Andy Stott/Lee "Scratch" Perry

As mentioned, tickets went on sale today for the previously announced Red Bull Music Academy events, which take over NYC from April 28 to May 31. And now that those are on sale, the rest of the lineup has been announced. In addition to the newly-added Flying Lotus show at Terminal 5, the Red Bull Music Academy events now also include...

A Bunker party with Andy Stott, Atom TM, Objekt, Octo Octa, Kloke, Smax, Bryan Kasenic, and Mike Servito at Public Assembly on May 4; Blondes, Mike Simonetti, Rudi Zygadlo, Astroboyz, CABAAL, Ale Hop, Yodashe, Harald Bjork, Alitrec, Mungo Park, Seretan, and Ada Kaleh at Cameo on May 6; and Le1f, Laurel Halo, Venus-X, and a secret guest at Glasslands on May 7.

Still more: Metro Area, Gerd Janson, and Bok Bok b2b L-Vis 1990 at 88 Palace on May 10; 'Drum Majors' with Mannie Fresh, Boi-1da, Young Chop, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Bangaldesh, DJ Mustard, and Drumma Boy at Knitting Factory on May 22; Afrika Bambaataa, Egyptian Lover, DJ Magic Mike, DJ Assault, DJ Funk, Scottie B, DJ Rashad & DJ Spinn, Big Freedia, Salva, Drop the Lime, and Branko & Krampfhaft at Santos on May 23; as well as Skream, Mala, and Plasitician & Hatcha on May 24 at Can Factory (232 3rd St in Brooklyn).

And even more: Oneohtrix Point Never, BIll Kouligas, Evian Christ, Kid Simpl, and ANNALOVE at Saint Vitus on May 26; Benji B, FaltyDL, Dorian Concept, Orquesta, and Somepoe at Sullivan Room on May 27; Pantha Du Prince & the Bell Laboratory with Louis Baker and Anya Kuts at West Park Church on May 28; a killer night of dub with legends Lee Perry & Adrian Sherwood, The Congos vs Sun Araw, M. Geddes Gengras, and the Raw Power Band, Peaking Lights In A Dub Style vs Future Times, and DJ Slow at Le Poisson Rouge on May 30.

Tickets for all events are on sale now.

These join the previously announced shows, talks, and other events with James Murphy, Brian Eno, Giorgio Moroder, Tony Visconti, Nile Rodgers, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Four Tet, A-Trak, Just Blaze, and more. Flyer with the updated, show-by-show lineup is below...

Continue reading "Red Bull Music Academy reveals full NYC lineup (Oneohtrix, Lee Perry, Andy Stott, Laurel Halo, Skream, Le1f, Young Chop, Big Freedia, Pantha Du Prince, Congos/Sun Araw, more)"

James Murphy on SS Coachella 2012 (more by Greg Cristman)

LCD Soundsystem/DFA Records man James Murphy is suing Tim Goldsworthy, who he formed DFA with in 2001, but who moved out of New York to the UK three years ago...

In a lawsuit, DFA accuses Goldsworthy of failing to perform services he was paid for, owing outstanding loans, improperly using the company credit card and making unauthorized withdrawals from its bank accounts.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in Manhattan Civil Supreme Court, says that "attempts to amicably resolve this matter were rebuffed" by Goldsworthy. It also accuses the producer of "breach of contract" and "unjust enrichment."

Goldsworthy owes a total of $93,899, according to DFA. The label, which has a studio in Greenwich Village and boasts such acts as Holy Ghost!, also seeks punitive damages and legal fees. [DNA Info]

Brian Eno

The Red Bull Music Academy is coming to NYC from April 28 to May 31 which will include over 30 events ranging from live concerts and club nights to A/V installations, film screenings and public conversations with big names. Some of those names were recently announced. Details are not complete and tickets to all the shows below go on sale Monday, March 4 at 10 AM.

Perhaps most exciting of these events will be the NYC premiere of Brian Eno's audio-visual installation 77 Million Paintings which is generative software that creates morphing patterns and images. The installation, which be be at Cafe Rouge, will also features an "illustrated talk" on May 6.

James Murphy will head a nine-hour, multiroom show at Grand Prospect Hall in Brooklyn on May 29 as part of DFA's 12th Anniversary celebration. The event will feature 15 live acts and DJs from throughout the label's history. Look for a short documentary, 12 Years of DFA: Too Old To Be New, Too New To Be Classic, to premiere around the same time.

Also part of it will be Four Tet + friends at Webster Hall on May 8. Four Tet, who just released odds-n-sods album 0181 as a free download (stream it below) is celebrating the 10th anniversary of his landmark 2003 album, Rounds, this year with a deluxe resissue due out on Domino in May.

Still more. RBMA will also host the first NYC edition of London party Culture Clash on May 9. The "unique celebration of sound system culture" will feature sets by Max Glazer, A-Trak, Nick Catchdubs, Young Guru, Just Blaze, and Que Bajo?!.

There's also "Drone Activity in Progress" which will happen at the Knockdown Center on May 2, featuring Stephen O'Malley of Sunn O))), Prurient, Alan Licht, and Body/Head (aka Kim Gordon and Bill Nace).

Other events including electronic music legend Giorgio Moroder in his first NYC DJ appearance; a talk with Bowie producers Tony Visconti and Nile Rodgers (maybe Eno will swing by?); Ryuichi Sakamoto and more to be announced. More info on RBMA is here.

Continue reading "Brian Eno, Four Tet, James Murphy, Giorgio Moroder and more participating in NYC Red Bull Music Academy"

by Andrew Sacher

Back in May 2012, Brooklyn producer Baauer (aka 23-year old Harry Rodrigues) released the single "Harlem Shake" on Mad Decent imprint Jeffree's. It was a solid single and one of the more memorable dance tracks of 2012, but I don't think any of us had any idea that almost a year later, it would become one of the biggest memes on the internet. If you haven't seen it yet (aka if you haven't been on a computer in two weeks), it's a video meme that's been blowing up YouTube (something like, oh you know, 4,000 videos uploaded in a day reaching over 40 million total views) that lasts about 30 seconds and features one person dancing in a crowded room to "Harlem Shake" and then once the bass drops, the whole room joins in. The "Harlem Shake dance" that they do isn't the "Harlem Shake" that the hip hop community knows dates back 30 years, but pretty much just a bunch of people going crazy. And it's been done by everyone from Matt & Kim to The Daily Show to The Today Show. Videos of those three are below, if you wanna see more, try YouTube.

So how did any of this happen anyway? Well FADER has laid out a comprehensive history of the meme, discussing the meme, its inventor, 19-year old film hobbyist Filthy Frank, Baauer, the real "Harlem Shake" dance, how Baauer actually feels about it, and if he's making any money from it.

And the memes are leading to other uses of the song too. Azealia Banks, who was supposed to release her debut full length this week but didn't, decided to record herself rapping over the beat, but Baauer's since had the track removed. Azealia questioned him on Twitter, "@baauer why you coccblockin tho??? Lmaoooooo" to which Baauer simply responded "cause its not ur song lol." Azealia then backfired "you're a pussy. You don't belong in hip hop" and Baauer has yet to respond, but Azealia's old pal Perez Hilton stepped in, causing Azealia to call him a "faggot" again. Perez then tweeted "Ugh. There you go again with the F word. Showing your true colors. You are so parched."

As mentioned, Baauer is on tour with veteran producer Just Blaze (and collaborating with him too) and that tour comes to NYC TONIGHT (2/15) for a show at Webster Hall. Once Baauer's fame picked up, tickets started going fast for that one and now it's sold out, but you might still be able to get VIP tickets.

Videos below...

Continue reading "everyone's doing the "Harlem Shake"; Baauer deleted Azealia Banks' version off soundcloud, sold out Webster Hall"

by Andrew Sacher

Hip hop production great J Dilla would have turned 39 yesterday (2/7) and there's much going on in honor of him. A collection of unreleased material, The Lost Scrolls, Vol. 1 EP, was released this week, and you can stream the opening track, "Dewitt To Do It," below. Dilla collaborator Karriem Riggins also filmed a Yours Truly session playing "J Dilla the Greatest," and talking about the producer. You can watch that video below too. And also below, is a video of Dilla's mom, Maureen Yance, and DJ Butter speaking about him in a conference filmed ahead of Detroit's Dilla Days, which goe down this Saturday (2/9) and Sunday (2/10).

For those in NYC, you'll get your own chance to celebrate his life this month with the annual Donuts Are Forever tribute, which Questlove headlined in 2010 and Prince Paul headlined last year. This year, it's being headlined by Just Blaze and happens on February 17 at SRB Brooklyn (117 2nd Ave), two days after Just Blaze plays Webster Hall on his tour with Baauer. Tickets for Donuts Are Forever, which also includes Shawn Dub, Tara, Center, Parler, Stylus, and host Fresh Daily, are on sale now. The DJs are reportedly playing Dilla tunes all night, and all proceeds go to Donuts
are Forever scholarship fund, where high school kids in the Groundwork for
Success Program run by Good Shepherd Services, take DJ or Production
courses at Scratch Academy. They've been doing this scholarship for three years
now and will have sent about 40 kids to Scratch to take classes by this
summer.

As mentioned, Just Blaze and Baauer are not only touring together, but also collaborating. Since we last spoke, they revealed their first cut together, "Higher," a futuristic hip hop club banger which features a Jay-Z vocal clip. You can stream that track below.

And speaking of Questlove, he would have been spinning all Dilla beats at his weekly Bowl Train at Brooklyn Bowl yesterday (2/7), but he couldn't make it to the venue, and Q-Tip filled in. Meanwhile, his band The Roots have a lot coming up, including a Prince Tribute at Carnegie Hall, which they will "rehearse" for with a live show at City Winery on March 6. Tickets (ranging from $45 to $65) for the City Winery show are on sale now.

All streams below...

Continue reading "J Dilla being honored w/ live events (Just Blaze playing one in NYC); The Roots playing a second Prince tribute"

Baauer

Veteran hip hop producer Just Blaze and worthy newcomer Baauer have a collaboration in the works, and will be touring North America together in 2013, Pitchfork reports. Not much info has been revealed on the collaboration, but also both have their own releases on the way. Just Blaze is releasing an EP on Fool's Gold and Baauer is planning a release for LuckyMe.

The tour that the two producers will head out on hits NYC on February 15 at Webster Hall. Tickets for that show are not on sale yet, but you can check ticketmaster for updates.

In related news, fellow hip hop production great Swizz Beatz, who has worked with many of the same rappers as Just Blaze, and also worked with Just Blaze himself, will be at Webster Hall this Thursday (12/13) for a GIrls Night Out party. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

A list of all dates on the Just Blaze/Baauer tour is below...

Continue reading "Just Blaze collaborating & touring w/ Baauer, playing Webster Hall (where Swizz Beatz plays this week)"

by Andrew Sacher

Captain Murphy aka Flying Lotus

If you aren't already familiar with new rapper Captain Murphy, who first appeared on the Adult Swim single, "Between Friends" with Flying Lotus and Earl Sweatshirt, he had been keeping his identity concealed but many rumors circulated that Captain Murphy was the rapper alter ego of FlyLo himself, or a member of Odd Future. He released his impressive debut mixtape, Duality, as one long audio file in a video (which you can watch below) but has since released a deluxe edition with the tracks separated and bonus material, which you can download for free HERE. Most of the mixtape was produced by Flying Lotus and also included production from Brainfeeder producers Jeremiah Jae, Samiyam, and Teebs, plus hip hop production greats Madlib and Just Blaze, and a beat by upcoming duo TNGHT. The full tracklist is below.

If you've been following along with all the Captain Murphy insanity, you may know that he made his live debut last night (11/28) in LA at The Airliner. And as you can see in the picture above from the show, Captain Murphy is in fact Flying Lotus (via Complex). FlyLo has since taken to twitter to comment on the identity revealing.

Mixtape video and tracklist below...

Continue reading "surprise! Captain Murphy is in fact Flying Lotus"

by Andrew Sacher

Just Blaze

If, like me, you've been listening to Kendrick Lamar's good kid, m.A.A.d. city all week, you've probably noticed that in addition to Kendrick's impeccable flow, the whole record is backed by great production too. One of the finer moments beatwise comes on album closer, "Compton," which was helmed by veteran producer Just Blaze. There aren't many rappers who don't sound great over a Just Blaze beat, but this track (which happens to include a killer guest verse by Dr. Dre) is immediately up there as one of those great hip hop joint efforts like Jay-Z and Eminem's "Renegade" or Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and D'Angelo's "Imagine."

If you're interested, you can download a mixtape of the samples used on good kid. For "Compton," Just Blaze sampled Formula IV and Kool and the Gang (via IllRoots).

If you live in NYC and wanna see the man behind that track, consider yourself in luck because Just Blaze is playing Santos Party House tonight (10/25) with DJ Soul. Doors are at 11 PM and admission is $5 before midnight and $10 after. It's Just Blaze's only announced show at the moment.

The flier for that show and a stream of "Compton" are below.

Continue reading "see Just Blaze in NYC tonight; download a mixtape of the samples on Kendrick Lamar's new album"

by Andrew Sacher

Flying Lotus at Coachella 2012 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Flying Lotus is about to welcome his new album, Until the Quiet Comes next week (10/2) via Warp. As the album title implies, it's a "quieter" record than the maximalist Cosmogramma, but it's just as fleshed out and compelling. You can stream the album ahead of its release date at NPR. The video for "Putty Boy Strut" can be watched below.

As mentioned, FlyLo will be supporting the album with a tour that hits NYC on October 7 at Terminal 5 with Thundercat and other Brainfeeder artists. Tickets for that show are still available. That's the first date club date on his tour, but he's since revealed that the tour will kick off with a "take over" of LA and NYC surrounding that date.

In NYC, he'll appear at the Warp booth at the Brooklyn Flea Record Fair on October 6, where he'll be signing copies of his new album. That's free and the booth will be open from 11 AM to 6 PM. The day after the T5 show, he'll play a Red Bull Music Academy Takeover for Boiler Room NYC (10/8) with a great lineup of Questlove, Flatbush Zombies, Just Blaze, Joey Bada$$ & Pro Era, and The Underachievers. That show is guest list only but you can watch it live at boilerroom.tv. On October 9 he'll partake in the "Meet the Musician" series at Apple Store SoHo where he'll give a talk and also perform. That show runs from 6-8 PM and is free but space is very limited.

Lastly, he'll do two events on October 10, including the East Village Radio Takeover, where Flying Lotus and Brainfeeder artists Gaslamp Killer, Martyn, Dorian Concept, Jeremiah Jae, Taylor McFerrin, and The Underachievers will take over two hours of air time on East Village Radio from 2-4 PM to preview their showcase which happens later that night at new Brooklyn venue Villain (50 North 3 St). That show is also presented by the Red Bull Music Academy and features the same lineup (UPDATE: FlyLo is not confirmed) as the radio takeover plus "very special guests." No ticket info for this show at the moment.

An updated list of Flying Lotus dates and the video for "Putty Boy Strut" are below.

Continue reading "Flying Lotus taking over LA & NYC during tour (updated dates & album stream)"

Danny Brown at MoMA PS1 - 8/25/12 (via @gjhart)

Perhaps keeping MoMA PS1′s contemporary aesthetic in mind, [Danny] Brown started his set with, "Witit," a bonus track from the re-release of his 2011 album XXX. "Witit" was the perfect starter for the first half of the set, which solely featured songs and verses from 2012. The crowd didn't seem to be as familiar with his recent works, especially his guest verses from Childish Gambino's "Toxic" and Ab-Soul's "Terrorist Threats," but they were engaged nonetheless. "Black Brad Pitt" and "Blueberry," tracks with EDM (electronic dance music) instrumentals and producers, had people particularly enthralled. A number of rappers are attempting to embrace EDM without compromising their gruff images, but few do it as comfortably as Brown who makes a living on both sides of the proverbial fence. [Respect Mag]

In related news, a video recently surfaced from a show that promoters Livin Proof put on in London this past July. In the video, Danny Brown is seen in the studio with TNGHT (aka Lunice and Hudson Mohawke), and many are speculating that it means Danny Brown and TNGHT have collaborative material in the works. If it's true, maybe it will sound something like this?

The Livin Proof video, the video interview from MoMA PS1, and a list of all remaining tour dates are below.

Continue reading "Danny Brown played Warm Up w/ Just Blaze; possibly collaborating w/ TNGHT (videos and updated dates)"

Miguel at MoMA PS1 earlier this month (more by Leia Jospe)

R&B singer Miguel, who was in NYC earlier this month to play Warm Up at MoMA PS1, is back and will play TONIGHT (8/24) at J&R MusicFest 2012 (23 Park Row) with Deon Young, Leah LaBelle, Marcus Canty, and Ryan Leslie. Tonight's show starts at 5 PM. The fest began yesterday (8/23) with sets from DMX and Talib Kweli (who played Highline Ballroom with his Idle Warship project earlier this week), and it wraps up tomorrow with Q&A panels, a special guest, and more. You can check out a recent Pitchfork.tv video of Miguel performing "Adorn" and talking about his live show at Warm Up below.

Meanwhile, Warm Up continues at MoMA PS1 on Saturday (8/25) with Just Blaze, Danny Brown, Nick Catchdubs, The Stallions, and BAIO (of Vampire Weekend). Tickets for that are still available. Nick Catchdubs made this week's FADER/MoMA PS1 Warm Up mix, which you can stream below.

Just Blaze

As mentioned, Just Blaze and Danny Brown will share another bill on September 3 in City Winery's backyard as part of Fool's Gold Day Off NY 2012 with French Montana, Flosstradamus, Flatbush Zombies, and others. That day show is free and all ages. But Just Blaze will fit in yet another NYC appearance before that. He'll play the new 'Found' rooftop party at The DL on Sunday (8/26) (95 Delancey St) with special guests Cosmo Baker, Farrington G, and Dan Wender (Rinsed). The party is 21+ and starts at 6 PM. It's free with RSVP before 9 PM and $10 after that, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Beyond the Boroughs National Scholarship Fund. The flier for this party is below.

Danny Brown will then return to NYC when his tour with A$AP Rocky and Schoolboy Q hits Roseland Ballroom on September 27. Tickets for that show are still available.

A stream of Nick Catchdubs' Warm Up mix, the Miguel video, and Just Blaze flier are below...

Continue reading "Just Blaze playing the DL after Warm Up; Miguel playing J&R MusicFest and has a new live video"

Danny Brown at Prospect Park, June 2012 (more by Chris La Putt)

Labor Day is quickly approaching and if you're not leaving the city and need sommething to cap off the summer, the folks at Fools Gold Records are once again throwing their Day Off NY party which happens Monday, September 3 at City Winery's backyard and features Danny Brown, French Montana, Flosstradamus, Flatbush Zombies, #BEEN #TRILL, Just Blaze, and more. The party goes from 2PM - 8PM and is free and all-ages. More details are here. Flyer for the party is below.

The Fool's Gold party happens about a week after Danny Brown and Just Blaze share a bill at Warm Up at MoMA PS1 on August 25 with Nick Catchdubs, The Stallions, and BAIO (of Vampire Weekend). Tickets for that show are still on sale.

Danny Brown will also return to NYC when his tour with A$AP Rocky and Schoolboy Q hits Roseland Ballroom on September 27 (tickets).

Fool's Gold Day Off flyer and a list of updated Danny Brown dates below...

Continue reading "Danny Brown, Just Blaze, French Montana and more playing Fools Gold Day Off NY 2012 on Labor Day"

Just Blaze

Just BLAAAAAAZE. The hip hop producer Justin Smith aka Just Blaze, best known for hemming tracks on classic Jay-Z albums, and more recently providing the beat for Drake's "Lord Knows," among many other things, will be in NYC this week for a 1992 party at Santos Party House on June 21 with Jasmine Solano and Kasey Berry. The party is in celebration of Smoke DZA's new album, Rugby Thompson (which you can stream in full below), but no word of whether or not DZA will be making an appearance. Just Blaze doesn't appear to have much else in the way of live appearances, but he'll be in NYC again on August 25 for Warm Up at PS1 with Danny Brown, BAIO (of Vampire Weekend), Nick Catchdubs, and The Stallions. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

In other classic hip hop producer news, Pete Rock will be DJing with special guests at 20th birthday celebration of his 1992 LP with CL Smooth, Mecca and the Soul Brother, at Le Poisson Rouge on June 30. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Smoke DZA album stream below...

Continue reading "Just Blaze playing Santos, PS1 Warm Up; Pete Rock DJing LPR"

Warm Up 2011 at MoMA PS1 (more by Erez Avissar)

The Warm Up summer concert series is returning to MoMA PS1 this summer for another run of dance parties from forward thinking electronic musicians every Saturday from July 7 through September 8 in PS1's outdoor courtyard. For the first time, advance tickets for Warm Up will be available this year. They go on sale June 18.

The 2012 schedule includes Thom Yorke's Atoms for Peace (DJ), Jamie xx, Danny Brown, Just Blaze, Maria Minerva, Shlohmo, Evian Christ, Howse, Nguzunguzu, Baio, Holy Other, Rustie, Matthew Dear (DJ), Lemonade, Slava, TRUST, Light Asylum, Sepalcure, Floating Points, Jacques Greene and many more.

More info and the full schedule below...

Continue reading "PS1's 2012 'Warm Up' lineup announced (Thom Yorke, Jamie xx, Danny Brown, Maria Minerva, Evian Christ, Trust & more)"

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)"

Fool's Gold Day Off is returning to the City Winery Backyard on September 5 (aka Labor Day) with Juicy J, Danny Brown, AraabMUZIK, Just Blaze, Brothers Macklovitch (A-Trak & Dave1), Cubic Zirconia, and more. The all ages event runs from 2-8 PM and admission is free.

Juicy J aka 1/2 of Three 6 Mafia also has other dates coming up, all of which are listed below.

As previously mentioned, AraabMUZIK also tours with and opens for SBTRKT at Bowery Ballroom (10/31). SBTRKT's show the next night (11/1) at MHOW in Brooklyn didn't have an opener, but now it does and it's Cubic Zirconia. Tickets for both of those shows are still on sale.

Danny Brown tours with Das Racist in September.

A show flier and a video from last year's Day Off and stuff, below...

Continue reading "Fool's Gold Day Off coming (free outdoor NYC show w/ Juicy J & more), Cubic Zirconia also opening for SBTRKT"

Kanye West & Big Sean @ Irving Plaza Tuesday (Joshua Laboy)

Maybe it was all the excitement of summer finally arriving, but for whatever reason, NYC shows have been pretty heavy on the special guests lately. Here's a few we know about.

Reggie Watts was the secret guest that joined Glenn Kotche and Buke & Gass during 'Wilco weekend' at NYU for the Jab Abumrad's Radiolab Concert on Saturday (6/18). Reggie was a secret because of the two Summerstage shows he's playing this week including the one in Red Hook Park TONIGHT (6/24).

Reptar was a secret guest at the Thee Oh Sees Brooklyn Bowl show on Saturday (Reptar played Governors Ball earlier that day). And as predicted, Thee Oh Sees themselves were the secret headliner at Death by Audio the previous night (6/17).

Reptar, who also opened for Art Brut at Music Hall last night, will open for Foster the People at Terminal 5 on September 27th. The only mystery here is how Foster the People are big enough to headline Terminal 5 already! Tickets are on sale.

Ted Leo showed up as a special guest at the Eleanor Friedberger show at Europa during Northside. Bradford Cox was in the Audience. Catch Ted again at the free South Street Seaport kickoff party for the 4Knots Festival that Eleanor plays at the South Street Seaport a week later. It was just announced that Eleanor will also open for Deerhunter at their Webster Hall shows in August. (Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox must have really liked her set) Tickets for both Deerhunter shows are still available.

As also recently mentioned both Clams Casino and Neon Indian (DJ) were added as last minute surprises guests to the Northside show at Cameo on Sunday (6/19). The show was one day after Neon Indian played Governors Ball. Monday night Cameo hosted semi-secret DJ sets by YACHT, The Miracles Club & Midnight Magic, all who played MHOW on Sunday.

Kanye West showed up at Big Sean's Irving Plaza show on Tuesday (6/21), the same night Big Sean appeared on the Bon Iver episode of Fallon. Despite two of Kanye's friends being on Fallon on the same night however, Kanye did not make an appearance on the show (not even backstage). Videos from Irving Plaza below.

Justin Vernon did not show up at the S. Carey/David Bazan show at Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday (6/22), as we hoped he would. S. Carey is a member of Bon Iver's band and played with Justin the two days previous on both Fallon and Colbert.

Speaking of Fallon, Bob Mould (who DJs his Blowoff party at Highline Ballroom tonight) showed up and surprised people by playing a Sugar song backed by the Roots on the show. Mould recently performed live with the Foo Fighters during their set at Sasquatch. Video of that special guest appearance is below.

Lenny Kravtiz's daughter Zoë Kravitz and her band Elevator Fight played Southpaw with J*Davey on Tuesday (6/21). Lenny showed up to watch his daughter, but he wasn't the only crowd member blowing up Twitter. Drake was also in the audience to catch the show. FADER grabbed him outside the Park Slope venue for a quick video interview which you can watch below.

Flying Lotus & Just Blaze @ Music Hall (via the Comedian)

Flying Lotus headlined two Brainfeeder showcases (his label) this week. The first was at Bowery Ballroom on Monday (6/20) and the second at MHOW on Wednesday (6/22). Apparently trippy instrumentals aren't the only thing FlyLo digs when it comes to hip hop producers, because Just Blaze (Jay-Z, T.I.) showed up to play with him at the MHOW show. Flying Lotus also surprised NYC by playing a free late show at Le Poisson Rouge too.

Following in FlyLo's footsteps, Ivan & Alyosha gave NYC a gift in the form of a last-minute free late show at Mercury Lounge.

Crowded House frontman Neil Finn played with Eddie Vedder at Beacon Theatre on his tour with Glen Hansard.

And while opener Glen Hansard (Swell Season, the Frames) helped Vedder recreate "Sleepless Nights," the tender duet the pair shared on "Ukulele Songs," and the crowd found their voices and their feet for several of he night's tunes -- "Porch," "Unthought Known" -- the biggest roar erupted when Vedder invited Crowded House/Split Enz frontman Neil Finn to the stage for an impromptu collaboration Vedder jokingly called an "unrehearsed collision." With longtime friend Finn on organ, the twosome blended delicate harmonies on Hunters And Collectors' "Throw Your Arms Around Me." Finn took up a guitar and sat down next to Vedder to trade verses on Finn's Split Enz hit "I Got You," which found Finn playfully calling out chords to Vedder during the bridge. "It turns out we play that song differently," Vedder quipped, "But since he wrote it, he's right."

Decked out in a trio of long white lab coats, Finn (organ) and Hansard (guitar) returned with Vedder for the second encore, the rousing "Big Hard Sun" from "Into The Wild." [Billboard]

As you know, Stephen Colbert was the special guest with The Black Belles on his own show last night (6/23). He performed with the band and also recorded a single with them which is now on sale via Third Man Records. Jack White actually also appeared on the show this time for his third and final appearance during StePhest Colbchella '011 and then appeared with Colbert again today (6/24) at The Lot at the High Line. Jack and the Black Belles were also spotted last night (6/23) bowling at Brooklyn Bowl. According to Questlove (who was DJing the venue), he "has bowling game."

Tonight (6/24) is the another Doveman show at LPR. Lisa Hannigan (who played 3 sold out NYC-area shows this week) and Mike Doughty are billed as openers, but according to Doveman, some secret special guests will be showing up as well (as usual).

Last but not least, as hinted, and confirmed earlier today, Fucked Up are the special guest at 285 Kent Saturday (6/26) with JEFF the Brotherhood and Iceage. Tickets are on sale at Record Grouch. Iceage also played a secret show at 538 Johnson while they were in town for Northside.

Any special appearances we left out?

Videos below...

Continue reading "This Week in Special Guests (Kanye West, Reggie Watts, Reptar, Neil Finn, Drake, Just Blaze, Doveman & more)"

photos by Brook Bobbins

Fool's Gold held a holiday party at the new Tammany Hall (ex-The Annex) on the LES on Friday night (12/17). DJ sets came from Mannie Fresh, Just Blaze, The Brothers Macklovitch (A-Trak & Dave1), Sammy Bananas, and special guest Drake. More pictures from the event, below...

Continue reading "Fool's Gold had a holiday party @ the new Tammany Hall -- pics (A-Trak, Dave 1, Drake, Just Blaze & more)"

"After announcing the closing of their New York and Los Angeles locations, Fat Beats is excited to present a send-off worthy of their hip-hop legacy. A week-long series of in-store performances and music industry panels at both stores will allow the music community to not only learn about the history of Fat Beats and what the future of the music industry holds, but to also celebrate the legacy of one of the strongest music brands in the company of their favorite artists. These week-long in-stores are sure to go down in hip-hop and New York history. Everyone is welcome to come and all events are free.

Today marks the official start of the week-long in-stores for the New York location. This location will host artist performances every day this week from 4-9pm until it closes its doors for the final time on Saturday, September 4th, 2010. Additionally, both locations will be selling limited edition commemorative t-shirts, as well as discounted music and merchandise"

Continue reading "free in-stores all week @ Fat Beats (leading up to closing)"

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 "

Q-Tip

KRS-One

Common

* Todd Barry on Conan
* last Invite Them Up EVER
* Henry Rollins is speaking at Warsaw
* Big Head Todd & The Monsters is playing Bowery Ballroom
* Liam Finn is playing w/ Pela & Apollo Sunshine @ Music Hall
* The Acorn is playing w/ Bowerbirds & Phosphorescent @ Union Hall
* Marc Ribot, Sean Lennon & Yuka Honda are playing Knitting Factory

Q-Tip, KRS-One, Common and Furious Five played that private Smirnoff event which was in NYC last night. That's where the three photos above are from (courtesy of Ryan Muir/Metromix).

Human Giant (who recently cancelled some shows) released a new video from their upcoming season 2 on MTV. That's below. What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday? "

...or so says the press release....

Continue reading "KRS-One & DJ Premier is like a glass of Smirnoff Raspberry flavored vodka and pineapple juice...."