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

P.O.S. Sings The Praises Of Indie Music Stores On Record Store Day 2010

Rhymesayer artist P.O.S. explains his love of independent music stores while visiting the Zia pop up store at this year's Coachella Music Festival.

Eyedea & Abilities, P.O.S. And Martin Dosh Keepin' It Independent

via The University of Oregon / The Daily Emerald

A diverse array of rap and hip-hop artists will hit the stage at WOW Hall this month. While many students have never heard of names like Eyedea & Abilities, P.O.S. or Dosh, they are part of an up-and-coming underground rap movement. And while they don’t have million-dollar contracts with Def Jam or Universal, that’s exactly how they want it.

So why would underground artists not want the fame and big-money benefits of corporate labels? The advantage that these artists have over mainstream stars such as Jay-Z, Game and Lil Wayne is self-evident.

First and foremost, big labels rarely grant unlimited artistic freedom to their musicians. In an industry focused on amassing capital, creative proclivity must be restrained in order to appease the masses and bring in cash flow. Independent labels however, tend to focus more on their artists, granting them more, if not unlimited, freedom in regards to creativity.

Rhymesayers, Eyedea & Abilities’ and P.O.S.’s independent label, meets that criteria.

“The beauty about Rhymesayers is that it’s an artist-based label and within that context, we’re allowed and even encouraged to do whatever we want,” Eyedea said.

Eyedea, whose real name is Micheal Larsen, and DJ Abilities, Gregory Keltgen, have been working together since 1998. Their latest album, “By the Throat,” came out in late July after a five-year hiatus. Their new record incorporates new elements such as free jazz, which emphasizes drums and bass.

“A lot of (free jazz) influence comes from my other band, Carbon Carousel, where I don’t rap,” Eyedea said. “I still improvise every day,” he said, “but it’s not any battle rapping.”
If students have heard of Eyedea, it’s probably been in connection to his freestyle and battling abilities. He’s won titles at Scribble Jam (1999) and Blaze Battle (2000) among others.

Purportedly, he’s been offered contracts by the likes of Eminem and P. Diddy, but Larsen still chooses to stay with the Minneapolis label Rhymesayers.

Eyedea & Abilities isn’t the only group under Rhymesayers that fuses and meshes different genres of music.



Stefon Alexander, better known as P.O.S., short for “Product of Society,” “Piece of Sh*t” or just “Pissed Off Stef,” grew up in the Minneapolis punk scene, listening to bands like At the Drive-In, Minor Threat, Refused and Kid Dynamite.

“People sometimes read articles and they write me off, like, immediately because they hear about punk rock roots or aggressive beats.,” P.O.S. said in a Seattle Times interview.
He produces about half the tracks on each of his albums, including his latest, “Never Better.”

A dichotomy exists between the punk philosophy that anyone, regardless of experience or talent, can rock out, and the rap philosophy that spitting rhymes and laying tracks takes real skill. However, P.O.S. is living proof that there can be crossover. He tips his lyrical hat to rapper Nas in his opening track, saying, “They out for presidents to represent them/You think a president could represent you?,” then later to punk rockers Fugazi, quoting, “This one’s ours, let’s take another,” from their song “Five Corporations.”



He’s toured with everyone from Aesop Rock to Cursive and is scheduled to perform at this year’s Coachella music festival. Martin Dosh will be opening for Eyedea & Abilities.

And although Dosh isn’t a rapper, he’s signed to Anticon, a genre-defying label whose roster of indie rappers and electronica artists indicates a connection. While his music doesn’t have a thumping bassline in every track, he’s able to beautifully integrate multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird’s violin and whistling into his songs.

Like the aforementioned artists, Dosh’s style spans many genres. The ability to work with the precision of Bird, yet to also complement the gritty reality of Eyedea’s lyrics shows considerable talent. For those people who have never been to an underground hip-hop or rap show before, all they have to do is throw their hands up, yell a chorus or two and feel the beat.