Archive for the “NYC” Category

On Saturday, Hip-Hop invaded Governor's Island in a major way. Rock the Bells 2010 was on deck and it was the best Saturday I had spent in awhile. Great music, great com­pany and best of all, I wit­nessed the return of Lauryn Hill. Yes, Lauryn Hill, whom we have been sum­mon­ing back to exis­tence since I started Tweeting last year, finally blessed us with her pres­ence. Since this is the biggest RTB news, I will start with her. I have been hear­ing people's opin­ions about her per­for­mance. Now I am going to give you mine. Granted, she is not the Lauryn we knew from '95 but, she can still do the damn thing. No, her voice is not the same but she can still flow. She took us through her hits with re-vamped beats and melodies. I caught up with Ms. Hill back­stage where we had a brief chat. The area back­stage was hec­tic so we had to do things quick and when we could get it in. She basi­cally expressed to me that she had been to "hell and back" but that she "remains pos­i­tive". I made sure to tell her that she is almost a daily con­ver­sa­tion topic when dis­cussing the best female rap­per. The smile on her face made me wanna cry. She shook my hand and said. "Thank you sis. I appre­ci­ate the love folks are shar­ing with me here today. I really am." And then she went about her way. The look in her eyes still seemed dis­tant. I can't imag­ine what she went through but it def­i­nitely took it's toll.

Lauryn Hill per­form­ing "Ready or Not"

Old school rep­re­sented as usual.  Eric B and Rakim, KRS-One, Slick Rick (and his entourage of chains) all rep­re­sented their respec­tive albums, per­form­ing the clas­sics.  It is a shame that albums are not cre­ated like those any more.  People are focused on the sin­gle, not the album.

The show was on point from begin­ning to end.  Aside from see­ing Miss Hill, I was excited to see A Tribe Called Quest.  Their set was amaz­ing.  Their energy was through the roof.  I dug deep into the "lyrics learned" sec­tion of my brain and went in as if I was a mem­ber of the group.  They went through all the clas­sics, "Bonita Applebaum", "Scenario", "Electric Relaxation".  They did a  J. Dilla trib­ute and out of the mouth of Q-Tip, "J.Dilla The best pro­ducer ever…" while Swizz Beats stood on the stage… LMAO
Tribe per­form­ing…
Consequence and Phife Dawg

ATCQ, Busta, Swizz per­form­ing "Scenario, Check tha Rhyme…"

The Wu shut it down as usual.  If you have ever been to a Wu show, you know what it is.  With the entire Clan in tow, includ­ing Old Dirty Bastard's son who per­formed his father's parts from the songs on the 36 Chambers album.  He looks and sounds just like his father.  It is a lit­tle freaky.


Wu per­form­ing "Da Mystery of Chessboxing" with an appear­ance by lil ODB

A Wu per­for­mance is def­i­nitely some­thing you have to see. Outside of the Dogg Pound, they are the only other Rap "Group" that can deliver a hard­core per­for­mance.  The Snoop moved through Doggystyle and enlisted the help of the Dogg Pound usual sus­pects.  Warren G, Lady of Rage and RBX were also on hand to per­form.  It was amaz­ing to see this crew, cre­ated so many years ago, still come together and deliver a Class "A" per­for­mance.  Snoop did the damn thing, long blue ban­dana suit and all.

Snoop focused on his way to the stage…


Snoop and tha Dogg Pound per­form­ing "It Ain't No Fun"

I did a few inter­views and have a few cameos on film.  Footage com­ing soon!!! There were a lot of peo­ple on deck to see the show as well.  Jay and Bey, Swizz and Alicia, Chris Rock, John Legend, Mary J. Blige were all back­stage enjoy­ing the show.  Rock the Bells is a show that I make it my busi­ness to attend.  If you have never been, you need to re-evaluate your love for music and get to one.
Jay and Bey…

RZA chop­pin' it up with my cam­era ace @IRunsNY

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I am always look­ing for new tal­ent to share. At Brooklyn’s Amarichi Lounge, “The Come Up” Talent Showcase went down, com­pli­ments of Cola Keys and Doperah Styles. The Showcase is a series of fundrais­ing events by the pair to help their old High School get the mate­ri­als they need to con­tinue the up-keep of resources. Given the fact that the ladies will be cel­e­brat­ing their 10 year High School Reunion soon, they wanted to incor­po­rate the dona­tion into their class reunion, which I think is an awe­some idea. Giving back to the com­mu­nity is always important.

The win­ner Rheel (in the mid­dle with the shades) with the hosts and coordinators.

Judging the con­test was yours truly, Lady Blogga along­side DJ Bedtyme and Marvel Dash. We watched var­i­ous tal­ent acts rang­ing from Hip-Hop to R-N-B. The win­ner was a young man by the name of Rheel, who hails from the Bronx. He came with lyri­cal style, cre­ativ­ity and energy. As a prize, Rheel has a host of radio inter­views with var­i­ous peo­ple lined up includ­ing Pryme Time radio, Urban Latino radio, The Cook-Up Radio Show and the Lady Blogga her­self will be sit­ting down with Rheel to have a con­ver­sa­tion. He and his part­ner worked the stage with pre­ci­sion. But most impor­tantly, he held the judge’s atten­tion which means he was doing some­thing right.

Aside from new tal­ent, there were fea­tured artists and spo­ken word per­form­ers on deck. J. Sharelle came through with her usual pow­er­ful per­for­mance and she closed with my per­sonal favorite, “So You Think I’m Pussy”. Uncle Dre dropped a win­ner as well. Mandee Monae put down some sul­try yet pow­er­ful R & B, F.C.E. artist G-Swagg came equipped with his smooth but tough flow and Mr. Cash feat. Thrillz dropped jew­els. All three came through to do what they do best. After the tal­ent com­pe­ti­tion and per­for­mances, the after party went into full effect with DJ Show N Tell on the 1 and 2’s, spin­ning all the tunes!!! It was a great night for a great cause and I look for­ward to the next one!

G-Swagg and DJ Show N Tell

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Jasmine Solano is one of those women that are con­sid­ered a cer­ti­fied Triple Threat. Few peo­ple can claim it and own it like she does. She is on deck and 2010 is her year. Coming off tour as Wiz Khalifa's Official DJ on their 60 City stint, she has huge projects ahead. We chopped it up on a yacht in the mid­dle of the Hudson. Follow her on Twitter @JasmineSolano to find out where she's at next.   Here it is, Pt. 1 Interview "6 Minutes with Jasmine Solano"…

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Click the flyer for more details.

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This sum­mer has been filled with noth­ing but dope shows and music drops. My read­ers already know, if it's dope, I am shar­ing. Here is a track off the upcom­ing mix­tape "Suicide by Jellyfish" called "Note to Self" by P.SO x 8thW1 fea­tur­ing YC the Cynic. Produced by Jinesis, and lyri­cally laced, this track belongs in your col­lec­tion. Look for the mix­tape link to be posted here soon. In the mean­time, check out and down­load "Note to Self"…

<a href="http://psotheearthtoneking.bandcamp.com/track/note-to-self-ft-yc-the-cynic" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','psotheearthtoneking.bandcamp.com']);">Note to Self ft. YC the Cynic by P.SO the Earth Tone King</a>

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If you ever roll through Bed-Stuy, make sure you hit up Peaches and get some of that mac & cheese. Don't sleep on the sweet potato or BBQ fries either! Like the music you're hear­ing? Check out Brooklyn's Finest from The Stuyvesants.

Bedford-Stuyvesant
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I would've loved to made it out to this but, it was the same day as the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, which I won't be attend­ing again any­way… I can say that, even with the rain, I would've had a bet­ter time at Frank's BBQ. There's always next year. [via]

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Last Friday night, a few of you might've seen me tweet about being on a party bus. This was the party. This was the bus.

Academy teams up with Red Bull to throw one of their most cre­ative par­ties yet. A 40 foot tour bus pick­ing up the coolest peo­ple we know and work with around New York City, first stop Crif's deep fried hot dogs, sec­ond an inti­mate con­cert with Aloe Blacc for TheCouchsessions.com 5th anniver­sary, and lastly an after party at Deity in Brooklyn fea­tur­ing DJ Mick Boogie, and a per­for­mance by OnCue!

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