DOWNLOAD: Big K.R.I.T. - Country Shit (MP3)

On "Country Shit", [Big KRIT] borrows Pimp C's twanged-out elastic sneer and just rides the everliving hell out of his own woozy thump: "I was riding my Screw shit, rims chop-choppin'/ Top droppin', throwing breadcrumbs, crows start flockin'." As a producer, he's an expert sample-chopper, and his track weaves in theremin peals and stuttery sighs and vintage 808 destruction. It's the sort of track you want to use to make sure your car stereo's bass pounds just right. If you don't feel like a superhero while this is playing loud, you need a new system.
[Pitchfork - Best New Track review for "Country Shit"]

Big K.R.I.T.'s debut LP/mixtape, the self-produced K.R.I.T Wuz Here, Gorilla vs Bear's third favorite album of the first half of the year, is available for free online. Check it out if you're looking for some soulful Southern rap. The above "Country Shit" is on it, as are the two songs in the videos posted, with the full tracklist, below...

Continue reading "Big K.R.I.T. is here - NYC show tonight, free album online"

by BBG

Rock The Bells 2010? Um, awesome.

For the first time in the history of hip-hop entertainment, ROCK THE BELLS is slated to have headliners perform their most influential albums in their entirety. East-coast legends Wu-Tang Clan will perform Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers from beginning to end. Released in 1993, the group's debut album revived the New York rap scene and is widely-regarded as one of the greatest albums in hip-hop history. Considered one of the greatest MC's of all time, Rakim is set to perform 1987's, Paid In Full, his first full-length album with Eric B. Fellow Golden age, east coast rapper, Slick Rick will conquer The Great Adventures of Slick Rick. Released in 1989, this debut album became a certified-platinum classic topping the Billboard's Top R&B/ Hip Hop Albums charts. Highly regarded as the "THE TEACHER", KRS-One is a hip hop culture advocate, music producer, MC and published author. Hailed as one of the best live performers, KRS-One will perform [the Boogie Down Productions classic LP] Criminal Minded. The 1987 trend-setting album sampled music from various genres including rock, reggae and funk.

So far only four festival dates have been released, LA (8/21), San Fran (8/22), NYC at Governors Island (8/28), and DC (8/29). Ticket info is forthcoming.

"Ladies and gents, the rumors are true/false/sortakinda accurate, depending on your sources: legendary Wu Tang member Ghostface Killah, Outback Steakhouse-promoting psychedelic indie outfit Of Montreal, and remixing/upcoming Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa will play Bacchanal on Saturday, April 24th." [The Bwog]

Video of Of Montreal on Yo Gabba Gabba!, below...

Continue reading "Of Montreal, Ghostface & Wiz Khalifa playing Columbia show"

by BBG

Brother Ali with Rakim in 2009

Brother Ali is going back on tour this spring and he hits NYC again, this time with Fashawn and BK One for a show at Knitting Factory on April 15th. Tickets are on sale. All tour dates are below.

The NYC show comes one month after Fashawn makes an appearance at the Nah Right/The Smoking Section Day Party at Rumbler Lounge at Peckerheads in Austin on 3/20 during SXSW. There Fashawn will intersect with Freeway & Jake One (who just played Highline with Brother Ali), J.Cole, Pac Div, Wiz Khalifa, Freddie Gibbs (who is playing the Pitchfork Festival), Pill, Diz Gibran, and many others. Nah Right has more details.

One of those performers, Wiz Khalifa, will headline Irving Plaza on March 26th as part of a larger tour for Deal or No Deal, his album that dropped late last year. Tickets are on sale, full dates are below.

Another performer from the Nah Right/Smoking Section party, J Cole, is the current cover boy of The Source and one of XXL's "Top 10 Freshmen". J will also play NYC as part of Hot 97's Who'w Next Live at SOB's on March 30. Tickets are still available.

One man who is no stranger to the covers of XXL and The Source, Juelz Santana, is scheduled to play NYC on March 22nd with Maino. Tickets are on sale.

Full Brother Ali & Wiz Khalifa dates and some videos are below...

Continue reading "Brother Ali tour dates & other hip shows in NYC & Austin"

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"

photos by Tim Griffin

"From every vantage point, there were flailing body parts, sweat-drenched faces and tumbling body surfers. After hours of shoving, pushing, jumping, air-humping and fist-pumping, the crowd screamed and let out a huge breath of air and walked their limp bodies home in the rain.

Even though his live show is little more than a dude from Pittsburgh with a laptop, Gillis' intensity is undeniable. He started the concert dry-headed and wearing a sweatshirt, but by the end of the set he was half-naked and completely soaked in his own sweat. By then, Gillis was just another dude in the crowd, as the audience had long since rushed the stage to join the party next to Gillis. Halfway through the set, the music stopped suddenly because the crowd had pulled out some cords. 10 minutes later, the music stopped again because the stage was falling apart from all the weight of the dancing fans.

"You guys broke the stage!" Gillis yelled." [MTV]

Continue reading "pictures of people enjoying Girl Talk @ Sunday's Pool Party"

photos by Bao Nguyen

"And here I thought the week was going to start out with some slow news cycle bullshit about how I need to take my dog to vet because I think she ate something really bad last night and can't stop pooping on my roommate's shit, but lucky me! A blogger friend just called from the Williamsburg Pool parties (which I guess are called something else now since they don't happen at McCarren Pool) to tell me that Senator Chuck Schumer is hanging out and meeting his hipster constituents.

Of course this is no coincidence...Schumer happened to be on Meet the Press today, talking about giving up on a bipartisan health care plan in lieu of trying to get the Democrats' plan passed with all 60 votes from Dems in the house. And while we appreciate the effort Schumer is making in trying to get young people to care about this important topic, he DOES realize that 99.9% of kids who go to Girl Talk shows are living in Williamsburg because of their trust funds, right? I guess individual health care does make sense when your parents dole out allowances in the millions." [mediaelites]

And the show was packed. Not everyone got in. At one point they needed to stop Girl Talk because supposedly the stage was collapsing. Check out the above crowd shot HUGE. More pictures from Sunday's Pool Party (8/23), below....

Continue reading "Girl Talk, Max Tundra & Wiz Khalifa (and a lot of people) @ the Williamsburg Waterfront in Brooklyn - pics "

"The emails have been piling up and everyone's asking, "dude, what's up with the Pool Parties?" Well DUDE, so sorry to keep you waiting, but here at JELLY we've been working our asses off to bring you one of the greatest free concert series in history. The Pool Parties are going to be extremely crucial this year, "epic" or "amazing" as you people say these days. Seriously, eight weeks of FREE shows on the waterfront of Williamsburg? Does it get any better? You might be thinking "waterfront"? Yeah, in case you didn't hear the McCarren Pool's closed so get over it :) , and yeah we kept the name Pool Parties even though the East River's not at a pool, so what? We've still got DODGEBALL, basketball, DJ's, bands, burgers the works! We love you more than your parents ever could, and if you want to have fun and hang out with us this summer. [Full schedule below]. Bring your friends but please don't bring these things [pictured above]. As you can see below, underage drinking will not be tolerated. . You guys wouldn't do that though, so there's nothing to worry about. Thank you for visiting and stay tuned!!" -Jelly

Continue reading "JellyNYC announces Pool Parties @ Williamsburg Waterfront!"

photos by Chris Graham

"Now this was THE dance party of the weekend. The set started with dozens of fans on the stage dancing, and about an hour of almost non-stop music followed. For those not familiar, Girl Talk is Gregg Gillis, a DJ who just does crazy mashups -- and people love it. The set at the Wookie Stage was way crowded, and not a soul was still.

It was just great to hear how Gillis could somehow fit in classic riffs like Weezer's "Say It Ain't So" or GNR's "Sweet Child of Mine" with all kinds of rap beats or hooks. It was great to hear the crowd scream and holler whenever a sample of something they recognized came on, then sing along at the top of their lungs (who knew "Jessie's Girl" worked well with dance beats?)." [Ear Candy]

This summer he'll be back for something much larger, much more public, outdoors, and totally free (I think). Girl Talk will be playing the "Pool Party" at Williamsburg Waterfront on Sunday, August 23rd. And (I think) the openers are Max Tundra and Wiz Khalifa.

After this post, I'll be updating the master list of shows taking place at the same venue this summer. More GT tour dates and pictures from Sasquatch below...

Continue reading "Girl Talk played Sasquatch (pics), playing JellyNYC Pool Party"

DOWNLOAD: Wiz Khalifa - Say Yeah (MP3)

The 412 isn't on the speed dial of many music moguls. That soon might change, thanks to Wiz Khalifa. Khalifa, 20, is the rapper many feel is fated to finally put Pittsburgh rap on the map. Signed to Warner Bros., Khalifa's single "Say Yeah" is getting radio spins, and earning rave reviews from influential Web sites and magazines. Pitchfork Media noted, "We posted a track ('Say Yeah') by the Pittsburgh-based rapper last week, and his swaggering flow is still commanding here." [Beaver County Times]

Continue reading "Wiz Khalifa - 'Say Yeah' video, MP3, Tour Dates, SXSW "