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.

So far only four dates exist for Rock the Bells. They're all listed below. Two of them are on the East Coast and one is in the NYC area at Meadowlands Racetrack in Rutherford, NJ on October 4-5. Tickets go on presale Thursday (10/16) at noon, and regular sale on Saturday.

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)"

Rakim at Rock the Bells 2010 (more by Brook Bobbins)

The "invincible microphone fiend" Rakim will team with Wu-Tang staple Raekwon just in time for the holidays, blessing Studio 48 on December 20th. UPDATE (12/11): The show a has been postponed till February 8. Tickets are on sale.

Still no hard date for Rakim's forthcoming LP with Pharrell Williams, thoughh it will reportedly see the light in 2013.

Stage 48 is also where fellow Wu-Tang-er GZA is playing on January 12th. Tickets are still available for that too.

In related news, Raekwon and another Wu-Tang member Ghostface Killah recently reminisced on the eight year anniversary of ODB's death (on 11/13) to TMZ. Raekwon's statement was somber:

"Today I just want to have a day of prayer to let my brother know I am thinking about him. This still hits me real hard. I will mourn over him today and think about how much he taught me."

While Ghostface's was more reflective and uplifting:

"I never dwell on the day we lost him, I just celebrate the times I had with him. I pray and thank God on this day because he is my angel ... I spent the day just sitting quietly and praying. Dirt wouldnt want us mourning so I don't."

RIP Ol Dirty.

The Guardian reports:

"The actor who played drug vigilante Omar Little in TV series The Wire is to take on the role of Ol' Dirty Bastard in a film. Plans are moving ahead for Dirty White Boy, a movie based on the late and notorious rapper, starring the Baltimore crime drama's Michael K Williams.

Dirty White Boy focuses not just on ODB, born Russell Jones, but also on Jarred Weisfeld, the titular white boy, who met the musician when he was a 22-year-old VH1 production assistant. Weisfeld gradually became ODB's manager, Entertainment Weekly reports, engineering the rapper's comeback. His plan was cut short by Ol' Dirty Bastard's fatal drug overdose in November 2004."

In other news, Michael K Williams' ex-Boardwalk Empire co-star Aleksa Palladino played SXSW with her band Exitmusic who are currently on tour with A Place to Bury Strangers and Joy Formidable, though they are replaced by Violens at the NYC show (Violens meanwhile play Cameo Saturday).

ODB's ex-Wu-Tang Clan cohort GZA opens for Bad Brains in Brooklyn in April, and just played SXSW backed by Grupo Fantasma/Brownout and with Raekwon. Videos, ODB tributes included, below...

Continue reading "Omar from the Wire to play Ol' Dirty Bastard in movie; GZA & Raekwon paid tribute @ SXSW"

by BBG

Dan Auerbach, Jim Jones, Mos Def, Patrick Carney, and Damon Dash

Just in time for the holidays and to remind the hip hop listmakers that The Ecstatic was/is the truth, the two-time Grammy nominated Mos Def has scheduled a show on 12/20 at Highline Ballroom. Tickets, though not cheap, are on sale.

Mos Def was also recently announced as a contributor to the new Gorillaz record, along with a host of notables

The third Gorillaz album will feature one newly announced GPS voice, two iconic frontmen of the '60s and '70s, and more, lending to a contributing line-up as eclectic as the one heard on 2005's Demon Days.
The GPS voice, Snoop Dogg, plus Lou Reed of The Velvet Underground and Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, will be heard alongside Mos Def, Bobby Womack, The Horrors and the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra in Plastic Beach, out 2010.

Mos Def is also part of another notable crew, Blakroc, a project featuring The Black Keys as a backing band for a crew of killer MCs!

The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney have wanted to make a hip-hop album since they were teenagers....
"All the blues music I liked was super simple and stripped down. All the hip-hop I liked was super simple and stripped down," says Auerbach. "We always heard that connection."
The Black Keys' first demo reflected their hip-hop tastes. It featured drum loops and samples, which their first record label later told them to scrap. Years later, following recent praise for their minimalist, bluesy jams, The Black Keys have finally recorded a hip-hop album. Their collaborative ensemble is called BlakRoc.
"What makes this special is the guys' sensibility of hip-hop," [Pharoahe Monch] says. "The drum loop-like timing and patterns make a groove that is easy to rhyme to and to write over."-[NPR]

The self-titled, Damon Dash-presented BlakRoc LP is out now and also features Q-Tip, ODB, RZA, Raekwon, and Jim Jones among others.

Raekwon is on tour now and also has a NYC show coming up.

The Capo Jim Jones and Mos Def, along with the Black Keys, (BlakRoc) played Letterman last night (12/8) - the same night that Jawbox was burnin' Fallon to the ground. It was also rumored that the group might play a secret show at new venue Under 100 (in the basement of Damon Dash's building) later that night, but though Mos Def was there hanging out (again), he and the group didn't actually play (pictures from that event coming later).

Dig on the live Blakroc video from Letterman, the official video for the same song, as well as more videos from Mos, below...

Continue reading "Mos Def on new Gorillaz album, playing Highline, in Blakroc w/ Black Keys & Jim Jones (video from Letterman last night) "