First of it's kind, DJ Skee brings the mayhem with his first annual SkeeTox event touching down at the Vanguard tonight, with performances from Mike Posner, Cisco Adler and Ya Boy and many surprise guests.
Here's what the Los Angeles Times Pop & Hiss section has to say about SkeeTox ...
Whether you sport khakis and Chuck Taylors, backpacks and beanies, or flannels and designer frames, you'll find something tailored to you this weekend. One of the busiest two-day stretches in recent rap memory commences Friday night at Vanguard with DJ Skee's "Skeetox." Presented by popular KIIS FM and Sirius XM personality DJ Skee, "Skeetox" finds the nascent music mogul behind the turntables, backed by a seven-piece band and performances from Mike Posner, Cisco Adler and Ya Boy, plus undisclosed "huge big-name acts."
While Pop and Hiss has been sworn to secrecy upon threat of execution by a team of steroid-addled Ukrainian hammer throwers, those looking for hints might be well-served to scan the old Death Row discography and pick out a few of the more prominent names. In addition, rumors have swirled regarding names very familiar to those with subscriptions to The Fader. According to the news release, "Skeetox" will feature a full LED light wall and visual stage show -- "think Pink Floyd meets Nicki Minaj meets Lady Gaga." So basically, expect "The Muppet Show," but with more marijuana and rapping.
50 Cent at the 02 Arena in Dublin, Ireland Sunday, March 21.
His songs may glorify violence and his heavily tattooed physique would put the fear into any sensible being, but 50 Cent can be incredibly charming.
On two separate occasions the New York rapper, actor and business tycoon invites on stage young boys he picks out of the audience. His sweet discussions with them and his encouragement of their hip-hop moves would win top marks from any parental guide.
And throughout the show, Fiddy -- or Curtis Jackson, as he's known to his mother -- beams beatifically, displaying a set of perfect American teeth. For someone who has been shot nine times, he looks in remarkably fine health.
There is no doubting his charisma, or his ability to rap, yet the 50 Cent live experience leaves much to be desired.
His band favour a brute force approach, shunning the more nuanced, rich sound of his records while regular G Unit cohorts Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks tend to be more miss than hit, particularly in the 'intervals' when they have to carry the show while the main man is backstage changing into yet another T-shirt.
The pair are especially lame when leading the crowd into a polemic of sorts, 'Smoke Weed'. But they don't literally smoke the drug -- as they did in a recent Amsterdam gig.
Much of the show is spent regurgitating material on Fiddy's most recent and weakest album, 'Before I Self Destruct', and it's hardly surprising that the crowd engage most when he dusts off his biggest hits.
'In Da Club', in particular, has The O2 rocking, but such songs don't come frequently enough in a set that's well over two hours long.
You don't have to try too hard to get rich in this town.
Multimillionaire rapper 50 Cent landed an extra pay cheque when he arrived at a Dublin nightclub at the weekend, even though he spent a large part of his time there recording material with his new high-spec camera.
Sipping cranberry juice and leaving the more hardcore partying to his 20-strong entourage, the American musician glad-handed and posed with the punters in the Wright Venue in Swords on Sunday night, during his official after-show party.
Even though he landed an undisclosed sum for turning up following his show in the O2, he failed to take to the microphone or even the decks during his two-and-a-half hours in the club.
Instead he left it to his DJ, Wu Kid (DJ Whoo Kid) , and members of the G-Unit backing band to entertain the 1,000 people who paid €15 each for entry on the special night. A spokesman for the Wright Venue said they had been asked to host the official after-show party but declined to say how much the rapper was paid.
The star arrived at the northside venue just before 11pm in a convoy of six blacked-out people-carriers and was quick to mix with the crowds inside, posing with Irish rugby international Cian Healy, among others.
"We were expecting him to go to the VIP area and stay there for the evening but he did a whole tour of the club," the spokesman said.
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
Early Wednesday morning, Busta Rhymes was absolutely basking in an afterglow at 2:10 a.m. in the heart of Brooklyn, New York. Busta had just performed with Rick Ross, Fabolous, Red Café and Puff Daddy at the Lab nightclub — the collective, wearing T-shirts that read "Invisible Bully," took to the stage to honor the 13th anniversary of the death of Notorious B.I.G.
"Brooklyn is so thorough," Busta yelled in the parking lot. "We seeing U-Haul trucks, we smelling jerk chicken — Brooklyn's reppin', homie."
Busta brought the ruckus with his chorus on "Victory." There was no way Rhymes would have missed saluting his close friend, Biggie.
"God bless Ms. Wallace and thank you so much Ms. Wallace for giving us such greatness. As far as existence is concerned ... Big was greatness as far as existence was concerned," he said. "When I'm sitting in the venue, we sippin' on all type of things and we watching and really being able to appreciate how every single song ... you know how people got their favorites. It's one thing for people to sing their favorites, but it's another when everybody sings the entire catalog. Special homie!"
Buss said the night was just about perfect — however, one person was missing.
"The one thing I definitely feel a little funny about is that the homie Lil Wayne had to go in and the timing was so close to a moment. Not only did he tear it down at Madison Square Garden, I wish he had a couple of more days to be able to come and tear it down for us honoring the legacy of the late great B.I. I'm sure Weezy would have came through and repped with everybody that came through tonight. With that being said, I hope the homie holds his head, do his little stint, 85 percent of his stint, and comes home safe in one piece. Because you really can't cage genius. During 14th anniversary, we wanna see Weezy over here showing love to the late great B.I. Big up to the whole Young Money. Shout-out to the whole Cash Money."
Rapper Jay-Z hosted an after-party at his famous 40/40 club in New York City following his sold out concert in Madison Square Garden on Tuesday March 2nd. His wife Beyonce was there, and so was Michelle Williams, Lebron James, Drake, BETs Stephen Hill and his tour-mate Young Jeezy.
Black Eyed Peas Madison Square Garden All Major Media Outlets Concert Reviews:
Love or hate this band, you've got to respect any act that can make the concrete bounce to the beat of their fans' devotion. Like Aerosmith, the Stones and The Who, the Peas have joined the roster of those who've literally rocked the Garden.
Like many groups anxious about their performing skills, the Peas amped up their bass lines and beats to murderous levels. The result flattened the melodies and halted any sense of momentum, which for dance music, spells death.
The staging did little to distract from the dirge. Based around a futurist motif - complete with outfits that made the group appear like rejected Transformers - the look matched the sound in its robotic chill.
It was pop’s latest sci-fi spectacle, in a lineage that dates back at least as far as Janet Jackson’s 1990 Rhythm Nation Tour and has lately yielded high-tech tours by Kanye West and Lady Gaga. While one purpose of a tour is to offer fans the physical, human presence of the stars, Black Eyed Peas are unabashed pop cyborgs — and that’s how the fans like them.
From the onset, when the four-person crew entered via platforms underneath the stage, to midway through the set when Will.I.Am freestyled rhymes based on text messages, the Peas put on a concert that was every bit as energetic as their pulsing tracks.
As the booming bass of "Let's Get It Started" drummed up, Apl.de.Ap was the first BEP member to pop up onstage. He was soon followed by Taboo and Fergie. A billowing cloud of smoke enshrouded the stage as Will.I.Am joined his mates, complete with a "Phantom of the Opera"-like mask.
As pure spectacle, the show often delivered. Robots! Lasers! Sequins! Masks! Leather! The futuristic theme was reminiscent of Kanye West’s 2008 Glow in the Dark tour, with the Peas’ party-all-the-time aesthetic in place of Kanye’s grandiose introspection. The sound mix made it difficult to discern the Peas’ lyrics at times, but that hardly mattered. We could certainly hear the all-important boom-boom-pow beats clearly enough. Visually, things stayed busy, even frenetic, with constant costume changes and scenery shifts to keep us entertained.
And the BEP After Party covered by the New York Post
The Bacardi party at M2 after the Black Eyed Peas show at the Garden Wednesday night was a bigger event than the concert itself. The bandmates -- minuswill.i.am., who was a no-show -- gave a surprise performance at the Chelsea club, singing two of their songs, "Imma Be" and "Boom Boom Pow," for enthusiastic fans. Apl.de.ap also hopped behind the turntables while Fergie sang along to a mix of hip-hop songs. The Peas partied until 3:30 a.m.
The above video (in a iMovie format) is on the more sedate side of Juelz's Birthday bash with party goers Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Ashanti, Lil Kim, DJ Clue, Maino, Toccara, Jim Jones, DJ Webstar and Juelz's Skull Gang at M2 Lounge NYC On Monday, February 22.
Friday's (February 12) A-list party was "Diddy Does Dallas," at the Palladium on South Lamar Street. Diddy's co-hosts were Josh Howard of the Mavericks and former Mav Greg Buckner.
(Thursday, February 18) , Guvera USA, Inc., held a Pre-Launch event at Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City. This private event was attended by New York entertainment influencers and brand and agency executives. At the party, artists Mos Def, Jim Jones, Alice Cooper, Aaron Lewis, The Donnas, The Bravery and Marie Digby also helped to kick off the Guvera concept.
Guvera USA Inc., a search website for "free but paid for" music and digital content provided by brands, announced a new content partner, new licensing deals, an official March 30th launch date and the vision of delivering all forms of content with the Guvera model at the Pre-Launch event in New York City at the Metropolitan Pavilion.
Guvera launched in Australia in beta mode earlier this year approximately 60 days ago.The U.S. launch of Guvera coincides with the appearance of another ad-supported download site. Free All Music already launched its invite-only beta for U.S. users and has deals with Universal Music Group and EMI. The Australia-based company also announced at last night's event that it already has licensing deals with INgrooves, BMI, the Harry Fox Agency and SESAC. Universal Music Group, EMI and IODA had previously announced their involvement with Guvera.
A forty-five foot ice sculpture reading "Revolution" was the centerpiece of the party, representing the change of how media needs to be distributed into a future where everyone expects "free" but people still need to be paid.
Drake was originally supposed to be a speaker and a performer for the event but unfortunately, he was not able to make it there. Instead, to help kick off the launch event, Jim Jones and Mos Def took the stage as well as other acts such as Alice Cooper, The Donnas and Aaron Lewis (lead vocalist for 'Staind'). The artists not only performed but they also spoke about the importance of Guvera in the age of digital piracy and how it represents a powerful new alignment of music artists, music fans and commercial brands that benefits all parties involved.
Dan Thompson, Head of Content of Guvera Limited, commented, "We are so pleased to have such an incredible group of musicians and content partners such as INgrooves on board for our official US launch. SESAC, The Harry Fox Agency and BMI are all leaders in the licensing community and their commitments further enhance our efforts to combat piracy with a free and legal alternative to downloading and streaming." He added, "We also see a huge future in delivering film and television content, especially after the success of the Australian beta. We hope consumers, brands, musicians and content providers will all join and progress the revolution!"
New York Knickerbocker (can I still say Knickerbocker?) star forward Al Harrington celebrated birthday number 30 last night at The Quo in New York.
The party had a lil’ old school flava with some of your favorite rappers attending the bash.
Big Daddy Kane was there and performed. Slick Rick, Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie, and Fat Joe were in attendance.
Former Knick Allan Houston was in the house and boy was he a “pure” shooter back in the day.
And of course, Al was dressed in old school attire as well. I took a double-take. At first I was like, “What rapper is this? Haven’t seen’t this one.” LOL.
Nytehype and Sullen Clothing presented Busta Rhymes last night at Flight in Huntington Beach for a free show to benefit the Red Cross’ relief for Haiti. Thousands of dollars were raised at the door for the free show that featured the hip-hop artist. The quick 30-minute show included Arab Money, Pass the Pass the Courvoisier, and Whoa, setting the capacity crowd on fire. Power 106’s DJ Reflex DJ’d for his set. OC’s own DJ Boogie threw down beats to warm out the crowd throughout the night.
Photos from Busta's Orange County performance here: OC Weekly
(Saturday, February 13 - Dallas, TX) On a makeshift little stage, Bun B was rockin’ the mic, delivering his trademark crisp rhymes to the Jordan sneaker faithful. I’ve been to a million concerts so I can say this with confidence: small venues are the best way to enjoy live shows.
After Bun dropped “Big Pimpin’,” on us, DC-bred rapper Wale hit the stage and ran through his catalog to the delight of all the back-packed hip-hop heads. Funny development of the night: Wale threatening to do a cover of Kings of Leon if the crowd didn’t take its hype up another decibel and him doing it anyway and the crowd not missing a beat while singing along.
