Shout Out Louds at Webster Hall in 2010 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

today in NYC
* Whiplash @ UCB
* Los Vega @ Barbes
* Brain Cloud @ Barbes
* The Thermals @ Ace Hotel
* Ester Rada @ Slipper Room
* Greys, Shahman @ Cake Shop
* Tony Scherr Trio @ Living Room
* Shellshag, Pity Party @ Acheron
* Deep Space w/ Francois K @ Cielo
* The Campilongo Trio @ Living Room
* Frank London's Shekhina Big Band @ The Stone
* Kria Brekkan, Aaron Roche @ Church of the Advent Hope
* Wyatt Cenac, Yannis Pappas, Erik Bergstrom @ Littlefield
* The Electric Set, Sexy Neighbors, Trepanning @ Silent Barn
* Bernhoft, Baby Alpaca (Duo Set), Cameron Hull @ Glasslands
* Shout Out Louds, Little Children @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Lily & The Parlour Tricks, Alice & the Glass Lake @ Mercury Lounge
* Child Abuse, Pyrrhon, Say At Last, Valerie Keuhne @ Death By Audio
* Kestrels, Adult Dude, Graveyard Lovers, Sweethearts @ Public Assembly
* Hannibal Buress, Taylor Ketchum, Kate Hendricks, Michael Che, Mike Denny, Nimesh Patel @ Matchless

Kria Brekkan (of Iceland's Mum) plays tonight at Church of the Advent Hope (111 E. 87th St). It's free.

Toronto's Greys play their first of two NYC shows this week tonight at Cake Shop. Stream their new EP, Drift, and read our interview with them HERE.

The music portion of SXSW officially starts tomorrow (3/12), but there's some shows tonight too. Follow @BVSXSW on Twitter.

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Clutch is streaming a new song at NPR from their forthcoming LP Earth Rocker. If you missed it, check out our interview with guitarist Tim Sult.

Hip hop producer Hit-Boy ("Niggas in Paris," "Clique," "Backseat Freestyle," "Goldie") is releasing a compilation, All I've Ever Dreamed Of, this week (3/12) and he just revealed a track from it, "Cypher," which features a zillion rappers (Schoolboy Q, Casey Veggies, Xzibit, Rick Ross, Method Man, Red Man, Raekown, and more). Check it out below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Monday?"

Travelers are already finding Nemo a pain in the butt.

The massive nor'easter has caused a wave of flight cancellations as it prepares to smother the city under up to 14 inches of snow.
United Airlines canceled 900 flights in advance of the storm, and Delta Air Lines crossed off 135, plus more regional flights.

As of Thursday, before Nemo even touched down, Newark Airport had the most Friday cancellations nationally, followed by Boston's Logan Airport, and LaGuardia Airport, according to FlightAware.

Most airlines issued so-called "weather waivers," allowing passengers in the storm-affected areas to change their flight date without paying a change fee.
Gov. Cuomo is opening an emergency operations center to help with "coordinating response efforts using all state and local resources," he said in a statement Thursday. [Daily News]

Williamsburg club Union Pool reports:

DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER, [TONIGHT]'S SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELED AND WILL BE RESCHEDULED FOR A LATER DATE:
EXPLORER'S CLUB/MINIBOONE/CHEERS ELEPHANT/HARTWELL LITTLEJOHN. WE APOLOGIZE.

THIS SHOW WILL BE RESCHEDULED. IF YOU WERE PLANNING TO ATTEND, THANK YOU. WE'LL DO IT AGAIN SOON.

Also: tonight's show at the Rock Shop in Park Slope with the Lovehowl + Bangladeafy + Hannah Vs the Many + Luminous Flux "has been canceled due to Nemo."

As of 11am, we haven't heard of any other concert or comedy show cancellations yet, but we'll keep updating the site and this post as things get called off, hopefully not Passion Pit at MSG included. If you know of other postponements, please leave them in the comments.

NOON UPDATE:

Tonight's show at Shea Stadium is CANCELLED.

The early show at Cameo is CANCELLED. UPDATE: The late show is cancelled too.

Big Snow Buffalo Lodge can't handle a big snow and has also canceled their early show tonight with Alan Watts.

James T. Cotton (JTC)'s flight was cancelled so can't make it to 285 Kent, but so far the party is still on.

The Wellmont Theater has postponed Lindsey Stirling until May 9.

2PM UPDATE:

Holopaw were scheduled to play Knitting Factory and Permanent Records tonight, but the record store just sent out this note:

"Hi all... sorry to say we just got the word from Holopaw that due to this impending storm they aren't gonna make it to NYC tonight and have had to cancel their scheduled in-store performance with us. Darn! Hopefully we'll be able to reschedule, but for now let's just wish them safety in their travels.

As of now we're still planning to be open with normal hours all weekend so if you were planning to come by tonight, that is still an option! It's warm in here!"

SOB's reports that "tonight's Salsa Groove event with La Excelencia is canceled and will be rescheduled for a later date."

3PM UPDATE

All events at 92YTribeca are cancelled, and 92Y announced "Saturday's classes and programs in School of the Arts are canceled."

4PM UPDATE

Atlas Moth report: "Fortunately, we made it to New York with no problem. Unfortunately, the show has been postponed until 2/19. See ya then NYC!" The show they're talking about is with Gojira tonight at Irving Plaza. The new show is one day after the Brooklyn show.

The show at Pianos is cancelled, but the bar is open.

5PM UPDATE

The Heliotropes/Dead Stars show at the Paper Box is cancelled, but Dead Stars will play Muchmore's instead.

Raekwon and Rakim at Stage 48 is postponed.

Dept. of Health, ANASAZI, Blackboot, and A Truth at Saint Vitus is cancelled.

6PM UPDATE

Frankie Knuckles at Cameo is cancelled.

The Darlings show at Death By Audio tonight is cancelled.

--

Continue reading "Nemo causing show cancellations already"

The day is finally here, Raekwon fans. The Wu-Tang Clan spitter returns tonight with his latest project, Lost Jewlry, which boasts 12 brand-new tracks from the legendary lyricist. He's brought along some choice guests on here, including Freddie Gibbs and Maino, while the likes of Buckwild and Scram Jones provide the production.

You can consider this an appetizer to the full course meal that will be his upcoming full-length, F.I.L.A. (Fly International Luxurious Art). So go ahead, click the links below to download Lost Jewlry and enjoy another killer project from the Chef. [Complex]

Speaking of Freddie Gibbs, he has a big NYC show coming up, a bunch of just-announced openers included. Raekwon plays a NYC show with Rakim in February.

Continue reading "Raekwon releases free EP"

Raekwon at NXNE, June 2012 (more by David Andrako)

Raekwon was supposed to play West Side NYC club Stage 48 with Rakim on December 20 but that show has now been rescheduled for February 8. Tickets are still available. But for those who want to see the Wu-Tang member sooner, Raekwon will headline a Hurricane Sandy relief benefit for those affected on his home turf of Staten Island, performing at Jaguars 3 on 12/13 (225 E47th, Manhattan). $20 gets you in the door.

Head below for the show flyer, as well as a new freestyle featuring Raekwon over the classic "Who Shot Ya?" beat.

Continue reading "Raekwon playing Hurricane Sandy benefit in NYC this week; show with Rakim postponed till February"

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."

"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."

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)"

Ghostface at Prospect Park in June (more by Ryan Muir)

Wu-Block, the project of Wu-Tang members Ghostface Killah and Raekwon and D-Block/The LOX members Sheek Louch, Jadakiss, and Styles P, recently went on a tour in support of the new project, having hit NYC's Highline Ballroom earlier this month (8/2), and they'll play Rock the Bells at Holmdel, NJ's PNC Bank Arts Center this weekend (9/1). The tour only included Ghostface and Sheek Louch, but the whole crew is reported to show up at Rock the Bells.

Ghostface and Sheek Louch will be taking Wu-Block on another tour this Spetember, and like their last one, Saigon will support. That tour hits NYC on September 17 at Highline Ballroom. Tickets for the NYC show are on sale now. All dates are listed below.

Saigon is set to release his next album, The Greatest Story Never Told 2: Bread & Circuses, on November 6 via Suburban Noize/RED (pushed back from its original 9/11 release date). The album will feature guest spots from Styles P, Killer Mike, Chamillionaire, and others, with production from Just Blaze and others. It follows his much delayed 2011 debut album, The Greatest Story Never Told.

All listed Wu-Block dates are below.

Continue reading "Wu-Block touring after Rock the Bells w/ Saigon, who is releasing a new album (dates)"

photos by David Andrako

Ghost & Rae at Yonge-Dundas Square - 6/17/12

Opening things up with a blazing, pace-setting flourish, Raekwon and Ghostface let loose with a tight four-pack of Wu classics, including "Incarcerated Scarfaces," "Glaciers of Ice" and the timeless "Ice Cream." Feeling right at home in front of their adoring legions, the two seasoned vets paced around the stage like the hip-hop royalty they most certainly are, taking rap fans on a trip through countless and no doubt formative musical memories, with the Iron Man playing it cool for the most part behind a much more animated and engaging Raekwon. The Chef, for his part, took time out from the duo's own rundown of hits to show love to T.Dot compatriot and collaborator JD Era, running through their shared cuts before allowing the local MC to spotlight his own recent radio hit "Mount Olympus" to the joy of many of hometown faithful. [Exclaim]

The show happened two days before Action Bronson played a free show in Brooklyn.

You can catch Ghostface in NYC on Saturday (6/23) for a free Prospect Park Show, and again in August for a Wu-Block Party at Highline (8/8) and at Rock the Bells. The latter of those is with Raekwon, who will play his own show in NYC sooner at Best Buy Theater on July 26 with Tyler, the Creator & Earl Sweatshirt (tickets).

More pictures from the Toronto show, part of our growing collection of NXNE 2012 pics, are below...

Continue reading "Ghostface played NXNE w/ Raekwon Killer Mike, Action Bronson & more (pics), plays Prospect Park Saturday (free)"

Ultramagnetic MCs at ATP NJ 2011 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

As mentioned in What's going on? last night, Prodigy's upcoming "Queens Day" show at Irving Plaza, which was supposed to happen next week (6/19) has been cancelled. Though he did play a private Rock the Bells kickoff show at Santos Party House last night (6/13) with (according to the flyer) Ghostface Killah, DMX, Jadakiss, and Hit Squad

Q-Tip's "Offline" party (a DJ gig), also scheduled at Irving Plaza, is still set to happen this Friday (6/15) at the Manhattan venue.

Ghostface Killah's other upcoming shows include the free Prospect Park show on 6/23, a Wu-Block party at Highline Ballroom (8/8) (tickets on sale 6/15), and Rock the Bells with Wu-Block. The Highline show is only with Ghostface and Sheek Louch, but for Rock the Bells, the whole crew will be there (Ghostface, Raekwon, Sheek Louch, Jadakiss, and Styles P).

Meanwhile, Raekwon will be in NYC for the previously discussed Best Buy Theater show (7/26) with Tyler, the Creator, and Earl Sweatshirt. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (6/15) at noon.

Ghostface and Raekwon play a free show together, and much sooner, in Toronto as part of NXNE on Sunday (6/17). Action Bronson, who plays a free show in Red Hook Park (6/19), will be at the Toronto fest too. The entire music portion of NXNE kicked off yesterday (6/13) and runs through the weekend.

Killer Mike will be at NXNE too, and his tour with El-P, Despot, and Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire kicks off on Tuesday (6/19) in Atlanta. It hits NYC on July 13 at Irving Plaza. Ticketsplayed SOB's with Spaceghostpurrp in celebration of Purrp's new album, Mysterious Phonk. Purrp's also got a couple Shortcuts parties under his belt. Speaking of, one of those (sans Purrp) goes down at Santos TONIGHT (6/14) with Fat Tony and Fat Trel (tickets).

While NXNE is going on in Toronto, Brooklyn will be getting its own multi-venue music festival with Northside Festival, which also happens this weekend.

As mentioned, Kool Keith plays a Northside show at Brooklyn Bowl TONIGHT (6/14) with Lushlife. Lushlife recently dropped a remix of "She's a Buddhist, I'm a Cubist" with Angel Deradoorian, Cities Aviv, G-Side, Big Baby Gandhi, Deniro Farrar, and KDz Kenny Dennis. You can stream that below Tickets are still available for the Brooklyn Bowl show and we're also giving away a pair. Contest details are below.

As usual, Questlove will DJ the Brooklyn venue after that show (tickets).

Kool Keith also plays as part of Ultramagnetic MCs at a Northside show at MHOW on Sunday (6/17) with Phony PPL. Tickets for that show are still available. Phony PPL also play SOB's on July 24 with Blackbear. Tickets for that show are on sale.

GZA & Grupo Fantasma @ Bonnaroo 2012 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

And speaking of hip hop Northside shows at MHOW, GZA (backed by Grupo Fantasmo like he was a Bonnaroo) plays two (early and late) shows at the venue TONIGHT (6/14). Both are sold out, but you can try and get in with your Northside badge.

Aside from Kid Sister at Sugarland on Saturday (6/16), not much more hip hop is happening at Northside, but there are other good hip hop shows tonight and this weekend.

Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) plays the previously discussed show at the Apollo Theater TONIGHT (6/14) as part of Blue Note Jazz Festival. Tickets for that show are still available FOR THE SHOW THAT HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 28th.

Blue Note Jazz Fest also gives us a free Central Park Summerstage show on Sunday (6/17) with Groove Theory, Soulive, Riq and Rah with Strings (Black Thought + Rahzel), and DJ Questlove.

EPMD and DJ Scratch play a free show at Herbert Von King Park TONIGHT (6/14). They also team up for a NYC show at BB King's on July 18 with Marley Mari and Big Daddy Kane. (tickets)

Hip hop producer RJD2 DJs a party for the ongoing 'One Step Beyond' series at the American Museum of Natural History on Friday (6/15) with Cosmo Baker, Import/Export, and visuals by Glowing Pictures with special guest Shantell Martin. Tickets for that are available.

You can also catch Tech N9ne and Machine Gun Kelly on the Hostile Takeover Tour which takes over the NYC area on Saturday (6/16) at Starland Ballroom in NJ (tickets) and Sunday (6/17) at HIghline Ballroom (tickets). Be careful during Machine Gun Kelly's set though; TMZ reports that he was just sued $15,000 for slicing open a bouncer's finger. Ouch.

Apple Stores are hosting hip hop in-stores all month.

Once all the Northside craziness ends, you can catch Ab-Soul at his previously discussed NYC show on Thursday, June 21 at SOB's. Tickets for that show are still available.

In other hip hop news, you can stream Black Milk's Live at Third Man Records in its entirety and J-Dilla's posthumous Rebirth of Detroit in its entirety below, along with other song streams and contest details for tonight's Kool Keith show.

Continue reading "this week in Hip Hop (Northside, NXNE, Kool Keith, EPMD, Yasiin Bey, RJD2, Tech N9ne, Black Thought + Rahzel, GZA & more)"

Ghost and Rae at Rock the Bells 2011 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Wu-Block -- the new project of Wu-Tang members Ghostface Killah and Raekwon and D-Block/The LOX members Sheek Louch, Jadakiss, and Styles P -- are set to release an album this year. It will be performed live at Rock the Bells, whose lineup recently expanded to also include DMX, Eve, Mix Master Mike, Pusha T, Future, and still more TBA. As mentioned, the fest comes to the NYC area on September 1-2 at PNC Bank Arts Center. Tickets are still available. The updated flier is below.

Ghostface and Sheek Louch will be heading out on the Wu-Block Tour with Saigon surrounding Rock the Bells. That tour hasn't been announced in full yet but we know that it includes a show in NYC at Highline Ballroom on August 8. Tickets for the Highline show go on sale Friday (6/15) at noon.

You can catch Ghostface in NYC even sooner at his free Celebrate Brooklyn show at Prospect Park on June 23 with Camp Lo, Astro, and more.

Speaking of Raekwon, he just announced a Best Buy Theater show (7/26) with Tyler, the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt.

A list of all currently known Wu-Block tour dates, some videos, and the updated Rock the Bells flier below...

Continue reading "Wu-Block (Ghost, Rae & The LOX), Pusha T, Eve & more added to Rock the Bells; Wu-Block touring w/ Saigon (dates)"

DOWNLOAD: Frank Ocean - "Pyramids" (MP3)

Odd Future at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 (more by Tim Griffin)

Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg, who seems really big on this whole "real hip hop" thing, will be presenting a show at Best Buy Theater on July 26 with Tyler, the Creator & Earl Sweatshirt and Raekwon, which is being billed as "A Night of Real Hip Hop." It's probably safe to assume that Nicki MInaj won't be there. Tickets for the Best Buy Theater show go on sale Friday (6/15) at noon.

It's the only date for the Odd Future boys at the moment except for Jay-Z's Made In America Fest in September. They're probably busy working on the second season of their Adult Swim show, Loiter Squad, or something. Or maybe Tyler is still finishing up his new album, Wolf, which was set to come out in May (it didn't). Meanwhile, it was recently revealed in a NY Times article that Earl is also working on a new album, and it will come out on his own Columbia-distributed imprint, Tan Cressida.

Frank Ocean recently announced a new album and tour too. If you missed it, the 10-minute single, Pyramids," is downloadable above and streamable below.

For Raekwon, the Best Buy Theater show comes at the end of an international tour that he's currently on (he plays Boston tonight). Also his Wu-Block project, with Ghostface Killah, D-Block/The LOX members Sheek Louch, Jadakiss, and Styles P, plays Rock the Bells in September. All Raekwon dates are listed below.

Continue reading "Raekwon is on tour, playing NYC with Tyler, the Creator & Earl Sweatshirt (dates)"

by Andrew Sacher

Raekwon in a Cookie Monster shirt
at Rock the Bells 2011 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

The last time Wu-Tang played NYC, Raekwon and Ghostface were both absent from the show. This disappointed some, but maybe they'll be at least partly satisfied when Rae plays with Ghostface soundalike Action Bronson, which he'll do Thursday (4/26) at BB Kings with Maino, Kofi Black, JD Era, Paypa, We Major, D. Chamberz and Troy Ave. Tickets are available.

The show is an extension on Raekwon's Unexpected Victory Tour which hit Chicago and SXSW and ended in Massachusetts last week. The show flier and a trailer for the show is below.

Raekown and the actual Ghostface Killah will share a stage at NXNE in Toronto this June, which Action Bronson is also playing.

GZA just played a NYC show with Bad Brains and has another coming up with Grupo Fantasma.

Raekwon NYC show flier and video below...

Continue reading "Raekwon toured, playing NYC w/ Action Bronson & friends"

Off! @ NXNE 2011 (more by Natasha Ryan)

The most memorable thing that happened the year I visited Toronto for NXNE was Iggy Pop & The Stooges playing their big, outdoor, free, no-ticket-or-badge-required show downtown at Yonge-Dundas Square. Last year the Descendents did it. This year they've landed the Flaming Lips which should be an amazing spectacle. And:

NXNE Music has confirmed that Bad Religion, Raekwon & Ghostface Killah and Matthew Good will headline free shows at Yonge-Dundas Square (YDS) throughout the seven-day festival. The NXNE Music line-up also includes performances at YDS and in the clubs by Of Montreal, No Use For A Name, Purity Ring, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Death Grips, The Men, Bleached, Good Riddance, METZ, Ceremony, Plants & Animals, The Death Set, The Sadies & Andre Williams, Oberhofer, Reigning Sound, Action Bronson, 2:54, Yamantaka/ /Sonic Titan, The Hundred in The Hands, Rival Schools, Killer Mike, Young Magic, Hayes Carll, Friends, Hollerado, Bran Van 3000, The Black Belles, Doldrums, Odonis Odonis, Mac DeMarco, Bass Drum of Death, Porcelain Raft, Exitmusic, Violens, Grass Widow, Eight and a Half, DZ Deathrays, Jonathan Toubin, Art vs. Science, B L A C K I E, The Nils and Ivan Julian (ex-Richard Hell & The Voidoids).

This year's fest takes place at multiple venues across Toronto from June 11-17, 2012. Tickets are on sale.

Last year BrooklynVegan co-hosted a boat party with M For Montreal and Bruise Cruise.

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."

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"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

"The WU TANG show at best buy theatre was jenkin like fuck 2nite..only thing was missing was @Raekwon @GhostfaceKillah the clan did it up doe" - LYVE1OH

Wu-Tang Clan recently played a few NYC-area dates including Best Buy Theater on Sunday (12/18). No Raekwon & Ghostface unfortunately, but Method Man, RZA, Masta Killa and others from the crew were in the house. Here are some pictures and videos from that show

In related news, Wu-Tang Clan revealed via facebook that Method Man is working on his "last album produced by the RZA." As HipHopDX points out, it's not clear whether they mean that it's going to be Method Man's last album or the last album that RZA produces for him.

More pictures and videos from the NYC show, and a recently-posted Ghostface vs Narduwar video, below...

Continue reading "Wu-Tang Clan played NYC sans Ghostface & Raekwon (pics & video), Nardwuar talked to Ghostface (video)"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin, words by BBG

Lauryn / Erykah

Last year Rock the Bells, the touring hip-hop bonanza, picked up on the voguish festival concept in which an artist performs an old record from beginning to end. It went well, and this year's edition bought in twice as hard. On Saturday on Governors Island, amid other, more ordinary sets, 11 albums were performed in their entirety.

What a gorging! What an obligation! It seemed to weigh on the crowd. It meant that listeners weren't in the here and now, where they might be fratty or selfish or mean spirited. They were deep in the been and gone. They weren't just listening to hits, or to sustained works of art, but to their own pasts. The exercise cooled them out. Saturday's audience was truly racially mixed, with a heavy representation of the 30-to-45 age bracket, grown-up New Yorkers at their casual and courteous best. Many of them high, but still. -[New York Times]

In true hip hop fashion, guests abounded. Nas capped the day off with a performance of Illmatic, and he didn't hide the men/women behind the curtain of his first LP; MC Serch, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Large Professor (of Main Source), Akinyele, Fatal, AZ and many others who either blessed the LP or were instrumental in his come-up all made appearances (yes, they performed the Main Source classic "Live at the BBQ" featuring Nas's first recorded appearance). Pras of The Fugees joined Lauryn Hill for "Ready of Not", Big Noyd joined Mobb Deep for "Give Up the Goods (Just Step)" and other tracks, and Black Moon brought a full band.

More pictures from the whole day, below...

Continue reading "pics from Rock the Bells 2011 @ Governors Island (Nas, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Raekwon, Ghostface, Mobb Deep, more)"

Raekwon at Best Buy Theater (more by Toby Tenenbaum)

Raekwon will headline Prospect Park Bandshell on Saturday (7/9 @ 7:30pm) featuring an impressive lineup of Smif-n-Wessun, Joell Ortiz, Large Professor & Neek The Exotic, and more. There is a suggested $3 donation to get in to the (free) Lyricist Lounge-sponsored Celebrate Brooklyn show.

While on the subject of Smif N Wessun, the crew joined Pete Rock in a protest earlier this week at City Hall regarding the incident following the Monumental release party at Tammany Hall. General Steele of Smif N Wessun also sat down with Planet Ill to discuss the madness:

As an artist with a socially conscious solo catalog, why was this the wrong show for the police to show out at?

General Steele: Oh yeah. Well they didn't know that; they didn't do their homework. And what I found out was after this event, after the melee they caused, they started going to clubs. I forget what the particular names of the clubs were, uh... UG Lounge, in L.E.S. [(CultureFix is one of them)] Why they would go there is beyond me, maybe they're the hub for criminals or something, but they went there asking about us. Inquiring about "what is these guys, who are they connected with? What is their real thing, what can we dig up on these guys?"

And to think about that is crazy to me.

This is our fifth album. This is our career. We just came from Norway. Before that we was in Czechoslovakia, before that we was in Poland. We do this for a living. Rap is not the side gig.

Nas more recently teamed with Common for "Ghetto Dreams" from Com's forthcoming Warner Brothers release The Dreamer, The Believer. The just-released track can be streamed below and bought on iTunes.

AS announced, Nas and Damian Marley play Central Park Summerstage on 8/11. The show is still happening and tickets are still on sale, though the pair's show at Merriweather Post Pavilion (outside of DC) with The Roots, Chuck Brown and others has been cancelled. Chuck Brown however is also coming to NYC for some shows including one on the same stage Raekwon is playing this weekend in Prospect Park.

And last but certainly not least, Raekwon's partner in crime Ghostface Killah has a bit of legal trouble on his hands all of a sudden over his classic 2000 LP Supreme Clientele.

Hollywood composer Jack Urbont is suing Sony Music Entertainment and Ghostface Killah for illegally sampling his "Iron Man Theme," originally created for the 1960s television show, The Marvel Super Heroes.

Urbont is a veteran actor and producer on Broadway as well as the creator of theme music for Guiding Light, One Life to Live, General Hospital, as well as music for That 70's Show, Oprah, 20/20 and The View. He earned an Emmy for Lorne Greene's New Wilderness and won BMI's TV/Film Pioneer award in 1986.

... According to the complaint: "Defendant Ghostface is also known for the nickname, 'Tony Starks,' which is a take-off of the name 'Tony Stark,' Iron Man's real name and true identity. In this way, Defendants' use of Urbont's 'Iron Man Theme' gives them a substantial commercial advantage by linking Ghostface to Iron Man without paying for it." -[Hollywood Reporter]

Videos & song streams below.

Continue reading "Smif-n-Wessun speak on the cop incident, playing Brooklyn w/ Raekwon (who's working w/ Nas who's working w/ Common)"

by BBG

Havoc of Mobb Deep @ the kick-off in LA (more by Graeme Flegenheimer)

In addition to initially announced Rock The Bells lineup (Nas playing Illmatic? Mobb Deep on The Infamous detail? wow), the festival has made some interesting additions like Erykah Badu performing all of Baduism (on select dates), Common performing all of Be (on select dates), Killah Priest performing all of Heavy Mental, Slaughterhouse, and DOOM. More lineup details are below.

The NYC show on 9/3 at Governor's Island gets the Erykah Badu appearance, and tickets are on presale, password is "ILLMATIC". General sale begins Saturday, 6/11, at 10:00 AM.

LA and San Francisco are on sale now, and the only other date, Boston, still doesn't even have a venue announced yet.

DOOM of course is not to be confused with the crust band who just played MDF and Chaos in Tejas.

In other Hip Hop festival news, Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest's lineup has expanded too adding MOP (!), Torae, Random Axe (Sean Price + Black Milk + Guilty Simpson), eLZhi, Marley Marl, Roli Rho (5th Platoon), Grand Wizzard Theodore and Twilite Tone. Tickets are on sale for all Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival events, including an after-party at Southpaw on July 16th which proclaims to have "special guests invited including the entire BHF '11 lineup".

Full Rock The Bells details, alongside some videos, below...

Continue reading "Rock the Bells expands lineup, NYC tix on presale now"

photos by Graeme Flegenheimer

Cypress Hill @ House of Blues - Sunset Strip - 5/24/2011

The line-up for the ROCK THE BELLS 2011 FESTIVAL SERIES--presented by Boost Mobile in association with GUERILLA UNION and powered by BlackBerry--will feature an array of seminal and up-and-coming hip-hop artists on three stages. Headliners include Ms. Lauryn Hill, Nas,Erykah Baduand Cypress Hill. See the current line-up below and look for more performers to be announced soon.

This year's festival will head to four major North American markets. Kicking off in the Los Angeles-area on August 20 at the San Manuel Amphitheater, ROCK THE BELLS will then head to San Francisco on August 27 at Shoreline Amphitheatre. The festival moves to the east coast for a show in New York on September 3 at Governor's Island (co-promoted with Bowery Presents, Highline, Mad Dog Presents) before wrapping in [a TBA venue in] Boston on September 10.

ROCK THE BELLS featured a number of headliners performing their most influential albums in their entirety for the first time in the history of hip-hop entertainment last summer. The tradition continues this year with Ms. Lauryn Hill performing her landmark, multi-platinum selling, multi-GRAMMY winning album The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill and Nas performing his breakthrough debut album Illmatic with special guests AZ, Pete Rock and DJ Premier. Nas says about performing Illmatic this summer, "For years people have been asking me to do Illmatic in so many ways, from stage plays to movies to books, but the time wasn't right. Where music is going now, the time is right. This will be my biggest production and it only makes sense to do it on the best rap tour which also happens to be a brand I've built and am a partner in. Can't wait to kill it with my comrades AZ, Premo & Pete Rock!"

Full album sets can also be expected from: Cypress Hill performing their 1993 multi-platinum album Black Sunday, featuring modern rock radio mainstay "Insane In The Membrane"; Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star performing their 1998 self-titled debut album; Raekwon & Ghostface teaming up for critically acclaimed, platinum selling Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and more.

"I am excited that this year's Rock The Bells will continue its rich history and tradition by presenting the best and most ambitious festival programming in Hip Hop," says festival co-founder and Guerilla Union head Chang Weisberg. "The bar has been set high and this year's line-up will certainly stake its claim. With ten of the biggest records in the history of the genre and the freshest new talent bubbling from the underground, this summer's Rock The Bells is another dream come true."

ROCK THE BELLS will feature three main stages this year. The two returning stages are the ROCK THE BELLS STAGE and the PAID DUES STAGE, which will feature independent hip-hop acts that performed at the Paid Dues Festival this past April in San Bernardino and new artists-on-the-rise. Paid Dues Festival creator Murs says, "I am excited that I once again have the privilege of hosting the Paid Dues Stage. We will have the honor of showcasing some of the best talent in independent hip hop as part of the worlds largest and longest running hip hop festival... the Paid Dues stage is gonna be the one to watch this year."

The 36 CHAMBERS STAGE is a new addition to the festival and will primarily feature members of the Wu-Tang Clan as well as artists selected by stage curator and Wu-Tang Clan mainstay RZA. A fourth stage that will also be added to most markets is the GRINDTIME NOW STAGE, which will feature battle-style performances.

The lineup was announced last night at a show at House of Blues in LA. Mobb Deep, Souls of Mischief and Cypress Hill all played and pictures to prove it are in this post. More of them below.

The full lineup is also below...

Continue reading "Rock the Bells 2011 dates & lineups announced, Mobb Deep & Souls of Mischief & Cypress Hills played the kickoff (pics)"

photos by Toby Tenenbaum, words by BBG

Last night's posted set times:
7:00PM-8:00-DJ JEFF CHAIRMAN MAO
8:00-8:30-BLACK THOUGHT & MONEY MAKING JAM BOYS
8:30-9:00-DJ STRETCH ARMSTRONG
9:00-10:00-GHOSTFACE & RAEKWON
10:00-10:15-DJ STRETCH ARMSTRONG
10:15-11:30-MOBB DEEP

Unlike in the days before the release of their classic LP The Infamous, Queensbridge duo Mobb Deep did not freestyle rhymes over Stretch beats, but Black Thought did open the show dropping freestyle verses before The Money Making Jam Boys joined him on stage.

And the 41st side crew had a surprise of their own during their headlining set, bringing out Lil Kim for a rendition of the awesome "Quiet Storm". Video of that, Mobb Deep performing "Burn" and "Right Back At You", and more pictures from the whole show, below...

Continue reading "Mobb Deep returned @ Best Buy Theater w/ Black Thought, Ghostface, Raekwon, Stretch Armstrong & more (pics & video)"

The National show in Prospect Park (more by Amanda Hatfield)

We already knew that 'Celebrate Brooklyn' is hosting an impressive lineup of ticketed Prospect Park Bandshell shows this summer: The Decemberists, Animal Collective, Sufjan Stevens, Bon Iver & Cut Copy. And we knew that the 33rd annual series of free shows would start with an Andrew Bird show on June 10th, and that BRIC is also hosting three free 'dance parties' in Brooklyn Bridge Park this summer too.

Now the entire 2011 lineup of "24 free performances, including 20 music concerts, two dance performances, two film screenings with live music, and a family concert" is here! You can check it all out (The Feelies, Real Estate, The Books, Junip, Doveman, Justin Townes Earle, Punch Brothers, Raekwon, Oumou Sangaré, Times New Viking, Ra Ra Riot, Delicate Steve, Buke & Gass and Hal Willner included), below...

Continue reading "Celebrate Brooklyn - complete 2011 Prospect Park show lineup"

by BBG

Curren$y

Tons of hip hop shows on the way, from the classic to the new! First up, Curren$y will headline Irving Plaza on June 6th as part of a string of US dates that he has scheduled in May & June (dates are below). Tickets are currently on Live Nation presale, and go on regular sale at 10AM tomorrow (4/6). Curren$y is currently preparing to release his new and entirely Alchemist-produced EP Covert Coup on April 20th and for FREE.

As previously mentioned, Big K.R.I.T. & Freddie Gibbs are on tour and hitting Southpaw later this month.

Raekwon will headline BB King's on April 17th, alongside Ultramagnetic MC's (billed as an exclusive reunion show, I assume that means that Kool Keith is on board much like at ATP New Jersey), MC Eiht, Bushwick Bill (Geto Boys), Chip Fu (Fu-Schnickens), Da Bushbabees, Tanya Morgan, Tony Touch, and many many more including "special invited VIP surprise guests" and the host D-Stroy (Arsonists). Tickets are on sale. The show takes place just four days before Raekwon will team with The Lox, EPMD, Brand Nubian, and Nice and Smooth as part of a Salute to Hip Hop at Best Buy Theater on April 13th. Tickets are still available.

Tanya Morgan has another NYC date too, TONIGHT (4/5) at Southpaw, as the hip hop crew will pair with DJ Neil Armstrong (Jay-Z's touring DJ) for a free, 21+ event.

Speaking of Jay-Z, have you checked out his new "Life and Times" blog? One of his first posts is on Little Dragon.

Keith Murray will similarly team with a gang of 90's hip hop stars at Santos on April 14th. He'll be joined by Lords of the Underground, Group Home, Real Live, Nine, Shabaam Sahdeeq, and DJs Evil D, Eclipse, Kon & Amir, Ralph McDaniels, and many others. Tickets are still available.

Two of the most extreme MCs in hip hop, M.O.P., will hit Southpaw on April 7th with Top $ Raz, Sleepwalkas, and others. Tickets are still available.

Del Thee Funkee Homosapien will hit BB King's on May 1st as part of a round of US dates for the Hiero lynch pin. Tickets are still available. Del will release his new LP Golden Age on April 11th.

Slick Rick is returning to BB King's, as he'll play the venue on May 29th. Tickets are still available.

Talib Kweli will play a FREE show in Red Hook Park on June 21st as part of the City Parks Foundation's Summerstage series. Tons more Summerstage events (and undoubtedly a large number of hip hop ones) are also slated to be announced, we'll keep you informed. Kweli recently played SXSW and released Gutter Rainbows earlier this year.

And last but certainly not least, 9th Wonder and Phonte (aka 2/3 of Little Brother) will join Hot 97's Peter Rosenberg at 92Y Tribeca Wednesday (4/6) night as part of the Noisemakers series, where Rosenberg interviews his guests. Tickets are on sale.

All tour dates and some video is below.

Continue reading "Curren$y dates, Raekwon shows, Talib Kweli in a park, Ultramagnetic MC's, Jay-Z's blog & other hip hop news"

Havoc & Prodigy of Mobb Deep

"Three years away from the rap game is a potentially career killing lifetime for most rappers. For Prodigy, one half of the legendary New York mainstays Mobb Deep, the time off from rap has not been entirely fruitless as he's been officialy released from Mid-State Correctional Facility after serving a three-year prison stint.

In October 2006, Albert "Prodigy" Johnson was driving his SUV in New York City with longtime producer and friend Alan "The Alchemist" Maman and after making an illegal U-turn, his vehicle was searched by police. After finding a small pistol in a compartment, the pair were arrested and subsequently released on bond with pending charges." -[MTV News]

The NYC show comes less than a month after the release of Prodigy's autobiography entitled "My Infamous Life: The Autobiography of Mobb Deep's Prodigy."...

"I've been in the music industry since I was sixteen years old, touring the world, selling millions of albums--groupies, drugs, alcohol, sex, radio, TV, magazines, videos, money, jewelry, cars, fashion, rap verses, beats, and studios at my disposal for seventeen years straight. Nonstop. I came to prison when I turned 33. The truth is, I never took the time to mature mentally until now, to step outside of my little fast-paced world and see what needed to be adjusted. It's like I was suspended in time. Like I was sixteen years old for seventeen years. I never grew up. My hardheaded ass took the long hard road to get to this point, but at least I've finally made it. I'm a man now." - Prodigy

In related news, Raekwon, who recently celebrated the release of his new LP at MHOW, will join The Lox, EPMD, Brand Nubian, and Nice & Smooth for a show at Best Buy Theater on April 13th as part of a "Salute to Hip Hop". Tickets are still available.

Mobb Deep recently dropped a new song produced by Alchemist, "Love Y'all More". Stream that, check out an interview with Alchemist, and some other videos below...

Continue reading "Prodigy out of jail & wrote a book, Mobb Deep released a new song, scheduled a show w/ Ghostface, Raekwon & more"

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"

photos by Brook Bobbins

In the Stretch & Bobbito world, mainstream was a four-letter word.

...For the eight years it ran, from 1 to 5 in the early hours of Friday morning, "The Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito Show" gave early exposure to artists like Jay-Z, Nas and the Wu-Tang Clan, who eventually went on to mainstream stardom. But for every one who made it, there were several who remained in the underground, happily or otherwise.

Of the many guests on Thursday night [at Le Poisson Rouge, Feb 10th]-- including Raekwon and Masta Killa of the Wu-Tang Clan -- the underground stalwarts were the fiercest, and often the most visibly moved. There was the fantastically gravelly Rock, of Heltah Skeltah, who performed a bit of "Laflaur Leflah Eshkoshka," and Artifacts, who were the night's first guests, and whose "Wrong Side of da Tracks" was still sturdy, more than 15 years after it was released.

After solo sets, Masta Ace and Buckshot collaborated for an impromptu reunion of two-thirds of the Crooklyn Dodgers, the one-off group assembled for the soundtrack of the 1994 Spike Lee film, "Crooklyn." Nice & Smooth closed the night, and almost stole it, with vintage hits, a tribute to Guru of Gang Starr, who died last year, and boundless energy.-[NYTimes]

Continue reading "Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito reunited w/ many special guests in the house (pics from Le Poisson Rouge)"