by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Black Hippy - "U.O.E.N.O" Remix (MP3)

When we first realized Rhye wasn't as mysterious as we thought, it was brought into the public consciousness that one half of the duo was Mike Milosh (better known as just Milosh) and Robin Hannibal, who is also one half of the duo Quadron with Coco O. Quadron is set to release a new album, Avalanche, on June 4 via Vested in Culture/Epic, and in very exciting news, the first single, "Better Off," features a verse from Kendrick Lamar. Pitchfork mentions that Robin and Coco were also in a group called Boom Clap Bachelors, whose song "Tiden Flyver" is prominently sampled in Kendrick's "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe." Check out "Better Off" below, along with the album tracklist. That's the artwork above.

Quadron also have some tour dates coming up around the time of the album's release. They'll be a support act for some of the dates on Jose Gonzalez's group Junip's previously discussed tour, including the NYC date happening on June 13 at Highline Ballroom. Barbarossa is on that show too, which is sold out.

Quadron will also return to NYC for a free, all ages show opening for UK singer Lianne La Havas at Central Park Summerstage on July 27. DJ Center will be on the boards that night too.

As discussed, Kendrick Lamar will also be in the NYC-area for Summer Jam, Governors Ball, and Rock the Bells. Kendrick and the rest of the Black Hippy crew (Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock) just remixed Rocko's "U.O.E.N.O," which you can download above and stream below.

All Quadron dates are listed, along with the song streams and album artwork, below...

Continue reading "Quadron (mem. of Rhye) releasing new LP (stream a track w/ Kendrick Lamar), opening for Junip and Lianne La Havas"

Schoolboy Q at Best Buy Theater - 5/21/13 (via Kellen Dengler)

Thanks to TDE's recent success, Q found himself as the most established performer at the Freshman show. With no one to accompany him on stage, he fared better in the larger crowd as a solo artist, breezing through tracks from Habits & Contradictions and throwback collaborations with A$AP Rocky. At one point, he asked Kendrick Lamar to join him but laughed at the audience members who fell for his joke. Fittingly, he won the crowd back with his charisma by asking them the title of his upcoming album. "Oxymoron!" they screamed back. And this was done four times over. [XXL]

As mentioned in yesterday's What's Going On? post, Action Bronson made a video for his Harry Fraud-produced song, "Strictly 4 My Jeeps." If you missed it, you can watch that video below. Riff Raff stars in the video, and as discussed, he plays a Scion A/V show in Brooklyn at Coco 66 tonight (5/22) with Stalley and Smoke DZA. Entrance to that show had to be gained through Scion's contest which has since ended.

Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul are both members of the group Black Hippy (which also includes Kendrick Lamar and Jay Rock), and that whole group is playing the traveling Rock the Bells Festival which hits the NYC-area on October 4-5 at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, NJ. Tickets for that festival are on sale now. The rest of the lineup includes Big K.R.I.T., Common, Danny Brown, Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler the Creator, Jhene Aiko, Juicy J, Rakim, Wu-Tang Clan, and many more.

Updated Rock the Bells lineup and videos below...

Continue reading "Schoolboy Q, Action Bronson (who has a new video) & more played the XXL Freshman show; Rock the Bells tix on sale"

Happy 10th anniversary to Rock the Bells, who have announced their initial, rotating 2013 lineup featuring hosts Peter Rosenberg & MURS 3:16, as well as names like Bone Thugs N Harmony, Danny Brown, Black Hippy (who just played NYC), Common, E40 & Too Short, Earl Sweatshirt (ditto), Flatbush Zombies, Juicy J (who played a Fader show on Monday and Irving Plaza last night), Rakim, Wu-Tang Clan (who play Summer Jam soon), Tyler the Creator (who just announced an NYC show as part of Odd Future), Eazy E, Ol Dirty Bastard and more. Confused? Yes, I did just say Eazy E and Ol Dirty Bastard, both of which will be "virtual performances" as part of the travelling festival. AllHipHop reports:

Ol Dirty Bastard and Eazy-E's spirits will return to the stage at Rock The Bells this year, AllHipHop has learned.

The pair of Hip-Hop legends will have holograms performing this year at the 10-year anniversary of the rap festival.

Eazy-E will perform virtually with Bone Thugs-In-Harmony and ODB will rock with Wu Tang. Organizers said Eazy never blessed the Rock The Bells stage and ODB only did once.

Also, the "holograms" are approved by Eazy-E's wife Tomica Wright and Ol Dirty's mother, Cherry Jones.

Tupac's Coachella appearance inspired the new virtual performances at Rock The Bells, organizers admitted.

Initial lineup (at least 15 more artists TBA), dates and some video below.

Continue reading "Rock the Bells 2013 initial lineup (Wu-Tang, Earl Sweatshirt, Juicy J, Tyler the Creator... + hologram ODB & Eazy E)"

by Andrew Sacher

Black Hippy at Downtown Music Festival in NYC (via @me_acosta)

The Downtown Music Festival, which is coming to multiple North American cities this year, kicked off its first one in NYC on Friday (5/10) across various LES venues.

The biggest highlight of the artists I saw was the Black Hippy crew, who went on at Capitale at around 1:30 AM. All four guys, Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock, came out together for a few posse cuts to start the show, and then Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q, and Kendrick each did their own mini-sets to follow that. They had a ton of fun with it, focusing on crowd pleasers, and taking it a little less seriously than when the members play their own gigs (in a good way). We've seen them make appearances at each other's shows, but getting a chance to see each rapper in the group sampling their own stuff and no one member taking the limelight over another is an entirely different appeal. It showed how diverse each rapper really is (Kendrick has the introspective songs, Q has the party bangers, and Ab-Soul has the tripped out ones -- and PS, we want to hear more from Jay Rock!), and like I said, it was a super fun show.

Houston rapper Fat Tony opened that show with a solid set, which he used much of to promote his new album, Smart Ass Black Boy, which comes out June 11 via Young One. If you haven't heard it yet, you can stream that album's single, "Hood Party," which features Kool A.D. and Despot, below. Tony will be back in NYC for the free 4Knots Music Festival in June.

Earl Sweatshirt at Downtown Music Festival in NYC (via Liz Una Kim)

Another standout of the festival for me was Earl Sweatshirt, who played Element at around 11 PM with Syd tha Kyd as his DJ. Odd Future supporters have turned on the group a bit (or at least the way it was when Tyler and Hodgy Beats were basically running it) and Tyler's so-so new album Wolf didn't help that, but Earl's been hailed as something of a saving grace for the group. It's obviously too soon to tell if Earl's gonna pull it off (though his recent singles have been promising), but whether intentionally or not, his show on Friday worked by being good for very different reasons than the ones that initially gained Odd Future attention. He didn't talk much between songs, didn't have any "punk" stage antics of a large group of hypemen, and OF's shock-factor-turned-predictable-offensiveness was almost never to be found. Instead, Earl focused on classic-style rhymes and proving himself as an adept emcee. There's still no release date for his upcoming album, Doris, but once it does come out, it should be pretty interesting to see where he goes with it.

More Downtown Music Fest coverage to come. Meanwhile, a video of Earl playing a new song at Element, Kendrick playing "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" at Capitale, and that Fat Tony stream below...

Continue reading "Downtown Music Festival NYC day 1: Black Hippy, Earl Sweatshirt, and Fat Tony (in review & videos)"

Kendrick Lamar at SXSW (more by Tim Griffin)

Tickets for the individual shows of Downtown Music Festival (5/10-11), which were just announced are on sale now, in addition to passes.

A whole bunch of other tickets just went on sale too.

Day-by-day schedule for Downtown Music Festival below...

Continue reading "individual Downtown Music Fest shows on sale now"

TEEN @ Glasslands. Sept. 2013 (more by Courtney Dudley)

The Downtown Music Festival happens in two weeks (May 10 - 11) at NYC venues on or below Houston St. A few artists have been added to the fest's line-up: Nguzunguzu, Antwon, TEEN, Branchez, Mess Kid, Jade <3 & Blind Benny, Anais Mitchell, Crush Distance and Nire & Nani. Tickets (single day and two-day passes, and VIP passes) are still available.

The festival has also announced the daily line-ups, so we now know things like that Black Hippy and Fat Tony will be playing at Capitale on Friday night (5/10); Earl Sweatshirt, Ryan Hemsworth and Antwon will be at Element on Friday; and Ratking, Black Dave, Vashtie, Mr. Muthafuckin Exquire and Jade <3 & Blind Benny will be at Tammany Hall on Saturday night (5/11), to name a few. Check out the full schedule below.

Continue reading "Downtown Music Festival adds more artists (Antwon, TEEN + more), announces daily schedule"

Autre Ne Veut at BV-SXSW 2013 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

As mentioned, Downtown Records are taking their Downtown Music Festivals to different North American cities this year, including NYC from May 10 to 11 across various LES venues, including Mercury Lounge, Bowery Ballroom, Angel Orensanz Center, Pianos, Cake Shop, Tammany Hall, Element, Capitale, Rockwood Music Hall and more.

In addition to the previously announced lineup of Black HIppy (aka Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock), Purity Ring, Earl Sweatshirt, DIIV, Sky Ferreira, Trash Talk, Palma Violets, Teengirl Fantasy, and others; more acts have just been added. Those new acts include Andrewy Wyatt (of Miike Snow), Autre Ne Veut, Guards, Ryan Hemsworth, Port St. Willow, Kilo Kish, Ratking, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, Vashtie, Fat Tony, d'Eon and Kingdom (playing with Kelela, who sang a song on the Teengirl Fantasy album last year and sings a song on the new Kingdom EP this year, which you can listen to below).

2-Day passes for the festival have sold out, but single day tickets for May 10 and May 11 are still available. The day-by-day lineups have also been announced, and you can check those out below.

Continue reading "updated Downtown Music Festival lineup & tix info (Autre Ne Veut, Ryan Hemsworth, eXquire, Kilo Kish & more added)"

by Andrew Sacher

Schoolboy Q at SOB's - 3/28/13 (via Jasmine Sanchez)

The Black Hippy crew hit NYC for Kendrick Lamar and Ab-Soul shows before they all went down to Austin for SXSW, and afterwards Schoolboy Q returned for two shows of his own here. They both happened last night (early and late) at SOB's and both were sold out.

I caught the early show, which began after three opening sets (including one by Bishop Nehru, who won over the crowd like he did at Ab-Soul's show in February). Q's on the verge of releasing his debut major label album, which he brought up to the crowd throughout the show last night ("what's the name of my new album?" "OXYMORON!"), but he focused the show more on his two existing releases, Setbacks and Habits & Contradictions, speeding through favorites like "Figg Get Da Money," "Bet I Got Sum Weed," "Nightmare on Figg St.," "Sexting," and a ton of others. Q's got the wildest show of all the Black Hippy members, he's constantly moving around on stage and his quick flow bites even harder than on record.

In addition to his own material, he repped Kendrick Lamar by playing "A.D.H.D." (which he does at a lot of shows) and played an A$AP Rocky song, who he mentioned couldn't be there because he's on tour with Rihanna. As Q neared the end of his set, he rapped "Weed and brews, weed and brews, life for me is just weed and brews," which the crowd yelled back to him as he cued the beat to big hit "Hands on the Wheel," which I (and probably others) assumed was going to be the end of his set. But after only one verse, he cut the song and said "Nah, that ain't gonna work anymore, I got a new album coming out. What's my new album called?" "OXYMORON!!" Then he broke into his new single from the album, "Yay Yay," which you can watch a video of from last night's show (along with a stream of the studio version) below.

The whole Black Hippy crew is part of the lineup for the Downtown Music Festivals, which hits the LES in NYC from May 10 to 11 across multiple venues (more details still TBA).

Continue reading "Schoolboy Q played two shows at SOB's (watch him perform new single, "Yay Yay")"

Palma Violets at BV SXSW 2013 day party (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Downtown Records are taking their Downtown Music Festivals to different North American cities this year with a lineup that includes Black Hippy (aka Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Ab Soul, and Jay Rock all playing together), Purity Ring, Earl Sweatshirt, Sky Ferreira, DIIV, Palma Violets, Trash Talk, Beach Fossils, Teengirl Fantasy, Inc., Ducktails, Royal Teeth, and Black Dave, plus more TBA.

The first festival takes place in NYC from May 10 to 11 across multiple venues, including Bowery Ballroom, Mercury Lounge, Rockwood Music Hall, Angel Orensanz, Pianos, Cake Shop, Tammany Hall, and Element. The full lineup and schedule for the NYC shows has not been announced yet, but we do know that it includes the previously announced Palma Violets show at Bowery Ballroom (which is now sold out, but tickets are still available for PV's MHOW show a day earlier). We also hear that they're trying to put up an outdoor stage and shut down Ludlow St to car traffic (which Pianos and Cake Shop are both on) for the festival, but no exact word on how that will work out.

2-Day Passes for the NYC festival are on sale now and tickets for individual nights go on sale Friday, April 12 at 11 AM.

After NYC, the festival will also pass through Philly, Toronto, Boston, LA, Denver, and Las Vegas, but the dates for those cities has not been announced yet.

by Andrew Sacher

LA singer Jhené Aiko has appeared on a number of Black Hippy releases (both Schoolboy Q albums, both Ab-Soul albums, and Kendrick Lamar's O(verly) D(edicated)) and has her own mixtape out, Sailing Souls, which features collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Miguel, Drake, and others. Similarly to The Weeknd, Solange, or even Autre Ne Veut, Jhené Aiko pulls equally from smooth late-night R&B and downtempo indie pop. And though that description is pretty "in" right now and causing lots of bandwagon jumpers, like the aforementioned artists, Jhené brings something new to the discussion. Her official debut full length album, Souled Out, is due out at some point this year via Def Jam.

Towards the end of 2012, Jhené dropped the Souled Out single, "3:16 AM," which stirred up a lot of anticipation for the album. And now she's back with a new single, the contrasting "Burning Man (3:16 PM)," which is just as strong as its predecessor and keeps hope high for the new record. The track was produced by Fisticuffs (Miguel, Dawn Richard) and you can watch its video, along with the "3:16 AM" video, below.

Jhené did some touring last year, including a stop in Chicago where she played a FADER/Captain Morgan show. A high quality video of her performing at that show with a killer live band is below. No future live dates to report at the moment.

Continue reading "Jhene Aiko releasing debut LP, made a video for her new song"

Killer Mike in Austin in 2012 (more by Tim Griffin)

Atlanta rapper Killer Mike spent a great deal of 2012 on the road in support of that year's excellent R.A.P. Music album, and though he doesn't have a 2013 tour scheduled at the moment, he does have a bunch of festival appearances coming up. He'll head to Texas this March for 35 Denton followed by SXSW, and will also be at Sasquatch!, Bonnaroo, Primavera Sound, the Black Hippy-headlined Paid Dues Festival in San Bernardino, the just-announced ten-day Ottawa Bluesfest (he plays on 7/10 with Weezer, Passion Pit, Animal Collective, El-P and others), and he will be near NYC in July for Camp Bisco. Bisco tickets are still available.

However, if you want to see him actually in NYC and much sooner than that, you can enter Scion A/V's Twitter/Instagram contest (instructions and details HERE) to get into the Killer Mike show Scion is presenting on March 20 at Public Assembly with Two-9 and Morri$, as part of the same series that A$AP Rocky just played. Entering Scion's contest is the only way to gain access to the show.

All Killer Mike dates are listed, along with the Public Assembly show flyer, below...

Continue reading "Killer Mike playing festivals & other shows -- 2013 tour dates"

by Andrew Sacher

Ab-Soul at SOB's - 2/27/13 (photo by Marvin H)

After Ab-Soul (and the rest of the Black Hippy crew) appeared on stage with Kendrick Lamar during Tuesday's Roseland show, he stuck around NYC for his own show at SOB's last night (2/27). Due to the previous night's events, everyone pretty much knew something similar would go down at SOB's, which Ab-Soul acknowledged early on at last night's show, and proceeded to make the hour-ish long show a split between solo Soulo and a showcase of his friends/collaborators.

Ab-Soul has a lot of fun at his shows, doing lots of call-and-response with the crowd, like: "When I say 'Hiii," you say 'Power!'" "Hiii!" "POWER!"; "When I say "TD," you say "E." "TD" "EEEE!"; and my personal favorite, "Soulo ho!" - "SOULO HO!", which he always followed with, "See how easy it is? that's a real song. Seriously!" When he raps, he kills it live as much as he does on record. In terms of material, he did a lot of 2012's Control System but also reached back for some earlier cuts, like "Gone Insane."

Because there's no backstage at SOB's and the smoke-filled room was packed, Ab-Soul's guests had to squeeze their way through the center of the crowd to pop up on stage. So depending on where you were standing, you knew who was about to get on stage, but maybe seeing them walk right past you was even more exciting (I for one, was on the side of the stage, and have no idea). First out was Black Hippy cohort Jay Rock for their track "Lust Demons." After that, he hung out on stage as the third Black Hippy member of the night, Schoolboy Q, came out to absolutely murder "Druggys Wit Hoes Again," which had the crowd screaming in the chorus. Then Soulo took a break from the Black Hippy members, and spent the next chunk of his set bringing out NYC rappers, like Smoke DZA, Joey Bada$$ (who also came out during Ab-Soul's set at Terminal 5 in 2012), and the most riotous of the local guest spots, A$AP Rocky, who came out in his usual manner of rushing the stage with hypemen to do his own track, "Angels."

Finally, towards the end of the set, Ab-Soul played "Illuminate," which of course meant the last Black Hippy member of the night was about to hit the stage: Kendrick Lamar. After that track, Kendrick asked the crowd, "Can I do one of my own?" The crowd screaming in the affirmative was answered by the beat to "Backseat Freestyle" and before you could even hear Kendrick, just about every person in that room yelled, "MARTIN HAD A DREAM... MARTIN HAD A DREAM... KENDRICK HAVE A DREEEEEEEEEEAM." Then he stuck around for yet another of his own cuts, "m.A.A.d. City," followed by Ab-Soul closing the night with arguably his best track, "Pineal Gland."

The show opened with sets from G.R.A.M.Z., Rikki Blu, an unbilled set from the Ryder Gang, and the very intriguing Bishop Nehru. Nehru is from NYC, he's only 16, and like fellow young NYC rapper Joey Bada$$, Bishop Nehru sounds most influenced by the rap that came out before he was even born. And even if his influences are worn on his sleeve a bit, he's still a promising young artist, and ended his set by cutting the beat and delivering a rapid fast verse on his own, to which the crowd only screamed louder and louder as he went on.

Bishop Nehru's recent music video for "Misruled Order," which he directed himself, and a video of Kendrick and Ab-Soul doing "Backstreet Freestyle" at SOB's, below...

Continue reading "Ab-Soul played SOB's with Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, A$AP Rocky, Bishop Nehru & more (review, video)"

photos by Dylan Johnson

Kendrick Lamar touched down in NYC for two shows at Roseland Ballroom on Tuesday (2/26) (early and late)., part of HOT 97 and MetroPCS's "5 Boro Takeover Tour" that also includes an upcoming T.I. show.

No Drake, but he brought out an incredible group of collaborators including all of Black Hippy (Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock, and Ab-Soul), A$AP Rocky, YG, 50 Cent, and Tony Yayo. Kendrick and his friends played a bunch of cuts off of his unstoppable good kid, m.A.A.d city, reached back to early albums and mixtapes, and played some of his guests' material (like "Fuckin Problems" with A$AP Rocky) with the crowd screaming along the whole time. Both shows were sold out and totally packed, and you can check out pictures of the craziness from the early show in this post.

Kendrick's tour continues and brings him to SXSW in March (with all of Black Hippy) and back to NYC for Governors Ball in June.

Ab-Soul (and friends?) sticks around NY and plays SOB's tonight (2/27) with Bishop Nehru and more.

Kendrick also performed "Poetic Justice" on on Letterman on Tuesday with his band. The video of that performance and more pictures and a video from the early show at Roseland below...

Continue reading "Kendrick Lamar & special guests played shows @ Roseland Ballroom & Letterman (pics & video)"

by Andrew Sacher

Ab-Soul at Terminal 5 in 2012 (more by Julie Schabel)

Ab-Soul, who released the excellent Control System and toured with fellow Black Hippy members Kendrick Lamar and Jay Rock last year, is gearing up for a few shows this year. He was recently announced for Washington State festival Sasquatch! and was just confirmed for Austin's SXSW as well. Before SXSW, he'll do a few club dates, including one in NYC on February 27 at SOB's. Tickets for that show are on sale now. All Ab-Soul dates are listed below.

Though Ab-Soul is the only Black Hippy member confirmed for SXSW, we wouldn't be surprised to see the other three guys there too. We already mentioned that Kendrick Lamar is rumored to be there, and Schoolboy Q (who like Ab-Soul, plays Sasquatch) and Jay Rock are free during that time as well.

UPDATE: It's confirmed: Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, and Jay Rock will all be at SXSW 2013.

Kendrick Lamar took things in the Black Hippy camp to the next level last year with his major label debut, good kid, m.A.A.d city, and at some point this year, Schoolboy Q will become the second Black Hippy member to release a major label album, Oxymoron, which he's in the studio recording now. Somebody tell Jay Rock to get an album out soon too!

Ab-Soul is also working on a collaborative album with producer/singer JMSN, who contributed vocals to good kid, m.A.A.d. city, called Unit 6, which will be out at some point this year. The first single from that album, "You're Gone," is a wacked-out cut which sounds pretty good, and has a chorus which sounds a lot like Ab-Soul is saying he roofied a girl but RapGenius says he's talking about lean. You can listen to it and check out a list of all upcoming dates below...

Continue reading "Ab-Soul playing shows; all of Black Hippy coming to SXSW?"

photos by Julie Schabel

Kendrick Lamar @ T5, 9/15/2012

Kendrick Lamar greeted the sold-out crowd at New York City's Terminal 5 with a heartfelt "it feels good to be home." Kendrick opened hard with a string of Section.80 bangers that included "HiiiPower," "Fuck Your Ethnicity," "Hol' Up" and "A.D.H.D."

The Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) crew has been on the BET Music Matters tour for a week now, but the rigor of the nightly shows was only evident in Kendrick's hoarse voice. He powered through a long set of old and new tracks, letting the on-point audience finish line after line for him as he bounced back and forth across the stage under a banner advertising his upcoming album, good kid, m.A.A.d city. -[XXL]

For Ab-Soul's set, he brought out talented local rapper Joey Bada$$ and Joey's Pro Era crew. A video of Joey Bada$$ and Pro Era joining Ab-Soul, plus a video of Kendrick playing "Cartoons & Cereal" at the show are below. Stalley played an opening set at the show too (unfortunately we didn't get any pics of him).

Meanwhile, the fourth member of Black Hippy, Schoolboy Q, was not present. Q is currently as part of the ongoing A$AP Rocky/Danny Brown trek that comes to NYC on September 27 at Roseland. Tickets for that show are still available.

In other news, Kendrick Lamar is none-too-happy with Amazon right now. The online retailer has been prepping the release of Good Kid, m.A.A.d city but let one slip past the goalie by releasing the artwork for the record which apparently was a no-no. Lamar tweeted:

When u leak my album cover. Know that it's not a price tag. Its my LIFE. & there's alot of serious ppl that care about lil Kendrick's life.

All videos and more pics are below...

Continue reading "Kendrick Lamar played Terminal 5 w/ Jay Rock & Ab-Soul (who was joined by Joey Bada$$) -- pics & videos"

by Andrew Sacher

Black Hippy member Ab-Soul released his new album, Control System, this month via Top Dawg Entertainment. Along with Kendrick Lamar's Section.80 and Schoolboy Q's Habits & Contradictions, Control System continues to prove that the Black Hippy team are making some of the tightest indie hip hop around (you're up next, Jay Rock).

While Q is the group's party rapper and Kendrick's the one preaching mile-a-minute prophecies, Ab-Soul falls somewhere in the middle. He channels an abstract flow that traces back to Dr. Octagon, Deltron 3030, and Aesop Rock (and plays on it with his own name, "Ab-Soul, abstract, asshole"). On "Pineal Gland," a song about DMT, a doubled-up chorus chants, "Enjoy your mind trip but don't trip on your mind/No man is safe is from the war going on outside," sounding straight off an early Aesop Rock record or Aquemini-era Outkast. In addition to the head-in-the-clouds stuff, Control System is also scattered with recollections of west coast gangsta rap, especially on "Illuminate," his track with Kendrick Lamar that features mock gun shots and the tragic reference, "If I ever go to Columbine and cop 30 nines and cock back and kill."

On the brighter side of his album, he's got a handful references to some of last year's most memorable tracks like Drake and the Weeknd's "Crew Love," ASAP Rocky's "Purple Swag," and of course inner-Black HIppy references like, "Bet I got some weed like Schoolboy Q." In addition to guest spots from Black Hippy members (who all appear on the album's final track), he's got appearances by Danny Brown (of course), BJ the Chicago Kid, Jhene Aiko, his girlfriend Alori Joh (who passed away this year, RIP), and more. You can stream the entire album and check out the videos for "Pineal Gland, "Empathy," and "Terrorists Threats," below. The album is available to purchase digitally on iTunes and physically at the TDE webstore.

Soulo just finished up a tour with Schoolboy Q which hit Chicago earlier this month. Both rappers were just announced for the Rock the Bells 2012 lineup which comes to the NYC-area on September 1-2 at PNC Banks Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ. Meanwhile, you'll be able to catch Ab-Soul play his own show in NYC much sooner at SOB's on June 21. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Videos, streams, and a list of all dates are below.

Continue reading "Ab-Soul released 'Control System' (stream it), playing shows"

Schoolboy Q

Rapper Schoolboy Q is playing SOB's in NYC on 4/11, right before he kicks off a tour with fellow Black Hippy member Ab-Soul. That tour doesn't currently include any NYC dates, but it does hit New Haven, CT on 5/2. and Chicago where Q will return in July for Pitchfork Fest. All Schoolboy Q dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Schoolboy Q playing SOB's, Pitchfork Fest & other dates"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Kendrick Lamar - "Cartoon & Cereal [ft. Gunplay] (MP3)

ScHoolboy Q

ScHoolboy Q, who has been making tons of buzz lately, has a few upcoming shows, including one in NYC this week happening at Santos Party House on Thursday (2/23) with Kris Kasanova, Flatbush Zombies (who opened the A$AP Rocky show that Q guested at), and Nakim. The flier for this show is below.

If you haven't seen it yet, fellow Black Hippy collective member Kendrick Lamar and Danny Brown (who Q recently joined on stage in LA) are both on the cover of the new issue of the FADER (pictured below) and Black Hippy and Danny Brown were both profiled in the issue. The Black Hippy piece, which you can read HERE, mentions that ScHoolboy Q came up with the idea for the group:

"[Black Hippy] was actually my idea because I was slacking in my music," adds Q. "I figured if I could be in a group I could just write one verse and I could be good." He admits to being intimidated when he first started coming to the studio but eventually the tenacity of his collaborators rubbed off on him. Now he raps effortlessly in elastic word blurs. And while he still habitually clowns everyone good-naturedly--On Lamar: "When I first heard Kendrick, I'm like this nigga a bitch, I don't like this nigga"; on the possibility of a Black Hippy full length: "That shit ain't never gonna come out."--their collective pride in his rapid improvement runs deeply. So much so, that they unanimously anoint him the most talented rapper in the group. Q, of course, concurs.

Danny Brown, whose FADER profile piece you can read HERE, also has a Santos show coming up which happens on March 22. Tickets for that show are still available.

All dates, stream, and show flier, below...

Continue reading "Schoolboy Q playing Santos & other shows; Kendrick Lamar dropped a new song (MP3 & dates)"

by Andrew Sacher

Kendrick Lamar

After an EP and a mixtape, Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar released his debut LP Section.80 last month via Top Dawg Entertainment. The album features contributions by fellow Black Hippy members and production by J. Cole on the epic closing track "HiiiPoWer." You can watch the video for that below.

Kendrick is also rumored to appear on Dr. Dre's Detox (if that ever actually comes out) and is on Game (formerly The Game)'s The R.E.D. Album, which after being delayed for about two years, was released today (8/23) via DGC/Interscope. He appears on the album's first full track, "The City," and absolutely kills it. Between Game's fury, Kendrick's breakneck lyrical flow, and Cool & Dre's production, the track is one of the album's highest points. Some other standout guests appear throughout the LP including Tyler, the Creator and Lil Wayne on "Martins vs. Goblins," Big Boi and E-40 on "Speakers on Blast", and Drake on "Good Girls Go Bad." You can stream those tracks below and order the album on Amazon.

Kendrick has a few shows coming up including one on August 31 at S.O.B.'s in NYC with Trav, Los, and Sim City. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

In related news, Smoke DZA is having an album release party for his upcoming LP Rolling Stoned on August 29 at S.O.B.'s with special guests Asap Rocky, Bun B, Va$htie and more. Tickets for the show are on sale now. You can catch DZA in NYC again when he returns as part of the Smokers Club Tour with Curren$y, Method Man, Big K.R.I.T, and others.

Speaking of J. Cole, his debut LP, Cole World: The Sideline Story is set to be released on September 27 via Jay-Z's Roc Nation imprint. The video for the album's single, "Work Out," is below. He's set to kick off the 'Cole World: World Tour' on Tuesday (8/23) in Canada and continue touring internationally through mid-December. The tour hits NYC on October 25 at Best Buy Theatre. Tickets for the NYC show go on sale Friday (8/26) at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (8/24) at 10 AM and an internet presale starting Thursday (8/25) at 10 AM.

All dates and videos below...

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