Schoolboy Q at Best Buy Theater - 5/21/13 (via Kellen Dengler)

Thanks to TDE's recent success, Q found himself as the most established performer at the Freshman show. With no one to accompany him on stage, he fared better in the larger crowd as a solo artist, breezing through tracks from Habits & Contradictions and throwback collaborations with A$AP Rocky. At one point, he asked Kendrick Lamar to join him but laughed at the audience members who fell for his joke. Fittingly, he won the crowd back with his charisma by asking them the title of his upcoming album. "Oxymoron!" they screamed back. And this was done four times over. [XXL]

As mentioned in yesterday's What's Going On? post, Action Bronson made a video for his Harry Fraud-produced song, "Strictly 4 My Jeeps." If you missed it, you can watch that video below. Riff Raff stars in the video, and as discussed, he plays a Scion A/V show in Brooklyn at Coco 66 tonight (5/22) with Stalley and Smoke DZA. Entrance to that show had to be gained through Scion's contest which has since ended.

Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul are both members of the group Black Hippy (which also includes Kendrick Lamar and Jay Rock), and that whole group is playing the traveling Rock the Bells Festival which hits the NYC-area on October 4-5 at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, NJ. Tickets for that festival are on sale now. The rest of the lineup includes Big K.R.I.T., Common, Danny Brown, Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler the Creator, Jhene Aiko, Juicy J, Rakim, Wu-Tang Clan, and many more.

Updated Rock the Bells lineup and videos below...

Continue reading "Schoolboy Q, Action Bronson (who has a new video) & more played the XXL Freshman show; Rock the Bells tix on sale"

Happy 10th anniversary to Rock the Bells, who have announced their initial, rotating 2013 lineup featuring hosts Peter Rosenberg & MURS 3:16, as well as names like Bone Thugs N Harmony, Danny Brown, Black Hippy (who just played NYC), Common, E40 & Too Short, Earl Sweatshirt (ditto), Flatbush Zombies, Juicy J (who played a Fader show on Monday and Irving Plaza last night), Rakim, Wu-Tang Clan (who play Summer Jam soon), Tyler the Creator (who just announced an NYC show as part of Odd Future), Eazy E, Ol Dirty Bastard and more. Confused? Yes, I did just say Eazy E and Ol Dirty Bastard, both of which will be "virtual performances" as part of the travelling festival. AllHipHop reports:

Ol Dirty Bastard and Eazy-E's spirits will return to the stage at Rock The Bells this year, AllHipHop has learned.

The pair of Hip-Hop legends will have holograms performing this year at the 10-year anniversary of the rap festival.

Eazy-E will perform virtually with Bone Thugs-In-Harmony and ODB will rock with Wu Tang. Organizers said Eazy never blessed the Rock The Bells stage and ODB only did once.

Also, the "holograms" are approved by Eazy-E's wife Tomica Wright and Ol Dirty's mother, Cherry Jones.

Tupac's Coachella appearance inspired the new virtual performances at Rock The Bells, organizers admitted.

Initial lineup (at least 15 more artists TBA), dates and some video below.

Continue reading "Rock the Bells 2013 initial lineup (Wu-Tang, Earl Sweatshirt, Juicy J, Tyler the Creator... + hologram ODB & Eazy E)"

by Andrew Sacher

As mentioned, Big Boi releases his second solo album, Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors, next week (12/11) via Def Jam. His solo debut, Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty, is still my single favorite hip hop album of the new decade so naturally I've been seriously anticipating VLADR since Big Boi mentioned he began work on it. And admittedly, the album is a bit overshadowed by its predecessor, due in part to lacking a song as huge as "Shutterbug." But though the album never hits a moment as large as that one, it's still a winner in its own right.

Vicious Lies opens up like a classic OutKast album, with a short, slow and pretty intro track that leads right into a blunted headknocker, "The Thickets," which appropriately features Sleepy Brown of Organized Noize, who worked on a lot of early OutKast. The bar continues to raise on the next track, a rhythmic club track up there with "Tangerine" or the Big Boi-featuring Janelle Monae track from that same year, "Tightrope." The album plateaus a bit there but more standouts start appearing later on with tracks like "Thom Pettie," a dirty synth track with a great hook from Little Dragon and a characteristically abrasive verse from Killer Mike. Later on we get "Lines," which is probably the best track on the album thanks to a killer chorus from Phantogram that doesn't leave your head once its in there (A$AP Rocky is on the track too). But the most interesting moment of the album has to be "Shoes For Running," which is carried by a hook sung by Wavves dude Nathan Williams. The only thing stopping it from being a total head scratcher is that Nathan toured with GZA and Killer Mike (which itself was a head scratcher) and I still can't decide if it's one of those fun indie/rap collabs like Kid Cudi and MGMT's "Pursuit of Happiness that you'll be hearing all year, or just plain weird. But the fact that I'm still going on about it must say something.

Big Boi will be in NYC next week, the day before his album release for an invite-only Hot 97 show at SOB's (12/10). The only way you can get in though is to win them from Hot 97.

Before that, Big Boi will stop by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Friday (12/7) to perform "Mama Told Me" with Little Dragon, who were initially supposed to guest on the song's recording, but were replaced on the album by Kelly Rowland.

Since we last spoke about the album, Big Boi has (legally) revealed two more of its tracks, the Kid Cudi-featuring "She Hates Me," and the T.I. and Ludacris-featuring Atlanta boasting party "In the A," both of which you can hear below. In related news, TI just revealed his storied track with Andre 3000, "Sorry," which will appear on his upcoming Trouble Man LP and can also be streamed below.

Continue reading "Big Boi releases new 'Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors' tracks, playing Hot 97 show in NYC (streams)"

by Andrew Sacher

As expected, there have been lots of (dangerous) rumors floating around about Big Boi's upcoming sophomore solo album, Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors, which is due out December 11 via Def Jam (pushed back from November 13). He's now revealed what is (fingers crossed!) the official tracklist for the album and the guest spots are pretty exciting. Despite Little Dragon's initial guest spot having gone to Kelly Rowland a while back, the group actually appears on three other album tracks. The album's got plenty of love from the dirty south, like on "Gossip," which features veteran UGK and worthy newcomer Big K.R.I.T.; frequent Outkast/Big Boi collaborator Killer Mike appears on a track with Little Dragon; TI and Ludacris end up on a track together; and Sleepy Brown of Organized Noize, who produced a ton of Outkast back in the day is on one too. In more surprising (and also exciting) news, Wavves and Jai Paul are both on the album. As is A$AP Rocky, Phantogram, Kid Cudi, and others. You can check out the full tracklist below.

In related news, TI also revealed the tracklist for his much-delayed upcoming album, Trouble Man (due out 12/18), and it looks a bit different than the one we initially mentioned. The most striking difference is that the song sampling Gotye and featuring Kendrick Lamar is not listed anymore. But in more positive news, Big Boi's Outkast partner Andre 3000 is there on the song, "Sorry" (the one where he allegedly apologizes to Big Boi). Cee Lo Green, A$AP Rocky, R. Kelly, and more are set to appear too. The full tracklist is below. TI plays NYC on December 18 at Best Buy Theater (tickets).

Speaking of Big Boi and Little Dragon, they were hanging out together a bit before Halloween at a "costume party" (check out their costumes). A video of them together and those tracklists, are below.

Continue reading "Big Boi and TI reveal tracklists / guests for their new LPs"

by Andrew Sacher

After much delay, rumors proved true and false, and some uncertain info, Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music compilation album, Cruel Summer, is fully confirmed and will be out this Tuesday (9/18). Many of its tracks -- "Clique," "Mercy," "New God Flow," "Cold" (previously titled "Theraflu"), and his guest-filled remix of Chief Keef's "I Don't Like" -- have been floating around the internet for some time now. You can stream all of those and snippets of every album track below.

Though Kanye only actually raps on about half the album, his presence is felt throughout and Cruel Summer succeeds at playing from start to finish with an album flow, despite it technically being a compilation. It opens as huge as you expect any Kanye related release to open, addressing the album not just to his fans, friends or family, but of course, "To The World." The track brings together beat master Hudson Mohawke (who's been having a great year as one half of TNGHT) with R. Kelly and Ye. It immediately follows with the album's strongest track, "Clique," which features one of the best Jay-Z verses in recent years and a towering beat from Hit-Boy, who is also behind Cruel Summer tracks "Cold," "Higher," and of course you may know him as the guy behind "Niggas In Paris."

After it continues colossally with previously released singles "Mercy" and "New God Flow," we get the first track on the album without Kanye's voice, "The Morning." However, there's no lack of all-star rappers on the track. We get killer verses from vets Pusha T, Common, and Raekwon, and if guys like Kid Cudi and 2 Chainz are your thing, well they're there too. Cudi, though not the strongest of Kanye associates, does have a shining moment on the album though. Over a clattering beat in "Creepers," he delivers a solo vocal performance making for a rare standout personal moment from not-Kanye in the midst of Ye's encapsulating ego. That's followed by "Bliss," which sees the return of Hudson Mohawke to the boards and is the album's sole track with all singing, no rapping. A distinct contrast to the hanging out and freestyling feel of the closing "I Don't Like" remix.

Streams and tracklist are below.

Continue reading "Kanye's G.O.O.D. Music album 'Cruel Summer' is out next week (tracklist, streams & more on the album)"

Kreayshawn is set to release her debut album, Somethin 'Bout Kreay, on September 18, instead of August 14 as originally planned, via Columbia and it will feature guest spots from 2 Chainz, Diplo, Sissy Nobby, Kid Cudi, and others. That's the cover art above and you can check out the tracklist below. In support of it she'll be going on the ALL GIRL aka GROUP HUG TOUR with Rye Rye, Honey Cocaine, and Chippy Nonstop. That tour hits NYC on November 15 at Irving Plaza. Tickets for that show are on sale now. The full list of dates is still TBA.

In related news, Azealia Banks, who dissed Kreayshawn on twitter earlier this year, recently apologized, tweeting, "I apologize for coming down on you so hard earlier this year," and Kreayshawn responded, "It's all G! I fux with you music above all!" Kreayshawn then spoke to MTV about the apology:

"I went to her Mermaid Ball show in LA because a lot of my homegirls were performing," Kreayshawn said. "She ended up hitting me up a couple of weeks after and said, 'I really wanna publicly apologize,' and I [thought that was] really dope."

"I think it's cool because there's so many girls looking up to everyone that all the beef tears our fans apart," the rapper continued. People feel like, 'I have to be this person's fan and hate on this person.' So I think it shows that you can forgive people, you can apologize to people, you can realize you're wrong and it shows camaraderie for all girls. It's for girl power."

Angel Haze, like Azealia Banks, got her start in NYC on a Beggars-related label (Azealia on XL, Angel on True Panther), and she recently announced that she has signed to major label, Universal (Island in the UK), making her labelmates with Azealia Banks. As mentioned, Angel Haze's next NYC show happens on August 29 at SOB's. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Meanwhile, Azealia Banks' debut LP for Universal, Broke With Expensive Taste, which was supposed to come out this fall, has been pushed back to February, 2013. Check out her recent video for "Van Vogue" off the 1991 EP, which was released in June, below.

Azealia Banks has also recently made a fan out of Shirley Manson of Garbage (who are reunited with a new album and have been touring all year). In an interview with IFC, Shirley was asked about her opinion on the rise of female rappers:

My favorite out of those is Azealia Banks. The first time I heard "212? I almost died. It felt dangerous and exciting and really fresh and I have a little crush on Kreayshawn, too. But I don't know if those girls are getting time on the radio. It's great that they are getting played via YouTube or Tumblr, but I want them on the radio. Like in the 90s when Missy Elliott was getting played. You know, it's hard out there right now for women with attitude.

Speaking of rappers getting played via YouTube or Tumblr, Kitty Pryde (pictured with Doom above) is on tour and she plays NYC TONIGHT (8/22) at Santos Party House (she hears Andrew WK owns it). Since we last spoke, Lakutis (who also plays as part of a stacked lineup at Glasslands in September) was added to tonight's bill. Tickets for the show are still available.

Also, next week at Santos (8/30) is the next Shortcuts party with Kreayshawn collaborator Riff Raff and Meyhem Lauren (Angel Haze played the last one). Tickets for that show are still available.

Speaking of Meyhem Lauren (a man) and rappers signing to major labels (Action Bronson), Action Bronson, Meyhem Lauren, and Tanya Morgan (a group of men) play a free NYC show this week and we're giving away VIP tickets.

House of Ladosha, who play 285 Kent on Saturday (8/25), also play Santos next month (9/20) with SSION and TEETH (tickets).

LE1F has been added to the upcoming Big Freedia show on a boat. Tickets are still on sale and stay tuned for a ticket contest for this show coming later in another BrooklynVegan post.

Kreayshawn tracklist and Azealia Banks video below...

Continue reading "Kreayshawn, Azealia Banks, Angel Haze, Kitty Pryde & friends -- signing deals, playing shows"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Passion Pit / Kud Cudi at Governors Ball - 6/23/12

Governors Ball went down in Randall's Island over the weekend (6/23-6/24) with 26 bands across two stages and no overlapping sets. Day 1 was "headlined" by Passion Pit (though Kid Cudi played after them) and also included Chromeo, Major Lazer, Atmosphere, Santigold, Duck Sauce (Armand Van Helden and A-Trak), James Murphy & Pat Mahoney (Special Disco Version DJ set), and more. Probably the most anticipated set of the day was Passion Pit's, who were playing their first NYC area show in about a year and a half, and first since announcing their new album and releasing two singles from it (both of which they played). NY Times didn't seem to approve much of their set though, writing:

Saturday played out as a party punctuated by angst; there were many, many calls for putting hands in the air. Party and angst mix in Passion Pit, who work in two main modes: the shimmering anthem and the pulsating dance-pop song, both with more cryptic lyrics than might be expected. Passion Pit stacked the anthems at the beginning of the set-among them a new song, "Take a Walk," about an immigrant who finds himself financially ruined-before revving up the dance tunes. But the stage didn't add much beyond subwoofers to Passion Pit's songs; Michael Angelakos's vocals, mostly falsetto, needs studio help.

Pictures from Sunday are on the way. More from Saturday below...

Continue reading "Governors Ball 2012 - day 1 pics (Passion Pit, Santigold, Chromeo, Special Disco Version, Kid Cudi, Major Lazer & more)"

Nas @ Rock the Bells (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

That didn't take long. We just announced the intitial lineup. Check out the almost-full thing below...

Continue reading "Rock the Bells 2012 full lineup (Nas, Kendrick Lamar, ASAP Rocky, Dipset, Schoolboy Q, Missy Elliot, Wiz Khalifa, much more)"

"If you a real hip-hop head RT!! #RocktheBells2012" - Nas

Turing hip-hop festival Rock the Bells announces:

Boost Mobile in association with Guerilla Union have announced the return of the ROCK THE BELLS 2012 FESTIVAL SERIES powered by BlackBerry. The world-class platform will feature an array of seminal and flourishing artists over an expanded two-day period in four major North American markets, including headliners Kid Cudi, J Cole, Wiz Khalifa, Atmosphere and more, with special guests Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.

The only touring hip-hop festival will kick off in San Bernardino, CA on August 19 and 20 at the NOS Events Center. The festival will then make its way to Mountain View, CA on August 25 and 26 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre and will wrap on the east coast in Newark, NJ on September 1 and 2 at PNC Arts Center.

ROCK THE BELLS and non-profit organization Hip Hop and Hope for Haiti have joined forces to shine light on the disaster-stricken country and to provide continued relief efforts; that of which have progressively decelerated.

In addition to what is listed above, Hit Squad is also playing. Full lineups TBA soon (possibly at the launch party happening in California tonight)

UPDATE: Full LINEUP ANNOUNCED.

The list of dates with on-sale dates is below...

Continue reading "Rock the Bells 2012 dates, venues & some artists announced"

They write:

Interested in being a part of Team Gov Ball? We are looking for kind, eager, and able-bodied individuals that can work with others, have some fun, and earn a ticket to Gov Ball 2012. You'll learn a bit about what it takes to produce a music festival, save yourself some coin, meet some cool people, get an official Team Gov Ball shirt, and much more! Check out all the deets HERE.

Tickets go on sale today.

People at Williamsburg Waterfront last year (more by Benjamin Lozovsky)

This summer's Williamsburg Waterfront concert season begins this weekend with a free show on Saturday (6/11) (5:30pm doors). For what it's worth, that show is Coheed and Cambria, Adrian Belew Power Trio and Tigers Jaw, but it is free. It's also one of three currently announced free shows (there will be five free shows total, one of which will be classical music). The other two announced free events are Eugene Mirman and Pretty Good Friends (Patton Oswalt will be one of those friends!) and special musical guests They Might Be Giants on July 29, and a children's show with Moey's Music Party and Story Pirates (who recently hosted a benefit) on June 19 at noon.

Ticketed shows include Death From Above 1979, Death Cab for Cutie, Sonic Youth, Bright Eyes, Thievery Corporation (with Dam-Funk & Master Blazter and Raphael Saadiq opening), TV on the Radio, Fleet Foxes and more. Check out the full lineup with openers listed below...

Continue reading "Williamsburg Waterfront opens this weekend, here is the full updated summer schedule"

Kanye West at MoMa (more by Bao Nguyen)

"Heineken is giving fans in 8 select markets the chance to see a local G.O.O.D. Music performance as well as the grand prize of catching Kanye West in NYC on June 9th... If your city isn't listed, stay tuned for more chances, you aren't forgotten!"

Kanye West also plays a show with Kud Cudi as part of Summerfest in Milwaukee on June 30th. Kid Cudi also has dates coming up in Asbury Park, Brooklyn and elsewhere.

In related news, Cannes is happening and Kanye is there, as people couldn't help but notice: "Kanye West made a grand entrance in a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss sports coupe at the amfAR Cinema Against AIDS Gala held during the Cannes Film Festival in Cap d'Antibes, France. Only 75 of the limited edition cars are in production with an estimated price tag of $1.7 million. Yeezy pulled up in the bad boy looking like James Bond in a tuxedo and shades as passersby gawked. Inside the black-tie event, he rubbed shoulders with Naomi Campbell and Boy George. He is headed to Morocco next, where he will headline the Festival Mawazine."

Tickets are now on sale for the Steve Earle shows at Town Hall and Music Hall of Williamsburg (the Town Hall show went on sale at 11).

Tickets are now on sale for the Swans show at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Swans were also just added to ATP NJ which also has tickets on sale including a new "Portishead 3 Day Pass."

Tickets went on sale today for Animal Collective, Grace Potter, Cut Copy, and Dylan Fest

Cymbals Eat Guitars have a show scheduled at Glasslands on May 20th with Yellow Dogs and Mirror Mirror. Tickets are on sale.

Tinariwen returns to NYC this summer. Tickets go on sale Saturday for a July 20th show at Highline Ballroom.

Did you miss getting tickets to Murder by Death's boat show? They added a 2nd happening the same day. Tickets for that one are on sale.

Tickets are now on sale for the Kid Cudi show at Williamsburg Waterfront.

Glasvegas are touring in support of a new album. Tickets are on sale now for a May 23rd show at Bowery Ballroom. All tour dates are below.

Continue reading "Steve Earle, Swans, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Glasvegas, Murder by Death, Tinariwen, Kid Cudi, ATP & other tix"

Kid Cudi begins his sold-out three night stay with Chip Tha Ripper at Roseland tonight (4/20). They say that weed effects motivation and now that the MC is off of the ganj, that may have motivated him to quickly announce his follow-up NYC show for this summer. Look for Kud Cudi to team up with Chip Tha Ripper again at Williamsburg Waterfront on July 6th. Tickets go on sale at noon on Friday (4/22).

This is the first of 10 ticketed shows to be announced at the outdoor Brooklyn venue.

Kid Cudi's last LP Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager dropped in the tail end of last year. Chip Tha Ripper recently released the new Gift Raps mixtape for free download. The mixtape features "The Entrance" which is in viewable in video form, with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Kid Cudi playing Williamsburg Waterfront w/ Chip Tha Ripper (who he plays Roseland with 3 times this week)"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Raekwon - "Molasses" f. Rick Ross & Ghostface Killah (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Pharoahe Monch - "Clap" (MP3)

Lupe Fiasco has sold-out his previously discussed record release party at Webster Hall on March 8th, but the Chi-city MC has added another, and for free. Lupe Fiasco will appear at Music Hall of Williamsburg on 2/27 as part of a free, RSVP-only event at the venue. RSVP is currently open. Lupe's new LP Lasers hits store shelves on March 8th. Stream the new track "All Black Everything" at his site.

If you didn't get tickets for Webster Hall, that means you are free and clear to check out Raekwon at Music Hall of Williamsburg on 3/8 (tickets). The show is a record release party for the Wu-Tang great, as Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang will drop the same day as Lasers (March 8). Raekwon recently dropped a new video for title track and a new song, "Molasses" featuring Ghostface and Rick Ross. Download "Molasses" above or stream it below alongside the new video.

Pharoahe Monch has a new disc on the way, W.A.R. (We Are Renegades), and he'll celebrate that with a March 24th show at SOBs. Ticket info is forthcoming. W.A.R. (We Are Renegades) is due via Duck Down on 3/22 and features "Clap" available for download above and streaming below.

Still not many Diplomats reunion tour dates popping up, but in addition to the NYC & Philly shows previously mentioned, there's now also Chicago, and a March 25th show at Northern Lights in Clifton Park which is on sale. The list of dates is below.

Tickets recently went on sale for a Wiz Khalifa show at Roseland Ballroom. Kid Cudi's total number of sold out Roseland shows is three.

Big Boi and People Under the Stairs are on the lineup of the just-announced Governors Ball Music Festival.

And last but not least, Southpaw has a couple of interesting hip hop shows in the coming weeks including the imperial Rah Digga with Eternia on Thursday (2/24, tickets) and the one and only Big Daddy Kane with Brand Nubian as part of a benefit on March 25th (tickets).

All streams and some video is below.

Continue reading "a free Lupe Fiasco show, Raekwon video, new Pharoahe Monch, updated Diplomats dates & other hip hop news"

Kid Cudi

Kid Cudi announced that this summer he will release a Dot Da Genius-produced rock album, entitled Wizard and for his rap fans, a mixtape titled, A Man Named Scott.

"Pushing for a summer release of the Wizard album. I produce and play guitar on everything with my main man Dot Da Genius. He's learning bass," The Cudder wrote. "Wizard is a rock album, no raps, just singing. Brand new thing. Flavor. 'Dose of Dopeness,' however, will be on the Wizard album as a bonus jam. 'Bout f---in' time aye. I've been wearing the same jeans for months and I feel good about that dedication."

"Oh I forgot the best news ever ... new mixtape A Man Named Scott," he continued. "That's this summer. For all those who f---s with my raps, this is for you since I'mma be all rocked out with the Wizard sh--. Also, it's free! Yes!"-[MTV News]

Tickets are still on sale for Theophilus London's Music Hall of Williamsburg show (with Popo and New Look), and you can still get tickets for Talib Kweli's Idle Warship MHOW show which comes one night after Idle Warship's two Blue Note gigs which happen one night after Mos Def's two Blue Note gigs (which are tonight).

Speaking of Talib Kweli, his new album Gutter Rainbows (pictured) was released at the end of January. The Beastie Boys-sampling track "I'm On One" also appears in remixed format on an upcoming mixtape that Talib & DJ Smallz are releasing called "Northern Lights x Southern Smoke", and with a verse by Cyhi Da Prynce. Download the remix HERE. Listen to the original on the bottom of this post.

Tickets are still on sale for Yelawolf's show with Cyhi Da Prynce at Highline Ballrom.

Black Milk and band are at SOB's the same night Idle Warship is at MHOW which is the same night DJ Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito reunite at Le Poisson Rouge (Thursday)

Funkmaster Flex meanwhile is out on bail after being arrested for assaulting his wife.

Tickets go on sale today (2/8) at 3pm for the Waka Flocka Flame show happening at BB King's.

Tonight's Slaughterhouse show at Highline Ballroom is sold out but if you get there early you might be able to pick one up at the door.

Lil Wayne added a 2nd Long Island show to his tour with Nicki Minaj at some point. You can check Ticketmaster for tix.

Odd Future will play DC one day before their now-sold out Santos Party House show which is one day before they play Fallon with help from the Roots. "Tyler, The Creator and Hodgy Beats of Odd Future are set to raid network TV with the help of The Roots on Late Night w/ Jimmy Fallon on 2/16." They play Philly one day after that, and they're also on the bill of Coachella. All dates are listed below.

Jump around.

Continue reading "Kid Cudi, Talib Kweli, Theophilus London, Lil Wayne, Waka Flocka, Odd Future, Cyhi Da Prynce & other hip hop news"

"...On Monday West, who is 33, will release his fifth album, "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam), and it's terrific -- of course it's terrific -- a startlingly maximalist take on East Coast rap traditionalism. And yet that doesn't matter nearly as much as it should, at least partly because of West's insistence on his own greatness. By not allowing for responses to his work other than awe, the value of the work itself is diminished; it becomes an object of admiration, not of study. Instead the focus is on the whole of West's persona and character, which is more fractured and subject to a far wider range of responses. The result is that West becomes a polarizing public figure who happens to be the most artful pop musician of the day, not the other way around.

Nevertheless, West seems virtually incapable of making a bad record. He's committed to pop, and he's savvy and talented enough to make it great, every time. What's more, for him to make something other than a universally accepted smash would be a thing that his ego couldn't bear. Every Kanye West album, until the cancer of the world around him begins to encroach on the parts of his cerebral cortex that control his musical ear, will be excellent and huge. He'll never have an idiosyncratic period.

Even at his most extreme, West isn't an experimenter. His music is ornate, ostentatious, curious and vivacious. But risky? No. All of his fiddling is within recognized formulas. A producer as well as a rapper, West controls all of the major elements of his songs, unlike other artists who have to rely on their taste (or their record label's taste) in outside producers or songwriters.

To work on this album he retreated to Hawaii, as he did during the making of his previous album. And West's gravitational pull is such that he can import talent. Rick Ross, Kid Cudi, Pusha T, Nicki Minaj -- they all made the trip to make music that will appear on the album. The spooky indie folky Justin Vernon from Bon Iver spoke of smoking marijuana with Rick Ross on one of his three sojourns to Hawaii to work with West, about as surreal a tableau as has been created in the making of any pop album this year." [JON CARAMANICA, Sunday New York Times]

Continue reading "Kanye West 'seems virtually incapable of making a bad album'"

by BBG

Kanye West recently responded on the Today show to George Bush's reaction to West's infamous "George Bush hates black people" tirade on national television in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. View his response below. And as Matt points out at the end of the video, Kanye is set to play a live show outside the Today Show, on the plaza, on November 26th (the day after Thanksgiving) (if he doesn't cancel).

UPDATE: he's cancelling

In happier news for Mr. West (whose recent stunts include rapping on a Delta flight), his new LP My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy will hit store shelves on November 22nd (though yes, it has already leaked). Featuring appearances from Jay-Z, Raekwon, Pusha T, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Kid Cudi and even Bon Iver, the 13 track LP comes with five different album covers.

Kanye isn't afraid to return the favor either, as he appears on Kid Cudi's spankin' new LP, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager (out now) (NME gave it a 9/10, Rolling Stone gave it 2.5/5 stars, Pitchfork hasn't reviewed it yet though they did give Cee Lo's new one a 7.3 today). Kanye joins a list of collaborators that includes Cee-Lo Green (who plays a NYC show Saturday), Mary J. Blige, GLC, Cage and St. Vincent, the latter two of which appeared on his latest single "Maniac". Both Cage and St. Vincent appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with Kid Cudi on 11/3, and you can check out video of that performance below too...

Continue reading "Kanye West, George Bush, Kid Cudi & St. Vincent"

photos by Alex Reside

Pictures and video from last night's Converse party at Music Hall of Williamsburg continue below...

Continue reading "Rostam, Best Coast & Kid Cudi performed "All Summer" (and others songs) @ MHOW (pics & video)"

You may have heard by now that Vampire Weekend, XL Recordings and a photographer named Tod Brody are being sued for 2 million dollars by Contra cover model Kirsten Kennis. She claims that she never gave permission for them to use a picture that was taken of her in 1983 (back when she was actually a model), and that the photographer basically tricked the band and label into thinking they were buying it legally. She says the band and label are also at fault for not doing due diligence when they paid $5000 for the picture from Tod. She thinks she deserves 2 million because her picture was obviously the reason the band's album was so successful... That's basically the info that most sites are posting, but I obtained a copy of the court documents and there's more...

First of all, her full name is Ann Kirsten Kennis, though when she was a model she just went by "Kirsten". She was a "high-fashion model under contract with prestigious agencies in New York City" in the 80's and early 90's. Her picture has appeared in clothing, jewelry, cosmetics and automobile ads, and for that she was "highly compensated" and "enjoyed numerous assignments".

She lives in Fairfield, CT, and most interestingly, she claims Tod didn't even take the picture. Her real last name doesn't even appear in the contract Vampire Weekend signed when they bought it. The allegedly forged/fake contract is with "Kirsten Johnsen" and signed by "Kirsten Johnson" (yes, the document has the last name spelled two different ways).

If Tod didn't take the picture, I'm not sure how he thought he would get away with it since she would obviously eventually see it. Whether he took it or not, it's still displayed in his portfolio (with "kirsten" in the file name), though his page that displayed the Vampire Weekend album cover is now gone.

Not content with all that, I went on a search for another picture of Kirsten, but unfortunately I came up dry though I do think I found a picture of her dog, and what might be her not-quite-operational "Cosmic Cubs" teddy bear website (which would be consistent with the possibility that her family is in the toy business). It's also possible that back before she was married, her name may have been Ann Klendshoj which is the name of someone who had a nasty run in with a creepy doctor in 1994. Speaking of creepy, I'll end this paragraph here.

Rostam from Vampire Weekend, Kid Cudi & Bethany of Best Coast made a new song for Converse. The video for that track, "All Summer", is below...

Continue reading "Who is Ann Kirsten Kennis? (besides the Contra album cover model suing Vampire Weekend, XL & photographer Tod Brody)"

Kid Cudi @ Bonnaroo (via MagicHatBrewing)

"Kid Cudi performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Tennessee despite being arrested hours earlier in New York City.

The artist arrived at the venue, telling the fans, "I really wanted to be here tonight." He is also expected to perform at tonight's concert, co-headlining with Jay-Z.

According to sources, the artist was arrested on drug and destruction charges. CuDi allegedly smashed a 24 year old woman's phone and then broke her apartment door off of its hinges." [SickHop]

Continue reading "Kid Cudi got arrested in NYC, but still played Bonnaroo"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Dum Dum Girls - Jail La La (Mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Happy Birthday - Girls FM (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Bloodsugars - Light at the End of the Tunnel (Mp3)

Bear Hands

It's another jam-packed week of shows. In addition to Taken By Trees, El Perro Del Mar and The Soundtrack of our Lives, here's some of the ones I'm excited about.

tonight (2/16): New Cantora Records signees Bear Hands play The Studio at Webster Hall. You can download the band's percussion-heavy new single "What a Drag" for free from their website if you're willing to give them your email address. You can also watch the video at the bottom of this post.

Also tonight (2/16), Beast kick off what is now a run of three NYC shows. As we pointed out earlier today, "Beast are at the Living Room tonight. They play the Cameo tomorrow night late...and they've added an early set at the Mercury Lounge on Wednesday, where the show is with Fight Like Apes, Honor By August, Stationary Set and Tryptics."

The Bloodsugars

This week is last of Savoir Adore's February Thursdays residency at Cake Shop and we've got a pair of tickets up for grabs. Just email BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM and we'll pick a winner at random. In addition to Savoir Adore (have I mentioned their album made my Best of 2009 list?),  it's another good group of openers. The Bloodsugars make '80s-inspired widescreen pop that at times sounds uncannily like Prefab Sprout -- and good Prefab Sprout, not "hot dog jumping frog Albequerque" Prefab Sprout. Which is to say these folks know their way around big pop hooks, and are kind of a perfect match with Savoir Adore. You can download "Light at the End of the Tunnel" from last year's underrated I Can't Go On, I'll Go On at the top of this post.

Also on the bill: Pittsburgh's chilled-out Ennui and Brooklyn's synth-heavy Red Wire Black Wire with between-sets DJing from Nora of blog I Rock I Roll.

Also on Thursday (2/18), Dan Black is in town at Mercury Lounge. There's a new version of Dan's single "Symphonies" that features Kid Cudi, and you can watch the new video for it at the bottom of this post.

Bear in Heaven @ Mercury Lounge in January (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

A few more shows. Bear in Heaven, who were just great at Mercury Lounge a couple weeks back, play Glasslands on Friday night (2/19) with Secret Machines. What I like about them live is that you can tell they all really enjoying being in Bear in Heaven and playing these songs. They're just a lot of fun to watch, and they're pretty tight too with a drummer beats the shit out of his instrument.

Secret Machines are headlining, a band I haven't seen play in some time but have always liked. They've got a trippy, string-heavy new single, "Like I Can," that you can listen to on their website. Also playing what sounds like a full evening are electro rock quintet Mon Khmer, Noveller and Papa.

Saturday (2/20) marks the end of The Beets/Beach Fossils/Christmas Island tour where they'll play Music Hall of Williamsburg along with German Measels and headliners Crystal Stilts who I still haven't managed to catch since Frankie Rose left the drummer's chair.

Dum Dum Girls

Speaking of Frankie, she'll be pulling double duty Sunday night at Mercury Lounge where her own bandThe Outs will open for Dum Dum Girls (she's their drummer). DDG's debut album for Sub Pop is about six weeks away but you can download the album's first single, "Jail La La," at the top of this post. (It's out on 7" today with a nice cover of the Stones' "Play With Fire" on the flip.) I'm usually not one for re-recording songs that have already been released, but I actually think this recording is spruces things up just enough without unraveling their reverby gauze. After heading to London for a few shows, Dum Dum Girls will be back for SXSW and then will go on tour with Girls in April. All dates are at the bottom of this post.

Frankie & the Outs are really coming along as a band too, and thought they were fantastic at Monster Island this past weekend. The vocal harmonies in particular are the band's strong point, with a bit of soul in there too actually, kind of like some late-'60s girl rockers. I'd love to hear them cover The Kelly Affair/Carry Nation's "Sweet Talking Candy Man" from Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. But maybe that's just me.

Also playing are Dum Dum Girls' Sub Pop labelmates Happy Birthday, whose super-catchy song "Girls FM" is downloadable at the top of this post. It's power pop, but kind of gritty/garagy and makes me anxious to hear more.

That's it for this week. Flyers, videos and tour dates after the jump...

Continue reading "Bear Hands, Dum Dum Girls, Happy Birthday, Bloodsugars, Bear in Heaven, Beast & more in This Week in Indie"

We'll get a more complete press release in the morning (and confirm what is listed below is 100% correct), but in the meantime below is a picture of the 2010 Sasquatch poster (that someone Tweeted) and the lineup as read by Bradford Cox at tonight's Atlas Sound show in Seattle (and being listed all over the Internet)....

Continue reading "Sasquatch announces 2010 lineup (includes Massive Attack & My Morning Jacket) (and many more) "

After a hectic day of updating the constantly updating Bonnaroo lineup page, the entire thing has been announced. Gwar, Norah Jones, and the rest of the lineup below...

Continue reading "the complete 2010 Bonnaroo lineup (Stevie Wonder, The Melvins, Kings of Leon, Isis, Local Natives & many more) "