Statik Selektah Talks 'Population Control' And More In 2pt. Interview

In demand Bostonian hip hop fixture Statik Selektah talks his upcoming masterpiece Population Control and more with DJ Pizzo.

Statik Selektah Population Control on Duck Down/Showoff Records arrives in-stores and online October 25th.

(video courtesy of Hip Hop Site)

Statik Selektah and Termanology '1982' Artwork And Tracklist

Statik Selektah & Termanology 1982 on Showoff Records arrives October 26th.

01. The World Renown
02. People Are Running
03. Things I Dream ft. Lil Fame of M.O.P.
04. Goin Back ft. Cassidy & Xzibit
05. The Radio
06. Wedding Bells ft. Jared Evan
07. You Should Go Home ft. Bun B & Masspike Miles
08. Tell Me Lies ft. Styles P
09. Life Is What You Make It ft. Saigon & Freeway
10. Freedom ft. REKS
11. Still Waiting
12. The Street Life
13. Thugathon 2010 ft. M.O.P.
14. The Hood Is On Fire ft. Inspectah Deck
15. Born In 82
16. Help

West Coast Weekend Premieres Of Sorts On Both Sides Of America With Dr. Dre & Ice Cube

Today at Fenway Park, Interscope's Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre showed up for batting practice at the Boston Red Sox & New York Yankees season opener, to promote Beats by Dr. Dre Red Sox headphones and to drop new info on the Dr. Dre & Jay-Z upcoming cut "Under Pressure."

Photo link:
WENN Photo



On Saturday (April 3), the 5th Annual 2010 Paid Dues Festival hit Southern California with Ice Cube headlining the event, premiered a new joint off of his upcoming I Am The West "I Rep That West."

Trey Songz Boston TD Garden Backstage Meet & Greet Interview On BP3 Tour

Trey Songz & Boston's Jamn 94.5 had a special meet & greet for the lucky radio winners backstage at the TD Garden on the BP3 tour Thursday, March 11





(photos and video courtesy of Jamn 94.5)

Related:
Jay-Z BP3 Tour At The TD Garden In Boston Concert Recap

Jay-Z BP3 Tour At The TD Garden In Boston Concert Recap

As reported by Lauren Carter at the Boston Herald

(Thursday, March 11) For roughly two hours, the God MC delivered one of the liveliest sets in recent memory, rolling out a staggering parade of hits to a sold-out crowd of more than 15,000.

From the time he rose up out of the floor for “Run This Town” to the close-out track “Encore,” his delivery stayed clear and crisp. Longtime hype man Memphis Bleek flanked Jay-Z for the majority of the set, but his presence was more of an interesting addition than a necessary support, as Jay-Z ruled stage with seemingly effortless cool.

Backed by a live band, Jay-Z performed several tracks off “Blueprint 3,” including a spirited “On to the Next One,” “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)” and “Empire State of Mind,” which featured Bridget Kelly on fill-in duty for Alicia Keys.

The night’s set list spanned his 14-year career, with hits such as “99 Problems,” “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It to Me)” and the hyperspeed “Jigga What, Jigga Who” appearing alongside a few a cappella segments that spotlighted his lyricism in case fans were overdosing on hooks. Diamond signs came out for a thunderous “Public Service Announcement.”

The set was long but never monotonous. To shake things up, opener Trey Songz appeared for hook duty on “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love)” and “Already Home.”

Minutes later, Young Jeezy rose up out of the floor for “As Real As It Gets” wearing roughly 17 chains, then took over the stage for his own set, playing counterpoint to Jay-Z’s East Coast sound with grimy, crunk-flavored hits including “Who Dat,“ “Put On” and “My President is Black,” Jay-Z’s cue to reappear.

The closing segment of Jay-Z’s set was a virtual victory lap, as he transformed the venue into a nightclub and ran through snippets of about 20 hits, from “Money Ain’t a Thing” and “Can I Get A” to “Big Pimpin’ ” and “Hard Knock Life” before turning the spotlight on the crowd and acknowledging fans.

As reported by James Reed at the Boston Globe

Jay-Z’s energy alone kept the crowd in his pocket, starting with “Run This Town,’’ and his insistence on having a live band makes a huge difference, ensuring that his performances crackle and quake with thunderous bass and beats. A trio of horns infused some soul into “Heart of the City,’’ while “99 Problems,’’ “Swagga Like Us,’’ and “Empire State of Mind’’ rang out as the expected sing-alongs (with Bridget Kelly ably filling in for Keys on the last).

At the end of the exuberant two-hour set, when Jay-Z said it was the best show he had ever had in Boston, you believed him. The feeling was mutual.

Young Jeezy, the night’s second opening act, was almost all bark and no bite. Sometimes his music, cued by a DJ, dropped out with the intention of the audience finishing the rhymes, but too often the crowd wasn’t up to the task.

Meanwhile, R&B singer Trey Songz was the flip side to his tour mates, a hypersexual lover man in thrall to the sound of ladies screaming his name. He was so enamored with them that at one point he invited a woman onstage and poured what appeared to be champagne into her mouth. Only a guy this smooth could get away with a pick-up line as tired as this one: “Can we make love?’’ Audience survey says: Yes.

Full article/reviews here:
Boston Herald - Jay-Z dazzles in diamond of show
Boston Globe - Jay-Z shows he’s not the retiring type

more fan shot footage below.



(video footage courtesy of Hot 106.3 Boston & 2021Drew)

Jay-Z's BP3 2010 Tour dates:

Mar 12 Uniondale, NY - Nassau Coliseum
Mar 14 Detroit, MI - The Palace of Auburn Hills
Mar 16 Pittsburgh, PA - Mellon Arena
Mar 18 Chicago, IL - United Center
Mar 19 St. Louis, MO - Scottrade Center
Mar 20 Indianapolis, IN - Conseco Fieldhouse
Mar 22 Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
Mar 24 San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion
Mar 26 Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center

Bun B Live At Statik Selektah Album Release Party Boston, MA

Statik Selektah - 100 Proof: The Hang Over on ShowOff/Brick Records in-stores now!

(video courtesy of SoleProprietor)

Statik Selektah Album Release Party NYC

From Wednesday night's (February 3) Statik Selektah's album release party at S.O.B.'s in NYC. Freeway, Styles P, Smif-N-Wessun, Lil Fame (MOP), Consequence, Sha Stimuli and more were on hand for the festivities.

Photos courtesy of Village Slum here:
Statik Selektah Album Release Party NYC set 1
Statik Selektah Album Release Party NYC set 2

Statik Selektah - 100 Proof (The Hangover) on ShowOff/Brick Records in-stores and online now!

(video courtesy of missinfo tv / vibe and TheLSC)

Fabolous Steals The Show At Boston BET's 106 & Park Tour Concert Recap

As reported by Lauren Carter at the Boston Herald

It was a show that should have satisfied both sexes.

Thursday’s (January 7) BET Live! 106 & Park tour at the House of Blues featured two moderately successful stars who cater to slightly different sets: r & b crooner Mario and rap veteran Fabolous.

Mario wooed the female portion of the audience with earnest pleas and hip thrusts on such songs as “Let Me Love You,”“Music for Love” and the sultry “Crying Out for Me,” which featured a brief Jodeci interlude.

There was no real attempt at choreography, and his only backup dancer was an eager female who bum-rushed the stage during the bass-heavy set-closer, “Break Up.”

That song was a welcome departure from Mario’s suave brand of r & b, which quickly becomes monochromatic during a live show, even if his vocals remain appealing.

Wearing all black and sunglasses, Mario offered a major stylistic departure from oversexed opener Pretty Ricky. He played a gentlemanly role, indulging in themes of romance and unrequited love. For “I Choose You,” he plucked a woman out of the audience - a woman who was crying and struggling to breathe - and apparently fulfilled her lifelong dream by serenading her for four minutes.



Like Mario, Fabolous had a live band and performed for about an hour, sticking to the essentials of live performance while avoiding unnecessary indulgences. But unlike Mario, his appeal wasn’t heavily slanted in favor of the ladies.

From opener “My Time,” Fab’s set was a workmanlike exercise in the fundamentals of a good rap show: compelling songs, audible, crisp lyrics and a minimum of clutter and gaudy jewelry.

There were no hordes of hangers-on sipping alcohol in the shadows. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native was joined onstage only by his brother, Paul Cain, and rapper Red Cafe, who appeared during “I’m Ill” and “There He Go.”

The lanky rapper’s set was a virtual stream of hits, including “Can’t Deny It” and “Into You,” along with tracks on which he’s provided guest rap services,including Lil’ Mo’s “Superwoman” and the remix of USDA’s “White Girl.”

Older songs blended well with selections from his latest album, “Loso’s Way,” including the ominous “Lullaby” and show-closer “Throw It in the Bag” - both original and remix versions - which seemed to satisfy everyone in the not-quite full house.

More fan shot footage below.

Wyclef Jean Goes Back To School At Berklee Collage Of Music

via the Boston Herald

Attending Berklee has been a goal of the 37-year-old, Haitian-born Wyclef’s since high school. Raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., and then New Jersey, he dropped out of Five Towns College of Long Island to devote himself to the Fugees full time. Now he’s fulfilling his dream of finishing college at Berklee.

“Berklee’s the best,” he said. “It’s like you’ve got the Honda and you’ve got the Ferrari. I don’t take the Honda no more. I moved up from the Honda. I’m like, give me the Ferrari. Give me the 360 Modena that’s fully equipped with the best. And that’s Berklee. From the studio programs to the theory programs to the ensembles, there’s nothing like it. Because I’m telling you, I live in the studio. I could have just been here recording an album right now. This is the truth.”

Though Wyclef has family in Boston and visits regularly, he hasn’t spent much time on the Berklee campus studying this semester or checking out Boston. He does most of his schoolwork via online courses; his few trips to campus have been for one-on-one classes with professors.

“I was incognito a few times,” he said. “I did come in for some classes, but it’s like I come in and I just jump in the car with my driver and then I’m out. I mostly do the online class. But next semester I’m telling my record company and my manager that I want to be here more. Because what I’ve learned already is that when I’m one-on-one with a teacher or physically in a class, I’m gonna get more out of it.”

Read the full article here:
Boston Herald - The education of Wyclef Jean

Learn more about the Berklee Collage of Music here:
Berklee website

50 Cent Sheds Some Light On Album Leak And Detox

88-Keys interview in Boston

Under The Gun Review interviews 88-Keys backstage at the House of Blues in Boston July 14 .





(interview video courtesy of under the gun review)

88 Keys THE GREAT HANGOVER TOUR W/ KID CUDI & ASHER ROTH

July 15 - New York, NY - Nokia Theatre Times Square
July 16 - Mariaville, NY - Indian Lookout Country Club
July 17 - Cleveland, OH - House Of Blues
July 18 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre
July 20 - North Kansas City, MO - VooDoo Lounge
July 21 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
July 22 - Park City, UT - Harry O's
July 23 - Las Vegas, NV - House Of Blues
July 24 - San Francisco, CA - The Regency Ballroom
July 26 - West Hollywood, CA - House Of Blues
July 27 - Tempe, AZ - The Marquee
July 29 - Dallas, TX - House Of Blues
July 30 - Austin, TX Stubb's Bar-B-Q / Waller Creek Amph.
July 31 - Houston, TX - House Of Blues
August 2 - Atlanta, GA - The Tabernacle
August 3 - Norfolk, VA - NorVa
August 4 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live!
August 5 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club