The Roots on the Intrepid (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

The Roots and "special surprise guests" will celebrate the holdays at their 5th Annual Okayplayer Holiday Jam, which goes down at Brooklyn Bowl on Thursday (12/15), followed by the usual Questlove DJ stint shortly thereafter. The show is private, but you (and a guest) can win a special invite by signing up for the Okayplayer newsletter. Further details are at the Okayplayer site.

The Roots will also celebrate legendary delta blues musician Robert Johnson's 100th birthday at the Apollo on March 6th, joining a lineup that includes Shemika Copeland, Bettye LaVette, Taj Mahal, Keb Mo, Sam Moore, Todd Rundgren and more TBA. Tickets are on sale, and the show will double as a benefit for the construction of the Blues Hall of Fame by the Blues Foundation in Memphis.

The Roots recently celebrated the release of their new LP Undun and inddirectly called Michelle Bachmann a "Lyin' Ass Bitch" (and will no longer have carte blanche on the songs they play as a result).

Video of Questlove and Black Thought from Power 105 this morning discussing the Michelle Bachmann incident, as well as the concept behind Undun is below...

Continue reading "Roots playing Okayplayer holiday party & Robert Johnson's birthday (but not whatever they want on Fallon anymore)"

DOWNLOAD: SBTRKT - "Wildfire" (Feat. Little Dragon) (MP3)

Little Dragon at MHOW in January (more by Brook Bobbins)

If you won't be able to make it out to Philly this Saturday (6/4) for The Roots Picnic, you're in luck because starting at 1PM a live webcast from the main stage will be streaming on Okayplayer (the website owned by The Roots) and XPN. The webcast will be hosted by Warren and XPN DJ Mike Vasilikos. Philly's DJ Afrodjiak will chat with artists throughout the day. Performances to be webcast include Little Dragon, The Dismemberment Plan, Ariel Pink, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes, Esperanza Spalding with The Roots, Wiz Khalifa, and Nas with The Roots. You can also catch videos of the performances at XPN and Philadelphia Music Magazine after the event.

Ariel Pink played Irving last night (6/2) and also plays a not-secret-anymore show at Santos tonight (6/3). Get tickets for the show now from Other Music.

The Roots Picnic is only one of a bunch of festival appearances Little Dragon will be making this summer (and fall). The band also plays Outside Lands, MusicfestNW, Moogfest, and a few others overseas. Their upcoming album Ritual Union now has a release date of July 12 via Peacefrog Records. Check out the track "Nightlight" and the artwork and tracklist below. Little Dragon also recently contributed to the song "Wildfire" off the UK producer SBTRKT's upcoming self-titled debut. Download the collaboration above.

All dates and Ritual Union stuff below...

Continue reading "Roots Picnic this weekend (stream it), new Little Dragon album in July (and a SBTRKT track now)"

words & photos by Benjamin Lozovsky

The old Knitting Factory used to be a bastion for independent hip hop in New York City. The new incarnation just took a big step at continuing that legacy, as it hosted one of the most historic hip hop concerts in recent memory.

On Wednesday night (1/20), An astounding array of legends and rising stars rocked the stage to honor everyone's favorite five-footer, Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest. The event, Mind Body Soul, was a benefit to raise awareness for diabetes (Phife just received a kidney transplant related to his trials with the disease). And while diabetes was often on the mind and tongues of the performers, the show was really more of a demonstration of the persisting camaraderie and mutual adoration within a genre too often beleaguered with battles and conflict.

After quick opening sets by Hook, Jasmine Solano, Scotch Davis, and Monica Rush, the venue went from a displaced chill to full on engagement as Talib Kweli lead off the roster of A-listers. Having just arrived at the venue and already sent out to perform, Kweli showed his undying humility and his utmost flexibility though microphone heroics on a short notice set. Greg Nice (of obscure but beloved group Nice and Smooth) then burst out with a virulent spirit, with the mohawked, larger-than-life OG launching himself straight into the audience to parlay with the youngsters up front.

Jeru Tha Damaja was glib and full of grimy charm; he laid down classic tracks and told stories from the tombs of Brooklyn Hip Hop lore. A soft-spoken Dres (from Black Sheep) smoothly enticed with new material to go with that little ditty about train derailment you might have heard.

Compared to the illustrious resumes of many performers preceding and following him, up-and-comer Jay Electronica might have felt a bit overwhelmed. But Jay's heartfelt thanks to his peers was the most touching moment of the night, and his outrageous performance - with help from Mos Def, Hi Tek, and Kweli (all of whom recently cancelled performances at Highline Ballroom) - resonated with the youthful segments of the crowd and proved his position as the brightest star on the hip hop horizon.

Jay might have been the showstopper if he wasn't followed by hip hop ambassador (and its greatest living performer) KRS-One. Accompanied by hype man BusyBee (of the original Zulu Nation crew), KRS got metaphysical with beyond-cerebral freestyles. But still being the most humble braggadocio around, he bumped out covers of Biggie and Tribe to continue the showing of utmost respect and brotherhood that categorized the night.

There were some awkward and antagonizing moments throughout: posse upon posse swelling to the width of the stage and getting shooed away numerous times by Heavy Sound (the presenter) organizers, strange interactions between host Michael Rapaport and house turntablist DJ D-Lyfe, not to mention an off-performance by a sheepish Mr. Cheeks (of The Lost Boyz).

But it wouldn't really be a memorable hip hop conglomeration if it wasn't just the slightest bit disorganized or sporadically contentious. Even without a single piece of original vinyl brandished throughout the laptop-swapping spree behind the DJ table, the event still felt like a storied Bronx block party or an impromptu Brooklyn corner concert or a Queens Native Tongue poetry slam.

As Consequence dragged Phife on stage, followed by Ali Shaheed Muhameed and then Q-Tip to perform the final set of the night as a united Quest, on display was a vivid demonstration of the greatest hope for the future of hip hop: its ability to nurture its own existence through such reciprocal love. It might take a village to raise a child, but on this night, it only took one Tribe to raise up hip hop.

Ghostface was on the bill, but didn't show. More pictures from the night below...

Continue reading "A Tribe Called Quest got together (w/ help from Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Hi-Tek & more) @ Knitting Factory in NYC - pics "

by Benjamin Lozovsky

Former Blackstar bandmates and continuing collaborators Talib Kweli and Mos Def are keeping up the busy pace they each set in 2009 with even more tour dates and releases to come in the new year.

After performing a spattering of shows with long-time producer Hi-Tek as a reunited Reflection Eternal last year, the much beloved pair is coming back to the New York area with a late show at Highline Ballroom on Friday, January 22nd (tickets are on sale). This date comes in the support of The Re:Union Mixtape, the fantastic new free compilation of fresh and unreleased Reflection Eternal cuts (with some classic Kweli and Hi-Tek jams throw in as well) mixed, mastered, and co-produced by Statik Selektah. If the new tracks are any indication, Kweli and Hi-Tek are poised to make a splashing return to form on their upcoming full-length LP Revolutions Per Minute, which has a tentative release date of March 2010.

Before that gig, Talib has two more scheduled local appearances. The first is this Sunday, January 17th, when he'll perform at Pyramid for an End Of The Weak party with special guest Webbafied.

The second, and definitely more eye-popping event is Mind Body Soul: A Concert Event To Raise Awareness For Diabetes. Organized by Heavy Sound and taking place at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn on Wednesday, January 20th, the benefit concert will feature hosts Michael Rapaport, Okayplayer (perhaps ?uestlove), and Phife Dawg, and performances by Kweli, Ghostface Killah, Jay Electronica (whom Talib just collaborated with for killer Re:Union track 'Just Begun'), and Consequence. Tribe Called Quest member Phife, a long-time diabetic, was first diagnosed with the disease back in 1990, and is making his first appearance in the public spotlight after recently receiving a much needed kidney transplant. Other performers are promised as well (an earlier flyer for the event had Blakroc listed, although that has now vanished from the more updated version...let's hope they might be one of the special guests). Email RSVP@heavysounds.com to get in for free before 11:00pm.

Meanwhile, Mos Def will be back to perform tracks from his Grammy-nominated album The Ecstatic this Sunday, January 17th, at The Highline Ballroom. The show is a rescheduled appearance from December 20th of last year, which was canceled due to weather ($45 tickets). Later in the month, the Mighty Mos performs two more times. First it's at the Apollo Theater for IMAN Presents: Special Edition of Community Café, on Saturday, January 23rd. He'll be there along side Daily Show correspondent and comedian Aasif Mandvi as well as other guests ($20 tickets). Then you can catch Mos when he opens for DOOM at Nokia Theatre on January 30th ($40 tickets)

Event flyers below:

Continue reading "Reflection Eternal mixtape & a show (on sale) + Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Ghostface and even a Phife Dawg appearance too"

peace,
HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT THE QUEENDOM

...AND MY CHILDREN AND MY INTELLIGENCE.

ive never been so disgusted in all of my life .
there is no other place i used to enjoy more .
i post no where else .
you guys have taken an all time low , tho.

I'LL STATE MY PEACE... [Erykah Badu on OkayPlayer] (via)