by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Nappy Roots - Nappy University Mixtape (Zipped MP3s)

Buckshot and General Steele at Red 7 (more by Samantha Marble)

Memorial day weekend begins with two turntables and a mic. Billed as the "IT'S OK TO WEAR WHITE AGAIN" Party, Duck Down Records will gather up Buckshot with Sean Price, Sabzi of Blue Scholars, Team Facelift (Fat Jew, Fonda, Machine & DJ Tommy Mas), Kick Drums, Jasmine Solano and DJ Nire for a show at Le Poisson Rouge on May 27th. Tickets are on sale. The show is about a month and a half before Duck Down celebrates their 15th anniversary at BB King's. Tickets for that show on July 13th are still on sale.

Buckshot will also join Evil Dee, Smif-N-Wessun, De La Soul and others at the Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest in July.

In other hip hop show news, Nappy Roots are welcoming The Pursuit of Nappyness on June 15th, and will the the road for a string of US dates that include Mercury Lounge on July 23rd. Tickets go on sale Friday, 5/21 at noon. More dates below.

Chris Palko (aka Cage) will play BB King's on June 18th as part of a tour kick-off that'll take the MC out on a US tour through mid-July. Tickets are on sale. All dates below.

Keith Murray will play Southpaw on June 3rd with a backing band and the great CL Smooth as support. Tickets are on sale.

Murs plays Highline Ballroom tonight (5/19).

All Cage and Nappy Roots dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "Duck Down, Nappy Roots, Cage & more upcoming hip hop"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Blockhead - "Which One Of You Jerks Drank My Arnold Palmer" (MP3)

Blockhead (left) with Aesop Rock

Blockhead (born Anthony "Tony" Simon) is an American Hip hop producer based in Manhattan, New York. Aside from his solo efforts released on the Ninja Tune label, he is most associated with producing for Aesop Rock, a rapper for the Definitive Jux independent hip hop label. He has also previously worked with rappers Mac Lethal, S.A. Smash, Slug, and Murs, and is also a member of the hip hop/comedy group Party Fun Action Committee.

Along with RJD2 and Mr El-Producto himself (aka El-P), Blockhead has long been one of my favorite producers out of the extra thick Def Jux stable. More than just Aesop Rock's go-to, the NYC beathead has produced a few LPs of his own as well, including the recently released The Music Scene out NOW on Ninja Tune Recordings. Cop it, and cop one of the songs from the LP above.

Blockhead is scheduled to play a show a NYC in the coming week at Mercury Lounge on Friday, 2/5 with DJ Signify. Tickets are on sale.

Blockhead recently posted some of his earliest recordings for free download.

Ex-Ninja Tune artist Antipop Consortium plays BAM with Rain Machine on Saturday night (1/30).

Former Def Jux-er RJD2 is scheduled to play NYC on 3/7 with Break Science and Chichester. Tickets are still available.

Def Jux's Cage plays Music Hall of Williamsburg on Saturday night (1/30)...

Opening for Cubic Zerconia Album release. I will be playing with F Sean,Daryl Palumbo,Jarvis Holden and Nick Hook. 45 minutes. Come Hang w/ us SPECIAL GUESTS DONT MISS OUT - Cage

Flyer below...

Continue reading "Blockhead - new album out now (MP3), NYC show soon"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Tone Tank - The King of Surf Guitar Rap EP
DOWNLOAD: Junk Science - "Fire Drill" EP

Where's la bouef? Ah! There's Labouef and Palko!

Chris Palko aka Cage, who's new album Depart From Me hits stores on July 7th via Definitive Jux, is prepping to take his show on the road after tagging Yak Ballz for support. Joining Palko on stage as part of the "Cage band" will be producer of a large portion of Depart From Me and ex-Hatebreed guitarist F.Sean (aka Sean Martin), as well as DJ Chauncey of XO Skeletons. The tour includes an album release party of sorts during a two night stay at Southpaw (July 2nd tix here and 3rd tix here) where Palko will sign posters and copies of his new album. Additional support for July 2nd is TBA, but Junk Science & "The King of Surf Guitar Rap" Tone Tank are on board for night two.

Cage recently dropped the I Never Knew You EP, which is currently available for "pay what you want" download at the Def Jux site. The EP accompanies the video (viewable below) that was directed by partner-in-crime and star of the upcoming Michael Bay explosion-fest Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen, Shia LaBouef. No word on where Shia is with the reported Cage biopic.

Yak Ballz and House of Blow (aka F.Sean and Daryl Palumbo of Glassjaw, Head Automatica fame) are currently collaborating on some tracks, with one to appear on an upcoming Def Jux compilation. Yak Skywalker also recently posted his thoughts on one of his favorite hip hop songs ever, Camp Lo's "Luchini" (I have to agree) as well as dropped details on an exclusive series of shirts with fellow Weathermen El-P, Cage & Aesop Rock. More in a recent blog post here.

Video and dates below...

Continue reading "Cage & Yak Ballz - 2009 Tour Dates, videos & stuff "

Peelander-Z @ the Studio @ Webster Hall - May 16, 2009 (by Chris La Putt)

tonight in NYC
* Les Paul @ Iridium
* Green Day @ Bowery Ballroom
* The Roots @ Highline Ballroom
* The XYZ Affair & free comedy @ Pianos
* Busta Ryhymes @ Santos Party House
* The Shins, Delta Spirit @ Terminal 5
* Bob Log III, Willem Maker @ Union Hall
* Passion Pit @ Rocks Off Concert Cruises
* Iron and Wine, Partyface @ Abrons Art Center
* Azita, Wrekmeister Harmonies @ Mercury Lounge
* The Vaselines, Adam Green @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Jason Anderson, The Wailing Wall, Alden Barton @ Cake Shop
* Little Boots, Heartsrevolution, DJ Dave P @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* The Beets, My Teenage Stride, Tom Hamilton @ The Bell House
* Apeshit, Necking, Sex Negatives, Totally Ripped, White Suns @ Death By Audio

the Peelander-Z show (pictured above) happened the same night in the same venue, but in a different room, as Peaches.

Cage's new video for "I Never Knew You" below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Monday?"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Cage - "Nothing Left To Say" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cage - "Shoot Frank" (MP3)

Cage announced a new LP AND a new EP, both due in the first half of 2009. First up, Chris Palko aka the artist formerly known as Cage Kennylz will drop a "seven song mega-single/EP of exclusive bonus material entitled the I Never Knew You EP" for FREE via AdultSwim/Definitive Jux. Details to come, but look for it "sometime within next two months".

Cage's new LP, his first since 2005's critically acclaimed Hell's Winter, is due on June 30th via Definitive Jux. It's called Depart From Me and is executive produced by Sean Martin, recently ex-Hatebreed who also produced 9 of 14 total tracks with the rest of the production handled by El-P, Aesop Rock, and the late great Camu Tao. Check out the El-P produced "Nothing Left To Say" available for download above.

In other Chris Palko news, Cage recently shot a video for "I Never Knew You" in LA, directed by "close personal friend" and fellow Cardboard City member Shia LaBeouf, his directorial debut. Mr Transformers and Cage are also working on a "full-length feature film based on the rapper's young life starring Labeouf":

Palko was born in Würzburg, Germany... [and] lived there until the age of four when [his father Bill] Murray was dishonorably discharged for selling and using heroin... Murray would often force Palko to pull homemade tourniquets around his arm as he injected heroin. At the age of eight, Palko's father was arrested during a standoff with state troopers after threatening his family with a shotgun. Palko was kicked out of high school, [and] began using LSD, mescaline, cannabis and alcohol...

Palko was arrested several times for drug possession and fighting in the streets. When he faced jail time for violating probation, his mother convinced the judge that he was mentally unstable, and he was sent to the Stony Lodge psychiatric hospital for a two week evaluation. He eventually ended up staying in the hospital for eighteen months, where he was a part of a small group used to test fluoxetine. After being misdiagnosed and placed on the drug, he became suicidal and made several attempts to kill himself, including hanging himself with his shoelaces and saving his lithium dose for a month before ingesting all of them at once. -[Wiki]

Yikes. And that's BEFORE he got signed by Columbia, got dropped, was one of Fondle 'Em's first artists, beefed with Eminem, dropped his debut album, joined The Weathermen, and signed with Definitive Jux.

Cage is scheduled to play SXSW at the Biz3 showcase at Club DeVille on March 20th with These Are Powers, Kid Sister, Lady Sovereign, Chin Chin, Hollywood Holt, Thunderheist, Asher Roth, and Amanda Blank. No other dates at the moment.

Cage, Chauncey, Shia LaBeouf, glue and the late Camu Tao eating breakfast, and other videos, below...

Continue reading "Cage - new records, MP3s, Shia LaBeouf & SXSW"

DOWNLOAD: EL-P - EMG (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: EL-P - Smithereens (stop cryin) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Junk Science - Hey (feat. Scott Thorough) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Mike Ladd - Trouble Shot (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Hangar 18 - Feet to Feet (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Hangar 18 - Baking Soda (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Hangar 18 - Think Big (MP3)

WHAT: El-P free show at Studio B
WHEN: Thursday, December 6th
WHERE: Studio B - 259 Banker St. Brooklyn, NY
TIME: Doors at 9pm
Flying Lotus and Home Video will be opening, Chin Chin will play as El-P's backing band.

The show is first come, first served. And here's what El-P liked in 2007....

1. NIN Year Zero (Interscope)
2. Aesop Rock None Shall Pass (Definitive Jux)
3. Rob Sonic Sabotage Gigante (Definitive Jux)
4. QOTSA Era Vulgaris (Interscope)
5. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis The Proposition (Mute)
6. UGK Underground Kingz (Jive)
7. Camron Public Enemy Number 1 (Diplomat)
8. Gang Of Four Entertainment (remastered) (Rhino)
9. Deftones Saturday Night Wrist (Maverick)
10. Jay Z American Gangster (Island Def Jam, Roc-A-Fella)

In related news: Del The Funky Homosapien signed to Def Jux (The 11th Hour is out February 26, 2008). Shia LaBeouf is working on a Cage Biopic. Mike Ladd's new album Nostalgialator is out January 15th (MP3 above). Junk Science and Hangar 18 have new Def Jux albums out now. MP3s above. Videos below....

Continue reading "El-P playing a free show & likes NIN, a Cage biopic, Del the Funky Homosapien & other Def Jux stuff"