A chance to meet hip hop artist, actor and now author Common, as he promotes his new book One Day It’ll All Make Sense. If you are lucky enough to live near these cities to get your own personal copy signed by Lonnie himself will surely be a treat.
Where: Simon & Schuster Book Signing – Diversity Council 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020 When: Wednesday, September 14 12:45PM – 2:00PM
Where: ALOUD LA Public Library LA Public Library – Mark Taper Auditorium (soldout) 630 W. Fifth St., Los Angeles, CA 90071 When: Friday, September 16 7:00PM
Where: Barnes & Noble Book Signing 210 Americana Way, Glendale, CA 91210 When: Monday, September 19 7:00PM
Where: Macy’s Book Signing 111 North State Street, Chicago, IL 60602 When: Tuesday, September 20 12:00PM – 2:00PM
Where: Barnes & Noble – Depaul 1 E. Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60604 When: Tuesday, September 20 5:45PM – 8:00PM
Where: University of Illinois 601 East John Street, Champaign, IL 61820 When: Wednesday, September 21 5:30PM
Where: Saint Louis University 221 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63103 When: Thursday, September 22 6:00PM
Airing happened last night on VH1. In cased you missed the full episode, here you go.
about this episode via the press release:
This episode of "Behind The Music" will trace Jennifer Hudson's humble beginnings of growing up with her close knit family on the south side of Chicago to her early elimination from "American Idol." After "Idol," Jennifer found fame with a starring role in "Dream Girls" that earned her every major movie award Hollywood could bestow including an Academy Award®. Just after becoming engaged to the love of her life and releasing her self-titled debut album, Jennifer was devastated by the unspeakable tragedy of losing her mother, brother and nephew in a horrifying triple murder. For the very first time, Jennifer talks candidly about overcoming such a painful time in her life and her triumphant return to the public eye on the night she won her first Grammy® Award. Now a mother herself, this episode features exclusive footage of Jennifer interacting with her son David Jr. as she strives to raise her son in the same loving environment her mother created for her. In addition to Jennifer, "Behind The Music" has interviewed Jennifer's sister Julia, Randy Jackson, fiance David Otunga, Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah, Whitney Houston, Ne-Yo, Robin Thicke, Clive Davis and many others.
In case you missed it today, R. Kelly performed the song “Sign of a Victory” with the Soweto Spiritual Singers at the opening ceremony of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Cool Kids, a duo consisting of Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish, are going through legal trouble regarding their name ... and might have to change their group's name.
Rumors of a name change to Chuck & Mike have been circulating the industry for months now. Then, a video hit the net referencing the new moniker and confusing fans. But, the duo's most recent mixtape, Tacklebox, used their original Cool Kids name.
So what's the deal?
In a recent interview with Time Out Chicago, both members addressed the situation, but didn't go into details.
"We're in some legal bull," said Rocks. "We've got somebody trying to sabotage us. The legal system takes time. But it's 2010, man. We don't have time to sit around waiting for paperwork. Hopefully people that listen to us, listen to us, not our name."
"Names don't matter," Inglish added. "If that's the thing we have to cut, we'll just go by Chuck & Mike. But we put a lot of sh** into that name. Honestly, I probably hate the idea."
Later in the interview, the Kids talk about the hold up for their debut album, When Fish Ride Bicycles ... it's the label they say.
"Sh** ain't on us," says Chuck.
"The label is trash. Complete trash. I’m telling you," Mikey adds.
While they wait, they've dropped mixtapes, but the Kids admit that they don't want to. They'd rather sell their music, but just to stay in the marketplace, they release them out of necessity.
Both rappers says they wouldn't do it if they didn't have to.
"Only people in rap have to put out mixtapes. Rappers are just droppin' free sh**," explained Chuck. "You don't tour a mixtape. You don't even put that much effort into it."
"We did our mixtapes for survival. I pray I don't have to keep doing them," he continued.
The Cool Kids, or Chuck & Mike as they might be referred to soon, have dropped seven mixtapes -- their latest being Tacklebox.
At press time, there was no release date for their album.
After taking a self-imposed break from the spotlight the past eight months, Kanye West returned to the stage on Tuesday – his 33rd birthday – to reward three Chicago Public Schools for improving its grades, behavior and attendance.
The Kanye West Foundation's third annual Stay in School event brought West to Farragut Career Academy and John Marshall Metropolitan and Percy L. Julian high schools, unlike in past years when West brought students to the House of Blues and Chicago Theatre to watch him rhyme.
The three schools each earned a mini-concert by posting the highest gains among seven participating Chicago schools, according to the foundation.
As if a concert featuring one of music's biggest stars wasn't enough, West had fellow Chicago rappers Lupe Fiasco and Common join him at each show. The six-song set at Farragut began with Fiasco performing "Superstar," followed by Common performing "Universal Mind Control."
“We want to congratulate you on the incredible job you’ve done in school,” said Common, later adding “Whatever you do, be the best at it.”
Shortly after that, the man of the hour made his way onto the makeshift stage decked out in sunglasses. West opened with “Run This Town,” which he performed on "The Jay Leno Show" in Sept. 2009 during one of his last public appearances, then “Good Life,” his new song “Power” and “Touch the Sky.”
(Television cameras weren't allowed to tape the recently leaked "Power.")
The Grammy-winning rapper didn’t say much in between tracks besides asking the crowd if they wanted to hear another song and left most of the talking to Fiasco and Common. West wasn’t made available to media at the event.
The mini-concert at Farragut ended with over 1,600 students, all wearing white Kanye West Foundation t-shirts, serenading West with "Happy Birthday."
"This is a fantastic (event) that proves that when all students get together...they can achieve great things," Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Ron Huberman said.
Common performs live at the 'Only The Brave' Block Party 2 at Place Stalingrad on June 4, 2010 in Paris, France, part of a concert promotion for Diesel's Only The Brave fragrance.
So does Twista provide good luck to his hometown White Sox by throwing the first pitch? The verdict would be a yes as the White Sox closed in and shut out the Florida Marlins 8-0 in last night's game.
At last night's (Thursday, March 18) BP3 tour stop in Chicago, Ill, Jay-Z delivered a not yet heard freestyle dedication to Cleveland Cavilers superstar LeBron James. Lebron is in town as the Cleveland Cavs play the Chicago Bulls tonight.
LeBron James returned the favor by hosting an after-party (LeBron's BlackOut) for Jay-Z at the Shrine, check out the photos here:
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
Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival appearance: Apr 16 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Club
Jay-Z European Tour Dates:
Jun 4 Rock am Ring, Germany Jun 5 Rock im Park, Germany Jun 6 Paris Bercy, France Jun 7 Manchester, UK - Manchester Evening News Arena Jun 9 Birmingham, UK - LG Arena Jun 11 Isle of Wright, UK - Seaclose Park Jul 2 Eurockeennes Belfort, France Jul 4 London, UK - Hyde Park - Wireless Festival Jul 9 Oxygen, Ireland Jul 10 Frauenfeld, Switzerland - Openair Frauenfeld Jul 11 T in the Park, Scotland
01. Intro: The Agent 02. Talk My Shit 03. Say Whassup ft. Phonte of Little Brother 04. How High ft. Little Brother & Darien Brockington 05. Chocolates 06. One Arm Push Up 07. Prosperity 08. Truth On You ft. Twone Gabz 09. Intermisson: Juan Carlos 10. Chicago 11. Agony ft. Glenn Lewis 12. Last Night 13. Give It To Me ft. Saigon & Adad 14. Intermission: No Help 15. City Is Fallen ft. Slique 16. Celebration
RhymefestEL Che LP on dN|Be Entertainment/EMI arrives May 18.
At Allstate (Wednesday, March 3), the singer wasn’t content to stay in one place, let alone one style, for very long. Her 100-minute, 22-song set was a jumble of ideas that didn’t quite jell into a consistently powerful performance. When (Alicia) Keys stripped things down and gave her voice and fingers room to move, she was riveting.
She was never better than during her all-too-brief piano interludes. Keys sounds best when she’s at a keyboard, setting up natural call-and-response patterns that were further accentuated by three excellent backing singers.
The singer went to church on “Prayer for Forgiveness,” “Diary” and especially the slow-build secular gospel of “Like You’ll Never See Me Again.” It was almost a relief to see Keys sit down and explore the songs rather than shaking and shimmying through them.
The concert began with a gimmick: Keys singing from inside a cage before breaking free, the better to hammer home the night’s themes of self-empowerment and self-determination. She started “Fallin’ ” on a toy keyboard, then built to a big show-biz finish. She vamped it up with wailing electric guitar on “Another Way to Die,” the James Bond theme song she cowrote with the White Stripes’ Jack White. She tossed in a snippet of the Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime” during “Karma,” and stepped with her dancers during “Heartburn.” Throw in a series of go-get-'em video graphics, everything from Martin Luther King quotes to images of Gandhi, John F. Kennedy and Princess Diana (huh?), and you had a concert that sometimes resembled an over-stuffed video game more than a showcase for a gifted artist.
On “Like the Sea” and “I Need You,” she blended electric piano and thick Moog chords to create mini-symphonies of longing and obsession. Even a malfunctioning keytar couldn’t stop her from kicking out some Prince-style funk on “Go Ahead” with her band.
The last portion of the show was devoted to big anthems, designed to rock the arena U2-style. But the Allstate was only half full, and big production numbers such as “Put it in a Love Song” and “No One” strained to make an impact. Keys wanted it all, but her piano knew better.
Alicia Keys’ set list Wednesday at Allstate Arena:
1 Caged Bird 2 Love is Blind 3 Trouble 4 You Don't Know My Name 5 Fallin’ 6 Another Way to Die 7 Karma 8 Heartburn 9 Like the Sea 10 I Need You 11 Prayer for Forgiveness 12 Diary 13 Like You’ll Never See Me Again 14 Wait Til You See Me Smile 15 Go Ahead 16 Put it in a Love Song 17 Unthinkable (I’m Ready) Backup singer interlude: Feeling Good 18 Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart 19 Superwoman 20 If I Ain’t Got You 21 No One
Encore 22 Empire State of Mind
More fan shot footage below.
(video courtesy of ZalandLex)
Alicia Keys 2010 Element of Freedom Tour Dates:
3/5 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre 3/6 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre 3/8 - London, ON - John Labatt Centre 3/10 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre 3/11 - Verona, NY - Turning Stone 3/13 - Mashantucket, CT - Foxwoods Casino 3/14 - Mashantucket, CT - Foxwoods Casino 3/17 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden 3/19 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Centre 3/20 - Atlantic City, NJ - Mark Etess Arena 3/22 - Boston, MA - Agganis Arena 3/24 - Baltimore, MD - 1st Mariner Arena 3/25 - Washington, DC - Verizon Center 3/27 - Miami, FL - American Airlines Arena 3/28 - Tampa, FL - St. Pete Times-Forum 3/30 - Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena 4/2 - Dallas, TX - Nokia Theater (Grand Prairie) 4/3 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center 4/6 - Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center 4/7 - Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl 4/9 - Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay 4/10 - Oakland, CA - Oracle Coliseum
Hip-Hop Wired: I hear you rapping about having this SAG card, are we in danger of you retiring to act fulltime?
Common: I don't see myself retiring, God willing I just keep growing as an artist. I look at different ways to put out music. Right now I'm working on a song with Cassandra Wilson and Terrence Blanchard. Now that's jazz but I'm doing it different, like I'm not just rapping on it, it's actually more of a spoken word/jazz type of think.
I love Jazz music so it made me think about doing a jazz album at some point. Of course acting is a priority for me and I'm focusing on that, but I want to be able to interview with you and we talk about Oscars. We'll put it out there and make it come to fruition.
Hip-Hop Wired: You've also been engaging in voiceover work and you just had the Superbowl Gatorade commercial. Do you think you have a leg up on that considering all your raps?
Common: Yes I can come into the studio and be confident and be like oh boy my voice sounds weird. You still have to channel different things in a voiceover but I have two advantages. I rap so I've been in the studio a lot and I'm an actor so I know how to get into character for what's needed. I've been seeing a lot of spots and being like man I like that whole “What's G” and “That's G,” (Gatorade) it feels authentic and pure to me.
I like when I see spots that really get my attention. I don't watch TV and do stuff like that too much, I don't be all into popular culture all the time. Overall I walk in my own path. I embrace the world but I don't know all the reality shows and stuff like that so when a commercial can get my attention that's saying something.
Hip-Hop Wired: Your former producer NO I.D. is finally getting his shine. He pulled in a few Grammy's with his work with Jay-Z and Kanye West…
Common: That's my man and I'm very happy for him. I congratulated him. It's so well deserved; he's a talented dude, he just being true to what he's been doing for a long time. More Grammys for him to come. I know he's really excited.
Hip-Hop Wired: What's up with you and the new project?
Common: The new album is called The Believer. I actually don't have a date but I'm planning for this year. I'm working with No I.D. and Twilight Tone and Kanye. It's the raw Hip-Hop. It's gonna uplift the spirit. It's the people's music, that's what I'm doing.
Hip-Hop Wired: Chicago made a lot of news last year with the rise in teen violence and the murder of Derrion Albert. What's your take on what's going on in your city and this epidemic sweeping the country?
Common: First of all, it's very painful for me to see our people killing each other. I know it's definitely difficult times so I understand under stressful times how we can react. Some of the solution can be that we have to really start teaching our youth respect and listening to them and seeing what they need and want and treating them with respect and teaching them how to respect themselves and others. Because honestly when anybody is going to kill somebody that means you gotta be going through your own pain and suffering yourself.
Somehow we gotta find out those that are going through that pain and teach them better ways to deal with it. That's gonna come from home, having family members around, from school programs, from afterschool programs. I'm plugging but I established the Common Ground Foundation to provide the youth with other avenues to express themselves.
February 16, 2010, CHICAGO – Grammy Award winner, Rhymefest, will release his highly anticipated album El Che on May 18, 2010 via dN|Be Entertainment. Distributed by EMI, in conjunction with Rosehip Records, the full length LP features production from beatsmiths Scram Jones, S1, BKS, and Terry Hunter. The 16 track opus also boasts guest appearances from Little Brother, Saigon, Glen Lewis, and fellow Chicago emcee Twone Gabz.
The follow up to his critically acclaimed Blue Collar LP, Rhymefest's El Che promises to deliver raw lyrics over epic production. Hip Hop lovers should expect to hear an unfiltered Rhymefest, liberated from the corporate suits and oppressive ideas of the prevailing record industry. As dN|Be Entertainment's flagship artist, the Chicago emcee now has full creative control over his projects. When questioned about his new partnership with dN|Be Entertainment, Rhymefest mentioned "I wanted to be somewhere that not only appreciates artistry, lyricism, and originality, but also serves a greater purpose in Hip Hop and the Black community."
In anticipation of El Che's release, dN|Be Entertainment has launched the interactive website ElCheTheMovement.com. Fans can connect with Rhymefest through the website's blog, videos, streaming music, and social networking links to Facebook and Twitter. Exclusive content concerning the El Che LP will be uploaded daily. Rhymefest's tour dates (including Austin's SXSW) can also be found there. Finally, Rhymefest will be releasing his last pre-album mixtape titled DANGEROUS: 5-18 on ElCheTheMovement.com this spring.
Rapper Naledge (pictured, left) and producer Double-0 (right) are spending the afternoon riding with me in a black SUV as their driver takes us on a full circuit around the island of Manhattan. Along the way they blast their third album as a duo, Land of Make Believe, which is due March 9. The University of Pennsylvania alums see it as their most personal release yet. “As an emcee, I’ve been good at expressing generalities and being playful and witty and telling allegories and fables and third-person stories,” says lifelong Chicagoan Naledge. “That’s not what this is. This album is me.”
Like Naledge, then, Land of Make Believe’s opening jams sound upbeat, ready to party, confident verging on cocky. By the time its 15 tracks are through, though, an anxious edge creeps in, mirroring what both Kidz have been feeling lately as they assess the state of their career. “The dream of putting the first album out, it’s come and gone,” says New Jersey’s Double-0. “We still love to make music. (But) how can we dig deeper? How can we be more evolved?”
Naledge’s doubts along similar lines were thrown into sharp focus by the violent death of a close cousin last year. “I had just come from doing shows and being on the road. I put myself into the casket and I was just like, ‘Who am I? If I were to die today, what is it? Are you VIP tables and bottles and girls? My bio says I’m an Ivy League graduate and I’m the smartest guy in the world, but are you really living that way?’…As a rapper, I feel sometimes we don’t show that vulnerability. We’re real people, and there’s dimensions and layers to who we are, and we should explore them.”
Yet that aspect of mainstream rap has shown signs of changing in recent years, as Kanye West’s superstardom has opened the door to a new generation of introspective artists. “You see that self-reflection in what Drake is doing and what (Kid) Cudi is doing,” notes Double-0. Those newcomers’ success makes it conceivable that a fun yet thoughtful album like Land of Make Believe could actually spawn a hit single.
Whether or not that happens, though, chances are we’ll hear all about the Kidz’ thoughts on the matter come next album. “It’s therapeutic to talk to yourself and evaluate yourself,” says Naledge with a smile as we get ready to leave the now-parked SUV and part ways. “It’s an ongoing conversation. I just tend to do it on beats.” (source)
Lupe performing his new single “I’m Beaming” for his hometown crowd.
The Go Cheryle for Senate Campaign Concert featuring Lupe Fiasco happened Thursday January 28 at The Shrine Chicago. Lupe helped raise money for Illinois representative Cheryle Jackson's U.S. Senate campaign and to remind people to vote on Tuesday February 2.
