The latest episode of The Champs podcast features an in-depth interview with one of the greatest emcees of all time, Black Thought from The Roots. He delves deep into his family history, the stresses of being part of the band for Jimmy Fallon, being at school with Questlove and Boyz II Men, and more.
Listen to the podcast here.
February 10, 2006. For many hip-hop heads, it was the day the music died, for it was the date that the great J Dilla passed away. His legacy lives on in all of us though, and for several years since his death, his mother, the much-loved Ma Dukes, has organized the annual Dilla Day event.
The 2015 edition is leaving Dilla’s hometown of Detroit for Miami instead, and the confirmed line-up of artists is already incredible. His old group Slum Village will be there, as will frequent Dilla collaborators Talib Kweli and Madlib, plus the legend Pete Rock. Other guests include Black Milk, whose music has been inspired by Jay Dee, alongside Joey Badas$$, Camp Lo and more. That adds up to a fine selection of talent paying their respect to one of the greatest of all time.
This year the event is also being extended to an entire weekend, from February 5-8. Tickets are available from here right now. Peep the flyer below for more.
It’s no secret that we fucking love Run the Jewels and everything it stands for, and last night we caught them live in London for a show that sold out weeks ago.
The crowd was a healthy mix from every walk of life, proving just how many people Run the Jewels’ music is reaching. From classic-era heads who’ve been with El-P since Company Flow and Def Jux, to those just being introduced to the crew now – perhaps thanks to Killer Mike’s incredible commentary on the situation in Ferguson and beyond – the entire venue was charged with anticipation throughout the set from the warm-up deejay.
When El-P and Killer Mike took to the stage, the crowd went absolutely nuts, and the seasoned vets gave us exactly what we came for. That raw aggression we hear on wax translates perfectly to the live stage, with both rappers having enough energy to put artists half their age to shame.
All of the best tracks from their two already-certified-classic albums were included in the set, each one feeling as comforting and familiar as the kind of songs we’ve had as our favorites for years, which is all the more amazing when you step back and remember we’ve only been blessed with music from Run the Jewels since 2013.
Good live hip-hop shows are few and far between, but this was one that no doubt left a lasting impression on everyone who stepped out into the freezing cold London night when the show had ended, still buzzing about what they has just witnessed.
RTJ2 is out now on Mass Appeal. Read our review here, and our thoughts on the incredible upcoming Meow the Jewels project here.
Lets be really honest for a moment. Most live hip-hop shows are disappointing. Late arrival from the artist, too much crowd hyping and not enough rapping, bad mic quality, short set lengths. We’ve experienced them all, even from some of our favorite acts.
We still had high hopes for the Joey Bada$$ tour, and on the whole it didn’t disappoint when we caught one of the shows in London. The set-up was classic no frills hip-hop: Joey on the mic, with a deejay out back. No more flash or flair required. For a rapper like Bada$$, still just 19 but making the kind of hip-hop that throws back to the classic era, its an environment that suits him well. When the deejay also happens to be Statik Selektah, its even better.
It turns out Joey knows how to rock a crowd too. Full of energy but without the unnecessary and over-the-top swagger of other acts, he lets his music do the talking, giving us proper versions of his biggest tracks.
Obvious standouts included Waves, truthfully one of the finest hip-hop tracks of all time (yeah, we said it), and the DJ Premier produced Unorthodox. There was also the obligatory heartfelt tribute to fallen Pro Era member Capital Steez, reminding us all just how tragic it is to lose a talented rapper at only 19 years of age.
With a decent live show, teaser trailers and documentaries, the hype over Joey’s debut album B4.Da.$$ just keeps on getting stronger. It drops January 20, 2015.
