by Andrew Sacher

Lil Kim in Austin in 2012 (more by Tim Griffin)

Lil Kim, who made a welcome return last year, is playing a NYC show TONIGHT (4/26) at Gramercy Theatre. Tickets for tonight's show are still available.

Shabazz Palaces' tour with THEESatisfaction hits NYC tonight (4/26) for a sold out show at Bowery Ballroom.

Chicago rapper ShowYouSuck is coming to NYC for a show on May 3 at Knitting Factory. That bill also includes Bronx crew B.I.C. (Bitches Is Crazy), Goldie Glo, D Stunna, and Hipster Rogers. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Bitches Is Crazy just released a free album for 4/20 (but it actually came out on 4/16), Influence. It fits right in with the recent influx of NYC weed rap we've been getting from Flatbush Zombies, The Underachievers and A$AP Mob. Pretty cool stuff. Download it at bandcamp or stream it, along with the videos for "DOPM" and "Yo Soy Widdit," below.

As just mentioned, collaborators Flatbush Zombies and The Underachievers, who are currently on tour with Joey Bada$$, are playing a free show in Red Hook Park on June 4 as part of this year's Summerstage season.

Miami rapper Gunplay is set to release a new mixtape, Bogota this year (not to be confused with last year's Bogota Rich: The Prequel mixtape), and is also talking about a new album, Medellin. He recently revealed the video for "Pyrex," which will presumably appear on one of these releases. You can watch that below. Gunplay will come to NYC for a show at SOB's on June 10. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Hip hop collective Phony PPL are doing a residency at Brooklyn Bowl which includes shows on May 1, June 5, July 3, and July 31. Each show has different special guests. For the May 1 show, it will be Allan Kingdom and Roofeeo. Guests for the other three shows TBA. Tickets for all four nights are on sale now.

Casey Veggies at Bamboozle 2012 (more by Leia Jospe)

Another good Brooklyn Bowl show happens when Casey Veggies and XXL Freshman Travi$ Scott bring their tour to Brooklyn Bowl on May 19. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

You can download Casey's recent mixtape Life Changes, which features appearances by BJ the Chicago Kid, Dom Kennedy and others, and production by The Futuristiks, Harry Fraud, and others, over at DatPiff.

The Brooklyn Bowl show is two days before Travi$ Scott and the rest of the XXL Freshmen class (Schoolboy Q, Joey Bada$$, Ab-Soul, Action Bronson, Angel Haze, and others) play the XXL Freshmen show at Best Buy Theater (5/21). Tickets for that show are still available.

Another XXL Freshman, Logic, who recently signed to Def Jam, is playing a NYC show on June 22 at Irving Plaza. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Dizzy Wright, Nitty Scott, and others are playing The Studio at Webster Hall on May 22. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Not exactly hip hop, but Kelly Rowland and The-Dream are playing Best Buy Theater on May 30. Tickets for that show go on sale today (4/26) at noon.

All streams and videos below...

Continue reading "upcoming hip hop shows in NYC: Lil Kim, Bitches Is Crazy, Gunplay, Casey Veggies, The-Dream, ShowYouSuck & more"

A$AP Ferg at Brooklyn Bowl in December (more by Brook Bobbins)

Talib Kweli, who just played SOB's earlier this week, is playing two nights at Brooklyn Bowl (3/17-18) with a live band this March with Cory Mo. Tickets for night 1, night 2 and both nights are on sale now.

A$AP Ferg and Fat Trel are teaming up for a NYC show on February 12 at SOB's with Da$h & Retch and A$ton Matthews. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Ratking, who play Mercury Lounge on February 1 with Bryant Dope and JeanDeaux (tickets), also play a Brooklyn show on January 27 at Public Assembly with Show Me The Body and Tippwork. Admission for that one is $10 at the door.

Nitty Scott, Dave East, and Panama are playing SOB's on February 7. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Phony PPL play Brooklyn Bowl on February 21. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Dipset are celebrating the tenth anniversary of Diplomatic Immunity at BB King's on March 25. Tickets for that show are still available.

Check out more upcoming hip hop shows in NYC HERE and HERE.

Idle Warship at Culture Shock 2012 (more by Kellyann Petry)

Summerstage which, as in previous years, includes more than just Central Park, will be hosting free shows this summer at Herbert Von King Park. One of those goes down this Sunday (6/10), and though billed as Talib Kweli (with Band), based on the event page's URL and Idle Warship's tour dates, we're pretty sure that means it's an Idle Warship show (aka Talib, Res, and a full live band). The show will be presented in conjunction with a screening of Brooklyn Boheme. Check out the full schedule of shows in Herbert Von King Park HERE.

In related news, Talib Kweli collaborator Jean Grae, who is gearing up to release her new full length, Cake or Death, will be playing Public Assembly on Thursday (6/7). The Brooklyn venue is hosting two solid shows that day: 'Brooklyn Live' in the back room with Jean, Skyzoo & !llmind, DJ IS1, Scram Jones, and Fresh Vetz, and 'Popular Demand' in the front room with Fool's Gold artists Party Supplies and Nick Catchdubs, along with Maffew Ragazino Sr., Nitty Scott MC, and more. Tickets to the front room show and the back room show are available. Check out the video trailer for Jean Grae's Cake or Death below, along with fliers for both Public Assembly shows.

Continue reading "Herbert Von King Park hosting free shows this summer; Idle Warship this weekend; Jean Grae playing Public Assembly"

photos by Brook Bobbins

Ali-Shaheed Mohammed will return to the tables this weekend at Dekalb Market after spinning at Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest last weekend, along with (former?) bandmate Q-Tip and tons of suprise guests (like Busta Rhymes & Kanye West). You saw the videos. Here are the pics. More of them below...

Continue reading "Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest pics"

Clipse photos by Brook Bobbins

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

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

Wiz Khalifa also has a Summerstage show coming up.

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

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

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

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

Edan plays Southpaw on May 25th.

Clipse @ Terminal 5 in April

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

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

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

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

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

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

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