As mentioned before, the mighty tongue-twisting Aesop Rock is set to release his new studio record – Skelethon – on 9th July through Rhymesayers Entertainment (what a great birthday present, nice one Aes).
We caught a first glimpse of the forthcoming album in the blistering track ‘Zero Dark Thirty’, and now the rapper has dropped the joint’s accompanying visuals. Check it out:
Start counting the days.
Each members of iconic hip-hop groups, Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest) and DJ Nu-Mark (Jurassic 5) will be hitting UK shores on Saturday to rock London’s Koko silly with all manner or beat goodness. I’ve caught Uncle Nu and J5 several times throughout the years, but the hands down, most memorable show was when I saw Jurassic play Birmingham Academy in support of their Power In Numbers album in ’02. It was a near perfect gig for me, and when Cut Chemist and Nu-Mark strolled to the front of stage to create some strapped on Fisher Price turntable madness, I pretty much went bananas. As did the rest of the crowd.
I later managed to catch Nu-Mark on his own at London’s Cargo (what happened to that venue?) at a Friends and Family night, and he tore the place up as expected. Needless to say, I’m pretty excited for Saturday – especially since I missed out on Ali Shaheed Muhammad when he was in London last for the screening of Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest.
I digress. All the info for Saturday can be found in the flyer below, and you can cop your tickets for the show here. Expect true-school hip-hop for days.
Check out the video for ‘What’s Golden’ (produced by Nu-Mark), taken from 2002′s Power In Numbers:
Ever the supporter of the world’s most exciting creative talent (check out last year’s excellent The Art of Blending featuring the almighty Roots crew and friends), premium cognac house Hennessy has launched its new initiative: Chase the music. Own the stage. Fans will be able to submit a video of their own music performances for the opportunity to perform at the Blues Passions festival in the heart of Hennessy’s hometown: Cognac, France.
On hand to pick the finalists are Maurice Hennessy (from the Hennessy family, natch), Blues Passions festival founder Michel Rolland, and Clash magazine’s editor-in-chief: Simon Harper. The judges will whittle the entries down to a select ten – it’s up to the Hennessy Facebook fans to pick the final two winners.
Hennessy and the Blues Passions festival go way back to 1994, and the pair have hosted some legendary musicians like Gil Scott-Heron, Ray Charles, Massive Attack and more throughout the years. Interested? Submit your video here.
Good news everybody, your favourite multi-syllabic-complex-rhyme-spitting rapper is back and about to release his 6th studio album on Minneapolis label Rhymesayers.
Titled Skelethon, the album follows 2007′s None Shall Pass and sees the wordsmith self-produce a whole album for the first time. That’s right, no Blockhead on this one, although if None Shall Pass opener ‘Keep Off The Lawn’ is anything to go by, this new album should be a belter.
Listen to the first track to drop from the album, ‘Zero Dark Thirty’:
Skelethon is released on 10th July through Rhymesayers and will be reviewed at a later date.
Our man Reggie ‘Ta-ku’ Matthews – the producer that honoured us with our first Brainer mix – has just unleashed Vol. 1 of his latest project: 50 Days For Dilla:
While he may be one of the most prolific beatsmiths making music at the moment, it’s safe to say that crafting a beat a day – for 50 days – is an incredible achievement. But he done did it in tribute to the legendary Jay Dee, and as you’d expect, 50 Days For Dilla is chock full of pompous, dope beats, gorgeous soul samples and chopped up strings – all tied together by that signature Ta-ku swagger. Instrumental hip-hop doesn’t get better – have a listen:
50 Days For Dilla Vol. 1 is out now through HW&W Recordings. You could stream it for free, but I suggest you head over to the HW&W Bandcamp and support good, independent music.
To listen to and download Ta-ku’s Brainer mix, click here, and to read our interview with the man, click here.
It’s about that time again – the homies at Very Nearly Almost are getting ready to drop their new issue (18), with a good ol’ launch party going down this Thursday at Lazarides Gallery.
Featuring Connor Harrington (currently showing ‘Dead Meat’ at Lazarides), Mode 2 and the man Remi Rough – amongst others – issue 18 looks to be yet another excellent edition in the magazine. All the info you need is in the flyer below and here – I’ll be seeing you there.
Those fellas at Earnest Endeavours are at it again. In conjunction with the Hit+Run crew and Sketchbook, the London label will be putting on a night tomorrow to celebrate not one, but two releases: Darkhouse Fam’s In & Out EP (out now on Earnest Endeavours), and Kutmah’s Worldwide Family Vol. 2 – compiled for Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood label, and released on 26th March.
Oh, and they’ll have a little help from the almighty Gaslamp Killer.
Taking it back to their roots, the EE crew will be hosting the night in a secret Hoxton location – keep an eye on the Facebook event to stay in the loop. Tickets appear to be sold out, but I’m assuming there’ll be a handful on sale at the door (once you find out where the location is and get there).
24 year-old photographer Teddy Fitzhugh is fast becoming synonymous with the English capital’s underground music and art scene – shooting a plethora of the city’s sweaty, live offerings over the years. Tomorrow, the London-based photographer will be showing a collection of 24 photographs in his debut exhibition Have Fun Always.
A visceral, black and white celebration of music and its elemental effect on people, Have Fun Always will launch tomorrow at 18 Hewett Street – make sure you RSVP to the address in the flyer above, and check out some of the imagery that will be on show below.
South Brooklyn rapper Sene is getting ready to release his new album, titled Brooklyknight, on Plug Research in April. The only rapper signed to the LA independent, the New Yorker has enlisted some pretty exciting talent to feature on his sophomore LP. Expect guests in the form of Blu, Co$$, and Scienze (to name a few), and production from the like of J57, Fonetik Simbol, No Games and more.
To explain the workings behind Brooklyknight, the young wordsmith has hooked up with Pace Rivers and Aaronisnotcool to create a beautifully shot video short – take a look below and get a taste of the music to come. We’re pretty excited for this one.
Brooklyknight is out 24th April on Plug Research and will be reviewed at a later date.
Ninja Tune’s Yppah (pronounced Yippah) is getting ready to release his third album on the mighty Ninja Tune, and has just announced the first single to come from the record. ‘Film Burn’, featuring haunting vocals from Anomie Belle, is an acoustic-electric-demented-drum-infused reverie that brings to mind the likes of Savath y Savalas and Bonobo. An excellent introduction to the album, which is titled Eighty One.
Check out the mesmerising video below, directed by LA-based filmmaker Matthew F. Smith:
Download the Kwes remix for free.
‘Film Burn’ is released 26th March on Ninja Tune. Eighty One is out 2nd April and will be reviewed at a later date.