[Video] Scoolboy Q, Vic Mensa & Vado on 'RapFix Live'
Wednesday might as well have been "Come Up Day" over at the MTV RapFix studios in New York City. I say that because Sway, wearing a SaveMoney sweatshirt nonetheless, found himself flanked by two of the most aggressively progressive artists in hip-hop today in Vic Mensa and Schoolboy Q who were also joined by Cam'ron protege, Vado. The four men chopped it up between the couches with Sway, touching on what's come, what's gone and what's on the horizon. Schoolboy Q, whose album, Oxymoron is about ready to explode from anticipation leading up to the February 25 release date, showed up looking like he stole a page out of Pharrell's style book with a full brimmed hat capping off an ensemble that included a full-length grey trench coat and pink 'TDE' sweatshirt. Anything goes I guess when you're the 'Hood Pope'. Vic joined Schoolboy on the couch, rocking a matching sweatshirt to Sway's and giving the pink 'TDE' piece a run for its...money? Anyway, check out the full episode, streaming below courtesy of MTV.
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[Mixtape] Dally Auston: "The Westside EP"
[Mixtape] J. Cole: "The Revenge of the Dreamers"
J. Cole easily made one of the albums of the year in his 2013 release, Born Sinner which brought few accolades but made up for the slight disappointment of his debut studio project, Cole World: The Sideline Story. It seems as though Cole is already back on his grind, as he celebrated his 29th birthday yesterday with the release of a fresh new project, The Revenge of the Nerds. The release of the project also coincided with Cole's announcement of a partnership between his Dreamville imprint and Interscope, which seems to have championed the artist-turned-label-head situation. The release, similar to t9th Wonder's JAMLA Is The Squad project which also dropped last night, is a sort of sampler platter for the artists workign with Cole on Dreamville, including the endlessly talented Omen and Bas.
It's interesting that Cole went the Interscope route, having just had one of the craziest concert experiences last night at Madison Square Garden where Kendrick, fresh off the Grammys, showed up to perform "Forbidden Fruit", "Backseat Freestyle" and "m.A.A.d. City" before turning to the crowd to say, ""[Cole] is one of the first cats to welcome me with open arms in this music business when I ain't know sh-- about it," he said. "So believe that, this is not no regular rapper friendship, this is my f---ing brother right here, J. Cole." Jay Z joined him onstage for "PSA" before handing him his original Roc-A-Fella Jesus piece and performing "FuckwithmeyouknowIgotit". As if that wasn't enough, Cole ended the concert by performing songs off The Revenge of The Dreamers, of which he had just showered the crowd with hard copies. Not a bad birthday, but what's he going to do for the big 3-0?
Full stream/download below with a video of J.Cole's gift from HOV below.
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[Video] 2014 Grammy Awards Performance Recap
While the awards may have left some excitement on the table, the performances of the 2014 Grammy Awards certainly did not disappoint. Jay-Z and Beyonce started things off with a rousing performance of their track "Drunk in Love" from her recent release that got the energy going in the Staples Center. Lorde performed her 2013 seminal track "Royals" to a certain degree of minimalism, sporting a darker new look and Pharrell and Daft Punk teamed up with none other than Stevie Wonder for a rendition of "Get Lucky" which went on to win record of the year and Kendrick Lamar linked up with Imagine Dragons for an inspired performance than skipped across songs, opening with "m.A.A.d City" which had at least two in the front row out of their seats. Alas, all the showmanship was thus in vain to the almighty Macklemore & Ryan Louis whose Teflon-esque evening continued into their live performance as they trumped the rest of the field by hosting 33 gay marriages onstage with Madonna. There's a lot you can do to create entertainment, but I have to say there's not much more than that. We rounded up the whole lot of Grammy performances and have them streaming here below for your viewing pleasure. Check them out and stay tuned to RH for continuing Grammy coverage.
Beyonce & Jay Z: "Drunk In Love"
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Imagine Dragons & Kendrick Lamar: "Radioactive"
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Lorde: "Royals"
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Pharrell, Stevie Wonder & Daft Punk:
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Katy Perry & Juicy J: "Dark Horse"
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Taylor Swift: "All Too Well"
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Keith Urban & Gary Clark Jr. "Cop Car"
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Pink: "Try"
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Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Mary Lambert & Madonna 'Same Love"
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Schoolboy Q Releases "Oxymoron" Cover Art + New Song
The anticipation for Schoolboy Q's latest release, Oxymoron, is starting to get out of hand. The project has had a lead time bested only by Dr. Dre's decade-long wait for Detox, and today the TDE-signee dropped the cover art for his debut studio project along with a fresh track, "Break The Bank," produced by The Alchemist. Oxymoron will receive a pair of covers, one for the deluxe edition and one for the regular buy. His daughter, Joy, who was also featured in the announcement for the project's release date, poses in an iconic Schoolboy bucket hat, complete with face tattoos while the other is a mugshot-like snap of Q. Check out the track below, the photo above and keep it locked to RH for the latest on Schoolboy's latest, dropping February 24.
Taylor Bennett: "Ballin"
Yesterday, Chicago's latest up and comer, Taylor Bennett, celebrated his 18th birthday with the Hypetrak premier of his latest track, "Ballin," due out on his anticipated 2014 project, Mainstream Music. The follow-up to last month's debut single "Heartbreaker," Bennett is proving that there is more to him than his older brother (Chance The Rapper).
He's a mile-a-minute on the haunting Saint The Good Boy beat, tossing together rhymes in rapid-fire succession while allowing listeners to digest his thought-provoking and insightful bars he's throwing at them. It's equal parts Twista and Lupe as he churns his way through the track. Check out the latest from Taylor Bennett from yourself, streaming below.
[Video] Schoolboy Q: "Man of the Year"
Earlier this year, on the heels of close friend Kendrick Lamar being named GQ's "Man of the Year", fellow TDE-signee Schoolboy Q penned a song to celebrate the landmark moment in K Dot's career, thus the song sporting the same name as the title. An instant hit that has been smothered on radio play and blogs alike, Q today dropped the video for the track which seems to detail precisely what Schoolboy would do if he had the distinction. Oxymoron, the follow-up to Q's memorable 2012 release, Habits & Contradictions, is set to drop on February 2 and has been one of the most anticipated releases for well over a year or so now. Check out the latest from Schoolboy Q below.
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Danny Brown & Vic Mensa Announce European Tour
Danny Brown & Vic Mensa are two artists that don't ever seem to rest. The pair of talented hip-hop acts, who yesterday announced a set of European tour dates throughout 2014. The tour, which begins on February 21 in London, will come on the heels of Mensa's run with dance music duo Disclosure, who put him on the act's North American tour, which began Monday in Toronto and runs through February 1 in Dallas, TX.
Mensa announced the tour via his Twitter account yesterday, and the release has spurred buzzing rumors that the two talented Midwest MCs will join forces for a North American tour later this year as well. It's a good fit for both artists and especially Danny Brown, who will find himself on the road with a like-minded lyricist and a similar fan-base after having several fall-outs while performing with EDM acts Pretty Lights and GRiZ recently. The European tour dates are listed here below.
Danny Brown x Vic Mensa 2014 European Tour Dates:
Fri 21 Feb London, KOKO
Sat 22 Feb Brighton, Coalition
Sun 23 Feb Manchester, Gorilla
Tue 25 Feb Dublin, Academy
Wed 26 Feb Glasgow, The Arches
Fri 28 Feb Brussels, Orangerie
Sat 01 Mar Paris, Bataclan
Sun 02 Mar Amsterdam, Melkweg
Tue 04 Mar Berlin, Postbanhof
Wed 05 Mar Cologne, Club Bahnhof Ehrenfeld
Thu 06 Mar Copenhagen, Pumpehuset
Fri 07 Mar Stockholm, Nalen
Sat 08 Mar Oslo, Rockerfeller