by BBG

Styles P at Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest (more here)

Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, and Styles P will team up for a Benefit for Haiti hosted by comedian Mike Epps on 2/9 at The Studio @ Webster Hall. Tickets are $15.

The show comes seven days after Styles dropped his collabo with Green Lantern, The Green Ghost Project, out now via Invasion Music Group. Stream that LP in full. Styles P also recently played a benefit for Haiti at SOBs.

Check out the flyer and some live videos below, including one of Styles P with Juelz Santana...

Continue reading "Styles P released, streaming Green Ghost (w/ Green Lantern) - playing Haiti benefit w/ Jim Jones & Juelz Santana"

Justice @ SXSW 2008 (more by Ryan Muir)

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for the Surf City show coming up at Mercury Lounge.

As previously mentioned, there's a Haiti benefit at SOB's tonight (1/28) with Styles P, Immortal Technique, Mickey Factz, Cormega, ChinahBlac, Eprhyme, and more. Tickets are still on sale.

Speaking of SOB's, Lord Finesse is celebrating a birthday there with "The Legendary Rakim" on February 18th. Tickets are on sale.

Tanya Morgan (a hip hop group that has nobody named Tanya in it) plays SOB's on February 22nd. Tickets are on sale.

Roxy Cottontail hosts a Dim Mak-presented show at Santos on February 11th "featuring Ninjasonik, Japanther, Fashen, Team Facelift, The Auctioneers, Jonny Famous, Gina Turner & (Not So) Secret European Guests". Dim Mak band The Willowz play Pianos (with Delta Spirit) the same night, but they are from California. Tickets are on sale. Oh, also I think the guest is a DJ or DJs...

Ed Banger celebrates their 7th Anniversary at Terminal 5 on February 12th (Justice (DJ Set), Breakbot / DJ Mehdi / Busy P. / and Friends). Tickets are sold out.

Ed Banger will follow the Terminal 5 show with an afterparty at Webster Hall ("GIRLS&BOYS w/ED BANGER RECORDS AFTER PARTY , SEBASTIAN, SO-ME & More!"). Tickets are on sale. Flyer and new FAKE Justice track below...

Continue reading "Styles P, '(Not So) Secret European Guests', Ed Banger, Fake Justice, Japanther, Surf City, Tanya Morgan & other tickets"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Wiz Kalifa - Flight School Mixtape (Yousendit, Zipped MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Souls of Mischief - "LaLaLa" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Souls of Mischief - "Tour Stories" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Tanya Morgan - "So Damn Down" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Tanya Morgan - "Bang N Boogie" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: KRS-One & Buckshot - "Survival Skills" (MP3)

Saul Williams at Afropunk 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

NYC invented HIP HOP, so CMJ would be nowhere if it didn't rep the art form to the fullest. Over five packed days, our fair city will be set ablaze by the likes of Raekwon, Saul Williams, Souls of Mischief, and a host of others, as well as smaller, buzzier names that you can look forward to name checking in the future. So with all these great events going down, we figured we'd make it easy for you with the BV Guide to Hip Hop at CMJ 2009!

Speaking of Souls of Mischief, we have A PAIR OF TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR GIVEAWAY for that Audible Treats showcase that will feature them along side Tanya Morgan, Trinity, Finale and many more. Details on how to win those at the bottom of this post.

Continue reading "the BV Guide to Hip Hop at CMJ 2009"

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.

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

DOWNLOAD: The Metermaids - Nightlife in Illinoise Mixtape (Zipped MP3s)
DOWNLOAD: Hezekiah - Cure For THe Common $oul Mixtape (ZShare Link)

Styles P and Black Thought (The Roots) @ BHHF (more here)

Though daily tickets are now sold out, you can still buy tickets for both nights of The Rock The Block Fest going down at Southpaw on August 6th & 7th. The curiously Thursday-Friday festival scheduled the mighty Styles P (my favorite performer at Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest) for Aug 6th, with State Property mainstay and recent Cash Money signee Freeway filling the slot for Aug 7th. Metermaids and NSR as well as Hezekiah and Kimberly Nicole get the assist for days one and two respectively.

The Metermaids released their Nightlife in Illinoise mixtape in the tail end of last year (download that above), featuring material sampled from Sufjan Stevens's Illinoise LP mixed with their Nightlife LP. The crew recently released the Live At Arlene's Grocery EP in the pay-what-you-want format and are scheduled to play Arlene's Grocery again on July 23rd with Prayers For Atheists.

Illadelphian and Roots cohort Hezekiah released his Cure For The Common $oul Mixtape (downloadable above). Featuring appearances by Freeway, Reef The Lost Cauze (Army Of The Pharoahs), and many others, Hezekiah rhymes and remixes tracks by Jay-Z, Kanye West, Will I Am, Zap Mama, and many others.

The Roots are scheduled to take on Highline Ballroom for the umpteenth time on July 8th (tonight), tickets are still available.

Styles P tour dates as well as a live video of "Come Through" at BHHF 2009 below...

Continue reading "Rock The Block hip hop fest @ Southpaw in August (Styles P, Freeway, Metermaids & more) "

by Black Bubblegum

Marty Markowitz and Ralph McDaniels

The theme of this summer has been rain, and though the skies opened up halfway into the 5th anniversary show of The Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival on June 20th in Empire Fulton-Ferry State Park, that didn't stop the crowd from swaying to the classic beats and rhymes by a stable of 90s artists. Thankfully the organizers of the DUMBO show thought ahead, and though it was a little packed in there, everyone stayed perfectly dry inside the emergency tent.

With all the veterans of hip hop on Saturday's lineup, you'd think that the most kinetic performance of the day would come from a Grand Puba or Pharoahe Monch. You'd be wrong. Oddly enough, the least "conscious" MC and the one that I always felt was slightly overrated, Styles P of D-Block (fka The Lox), delivered an energetic performance of hits that was matched only by the energy that the crowd bounced back. I was shocked, though pleasantly so.

I was glad to be wrong about Styles P, and I definitely learned a few other things that rainy Saturday:

Continue reading "the 2009 Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival - in pics & review "

by Black Bubblegum

Yellow diamonds in Cam'ron's ears, call them lemonheads

Cam'ron may be off of the June 26th Sneaker Pimps show, but he is still on for the show at BB Kings happening four days later (Tickets are still available).

Jadakiss (of D-Block) has replaced Killa Cam on the Sneaker Pimps bill, and has one other show scheduled for July 12th in Minneapolis at Epic WITH Cam'ron. Jadakiss recently released the long-delayed LP The Last Kiss as well as JUST released the new D-Block LP No Security. In addition, his cohort in D-Block, Sheek Louch, recently confirmed a new LOX album by the end of this year.

Jadakiss and Sheek Louch's partner in D-Block, Styles P, is scheduled to perform at the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival this weekend at Empire Fulton Ferry State Park in DUMBO. Tickets are still available.

Cam'ron's Crime Pays is out now. Check out a video from "I Hate My Job" by Cam'ron and D-Block's "Get My Paper" below.

Continue reading "Cam'ron playing BB Kings, Jadakiss playing Sneaker Pimps "

by Black Bubblegum

Pharaohe Monch sez GTFU!

Its that time of year again... when NYC flexes its considerable Hip Hop muscle with a summer of killer hip hop shows. One of the most high profile of those is The Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival, taking place this year on June 20th at Empire Fulton Ferry State Park in DUMBO. Tickets are available online or at Fat Beats NYC at $10 for a single, $35 for four, and other configurations.

Headlining the affair is the incomparable Queens tongue-twister Pharoahe Monch, who will join the legendary DJ Premier, The Ghost (aka Styles P), dead prez, Smif N Wessun (who are also playing Brower Park & Southpaw), Grand Puba (no Stud Doogie, love?), Marco Polo & Torae (who are also playing Fat Beats & Southpaw), and many many others. The full two stage lineup is below.

The Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival is a few days shy of a month away from Pharoahe's appearance at All Points West as half of the mighty Organized Konfusion, and a few weeks after Marco Polo & Torae's new album Double Barrel hits stores.

Another major NYC Hip Hop Festival, Rock Steady 32nd Anniversary, has yet to announce any details. Brooklyn fest details below...

Continue reading "Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival - 2009 lineup, date & ticket info "