Willamette Week's Musicfest NW announces this year's festival line-up which will be held at various venues around the Portland, OR metropolitan area on September 16, 17, 18 & 19. On the heels of the most successful MFNW to date, MFNW 2009 launches with nothing but the hope of a bigger and better festival. MFNW's ultimate aim is to provide Portland with a unique and special musical experience that features all types of acts including nationally renowned artists while still honoring and supporting the special musical scene of the Northwest.

The lineup so far, including the newly-reunited Sunny Day Real Estate, is below...

Continue reading "Musicfest NW in Portland, OR (Sept 16-19) - lineup"

The 39th annual Bumbershoot: Seattle's Music & Arts Festival, Presented by Samsung Mobile announces a small portion of the 2009 lineup. The 3-day urban event takes place Labor Day Weekend (September 5 - 7). The Festival stretches across the 74-acre Seattle Center, located beneath the city's iconic Space Needle, and programs 20 indoor and unique outdoor venues. This progressive Festival features a diverse array of arts including live music, comedy, theatre, dance, film, urban crafts, and literary and visual arts.

Continue reading "Bumbershoot announces partial 2009 lineup & ticket info"

Talib Kweli & The Roots @ Highline Ballroom (more by Jacob Blickenstaff)

In a bit of shuffling, Digable Planets have cancelled their tour with Common Market and Dujeous. According to a post at Hyena Records, "there were 'irreconcilable differences' in Digable Planet's camp, so they've pulled the plug on the entire tour." That includes the show that was supposed to happen at Highline Ballroom in NYC tonight, April 1st (no foolin).

In their place will be The Roots. The Roots were supposed to play yesterday (3/31), but they postponed it to today (4/1 @ 11PM). Ticekts are now back on sale, and still available for many of the other upcoming residency dates.

The Roots were one of a few hip hop groups that played the All Points West festival in 2008. Check out which hip hop groups are playing it in 2009.

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Common Market - "Back Home (The Return)" (MP3)

Man, Cleopatra Jones!

They reunited & toured, played a $7 show with Ghostface and The Alchemist, and now Digable Planets are preparing to hit the road again, including a date at Highline Ballroom in NYC on April 1st. Tickets are on sale. All dates below.

Joining the Creamy Spies for the trek, Seattle's Common Market, who released their album Tobacco Road in 2008 which includes "Back Home (The Return)" available for download above. Before CM hits the road with Digable, look for them at SXSW at one of two places: The Back Alley Social on March 18 with Brother Ali, The Grouch & Eligh, and Zion I, and at Palm Door on March 21 with Past Lives & Natalie Portman's Shaved Head. Full Common Market dates, with Digable and without, below.

Zion I

Speaking of Zion I, the critically acclaimed duo dropped The TakeOver on Feb 17. It's the follow-up to their 2006 collabo record with The Grouch (but not Eligh), Heroes In The City Of Dope. Check out a video of the duo discussing that record on LBTV (as in Lyrics Born TV) below. Full Zion I tour dates below too.

Meanwhile, The Grouch and Eligh are prepping their new record, Say G&E! due on April 7th. Say G&E! features production by Flying Lotus, Rick Rock and others, as well as guest appearances by Sage Francis, Slug, and Gift Of Gab of Blackalicious. The Grouch & Eligh are part of the LA based Living Legends crew with MURS. G&E, as well as the entire Living Legends crew, will team up at The Paid Dues Festival in San Bernardino, CA on Mar 28 with Cage (who has a new album coming), Brother Ali, Eyedea & Abilities, Atmosphere, B-Real, and many others.

Dates and video below...

Continue reading "Digable Planets, Common Market, The Grouch & Eligh, Zion I - Tour Dates, albums, SXSW & an MP3"

DOWNLOAD Common Market - My Pathology (MP3)
DOWNLOAD Common Market - Succor MCs (Mp3)
DOWNLOAD N.O.R.E. - Set It Off" feat. Swizz Beatz & J. Ru$$ (MP3)
DOWNLOAD N.O.R.E. - That Club Ish" feat. Three 6 Mafia (MP3)
DOWNLOAD Sharen Jones and the Dap-Kings - 100 Days, 100 Nights
DOWNLOAD Aesop Rock - Citronella (MP3)
DOWNLOAD Pieces Of Peace - I Still Care (MP3)

Common Market is one of my favorite recent discoveries. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings are playing the Apollo Theater October 6th (tix). N.O.R.E. is releasing Noreality in the next few weeks, unfortunately with wack cover art. Pieces of Peace are a soul band from back in the day - with an album that was never released (until now), and they should make for great sampling material for today's rappers.

KRS-One performing in Prospect Park - Aug 3, 2007 (CRED)

On top of the positivity and good times, KRS injected the crowd with a dose of inspirational storytelling. See, before BDP fame, way back in 1980, KRS was homeless. His home of choice was Prospect Park. His bed of choice was the Prospect Park bandshell. The very bandshell he was now performing in! He would sleep at night and during the day hang out at the Grand Army Plaza Library getting his knowledge on. As a young KRS poured through books, thoughts of the future danced through his head. A future that consisted of one day rocking a mic in Prospect Park. The very park his was now rocking! Or so the story goes. Can someone fact check this please? Even if it's not true, and something tells me some of it is, the story connected with most and accomplished its modest goal.[Angry Citizen]

• Apparently 50 Cent had a breakdown and tore up his G-Unit offices while screaming on the phone to his label Interscope Records. Ms. Info had a post up that I discovered through this Nahright post. I then found that Ms. Info's post had mysteriously been deleted - not cached by google either. HipHopDX still has some excerpts from the original Ms Info post up. This all is apparently over 50's next single/video "Follow My Lead" ft Robin Thicke being leaked. I'd link to it, but it keeps getting deleted.
• The Beastie Boys played at McCarren Pool and Central Park SummerStage
• Timbaland + Justin Timberlake's new project: Madonna's new album.
• Lupe, Kanye, and Pharrell are hoping to make a full album as CRS
• David Banner tells Al Sharpton to go fuck himself.
• Weiss shares some thoughts on Cage.
• TSS did a Smoking Session interview with Phonte of Little Brother. Little Brother is playing CMJ with Brother Ali @ Highline Ballroom on October 20th.

Continue reading "Wes' Weekly Hip Hop News Roundup (August 15th, 2007)"