by Black Bubblegum

Talib Kweli on stage with Black Star (more by Tim Griffin)

After shows at the Blue note and with Rock The Bells earlier this year, tonight (8/28) marks the return of Reflection Eternal at BB King's , the crew that introduced the world to Talib Kweli with the Rawkus 12" single "Fortified Live" featuring then future Black Star partner Mos Def and Mr Man of Da Bush Babees. Also on board for tonight's festivities are the Paul-Wall-steez (aka they "got the internet goin nuts") of Slaughterhouse, as well as Slum Village (who recently lost a member). One of the kings of freestyle, Supernatural, will also be in attendance. Tickets are still available.

Sunday (8/30) BB King's will play host for a benefit for The Black August Hip Hop Project:

The Black August Hip Hop Project strives to promote human rights though supporting and influencing the global development of Hip Hop culture. By facilitating exchanges between international communities where Hip Hop is a vital part of youth culture, we promote awareness about the social and political issues that affect our global communities.

The show will feature appearances by Sadat X of Brand Nubian, Blitz The Ambassador, The A-Alikes, Bazaar Royale, and many others as well as DJ sets by Bobbito Garcia, Beverly Bond, and others. Tickets are still available.

Another notable show at BB Kings kicks off on 9/25 when Organized Konfusion team up with Poor Righteous Teachers. Tickets are still available, or you can try your luck at one of FIVE pairs of tickets available for giveaway! Want a pair? Details on how to win below.

Bobbito has been known to team up with the mighty DJ Spinna, who is paying tribute to MJ this weekend at Prospect Park and at Nokia Theatre with Q-Tip.

Remaining Reflection Eternal dates and a video for their classic "The Blast" is below.

Continue reading "Reflection Eternal @ BB King's tonight --- Organized Konfusion play in September (win tickets)"

words by Black Bubblegum, photos by Tim Griffin and Chris La Putt

Organized Konfusion @ APW

"Hip-hop gets odd treatment at festivals like All Points West, where most of the lineup leans toward indie-rock. The rock acts, beyond the name-brand headliners, are current: darlings of the club and college circuit and the blogs that support it. But the hip-hop is retro: representatives of past eras alongside younger acts who have chosen old-school styles." [NY Times]

Now that APW and it's associated parties are in the rear view, we're beginning to get a picture of hip hop this fall as those artists lay out shows of their own!

"Forget about whether Brooklyn was in the house; "Where all my trigonometry majors at?" Pharoahe Monch asked the audience. O.C., a rapper associated on and off with Organized Konfusion, also showed up during the [APW] set. Prince Po took pains to deny Internet reports of dissension between group members. And true to the luck that ran through Organized Konfusion's career, the set took place during the afternoon's rain squall; there were only a handful of listeners." [NY Times]

First up, Organized Konfusion, with APW behind them, is back on the train having scheduled a new date in NYC at BB King's on 9/25 with Poor Righteous Teachers. Rock dis funky joint! Tickets are on sale.

Secondly, The Wallabee Champ was recently in NYC to kick off APW at Nokia Theatre with Red & Meth. Video from the Michael Jackson tribute portion of the night below. And Ghostface will be in the building AGAIN on 11/11, as he gets set to tear down BB King's! Tickets are on sale.

Ghostface's partner in rhyme, Raekwon is FINALLY going to release Only Built For Cuban Linx II (9/8!!!) and the cover features Tony Starks, much like the first Cuban Linx. Dig on that below too.

Also coming up at BB King's is the previously mentioned Slum Village show with Reflection Eternal on 8/28. After the shocking passing of Slum Village's Baatin settled in, I wondered if the crew would carry on? Slum Village (which also counted J Dilla as a member) was T3 and Elzhi until Baatin recently rejoined the crew, and now it looks more and more like that is how they will be again:

Slum Village will remain on the bill despite the July 31 death of group member Titus "Baatin" Glover.... A cause of death has not been determined pending the results of toxicology reports, according to local authorities.

"Baatin will be missed," Slum Village's T3 said in a press statement. "I'm glad we got a chance to work together before he passed. We lost another Slum soldier, a dear friend and a brother. He touched many lives." [livedaily]

Slum Village 2009, now exactly the same as Slum Village 2007. Tickets are still available for BB Kings, and more dates have been announced (below).

Full Raekwon, Ghostface, and Reflection Eternal tour details, cover art, videos, and all pictures of Organized Konfusion at All Points West (including some that weren't posted before), below...

Continue reading "Organized Konfusion (apw pics), Ghostface, Slum Village (Baatin RIP) & Reflection Eternal (dates) playing BB King's"

photos by Tim Griffin and Chris La Putt

"It was announced during Vampire Weekend's rain-soaked but well-attended 6 p.m. set on the main "Blue Comet" stage that due to the weather, single-day Friday tickets would be accepted for festival entry on Saturday and Sunday. This elicited quite a few cheers, presumably from those who had not already purchased weekend tickets. While the early afternoon had been hot and sunny, allowing for clear views of nearby Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, the storm clouds rolled in rapidly just as Fleet Foxes took the stage at 3:30 p.m. The wind, rain and thunder actually worked as fitting accompaniments to the band's dramatic harmonies, a fact not lost on the Foxes themselves. "We kind of look like a guild of wizards here to deliver an ominous warning," said drummer J. Tillman, one of several bearded members of the band. ""I'm going to leave the stage on a horse." [Billboard]

Before we head out to APW Day Two (schedule here), here are some pictures from Friday (7/31)....

Continue reading "All Points West 2009 - Day One in Pictures"

Jay-Z @ APW in Liberty State Park, Jersey City, NJ - 7/31/09 (photo by Tim Griffin)

Brooklyn's own Jay-Z opened up his headlining set at All Points West on Friday night with a cover of the Beastie Boys classic "No Sleep Till Brooklyn". Was it a fitting tribute to the group that he replaced on the lineup (due to MCA's diagnosis of cancer) or was it Jay-Z's way of reminding New Jersey what he plans on doing with the Nets? OK, I'll go with the former, and it was our own great Jay-Z festival moment (at his first-ever US festival appearance). The UK's Glastonbury got the (less sincere) tribute to Oasis in 2008.

Speaking of Glastonbury, All Points West got its mud... which came from the rain that miraculously cleared up before Hova took the stage (at which point he covered "No Sleep" with the "Beastie Boys at the Garden" line in the first verse changed to "Jay-Z at All Points West.", and then...)

Immediately after that, he performed his own "Brooklyn (Go Hard)."

Later, he dedicated his entire set to Beastie Boy Adam Yauch. It was Yauch's illness -- he has been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in a salivary gland -- that forced the group's cancellation, last week.

In his 80-minute day-closing set, Jay-Z also performed hits like "99 Problems," "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)," "Big Pimpin'" and "Dirt Off Your Shoulder," as well as his recent single "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)." [NJ.com]

Tons more pictures coming soon. All our APW coverage HERE. Hopefully you didn't throw away your Friday ticket. Saturday's schedule HERE. A few more videos from Friday (including a clip of No Sleep) below...

Continue reading "Jay-Z closes out rainy Day 1 of All Points West (pic, video)"

words by Black Bubblegum, photos by Joseph Xu

DOWNLOAD: Pharoah Monch vs the Black Lips - "Drop I Mayor" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Black Lips - Drop I Hold featuring GZA (MP3)

Pharoahe Monch @ the 2009 Pitchfork Fest

Though APW's addition of Jay-Z is rather notable (just a tad), it's the reunion of Organized Konfusion that sets the stage for a big hip hop weekend at APW. Organized Konfusion originally stepped away from the mic in 1997, flirting with a return as recently as 2004, but APW marks their first show back.

Since 1997, both Prince Po and Pharoahe Monch of Organized Konfusion have been busy as solo artists, with Monch recently logging time at the 2009 Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest (pics here) and Pitchfork Festival in Chicago. Pics from Pitchfork in this post, along with fellow hip hop luminary (who didn't send a decoy?) Doom. Chicagoist dug Monch, but Doom... not so much.

After that was Pharoahe Monch, who's hip hop set was everything Doom's Saturday set wasn't: intense, ferocious, and with a level of personality the masked wonder couldn't summon on Saturday. Drawing from the crowd, Monch gave props to those such as Rakim, Mos Def, and Michael Jackson. He was the act we knew least about going into the weekend and coming out he's left us only wanting to hear more.

Speaking of Mos Def, the routing for The Ecstatic Tour is solidifying more and more. Details are below. Tickets are still available for his show at The Beach at Governor's Island on 9/12.

Mos Def's partner in the recently reunited Black Star, Talib Kweli, is making his way back to the stage with Reflection Eternal at BB Kings on August 28th, a little more than a month after Rock The Bells. Tickets are now on sale.

Styles P, who provided direct support for Pharoahe Monch at Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest, will headline the first night of the Rock The Block Fest at Southpaw (Aug 6, tix here), with Freeway taking over for the second (Aug 7, tix here). Tickets are also available bundled together (here).

DJ STV SLV (of The Hood Internet) recently remixed Pharoah Monch's "Mayor" with The Black Lips "The Drop I Hold". Hilarity ensues. Download that above. Black Lips' collaboration with GZA is is up there too.

The previously mentioned Ghostface, Redman/Method Man jumpoff at Nokia Theater on July 30th is sold out. We're still waiting for Diesel to announce who the special guests will be at the Roots Webster Hall show happening the same night. Speaking of the Roots, their Highline Ballroom residency has now been extended through November 24th. Tickets are on sale.

In other hip hop news, Q-Tip is paying tribute to Michael Jackson at Nokia Theatre, Jedi Mind Tricks and Brother Ali have announced tours, and The Cool Kids are playing SOB's less than a month after All Points West.

More Pitchfork pics, the Rock the Block flyer, and all Mos Def tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Pharoahe Monch (and DOOM) played P4K (pics), (Organized Konfusion) playing APW ++ tix on sale, Mos Def dates & more"

by Black Bubblegum

The Cool Kids @ Highline Ballroom (More by Leia Jospe)

On some level, yes, perhaps this was inevitable. But after many locals realizing it for some time now, it seems that the Chicago-based hip-hop duo The Cool Kids--or more likely, the people who represent them--have finally been hipped to the fact that, here in [Dallas Forth Worth], there exists a lo-fi punk outfit by the name of the Teenage Cool Kids. And, as such, the Cool Kids' handlers have sent Teenage Cool Kids a cease and desist order, asking that the band change its name. [Dallas Observer]

Looks like somebody lost their cool (ZING!)....

In related news, The Cool Kids AND KOOL Keith (will they go after him too?) are part of the recently announced All Points West lineup. Both Cool & Kool play on Saturday Aug 1st... that's the NON-Beastie Boys / Q-Tip / Pharcyde / Organized Konfusion (!!!!!)/ Flying Lotus day (which is Friday, July 31).

Kool Keith will also appear at the Gramercy Theatre in NYC on April 3rd, but this time as Dr Octagon vs Dr Doom. All dates below.

And probably the most exciting news (to me anyway) out of the APW lineup is the reformation of the mighty Organized Konfusion! The crew released their last LP in 1997, The Equinox which was proceeded by the classic self-titled and Stress: The Extinction Agenda LPs. Since then, Pharoahe Monch has been busy with his own ventures including writing rhymes for certain millionaires and showing up to support his friends The Roots at Highline Ballroom. Prince Po hasn't exactly sat idle either... his last album, The Saga Of The Simian Samurai dropped in 2007. Some videos below.

In other APW-playing, hip hop artist news, Q-Tip who always keeps busy performing (most recently on tour with the Cool Kids) and spinning, will be gettin' down at the 92nd St Y in Tribeca, James Lipton style:

Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg hosts a night of music and conversation featuring famed hip-hop musician and producer Q-Tip, a member of the legendary band A Tribe Called Quest. Rosenberg will sit down with Q-Tip for a candid discussion about the life and influences of this innovative artist, whose career has spanned over 20 years. Jazz hip-hop fusion band Igmar Thomas and The Cypher will perform throughout the night, paying tribute to Q-Tip's music.

Tickets are on sale.

Beastie Boys recently reissued (deluxe style) Check Your Head, and have been announcing lots of festival appearances for this summer.

And finally, Flying Lotus (the "experimental music producer, disc jockey, and laptop musician from Winnetka, California") will be in NYC before before All Points West, including two dates in the next month - April 16th and 17th. On April 16th, Flying Lotus will join Kode9, Martyn, Mike Slott, Pursuit Grooves, Ras_G, and Zomby as part of Brainfeeder NYC (Part 1) at Love, a showcase for Flying Lotus's all-digital label Brainfeeder. The next day look for Flying Lotus and Kode9 to play the American Museum of Natural History as part of The Fader Presents One Step Beyond (advance tickets are available).

All tour dates, flyers and videos below...

Continue reading "Hip Hop @ APW, Organized Konfusion returns, Cool Kids vs Teenage Cool Kids, Flying Lotus touring, Q-Tip speaking"

Following last year's inaugural event, festival producers began work immediately on resolving concerns expressed by fans in attendance. They have worked closely with their partners at NJ Transit to improve light-rail service and capacity. As an added value for 2009, festival goers who choose to travel to the site utilizing the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail line can ride for free throughout the weekend with their ALL POINTS WEST festival ticket. Additionally, based on the popularity of the ferry as a mode of transportation from lower Manhattan to Liberty State Park, the frequency and size of the ferryboats will increase at a reduced price for festival attendees.... The producers have also worked with their partners at Liberty State Park to improve the fan experience in the beer gardens. This year's areas will be larger, have shorter lines, and feature shade tents, views of the stages and food concessions...

The second annual ALL POINTS WEST MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL returns to Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey Friday, July 31, Saturday, August 1 and Sunday, August 2. Like last year, bands will play on three stages, except "the Queen of the Valley stage has been changed to a Coachella-like tent creating an environment that will showcase comedy, DJs, electronic acts and bands."

More details on the items above will be posted at the apwfestival.com. The entire lineup (it's good!) and ticket info, below...

Continue reading "All Point West - 2009 festival dates & lineup (Tool, My Bloody Valentine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beastie Boys, Coldplay)"