Live Bands in Hip-Hop, Why or Why Not? Tune in and listen to our panel discussion from the the day before Halloween; there are some tricks and some treats.
From SI
NEW YORK (AP) -- Jay-Z and Alicia Keys fired up the Yankee Stadium crowd before Game 2 of the World Series on Thursday night, performing a clean version of "Empire State of Mind" from the rapper's hit album.
The two New Yorkers were originally scheduled to perform Wednesday night but were pushed back because of rainy weather. There was some concern about some of the song's raw language but Jay-Z kept it PG for the nationally televised performance.
The rap king -- wearing a Yankees hat and jacket -- and Keys got a loud ovation when they walked through an opening in the outfield wall in left-center to the stage behind second base. Keys, in a black and hot purple outfit, played keyboard before joining Jay-Z in the center of the stage for the end of the song.
Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, who uses a snippet of "Empire State of Mind" for his at-bat music, bobbed his head during the performance. New York reliever Joba Chamberlain also was grooving to the song while the Philadelphia Phillies watched attentively from the top step of the visiting dugout.
A buzz went through the crowd when Jay-Z rapped one of the signature lines of the hit: "I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can."
There was more applause after the performance as Jay-Z and Keys walked arm in arm through the outfield to the gate. Phillies pitcher Pedro Martinez was preparing for his Game 2 start nearby but he kept long tossing as the music stars disappeared from sight.
From abc
Call him arrogant, call him childish, call him any number of unsavory adjectives -- at least Kanye West knows how to laugh it off.
Last week, West posted the somber, surreal short film "We Were Once a Fairytale" on his blog. Just as the Spike Jonze-directed video was starting to spark controversy, West pulled it down, only offering fans the explanation, "Sorry I had to take it down :(."
Now the two are back with the perfect antidote to their dark "Fairytale": a behind the scenes-type clip of Jonze and West arguing during the filming of the short. After Jonze begs West to stop texting and pay attention, he slaps the rapper with a thwack powerful enough to make speakers thump. To be sure, it seems completely staged, but it's funny enough for a view or two.
Brooklyn emcee Kel Spencer partners with hair care brand for music project highlighting male/female relationships.
The Salon Stories project is being launched heavily within the digital space and features in-salon listening events, college radio/campus activities and reality show snippets. For online enthusiasts, a Salon Stories microsite and Twitter page will be a destination where visitors communicate and tweet about relationships. Topping off the experience is the music and the exciting live set Kel brings forth as an entertainer. In addition to hosting duties courtesy of MC Lyte, the album includes guest stars from diverse musical backgrounds,
including Jesse Boykins III, Q-Tip, Chico Benymon (UPN-Half & Half), Amanda Diva, Def Poets Shanelle Gabriel & Rivaflowz, Lydia Caesar, among others.
Visit www.twitter.com/salonstories or www.twitter.com/kelspencer for more information.
Kel Spencer's Salon Stories is available now on iTunes, Rhapsody, amazon.com and other online retailers.
Featured earlier this year as part of The Public Theater's Under The Radar Festival, Lemon Andersen's County of Kings gives a tough, yet poignant biographical account of a good kid growing up in an unforgiving environment. Lemon, whose parents met at a methadone clinic and passed away from AIDS, served two prison sentences before he was 21 and won a Tony before he turned 30. His on-stage memoir touches on young love, the birth of hip hop, slinging crack, ballet, stealing car parts, prison, and poetry as he takes the audience on an astonishing and surprising one-man journey toward self-discovery. Weaving hard-edged drama with urban poetry, the Brooklyn born and bred performer tells his coming-of-age story with profound honesty, compassion and humor. A true story of finding passion in the arts and finding one's way, Lemon paints a vivid portrait of his own life and the lives of countless other Brooklynites during the 1980s and 1990s.
County of Kings, Performances now through November 8th
The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street
Limited $25 tickets available (regular price $50).
FELA KUTI’S - The Best Of The Black President
Released on Knitting Factory Records
On iTunes Now
For a Limited Time, stream the full album on AOL.
The impact of Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s music in Africa – and worldwide – cannot be overstated. Hailing from Lagos, Nigeria, he was Africa’s musical genius, the creator of Afrobeat – a genre combining traditional African highlife, jazz, James Brown funk grooves and latin rhythms into a unique toxic mix that is wholly his own – and a revolutionary. Fela’s politically inflammatory songs laid bare the corruption, violence, and greed of the ruling regimes across the Continent and world. Arrested over a hundred times by the Nigerian government, ultimately 1000 soldiers invaded and destroyed the Kalakuta Republic – Fela’s living and performing compound that he shared with his 27 wives and his mother – sending nearly all of the inhabitants to the hospital, or worse. Despite the death of his own mother after the siege, Fela never stopped fighting the powers of imperialism, colonialism and racism with – as the legendary Fela Kuti put it – music as his weapon.
The Best of the Black President compiles thirteen of the most popular Fela compositions spanning work from all facets of his career with his bands Nigerian 70, Africa 70 and Egypt 80.
With deluxe editions of The Best Of The Black President comes a 40 minute DVD, narrated by Sahr Ngaujah, interviews with Carlos Moore & Bill T jones, recorded concert footage, and excerpts from various Fela Kuti documentaries, including Music Is The Weapon.
Outtakes from Music Is The Weapon Documentary
The Best of the Black President signifies the rebirth of Knitting Factory Records. Earlier this year, KFR licensed the 45 album Fela Kuti catalog. Over the next 18 months, re-masters of all the Fela CDs will be re-released in unique digi-packs w/ the original artwork.
The profile for Fela will get a boost this fall as FELA! The Musical opens on Broadway at NYC’s Eugene O’Neill Theatre in November. This is a Bill T. Jones Produced power-packed Broadway show which won raves and awards in a 2008 off-Broadway run. http://www.felaonbroadway.com/
This project is entitled DreamScape. It takes you on a journey of an emcee being corrupted by the game. As well as the struggles of trying to be heard in an over saturated industry.
The Drawing Board November 17th release.
DreamScape: http://broknenglsh.bandcamp.com/
(All tracks produced by Deal The Villain & The Other Guys)
