photos by David Andrako

Aziz Ansari booked two last minute Saturday night shows at the Bell House to test out material for a new album he hopes to release next year. Hannibal Burress opened both the early and late shows. We've got some pictures from the the late one in this post.

Aziz's friend James Murphy wasn't in the audience (he was over at Terminal 5), but his other GQ friend David Chang was spotted.

Two days earlier Aziz got some major internet attention thanks to a post on his blog. As Gizmodo says:

Jay-Z and Kanye West's N*ggas in Paris is an epically hard, head bumping anthem that's ruled rap for the better part of the year. Aziz Ansari and Matthew Shawver just one upped it by translating it into a hilarious rendition filled with emojis from their iPhones. This is the best thing to happen to music all year.

Hannibal Buress, who don't forget performs at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn for free almost every Sunday night, has some hip hop related news of his own too. He got Young Jeezy's attention with a joke.

More pictures from the Brooklyn show below...

Continue reading "Aziz Ansari played shows @ the Bell House w/ Hannibal Burress (pics), transcribed a Kanye/Jay-Z song in Emojis"

by BBG

The Throne (aka Jay-Z & Kanye West) have rescheduled their original set of dates to kick off in late October. The current schedule is listed below and "more dates to be announced soon". The new set of dates include NJ's Izod Center on November 5th & 6th (instead of September 27 & 28). Tickets for both dates go on presale at 10AM with the password "WTT".

Meanwhile, much like the Jay-Z/R.Kelly tour there are reports that the partnership isn't going so swimmingly...

A battle royal has broken out behind the scenes of Jay-Z and Kanye West's new album, "Watch the Throne."

Sources say the rappers -- who call themselves The Throne and are releasing their expected blockbuster collaboration Aug. 8 on iTunes and four days later everywhere else -- are barely speaking to each other as they iron out the details of their upcoming tour...

The sources say West wants flashy concerts with "next-level production," which would cost more than $400,000 per show. Jay-Z is said to be meticulous about costs and already has a larger, long-term advance from Live Nation that he has to pay back.

"Jay-Z can't deal with Kanye," an insider told Page Six. "Jay is a stone-cold businessman. He wants to recoup all of his money from Live Nation. But Kanye wants to upstage rock stars with a blowout show. He doesn't care about costs. He has a lot less to gain from the shows."

West is expected to agree to the conditions of the tour next week, but the business brouhaha between the powerhouse artists might have affected their backstage relationship.

Industry insiders were shocked to see West and Jay-Z perform separately with Young Jeezy last Monday night at the Highline Ballroom [a private event]. "We were expecting them to come out together to perform a track from the album," a source said. "They didn't even go out together after the show."

"Jay-Z is fed up with West's antics," another source said. "He doesn't even want to be around him." However, the two are expected to perform together at a listening party tonight at The Rose Planetarium in Central Park, according to The Post's Dan Aquilante. A Live Nation rep said, "No comment." The rappers' reps didn't get back to us.-[New York Post]

Jay-Z denies the beef and said Kanye is a genius. Jay & Ye hosted a private listening party at The Rose Planetarium in Central Park last night (8/1). According to attendee Erin Carlson, "Contrary to reports, they seemed to be getting along...." Contrary to rumors before the event, they did not perform. "Watch the Throne" is out August 8th via iTunes.

Videos from that private Young Jeezy show at Highline Ballroom last week (7/25), which featured appearances from Bun B, The Lox, Fabolous and others in addition to Jay/Kanye, are below alongside all tour dates.

Continue reading "Jay-Z/Kanye West tour has new/changed dates - presale now"

In the midst of his first college tour, promoting his latest #1 album The Blueprint 3 and his recently released video game sensation "DJ Hero: Renegade Edition," the unstoppable JAY-Z confirms North American tour dates for 2010's BP3 tour. The Live Nation-produced tour will come to the NY area for two dates - March 6 at Izod Center and March 12 at Nassau Coliseum. JAY-Z will be joined by Grammy-nominated rapper Young Jeezy who will open all dates on the tour.

Tickets for the Izod Center performance are $139.50, $99.50, $69.50 and $39.50. Tickets for the Nassau Coliseum performance are $129, $99, $69 and $39. Both shows go on sale to the public Saturday, November 21 at 10am.

Tickets to all shows are currently on Citi Cardmember presale.

The Nassau Coliseum date is new since my last post. Jay also canceled all four 2009 dates that were listed in that post. He cited "unforeseen scheduling conflicts." All dates below...

Continue reading "Jay-Z cancels some dates, adds others (Nassau Coliseum) "

Pissed Jeans @ Market Hotel (more by Edwina Hay)

today in NYC
* DANCE
* Levon Helm @ Beacon Theater
* Reigning Sound @ Southpaw
* Gil Mantera's Party Dream @ Europa
* The Bird & The Bee @ the Bell House
* Wallpaper @ the studio @ Webster Hall
* Los Amigos Invisibles @ Bowery Ballroom
* Dropkick Murphys & H2O @ Roseland Ballroom
* Pissed Jeans, Arboretum & Coconuts @ Union Pool
* Pete and J, The XYZ Affair & Young Galaxy @ MHOW
* Tindersticks & Dawn Landes @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple
* Pentagram, Priestess & The Devil's Blood @ Webster Hall
* Handsome Furs, Iran & Hundred In The Hands @ Mercury Lounge
* Your Nature (formerly Frankpollis), Paper & Zazen Boys @ Cake Shop
* Dan Friel, Real Estate, Boogie Boarder, Frat Dad & Haunted Houses @ the Jackson

U2 played Fordham this morning. They play Letterman for the last time (this week) tonight.

The Physics of Meaning played Union Hall last night and a last minute second show has been added Saturday night at Rockwood Music Hall.

Reigning Sound are also playing Maxwell's Sunday.

Pissed Jeans are also playing Market Hotel on April 17th.

Arboretum is also playing Carnegie Hall on June 11th.

The Bird and the Bee are also playing Carnegie Hall on Saturday.

A new episode of Breakfast at Sulimays! Ann, Joe, and Bill review Animal Collective and Young Jeezy in the video below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?"

An Evening with Jay-Z, January 19, 2009 8PM (kepkanation)

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With George W. Bush all packed up and out of the White House, and Barack Obama ready to move in, hip-hop has never felt more patriotic. And the huge theme for Obama's inauguration weekend has been Young Jeezy's "My President." On Monday night, in the town nicknamed "Chocolate City," Jay-Z drove his audience wild with his new verse for the song's remix.

The show at the Warner Theatre was billed as the "Concert on the Eve of Change," but the crowd welcomed a very familiar Hov game-plan: knock 'em with his own hits and those of his big-name guests.

After "Brooklyn Go Hard," Jay informed D.C. that he was ready for a long night." [MTV]

Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, and Young Jeezy were among the guests who joined Jay at the Warner Theater last night. Jay was Young Jeezy's guest at a show in the same town one night earlier. Earlier on Sunday was the biggest Obama-related concert of all in front of Abraham Lincoln. Mary J. Blige and Beyonce also performed at that.

The Beastie Boys also played a show in the same town on Monday night.

Jim Jones recently turned himself in to the NYPD after he fought with a friend of Jay-Z.

A snippet of video from the Jay-Z show below...

Continue reading "Jay-Z helped welcome Obama last night @ Warner Theater"