Producers L & X Music On Crafting The J. Cole 'In The Morning' Beat

via crate kings

Brooklyn production duo L & X Music share their thoughts and experiences on crafting the beat for J. Cole 'In The Morning' featuring Drake on the Friday Night Lights mixtape. What are their thoughts on music programs, FL Studios, Logic and gear like the AKAI MPC, Yamaha Motif, Open Labs Neko, using live instrumentation and more.

J. Cole Performs At 'NBA Elite' NYC Launch Party

via XXL

Basketball season is right around the corner, and that means a new set of NBA video games are gearing up to hit stores. Last night (September 23), in honor of the release of NBA Elite 11, the newest title from EA Sports, the gaming company, with the help of Project 2050, threw a launch party in New York City.

Guests in the house for the event, which was held near Herald Square, included J. Cole, Trae Tha Truth and 9th Wonder, all of whom performed. 9th held it down on the 1s and 2s for much of the night, while Trae and Cole both took to the stage to perform. Trae, who yesterday premiered on XXLMag.com a brand new track, “The Radio Won’t Play This,” from his upcoming album, treated the crowd to a performance of “Swang.” Shortly after, XXL Freshman Class of 2010 member J. Cole rocked a short set which included performances of “All I Want Is You,” “Who Dat,” “Star Is Born” and “Higher”

9th Wonder and J. Cole each contributed to the original soundtrack for the game, with the 9th handling the bulk of the tracks while his fellow North Carolina native crafted the game’s theme, “The Plan,” which hit the Internet earlier this week.

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J. Cole Live At J&R Music Fest. 2010 + Fan Meet & Greet

From this afternoon's J&R Music Fest show in NYC, J. Cole performing live and meeting his beloved fans.

Check out the photos HERE

(video courtesy of Fare Wello, baz 8701 & Eddie Napoleoni)

Miguel: Pop Eater 'About To Pop' Interview

PE: How would you describe your sound?

Miguel: I would describe my sound as fly, futuristic, intergalactic freedom fighter rogue ill s---, on steroids [laughs]. No, I would describe my music as being honest. The sound is probably a mixture of funk, hip-hop and classic rock.

PE: Who are your biggest musical influences?

Miguel: Right now my biggest musical influences include Kanye West, Francis and the Lights, another band called Dom, Passion Pit. I always listen to J Dilla, anything he's done has been amazing, so Slum Village. Frank n Dank, Steve Spacek. Cameo is still also a huge influence on my music. Queen, and Prince.

PE: How have your past relationships influenced your songwriting?

Miguel: How have they not? I base a lot of my material on actual events. I can't think of a single song that is not based on some truth that I've lived. I think that's what makes my music stand out, because I think the honesty is apparent.

PE: What's the idea behind the futuristic video for 'All I Want Is You' and the cyborg girls?

Miguel: I wanted to accomplish something that was nostalgic, in the sense that there was familiarity in the setting, but have an intelligent twist to the video with the futuristic flair -- it mimics the vibe of the song. When you dissect the song, the '90s-era hip-hop drums, which represent the familiar, are juxtaposed with the delivery of the vocals, which are a more classic rock approach to typical R&B delivery, which I wanted the video to mirror. Alex Moors did an amazing job with it, so shout out to Alex Moors.

PE: Who would you like to collaborate with next? Are there any producers you'd really like to work with?

Miguel: I can't wait to spend a lot of time collaborating with my brother. I mean this when I say it -- he's going to be way better and doper than me at everything. That's what we want, right? For our siblings to be better? So I'm excited to collaborate with him, because his ideas, musically and lyrically, are really beyond me sometimes. We obviously have a close personal relationship, but on a musical level, he knows my taste, he knows my instincts and he can take that and run with it.

Aside from my brother, I'd love to work with Flying Lotus, Trent Reznor if possible, Kanye West, No ID, Dr. Dre, the Neptunes and many more.

PE: How has your life changed since you got a record deal?

Miguel: Honestly, that's kind of a trick question. My life didn't change that much when I got a record deal, but now that my first single is starting to get some recognition, being played in different markets and whatnot, not to mention the videos on MTV and VH1, it's kind of cool hearing from people who really like the music and dig the sound. They go out and dig for my other music and give me such great feedback. (source)

J. Cole & Freeway Perform Live At Heineken Inspire Philadelphia

Last night's Heineken Inspire event in Philly, it was an all-star line-up of the best in R&B and Hip Hop with Floetry's Marsha Ambrosius, J. Cole, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Musiq Soulchild were all in the house for this one of a kind concert.

History was made when Roc Nation's J. Cole surprised everyone by bringing hometown Roc-A-Fella favorite Freeway for an impromtu set that made the fans go wild.

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Anmlhse

(video courtesy of elektrik788)

J. Cole - 'Who Dat' (video)

J. Cole first time video offering for his official single 'Who Dat.' I anticipate many more song and visuals coming in the year ahead from Mr. Cole.

Miguel – All I Want Is You ft. J.Cole (video)

J.Cole Interview With The Source

Recorded at RutgersFest this past May.

J.Cole Cole World on Roc Nation/Columbia coming soon!

J. Cole, Reflection Eternal And More Live At Rutgersfest 2010 Concert Recap

via Rutgers school newspaper The Daily Targum

About 30,000 people made their way to Livingston campus to join the Rutgers University Programming Association, Rutgers University Student Assembly and Student Life Friday for its annual Rutgersfest.

This year’s Rutgersfest lineup featured artists Brand New, Talib Kweli, J. Cole and P.O.S., as well as Battle of the Bands winner Reality Addiction.

“Rutgersfest has been in the making for about a year,” RUPA President Ana Castillo said. “It’s been a long time since we have had this many performers, so I think it is going to be fun for everyone. Hopefully everyone will enjoy it, because we do have a good mix of people.”

Students shared their views on the artists and events at the concert.

“Brand New was definitely my favorite part,” School of Arts and Sciences sophomore Alissa Jayne said. “Honestly, I have never even heard of any of the other acts, and then I downloaded some Talib Kweli, and I loved him. He was awesome.”

But not everyone agreed with Jayne.

Livingston College senior Desron Dorest said the lineup was sub-par in comparison to past Rutgersfests.

“If they had a more diverse lineup, I think it would have been a little bit better,” he said.

Still, Dorest said he had fun, and the event is not only about the musical lineup.
“[It was good] that everybody was able to stay here, and it was a great day out,” he said. “We don’t want to leave, so it was a good thing.”

During the concert, hip-hop artist J. Cole climbed down from the stage to meet the fans in the front row.

“I just try to understand that maybe next year, I won’t be able to do this, you know,” J. Cole said after the show. “Maybe I won’t have fans, or next year I will be too big to take the time out, so while I still can do it, I try to show as much love as possible.”

J. Cole, 25, is the first artist to sign with rapper Jay-Z’s label Roc Nation.

“I love playing college shows. I feel like I know these people, you know, I went to school with these people in a sense,” he said. “I feel like I know them well.”

For some students, Rutgersfest does more than just mark the end of a year at the University. It is an event to bring the University together for one last time before the semester ends.

Photos Here:
Rutgersfest 2010 - The NJ Underground

J. Cole Live At S.O.B.'s NYC Concert Recap

via Showing Out

Last night at New York City venue SOB’s, the Roc was definitely in the building. Performing to a sold-out crowd, Roc Nation’s own J. Cole ripped through cuts off his seminal mixtape The Warm Up and threw in a few surprises during his hourlong set, including guest appearances from Young Chris, Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek to help out on a few of their collaborations with the freshman emcee. With a crowd packed into the venue tighter than a shrunken pair of skinny jeans, the show was a taste of bigger things to come for the rapper, who’s readying his Roc Nation debut for release later this year.

With industry figures like Statik Selektah, Sha Money XL and Pill watching from V.I.P., J. Cole made his grand entrance to the stage at around 10:30 P.M., kicking off the show with a rendition of “Dollar & A Dream II” where the North Carolina emcee spit acapella before the DJ kicked the instrumental. Cole followed with “World is Empty” before addressing the crowd, reflecting on how he arrived to NYC seven years prior and caught a relatively unknown Kanye West play at the very same venue. Cue “Last Call,” which Cole destroyed before segueing into his “Dead Presidents II” freestyle, the centerpiece of his Warm Up tape.



Cole next brought out Young Chris as his first guest of the evening, bringing the on-wax magic of their collabo “Still the Hottest” alive on stage. “I Get Up” and “Losing My Balance” followed, with Cole pandering to the crowd by bigging up Queens and Brooklyn. “Dreams” and “Lights Please” came next, with the latter seeing the rapper spit over a naked keyboard melody before the beat crashed in and kicked the joint into full gear.



Once the beat for Talib Kweli’s “Get By” began booming through the speakers, Cole spit his verse from his freestyle before inviting Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek on stage to do the original track, rocking the beat before performing their collaboration “Just Begun” off Reflection Eternal’s forthcoming sophomore album Revolutions Per Minute. But the highlight of the evening? Cole played some new shit for a song called “Who Dat,” a joint that began with an instrumental that sampled the same beat as Beanie Sigel’s song of the same name, with the instro cutting out to let Cole spit it acapella. The up-and-comer shut down the set with his verse from Wale’s “Beautiful Day” and “Grown Simba,” and by the end, the star that had only recently been born had truly begun to shine.

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Check out more J. Cole SOB's live reviews here:
New York Times
Entertainment Weekly
MTV
XXL
Hip Hop Update
Hip Hop DX

A nice video montage recaping the show from 2 dope boyz below.



more fan shot footage below.





(video courtesy of LaceZilla, akirshba, 2 dope boyz, HenritoLuvsTRL, Young CTV & Hip Hop & BS)

Jay-Z: More Los Angeles, CA Live Show Reviews & Videos Posted Online

As reported by Jeff Miller at the Orange County Register

Still don’t believe the Democrats’ party line about a post-racial America? Then obviously you weren’t at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion Sunday night for Jay-Z’s absolutely outstanding show.

You can’t make this up: in one row, right by the stage, sitting next to each other, were a pair of very young white kids, bumping up and down and singing every word of “Empire State of Mind” and “Hard Knock Life” … alongside a bearded man in a turban attempting to both impress his date and pretend to ignore his next-door neighbors … who happened to be an interracial couple, basketball player Rick Fox and actress Eliza Dushku … plus a Latina too busy taking pictures of the superstar rapper to even pay attention to her tabloid-royalty seatmates.

With Michael Jackson’s passing, there may be no other entertainer in the world able to unify such a diverse audience. And Jay-Z –- the Brooklyn-born hip-hop prince who has managed to maintain an impressively lengthy career unheard of for a genre filthy with flashes-in-the-pan –- isn’t one to let such an opportunity pass him by.

But what Jay-Z’s best at is connecting with his audience, and here he did it in one of the most literal ways I’ve ever seen. As the band vamped its way through some funk towards the end of the show, he asked for the house lights to go up, took off the sunglasses he wore throughout the rest of the set, and literally thanked audience members one by one –- 40 or so of them, anyway.



“You in the USC shirt? You have a good time? Good luck getting out of here.”
“Hey, little guy -– your first Jay-Z show? You enjoy yourself? Thanks so much for coming!”



As reported by Gerrick Kennedy at the Los Angeles Times

Not quite midway through the show, Rihanna, draped in black and standing on an elevated riser, emerged from underneath the stage to sing her vocal on Jay-Z's summer hit, "Run This Town," from his 11th studio album, “The Blueprint 3.”

Young women in the audience jumped onto their chairs, camera phones in hand, for a better glimpse, their screams ringing out in near unison over the arena. One fan nearby turned to her friend and screamed, "Oh my God, is that really her?"

It was the first time the pop star had performed since breaking her nearly nine month silence last week about being assaulted by former boyfriend Chris Brown in February.

Armed with a newfound swagger, she sang on "Run This Town," then treated the crowd to the new single "Hard" (sans Young Jeezy) from her upcoming album, "Rated R," due Nov. 23. Jay-Z nodded his head in approval -- from the side of the stage.



He was equally generous when it came to spotlighting the other performers on the bill. J.Cole, the first act signed to Jay-Z's label Roc Nation, opened the show and joined the rapper later for their collaboration "A Star Is Born."



Up-and-comer Wale was embraced by the sold-out crowd, who rapped along with every word of the Washington, D.C., native's hit "Chillin" from his studio debut, "Attention Deficit," out Tuesday. No stranger to the mix-tape circuit, Wale appeared every bit the seasoned performer, delivering a high-energy, engaging set.



When it came to high energy, though, it would have been difficult for any of the acts to compete with N.E.R.D. The band, fronted by the Neptunes' Pharell Williams, doesn't have the same album sales as the artists it produces, but group's fan base is loyal, judging by how easily concertgoers transformed the arena into a raucous mosh pit.



Playing for an hour, the genre-bending rockers ran through such hits as "Lapdance" and "Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom)," with Lupe Fiasco joining them on the latter track. Williams' raspy falsetto was sometimes lost in the massive mix, but the presence of female vocalist Rhea added a strong, sexy edge to the songs.

More fan shot footage below.





Read the full show reviews here:
Orange County Register - Jay-Z wows again in L.A. with help from Rihanna

Los Angeles Times - Live review: Jay-Z at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion

Related:
Jay-Z Bounces To The Beat At UCLA's Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles Show Recap

Jay-Z 'The Blueprint 3' World Tour dates:
Nov. 12 – University of Illinois – Assembly Hall – Champaign, IL
Nov. 13 - Vanderbilt University - Nashville, TN
Nov. 17 - United Spirit Arena - Lubbock, TX
Nov. 19 – Tingley Coliseum – Albuquerque, N.M.
Nov. 20 – Don Haskins Center – El Paso, TX
Nov. 22 – Frank Erwin Center Arena – Austin, TX

And the second leg of the tour starts in 2010 with Young Jeezy opening the show.
Feb. 22 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center
Feb. 23 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
Feb. 25 - New Orleans, LA - New Orleans Arena
Feb. 27 - Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena
Feb. 28 - Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum Complex
Mar. 03 - Washington, DC - Verizon Center
Mar. 07 - Norfolk, VA - Norfolk Scope Arena
Mar. 11 - Boston, MA - TD Garden
Mar. 16 - Pittsburgh, PA - Mellon Arena
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 At San Jose
Mar. 26 - Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center

(videos courtesy of OPiiE562, shahanamama2you, masterkkoosh, cLark & moviebruin)

J.Cole Live at AC3 Hip Hop Festival Atlanta, GA

AC3 Hip Hop Festival 2009 related coverage on Hooked on That:

Pill Performs at the AC3 Music Festival in Atlanta, GA

Curren$y Performance at AC3 Hip Hop Festival Atlanta, GA

Spree Wilson Performs "Dreamworld" at AC3 Atlanta, GA

Kidz In The Hall Performance At AC3 Hip Hop Festival Atlanta, GA

Rakim and Killer Mike at AC3 Hip Hop Festival Atlanta, GA

AC3 Hip Hop Festival Atlanta, GA Report

Mikkey Halsted Live At AC3 Hip Hop Festival Atlanta, GA

Bobby Creekwater Live At AC 3 Hip Hop Festival Atlanta, GA

(video courtesy of ShutItDownTV & BackStagePass4You)