by Andrew Sacher

Mac Miller and Ab-Soul (via Macklemore's Instagram)

It's not too out of the ordinary when rappers we don't like collaborate or tour with rappers we do like. We've already seen some of our favorite rappers tour with Childish Gambino and collaborate with Asher Roth, and now a handful of guys we're currently invested in are doing stuff with another non-fave, Mac Miller. First, he did a track, "S.D.S," which was produced by Flying Lotus (and FlyLo fans shared a collective sigh of relief when the instrumental version came out). Then he contributed a guest verse to the new Ab-Soul song, "The End Is Near," which he also produced under the moniker Larry Fisherman. Both versions of "S.D.S." and "The End Is Near" can be streamed below.

Now, Mac has announced that he's going on a US tour from June to August and the openers include Chance the Rapper, Earl Sweatshirt, Action Bronson, The Internet, Vince Staples, Meek Mill and others. That tour hits NYC on July 11 at Hammerstein Ballroom with Chance the Rapper, The Internet, Vince Staples, and The Come-Up; and it hits Asbury Park, NJ on July 14 at Stone Pony Summer Stage with Chance the Rapper, The Internet, Vince Staples, and Meek Mill.

Tickets for both of those shows go on sale Friday (5/10) at 10 AM. Citi/Live Nation/Ticketmaster presales for the Hammerstein show begin Thursday (5/9) at 10 AM and Citi Cardmember/VIP Package presales for the Stone Pony show begin Wednesday (5/8) at 10 AM, with a Live Nation Mobile App presale beginning Thursday (5/9) at 10 AM. All tour dates are listed below.

Earl Sweatshirt won't be on the NYC-area shows, but he will be here as part of Dowtown Music Festival this Friday (5/10) at Element for a show with Ryan Hemsworth and Antwon (tickets).

Action Bronson isn't on any of the NYC-area shows either, but he has other upcoming NYC shows too.

Chance the Rapper - 'Acid Rap'

Perhaps the most exciting part of the NYC-area shows is that they'll be the first in the area for Chance the Rapper since the release of his impressive new mixtape, Acid Rap. Acid Rap wears its influences on its sleeve a bit (Kanye, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Andre 3000), but it's a very cohesive release that plays more like an album than a mixtape, and it's a pretty bold statement for someone who's still early on in their career. He's got a sing-rapping style similar to Drake and Kendrick Lamar, and though it can be a little off-putting at first, it's a grower. You can stream Acid Rap in full below and download it for free at DatPiff.

All Mac Miller dates are listed, along with all streams, below...

Continue reading "Chance the Rapper, Earl Sweatshirt, Action Bronson & more touring w/ Mac Miller (who collaborated with FlyLo & Ab-Soul)"

by Andrew Sacher

FACT is still one of the best sources for cutting edge electronic music, and I always look forward to their top 50 albums of the year list, which they've just published for 2012. As usual, it doesn't only contain electronic albums.

This year's list has a good deal of indie rap (Haleek Maul, Schoolboy Q, Le1f, Main Attrakionz, Spaceghostpurrp) and it's the only non-metal list I've seen so far with Black Breath's Sentenced to Life (!). And of course, to compliment the dancefloor records, it's got its fair share of electronic-tinged indie pop, forward thinking R&B, and outsider experimental music.

Check out the full list below.

Continue reading "FACT's Top 50 Albums of 2012"

by Andrew Sacher

As mentioned, Kilo Kish will be supporting Odd Future's The Internet on their upcoming tour which kicks off Saturday (8/4) in DC and hits NYC at Bowery Ballroom on Sunday (8/5) with Phony PPL. Tickets for Sunday's show are still available.

Kilo dropped the HomeSchool EP earlier this year (which you can stream below) and just followed that with a new song, "Watergun" (prod. The Internet), which you can also stream below. Her flow is similarly conversational (but less sarcastic) to Kitty Pryde (who also has an upcoming NYC show).

Kilo Kish will also be supporting SBTRKT on part of his upcoming tour, including the Red Bull-sponsored NYC show at Termnal 5 show on October 11 with Koreless. Tickets for that show are still available.

A list of all dates and song streams are below.

Continue reading "Kilo Kish touring with The Internet, and then SBTRKT (dates and streams)"

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

DOWNLOAD: Alt-J - "Fitzpleasure" (The Internet Remix) (MP3)

Alt-J at Mercury Lounge - 5/9/12

As mentioned, UK band Alt-J will be releasing their debut album, An Awesome Wave, on September 18 in the US via Canvasback (it's already out in the UK) and are returning to our shores next month for a run of dates which includes two (now sold out) NYC shows which happen on August 6 at Mercury Lounge and August 7 at Glasslands.

UPDATE: The band have also announced a much larger North American tour around the time of the album's release which includes another NYC show on September 12 at Bowery Ballroom. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (7/27) at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (7/25) at noon.

The band made their US debut back in May with a few shows including opening for We Are Serenades at Mercury Lounge. We've got a belated set of pics from Alt-J's set at that show, which are in this post.

If you've yet to hear the album, the entire thing is streaming below. But in more recent news, one of its standout tracks, "Fitzpleasure," was recently remixed by Odd Future's The Internet (aka Syd tha Kyd and Matt Martians). You can download that remix above or stream it below. As mentioned, The Internet are touring too, and they'll play NYC the day before Alt-J gets here at Bowery Ballroom on August 5 with Kilo Kish and Phony PPL (tickets).

More pics of Alt-J from Mercury Lounge in May, the album stream, and The Internet remix are below...

Continue reading "Alt-J played Mercury Lounge (belated pics), remixed by The Internet (MP3); their upcoming NYC shows are sold out"

Off Future's Tyler the Creator with Trash Talk

As mentioned on BV Chicago earlier this week, Odd Future announced some news and a tour that happens after the previously announced The Internet and Tyler the Creator/Earl Sweatshirt shows.

Odd Future will head out on the "Camp Flog Gnaw" tour in September, tagging The Paramount in Huntington, NY on 9/4 and Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, CT on 9/8, along the way. Tickets for both of those shows go on sale at 10am today (7/20). All dates, which include Jay-Z's Made in America fest, are listed below.

Meanwhile, OFWGKTA member Frank Ocean is on tour, hit Austin last night, and will be in NYC for a sold out show at Terminal 5 on 7/26, THE SAME NIGHT Tyler, The Creator and Earl Sweatshirt play NYC's Best Buy Theater with Raekwon and Asher Roth. Earl joined Frank on stage for "Super Rich Kids" in LA. Hopefully NY will get some of the same action. Listen to Frank's album Channel Orange at Spotify. All remaining tour dates are listed below.

And speaking of on-stage collaboration, Trash Talk are currently on a west coast tour with SpaceGhostPurrp and were joined by Tyler the Creator at their Anaheim show last night (7/19). Trash Talk will release their new record in the fall on Odd Future Records which also has new albums coming from Odd Future members Mellowhype, Domo Genesis, Mike G, and Tyler the Creator.

Domo Genesis' album, No Idols, is the first upcoming release. It's due out on August 1, and you can listen to/download the lead single "Elimination Chamber," featuring Earl Sweatshirt, Action Bronson, Vince Staples, and The Alchemist, at the bottom of this post. MellowHype's Numbers is due out on October 2. Take a listen to a new track for the album, called "La Bonita," below. Trash Talk release their new record, 119, on October 9, and Tyler, the Creator's Wolf is due out sometime in November.

Stay tuned for for another big NYC, related announcement coming shortly.

Songs and all tour dates below...

Continue reading "Odd Future announce tour, Long Island & CT shows included; Tyler, Earl & Frank Ocean will be in NYC the same day"

Odd Future's The Internet (aka Syd tha Kyd and Matt Martians) will be going on a tour this summer which hits NYC for a show at Bowery Ballroom on August 5 with Phony PPL and Kilo Kish. The show was announced at noon and tickets immediately went on sale (why does everyone in Odd Future do that?).

As mentioned Odd Future's Tyler, the Creator & Earl Sweatshirt will be in NYC for a show with Raekwon and Asher Roth on July 26 Best Buy Theater. Tickets for that show are still available.

Odd Future also recently posted a short film to their website called "Sam Is Dead," which was directed and scored by Tyler, who also stars in it along with Domo Genesis, Lee Spielman of Trash Talk, and others. You can watch that video below, along a list of all dates...

Continue reading "Odd Future's The Internet touring, playing Bowery Ballroom (tix on sale)"

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

Odd Future are readying their new joint mixtape, The Odd Future Tape Vol. 2, and it's due out March 20 via their own Odd Future Records. Though other mixtapes have been released since their 2008 debut, The Odd Future Tape, this one seems to be somewhat of a conceptual followup. Their debut featured Tyler, the Creator, Left Brain, Hodgy Beats, Super 3 (1/2 of The Jet Age of Tomorrow), and Casey Veggies, who since left Odd Future (and is featured on the new Rockie Fresh single). The new tape will again feature Tyler, Hodgy, and Left Brain, in addition to Frank Ocean, Domo Genesis (who raps on the new Smoke DZA EP), Mike G, Syd the Kyd, and The Internet (aka Syd Tha Kid and producer Matt Martians).

They're about to announce a 10 city national tour which will happen in March that will include an OF pop up store in addition to a show in each city that it hits. The shows will each open with an exclusive viewing of their Adult Swim show, "Loiter Squad," which makes its premiere on March 25.

In other OF news, Tyler, the Creator will release his third album, Wolf, this May and MellowHype will release Numbers in the summer. Listen to a recent MellowHype track, "45", on Hodgy's tumblr. As Hodgy points out, "whats funny is that 45 shit aint even on numbers. just be ready. MellowHype is ill as fuck. bank on it."