[Video] Phantogram Perform on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'
Phantogram are in the thick of their promotional run for their latest project, Voices, released yesterday via Republic Records and last night stopped in Burbank to pay Jimmy Kimmel a visit and perform their songs, "Black Out Days" and "Fall in Love" to an energized crowd at the AT&T Outdoor Stage. The UK duo is sure to be in the public eye quite a bit over the next few months, having finally ended the long wait that fans had between Voices and 2011's full release, Nightlife. Check out the full video of them performing last night in the video, streaming below.
"Black Out Days"
[youtube id="KxWhah6iAgg"]
"Fall In Love"
[youtube id="_ocA-kf42T4"]
Pussy Riot Members Attacked in Sochi
The backdrop to the entire 2014 Winter Olympics has been shrouded in controversy since the location of the games was announced the better side of a decade ago, making the most recent news to come out of Putin's games even less surprising: members of the punk girl revolutionary group, Pussy Riot, were attacked by roving government Cossacks yesterday as they left a restaurant in the town donning their trademark neon baclavas and clothing. Before the demonstration could begin, the members were accosted by the men, a guitar was smashed, but no arrests were made. A very certain check step in the showdown between Putin and his leftist, civil rights-fighting female demonstrators. It is also being reported that Nadya Tolokonnikova and Masha Alyokhina, recently released from prison and fresh on Russian soil after a turn through American late night television lately, were among the protestors put down by the resurgent Cossacks who have been tapped to help bring order and reinforce and agenda. According to a recent New York Times story by Ellen Barry, ""Cossacks have emerged as a kind of mascot [for Putin's ideology]... These days men in Cossack uniforms are making appearances all over Russia, carrying out blustery raids of art exhibits, museums, and theaters as standard-bearers for a resurgent church." They are also compared to cowboys, or Chinese samurai and have become a pawn in Putin's push to continue pushing Russia back to the Soviet days. It is interesting that Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were present at the protest, as they were hesitant to say they were still a part of Pussy Riot after their release in December.
[Video] whysowhite: "Get Busy"
The first time I met Nick "Big Fat Nick" McMillan, he told me a breathtaking story on how he and his landlord found and retrieved a dead cat out of the wall of his apartment. That doesn't have much to do with this post, but it sets the mood perfectly for the band that is whysowhite. I'm telling you, if you haven't heard, interacted, broken bread with the guys of the Chicago six piece funk band, you are seriously missing something in your life. Fresh off hosting a sensual Valentine's Day celebration at their renovated 'Firehaus' on the city's north side, the ever-eclectic squad graced us today with the video for their party-starting jam "Get Busy". The visual release, shot by Nocturnal Media, follows the group's trio of frontmen, Charlie Moonbeam, D-Pop Fantastic and Big Fat Nick as their scour their way through a grocery store. If you've ever been pelted with a banana during one of the band's in-show 'fruit tosses', you'll instantly understand the poignancy of this setting. It plays out somewhat like you're stereotypical hip-hop video, if you replace the green of money with asparagus and big booty girls with pomegranates. Nick chokes on spaghetti, there's a spikey neon ball...you just gotta give it a look. Check out the full video for "Get Busy" below and catch the band March 1 at Martyr's in Chicago with Marrow, featuring a special back-up section.
[youtube id="tcJ0PrfUQro"]
Chance The Rapper Hints at New Song
Chance The Rapper has been making the rounds while taking a break from the harsh Chicago winter out in Los Angeles. While on the left coast, he has been spotted in the studio with the likes of Skrillex, Justin Bieber, Jeremih, Common and No I.D., among others. All that time in the booth had to result in something, and today Chano hinted at what fans can begin to expect from his next project, not yet titled and currently in early production. The song is "Somewhere In Paradise" and was unveiled throughout Chance's "Social Experiment Tour" late last year, and again a few weeks ago at a show for DePaul students in Chicago with Jeremih. A soulfully poignant number, the track continues to build on the aesthetics of Chicago music that has come to characterize the young, terribly talented artist, this time taking things to a mix of gospel and juke music for something that is at once dancing and lyrically entrancing. Chance posted the below video to his Instagram last night of himself in the studio with savemoney horn players, Donnie Trumpet and J.P. Floyd getting down and layering the sound throughout. Chance had an amazing 2013, looks like he's cooking something up for 2014 now. Check out the Instagram video and Chance performing the song at The Riviera in Chicago in December.
[youtube id="wXYqLRjlex4"]
[Songs on the Day] 2/18/14 (Feat. Chief Keef, A-Villa, My Chemical Romance & More)
Tuesday was a good day. Chicago finally got above freezing for the first time in two months and a horde of music hit the Internet for our listening pleasure. Starting things off is Ty Money who linked with none other than Chief Keef for the hard work anthem, "No Hobby" while Jose Guapo and Young Scooter discuss all things green in "Cash Talk". BOY/FRIEND had a rousing entrance onto my personal radar with her track, "Eve" featuring Va$htie and Train Company offered up a new tune in "Step To Me". Producer got in on it as well, as Los Angeles duo BC Kingdom stabilize the dance aesthetics with their latest track in "DWN4U/JEEPS" and Chicago button-pusher A-Villa teamed up with Closed Session and the ever-talented Lili K for a rousing performance on "Smooth It Down" and Calez gave fans the first cut off his upcoming Ceito project with "Positive Energy". ShadowOnStars released a cover of Aaliyah's "Are You That Somebody" and both My Chemical Romance showed they still have it, dropping "Fake Your Death" to essentially announce the end of the band. Crystal Method also got a remix of their track "Over It" featuring Dia Frampton via the Bixel Boys. Check it all out below!
Track of the Day: Calez: "Positive Energy"
Ty Money: “No Hobby” (Feat. Chief Keef)
Jose Guapo & Young Scooter: “Cash Talk”
BOY/FRIEND: “Eve” (Feat. Va$htie)
Train Company: “Step To Me”
BC Kingdom: “DWN4U/JEEPS”
A-Villa: “Smooth It Down” (Feat. Lili K)
Calez: “Positive Energy”
ShadowOnStars: “Are You That Somebody” (Aaliyah cover)
Crystal Method: “Over It” (Feat. Dia Frampton) (Bixel Boys Remix)
My Chemical Romance: “Fake Your Death”
[youtube id="tiJzCahaN8w"]
[Video] Jimmy Fallon & Will Smith Perform 'The Evolution of Hip-Hop Dancing'
Jimmy Fallon recently made his move from "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" to "The Tonight Show", ending the regin of the big-chinned man himself, Jay Leno. Fallon seems to have hit the ground running, re-hashing a version of his recurring segment with Justin Timberlake where the pair rap through the library of hip-hop, this time joining forces with none other than The Fresh Prince himself, Will Smith, who helped Jimmy get through dances like 'The Stanky Leg', 'The Cabbage Patch' and 'The Running Man'. I couldn't imagine Leno having any bend in his legs to get out of his chair, let alone bust a move with Agent J. Check out the full video of Fallon and Smith doing their thing, streaming below.
[youtube id="ZTpn30Pms8I"]
[RH First Look] Barney Bones: "The Barney Bones EP"
Barney Bones represents the turning of a tide on the West Coast, at least when it comes to hip-hop music. Kendrick Lamar at once gave resurgence to, and forever changed the sound of rap music that emanated from the left coast with his lyrically confounding, omnipresent tales of watching the violence that his predecessors had illustrated happen around him. On his debut project, fellow South Central native Barney Bones is the solution to the equation K Dot+soul beats=X. His flow is at once poetic while being abrasive enough to spike raised eyebrows and rewinds with ease, covering subject matter that deals with more than how many bands can make her dance. The album opens with Barney reeling from a reverie, rhyming "Last night I had dreams that turned into screams". It is the sort of initial statement that instantly holds the rest of the track to a higher standard and shows a kind of self-realiztion of one's own thoughts not often found until artists hit later years. The eclectic beats, ranging from ambient electro to heavy boom-bap call to mind an early Kid Cudi, furthermore when calling to mind Bones' ability to look deep within. I caught up with the artist for a few quick questions about The Barney Bones EP, check out the Q+A, as well as the full album streaming and available for download on the following page.
Is Nicki Minaj Really 'The Queen' of Hip-Hop?
Let's face it, Nicki Minaj has never been one to shy from controversy or public discourse. She's sexual, abrasive, and at times, down right raunchy, but now that Lil' Kim is pregnant, the public is in need of the next "super femcee". In much the same way that the public is regularly appeased by the rolling out of one addition to our daily lives that make things "diverse" (think Howard Cain's candidacy, the new 'hispanic' Bachelor, Wes Welker at receiver) that are placed there to end the 'controversy' of their absence. In short, if we have one person/thing that's different, we've covered our bases. It's this line of thinking that has vaulted Nicki Minaj to the forefront of females in hip-hop and has raised plenty of talking points on whether she deserves it.
Just before the weekend, Minaj returned from relative silence to drop the song and accompanying visual for "Lookin Ass N**ga." It's a powerful lyrical undertaking that calls to mind her ruthless verse on 2010's "Monster." It's a riveting, bone shaking verse that make plenty of statements and conjectures for the game to take note of, but does it really make Nicki deserving of the 'top female title'? And is she the best image to portray?
Before we get carried away, let's back up. It's an age-old tale in hip hop that anyone without a Y chromosome is placed into a separate category called "female rappers". From there, it splits into two distinctly different camps. For sake of the argument, let's call them the Lauryn and Kim camps, the former being Ms. Hill and the latter, Lil' Kim of Bad Boy fame. Female artists, much more than their male counterparts, are subject to fitting into one of two stereotypes: artistic or ratchet. Either you have the ass to go with the shaky bars and the money that comes with it, or you focus on the craft and sacrifice the fame and money. Female artists have always been highly marketed in hip-hop as sex objects, Lil Kim thrust her pelvis at more front rows than many working girls in attempts to sell records and Nicki Minaj is shrouded by rumors of drastic plastic surgery to achieve that continent-sized backside. But what about the artistry? Sure, Nicki has tremendous skill, that is exemplified in the "Lookin' Ass N**ga" video and beyond, but would she have the same impact, would she be referred to as the best female rapper, if she didn't have the assets?
Artists like Rapsody, Rah Digga, Angel Haze and Jean Grae represent several generations of female artists brave enough to not exploit their femininity for a superficial commercial success. Nicki Minaj is widely regarded as the best female MC in the game, regardless of the fact that her last label project was 2012's Roman Reloaded which, despite debuting at No. 1 thanks to the Cash Money push, was described by Randall Roberts of the LA Times as a "disjointed, artistically confused" album. As much as I can appreciate the skill with which Nicki addresses how people approach her, but how much can she really complain about people looking at her ass when she promotes it more than a Thursday night NBC sitcom? Anyway, my point is, Nicki can do her thing for sure, but I'd rather see someone else get the spotlight for once.
[vimeo id="86541519"]