I Break Horses at Terminal 5 earlier this month (more by BBG)

today in NYC
* YG, Pure @ SOB's
* Adron @ Zebulon
* Big Terrific @ Cameo
* Dawn of Midi @ Roulette
* David Yazbek @ Joe's Pub
* Our Hit Parade @ Joe's Pub
* Amy X Neuburg @ The Stone
* Tinklepotty/D-Bakl @ The Stone
* Selah Sue @ The Bowery Electric
* Ra Ra Riot (DJ set) @ Living Room
* Susan Alcorn @ Issue Project Room
* The Mandingo Ambassadors @ Barbes
* Since, I'm In You, Desert Stars @ Union Pool
* Al Kooper, Jimmy Vivino @ Highline Ballroom
* Ballou/Robinson/Ilgenfritz/Schuller @ Barbes
* I Break Horses, Field Mouse @ Mercury Lounge
* Kent Odessa, Pegasus Warning @ Cameo Gallery
* Mecca Bodega, Old Monk, Young Gung @ Cake Shop
* Busdriver, Lakutis, Tron and DVD @ Santos Party House
* Parlovr, Mainland, We Run, The Drowners @ Glasslands
* Great Lake Swimmers, Cold Specks @ Bowery Ballroom
* The Orion Experience, Damon Daunno @ Mercury Lounge
* Sweet Georgia Brown: A Tribute to Etta James @ BB King's
* Vintage Trouble, Neal Carlson @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* Judah Friedlander, They Might Be Giants, David Rees @ UCB
* Midnight Spin, Tingsek, Shane Gamble @ The Bowery Electric
* Foster The People, The Kooks @ Central Park Rumsey Playfield
* River City Extension, The Drowning Men, Ben Henderson @ Maxwell's
* Magmana, Ram's Head Lady Slipper, Strange Shapes @ The Rock Shop
* The City Streets, The Ballroom Jacks, Galapagos Now @ Knitting Factory
* Henry Cole & Afrobeat Collective, Gilad Hekselman Quartet @ 92YTribeca
* Algernon Cadwallader, Living Room, Spook Houses @ Big Snow Buffalo Lodge
* The Coathangers, Hunters, The Numerators, Desert Sharks @ Death By Audio
* Galactic, Corey Clover, Corey Henry, The New Orleans Suspects @ Brooklyn Bowl
* The Crystal Ark, Avan Lava, Kim Ann Foxman, DJ Sean B @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Missing Documents, Juan Wauters (of The Beets), Pale Lights, Honey Dos @ Shea Stadium
* These Animals, Coastgaard, The Can't Tells, Baby Teardrops, Fairweather Friends @ Pianos

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Kanye West and Jay-Z have a new video for the Frank Ocean-featuring Watch the Throne opening track, "No Church in the Wild." Check it out below.

You can also check out the new video for M83's "Reunion" which continues the story of the creepy kids from the "Midnight City" video. It's below as well.

And one more: the trippy video for PS I Love You's "Princess Towers" can also be watched below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

The following items are NOT ALLOWED
• Weapons of any kind
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• Illegal or Illicit substances of any kind
• Outside food & drink (except your factory sealed water)
• Pets (except service animals)
• Flyers, handbills, posters, stickers (no solicitation allowed)
• Chairs
• Glass containers
• Skateboards, motorized vehicles or Scooters
• Coolers
• Professional recording devices or cameras (no-detachable lenses or tripods or other commercial uses)
• Glowsticks
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• Items to obstruct other fan's views (kites, flag poles, large signs, etc)

PREVIOUSLY: Pearl Jam, Passion Pit & Dirty Projectors & others playing Jay-Z's Made in America Fest

Pearl Jam says:

We are pleased to announce that Pearl Jam is headlining Made in America Music Festival curated by Jay-Z. Made in America takes place Labor Day Weekend (Saturday, September 1st - Sunday, September 2nd) at Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park.

PLEASE NOTE: Made In America Festival will announce Pearl Jam's exact performance date and time in the coming weeks.

In addition to Pearl Jam, this 2-day music festival will include performances from fellow artists like Jay-Z, Passion Pit, Dirty Projectors and much more.

Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) is playing the Apollo Theater on June 14 as part of the month-long Blue Note Jazz Festival (which originally announced the Mos Def show as happening on June 29). Tickets are on sale.

Today, 5/21, would have been Biggie Smalls' 40th birthday. In tribute to Biggie and Malcolm X, Yasiin Bey released a new song called "Bey", part of his continuing "Top 40 Underdog series". Hypetrack points out that the song is Bey rapping over the instrumental of Lil Tunechi's single "John (If I Die Tonight)". Listen to that, along with some just-uncovered footage of Christopher Wallace performing with Jay-Z, below...

Continue reading "Biggie would be 40 today; Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) drops "Bey" in tribute, is playing the Apollo"

Jay-Z has a busy September. In addition to christening his Barclays Center with its inaugural show on September 28, he's curating the Budweiser Made in America Festival which will happen Labor Day Weekend (September 1 and 2) at Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. No performers have been announced yet, but it's 28 performers on three stages, and ""will offer music fans from across the U.S. and beyond the biggest names in hip-hop, rock, dance and other popular genres". Tickets will go on sale May 23. (Part of the proceeds go to charity.) There will be a presale for $99 2-day passes on May 22 but you have to friend Budweiser on Facebook to get it.

Watch a teaser video for the Made in America Festival below.

Continue reading "Jay-Z curating Labor Day weekend music fest in Philadelphia"

Jay-Z, who also just announced a festival in Philadelphia, has set a date for one of his promised shows at his new stadium in Brooklyn. The rapper mogul will christen the new Barclays Centter on 9/28/2012, a few days before the Islanders play the Devils there, and a few weeks before Brooklyn's own Barbara Streisand plays there. Will Jay announce even more shows like he said he would? Time will tell. Meanwhile check out the full list of events confirmed at the new venue so far, Rush and Leonard Cohen included, below...

Continue reading "JAY Z sets date of show at Barclays Center (where Barbara Streisand is also playing) "

today in NYC
* Tom Shillue @ UCB West
* BLOWOFF @ Highline Ballroom
* Wale, Miguel @ Irving Plaza
* Lucy Kaplansky @ City Winery
* Roswell Rudd Quartet @ Roulette
* Guns N' Roses @ Roseland Ballroom
* Cate Le Bon, Pidgeons @ Maxwell's
* MAKU Soundsystem, I Jah Bones @ Southpaw
* Vivian Girls @ Kate Spade Pop-up Shop
* Palomar, Drgn King, Springs @ Cake Shop
* Snowden, Warm Ghost, Visuals @ Glasslands
* Black Onassis, Edelweiss @ Mercury Lounge
* Elaine Paige @ Lincoln Center's Allen Room
* Brian Sullivan, Ames Sanglantes @ The Stone
* Tea Leaf Green, Ha Ha Tonka @ Bowery Ballroom
* SHAPES, The Gradients, The Micks, Big Ups @ XPO 929
* Turkuaz, Deathrow Tull @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* Pretty Good Friends w/ Todd Barry & more @ Maxwell's
* Victor Villarreal, Meryll, Matt LeMay @ The Rock Shop
* Wild Yaks, Osekre & The Lucky Bastards, Modiri @ Big Snow
* The Debutante Hour, Tatters & Rags, The WoWz @ Union Hall
* Tragedy: All Metal Tribute to the Bee Gees @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Moonmen On The Moon, Man, Twitchers, Megalife @ The Gutter
* Zambri, Sunglasses, Bermuda Bonnie, Rewards @ Cameo Gallery
* Mother Feather, Kendra Morris, Julia Haltigan @ Mercury Lounge
* Oceanographer, Slow Country, Autumn Bells, Colin Healy @ Pianos
* Yellow Dogs, Jangula, Jump Into The Gospel, Papertwin @ Union Pool
* 12th Planet, Flinch, Kastle, Kill The Noise (DJ Set) @ Webster Hall
* Vernous, Gumskirt, Glowworms, Grey Matter @ Brooklyn Fire Proof East
* Caged Animals, Night Manager, Island Twin, Weird Rivers @ Shea Stadium
* Mon Khmer, French Horn Rebellion (DJ set), Internet Xplorer, Getawolfpup @ Glasslands
* Don Giovanni Showcase w/ Mikey Erg, House Boat, Nuclear Santa Claust, Secret Police @ Death By Audio
* Blues Control, Soft Circle, Psychobuildings, Highlife, Brian DeGraw (Gang Gang Dance DJ set) @ 285 Kent Ave
* No Redeeming Social Value, Two Man Advantage, Sped, Suspect Device, High Teen Boogie, Boogie Brains @ Trash Bar

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It's still Fashion Week, and that's also why Guns N' Roses begin their small venue tour tonight.

Jay-Z and Kanye West premiered a video for 2011's favorite party jam (that's not* "Midnight City") "Niggas in Paris." Cobbled together "Watch the Throne" tour footage, the video keeps all the frenetic stage lighting in tact, warranting a pre-roll epileptic warning. Check the video out below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's Going on Friday?"

Jay-Z w/ orchesta, Alicia Keys & Nas @ Carnegie Hall - 2/6

Fans of disposable income -- earning it, spending it, rapping about it, listening to someone rap about it -- had much to cheer about during this concert, the highest-profile hip-hop show ever at Carnegie Hall.

And there was also the matter of the income disposal, or in this case, donation: this concert was the first of a pair (the second is Tuesday night) benefitting the United Way of New York City and the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation, the charity founded by Jay-Z and whose president and chief executive is his mother, Gloria Carter. Most tickets cost several hundred dollars; on the resale market, some were listed for more than $1,000. [NY Times]

Last night's show was the first of two. It happens again tonight (2/7). Yesterday the shows weren't sold out, but now it says "Limited Availability" for tonight's show at Carnegie Hall's site.

Some video clips and a pictures of the set list from last night (2/6), below...

Continue reading "Jay-Z played Carnegie Hall (does again tonight) -- setlist/video"

Tickets go on sale today, 1/30, at 11am for Polica fan Jay-Z's upcoming shows at Carnegie Hall: February 6th & February 7th.

Roger Waters tickets go on sale at 10am.

Pete and Pete tickets go on sale at noon.

Arcade Fire @ Obama Staff Ball (more by Bao Nguyen)

A list of celebrities, reportedly created by Obama's campaign, sent out on December 5, and acquired by the Tennessean (PDF HERE), is being passed around the internet. The list, heavily populated with people who we already know support Obama, is supposedly a wishlist of people the Obama administration hopes to get public support from again in this upcoming election. Among the names on the list: Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend, Wilco Regina Spektor, Janelle Monae, The Roots, Jay-Z, will.i.am, Jessica Alba, Laila Ali, Marc Anthony, India.Arie, Sara Bareilles, Jigga, Chelsea Clinton, George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, Fergie, America Ferrera, Jamie Foxx, Whoopi Goldberg, Al Green, Josh Groban, Neil Patrick Harris, Anne Hathaway, Jack Johnson, the Jonas Brothers, Jewel, Mila Kunis, Blake Lively, Ricky Martin, "Glee" star Lea Michele, Sarah Jessica Parker, Chris Pine, B.o.B, the Band Perry, Train, and Kate Walsh.

Speaking of Regina Spektor, who has played the White House, she has a benefit show coming up at Lincoln Center in NYC and is playing some shows with Tom Petty including one in Austin. All of her dates are listed below.

Speaking of Wilco, they're currently out on the road with White Denim who played a warm-up show at Hotel Vegas in Austin before leaving. All Wilco dates are listed below.

Speaking of Obama, he delivers a State of The Union speech this Tuesday.

Speaking of politicians, Stephen Colbert was spotted singing along at the Jeff Mangum show at BAM on Saturday night.

Continue reading "Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend, Wilco Regina Spektor & others on Obama wishlist"

photos by David Andrako

Aziz Ansari booked two last minute Saturday night shows at the Bell House to test out material for a new album he hopes to release next year. Hannibal Burress opened both the early and late shows. We've got some pictures from the the late one in this post.

Aziz's friend James Murphy wasn't in the audience (he was over at Terminal 5), but his other GQ friend David Chang was spotted.

Two days earlier Aziz got some major internet attention thanks to a post on his blog. As Gizmodo says:

Jay-Z and Kanye West's N*ggas in Paris is an epically hard, head bumping anthem that's ruled rap for the better part of the year. Aziz Ansari and Matthew Shawver just one upped it by translating it into a hilarious rendition filled with emojis from their iPhones. This is the best thing to happen to music all year.

More pictures from the Brooklyn show below...

Continue reading "Aziz Ansari played shows @ the Bell House w/ Hannibal Burress (pics), transcribed a Kanye/Jay-Z song in Emojis"

Jay-Z, who is in the middle of his Watch the Throne tour> with Kanye West, announced via a press conference (video below) that he will perform at NYC's Carnegie Hall on February 6 and 7 to benefit the United Way of New York City to help expand the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation, and that tickets will be sold privately on December 12 with a limited amount of public tickets going on sale January 30 at 11 AM. Private tickets will range from $500 to $2500.

Jay also spoke to MTV about plans for a new album in 2012 (via Fader):

"It depends on how this thing finishes up," Jay said in reference to his and Kanye's current Watch the Throne Tour. "We -- I say 'we' because I'm in Throne mode -- we're in a great place creatively. You might see a Jay, then Kanye and a Throne album next year. You know, we're really in a great place creatively. We really found our zone."

Continue reading "Jay-Z playing Carnegie Hall shows, talking about new albums"

Jay-Z & Kanye West @ the Izod Center in NJ (cohanlon64)

Kanye West & Jay-Z aka The Throne played their first of two shows at the Izod Center in NJ last night (11/5), and they do it again in the same location tonight, and then two nights in a row at MSG...

"The core of the show weaved together separate, alternating sets from Jay and Kanye. This especially benefitted Kanye, whose recent albums, and last tour, got bogged down in fodder. Here he culled the cream, from the strident gospel chorus of "Jesus Walks" to the gothic "Power." Jay-Z, the more consistent performer, drew on his wealth of favorites, from the stuttering "Jigga What" to "Hard Knock Life." The pair doubled up on that last one and others, together offering not just value for money, but a survey of recent commercial hip-hop at its height." [Daily News]

Odd Future associate and Watch The Throne guest vocalist Frank Ocean plays his first NYC show at Bowery Ballroom tonight (11/6), part of a short tour that hit New Orleans last night, Frank's first-ever show...

"The show was his first solo performance, and it was truly solo--he was onstage alone with backing tracks on a laptop.

Ocean's system still had a kink or two. "This is awkward," he said quietly when the video screen behind him started showing footage from western movies without audio. That problem was quickly solved, and having his band on computer didn't limit him in any obvious ways.

Song lengths never felt shorter than what the moment demanded, and he wasn't locked into a pre-programmed sequence. Ocean changed the set list on the fly, gesturing for his offstage computer tech to skip forward more than once. He solved the problem of not having a lead guitarist to play the solo at the end of "American Wedding" by strapping on a Guitar Hero controller, turning his back to the audience, and apparently playing along as the video game's footage for "Hotel California"--the song's key sample--ran on the video screen. "I've always wanted to do that," Ocean said afterward." [Rolling Stone]

Odd Future (obviously without Frank and vice versa) co-headline Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin tonight. We hear there will be no photopit.

Watch the Throne setlist below...

Continue reading "Jay-Z & Kanye West played their 1st Izod Center show (setlist) while Frank Ocean played his 1st show in New Orleans"

Kanye prepares to meet the recently
carbonite-d Han Solo in Cloud City (more by Bao Nguyen)

Jay-Z & Kanye West have expanded their previously discussed (and rescheduled) tour together to include shows in LA, Chicago, Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, and Madison Square Garden! MSG goes down on November 7th and 8th, with the previous two nights dedicated to shows at Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ (11/5 & 11/6). Ticketing info for MSG is still forthcoming, but Citibank card members can purchase presale tickets on 10/19 at 10AM.

Though tickets are no longer available for either Izod date, you can still hop on a Rocks Off express bus to the venue (11/5, 11/6).

All updated dates and the video for "Otis" is below.

Continue reading "Kanye West & Jay-Z add 2 MSG shows & other dates too"

Hopefully you acted quick yesterday because Frank Ocean's Bowery Ballroom show is now sold out. The show, one of six now-announced, popped up so quickly that Frank himself didn't even know it was happening, as he explains in a video he has posted to his Tumblr.

As pointed out in the comments, the date of the NYC show (11/6) happens on the second night of Kanye West & Jay-Z's two-night run at Izod Center in NJ. It's impossible for Frank to be two places at once, but it makes sense that maybe he'll play with them on 11/5 at least, since he appears on their new album.

As previously mentioned, Jay-Z will help publicize the opening of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn by playing there. The Daily News wrote this morning that eight shows are planned:

The superstar, who owns a small piece of the soon-to-be renamed Brooklyn Nets, will perform at eight concerts to celebrate the grand opening of the arena - where all-access passes are going for up to $15,400 a season.

Jay-Z likely will be joined by his wife, Beyoncé - who by then will have given birth to the couple's first child - at one of the shows, and will bring on a series of other performers, sources said.

The Brooklyn Paper reports:

Rap mogul Jay-Z will christen the Barclays Center when the under-construction $1-billion home for the Brooklyn-bound Nets opens on the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush avenues next fall.

The hip hop star, who owns a very small portion of the basketball team, will headline the venue's first performance during a three-week grand opening at the Prospect Heights arena in September, 2012, according to a source familiar with the plan.

Jay-Z is set to announce the dates at a press conference at the Barclays Center on Monday -- where Nets officials are expected to unveil a new team name.

It will be a "major announcement," Nets CEO Brett Yormark tweeted.

"The VMAs unite us as a people, a shitty, shitty people. #VMAs" - Dave Hill

Tyler's mom & Wavves @ the Video Music Awards (via Hipster Runoff)

Bon Iver (Justin Vernon) has posted his thoughts on last night's VMAs. This is what he said:

"there are great moments in awards shows. bruno mars sounded really good doing 'valerie' for amy winehouse. i don't think anyone is bummed that adele is killing everything. her voice was real and focused when i went thru and watched highlights from tonight. kanye and jay z are always murdering. beyonce is pregnant. yes this is awesome as shit, culturally speaking. but can i just ask, the reader, us, we ... as non-rhetorically as possible: don't we seem dumb? didn't MTV lose the fight against themselves? Didn't Rock'n'Roll STOP? Why are the lights so bright? isn't our talent as artists enough? Why do we try SO hard? Does a moonman mean what it did back then? Should we feel pumped when we get one? Should our mom's cry? I am not even thinking about it that hard. I will close my eyes in 90 seconds and have total peace... But, seriously. Why are we waving around so much? Why do we NEED this shit so bad? Why don't we just have MUSIC? DO music? soul? I don't know. I don't mean to criticize. Anyone. Actually. Except for MTV. You might have had a very large opportunity to be stabilize your self as a global presence of culture and art about 15 years ago and you fucked the dog. Sorry. Im with my girls on this one. Its becoming increasingly clear as I think about it more and more, that the dollars, if they ARE apart of why you are doing something... they are apart of why you are doing something. that's fucked to me. that's the absence of spirit, glue, fabric of what makes us a person. it distracts us from what we could be doing: WORK. on EARTH. Better say this: Forget what I say. If you even read this, you'll probably say to yourself, who is this ass saying shit? It doesn't matter what i say. it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. But this one last thought: What would Bill Hicks say?"
- JV

Continue reading "Bon Iver's Justin Vernon discusses the MTV VMAs (where Odd Future won, Tyler's mom got excited, etc)"

Kanye West in Sweden

I caught Kanye West's 2+ hour headlining set at the Way Out West Festival in Gothenburg, Sweden on Saturday night, one night after I saw Prince play a 2+ hour set on the same stage, surprise cameo by Kanye included (Prince did not return the favor).

Without comparing setlists, as far as I could tell from memory, Kanye's set in Sweden was the basically the same set he did at Coachella minus Justin Vernon on guest vocals. Everything else was similar - the show starting with Kanye on a ladder in the middle of the crowd, the backdrop, the ballet dancers, the white sheet that covers them towards the end, the costume changes, and even a short appearance by Pusha T during "Runaway" (seriously though, Pusha T went all the way to Sweden for 20 seconds on stage?). Pictures from the epic production are in this post.

Jay Z & Kanye West have added new dates to their upcoming tour in support of the recently released Watch the Throne. The previously announced dates include November 5 and 6 at Izod Center which are now sold out. The new announcement includes another NYC area date (sort of) on November 11 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. Tickets go on sale Friday (8/19) at 10 AM with a Watch the Throne and VIP presale starting Wednesday (8/17) at 10 AM.

Watch the Throne came out digitally last week and has since broken the US iTunes record for first week sales. The album was released physically on Friday (8/12). You can purchase that on Amazon.

In semi-related news, Beyonce's four-night run at Roseland Ballroom continues tonight (8/16). if you want to learn more about the shows, there's a dedicated Wikipedia page.

Updated Throne dates, more pictures from Sweden, and the video for "Otis" below...

Continue reading "Kanye West played Way Out West in Sweden (pics), adds more 'Throne' shows w/ Jay-Z (updated dates)"

by Andrew Sacher

Jay-Z & Kanye West aka The Throne's collaborative album Watch The Throne became available via iTunes this week (8/8) and will be out physically on Friday (8/12) via Def Jam.

Although Kanye produced most of the album, they also brought an impressive cast of outside producers incuding Q-Tip, 88-Keys, The Neptunes, The RZA, and Swizz Beatz. Kanye and his collaborators create a wide range of sounds touching on everything from classic soul to dubstep-infused electronica. The guest vocal spots are especially grabbing too. Jay-Z and Kanye, who have been two of the biggest names in hip hop for at least the last decade, bring in newcomer Frank Ocean of Odd Future on two of the tracks. Jay's wife, Beyonce, who also has Frank Ocean and Kanye on her new album, sings the chorus to "Lift Off." The album samples the vocals of legendary singers Otis Redding and Curtis Mayfield, and also features guest vocals by Mr. Hudson of Kanye's G.O.O.D. Music. You can stream "Otis" at Jay-Z's Life + Times website and listen to "H.A.M" below.

Justin Vernon also wrote a hook for "That's My Bitch" and according to the album's liner notes, he also sings the part. Elly Jackson of La Roux sings the song's chorus and Q-Tip handled some production duties. Check the song out on grooveshark. Justin comes in at 1:45.

Speaking of Justin Vernon, he and his 9-piece version of Bon Iver played their first of two NYC shows with The Rosebuds at United Palace Theatre last night (8/9). They also play Prospect Park tonight (8/10). Both shows are/were sold out. More on last night in a bit.

Speaking of Beyonce, she just announced 4 NYC shows. Tickets go on sale today (8/10).

Jay-Z & Kanye have two upcoming sold out shows at Izod Center and other dates too.

'Watch the Throne' tracklist and video below...

Continue reading "Jay-Z & Kanye West released 'Watch the Throne' (Justin Vernon, Frank Ocean, La Roux, Beyonce & more included)"

by BBG

The Throne (aka Jay-Z & Kanye West) have rescheduled their original set of dates to kick off in late October. The current schedule is listed below and "more dates to be announced soon". The new set of dates include NJ's Izod Center on November 5th & 6th (instead of September 27 & 28). Tickets for both dates go on presale at 10AM with the password "WTT".

Meanwhile, much like the Jay-Z/R.Kelly tour there are reports that the partnership isn't going so swimmingly...

A battle royal has broken out behind the scenes of Jay-Z and Kanye West's new album, "Watch the Throne."

Sources say the rappers -- who call themselves The Throne and are releasing their expected blockbuster collaboration Aug. 8 on iTunes and four days later everywhere else -- are barely speaking to each other as they iron out the details of their upcoming tour...

The sources say West wants flashy concerts with "next-level production," which would cost more than $400,000 per show. Jay-Z is said to be meticulous about costs and already has a larger, long-term advance from Live Nation that he has to pay back.

"Jay-Z can't deal with Kanye," an insider told Page Six. "Jay is a stone-cold businessman. He wants to recoup all of his money from Live Nation. But Kanye wants to upstage rock stars with a blowout show. He doesn't care about costs. He has a lot less to gain from the shows."

West is expected to agree to the conditions of the tour next week, but the business brouhaha between the powerhouse artists might have affected their backstage relationship.

Industry insiders were shocked to see West and Jay-Z perform separately with Young Jeezy last Monday night at the Highline Ballroom [a private event]. "We were expecting them to come out together to perform a track from the album," a source said. "They didn't even go out together after the show."

"Jay-Z is fed up with West's antics," another source said. "He doesn't even want to be around him." However, the two are expected to perform together at a listening party tonight at The Rose Planetarium in Central Park, according to The Post's Dan Aquilante. A Live Nation rep said, "No comment." The rappers' reps didn't get back to us.-[New York Post]

Videos from that private Young Jeezy show at Highline Ballroom last week (7/25), which featured appearances from Bun B, The Lox, Fabolous and others in addition to Jay/Kanye, are below alongside all tour dates.

Continue reading "Jay-Z/Kanye West tour has new/changed dates - presale now"

Jay & Ye wait to receive the large bundles of money about to be thrown at them

Tickets for the previously discussed Jay-Z/Kanye West aka Watch The Throne (isn't throne a synonym for toilet?) show scheduled for September 27 & 28 at IZOD Center go on presale on Thurs 7/28 at 10:00 AM. Presale code is "WTT" for the NJ dates (probably for all of them). You can head to the WTT website for details on all cities starting at midnight tonight (7/27). General sale tickets, ranging from $55 to $178.50, hit Ticketmaster on August 8 at 10am. - BBG

by BBG

Kanye West at Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest 2011 (more by Brook Bobbins)

Jay-Z and Kanye West will proclaim that all sucka MCs need to Watch The Throne, when the pair release their collaborative LP on August 8th. Stream the first track "Otis" at Jay-Z's blog. The LP marks Jay-Z's third attempt at merging with a major star to form another supercrew. He released an EP with Linkin Park and two LPs as part of "The Best of Both Worlds", his collaboration with R.Kelly that in addition to the LPs, produced a much discussed, failed tour.

In addition, and much like The Best of Both Worlds, Jigga and Ye will hit the road together for a string of US dates kicking off in late Septemeber and coming to a close in November. The tour includes a pair of dates at Izod Center in East Rutherford on 9/27 and 9/28. Ticketing info is forthcoming, but presale passwords are set to be revealed on Thursday at midnight.

Check out the album art and tracklisting (two songs with Odd Future associate Frank Ocean included), alongside all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Jay-Z & Kanye West announce tour in support of collaborative album (dates, presale & album info)"

photos by Bao Nguyen

Jay-Z & Kanye West on display @ the Museum of Modern Art

At the tail end of his set at MoMA's Party In The Garden benefit afterparty last night (5/10), Kanye West was joined by none-other than Jay-Z to work out "H.A.M." before West stepped away from center stage (shocking, I know) to make way for HOV and his rendition of "Empire State of Mind". It was a riotous closing to a set that allowed plenty of time for Mr. West to shine too. Kanye played 45 minutes of hits from across his output. The setlist included "Power," "Run This Town", "Hell of a Life", "Can't Tell Me Nothin'", "Runaway", "Flashing Lights" and "The Good Life". Pictures and video from the museum show are in this post.

BONUS: someone posted Kanye's entire Coachella set as a download. You can also listen to that in its entirety, with the rest of the MoMA pics and video, below...

Continue reading "Kanye West & Jay-Z played MoMA's Garden Party (pics, video)"

by BBG

Curren$y

Tons of hip hop shows on the way, from the classic to the new! First up, Curren$y will headline Irving Plaza on June 6th as part of a string of US dates that he has scheduled in May & June (dates are below). Tickets are currently on Live Nation presale, and go on regular sale at 10AM tomorrow (4/6). Curren$y is currently preparing to release his new and entirely Alchemist-produced EP Covert Coup on April 20th and for FREE.

As previously mentioned, Big K.R.I.T. & Freddie Gibbs are on tour and hitting Southpaw later this month.

Raekwon will headline BB King's on April 17th, alongside Ultramagnetic MC's (billed as an exclusive reunion show, I assume that means that Kool Keith is on board much like at ATP New Jersey), MC Eiht, Bushwick Bill (Geto Boys), Chip Fu (Fu-Schnickens), Da Bushbabees, Tanya Morgan, Tony Touch, and many many more including "special invited VIP surprise guests" and the host D-Stroy (Arsonists). Tickets are on sale. The show takes place just four days before Raekwon will team with The Lox, EPMD, Brand Nubian, and Nice and Smooth as part of a Salute to Hip Hop at Best Buy Theater on April 13th. Tickets are still available.

Tanya Morgan has another NYC date too, TONIGHT (4/5) at Southpaw, as the hip hop crew will pair with DJ Neil Armstrong (Jay-Z's touring DJ) for a free, 21+ event.

Speaking of Jay-Z, have you checked out his new "Life and Times" blog? One of his first posts is on Little Dragon.

Keith Murray will similarly team with a gang of 90's hip hop stars at Santos on April 14th. He'll be joined by Lords of the Underground, Group Home, Real Live, Nine, Shabaam Sahdeeq, and DJs Evil D, Eclipse, Kon & Amir, Ralph McDaniels, and many others. Tickets are still available.

Two of the most extreme MCs in hip hop, M.O.P., will hit Southpaw on April 7th with Top $ Raz, Sleepwalkas, and others. Tickets are still available.

Del Thee Funkee Homosapien will hit BB King's on May 1st as part of a round of US dates for the Hiero lynch pin. Tickets are still available. Del will release his new LP Golden Age on April 11th.

Slick Rick is returning to BB King's, as he'll play the venue on May 29th. Tickets are still available.

Talib Kweli will play a FREE show in Red Hook Park on June 21st as part of the City Parks Foundation's Summerstage series. Tons more Summerstage events (and undoubtedly a large number of hip hop ones) are also slated to be announced, we'll keep you informed. Kweli recently played SXSW and released Gutter Rainbows earlier this year.

And last but certainly not least, 9th Wonder and Phonte (aka 2/3 of Little Brother) will join Hot 97's Peter Rosenberg at 92Y Tribeca Wednesday (4/6) night as part of the Noisemakers series, where Rosenberg interviews his guests. Tickets are on sale.

All tour dates and some video is below.

Continue reading "Curren$y dates, Raekwon shows, Talib Kweli in a park, Ultramagnetic MC's, Jay-Z's blog & other hip hop news"