[Video] Disclosure Lets The Fire Burn At Coachella 2014
Photo by Chris Garmon
Unless you've been living under a rock, you're very aware of last weekend's mega festival in the desert, Coachella. This year seemed to be the year of the special guest appearances. For example, Nas brought out Jay and Puffy, Queen Bey danced around supporting her sister Solange, Gwen Stefani and Snoop Dogg joined Pharrell on stage, Chance The Rapper brought out Justin Bieber, and we finally got to see Outkast back together, who themselves were joined by Janelle Monae and Future. RH favorites Disclosure was not going to be left behind as they also brought out some of their special friends to one of the best sets from the festival, bringing out Sam Smith, Mary J.Blige, and Aluna Francis (of Aluna George) to the stage during their featured songs. The UK brothers have been killing it since they dropped their debut album Settle last year and haven't looked back as they've been performing non-stop and appearing on talks shows and award shows all over the world.
Settle was pretty much on everyone's top albums list of 2013 (including ours), and with good reason. I pretty much had it on repeat for six months, and like many others, I couldn't get enough of their infectious production. I was lucky to be able to catch them during their tour stop in Austin this past January (check out the photos). I've seen a lot of DJ/producer sets, and Disclosure is definitely on the top of my list after seeing them live. If you are a fan or have yet to see them, check out their full set at Coachella below and don't be afraid when you end up dancing around your desk.
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[Video] Pharrell, Kendrick Lamar & More Perform at 2014 NBA All Star Game
Ever since Michael Jordan retired and the new breed of superstar was established in the NBA (a la Allen Iverson, Dwight Howard), the NBA All-Star game has been much more performance than true sporting event since Tracy McGrady threw himself an alley-oop off the backboard in-game, and this weekend's jam-packed 2014 edition was no less light on the entertainment. Held in New Orleans, the 63rd installment of the annual competition of the league's brightest stars saw performances from the likes of Pharrell, who showed up with both his infamous hat, and former Neptunes/N.E.R.D. partner Chad Hugo in tow, performing a slew of his hits on both the production and singing tips. He did the classic, decade-old song, "Frontin", brought out Nelly for "Hot in Herre", did the hook on Jay Z's "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It to Me)", although Mr. Carter wasn't in attendance, and brought out Busta Rhymes and Diddy for a fresh version of "Pass the Courvoisier Part II". He aldo did "Blurred Lines" for which Robin Thicke was also a no-show and followed it with the cult classic, "Rock Star" with his Hugo, who played the keytar flawlessly. Pharrell finally finished, playing "Beautiful" with Snoop Dogg and, following the Western Conference introductions, did an interpretation of "Get Lucky", again, without Daft Punk, and during "Happy", he popped on the big hat. Kendrick looked as intense as ever, performing "m.A.A.d City" and "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" in an understated black hooded sweatshirt. Janelle Monae continued to prove why she is a favorite for performances like these, tapping none other than Trombone Shorty, Gary Clark Jr., Doctor John and Earth Wind & Fire for a memorable performance that included a rendition of her song, "Electric Lady", before joining Earth, Wind and Fire for "Shining Star". All in all, there was plenty to make up for the mediocre basketball. Watch it all below.
Pharrell:
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Kendrick Lamar
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Janelle Monae & Trombone Shorty
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[Video] Janelle Monae Performs on Arsenio Hall
Janelle Monae popped up last night on Arsenio Hall's new late night talk show to perform her single "Electric Lady" after sitting down with Hall and discussing the intricacies of lyricism, especially in her song "Dorothy Dandridge Eyes". The performance comes on the heels of a rousing set at BET's Black Girls Rock celebration and just a continuance of one of the career of one of our favorite contemporary performing artists. Check out the video from the performance below and be sure to pick up Monae's The Electric Lady via iTunes.
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[Video] Janelle Monae: "Prime Time" (Feat. Miguel)
Janelle Monae and Miguel made a splash with their song, "Prime Time" off of Monae's latest album, Electric Lady. The pair released the visual for the album, a highly conceptual video that is a continuation on a common theme throughout her most recent release. Read the statement below along with the video itself.
"PrimeTime is a love story based on the early adventures of Cindi Mayweather (Janelle Monáe) and her first love Joey Vice (Miguel.) The Emotion Picture gives a glimpse at Cindi's humble beginnings as a "cyber-server" at the Electric Sheep nightclub, a syn bar serving high-class "show droids" to the rich and lonely in a dangerous section of Metropolis known as Slop City. Incidentally, the innovative cybersoul music played at the club directly impacted Cindi, and she began singing and performing her own innovative compositions a short time after quitting this assignment. In addition, Cindi became determined to change the public perception of what an electric lady could be, dream and aspire to after working in the dismal conditions at the club." -via Pitchfork
http://youtu.be/Oxls2xX0Clg
[Album Stream] Janelle Monáe: ‘The Electric Lady’ LP
Janelle Monáe’s promising sophomore album, The Electric Lady, is now streaming one week before its September 10th release date via VH1. The R&B Queen in training enlists a little help from Prince (who doesn’t just feature on anybody’s album), the Queen herself – Erykah Badu, Solange Knowles, Miguel (see “Primetime”), and Grammy award winner Esperanza Spalding. At first listen, The Electric Lady offers all the necessary elements for an R&B classic – it’s funky, it’s vibrant, it’s daring, and definitely electric. Hear it for yourself below and pre-order The Electric Lady on iTunes here or cop the two-disc deluxe edition at Target next week.
Get More:
Janelle Monae,
The Electric Lady Tracklist:
Disc 1:
01. Suite IV Electric Overture
02. Givin Em What They Love (feat. Prince)
03. Q.U.E.E.N. (feat. Erykah Badu)
04. Electric Lady (feat. Solange)
05. Good Morning Midnight (Interlude)
06. PrimeTime (feat. Miguel)
07. We Were Rock & Roll
08. The Chrome Shoppe (Interlude)
09. Dance Apocalyptic
10. Look Into My Eyes
Disc 2:
11. Suite V Electric Overture
12. It’s Code
13. Ghetto Woman
14. Our Favorite Fugitive (Interlude)
15. Victory
16. Can’t Live Without Your Love
17. Sally Ride
18. Dorothy Dandridge Eyes (feat. Esperanza Spalding)
19. What An Experience
20. Q.U.E.E.N. (feat. Erykah Badu) (Wondamix) (Bonus)
21. Electric Lady (feat. Big Boi and Cee-Lo Green) (Dungeon-Wondamix) (Bonus)
22. HYTB (Bonus)
23. I Want You Back (Bonus)
[Album Stream] Janelle Monáe: 'The Electric Lady' LP
Janelle Monáe's promising sophomore album, The Electric Lady, is now streaming one week before its September 10th release date via VH1. The R&B Queen in training enlists a little help from Prince (who doesn't just feature on anybody's album), the Queen herself - Erykah Badu, Solange Knowles, Miguel (see "Primetime"), and Grammy award winner Esperanza Spalding. At first listen, The Electric Lady offers all the necessary elements for an R&B classic - it's funky, it's vibrant, it's daring, and definitely electric. Hear it for yourself below and pre-order The Electric Lady on iTunes here or cop the two-disc deluxe edition at Target next week.
Get More:
Janelle Monae,
The Electric Lady Tracklist:
Disc 1:
01. Suite IV Electric Overture
02. Givin Em What They Love (feat. Prince)
03. Q.U.E.E.N. (feat. Erykah Badu)
04. Electric Lady (feat. Solange)
05. Good Morning Midnight (Interlude)
06. PrimeTime (feat. Miguel)
07. We Were Rock & Roll
08. The Chrome Shoppe (Interlude)
09. Dance Apocalyptic
10. Look Into My Eyes
Disc 2:
11. Suite V Electric Overture
12. It’s Code
13. Ghetto Woman
14. Our Favorite Fugitive (Interlude)
15. Victory
16. Can’t Live Without Your Love
17. Sally Ride
18. Dorothy Dandridge Eyes (feat. Esperanza Spalding)
19. What An Experience
20. Q.U.E.E.N. (feat. Erykah Badu) (Wondamix) (Bonus)
21. Electric Lady (feat. Big Boi and Cee-Lo Green) (Dungeon-Wondamix) (Bonus)
22. HYTB (Bonus)
23. I Want You Back (Bonus)