by Andrew Sacher

Pusha T

Pusha T is playing in NYC TONIGHT (12/22) at Gramercy Theatre with NinjaSonik, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, Gilbere Forte, Emilio Rojas, and Jasmine Solano. Tickets are still available.

Earlier this week, Pusha dropped a freestyle over Common's "Sweet" off of his new LP, The Dreamer/The Believer, which came out on Tuesday. The Smoking Section reports that the track is a diss at Drake (who is touring in 2012 with Kendrick Lamar and A$AP Rocky). Stream it below.

Common played Highline Ballroom on Monday (12/19). Nas joined him at the show. You can stream the whole show below, and also check out a video of Nas joining in on "Ghetto Dreams" below.

Pusha T collaborator Wale also plays a show in NYC TONIGHT (12/22). HIs is at Webster Hall and tickets are still available. More dates, including one at Irving Plaza, are listed below.

Speaking of Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire and Emilio Rojas, they both just played S.O.B.'s with Kendrick Lamar on Monday (12/19). Talib Kweli saw the show, and tweeted, "The ASAP crew did a 20 min walk thru during the set. Classic Harlem lol." Check out a video from the show below.

Maybe Talib should give Diplo a heads up about Kendrick. Diplo recently tweeted "Kendrick lamar sounds like somebody that played for the supersonics in the 90s. Didn't know he was a rapper. What's his best tune?" (Hey Diplo, check out "The Spiteful Chant").

In other news, Kendrick told XXLMag that he and J. Cole are planning a joint album. "We're still trying to formulate it and sit down in a neutral zone, where either one of us is moving and doing shows, interviews and press all the time," he said. Kendrick told HipHopDx that he's lined up Just Blaze and Pete Rock for his next LP.

Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire will play NYC again when he opens for Action Bronson at Highline Ballroom on December 27. Tickets are still available. eXquire and Bronson both made Heems' list of favorite albums released in 2011.

Speaking of Talib Kweli, his group Idle Warship played Southpaw on 12/9. Some videos from that show are below. They'll do it again on January 4 at S.O.B.'s. Tickets are still available.

Dates, videos and stream below...

Continue reading "Pusha T & Wale play shows tonight (and other dates); Kendrick Lamar & Common & guests played recently (videos)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield & Dominick Mastrangelo, words by Andrew Sacher

Talib Kweli w/ Idle Warship @ BV-CMJ @ Public Assembly (by Dominick)

Idle Warship (Talib Kweli and Res), who played our CMJ day party with their full backing band, and who were just added to SXSW, have a few shows coming up this month and next. One of those shows is in Talib's hometown of NYC this Friday (12/9) at Southpaw with Jah C & Jaison Spain, Kyle Rapps, ILLUSTRATE, and The Band Called Fuse. Tickets are on sale. After a short break in their schedule, they'll play NYC again on January 4 at SOB's. Tickets for that show are on sale now. All dates and more pictures from our CMJ show are below.

In related news, Talib Kweli is readying his album Prisoner of Consciousness, which he's been working on for four years, for a 2012 release. He recently spoke to The Boombox about the album:

"Prisoner of Consciousness' is a record I've been working on for the better part of four years," Kweli tells The BoomBox. "I wasn't happy with my last album with Warner Brothers [2007's 'Eardrum,'] and I knew I didn't want to give them 'Prisoner of Consciousness.' I knew the project was too important for me, so I opted to get out of my deal."

The omnipresent Kweli released the follow-up, 'Gutter Rainbows,' earlier this year. The effort was his first solo album off his own imprint, Blacksmith Music. "I'm a touring artist," he admits. "Prisoner of Consciousness' wasn't ready but I still had a bunch of great songs that were timely; a lot of the songs on 'Gutter Rainbows' were songs that work for that time, but if I held on to them, were going to have to be updated. So, I was like let me put together a project and put it out myself and that was what 'Gutter Rainbows was."

However, the 36-year-old rhymer didn't just craft his last project from leftovers from his forthcoming LP. It was all a part of a bigger picture. "'Gutter Rainbows' was not necessarily the outtakes from 'Prisoner of Consciousness,' but 'Gutter Rainbows' was started with the spirit of 'Prisoner of Consciousness' and became its own thing, almost like a prelude to 'Prisoner of Consciousness,'" he explains.

Continue reading "Idle Warship schedule more shows, played BV-CMJ @ Public Assembly (belated pics & tour dates)"

Black Star @ Rock the Bells 2011 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

After cancelling shows including one at Irving Plaza in NYC, Mos Def & Talib Kweli aka Black Star will give it another try at Best Buy Theater on Saturday, December 3rd at both 8pm and 11:45pm. Tickets for both shows go on sale today (10/21) at noon.

Meanwhile spend the day with Talib Kweli this Saturday (10/22). Talib and Res are Idle Warship and will make an exclusive CMJ-week appearance at the free BrooklynVegan day party at Public Assembly on Saturday. Talib will then play a collaborative set with Pharoahe Monch, Jean Grae & Buckshot w/ Band at Music Hall of Williamsburg Saturday night as part of the Duck Down VS Blacksmith CMJ Showcase. Tickets are still on sale.

STAGE 1 (front room)
12:00 Street Chant
01:00 Memoryhouse
01:45 Purity Ring
02:30 Friends
03:15 Peelander-Z
04:00 Vockah Redu (New Oreleans bounce)
05:00 Idle Warship

STAGE 2 (back room)
12:00 We Barbarians
12:40 Polica
01:25 We are Augustines
02:10 The Stepkids
03:00 Born Gold
03:40 Electric Guest
04:30 Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs
05:15 Fidlar

This Saturday show is going to be non-stop action starting right at noon with New Zealand's Street Chant on the main stage (and We Barbarians in the other room). I'm excited for everyone, but the over the top antics of both Peelander-Z (after the dance pop party that is Brooklyn's Friends) and bounce artist Vockah Redu (who will warm up the crowd for Idle Warship) should make for a very memorable afternoon in more ways than one.

In addition to free music, here are some more reasons to stop by Saturday. We will have FREE SNACKS courtesy of popchips and Raw Revolution and FREE DRINKS courtesy of Sailor Jerry and our official CMJ wine partner HobNob Wines. Check out HobNob's Facebook page for free music downloads and go to Sailor Jerry's website to read more about all of their CMJ events.

We'll also have FREE BrooklynVegan t-shirts for the first 25 people in the door (not many of these exist - we sold them for charity at CMJ last year).

As mentioned in our Thursday Day Party announcement, we've also partnered with Spotify who are offering 48 hour free Premium trials (playlist for this party coming soon) and Sony Bloggie (stay tuned for our post-CMJ video series) for all BV CMJ/not-CMJ events including this one.

Thanks to Zach Jaeger (Tonally Dude) for the flyer you see above.

See you Saturday!

As the first of three BrooklynVegan not-CMJ DAY PARTIES is already underway, I'm happy to announce that Idle Warship will be playing the free BrooklynVegan day party at Public Assembly on Saturday, 10/22, at 5pm! Full lineup TBA shortly

If you missed Idle Warship's free Restoration Rocks show (due to them not playing it), here's another chance! As their bio reads:

A collaboration between hip-hop luminary Talib Kweli and critically acclaimed soulful singer and songwriter Res, Idle Warship is a genre-bending musical project born out of sheer experimentation and unbridled creative expression. Idle Warship's free-thinking approach has always crossed over from the studio to the other end of the process - the delivery of the music. After releasing free music across the web for the past four years, Idle Warship unveiled "System Addict," a track off Habits of the Heart, on the now wildly-popular social music site Turntable.fm just weeks after its launch. Talib Kweli even received Turntable.fm's very first verified account.

Talib Kweli plays his own Blacksmith CMJ showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg (right next door) later Saturday night.

--

Full BV Saturday lineup coming any second! Full BV Friday day party lineup HERE. Thursday lineup, happening as I write this, HERE.

Like his recent show at Irving Plaza, Talib Kweli's appearance at Restoration Rocks today didn't happen. You can kind of get the idea why from his tweets pictured above. He did however, as the tweets say, perform at Occupy Wall Street, and plans to still be at Music Hall of Williamsburg on 10/22.

by BBG

Black Star on Colbert

Big night for music on late night TV last night (and lately in general). You may have heard that Portishead played their first TV appearance in 13 years on Jimmy Fallon last night. Black Star, as promised, also played a new song "Fix Up" on The Colbert Report (but not at Irving Plaza, or the rest of their tour for that matter). Mastodon performed "Curl of The Burl" last night on David Letterman. Video of the Mastodon and Black Star (aka Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey) performances, as well as the hip hop group's interview with Stephen Colbert is below.

Speaking of new music by Talib Kweli, his other project Idle Warship has a new album coming. Check out one of the new tracks at Rolling Stone. See them live Saturday in Brooklyn, or at one of the other dates listed below.

Reminder: Mastodon's tour hits Terminal 5 with Dillinger Escape Plan and Red Fang on 11/19. Tickets are still available.

Meanwhile, as previously mentioned, former Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Dimitri Minkanakis's band Argonauts (with Dave Witte & John Adubato of Burnt By The Sun, Brett Bamberger of East of The Wall) will play their debut NYC show at ABC No Rio on Saturday (10/8). They'll be joined by Alkahest, Thou, and The Body.

As also mentioned, Jeff the Brotherhood, now bros with Jack White, play Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight (10/6).

Mastodon & Black Star videos from last night as well as some Argonauts live video, below...

Continue reading "Argonauts make NYC debut Saturday, Black Star played a new song on Colbert, Mastodon on Letterman (videos)"

by BBG

The artist soon to be formerly known as Mos Def
at Rock The Bells (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Countdown is on. Only 3 months and 10 days left of "Mos Def":

Following a lengthy line of rappers that have hung up their show names, rapper Mos Def says he's definitely giving up his rhyme alias come 2012.... the artist born Dante Smith revealed that he's changing his name to Yasiin. After more than a decade in the business, though, he won't be mad is you slip up and call him "Mos."
"No, no, not at all... 'Mos Def' is a name that I built and cultivated through the years... I feel that I've done quite a bit with that name. It's time to expand and move on."
...He's usually credited as Mos Def during cast listings. But his several identities will soon just be that one.
"I also don't want to have to deal with having any moniker or any separation between the self that I see and what [people refer to me as]," he continued.
At press time, his publicist wasn't able to confirm what Mos' full name will be after it's changed or if he'll simply just be Yasiin. -[EW]

In other Talib Kweli and Mos De.. -ahem- Yasiin news, the pair will also cross paths on 10/8 at the previously mentioned Restoration Rocks! Music Festival on Fulton Street between Marcy & Brooklyn Ave. The FREE show, now with an expanded lineup, kicks off at noon and will close at 5PM, featuring appearances from Idle Warship (with Kweli), Pharoahe Monch, and the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra with Mos Def. Flyer is below. More Mos Def & Philharmonic appearances listed HERE.

Talib Kweli and Pharoahe Monch will also cross paths at the just-announced Duck Down vs Blacksmith CMJ showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg on 10/22 with Pharoahe Monch, Buckshot, Jean Grae, Smif N Wessun, Kidz in the Hall, Promise, and a Statik Selektah "Population Control" All-Star Set. Tickets go on sale at noon on 9/23, or you can use your CMJ badge (if you're one of the first 150 to try and do so). Flyer below.

All Black Star tour dates and flyers below.

Continue reading "Mos Def's new name, Black Star tour dates, free Restoration Rocks! Fest, a Duck Down vs Blacksmith CMJ showcase & more"

Clipse photos by Brook Bobbins

Nas & Damian Marley at Williamsburg Waterfront (more by Samantha Marble)

Distant Relatives Nas & Damian Marley will team up for a summer show in NYC this year just like last. They'll hit Central Park Summerstage on August 11th. Tickets go on web presale at 10AM on Thursday (5/19) with regular sale hitting Friday. One difference from from last year though, they're calling this one their "grand finale," so don't sleep if you've been wanting to catch the pair together. THAT SAID, they were also just announced on the lineup of ACL which is happening a month later.

Wiz Khalifa also has a Summerstage show coming up.

In other hip hop news, Q-Tip will DJ The Fort Greene Festival kick off party on May 28th at Sanders Studio (525 Waverly Avenue in Brooklyn), a benefit to raise money for the forthcoming annual event. Tickets are $10 or $15 at the door.

As previously mentioned, Q-Tip will perform at the annual Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival on July 16th where he'll be joined by new additions Homeboy Sandman, Eternia, Shad, Nitty Scott and Kid Glyde. Get your tickets.

Rock the Bells is going to announce some news from a "launch party" at House of Blues in LA on May 24th.

Talib Kweli will link back up with his side project Idle Warship to play BB Kings on June 10th. Tickets are on sale. And don't forget Kweli will also play a free show in Red Hook Park on 6/21.

Edan plays Southpaw on May 25th.

Clipse @ Terminal 5 in April

Clipse made a NYC appearance at Terminal 5 on April 30th. They opened for A-Trak, and pictures from their set are in this post. More of them below.

Ghostface & Raekwon supported Mobb Deep at recent show at Best Buy Theater. Pictures from that show are HERE. Some upcoming UK Wu-Tang dates are below.

The previously announced "Salute to Hip Hop" show that was supposed to take place at Best Buy Theater in Times Square in April has been rescheduled. You can now catch The Lox, EPMD, and Brand Nubian at the NYC venue on June 30th. Tickets are on sale.

The previously announced Curren$y show happening at Irving Plaza in June is still happening, but now so are many more tour dates around it including the Pitchfork Festival. They are listed below.

And finally, Beastie Boys have no tour dates in support of their Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 yet, but you can catch Ad-Rock hosting/DJing as part of a day long Children's Museum of Art benefit. Tickets for both events at Webster Hall on 5/22 are on sale. Meanwhle check out "The Greatest Beastie Boys Lyrical References To New York, In Order."

A recent video by Nas & Damian Marley for "Nah Mean," those Clipse pics, and tour dates, below.

Continue reading "Nas & Damien Marley shows, BK Hip Hop Fest, Curren$y, Rock the Bells, Q-Tip, Clipse pics, Ad-Rock & other hip hop news"

Mos Def on stage w/ Gorillaz @ MSG (more by Bao Nguyen)

Blue Note added some last minute shows happening in just a couple of days. Mos Def plays on February 8th at 9:00PM and 11:30PM, and his friend Talib Kweli plays as part of Idle Warship with Res on February 9th at 9:00PM and 11:30PM. Tickets are on sale for each show - just click the links. Tickets are also still on sale for the show Idle Warship is playing at Music Hall of Williamsburg on February 10th with Dead Prez.

Waka Flocka Flame, who is on the April 30th lineup of this year's Bamboozle Festival, can also be found at House of Blues Atlantic City on February 25th (tickets) and B.B. King Blues Club and Grill in NYC on 3/23 (on sale Tuesday at 3PM).

Talib & Res

Tickets are still available for the next 5 Questlove DJ gigs at Brooklyn Bowl.

Tickets are also on sale for a Talib Kweli show happening at Brooklyn Bowl on February 1st with J-Live, K-Salaam, and Mad Sol Desar.

You can also catch Talib on February 10th when he teams up with Res (and Graph Nobel?) to form Idle Warship at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Dead Prez, Ninjasonik (who also play the same venue on 3/26), The Wellington Papers and "Special Surprise Performances." Tickets go on sale Friday at noon.

That same night, 2/10, is when Black Milk is at SOB's with a full band.

That same venue, MHOW, is where Raekwon is playing on March 8th. Tickets are now on AmEx presale.

Raekwon's same night, 3/8, is when Yelawolf is going to play Highline Ballroom with Cyhi Da Prynce. Tickets go on sale Friday at noon.

Murs also has a show coming up at MHOW, and that show is still on sale.

Last but not least (unless you mean the price), Chiddy Bang is playing a free show at Irving Plaza on January 29th. The catch? You need to go to either NYU, Rutgers, CUNY, Fordham or Columbia to attend. Actually that's not true, you can just pretend you do I think, since it also says "Students at other NY area schools also eligible. Text closest school to claim tickets." The show is part of a "Textbooks & Tickets Tour" that is also giving away free tickets to a Big Boi show in Atlanta and has other performers in a few other cities.

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Idle Warship - Party Robot (Usershare link to ZIP)

Talib Kweli and his Blacksmith Music imprint are scheduled to celebrate the holidays the right way, with two turntables and a microphone! "The Night Before The Night Before Christmas" at Highline Ballroom on 12/23 will feature Jean Grae, Strong Arm Steady, and Soul Brother #1 Pete Rock. Tickets are on sale.

It's one of three shows that Kweli has lined up in the coming month, with the second being with his Idle Warship project at Southpaw on 11/28. Trezure The Empress, Jah C + The Antidote, and Niles get credited with the assist. Tickets are still available. Idle Warship recently dropped a new mixtape blessed by the great Mick Boogie. Download a copy of the mixtape, Party Robot, above in one of two mixtape covers. The first is above, the second is available at MySpace.

The third for Talib is the previously-mentioned show at Brooklyn Bowl on November 22nd. Jean Grae is also on that one as well as Mickey Factz and Skyzoo. Tickets are still on sale.

On the same day as the Highline show (12/23), just across town, BB King's will host the Hip Hop Legends show with Method Man, EPMD, Doug E Fresh, Large Professor, Onyx, AG (of Show & AG) and many more. Helluva old school lineup! Tickets are on sale. Rakim probably should be on that lineup, but instead he'll headline a show of his own at BB King's on 11/19 along with Rhymefest. Tickets here.

More imminently, Cee-Lo is taking some time away from Gnarls Barkley to return to his great (and somewhat unsung) Southern hip hop crew Goodie Mob, who are scheduled to play their reunion show at BB Kings on FRIDAY 11/13 with The Ruler Slick Rick (who'll have a live backing band!). Tickets are still available, and I have a PAIR OF TICKETS FOR GIVEAWAY. Details on how to win below with some videos, including a live video of Idle Warship from SOB's, below...

Continue reading "upcoming hip hop includes Talib Kweli in Idle Warship & his label's holiday party ++ Goodie Mob (win tix), Rakim & more"

by Black Bubblegum

Idle Warship

Talib Kweli will team up with Res and Graph Nobel as part of a new group called Idle Warship on Dec 22nd at BB King's in NYC. Tickets are on sale. The crew are wrapping up their debut LP Party Robot, are streaming a few songs at their myspace, and recently released a video for "Black Snake Moan". Check it out along with the show flyer, below..

Continue reading "Talib Kweli, Res & Graph Noble = Idle Warship -- NYC show "