The 2011 Rock the Bells Festival, sponsored by Boost Mobile and Blackberry, kicked off with a bang at the House of Blues this Tuesday night. Rock the Bells founder, Chang Weisberg, welcomed veterans and newbies to the stage to announce an airtight line up that rivals last year’s stellar offering. This year’s line-up boasts Lauryn Hill (Miseducation [...]
Elzhi will be releasing “ELmatic” for free on his website 5/10. Unlike other Nas tributes, Elzhi enlisted the famous Detroit ensemble Will Sessions (a six-piece band who has cultivated a reputation in the Detroit area for being able to meticulously replay Nas’ instrumentals from scratch and who produced the endeavor) and recorded the entire project [...]
Photos by: 3 Eyes Media The 2010 UCLA Jazz Reggae Festival rich with audible treats for this year’s attendess. Though last year’s show was a hard act to follow, with electric perfomances from Leela James, De La Soul and Erykah Badu, this year’s line up was just as airtight. Honestly, if you got to Jam Day anytime after [...]
Photos by: Ace Knuckles At Rock the Bells in San Bernadino, it was a great day to be in California. Backdropped by a characteristically Californian 86-degree sun, hip-hop enthusiasts were blessed with performances from some of Cali’s best: La Coka Nostra, Cypress Hill, Evidence, Alchemist, and Ice Cube. They shared stages with Nas, Damien Marley, The [...]
Photos by Ashley Queen Before midnight, right after Tech N9ne’s suprise set, a guy behind me screamed “I’m loving this shit!!!” I don’t know if he was drunk or not, but I can’t blame him for not being able to contain himself. In a matter of 2 hours, fans were treated to surprise performances by Nas, Damien Marley, Raekwon, Murs, Supernatural and Psycho Realm [...]
The homey Diz Gibran goes hard on his newest track “Black Emperor” over the beat from Nas’ “Black Republican.” Shouts to Diz, cause this track is one of his best yet… “Here is the joint I just recorded a few hours ago. Inspired by the most incredible event I have been fortunate to witness thus [...]
The Bronx born emcee who’s not trying to be the “super-complicated, super-lyrical rapper” nor the “five-word rapper” who simplifies every line, is attempting to modify the face of hip-hop with his Supra sneakers and innovative electric sound. Mickey Factz plans to carry progressive, cultured music to new heights with his latest project, Heaven’s Fallout, [...]
You can’t judge a mixtape by its cover, but the cover of Wale’s 100 Miles & Running has his name written with two sneaker laces, so this cover is definitely telling you something. His new Mixtape About Nothing shows that he’s a huge Seinfeld fan and one of his answers proves that he was [...]
Photos by: Ashley Queen Words by: Yo Mama I have to admit I pouted for the first 2-3 hours of Rock the Bells. My ticket only granted me access to the nosebleed section and I wasn’t about to see Pharcyde from that kind of ungodly distance. I have to admit the press was treated like [...]
I’m not usually one to advocate buying albums, because about 90% of all albums I’ve ever bought were three or four good songs and eight or more of filler. (I’m lookin’ at you, Huey Lewis.) You’ve got to pick and choose the artists you trust carefully. But I’ve been listening to the new Nas the [...]
