words & photos by Benjamin Lozovsky

The old Knitting Factory used to be a bastion for independent hip hop in New York City. The new incarnation just took a big step at continuing that legacy, as it hosted one of the most historic hip hop concerts in recent memory.

On Wednesday night (1/20), An astounding array of legends and rising stars rocked the stage to honor everyone's favorite five-footer, Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest. The event, Mind Body Soul, was a benefit to raise awareness for diabetes (Phife just received a kidney transplant related to his trials with the disease). And while diabetes was often on the mind and tongues of the performers, the show was really more of a demonstration of the persisting camaraderie and mutual adoration within a genre too often beleaguered with battles and conflict.

After quick opening sets by Hook, Jasmine Solano, Scotch Davis, and Monica Rush, the venue went from a displaced chill to full on engagement as Talib Kweli lead off the roster of A-listers. Having just arrived at the venue and already sent out to perform, Kweli showed his undying humility and his utmost flexibility though microphone heroics on a short notice set. Greg Nice (of obscure but beloved group Nice and Smooth) then burst out with a virulent spirit, with the mohawked, larger-than-life OG launching himself straight into the audience to parlay with the youngsters up front.

Jeru Tha Damaja was glib and full of grimy charm; he laid down classic tracks and told stories from the tombs of Brooklyn Hip Hop lore. A soft-spoken Dres (from Black Sheep) smoothly enticed with new material to go with that little ditty about train derailment you might have heard.

Compared to the illustrious resumes of many performers preceding and following him, up-and-comer Jay Electronica might have felt a bit overwhelmed. But Jay's heartfelt thanks to his peers was the most touching moment of the night, and his outrageous performance - with help from Mos Def, Hi Tek, and Kweli (all of whom recently cancelled performances at Highline Ballroom) - resonated with the youthful segments of the crowd and proved his position as the brightest star on the hip hop horizon.

Jay might have been the showstopper if he wasn't followed by hip hop ambassador (and its greatest living performer) KRS-One. Accompanied by hype man BusyBee (of the original Zulu Nation crew), KRS got metaphysical with beyond-cerebral freestyles. But still being the most humble braggadocio around, he bumped out covers of Biggie and Tribe to continue the showing of utmost respect and brotherhood that categorized the night.

There were some awkward and antagonizing moments throughout: posse upon posse swelling to the width of the stage and getting shooed away numerous times by Heavy Sound (the presenter) organizers, strange interactions between host Michael Rapaport and house turntablist DJ D-Lyfe, not to mention an off-performance by a sheepish Mr. Cheeks (of The Lost Boyz).

But it wouldn't really be a memorable hip hop conglomeration if it wasn't just the slightest bit disorganized or sporadically contentious. Even without a single piece of original vinyl brandished throughout the laptop-swapping spree behind the DJ table, the event still felt like a storied Bronx block party or an impromptu Brooklyn corner concert or a Queens Native Tongue poetry slam.

As Consequence dragged Phife on stage, followed by Ali Shaheed Muhameed and then Q-Tip to perform the final set of the night as a united Quest, on display was a vivid demonstration of the greatest hope for the future of hip hop: its ability to nurture its own existence through such reciprocal love. It might take a village to raise a child, but on this night, it only took one Tribe to raise up hip hop.

Ghostface was on the bill, but didn't show. More pictures from the night below...

Continue reading "A Tribe Called Quest got together (w/ help from Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Hi-Tek & more) @ Knitting Factory in NYC - pics "

photos by Eric Townsend

Q-Tip and Common

"The Hennessy Artistry concert series ended with it's grand finale in Hip-Hop's birthplace last night in a true celebration of Hip Hop Music. As The Roots band backed Common, New York City erupted with energy unmatched even at a certain "fest" that took place last weekend. With only Common and The Roots on the bill, special guests Bilal,Don Omar, Consequence, Karen Wheeler of Soul II Soul, Q-Tip, and Queen Latifah made it night to remember. Seriously, watching Queen Latifah perform "Unity" live gave me chills." [MissInfo.TV]

Pictures and videos from the night (10/7), below...

Continue reading "Common, Q-Tip, Queen Latifah, The Roots, Consequence & friends @ Terminal 5 (Hennessy Artistry) - pics & video"

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"

photos by Eric M. Townsend

Q-Tip played a FREE album release show last night (September 29th) at the almost-extinct Tribeca Knitting Factory in NYC. Earlier this month Q-Tip (and Kanye West) made an appearance at a Consequence show at the very same club. Last night Consequence returned the favor. Busta Rhymes also joined Q-Tip on stage. More pictures and video below...

Continue reading "Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes & Consequence @ Knitting Factory pics"

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

As you would expect him to do at a showcase of rappers signed to his own GOOD Music label, Kanye West made an appearance at Knitting Factory in NYC last night (Sept 9). The whole show went: 88 Keys, Termanology, Big Sean, Mickey Factz, Kid Cudi, and then Consequence. Wale did some deejaying between sets. Kanye West came out during Consequence's set. They did "Gone" and "Flashing Lights" and a few of Consequence's songs. Then, as he's done before with his cousin Consequence, Q-Tip joined them on stage. Then Kid Cudi came back out and eventually pretty much everyone from the night was on stage by the end. As expected, people went nuts for Kanye.

In related news,

The release date and title for Kanye West's upcoming fourth solo album has been revealed.

According to a posting on Target's website, Kanye's album is titled 808's & Heartbreak and will be hitting stores on December 16th.

West performed a single from the album titled "Love Lockdown" at the MTV Video Music Awards this past weekend.

More pictures and video from Knitting Factory below....

Continue reading "Kanye West & Q-Tip joined Consequence & Kid Cudi @ the GOOD Music showcase @ Knitting Factory - pics & video"

"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."

The NYC date on that tour is September 24th at Love, but Kid Cudi is also playing a show tonight (Sept 9) @ Knitting Factory with some other friends of Kanye West. Black Bubblegum says:

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.

All flyers and dates below....

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