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Showing posts with label hiphop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hiphop. Show all posts
Saturday, August 07, 2010
Metermaids Sleigh Bells Remix
This is the first time I've heard of the Metermaids. From what I've gathered they're a couple of native Williamsburg kids that are doing the hip hop thing with a hipster twist. Unless you just got off the boat from Kansas you might remember a Williamsburg that wasn't the posh, hipster wonderland it is now. Kids that grew up here grew up with hip hop, not the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. That said, the indie thing started here over 10 years ago so it makes sense that we're starting to see the lines blur a bit. I dig what these guys are doing, but then again something like this happened once before and we ended up with fucking Limp Bizkit.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tonight: FREE Ghostface Show @ Hiro
Ghostface Killah is playing a free show to promote his new album. Again, the show is FREE. Ghostface...at Hiro. This is awesome.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Yo Majesty @ High Voltage 5/30
Last week it was announced that Yo Majesty would be performing for free at Sutra on Wednesday for High Voltage. Then ticketmaster (or one of those bastards) found out and told them they couldn't do it. Apparently a free show right before two with ticket sales is a big no-no. Well the fine ladies of Yo Majesty said "fuck dat shit" and said they would play anyway. The problem was they couldn't advertise it as Yo Majesty, so they became "special guests."
Because of this no one really knew what kind of turn out to expect. YM has been getting rave reviews and were even said, by several publications, to have put on the best performance at SXSW. So obviously if people heard about them performing then it would be a zoo.
I got to Sutra around 11:30PM and took advantage of the open vodka bar. I saw Alana (High Voltage) and she told me that they were still performing and they should go on around 1AM. So I kept on drinking to kill some time. The place was pretty packed around 12:30 or so and everyone was drinking and dancing.
Right around that time the ladies of Yo Majesty showed up. They hung out and drank martini's and Hennessey. I thought at this point the place would start getting crazy but instead it started to clear out a bit. Then around 1:45 YM grabbed the mics and called everyone to the back of Sutra.
They busted into the first song and it was fucking great. They were right there on the dance floor with the people. They had their arms around fans and were dancing with everyone. And then the fucking mic went out. That didn't stop the party though, while shit was getting fixed they just kept on going. They got a few group chants going and kept on drinking.
Eventually the mics were fixed and YM were ready to go. But quite a few people left out of frustration. The truth is though that just made it better for those who stayed. The smaller crowd gathered around and sang out loud. The ladies were going fucking off and it was just amazing to see. It was one of the most punk rock shows I've ever been to. There was absolutely nothing separating the artists from the crowd.
I would suggest seeing Yo Majesty if you have the chance but I doubt you'll feel it the same way you do packed into a tiny room at the back of a bar. It was quite an unusual experience, just check out the photos - they say it all.
Because of this no one really knew what kind of turn out to expect. YM has been getting rave reviews and were even said, by several publications, to have put on the best performance at SXSW. So obviously if people heard about them performing then it would be a zoo.
I got to Sutra around 11:30PM and took advantage of the open vodka bar. I saw Alana (High Voltage) and she told me that they were still performing and they should go on around 1AM. So I kept on drinking to kill some time. The place was pretty packed around 12:30 or so and everyone was drinking and dancing.
Right around that time the ladies of Yo Majesty showed up. They hung out and drank martini's and Hennessey. I thought at this point the place would start getting crazy but instead it started to clear out a bit. Then around 1:45 YM grabbed the mics and called everyone to the back of Sutra.
They busted into the first song and it was fucking great. They were right there on the dance floor with the people. They had their arms around fans and were dancing with everyone. And then the fucking mic went out. That didn't stop the party though, while shit was getting fixed they just kept on going. They got a few group chants going and kept on drinking.
Eventually the mics were fixed and YM were ready to go. But quite a few people left out of frustration. The truth is though that just made it better for those who stayed. The smaller crowd gathered around and sang out loud. The ladies were going fucking off and it was just amazing to see. It was one of the most punk rock shows I've ever been to. There was absolutely nothing separating the artists from the crowd.
I would suggest seeing Yo Majesty if you have the chance but I doubt you'll feel it the same way you do packed into a tiny room at the back of a bar. It was quite an unusual experience, just check out the photos - they say it all.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Pretty Ricky Push It Contest = WTF?!?!?!
I can't even begin to try and figure out what this is all about. The hip-hop/R&B group Pretty Ricky have a contest on YouTube which encourages people to create their own air fucking videos. If that's not odd enough it seems like most participants decided to do this in teams.
These fucking videos are god damn creepy and you should proceed with caution.
I guess I just don't get hip-hop anymore - things sure have changed since the days of Biggie, Pac, and Wu-Tang. Is this shit even hip-hop? Sounds like some R. Kelly shit to me.
(via Kottke)
These fucking videos are god damn creepy and you should proceed with caution.
The Contest Explained
The Entries
I guess I just don't get hip-hop anymore - things sure have changed since the days of Biggie, Pac, and Wu-Tang. Is this shit even hip-hop? Sounds like some R. Kelly shit to me.
(via Kottke)
Monday, September 18, 2006
Surprise Birthday Party For Nas
Last Wednesday I was invited to a surprise birthday party for Nas. The shindig went down at Canal Room and was put together by Kelis. The only thing I knew ahead of time was that Slick Rick was going to perform, Kanye and Diddy were supposed to be there and there was free booze. Also, the theme was "old school," which of course I had no clothing for. So I threw on my Run DMC shirt and waited for my ride.
You see, I invited one of my old friends from Jersey because I thought he would be into it. Knowing his tendency to be late I told him that this was the big time and he couldn't fuck around. Of course, the asshole was late - about 40 minutes late to be exact. No worries though, Nas ended up being late too so it was all good.
We got to Canal Room right around 9:30PM or so. We stood outside for about five minutes waiting to get in. In front of us was a guy that was about 6'10" or so. I jokingly said "what team do you think that guy plays for?" According to some post event coverage I read he actually does play for a team. Not surprising, I suppose.
After a brief wait we got our VIP stamp and headed inside. As soon as we walked in I noticed a VH1 camera crew interviewing someone. I'm not sure who it was but either way that's not a sight I'm used to, not at the parties I frequent. Like always we headed straight to the bar and got ourselves some free drinks. Then we decided to stroll the perimeter and see who was there we might recognize.
As soon as we entered the VIP area we noticed DMC standing against the wall. Early on he was pretty much the only familiar face - well, at least the only one I could put a name to. It was incredibly crowded upstairs and I was getting hot so I headed back down to the bar. I hung out there with some friends for awhile and then I noticed ?uestlove stroll by.
About ten minutes later a huge entourage bursts through the door. It was a big train of dudes pushing through the crowd obviously protecting someone in the middle. There were cameras following him and flashes everywhere. Was this the man of the hour? Then the train stopped for a quick interview with this guest. When it stopped and the entourage cleared it was easy to see who this mystery man was...Nick Cannon. What? Are you serious? All that for Nick fucking Cannon?
It was a ridiculous scene and really disgusted me. I mean here you have ?uestlove and DMC and Kanye (did I mention Kanye was there?) and this little shit is trying to steal the show. Not only that but for his "old school" outfit he dressed up like DMC. Dude, come on, show some fucking respect. You could have walked in like a normal person like every other celeb did that night but no, you gotta show boat. Sorry for the rant but that shit was fucked up.
Back to Kanye: I didn't see him all night but my friends did. Bronques got a shot of him so he was definitely there. The funny thing about that was when I saw my friends the first thing they said about Kanye was, "He's really short." Maybe that's how he snuck in without anyone noticing.
At some point shortly after the whole Cannon thing the DJ announced that Nas was walking in. Everyone got really quite since this was a "surprise." You could hear crickets in the place it was so quite and then it happened, "Sike." False alarm so everyone went back to drinking and dancing. Not much long later Nas did enter but the crowd wasn't trusting the DJ and it didn't quiet down like the last time.
After Nas made his entrance people flocked to the VIP section and the music began. At first it was a bunch of dudes I never heard of and not because I'm square, nobody seemed to know who they were. At one point I was standing next to my friend Andre and I turned around and nudged him. "Yo is that Carmelo Anthony?" I said. "Nah...maybe...I'm not sure." Turns out it was Carmelo but it was odd because he was just standing by himself. He actually looked kinda lonely, you think one of the best ballers in the league would have a few more friends.
Somewhere around this time I kinda blacked out. I wasn't wasted but I can only remember bits and pieces from that point on. I do remember a few things like Monie Love performing, a little bit of Slick Rick, Tracy Morgan on stage and getting kicked out of the super VIP area for Nas and his family. I got pulled in there and immediately expelled, then pulled back in, and again thrown back out after a picture was taken. None of this was my idea by the way, I like to leave the celebrities alone for the most part.
Yeah, so the rest of the night was a bit of a blur. I heard Kelis popped out of a cake but I don't remeber that shit. I did leave for about an hour and then come back so it could have happened then. Andre never made it back to Jersey, he slept in his car somewhere down near Canal. It was a crazy, crazy night. One of the best parties I've been to in years. From what you hear in the news you would think a hip-hop party would be all ego and tension. It was none of that, everyone there was super cool and just trying to have fun. I'll be telling stories from this one for a while.
You see, I invited one of my old friends from Jersey because I thought he would be into it. Knowing his tendency to be late I told him that this was the big time and he couldn't fuck around. Of course, the asshole was late - about 40 minutes late to be exact. No worries though, Nas ended up being late too so it was all good.
We got to Canal Room right around 9:30PM or so. We stood outside for about five minutes waiting to get in. In front of us was a guy that was about 6'10" or so. I jokingly said "what team do you think that guy plays for?" According to some post event coverage I read he actually does play for a team. Not surprising, I suppose.
After a brief wait we got our VIP stamp and headed inside. As soon as we walked in I noticed a VH1 camera crew interviewing someone. I'm not sure who it was but either way that's not a sight I'm used to, not at the parties I frequent. Like always we headed straight to the bar and got ourselves some free drinks. Then we decided to stroll the perimeter and see who was there we might recognize.
As soon as we entered the VIP area we noticed DMC standing against the wall. Early on he was pretty much the only familiar face - well, at least the only one I could put a name to. It was incredibly crowded upstairs and I was getting hot so I headed back down to the bar. I hung out there with some friends for awhile and then I noticed ?uestlove stroll by.
About ten minutes later a huge entourage bursts through the door. It was a big train of dudes pushing through the crowd obviously protecting someone in the middle. There were cameras following him and flashes everywhere. Was this the man of the hour? Then the train stopped for a quick interview with this guest. When it stopped and the entourage cleared it was easy to see who this mystery man was...Nick Cannon. What? Are you serious? All that for Nick fucking Cannon?
It was a ridiculous scene and really disgusted me. I mean here you have ?uestlove and DMC and Kanye (did I mention Kanye was there?) and this little shit is trying to steal the show. Not only that but for his "old school" outfit he dressed up like DMC. Dude, come on, show some fucking respect. You could have walked in like a normal person like every other celeb did that night but no, you gotta show boat. Sorry for the rant but that shit was fucked up.
Back to Kanye: I didn't see him all night but my friends did. Bronques got a shot of him so he was definitely there. The funny thing about that was when I saw my friends the first thing they said about Kanye was, "He's really short." Maybe that's how he snuck in without anyone noticing.
At some point shortly after the whole Cannon thing the DJ announced that Nas was walking in. Everyone got really quite since this was a "surprise." You could hear crickets in the place it was so quite and then it happened, "Sike." False alarm so everyone went back to drinking and dancing. Not much long later Nas did enter but the crowd wasn't trusting the DJ and it didn't quiet down like the last time.
After Nas made his entrance people flocked to the VIP section and the music began. At first it was a bunch of dudes I never heard of and not because I'm square, nobody seemed to know who they were. At one point I was standing next to my friend Andre and I turned around and nudged him. "Yo is that Carmelo Anthony?" I said. "Nah...maybe...I'm not sure." Turns out it was Carmelo but it was odd because he was just standing by himself. He actually looked kinda lonely, you think one of the best ballers in the league would have a few more friends.
Somewhere around this time I kinda blacked out. I wasn't wasted but I can only remember bits and pieces from that point on. I do remember a few things like Monie Love performing, a little bit of Slick Rick, Tracy Morgan on stage and getting kicked out of the super VIP area for Nas and his family. I got pulled in there and immediately expelled, then pulled back in, and again thrown back out after a picture was taken. None of this was my idea by the way, I like to leave the celebrities alone for the most part.
Yeah, so the rest of the night was a bit of a blur. I heard Kelis popped out of a cake but I don't remeber that shit. I did leave for about an hour and then come back so it could have happened then. Andre never made it back to Jersey, he slept in his car somewhere down near Canal. It was a crazy, crazy night. One of the best parties I've been to in years. From what you hear in the news you would think a hip-hop party would be all ego and tension. It was none of that, everyone there was super cool and just trying to have fun. I'll be telling stories from this one for a while.
Nas Surprise Party
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Pharoahe Monch Was The Mos Def
I was supposed to be on the list for this show, but as I approached I was told I was not. This actually turned out to be a good thing. To settle the matter I was brought backstage and the issue was resolved. I had to leave the backstage area immediately after, but it was cool while it lasted.
As I entered the stage area Pharoahe Monch was about halfway through his set. I had heard of Pharoahe before but I wasn't familiar with his music. I am now, and I will be purchasing as many of his CDs as possible. He had two singers with him on the side of the stage - one male, one female. The girl was very good but the guy was excellent. He looked like he was about 5'2" but he had one hell of a big voice, very Al Green-ish. Hip-hop is so much better when a real person is singing the hooks.
Towards the end of Monch's set Talib Kweli came out and they did a few songs together. Then Talib was doing his own thing. The reason I came to this show was to see Talib and it hurts me to say this but.... he kinda sucked. His voice sounded shitty - very hard to understand. After several songs Mos Def came out and him and Talib got into Black Star mode. The crowd went berserk for this part of the show. But then Talib stepped off and it was just Mos Def.
I expected so much more from the legend. The rhymes were razor sharp but the energy just wasn't there. When he was up there alone the crowd was just not into it - not even his crew on the side of the stage. The best part of his set was when Pharoahe Monch came out and did a song, he knows how to work a crowd. Rass Kass also made an appearance which was pretty sick. Aside from these highlights the show drug on, Mos didn't know when to step off the stage - even though the crowd did. I actually ended up leaving a little early... I just couldn't take it anymore.
The moral of the story is this - Pharoahe Monch stole this show. It was his from the minute he took the stage. The crowd loved him, it was crazy when he was up there. He one-upped Mos Def and completely murdered Talib. The only part of the show that could compete was the Black Star segment.
Here are some pics I took (they suck, sorry). I couldn't get very close and the lighting was horrible. I touched them up but they still suck. I also have some audio a friend hooked me up with.
As I entered the stage area Pharoahe Monch was about halfway through his set. I had heard of Pharoahe before but I wasn't familiar with his music. I am now, and I will be purchasing as many of his CDs as possible. He had two singers with him on the side of the stage - one male, one female. The girl was very good but the guy was excellent. He looked like he was about 5'2" but he had one hell of a big voice, very Al Green-ish. Hip-hop is so much better when a real person is singing the hooks.
Towards the end of Monch's set Talib Kweli came out and they did a few songs together. Then Talib was doing his own thing. The reason I came to this show was to see Talib and it hurts me to say this but.... he kinda sucked. His voice sounded shitty - very hard to understand. After several songs Mos Def came out and him and Talib got into Black Star mode. The crowd went berserk for this part of the show. But then Talib stepped off and it was just Mos Def.
I expected so much more from the legend. The rhymes were razor sharp but the energy just wasn't there. When he was up there alone the crowd was just not into it - not even his crew on the side of the stage. The best part of his set was when Pharoahe Monch came out and did a song, he knows how to work a crowd. Rass Kass also made an appearance which was pretty sick. Aside from these highlights the show drug on, Mos didn't know when to step off the stage - even though the crowd did. I actually ended up leaving a little early... I just couldn't take it anymore.
The moral of the story is this - Pharoahe Monch stole this show. It was his from the minute he took the stage. The crowd loved him, it was crazy when he was up there. He one-upped Mos Def and completely murdered Talib. The only part of the show that could compete was the Black Star segment.
Here are some pics I took (they suck, sorry). I couldn't get very close and the lighting was horrible. I touched them up but they still suck. I also have some audio a friend hooked me up with.
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