WAX At The Viper Room - April 7th, 2011 Concert Recap

I had the privilege to check out up and coming artist WAX live at the Viper Room on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, CA on Thursday April 7th, 2011.

WAX has been making some noise on L.A. scene for some time now with his latest mixtape Scrublife hosted by DJ Skee and most recently landing a record deal with Island/ Def Jam.

Coming from Orange County and considering the Southern California freeways around rush hour, the traffic can be unpredictable. To my relief, I arrived at the club an hour early, as a line was already 50 people deep and had wrapped around the building. As the night progressed, the club began to turn people away because the Viper Room was at over capacity, completely SOLD OUT! This was a mark of a good sign.

WAX's tribe included hip hop lovers, skaters, hipsters and all serious music people in the know. Even Hollywood was represented with actors Breckin Meyer and Mario Van Peebles in attendance. Confirmed - All that were present knew things were about to jump off with an exclusive live performance with WAX!



WAX didn't waste any time as he hit the stage performing RED the lead track off of his Scrublife mixtape (see video atop), then diving into the mercurial track Music and Liquor complete with an infectious spaghetti western whistle accompaniment provided by DJ Zoe on the 1s and 2s (see video above).

The audience ate up WAX's lyrical prose and energy as if it was biblical mana, intense.



WAX showed that he was not just a rapper and broke out his newly purchased six-string acoustic guitar, then he proceeded to tear into some Sublime-esque rhymes and rhythms. His first solo acoustic treat, She Used To Be Mine. Yeah the song is crass and crude, but robust with humor of the horror finding out your girlfriend (now WAX's ex-girlfriend) is leading a secret porn life with a 9 piece Salsa band.



With its Weezer song-along like sensibilities, WAX searches for heartbreak no more with the ditty No More Love Songs.

WAX had more musical tricks up his sleeve. His live band Dat Azz and ever faithful female back-up singers' the 2-Lips, WAX approached another epoch of his live set that blended every modern musical hybrid you can think of, done ala WAX style. Take a view and listen below.







I can easily see WAX on the Warp Tour as a break out artist, easy. Now let's get Kevin Lyman on the phone immediately and get this kid on.

WAX's musical content consists of music, broken relationships, anger, Kush, alcohol, good times with your bro's, lady friends and neighbors, but not exclusively in that order and not limited to either. From WAX's 40+ min performance, you get the sense he's edging for more new song writing and live adventures, guaranteed. And with the Cali lifestyle backdrop intact we almost wished we could live in WAX's world all-day, everyday. Amen to dat.



More info on and to download WAX's Scrublife mixtape hosted by DJ Skee HERE

Big Boi: Video From Tonight's Live Show In Paris

Outkast and Paris, this is definitely a combination that goes good together and Big Boi took full advantage of the French fandom at tonights' show (Friday, November 5th) at Elysée Montmartre performing tracks off his first solo album Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty.

(video courtesy of Adrien Picard)

Prince: Last Night's Concert Performance In Rome, Italy

'Purple Rain"


"Let's Work/You Got The Look"


"Le Freak" (Chic cover)

Photo links:
Rex Features

Setlist:
Let's Go Crazy
Delirious
1999
Shhh
Controversy
Le Freak (Chic cover)
Angel (Sarah McLachlan cover)
Nothing Compares 2 U
Uptown
Raspberry Beret
Cream
Cool
Let's Work
U Got the Look
Purple Rain

Encore:
If I Was Your Girlfriend
Kiss

Encore 2:
Little Red Corvette

Encore 3:
Dance (Disco Heat) (Sylvester cover)
Baby, I'm A Star

Encore 4:
Peach
(source)

Albe Back Performs Live At 'End Of The Weak' 10th Anniversary Concert NYC

End Of The Weak held their 10th Anniversary party at Highline Ballroom in NYC Friday September 3rd, where Homeboy Sandman, DMC of Run DMC and (above) Albe Back performed.

Check out the photos via Rule 4080 HERE

Read Birthplace's concert report HERE

(video footage courtesy of Birthplace Magazine)

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.

Photo links:
Wire Image
Anmlhse

(video courtesy of elektrik788)

Little Brother Perform Live In DC

Little Brother performed live at the Black Cat in Washington DC on their Farewell Tour Friday May 14 promoting Leftback.

Little Brother Farewell Tour Dates:
Wed May 19 - Chicago, IL at the Double Door
Wed May 26 - San Diego, CA at 4th And B
Thu May 27 - West Hollywood, CA at the Key Club
Fri May 28 - San Francisco, CA at The Independent

Little Brother Left Back on Hall of Justus in stores and online now!

(video courtesy of S-Roc)

More XXL Freshmen 2010 Concert Quality Footage Posted Online

Related:
)XXL Freshmen Class Gala NYC Concert With Cam'ron, Big Sean, Fashawn, Nipsey Hussle And More
)Donnis: More From The XXL Freshmen Class NYC Concert With Ryan Leslie & Estelle

(video courtesy of Team Satten)

Alicia Keys Live In Italy Concert Video Recap

Alicia Keys performed in Verona, Italy at the Arena Sunday, May 2 as part of Alicia's European swing of the 2010 Element of Freedom Tour.

Photo links:
Getty Images
Flickr - Franfiorini

Alicia Keys 2010 Element of Freedom Tour Dates:

5/4 - Marseille, France - Le Dome
5/7 - Berlin, Germany - O2 Arena
5/8 - Arnhem, Netherlands - Gelredome
5/9 - Frankfurt, Germany - Festhalle - Messe Frankfurt
5/12 - Hamburg, Germany - Color Line Arena
5/13 - Oberhausen, Germany - Konig - Pilsener Arena
5/15 - Merksem, Belgium - Sportpaleis Antwerpen
5/17 - Zurich, Switzerland - Hallenstadion Zurich
5/19 - Birmingham, UK - The NIA
5/21 - Dublin, Ireland - The O2 Dublin
5/23 - Glasgow, UK - S.E.C.C.
5/25 - London, UK - The O2 - London
5/26 - London, UK - The O2 - London
5/29 - Manchester, UK - Manchester Evening News Arena
5/31 - Paris, France - Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
6/2 - Barcelona, Spain - Palau Sant Jordi
6/4 - Lyon, France - Halle Tony Garnier

(video courtesy of matteocrepaldi)

Murs Performs 'Can It Be' Live In San Francisco

Murs live at the Fillmore in SF Thursday, April 29.

Murs & 9th Wonder ForNever on SMC Recordings available now!

video courtesy of Always Hustle

B.o.B. Live At Coachella 2010

Entertainment Weekly had this to say about Bobby Ray aka B.o.B.'s Coachella (Sunday, April 18) afternoon live set:

Deep bass rumbled through the field. “I just feel separated from you,” B.o.B said before climbing down toward the crowd to sing his jubilant hook from T.I.’s “Top of the World”: “I used to dream, oh, oh, about the money and the cars and girls/But now I sing, oh, oh, because I’m sitting on top of the world.” And with the second-biggest single in the country for weeks on end, he is, isn’t he? Soon B.o.B picked up a guitar to show off his rock chops. He’s a decent axeman, but only a couple of songs from this part of his set (“Don’t Let Me Fall,” “Satellite”) were at all memorable. At last he played that aforementioned No. 2 smash, “Nothin’ on You.” The crowd crooned along with his sweet-natured lyrics, a reminder of the pop platform that this unusual new star now has.

Photo links of B.o.B. performing at Coachella:
Getty Images
Film Magic

Download the audio from B.o.B.'s Coachella full live set courtesy of Young Kingz here:

B.o.B. Coachella 2010 Sunday, April 18 live set

more fan shot video below.





(video courtesy of the Qside & Kidcouture1)

Street Sweeper Social Club Perform M.I.A.'s 'Paper Planes' Live At Coachella Day 1

Here's what the L.A. Times said about the Street Sweeper Social Club's song choice and live set at Coachella 2010 from Day 1:

The Street Sweeper Social Club's cover of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" contains multitudes. When guitarist Tom Morello tossed off the opening riff of the song, a sample of the Clash's "Straight to Hell," it was unclear where the song was headed. Would it go to Joe Strummer's "If you can play on the fiddle" line? Or would it land on MIA's "I fly like paper get high like planes"? It was the latter, and SSSC, the rap rock super group featuring Morello, of Rage Against the Machine, and the Coup's incendiary lead singer, Boots Riley, tore into the song. Morello rode that menacing Clash riff while Riley rapped Maya Arulpragasam's words. As the song moved to the expert shotgun-cracks in the chorus, the guitarist moved his instrument like a weapon, blowing out into the audience.

The Social Club proved something important: that rap and rock, such a treacherous pairing given its history of appealing to the testosterone-heavy, shirtless frat-dudes, can be strong and beautiful, smart and angry. The band drew from the hard funk of Living Color, the rolling funk of Funkadelic, the rhythmic funk of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the angular riffage of the Minutemen, the global fury of M.I.A. and, well, Tom Morello. It was potent, vital, and incredibly powerful.

Photo links:
Getty Images
Wire Image

(video courtesy of mag magazine)

Gorillaz With De La Soul Perform 'Feel Good' Live At Coachella Day 3

Gorillaz were one of the closers at yesterday's Coachella festival in Indio, CA. Since De La Soul played earlier in the day, it was only natural they would join the Gorillaz with 'Feels Good'.

(video courtesy of magmazing)

Drake Live In East Lansing, Michigan State University

Drake performed Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan Wednesday, April 14.

Drake 'The Away From Home Tour' Dates:
April 15 – Rochester Hills, MI – Oakland University
April 16 – Morgantown, WV – West Virginia University
April 21 – Orlando, FL – University Central Florida
April 22 – Greenville, SC – Furman University
April 23 – Nashville, TN - Vanderbilt University (Rites of Spring Fest.)
April 24 – New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
April 26 – New Orleans, LA – University of Missouri-Kansas City
April 27 – Lexington, KY – University of Kentucky
April 29 – Lowell, MA – University Mass Lowell
April 30 – Syracuse, NY – Private Location
May 1 – Boston, MA – Private Location
May 4 – East Rutherford, NJ – Bamboozle Festival
May 5 – Towson, MD – Holy Cross
May 6 – Cheney, PA – Towson University
May 7 – Ithaca, NY – Private Location
May 8 – Plymouth, NH – Private Location
May 12 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre
May 13 - Los Angeles, CA - Club Nokia

(video courtesy of classof2006kiwi)

Clipse Live In Amsterdam

Quality footage of the Clipse performing with Abliva on their recent trip/tour to Amsterdam February 28 at Bitterzoet.

Clipse Til The Casket Drops on Re-Up Gang/Columbia Records in-stores now.

(video courtesy of ouxu)

Sean Price Paid Dues 2010

Sean Price at the 5th annual Paid Dues Festival in San Bernardino, CA this past weekend (Saturday, April 3) with Duck Down co-founder/owner Dru Ha behind the decks.

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."

B.o.B. Live At UC Irvine Bren Events Center

(photo courtesy of the OC Weekly)

Opening for Common and the Cool Kids were also on the bill, B.o.B. packed them in on Thursday, April 1 at UCI's Bren Events Center in Irvine, CA.



More photos:
OC Weekly

(video courtesy of Lanney21)

Donnis: More From The XXL Freshman Class NYC Concert With Ryan Leslie & Estelle

Related:
XXL Freshman Class Gala NYC Concert With Cam'ron, Big Sean, Fashawn, Nipsey Hussle And More

(video from hip hop beef & suits is watching)

XXL Freshman Class Gala NYC Concert With Cam'ron, Big Sean, Fashawn, Nipsey Hussle And More

via XXL

XXL’s Freshmen ’10 Live concert went down last night (March 31) at New York City’s Highline Ballroom.

The show, hosted by DJ Envy of Power 105.1 and sponsored by MTV2 and Corona, was packed from wall to wall with fans waiting to see their favorite freshmen and the headliner for the evening, Cam’ron.

The night started off with a set by Jay Rock. The gruff voiced MC brought along up-and-coming Compton rapper, Kendrick Lamar, to play hype man, as he performed a handful of of his mixtape staples, including the hit single “All My Life.”

Next up was Kanye West protege Big Sean, who performed his popular song, “Getcha Some” and a new track called “Fuck You Doin’ (Bullshit),” as well as his “Supa Dupa Lemonade” freestyle. Freddie Gibbs followed, starting off his set list with “Womb to the Tomb,” his collaboration with fellow classmate Pill. The Gary, Indiana rep later brought out Jay Rock to premiere their duet, “Rep to the Fullest.”

Pill took the stage next before passing the mic to fellow ATLien Donnis, who wowed the audience with a slew of surprises. Not only did he have a violinist accompanying him, the newly-signed Atlantic rapper boasted cameos from Estelle and Ryan Leslie, who played the keyboards during the Atlanta Brave’s rendition of “Gone.”

When Nipsey Hussle arrived, his entourage clashed with Rock’s flamed up crew backstage but it was all love. Both crews celebrated unity by shaking hands with one another in the midst of throwing up their hoods. L.A. transplant Gibbs and Neighborhood Nip even took shots of Hennessy with Jay Rock in honor of his birthday. Veteran Doug E. Fresh made a surprise appearance during the show before headliner Cam’ron hopped onstage. The Harlemite arrived around 1 a.m. with an entourage of about 40 members all supporting Killa’s latest protege Vado. The young rapper went through his standout cuts, like “Large on the Streets,” “Stop it 5″ and “Ric Flair,” before Killa jumped into “something a little more familiar.” Cam had the crowd in a frenzy as he rocked out to “Down and Out,” “Leave Me Alone,” “Wet Wipes” and “Get it in Ohio.”

Photos:
Wire Image
A Day In Tha Life Of blog

(video courtesy of xmiltonx, miss info & the masked gorilla)

B.o.B. Lights Up The Crowd Performing 'Satellite' At Purdue University

A press clipping from the Journal Courier from this particular show at Purdue University's Elliott Hall Friday March 26, as B.o.B. opened for Kid Cudi.

Snapshot concert review below:

B.o.B. delivered a content-rich set that went from bass-heavy southern rap to power rock halfway through.

The Atlanta native started off strong with such popular songs as the aggressive "Bet I Bust" featuring Playboy Tre, and the chart-topper "Nothing on You."

B.o.B. then switched gears by strapping on guitars, one electric and one acoustic.

One of the set's most memorable moments featured B.o.B. serenading one lucky female fan with the playful "Lovelier Than You," a song that blends singing and rapping with acoustic guitar.

Check out the photo link from the show here:
Kid Cudi, B.o.B. concert at Purdue University's Elliott Hall (photos)