On a stage outside a North Philadelphia theater where some of the greatest R&B artists once performed, Jay-Z and other members of the hip-hop elite exhorted 10,000 young people yesterday to become part of history by voting for Sen. Barack Obama.

A throng of energized young people, many of them Temple University students, gathered in front of the historic Uptown Theater on Broad Street about 1 p.m. to hear rappers Jay-Z and Sean "Diddy" Combs and singer Mary J. Blige urge them to cast ballots for the senator from Illinois.

"I need y'all to be really, really quiet for this. I need you to really understand what I'm telling you," Jay-Z said. "Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked so Obama could run. Obama's running so we all can fly." [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Beyonce and Russell Simmons were at yesterday's event too. More pictures at Barack Obama's Flickr account.

In semi-related news, Jay-Z's successor at Def Jam commited suicide over the weekend.

Shakir Stewart, executive vice president of Def Jam and one of the most powerful figures in hip-hop, died this weekend in an apparent suicide. Police reported that the man who signed Beyoncé was found in his bathroom at around 4pm on Saturday, suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was taken to Atlanta's Kennestone Hospital where he died later that day...

...Stewart had only recently taken over at the label, succeeding Jay-Z after the rapper's departure in June. Stewart at the time called it his "dream job". [Guardian]

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: M.I.A. - Boyz Remix featuring Wale (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: M.I.A. - Boyz Remix featuring Jay-Z (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Rhymefest - Man In The Mirror Mixtape (ZIP)

Ronson, Merriweather & Wale

Allido Records, named after one of my favorite Stevie Wonder songs, is the label co-owned by Mr. EVR aka potential Lohan In-Law Mark Ronson (sorry for getting all Perez-y). Mark Ronson will rep Allido when he appears as house DJ during the Allido CMJ showcase at SOB's on Oct 21st. Tickets are on sale.

The Allido Showcase will be headlined by Wale (pronounced wah-lay), who has appeared in NYC with Ronson before, and who recently hopped on a new remix of M.I.A.'s "Boyz" that some say is better than the Jay-Z remix that was released at the same time. Both are available for download above... you be the judge. Wale doesn't have an actual album to his name yet (he's a mixtape dude), but look for his debut to drop in Spring 2009 and feature Travis Barker (recently released from an LA burn center), Mark Ronson (no doy), 9th Wonder, Just Blaze, and Pharrell.

On January 25, 2008, Wale and Mark Ronson, on Ronson's East Village Radio show, hinted that Wale was in the process of signing with Jimmy Iovine at Interscope Records and On March 12, he announced on 93.9 WKYS that he had signed with Interscope. [Wikipedia]

Rhymefest of I-co-wrote-Kanye-West's-"Jesus Walks"-fame will also be in the (SOB's) house (check out the free Jacko-themed mixtape from earlier this year available above), as well as The Rumble Strips and Daniel Merriweather (not to be confused with Dan The Automator aka Nathaniel Merriweather of Handsome Boy Modeling School fame). Daniel was also at that Webster Hall show Ronson played in October last year.

In other semi-related news, Perez Hilton is announcing his full CMJ lineup on Monday, Pharell and M.I.A. recently got together, Jay-Z inspired a bunch of kids to search out Daptone's Menehan Street Band, and the BrooklynVegan CMJ showcase, happening the same night as Ronson's, is getting close to being sold out. Also that night: The Cool Kids & The Carps.

Wale videos and tour dates below...

Continue reading "Wale, MP3s, Mark Ronson's Allido CMJ showcase, other dates "

DOWNLOAD: The Menahan Street Band - Make the Road by Walking (MP3)

The Menahan Street Band is a collaboration of musicians from Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings (Dave Guy, Homer Steinweiss, Fernando Velez, Bosco Mann), El Michels Affair (Leon Michels, Toby Pazner), Antibalas (Nick Movshon, Aaron Johnson) and the Budos Band (Mike Deller, Daniel Foder), brought together by musician/producer Thomas Brenneck (Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Budos Band, Amy Winehouse) to record hits in the bedroom of his Menahan St. apartment in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

Tommy (Thomas Brenneck) is a member of both Menahan and Handclap, though it is unclear whether he'll be performing with TPHB tonight. He may just have contributed to their album.

Tommy is also the one who started Dunham Records, a subsidiary of Daptone. The Menahan Street Band album ("Make the Road by Walking") is their first release and it is out now. Download the title track above. You might recognize it from the sample used in Jay-Z's hit song "Roc Boys (and the Winner is...)". Speaking of which...

A few months after the release of the Jay-Z track, Brenneck was contacted by the principal of Public School 20, an elementary school in nearby Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, who had tracked down the original after being blown away by the sample in the radio hit. The school band invited the Menahan Street Band to their recital to watch them perform their own rendition of "Make the Road by Walking" and to join them in their music class the following Friday. The experience proved mutually inspiring for both the children and the band, and completed the songs poetic journey from the local community center through the national hip-hop airwaves, and back to the children of Brooklyn.

Continue reading "Menahan Street Band - new Daptone (Dunham) record, MP3, videos, Jay-Z, a show w/ the Phenomenal Handclap Band"

Jim James @ Coachella (more by Ryan Muir)

My Morning Jacket singer and guitarist Jim James was injured during the Southern-rock band's concert Tuesday night at the University of Iowa.

James slipped and fell about 30 minutes into the band's set at the Recreation Building and was taken to a hospital. The remainder of the show was canceled. Officials with SCOPE, the UI's concert organization, would not say where James was taken and declined further comment.

James apparently hit his head in the fall, which happened in the dark between songs. The extent of his injuries were not known.

My Morning Jacket's four other members left the stage seconds after James fell. Drummer Patrick Hallahan returned to the stage several minutes later to say James fell and his injury was being assessed. About 10 minutes later, Hallahan and the rest of the band, minus James, took the stage to say the show was canceled.

"Jim was really hurt, he's heading to the hospital," Hallahan said. "We're really sorry, this has never happened before."

At least one fan yelled "refund!" but the majority of the crowd cheered in a show of support for James.
[Iowa Gazette] (thx Eric)

---

On a completely unrelated note, rapper Jim Jones is strangely playing Mercury Lounge on December 1st (rescheduled from October 13th).

Continue reading "My Morning Jacket's Jim James injured at Iowa concert "

Photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

Santogold and the Goldrush tour hit the Fillmore at Irving Plaza in NYC last night (Sept 19, 2008). The place filled up through out the night, ending with a 45 minute (or so) set by Santi to a sold out crowd, (that included Jay-Z and Beyonce). She didn't play "I'm a Lady," but pretty much played the rest of the album and tracks off her Top Ranking mixtape including a song that samples Animal Collective's "Comfy in Nautica"...

"She played a few songs off the mixtape, asking the crowd if they were familiar with it. It didn't seem like a 45 minute set. Plus she only has one album and like 3 or 4 songs on Top Ranking. My only complaint was that there wasn't a full band backing her because I was under the impression that there would be. Other than that it was pretty fun. Her dancers are awesome and she sounded great." [Anonymous]

Continue reading "Santogold's Goldrush Tour @ Irving Plaza, NYC - pics"

Tickets for the Izod Center NJ show are on sale (thx rajohn & nick)

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"

Remember what Noel Gallagher said about Jay-Z playing Glastobury? Well, that festival was this weekend and look what Jay-Z did...

Continue reading "Jay-Z covers Oasis at Glastonbury (video)"

Barack Obama is a Stevie Wonder geek. In the Democratic presidential candidate's new interview with Rolling Stone editor-in-chief Jann S. Wenner, Obama waxed rhapsodic about his favorite artists, many of whom -- Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Jay-Z -- have shown him love with endorsements.

"If I had one musical hero, it would have to be Stevie Wonder," says Obama, who grew up on Seventies R&B and rock staples including Earth, Wind and Fire, Elton John and the Rolling Stones. "When I was at that point where you start getting involved in music, Stevie had that run with Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Fulfillingness' First Finale and Innervisions, and then Songs in the Key of Life. Those are as brilliant a set of five albums as we've ever seen." [Rolling Stone]

According to this article....

To understand the stylistic gulf between Barack Obama and John McCain, first consider their cultural references.

The Republican enjoys a good Henny Youngman one-liner and the 1970s Swedish pop group ABBA. He tells jokes about drunken Irish twins, and the reason he had to join the Navy instead of the Marines: His parents were married when he was born.

The Democrat, meanwhile, professes to "love the art of hip-hop." He listens to Jay-Z, Beyoncé and old-school favorites like Stevie Wonder on his IPod. Chicago is "ChiTown," sneakers are "kicks" and knuckle bumps are at times his greeting of choice.

The 7th Annual Jammy Awards are happening tonight (May 7) at the The WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden (jam bands + grammys = jammys), and some people seem to think Phish are going to reunite and play since they're being honored at the shindig. Even more interesting should be the scene outside the venue as Phish fans make their way to the theater while Jay-Z and Mary J Blige fans find their way into the much larger venue in the same building.

And with all of that going on under one roof, I guess anything could happen.....

Continue reading "Phish & Jay-Z will meet again (sort of/maybe) @ MSG tonight"

Kanye West & Jay-Z backstage, March 22, 2008 (Rolling Stone)

tonight in NYC & NJ
* Nick Lowe @ Maxwell's
* Robyn @ Grand Ballroom (where Nick Lowe played last)
* RJD2 @ Bowery Ballroom
* Chris Rock @ theater @ MSG
* Tribeca Film Festival day shows
* Tragedy is @ Knitting Factory
* The Muggabears @ Cake Shop (later)
* Nellie McKay @ Rubin Museum of Art
* Scout Niblett & Holy Sons @ Europa
* Ministry & Meshhuggah @ Irving Plaza
* Stars of the Lid @ Wordless Music Series
* Dufus CD release show @ Cake Shop (free)
* Mary J Blige & Jay-Z @ Madison Square Garden
* The Hold Steady & the Virgins @ Webster Hall
* Brazilian Girls and NOT Spank Rock at Studio B
* Dragons of Zynth @ the Bronx Museum of the Arts
* Awesome Color, Tall Firs & Knyfe Hytes @ Glasslands
* Vivian Girls, Abe Vigoda, Fiasco and Woods @ Silent Barn

We're giving away tickets to Monday's Rock n ROFL. Rock n ROFL is sponsored in part by The Sound of Young America.

Jay-Z and Mary J Blige recently appeared on Letterman together. Two videos from that below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?"

Speaking of Oasis,

The inquest into The Mysterious Case of the Missing Glastonbury Ticket Sales has taken an ugly turn. Suggestions that festival fatigue, poor weather or hordes of rival festivals have stopped people rushing to buy tickets have been set aside, because apparently Noel Gallagher knows better: it's all Jay-Z's fault.

"If it ain't broke don't fix it," Gallagher said of the choice of Jay-Z as Pyramid Stage headliner along with The Verve and Kings of Leon, possibly alluding to his own attitude to song-writing at the same time. "If you start to break it then people aren't going to go. I'm sorry, but Jay-Z? Fucking no chance. Glastonbury has a tradition of guitar music and even when they throw the odd curve ball in on a Sunday night you go 'Kylie Minogue?' I don't know about it. But I'm not having hip-hop at Glastonbury, no way man. It's wrong." [Guardian]

Tickets for the three previously-sold-out Jay-Z/Mary J Blige shows at MSG will be back on sale Saturday at 10am.

the Brooklyn Museum, April 3, 2008 (The Brooklyn Paper / Adrian Kinloch)

Outside the Eastern Parkway art institute, hundreds of protestors started gathering at around 6:30 pm to greet more than 1,000 Museum supporters as they entered for cocktails and hors-d'oeuvres of miso-marinated cod and spicy taro with caviar.

Celebrities including designer Marc Jacobs and tennis legend John McEnroe were also on hand.

Protesters condemned the Museum's decision to honor Ratner, some holding signs reading, "Con Artist" and, in a particularly nifty bit of memory, "Dung Deal," a reference to the Museum's 1999 controversy over its "Sensation" exhibition, which featured a painting of the Virgin Mary adorned with elephant dung.

Joining the protesters was former city Department of Environmental Protection commissioner Marilyn Gelber.

Referring to the protesters outside, Borough President Markowitz -- a major support of Atlantic Yards -- smiled and said, "It shows that this is a great country." [Brooklyn Paper]

Jay-Z is on the verge of a deal with concert promoter Live Nation worth about $150 million that rivals the biggest music contracts ever, the New York Times reported on its Web site on Wednesday.

Jay-Z was said to be planning to leave his longtime record label, Def Jam, for a package with Live Nation, which includes financing his own entertainment venture as well as recordings and tours over the next decade.

The deal, which sources told the newspaper should be finalized this week, comes after Live Nation earlier this week announced a 12-year agreement to handle the merchandising, digital and branding rights and touring of Irish group U2. [Reuters]

"Ratner - Hands Off Our Homes" (horseycraze)

Continue reading "Kanye West playing Brooklyn Museum, honoring Bruce Ratner"

Continue reading "Mastodon @ the Brooklyn Masonic Temple (video 1 of 4)"

One (sold out), two (sold out), three... Jay Z & Mary J Blige - May 2nd @ MSG, tickets ($199.75, $129.75, $99.75 & $69.75) on sale March 7th at 10 am.

Kanye West is still only playing one.

"An in depth look at the very disturbing truth behind some of mainstream music's most 'popular' celebrities and their occult practices" below....

Continue reading "Jay-Z & Mary J, a 3rd NYC show at MSG, Kanye, the occult"

Continue reading "Jay-Z & Mary J Blige add 2nd NYC show @ MSG"

Editor's Note: This story originally reported that the Clive Campbell who filed the lawsuit was the real name of D.J. Kool Herc, a founder of hip hop. In fact, it is a different Clive Campbell. Mr. Campbell is a Brooklyn-based activist. The story has been corrected........

A man known as the father of hip-hop, Clive Campbell (a.k.a. D.J. Kool Herc), Clive Campbell is seeking $5 billion from rapper Jay-Z, developer Bruce Ratner and Barclays bank, filing a "claim of lien" in property records that seeks the money for slavery reparations.

Mr. Ratner, Jay-Z, and Barclay's are all linked through the $4 billion Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, for which Mr. Ratner plans to build a Frank Gehry-designed basketball arena for the Nets and more than 6,000 apartments. Jay-Z, a partial owner of the Nets, has been a major supporter of the project, appearing at press conferences to tout its merits. Barclays owns the naming rights to the arena, and has been accused of having links with the slave trade--an accusation the bank denies.

In the claim, Mr. Campbell said that Mr. Ratner and Jay-Z worked "in concert" with Barclays, and "profited from the African Slave Trade.... [NY Observer]

The Ace of Spades was free-flowing as Jay-Z, Lebron James, and Jason Kidd packed the VIP section of New Orleans hot-spot Generation Hall Saturday night for a star-studded party. The night started off with an exclusive dinner where A-Listers like Gabrielle Union, Beyonce, Brandon Jacobs and Mark Cuban all attended. [Complex]

Continue reading "Jay-Z & Mary J Blige add NYC show, Tour, presale"

Mary J. Blige and JAY-Z announced today that they will embark on a historic 25-date North American co-headlining tour. The "Mary J. Blige & JAY-Z: Heart of the City" tour marks the first time in more than 15 years that an African American male/female bill of this stature have co-headlined a national concert tour.

Continue reading "Jay-Z & Mary J Blige - initial 2008 Tour Dates"

Continue reading "Kanye West - blogging, played legendary connect 4 champion"