photos by Chris La Putt

DOM @ Pier 54

Dom, who played a free show at Pier 54 with Deer Tick earlier this month, is headlining a free show at Rockaway Beach AT PUBLIC ASSEMBLY (moved due to rain) on Sunday (today, 8/21). Sheen Bros (Cosmo Baker & 4th Pyramid plus Greg Nice) are also on the bill, and there will be DJ sets from BAIO (Vampire Weekend), Queen Majesty, Eli Escobar and Shakeyface. It's the second in a series of free RCRD LBL sponsored shows at the location. JEFF The Brotherhood played the first one. RSVP is supposedly required. The flyer, a couple more dates, and more unposted pictures from the 8/11 Pier 54 show, below...

Continue reading "Dom playing free show @ Rockaway Beach Sunday ---- dates & more Pier 54 pics"

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) "

Grizzly Bear @ Williamsburg Waterfront in 09 (more by Bao Nguyen)

tonight in NYC
* Winger @ BB King's
* Baby Gramps @ Jalopy Theatre
* Sunday Best w/ Fred P @ 400 Carroll St
* Timetable Percussion @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* Rooftop Films w/ Hank & Cupcakes @ Solar One
* Mutant Supremacy, At War, Midnight, Crucifist @ Europa
* Reigning Sound, The Goodnight Loving @ Maxwell's
* Cooper-Moore Trio, Peter Evans Group Trio @ Zebulon
* Christy & Emily, Secret Cities, Invisible Circle @ Pianos
* The Sharpest, Last Stand For Lucy, Eagle Scout @ Party Expo
* Salif Keita, Tabou Combo, Lo'Jo @ Central Park SummerStage
* Dwarves, The Turbo A.C.'s, Psycho Charger @ Bowery Electric
* Talib Kweli, Jean Grae, Statik Selektah, DJ Eque @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Punk Island w/ D.O.A., Negative Approach & many more @ Governors Island
* The New Pornographers, The Duke and the Dutchess @ The Bell House
* The Poison Control Center, Boy Genius, Knight School @ Bruar Falls
* Band of Horses, Grizzly Bear, Karen Elson @ Williamsburg Waterfront
* The Most Serene Republic, Annuals, What Laura Says @ Mercury Lounge
* HEALTH, Indian Jewelry, Gold Panda, Robin @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Jeffery Lewis, Jimmy Lloyd & Friends, Laura Warshauer @ Highline Ballroom
* Strike Anywhere, Bane, Touche Amore, Lowtaker @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn

Punk Island, with D.O.A., Negative Approach, Blanks 77, Hub City Stompers, Star Fucking Hipsters, Hellcat Burlesque and many, many more, takes over Governors Island today. A full schedule (with ferry times) is here. Even though it's happening a day earlier, Punk Island is a part of Monday's Make Music NY festivites, which will be spread across the city.

Indian Jewelry open for HEALTH at Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight and play their own show at Mercury Lounge on Monday.

Grizzly Bear open for Band of Horses at the first Williamsburg Waterfront show of 2010 tonight. Grizzly Bear headline at Governors Island in August.

Big Daddy Kane, Chubb Rock and Greg Nice played a show in Herbert Von King Park on June 16th. Videos from that show below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"

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 "

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Rakim - Holy Are You (MP3)

Buckshot @ Knitting Factory with Black Moon (more by Tim Griffin)

After looking at the number of great old school artists on the way to the NYC stages, I was reminded of this kick-ass Greg Nice (of Nice & Smooth) song:

"Let's take it it back to the old school
Let's take it to Union Square
Let's take it back to the LQ
Wave your hands like you just don't care" -[Greg Nice - "Set It Off"]

That song is pretty damn close to reality, as Irving Plaza (2 blocks from Union Square if you didn't know) will host "The Golden Age of Hip Hop Part II" on 8/29. Tickets are on sale. The show will feature a ton of old school notables such as KRS-ONE, Kool Moe Dee, Just Ice, and Grand Daddy IU (who I recently saw at BHHF).

KRS-ONE has an interesting project on the way, as the man who claims that he "is hip hop" will team up with Buckshot of Black Moon to release Survival Skills on 9/15. The LP is stuffed with killer guests like Mary J. Blige, Slug of Atmosphere, K'NAAN, Talib Kweli, Immortal Technique, Sean Price, Smif N Wessun, and features production from Havoc of Mobb Deep, 9th Wonder, Black Milk, ILL MIND, Marco Polo, and many others. Dig on the video for the anti-auto-tune jam "Robot" available below, as well as video of the duo doing a surprise performance on 6/18 at BB King's. Stay tuned for more information on a "Myspace Album Release Show" in NYC on Friday, 9/11.

In the meantime, Black Moon are scheduled to team up with Smif N Wessun to perform ALL of their classic Enta da Stage and Dah Shinin' LPs (respectively) at Brower Park on August 12th for FREE. The show is one of a bevy of FREE shows in the parks of our fair city (featuring DJ Premier, Raekwon, Naughty By Nature and others).

Meanwhile, another notable old schooler, the one and only Rakim Allah, is doubling up on shows in the coming weeks, having scheduled a performance on 8/13 at Highline Ballroom (tix) as well as another as part of the "Hip Hop Legends Concert Series" featuring UTFO, Biz Markie, Lost Boyz, Jeru Da Damaja, Dr Jeckyl & Mr Hyde, and Lovebug Starski just eight days later at BB King's on 8/21 (tix). He should be playing new material at these shows...

. On July 28, 2009 the man many call The God MC [dropped] "Holy Are You" - the hypnotic lead single off of his long awaited new album The Seventh Seal, to be released early fall, 2009 on the artists Ra Records imprint in a joint venture with TVM and SMC Recordings and distributed through Fontana / Universal Music Group.

Rakim's new LP is his first in 10 years and first since his highly publicized split with Aftermath Records. The first single is available as a free download above!

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention The Ruler himself (Slick Rick), who was scheduled a show of his own at BB King's on 11/13 (tix). Dookie ropes are required for entry to all events. OK, not really... but they should be!

The above-mentioned videos, and the KRS-One/Buckshot cover art, below...

Continue reading "Rakim, Buckshot & KRS-One - new music & upcoming shows "