Schoolboy Q at Best Buy Theater - 5/21/13 (via Kellen Dengler)

Thanks to TDE's recent success, Q found himself as the most established performer at the Freshman show. With no one to accompany him on stage, he fared better in the larger crowd as a solo artist, breezing through tracks from Habits & Contradictions and throwback collaborations with A$AP Rocky. At one point, he asked Kendrick Lamar to join him but laughed at the audience members who fell for his joke. Fittingly, he won the crowd back with his charisma by asking them the title of his upcoming album. "Oxymoron!" they screamed back. And this was done four times over. [XXL]

As mentioned in yesterday's What's Going On? post, Action Bronson made a video for his Harry Fraud-produced song, "Strictly 4 My Jeeps." If you missed it, you can watch that video below. Riff Raff stars in the video, and as discussed, he plays a Scion A/V show in Brooklyn at Coco 66 tonight (5/22) with Stalley and Smoke DZA. Entrance to that show had to be gained through Scion's contest which has since ended.

Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul are both members of the group Black Hippy (which also includes Kendrick Lamar and Jay Rock), and that whole group is playing the traveling Rock the Bells Festival which hits the NYC-area on October 4-5 at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, NJ. Tickets for that festival are on sale now. The rest of the lineup includes Big K.R.I.T., Common, Danny Brown, Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler the Creator, Jhene Aiko, Juicy J, Rakim, Wu-Tang Clan, and many more.

Updated Rock the Bells lineup and videos below...

Continue reading "Schoolboy Q, Action Bronson (who has a new video) & more played the XXL Freshman show; Rock the Bells tix on sale"

by Andrew Sacher

Smoke DZA - 'Ringside' EP

Riiiiiiiiight. Prolific Harlem rapper Smoke DZA has put out a number of solid releases in the last few years, and he returned last month with another free release, the Ringside EP. Ringside was produced entirely by 183rd and intentionally came out on the same day as Wrestlemania (4/8), hence its title. It's a short release (5 songs), and a solid addition to his long list of material. Stream the entire thing below and download it HERE. That's the cover art above.

DZA has some shows coming up this month and next too. First, he'll play a Scion A/V show on May 22 at Coco 66 (66 Greenpoint Ave) with Stalley and Riff Raff, which you have to enter Scion's contest to gain admission to, and right after that show, he'll head out on a West Coast tour with Big K.R.I.T., in support of KRIT's also-solid new mixtape, King Remembered In Time, which includes DZA guesting on the track "Only One." You can stream that mixtape in full below and download it for free HERE.

After the tour with KRIT, DZA will play two hometown-area shows in June. The first is a previously discussed appearance at the Summer Jam (6/2) side stage (tickets) and the second is at The Studio at Webster Hall on June 26 with Vinny Cha$e, BBA, H Squared, and Caspa Narkz. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

DZA is also heading out as a support act on the previously discussed A$AP Rocky/Wiz Khalifa co-headlining tour, which hits the NYC-area for three big shows in August: PNC Bank Arts Center on 8/2, Jones Beach on 8/6, and Comcast Theatre on 8/8. Joey Bada$$ and a bunch of others are on the tour too, and tickets for all three NYC-area shows are still available.

All dates are listed, along with those mixtape/EP streams, below...

Continue reading "Smoke DZA released a free EP, going on tour (dates & stream)"

First we found out the cities and then the venues and now the artists are announced for the 2013 Mad Decent Block Party tour. This is what they have to say:

he MDBP 2013 artist Lineups and official event trailer are live! We're rolling through 13 cities this year featuring Major Lazer, Flosstradamus, Dillon Francis and RIFF RAFF on select dates + More. Starting July 19th in Calgary and ending September 15th in San Diego, 2013's Mad Decent Block Party will be setting off on its largest festival undertaking to date, bringing a full day of musical performances and tons of fun on-site activities

A limited number of Fanclub tickets go on sale tomorrow, which will also come with a FREE 30 day premium Mad Decent membership to their subscription service at https://drip.fm/mad-decent/. General tickets go on sale Friday & Saturday, VIP will also be offered at that time.

Continue reading "Mad Decent Block Party lineups announced (Major Lazer, Flosstradamus, Rockie Fresh & many more)"

by Klaus Kinski and Joe Mande

Joe Mande is a comedian and writer. He's been seen on Conan, Comedy Central, and VH1 Best Week Ever. He's also a writer for Parks and Recreation, Delocated, and the upcoming Kroll Show. He's also the brains behind the pitch-perfect project Look At This Fucking Hipster. When you're as brilliantly hilarious as Joe Mande, it's only a matter of time before you get sucked into Olde Man Los Angeles' bosom and have to leave NYC, which is precisely what he did recently much to the dismay of many people who love him, myself included.

I have been an avid fan of Mande since he was knee-high to a grasshopper and getting his start in the NYC comedy scene. There was a time where it seemed like you could catch him on a stage somewhere in this city at least 9-10 times a week. It is his simplest flourishes that kill me the most; for example, his twitter feed is the best. Among other tweet-skillz, he has a knack for re-tweeting the absolutely vapid and pointless horse-shit that a celebrity's pea-brain managed to fart out into cyberspace. And where else can you see a picture like this? I asked Joe for a Top Ten of 2012 list. The results, with accompanying YouTube videos, are below.

Continue reading "Joe Mande's Best of 2012 ("top 10 rap songs I downloaded for free off the internet")"

Melvins at Double Door, 9/21/2012 (more by Jimmy Farabi)

today in NYC
* Ute Lemper @ Joe's Pub
* Jay-Z @ Barclays Center
* SuperBalls @ The Stone
* Rachelle Garniez @ Barbes
* Questlove @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Com Truise (DJ Set) @ The DL
* Jerry Seinfeld @ Beacon Theatre
* Timba Harris Solo @ The Stone
* Propagandhi @ (le) poisson rouge
* Blondie @ St. George Theatre
* Todd Barry @ Eastville Comedy Club
* Beth Orton, Sam Amidon @ Town Hall
* Shigeto, Michna, Dabrye @ Glasslands
* M83, Sun Airway @ The Wellmont Theatre
* Django Django @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn
* Nels Cline (Eye Bone), Mi-Gu @ Union Pool
* Weekend, Cold Showers, Census @ 285 Kent Avenue
* Great Lake Swimmers, Snowblink @ The Bell House
* Scone, Kalb, Bernard, Wild Sick Horses @ Zebulon
* White Arrows, Family Of The Year @ Mercury Lounge
* The Soft Pack, Heavy Hawaii, Browns @ Bowery Ballroom
* Melvins (Lite), Tweak Bird @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Eastern Hollows, Throw Vision, Scherzo, Haybaby @ Big Snow
* Alabama Shakes, Fly Golden Eagle, Riley Downing @ Terminal 5
* I Was Totally Destroying It, Nervous Curtains, The Dewars @ Pianos
* Moss, Trixie Whitley, Elijah and the Moon, Pony Boy @ Union Hall
* Jozef Van Wissem, Loren Connors, Clint Heidorn @ Issue Project Room
* Silver Apples, Xeno & Oaklander, Man Forever, La Big Vic @ Public Assembly
* Viva l'American Death Ray Music, Warm Soda, Big Tits, Cardboard @ Cake Shop
* Gelatine, Hard Nips, Otonana Trio, Dirty Babylon Breaker, Peewonder-Z @ Paper Box
* Horse Lords, Guardian Alien, Loud Objects, Cloud Becomes Your Hand @ Death By Audio
* Casey Crescenzo of The Dear Hunter, Brian Bonz, Nick Africano @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* News Quiz USA w/ Lizz Winstead, Greg Proops, Hari Kondabolu, and Lee Camp @ UCB Chelsea
* Pulverize The Sound, Jealousy Mountain Duo, Mick Barr, Walter Weasel, Joe Merolla & Kenny Grohowski Duo @ Shea Stadium

Weekend headline a gloom-leaning bill at 285 Kent tonight that also includes LA's Cold Showers and Census. We caught Weekend's first show as Brooklynites at Cameo last week and they were great, with new songs heading in a dancier direction, albiet in a late '80s goth kind of way.

Melvins Lite's world record attempt at 50 states (plus DC) in 51 days rips into NYC tonight with a show at  Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Meanwhile Jerry Seinfeld's non-record-breaking-but-still-cool five-borough tour hits Manhattan tonight for a show at Beacon Theatre.

The Soft Pack play Bowery Ballroom tonight with Heavy Hawaii and we're giving away tickets on Facebook.

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Human serviette Nardwuar interviews hip hop eccentric Riff Raff in the latest installment of his video series and the results are pretty entertaining. Video is below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

Yeasayer in Austin earlier this month (more by Tim Griffin)

We already posted lots of posts today. Here's some more, and some reminders too...

Yeasayer played Summerstage last night (9/12). We missed them but caught them in Austin where Dead Can Dance also recently played. How was the NY show?

As BV Chicago pointed out, Smashing Pumpkins frontman BIlly Corgan opened a tea shop outside of Chicago, and he played acoustic sets there today to celebrate.

Bat For Lashes is releasing her new album, The Haunted Man, on October 21. Back in July, she revealed the first album cut, "Laura," and today she's let loose a second taste of the album. Continuing a trend thus far of naming songs after women's names, this one's called "Marilyn." You can stream it below.

The final track on the new Lower Dens album, Nootropics, has become the inspiration for a new beer brewed by Stillwater Artisanal Brewing for their new Stillwater Sensory Series. The beer is called "Stillwater Artisanal, Sensory Series v.1 - Lower Dens" and will be out this November with a QR code on each bottle that leads to an exclusive video of Lower Dens performing the song when scanned.

The Walkmen, whose tour brings them to NYC for a show at Terminal 5 on October 18 with Dum Dum Girls (tickets) will play Conan tonight.

more below...

Continue reading "Also: The Walkmen, Pig Destroyer, Yeasayer, Bat For Lashes, Lower Dens, Billie Joe Armstrong, Billy Corgan & more"

DOWNLOAD: Riff Raff - "Terror Wrist" (MP3)

The eighth Shortcuts party is going down at Santos Party House on August 30 with Riff Raff and Meyhem Lauren, plus DJ sets by WC Kids and Farrington G. Tickets for that party are on sale now. The flier for the show is below.

Riff Raff, who recently played the Mad Decent Block Parties in Philly and NYC, released BiRTH OF AN iCON, his first mixtape for Mad Decent, earlier this month. That's the cover art above. You can download the mixtape for free at livemixtapes, and grab the track "Terror Wrist" above or stream it below.

Meanwhile, for Meyhem Lauren (who we recently profiled), the Shortcuts party happens a week after he plays the previously discussed free Converse Rubber Tracks show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday (8/23) with Action Bronson, Flatbush Zombies, and Tanya Morgan. That show is first come, first served, and we also have VIP tickets to give away.

The Shortcuts flier, the Riff Raff song stream and a list of all dates are below...

Continue reading "Riff Raff and Meyhem Lauren playing Shortcuts party and other shows (dates & streams)"

Major Lazer at Governors Ball 2012 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Diplo's Major Lazer project (which Switch is no longer a part of), who is set to play the Mad Decent Block Parties this summer, have just announced their own NYC show, which goes down on October 27 at Terminal 5. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (8/3) at noon. A full Major Lazer tour has not been announced yet but a few other North American October dates exist, all of which are listed below.

Meanwhile, we recently mentioned that more details for the summer's free Mad Decent Block Parties have been revealed, and that the NYC party will go down on August 5 at Williamsburg Park with Major Lazer, Erol Alkan, Bonde Do Role, Lunice, Riff Raff, Mr Muthafuckin' eXquire, Reptar, Zebra Katz, Bosco Delrey, Baauer, Kito, and Paul Devro. The party is free and all ages but RSVP is required.

Mad Decent has also just announced that they'll throw a Puma-presented official (21+) after party at Music Hall of Williamsburg that night (8/5). The only performers listed as of this post are Erol Alkan (who plays the party in Williamsburg Park) and "guests." Tickets for the party are on sale now.

A list of all currently known Major Lazer dates below...

Continue reading "Major Lazer touring (dates); Mad Decent Block Party official afterparty happening at MHOW"

Bonde Do Role at Bowery Ballroom in 2008 (more by Bao Nguyen)

Back in June, we mentioned that the Mad Decent Block Parties were returning this summer and then earlier this month, they revealed a list of artists, but didn't say who was playing each city. Now venues have been revealed for all five parties and the lineups for NYC Philly, and Toronto have been announced as well. The FREE NYC party will happen on August 5 at WIlliamsburg Park (in previous years it was at the South Street Seaport) with Major Lazer, Erol Alkan, Bonde Do Role, Lunice, Riff Raff, Mr Muthafuckin' eXquire, Reptar, Zebra Katz, Bosco Delrey, Baauer, Kito, and Paul Devro. The parties are free and all ages but RSVP is required. All announced lineups are listed below.

Speaking of Lunice, his collaborative project with Hudson Mohawke, TNGHT (pronounced "tonight") released their self titled debut EP this week (7/24) via Warp/Lucky Me. If you've yet to hear it, you can stream the entire thing below.

As for Bonde Do Role, the block party will be their first NYC show quite a while. You may remember that their original singer, Marina Ribatski left the band in 2007 and was replaced by two other singers, Ana Bernardino and Laura Taylor, who joined the band by winning an audition done with MTV Brasil. Ana has since left the band too and they are now a 3-piece fronted only by Laura Taylor. The new incarnation of the band put out their first album in five years, Tropical/Bacanal, last month via Mad Decent. The album was co-produced by Diplo and Filip Nikolic of Poolside (who have two NYC shows this week). The album features guest appearances from Caetano Veloso, Das Racist, Cecile, Rizzle Kicks, and The Death Set (who also has a NYC show coming up). The video for album track "Kilo" and a stream of another track, "Bang," which features Kool AD of Das Racist, are below.

Updated Mad Decent Block Parties info, the flier for the NYC party, video and streams are below.

Continue reading "Mad Decent Block Party lineup revealed (Williamsburg Park is the NYC venue); TNGHT EP; new Bonde Do Role out now"

Action Bronson at Red Hook Park in June (more by Eric M. Townsend)

As mentioned, Mad Decent Block Parties are returning this summer, hitting Toronto, Philly, NYC, Chicago, and LA. When we last spoke, lineups had not yet been announced. They still haven't revealed specific lineups by city, but we've now got the full list of artists who will be playing Mad Decent Block Parties this summer and it includes Major Lazer, Action Bronson, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, Spaceghostpurrp, Lunice, Jacques Greene, Casey Veggies, BADBADNOTGOOD, Baauer, Jim-E Stack, Bosco Delrey, Flosstradamus, Three Loco (aka Andy Milonakis, Dirt Nasty, and Riff Raff), and many more.

As mentioned, the parties are all ages and free, and RSVP is open.

The full lineup is listed below...

Continue reading "Mad Decent Block Parties lineup revealed (Action Bronson, Mr. MFN eXquire, Spaceghostpurrp, BADBADNOTGOOD & more)"

Kitty Pryde @ Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY (tiny_owl)

"...Pryde bounced through new cuts like "Orion's Belt" (though featured guest rapper Riff Raff was unfortunately not in attendance) and "smiledog.jpg," as well as older tracks like "Thanks Kathryn Obvious," which caused quite the reaction with its "I can go a lot harder than Gucci Gucci, Louis Louis, Fendi Fendi, Prada" Kreayshawn reference. Though the crowd first took it as a diss, Pryde became slightly embarrassed, pausing to laugh and make clear that the lyric was not a dig before professing her love for Kreayshawn, New York Times journalist Jon Caramanica and hip-hop writer Andrew Noz in individual shoutouts.

The Daytona Beach native closed her set with "Okay Cupid" and "Give Me Scabies," the latter of which samples Carly Rae Jepsen's inescapable smash "Call Me Maybe." As the crowd sang along, people seemed pleased, excited, and energized by Pryde's endearing confidence and charisma. "This is my first show where I didn't know anyone, so if I did bad, I'm sorry," she confessed as she left the stage..." [Rolling Stone]

Continue reading "Kitty Pryde played Knitting Factory, made a new video (with Riff Raff who just signed to Mad Decent)"

When we first mentioned the lineup for this year's Bamboozle, which is taking place from May 18-20 in Asbury Park, NJ, it only included Bon Jovi, Foo Fighters, Skrillex, Blink 182, Incubus, and Mac Miller. The generally lame festival has since revealed more artists including a surprising number of not-lame artists like the reunited Promise Ring (their first East Coast date announced, hopefully an NYC show to come?), Hot Water Music, Bouncing Souls, A$AP Rocky, Action Bronson, and Murphy's Law. Take that, Warped Tour.

Tickets for Bamboozle are on sale now. Updated lineup below...

Continue reading "The Promise Ring playing Bamboozle (Hot Water Music, Bouncing Souls, ASAP Rocky & Action Bronson too)"