fallon and Colbert.

Speaking of Fallon, Bob Mould (who DJs his Blowoff party at Highline Ballroom tonight) showed up and surprised people by playing a Sugar song backed by the Roots on the show. Mould recently performed live with the Foo Fighters during their set at Sasquatch. Video of that special guest appearance is below.

Lenny Kravtiz's daughter Zoë Kravitz and her band Elevator Fight played Southpaw with J*Davey on Tuesday (6/21). Lenny showed up to watch his daughter, but he wasn't the only crowd member blowing up Twitter. Drake was also in the audience to catch the show. FADER grabbed him outside the Park Slope venue for a quick video interview which you can watch below.

Flying Lotus & Just Blaze @ Music Hall (via the Comedian)

Flying Lotus headlined two Brainfeeder showcases (his label) this week. The first was at Bowery Ballroom on Monday (6/20) and the second at MHOW on Wednesday (6/22). Apparently trippy instrumentals aren't the only thing FlyLo digs when it comes to hip hop producers, because Just Blaze (Jay-Z, T.I.) showed up to play with him at the MHOW show. Flying Lotus also surprised NYC by playing a free late show at Le Poisson Rouge too.

Following in FlyLo's footsteps, Ivan & Alyosha gave NYC a gift in the form of a last-minute free late show at Mercury Lounge.

Crowded House frontman Neil Finn played with Eddie Vedder at Beacon Theatre on his tour with Glen Hansard.

And while opener Glen Hansard (Swell Season, the Frames) helped Vedder recreate "Sleepless Nights," the tender duet the pair shared on "Ukulele Songs," and the crowd found their voices and their feet for several of he night's tunes -- "Porch," "Unthought Known" -- the biggest roar erupted when Vedder invited Crowded House/Split Enz frontman Neil Finn to the stage for an impromptu collaboration Vedder jokingly called an "unrehearsed collision." With longtime friend Finn on organ, the twosome blended delicate harmonies on Hunters And Collectors' "Throw Your Arms Around Me." Finn took up a guitar and sat down next to Vedder to trade verses on Finn's Split Enz hit "I Got You," which found Finn playfully calling out chords to Vedder during the bridge. "It turns out we play that song differently," Vedder quipped, "But since he wrote it, he's right."

Decked out in a trio of long white lab coats, Finn (organ) and Hansard (guitar) returned with Vedder for the second encore, the rousing "Big Hard Sun" from "Into The Wild." [Billboard]

As you know, Stephen Colbert was the special guest with The Black Belles on his own show last night (6/23). He performed with the band and also recorded a single with them which is now on sale via Third Man Records. Jack White actually also appeared on the show this time for his third and final appearance during StePhest Colbchella '011 and then appeared with Colbert again today (6/24) at The Lot at the High Line. Jack and the Black Belles were also spotted last night (6/23) bowling at Brooklyn Bowl. According to Questlove (who was DJing the venue), he "has bowling game."

Tonight (6/24) is the another Doveman show at LPR. Lisa Hannigan (who played 3 sold out NYC-area shows this week) and Mike Doughty are billed as openers, but according to Doveman, some secret special guests will be showing up as well (as usual).

Last but not least, as hinted, and confirmed earlier today, Fucked Up are the special guest at 285 Kent Saturday (6/26) with JEFF the Brotherhood and Iceage. Tickets are on sale at Record Grouch. Iceage also played a secret show at 538 Johnson while they were in town for Northside.

Any special appearances we left out?

Videos below...

Continue reading "This Week in Special Guests (Kanye West, Reggie Watts, Reptar, Neil Finn, Drake, Just Blaze, Doveman & more)"

photos by Andrew St. Clair

Raekwon shows potential groupies his current relationship status

What kind of oldies concert draws a huge audience in its 20s? Rock the Bells, the daylong hip-hop festival that came to Governors Island on Saturday. This year's Rock the Bells borrowed an idea from the indie-rock festival All Tomorrow's Parties, booking groups to perform watershed albums in their entirety.

Two headliners, Snoop Dogg and Wu-Tang Clan, largely complied with the assignment. Snoop Dogg brought along most of the guests from his 1993 album, "Doggystyle," made back when he was Snoop Doggy Dogg. The others - A Tribe Called Quest, KRS-One, Rakim and Slick Rick - went "veering off," as Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest put it, to play additional hits (which no one minded) or to plug more recent projects.

And then there was the wild card: Lauryn Hill, the singer and rapper formerly of the Fugees, appearing half an hour late. She hasn't released a studio album since "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" in 1998, and she has recorded and toured only sporadically since then while raising five children. "I miss you," she told the crowd repeatedly. Partway through the set she pulled guests out of the V.I.P. section and onstage: Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, John Legend. They missed her too.
-[New York Times]

Continue reading "Rock the Bells @ Governors Island - pics (part 2) (Wu-Tang, Street Sweeper Social Club, Yelawolf, Slick Rick & more) "

by BBG

Rock The Bells 2010? Um, awesome.

For the first time in the history of hip-hop entertainment, ROCK THE BELLS is slated to have headliners perform their most influential albums in their entirety. East-coast legends Wu-Tang Clan will perform Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers from beginning to end. Released in 1993, the group's debut album revived the New York rap scene and is widely-regarded as one of the greatest albums in hip-hop history. Considered one of the greatest MC's of all time, Rakim is set to perform 1987's, Paid In Full, his first full-length album with Eric B. Fellow Golden age, east coast rapper, Slick Rick will conquer The Great Adventures of Slick Rick. Released in 1989, this debut album became a certified-platinum classic topping the Billboard's Top R&B/ Hip Hop Albums charts. Highly regarded as the "THE TEACHER", KRS-One is a hip hop culture advocate, music producer, MC and published author. Hailed as one of the best live performers, KRS-One will perform [the Boogie Down Productions classic LP] Criminal Minded. The 1987 trend-setting album sampled music from various genres including rock, reggae and funk.

So far only four festival dates have been released, LA (8/21), San Fran (8/22), NYC at Governors Island (8/28), and DC (8/29). Ticket info is forthcoming.

words & photos by Faith-Ann Young

True - it was the worst kept secret and the most corporate plumping event of all of SXSW (if Kayne would have worn grillz sporting the The Levi's® logo, it would have completed his Levi's® outfit) - but that doesn't mean Saturday night's show at the Fader Fort wasn't one of the best (3/21). Kayne West acted like a grand circus ringmaster - introducing his whole G.O.O.D. record label crew including Consequence, GLC, and his prized diamond rapper all-star Kid Cudi. Then, just when you got sick of Kayne's world, in came fellow Chi-towner Common sweating out "Universal Mind Control." And then, like Mary Poppins on uppers, Kayne smiled and pulled out yet another prized gem from backstage: the gorgeous divine Erykah Badu (who is a Texas native and was wearing full-sequined silver pants- the combination of which got a hot scream from the crowd). To close out, like a big, super-talented brat pack, the entire G.O.O.D. crew came back on stage and danced around to songs from West's 808s. Whether you love him or hate him, Kayne sure knows how to party (or promote).

More pictures and the entire setlist below...

Continue reading "Kanye West, Common, Erykah Badu, Kid Cudi, Consequence & friends @ Fader Fort (SXSW 2009) - pics, setlist"

"Kid Cudi and Hollywood Holt, two of the nation's noted up and coming MCs, will be combining their respective skills for a tour of North America that kicks off in Baltimore on Sept. 23 and wraps on Oct. 1st in San Francisco. Brooklyn based (by way of Cleveland) Kid Cudi stunned denizens of the underground with his Fool's Gold debut track "Day 'N' Nite" which became a club staple worldwide in 2008, leading to a slot performing on NYC's SummerStage Concert series alongside Fool's Gold label head A-Trak, Santogold, and Diplo. Hollywood Holt seems poised to take the mantle of hardest hustling man in the rap business. In under a year Holt has gone from playing at a local bowling alley to performing at Lollapalooza, sharing stages with such heavy hitters as Dizzee Rascal and Lupe Fiasco and having his Chocolate Industries debut video "Hollywood" premiered on Kanye West's blog."

GOOD Music (Kanye West's label) will clear the bench on Sept 9th when Consequence (the super duper guest star from A Tribe Called Quest's Beats Rhymes & Life), GLC (who first appeared on "Spaceship" from Kanye's College Dropout), Kid Cudi & Big Sean hit up the Knitting Factory. Tickets are still available.

Continue reading "Kid Cudi - a GOOD showcase tonight & Hollywood Holt tour "