"Then, Doom's crew pulls up 15 people deep. Everybody comes out of the car except for Doom" - Harry Knuckles

Is or isn't it DOOM in Chicago (by Dakota Blue Harper via Stop Being Famous)

The three-date Mos Def/DOOM tour, coming to NYC's Nokia Theatre Times Square on Friday, February 26th, has already been rescheduled. With its new dates, the first show happened February 13th at Chicago's Congress Theater. Now it's being speculated that DOOM, as in the past, sent a stand-in to perform his super-short lip-synced headlining set. The venue and promoters have responded to the claim that it was a fake DOOM.

There are rumors floating around that this past Saturday's DOOM show was performed by a person who was not DOOM. The promoters of the show: React, Cold Grums, Silver Wrapper and the Congress Theater understand the rumors and are NOT ignoring the issue.

At the current time, React, Cold Grums, Silver Wrapper and the Congress Theater DO NOT have any proof that the person who performed was not Daniel Dumile, a.k.a. Doom. The show was legally contracted and paid for in full. The show was officially listed on Doom's website. React, Cold Grums and Silver Wrapper are all independent promoters who pour their lives into our shows.

Circumstances beyond the promoter's and venue's control prevented the artists from arriving on time, and the promoters elected to keep the venue open late so that the show could go on.

React, Cold Grums, Silver Wrapper and the Congress Theater are conducting an investigation with the Talent Agency, Management and Legal representatives for Doom. Because the show was legally contracted and paid for in full, any breach of contract could result in serious legal action. Doom's representatives are also preparing a statement.

Regardless of any of opinions, compelling proof of the matter is needed to take legal action on it. Until the investigation reaches conclusion, and proof is in hand, the promoters will not issue any refunds. At the current time, it is a rumor. This issue is being treated with the utmost respect and consideration.

React, Cold Grums, Silver Wrapper and the Congress Theater will release a statement clarifying the results in the near future. [Chicago Now]

What that means for the show this Friday is anybody's guess. Tickets are still on sale if you want to find out in person.

Promoter Harry Knuckles from Cold Grums, who was aware of DOOM's spotty record beforehand, describes the situation from his point of view, below. Mos Def (who may or may not have been drinking a Rolling Rock at Under 100) (via) did manage to put in what looks like a solid performance (including a masked cover of DOOM's "Accordian"). And on top of that, DOOM has added more European dates to his schedule for this March. The statement, videos and tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Did DOOM actually play in Chicago? Will he play NYC with Mos Def? Was Mos Def drinking a Rolling Rock @ Under 100?"

photos by Lori Baily

"I'll walk you through it, it's kind of funny. You know when you pass by a grocery store and there's this grate that goes into the floor and then there's this narrow metal staircase that goes down into the basement where they have storage and stuff? It's like that. First thing we had to do was fit the staircase with these wooden 2 x 4s so people wouldn't completely die when they went down. So we fixed the staircase, and we built a soundproofing wall in between the space and the street, which was totally remarkable. You couldn't hear anything from the street--we had a subwoofer going off, and Knyfe Hyts and Sleigh Bells were super loud. I was so happy. It totally dampened the sound and that's like two layers of 2 x 4's with insulation in the middle. We cleared everything out of his basement. There's no stage. In the back we put soundproofing blankets on the door and the door to the bar area. In the back there's a bar. We built a bathroom in the back so everything's contained to one floor. We can fit about 125 people comfortably." [Greg Finch to the Villge Voice]

Under 100's third and final show took place at the venue on Thursday, December 10th. Darlings, Dan Friel and These Are Powers were on the bill. More pictures from that show, below...

Continue reading "These are Powers, Dan Friel & Darlings played the LAST show @ Under 100 (in Damon Dash's basement) - pics "

Under 100 (more by Erez Avissar)

"Well, it's not that complicated, really. A phone call from Under 100 promoter Ariel Panero broke the news yesterday: two letters from the community board, a soon-to-be irate landlord, and a beyond irate Damon Dash, whose reaction upon reading our [the Village Voice] article about his venue yesterday was apparently to shut the whole place down. Other people we talk to say the place will be back, quietly, after a month or two time-out. Our guess is the truth of that prediction is very much in the air right now. Real sorry about this." [Village Voice]

Check out pictures from the third and final show, which was exactly a week before this closing announcement.

PREVIOUSLY: The Cool Kids, London Souls, Curren$y & friends (but not Blakroc) played Under 100 (pics) ++ a show there tonight

photos by Erez Avissar

"Damon "Dame" Dash co-founded Roc-a-Fella Records, helped launch the career of Jay-Z and discovered Kanye West. He's produced or executive-produced about a dozen films, including the well-received 2002 urban flick "Paid in Full" and the 2004 movie "The Woodsman," starring Kevin Bacon. And he started lucrative apparel lines like Rocawear and Rachel Roy, of which he is still part owner with his wife, the company's namesake.

But the 37-year-old Dash still says he gets snubbed by the music industry. Media reports last year about his alleged financial difficulties and legal problems probably didn't help. "My mistake was watching everyone else's careers and not watching mine,'' he says.

More important was his acrimonious split a few years ago with his old friend and business partner Jay-Z. "It was like, either you are on his side or on mine," he says. "And because of all that, there's resistance on every level with me and the shit just bugs me out." [Billboard]

New venue Under 100 (located in the basement of the Tribeca building where Damon Dash's office is located) is quickly becoming famous, after just two shows. The first, in November, featured sets by Sleigh Bells, Javelin & Knyfe Hyts 81 with help from Mos Def, Curren$y, and others. The second, just two nights ago (12/8), was rumored to include a performance by Blakroc (featuring Mos Def) who were on Letterman that same night. That didn't happen, but The Cool Kids, The London Souls, Curren$y (again), and some others did play. Mos Def and Damon Dash (again) were just hanging out. The third show is....

TONIGHT (12/10):

RSVP @ Lessartistsmorecondos@gmail.com
-- DARLINGS /// THESE ARE POWERS --
$ 7 bucks
09:00 pm Doors
09:30 pm DARLINGS
10:30 pm THESE ARE POWERS

More pictures from the last event, below...

Continue reading "The Cool Kids, London Souls, Curren$y & friends (but not Blakroc) played Under 100 (pics) ++ a show there tonight"

by BBG

Dan Auerbach, Jim Jones, Mos Def, Patrick Carney, and Damon Dash

Just in time for the holidays and to remind the hip hop listmakers that The Ecstatic was/is the truth, the two-time Grammy nominated Mos Def has scheduled a show on 12/20 at Highline Ballroom. Tickets, though not cheap, are on sale.

Mos Def was also recently announced as a contributor to the new Gorillaz record, along with a host of notables

The third Gorillaz album will feature one newly announced GPS voice, two iconic frontmen of the '60s and '70s, and more, lending to a contributing line-up as eclectic as the one heard on 2005's Demon Days.
The GPS voice, Snoop Dogg, plus Lou Reed of The Velvet Underground and Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, will be heard alongside Mos Def, Bobby Womack, The Horrors and the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra in Plastic Beach, out 2010.

Mos Def is also part of another notable crew, Blakroc, a project featuring The Black Keys as a backing band for a crew of killer MCs!

The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney have wanted to make a hip-hop album since they were teenagers....
"All the blues music I liked was super simple and stripped down. All the hip-hop I liked was super simple and stripped down," says Auerbach. "We always heard that connection."
The Black Keys' first demo reflected their hip-hop tastes. It featured drum loops and samples, which their first record label later told them to scrap. Years later, following recent praise for their minimalist, bluesy jams, The Black Keys have finally recorded a hip-hop album. Their collaborative ensemble is called BlakRoc.
"What makes this special is the guys' sensibility of hip-hop," [Pharoahe Monch] says. "The drum loop-like timing and patterns make a groove that is easy to rhyme to and to write over."-[NPR]

The self-titled, Damon Dash-presented BlakRoc LP is out now and also features Q-Tip, ODB, RZA, Raekwon, and Jim Jones among others.

Raekwon is on tour now and also has a NYC show coming up.

The Capo Jim Jones and Mos Def, along with the Black Keys, (BlakRoc) played Letterman last night (12/8) - the same night that Jawbox was burnin' Fallon to the ground. It was also rumored that the group might play a secret show at new venue Under 100 (in the basement of Damon Dash's building) later that night, but though Mos Def was there hanging out (again), he and the group didn't actually play (pictures from that event coming later).

Dig on the live Blakroc video from Letterman, the official video for the same song, as well as more videos from Mos, below...

Continue reading "Mos Def on new Gorillaz album, playing Highline, in Blakroc w/ Black Keys & Jim Jones (video from Letterman last night) "

photos by Lori Baily

Mos Def / Sleigh Bells

first show at new tribeca venue "under 100," which is co-owned by greg finch of p4k tv, and is in damon dash's office basement. was a crazy night. dash's entourage rolled through in full effect, loved sleigh bells and javelin, two rappers (stally and curren$y) spit over javelin songs during an unexpected encore by popular demand. later in the evening, everyone went upstairs to watch javelin's set in dash's office and rumor was that both parties wanted to further jam. next thing you know, everyone's downstairs in the venue again and mos def et al are jamming with javelin and knyfe hyts! was a special night. - erez avissar

After the show I thought I heard that Mos Def played with Sleigh Bells (who are now also famous for M.I.A. and Spike Jonze reportedly coming to one of their shows) (though someone told me they think the M.I.A. part was a rumor started after a case of mistaken identity). I must have jumped to conclusions though because Mos Def actually only jammed with the other two bands at the Friday night show (11/20). Amazing weekend for guest appearances in NYC (the Roots and David Byrne played with Dirty Projectors at Bowery Ballroom). More pictures from Under 100 below...

Continue reading "Mos Def played w/ Sleigh Bells, Javelin & Knyfe Hyts 81 @ Under 100 in NYC - pics"

Continue reading "photos from Fashion Week, NYC (Feb 2008)"