Is this (and more) what SOB's is in for tonight?

HipHopDX: The Native Tongues reunion show tonight is initiated by the Jungle Brothers. How did the whole show come about?

Mike G (of the Jungle Brothers): I'm good friends with one of the promoters, Big Jeff. They wanted to pay homage to us in a certain extent and represent one time for New York because we haven't performed in New York for such a long time. We just had wanted to hook up an official Jungle Brothers show and hopefully get some of the other guys to come and that's really what it is. Letting people know Jungle Brothers are back and then also saying, "We want this Native Tongue family to live." And now we putting out a call. We told the brothers to come through, represent.

In related news, 2/3 of De La Soul have formed First Serve, a new crew that will welcome their debut LP on Duck Down on April 2nd.

'First Serve' is many things, but at its heart it is the story of two young boys from Queens, New York with big dreams and larger rhymes. Two friends, Deen Whitter (aka Plug 2 / Dave) and Jacob 'Pop Life' Barrow (aka Plug 1/ Pos), friends from seventh grade, are by their own admission, "different, but the differences seem to complement everything we do." Their name 'First Serve' comes from their motto, "First come, First Serve, get what you deserve."

After years of laying down demos and mixtapes on the hustle in the hip-hop game, we get the next instalment from their world in the form of the 'We Made It' skit. All the hard work has finally paid off - Jacob and Deen have hit the big time signing to Goon Time Records to become the next new thing to hit the airwaves.

Continue reading "Jungle Brothers initiated "Native Tongues reunion" in NYC tonight? +++++ De La Soul members form First Serve (video)"

Rob Swift

For the second year in a row, Red Bull Thre3style is taking place in Brooklyn to test the top party DJ's in their mixing skills. In the ultimate battle scenario, nine local DJ's will take turns stepping up to the tables to determine who can rock the dance floor the hardest combining three different music genres in fifteen minutes.

Competing in the night's party are DJ's Get Live, Cobra Krames, Synapse, Dances with White Girls, Theory, Vinyl Richie, Equal, Stimulus and Kalkutta.

The DJ's will compete in 15 minute intervals and play a set of at least three different genres. The winner of Red Bull Thre3style will take home a $1,000 prize check and a trip to DC to compete in East Coast finals. The winner of that will go on to participate in the US National finals.

On a similar note, the regional battle of the 2011 DMC Battle for US Supremacy is scheduled to go down at Santos Party House on June 11th. The show will feature an appearance from host DJ FatFingaz and tickets are on sale. Then on August 6, Santos Party House will host the DMC US Finals DJ Battle. Tickets are on sale.

Red Bill held another Thre3style event at SXSW over the weekend. Performers included De La Soul, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Z-Trip, and surprise guest LL Cool J. Videos below...

Continue reading "Red Bull Thre3style & other NYC DJ battles coming (LL Cool J, De La Soul, Z-Trip & others played one @ SXSW)"

The night before the MSG show, Gorillaz and guests played a 45 minute set at the Ed Sullivan Theater in NYC. Watch the whole thing below...

Continue reading "Gorillaz played 45 minutes 'Live on Letterman' (video)"

photos by Bao Nguyen

"If anyone tells you the Gorillaz show at MSG on Friday was anything less than incredible, they're lying to you. Some bands you wish to see in their earlier stages, but now is the time to see Gorillaz. They have never been better, and there's no guarantee they can top this. This is their prime time, and the brilliance of their collaborative musical geniuses was amplified in concert. Not only did we see Damon Albarn in flesh - a personal idol - but he was accompanied by the incredible artists that were featured on Plastic Beach: Mos Def, Lou Reed, Bobby Womack, De La Soul, Little Dragon, members of The Clash, etc. Co-creator of Gorillaz, visual man Jamie Hewlett also peeped out from backstage to say hello - to whom Damon planted a big ol' kiss. The entire show was almost too epic to be true... You know when all your favorite superheroes get together and form a league? That is what this was. And this 'league' leader, frontman Damon Albarn, was clearly having the time of his life. He was constantly dancing, jumping around, running around the stage, hugging people - never keeping still unless he was playing the piano. Reminded us of his good old Blur days, sigh. They played almost all of their latest album and included old time favorites like "Clint Eastwood" and "Feel Good Inc."" [morningafterpills]

More pictures, some videos and the full show setlist, below...

Continue reading "Gorillaz played MSG w/ N.E.R.D., Lou Reed, Mos Def & many other special guests (pics & setlist) "

by BBG

N.E.R.D. in Times Square (photo by Matt Kole)


Gorillaz play Boston on Wednesday (10/6) to kick off of the US leg of the Escape to Plastic Beach World Tour, hitting MSG two days later. Tickets are still available. The live band, led by Damon Albarn, will also be joined by a killer lineup up special guests including De La Soul, Little Dragon, Bobby Womack, as well as Mick Jones and Paul Simonon of The Clash. AND, to quote the legendary Onyx, "buh-buh-buh-wait-gets worse!", as N.E.R.D. will join Gorillaz as opener on all dates.

Opening with "Hot N Fun" and ending with "Lap Dance", N*E*R*D* played a three-song pop-up "show" on 9/23 in Times Square as part of a Honda promotion. A pic from that appearance is above and video from that show (as well as all tour dates) are below.

Continue reading "Gorillaz kicking off tour w/ N.E.R.D. & special guests"

words by BBG, photos by Brook Bobbins

"Wht a fckin day! Was a 90s hipHop reunion backstge DAMN! Nice & smooth, dela soul, group home, primo, pete rck& cl smooth, large prof, craig g" -MastaAce

"Damn Pete Rock and CL Smooth rockin under the Brooklyn Bridge. It's a beautiful thing. Straighten it out! -greenspam

"I really am sorry that you're not here with me watching De La Soul kill shit live in Brooklyn" -djreadycee

De La Soul at Brooklyn Hip hop Fest in DUMBO - July 10, 2010

Though the rain did rear it's ugly head momentarily on July 10th, the crowd was nonetheless rocked at the 2010 Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest on Saturday. It was the final day of a week-long celebration, and also the biggest event of the fest. With a lineup that consisted of greats like De La Soul, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Black Moon, Smif n Wessun, and many others, the surprise additions of Nice & Smooth, Black Sheep and Group Home gave the event an especially 90s touch. It wasn't all veterans though; relative newcomers like Curren$y, Black Milk, Diamond District, The Money Making Jam Boys, and many others brought new blood under the Brooklyn Bridge to get the block rockin'.

Tons more pics (starting with Black Milk's 3:45 set), and video are below...

Continue reading "Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest 2010 in pics & video (De La Soul, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Black Moon, Black Milk & more) "

The 2010 Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival kicks off tonight, July 5th, with a party at Brooklyn Bowl featuring DJ Sets From Pete Rock, DJ Premier, and Large Professor (doors at 6pm, show at 8pm). Tickets are available at the door.

From there the fest continues all week, culminating with the De La Soul-headlined afternoon show at Brooklyn Bridge Plaza & Tobacco Warehouse, and ending with an afterparty that same night at Southpaw where Maseo of De La Soul will be DJing. Get tickets and read more about all the events at the festival's official website.

by BBG

De La Soul at Coachella (more by Rachel Carr)

Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest 2009 was a blast (with one notable exception) and so far 2010 is turning out to be similarly interesting with the addition of the great De La Soul to headline the shindig on July 10th alongside Buckshot, Evil Dee and Smif-N-Wessun. Tickets are on sale.

The show is part of a week long celebration:

The calendar for the 6th Annual Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival kicks off with Show & Prove on Monday, July 5th. This Hip-Hop showcase of independent and local talent is the final event of Brooklyn Bodega's three month Show & Prove competition,
Tuesday, July 6th will feature the Bodega Education Initiative, a day of panel discussions and seminars about the legendary producer, J Dilla. Speakers include Q-Tip, Ma Dukes Yancey, DJ Spinna and more.
Wednesday, July 7th is a mini Film Festival that features a variety of Hip-Hop films and a Q&A with established and burgeoning filmmakers.
Thursday, July 8th is a night dedicated to the backbone of Hip-Hop: the DJ. It will feature performances by the best DJs, from NYC to LA.
Friday, July 9th is the kick-off party to formally welcome Festival goers, past and current artists and community leaders to the 6th Annual BHF.
Saturday, July 10th is the culmination of the 2010 Festival. De La Soul, just ahead of a new album to be released this year, will headline on the DUMBO waterfront. Earlier in the day, we set it off with Family Day - a block party for families and children that celebrates the core message of Hip-Hop - social change and individual empowerment.

YO LA TENGO have worked with a huge variety of artists from different genres over the years.... In 2010, the band presents an EP of remixes of "Here To Fall," the lead track from last year's "Popular Songs," by De La Soul, RJD2 and Pete Rock.
"Here To Fall" is the most popular track from "Popular Songs," a couple having a tense conversation about the future over the background of menacing, descending chords and distorted wa-wa guitar. Each of these legendary hip hop performers has taken the track and the story and made it their own.

Buckshot, Evil Dee, and Smif N-Wessun will be celebrating 15 years of Duck Down Records at the BHHF show, a milestone they'll also celebrate at BB King's on July 13th with the addition of Sean Price and Pharoahe Monch (who headlined the Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest last year). Tickets for that NYC show are on sale.

Pharoahe Monch also plays a free show in Queensbridge Park on July 21st.

Duck Down also partied for their 15th down at SXSW, during which time Buckshot and Smif-N-Wessun both made appearances at our Attitude Adjustment party at Red 7.

While we're on the subject of classic hip hop artists playing NYC, Slick Rick has scheduled a show at Knitting Factory on June 13th. Tickets are on sale.

Tons of classic video below...

Continue reading "Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest 2010 lineup w/ De La Soul, Duck Down Records celebrates there & @ BB King's w/ Pharoahe Monch"

The NXNE music festival (650 bands, 7 days, 40 films, 50 venues) happens in Toronto from June 14th-20th. The 2010 lineup for that fest so far includes Iggy & the Stooges, X, Les Savy Fav, Sloan, The Raveonettes, De La Soul, Man or Astroman, Thee Oh Sees and many more. The full list is posted below. Tickets are on sale.

Continue reading "NXNE 2010 - initial lineup, dates & tickets"

photos by Rachel Carr, words by Daiana Feuer

Gorillaz Clash

The third and final round of the Coachella Music & Arts Festival was funky, and not just because the port-a-potties reeked. Keeping a loose theme every day (see Friday & Saturday), Sunday focused on relentless rhythm and groovy basslines. The absolute golden moment belonged to Yo La Tengo's blistering final song. Rhythm that revels in repetition + guitar that tries to destroy itself = wee mind blown. Sometimes the moodiest things are the most uplifting.

Thom Yorke brought his dancing shoes, his favorite Flea, and Nigel Godrich. His band Atoms For Peace played almost every song off The Eraser, many of which featured strong world rhythm sections. When Yorke didn't have a guitar in hand, he danced, whirled, and punched the air like he was rehearsing a scene from Fame. We wanted a high kick, but it didn't arrive. King Khan & The Shrines, on the other hand, featured legs flying all over the place, DJ Lance Rock and Yo Gabba Gabba characters, burning money, as well as a visit from the police-who crept on stage to snap pictures. Probably the first time Khan runs into cops and doesn't leave wearing cuffs. Sunny Day Real Estate had the audience offering bids to buy property, and Phoenix had people choking on dinner as they tried to dance and eat at the same time.

King Khan Gabba Gabba

Not every Julian Casablancas song captivated, but his band delightfully binged on rhythms. Each musician had a personal backbeat player supporting each fill. The drummer plus his sidekick especially sounded great. Matt & Kim's ebullient smiles inspired chaos in the audience, as usual. Mayer Hawthorne and the County revived Motown soulful brassiness and covered Biz Markie's "Just a Friend." The Big Pink played some new songs from next year's album, reaching out for Depeche Mode with a drummer in a pink bathing suit. Electro sweet popper Little Boots forgot her pants as well, wearing a sparkly shirt and knickers, and played with the lasers on stage. Charlotte Gainsbourg inaugurated her "first tour, first everything" with a feminine "Candy-O" sensibility, sometimes in French. Florence & the Machine rounds out the great lady performances of the day, and brought on Nathan Willett of Cold War Kids.

All clad in white, France's DJ ego-powers Club 75 demonstrated the ability to cooperate together with just a few elbows thrown. Cassius, Justice, Busy P, and DJ Mehdi still use CD's (so old school), and took turns passing on the headphones between them and finishing each other's remix sentences, trading places at each station. Backstage security bobbed along while staying tough. When it was their turn, Rusko turned the Sahara tent into a mechazoid robot battle and Orbital live-produced virtual reality anthems for Satan wearing Matrix miner lights around their heads. Infected Mushroom instructed on the benefits of "Becoming Insane" flanked by two mushrooms with red eyes.

The Middle East should not be confused with The Soft Pack, formerly The Muslims. The former may be from Australia but it sounds like a back porch band from Woodstock, and the latter offers a "Parasite" infestation that's as pure as sunshine and a neat drum set up that packs a giant tom punch. What appears as regular rock on headphones reveals its brilliance when experienced live. One of the strangest live moments of the festival belongs to Sly Stone, who played four hours late and on the wrong stage. He bitched, he slurred, he cursed, lay down, walked off, stopped songs and good grief, made a total mess of himself. But that's rock and roll.

Sly Stone made history look unable to get past its youthful drug phase, but Jonsi, Pavement, and Spoon come from a music scene that did a little bit less cocaine. Jonsi repped the awesomeness of Sigur Rós and great hats. Steve Patterson of White Rabbits joined Britt Daniels and the rest of Spoon to add percussion on "I Turn My Camera On". Spoon's tour-mate Bradford Cox (who played earlier in the day in Deerhunter) also joined Spoon on stage, like he did on their recent Kimmel appearance. Pavement ran through the hits during one of their first U.S. shows since reuniting. "That's the 90's in a nutshell," said Stephen Malkmus after the angsty "Unfair"...

"...Pavement, the iconic slacker band of the '90s, who took the main stage against what turned out to be one of the fest's chief attractions, the finally wildly popular French dance-rock band Phoenix, who wowed possibly the biggest crowd of the entire fest ... while Pavement played to a field half-full of true believers rather than the massive throngs many expected, and thought the band deserved.

No matter, though. Pavement still delivered a set that vindicated the group of prior crimes -- namely a Coachella performance near the end of their career so notoriously bad, many in attendance point to it as the moment the band decided to break up.

This night, however, they were tight, they were loud, and they sounded large on that vast field -- an odd statement, given the fact that in their heyday they were far more known for being introspectively small rather than arena-ready..." [The OC Register]

Radiohead Peppers For Peace

Daiana's Weekend Top 10:
1. Yo La Tengo's last song
2. Little Dragon's Yukimi
3. Gossip leading a revolution
4. Thom Yorke dancing to African rhythms
5. PiL giving a history lesson
6. Sly Stone wigging out
7. Bouncing penises + fat people in undies (Die Antwoord + Major Lazer)
8. Devo putting on the hats that ushered in modern pop culture for "Whip It"
9. John Waters corrupting many young minds
10. The Gorrilaz lyric: "Super fast jellyfish going super fast. You can't even see him but you wanna eat him."

--

Owen Pallett, Local Natives, Miike Snow, and Yann Tiersen also played the fest Sunday. Gary Numan was among those who couldn't. Reviews & pictures from Day One, HERE and Day Two, HERE. Setlists (Thom Yorke and Pavement), pictures, and videos from Day Three, below...

Continue reading "Coachella 2010 - Day Three in pics, video & review (the Thom Yorke & Pavement setlists included) "

Wow...Public Image Ltd, The Specials, Grizzly Bear, Passion Pit, Echo and the Bunnymen, Grace Jones, Fever Ray, Devo, Hot Chip, Phoenix, Orbital, Spoon, Sly and the Family Stone, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Sunny Day Real Estate, Yo La Tengo, Mew, Camera Obscura, Gil Scott-Heron, The xx, John Waters, Dillinger Escape Plan, Deer Tick, Gary Numan... Full Coachella 2010 lineup below....

Continue reading "2010 Coachella line up announced (Faith No More, Pavement, Muse, Gorillaz, Thom Yorke, Jay-Z, LCD Soundystem, ???)"

photos by Tim Griffin

Happy Holidays! I take on more than I can handle. That results in a lot of unposted content. In the name of catching up, while also taking it easy during this final week of the year, here's some of that lost material.

Buckshot opened for De La Soul at Nokia Theatre in August. A full set of pictures from the show is continued below...

Continue reading "De La Soul @ Nokia Theatre in NYC - pics "

photos by Tim Griffin

As Buckshot reminded the Nokia Theatre crowd at the end of his solo appearance opening for De La Soul on Thursday night (8/14), he has an album coming out with KRS-One called Survival Skills. That album drops on 9/15. On Saturday, August 29th, at 1PM, the duo will perform a free show at City Hall Park in NYC as part of J&R MusicFest, a three-day 'block party' in the Wall Street area (near J&R) that will feature multiple free shows including one by Clipse at 6:00PM on Friday the 28th.

Full J&R schedule with more pictures, and a bunch of videos, from the Nokia Theatre show, below...

Continue reading "Buckshot played Nokia Theatre (pics, video), playing w/ KRS-One @ J&R MusicFest (so are Clipse & the Smithereens)"

De La DMC @ Nokia Theatre, NYC - 8/13/09 (by Tim Griffin)

As Del La Soul told the crowd when they took the stage at Nokia Theatre in NYC last night (8/13), their show was not going to be all music from 3 Feet High & Rising. Why would anyone think it would be? Probably because the show was billed as "20 Years High and Rising" (and everyone and their mother is playing full albums these days) (including Buckshot who opened the show, but didn't play a full album at this one either). I was more than okay with them not playing the full thing, though it would have been nice to hear a few more songs from that album. Specifically, I wished they played "The Magic Number" and "Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin's Revenge)".

I loved every second of the packed show, and the 10-piece backing band was an especially nice touch. That said, I was selfishly hoping for a few more special guests, not that there weren't any. I thought for sure that Q-Tip would show up, and the Jungle Brothers and Black Sheep, and maybe even Doom, and who knows who else. Ends up they sort of kept the guests to a minimum. Bumpy Knuckles performed a short unannounced opening set. Prince Paul was brought out for a second to say hello. Dres from Black Sheep and Ali Shaheed Muhammad from A Tribe Called Quest were watching from the side of the stage and were brought forward to dance for a minute during "Buddy". And then, the big, and maybe only real special guest moment came during a cover of Run DMC's "Rock Box" which was completed with DMC himself on stage as part of the group. They covered Rakim too, but he wasn't there, maybe because he was downtown playing his own show at Highline Ballroom the same evening.

This Sunday (8/16) indie rock leaves the Williamsburg Waterfront for one week (Central Park Summerstage stole it for the day), and another big (mostly) hip hop show happens in NYC, courtesy of JellyNYC, and it's free (and/or $50). The Sunday Pool Party lineup includes Gravy Train!!!, DD/MM/YYYY, Kenan Bell (who also opened for De La Soul on Thursday), a DJ set by Prince Paul (Plug Four), and a headlining set by DEL the Funky Homosapien.

We have a full set of pictures coming from De La Soul (more tour dates HERE), and we'll have some from Sunday too. In the meantime, here's a few videos from the show...

Continue reading "De La Soul (& DMC) played Nokia, Prince Paul DJing Pool Party Sunday (w/ Del da Funky Homosapien, Kenan Bell, others) "

by Black Bubblegum

Rakim Allah, blessin the stage!

Time Out New York: You were 19 years old when you made 3 Feet High--and seemed so unself-conscious about the sorts of things teenage boys are normally self conscious about. Rapping about talking fish in "Tread Water," for example...

De La Soul's Posdnuos: Well, I think we were independent... we just had our own way of thinking about things and dressing. And like I said, people around you sort of gravitate toward you because you find yourself thinking the same, trying the same things. So I mean we all love what Run-D.M.C. did or was still doing, or Rakim or all the rappers at the time.... But we just knew that we just naturally had to come up with what we wanted to. We weren't gonna copy or bite what someone else was doing.

In the OTHER corner.... the ORIGINAL God MC who will also appear tonight 8/13), but at Highline Ballroom (not Jay-HOVA)... Rakim! We have THREE pairs of tickets to this show. Wu-Tang's U-God opens. Wanna go? The first three folks to email us at BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM with a subject line of "Rakim Allah" get 'em!

Rakim is also scheduled to play BB Kings, just eight days later (8/21).

And another hip hop great will be at Nokia Theater in the coming weeks, Q-Tip, who will appear in celebration of Michael Jackson's b-day (but as a DJ).

Full De La tour dates are below....

Continue reading "De La Soul (w/Buckshot) vs Rakim (win tix) - 2 shows tonight"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: De La Soul - "Big Mouf" (MP3, Clean Version)

One of the great innovators of hip hop, De La Soul, are hitting the road in celebration of the 20th anniversary of their landmark 1989 LP (and one of my personal favorites), 3 Feet High and Rising!

The most inventive, assured, and playful debut in hip-hop history, 3 Feet High and Rising not only proved that rappers didn't have to talk about the streets to succeed, but also expanded the palette of sampling material with a kaleidoscope of sounds and references culled from pop, soul, disco, and even country music. Weaving clever wordplay and deft rhymes across two dozen tracks loosely organized around a game-show theme, ...Prince Paul (from Stetsasonic) and DJ Pasemaster Mase led the way on the production end, with dozens of samples from all sorts of left-field artists -- including Johnny Cash, the Mad Lads, Steely Dan, Public Enemy, Hall & Oates, and The Turtles.... If it was easy to believe the revolution was here from listening to the rapping and production on Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, with De La Soul the Daisy Age seemed to promise a new era of positivity in hip-hop. -[allmusic]

Pos and Trugoy of De La Soul's bandmate in Gorillaz, Damon Albarn, recently played a few reunion shows with his old band Blur.

De La Soul's latest release, Are You In?, is part of the Nike+ Original Run series that has included such notables as A-Trak, LCD Soundsystem, and Aesop Rock. Check out "Big Mouf" from that record above, and download all of Are You In? via iTunes. The trio discusses the LP and the making of it in the video, which is posted with all known tour dates, below....

Continue reading "De La Soul going on tour w/ 10-piece band to celebrate 20 years of 3 Feet High & Rising (dates include Nokia Theater)"

by Ryan Barkan

Miller Chili or mojitos anyone?

Phone wars 2009 - Verizon vs. AT&T. It is always a battle when these two giants square off with their :60 second spots in tow to prove which company provides the best cellular service and coverage. In recent years, Verizon has enlisted the likes of AC/DC and The Killers. Included in the deal with the Aussie rockers was the right to exclusively offer the band's music digitally. On the other side, AT&T has hammered home their phone offerings and 5-bar messages with a spot including a track from Lupe Fiasco featuring Jill Scott, "Daydreamin", one with Mates Of State, and an Amos Lee commercial, among others. Both have recently gone to the licensing well again to soundtrack new technology and coverage, but with different strategies.

Verizon's new "Hub" decided to go the synergy route, using one of the most popular mainstream tunes of the last year, Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours", in multiple spots showcasing the company's new phone technology.

AT&T meanwhile went with different tunes for each of the new 5-bar spots, matching songs with each commercial's creative direction. In "Backpackers", the sentimental "Falling in Love in a Coffeeshop" by Landon Pigg tells the story of two lovers who met on a brief European backpacking trip. However, because of the quality of the service and technology, they not only can stay in touch with great coverage but end up together again with a touching beachfront reunion. Another boxing themed spot brings to mind Rocky with "Gonna Fly Now." Eighties rockers Journey power this commercial for the symphony. Lastly, an inspirational spot based on Venice, CA, store Tom's Shoes. The store has one premise -- each pair of shoes bought equals one free pair for a child in need. The commercial uses an instrumental version of James Blunt's "Same Mistake." Watch that spot here.

Other Notable Commercial Licensing News:

An instant classic commercial from Heineken -- the beer company celebrates responsible drinking (title is called "Let A Stranger Drive You Home") with the help from Biz Markie's "Just A Friend". Watch the spot below.

Beer maker Miller went with San Fran's The Dodos as the music for their new Miller Chill commercial. Watch it below.

"Daylight," a track by Matt & Kim, provides the vibe in a new commercial for Bacardi Mojitos. See it below.

continued below...

Continue reading "This week in Music Licensing (De La Soul, the Dodos, Passion Pit, Black Lips, Matt & Kim, Mates of State & more...) "

The 39th annual Bumbershoot: Seattle's Music & Arts Festival, Presented by Samsung Mobile announces a small portion of the 2009 lineup. The 3-day urban event takes place Labor Day Weekend (September 5 - 7). The Festival stretches across the 74-acre Seattle Center, located beneath the city's iconic Space Needle, and programs 20 indoor and unique outdoor venues. This progressive Festival features a diverse array of arts including live music, comedy, theatre, dance, film, urban crafts, and literary and visual arts.

Continue reading "Bumbershoot announces partial 2009 lineup & ticket info"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: People Under The Stairs - The Swan Fever (MP3)

PUTS

LA's crate-digging elite, People Under The Stairs, have their new record (and shout to the old school) Fun DMC coming around the corner on Sept 30th via Gold Dust. The beat kings are streaming four tracks and giving away one ("Anotha (BBQ)") at their FUN DMC site, but they also dropped one of those streamable joints, "The Swan Fever", for download above. Imagine early Jurassic Five or Rakaa Iriscience of Dilated Peoples rhyming over a beat reminiscent of Camp Lo's mid-nineties classic, "Luchini" and you get an idea of the party vibe on "The Swan Fever".... ear to ear smiles.

The crew recently finished a few dates on east coast and are set to play Denver, CO on 9/19, then work back to their native turf (Cali) by early October, and then back out to NYC for a show at the Knitting Factory on Oct 25th (part of CMJ) with the ORIGINAL hip hop band (sorry, ?uestlove and The Roots), the reunited Stetsasonic:

Stetsasonic was an American hip hop group formed in 1981 in Brooklyn, New York. It is remembered as one of the first hip-hop crews to use a live band, and their positive, uplifting lyrics have made the group forerunners of alternative hip hop and jazz hip-hop...... Frukwan and Prince Paul were founding members of the Gravediggaz, while the latter also became a well-respected record producer, as did Daddy-O, who worked with Mary J. Blige, Positive K, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, among others. -[Wikipedia]

Prince Paul WILL also be in the (Knitting Factory) house with Stetsa, as well as support from Mike G. & Sammie B of the Jungle Brothers (no Afrika Baby Bam guys), Zimbabwe Legit, YZ (yes, Mr. "Thinking of a Master Plan"), as well as the mighty DJ Babu of the once untouchable Beat Junkies (all members are busy with their own respective projects now) and (speaking of Rakaa) current member of Dilated Peoples as well. The entire night will be hosted by the Original Gangster of hip hop Just Ice. Tickets are on sale

Full PUTS tour schedule and video interview/tour diary below...

Continue reading "People Under the Stairs - new album, 2008 tour dates including CMJ w/ STETSASONIC (with Prince Paul)"

by Black Bubblegum

Q-Tip with A Tribe Called Quest at Rock The Bells, 8/3/08 (villageslum.com)

King Khan pretty much ruled, but maybe, the award for show of the day could go to Rock The Bells at Jones Beach...

"Mos Def was joined by Talib Kweli for a series of Black Star songs including "Definition," "Respiration" and "Brown Skin Lady."......with Pharoahe Monch joining former label-mates on stage for a boisterous performance of "Simon Says."

....Slick Rick joined his Def Jam proteges [ED: Method Man & Redman] briefly for a partial performance of "La Di Da Di,"....... After Raekwon, who performed earlier with Ghostface returned to the stage, EPMD followed, performing "Strictly Business" and "So What Cha Saying." Washington DC's DJ Kool entered the set, performing "Let Me Clear My Throat,"...... Upon the set closing, Keith Murray completed the Def Squad triad with a performance, without Sermon at the time, of "Rapper's Delight."

.....the largest crowd reaction came from Nas speaking to the crowd about how he needs to "breathe." Repeating the word, DJ Green Lantern played the instrumental to "Success," prompting a Yankee-cap tucked low Jay-Z to rush on the stage.... and perform his first verse..... the two then performed "Black Republicans."

.... A Tribe Called Quest headlined the night joined by luminaries such as Busta Rhymes on "Scenario" as well as Consequence.

Other guests.... included DJ Premier, M.O.P., Jeru Da Damaja, Biz Markie, Skyzoo, Mickey Factz and others. "
[HipHopDX.com]

Zaaaaam. Luckily, we have some photos (courtesy of Village Slum) and a video of that "Black Republicans" performance down below.....

Continue reading "Rock The Bells @ Jones Beach, pics & video, TONS of guests"

FEATURING: A TRIBE CALLED QUEST, NAS, MOS DEF, THE PHARCYDE, DE LA SOUL, METHOD MAN & REDMAN, RAEKWON & GHOSTFACE, IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE, DEAD PREZ, MURS, SPANK ROCK, WALE, JAY ELECTRONICA, SANTOGOLD, COOL KIDS, B.O.B, KIDZ IN THE HALL, AMANDA BLANK and HOSTED BY- B-REAL, SUPERNATURAL AND SCRATCH and DJ GREEN LANTERN

No NYC date again (sort of) (yet?)......

Continue reading "Tribe Called Quest reuniting again for Rock the Bells tour! - Summer 2008 dates w/ Nas, Pharcyde, De La, Rakim..."

De La Soul, GZA, Rakim Nokia Theatre, etc....

Continue reading "Paid Dues Festival 2008 - lineup & tour Dates (presale)"