Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Once again Madness2012 is back at it, throwing some of the wildest hip-hop parties/concerts in all of New England. This time around, the Unit 11 stage introduced heads to many up-and-coming acts, both local and national. By the time I arrived, there was already a line out the door, and apparently people had to be turned away due to overcrowding (who says Boston doesn’t love hip-hop?).

Read the rest of this entry »

With all the talk of the decline of the music industry, particularly in hip-hop, it’s comforting to know that no matter what, no one will ever be able to bootleg the live experience (at least, I hope not). Hip-hop began as a live art form, and to this day the live element of hip-hop remains perhaps the most complete component of the culture. There is a physical interaction between the artist and the audience that simply cannot be duplicated. That said, there may very well be few people in New England who understand this better than rapper/beatboxer/hip-hop aficionado, Madness2012, who puts on some of the most fun and energetic shows (although party may be the more accurate term) in Boston.

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s not every day that international hip-hop or neo-soul acts make their way over to America, and when they do, it’s usually just to hit the most major cities (New York and Los Angeles). Therefore when I heard that Nigerian/German songstress Nneka would be performing in Boston, I immediately cleared my schedule, and made sure nothing would get in the way of me attending her show.

Read the rest of this entry »

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Although the album came over a month ago, Saving Seamus Ryan, the new solo album by MC Esoteric, finally had its proper release party in Boston (well technically, Cambridge), MA. The show got off to a late start though, so an eager crowd was gathered outside waiting to get into the Middle East Upstairs venue – an extremely tight and loud space, known for putting down some of the best shows in the Boston area.

Read the rest of this entry »

As a counter appeared on the projection screens above the Dunkin Donuts Center stage Saturday and the sold-out crowd erupted, it was safe to assume it was going to be a great night. And, luckily for the thousands of us, Jay-Z made sure that assumption came true.

Read the rest of this entry »

As long as The Foreign Exchange is performing, no one can ever even think about showmanship being dead. The eight-piece band that took the stage of B.B. King’s Blues Club & Grille on Oct. 23 moved the crowd in a way that few acts are capable. And it all started at 1 a.m. As such, you would think a show starting that late would lend itself to a somewhat less-than-energetic audience. But that was simply not the case – I mean, this is New York City we’re talking about.

Read the rest of this entry »

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Here are the pictures from the Audible Treats CMJ Showcase, featuring Souls of Mischief, Tanya Morgan, Trinity, Kam Moye, Oddisee, Finale, Jern Eye and TruthLive. Special shouts to Keelay for holding it down for like 90% of the artists on the turntables! Another thanks to Michelle from Audible for putting on such a dope event.

Heading off to the next CMJ event, but I wanted to get these pictures posted from the Plug Research event last night. Some of my all-time favorites were in the building, including Bilal, Blu & Exile, Shafiq Husayn, Pharoahe Monch, J.Rocc, DJ Spinna, Large Professor, Blu Jemz and more. Don’t have time right now to write a full review, but check out the pictures for now and check back soon!

Read the rest of this entry »

I went to the Mayer Hawthorne show this past Sunday in Toronto. Buff1, 14KT and MymanHenri were the opening acts for a sold out engagement at the Drake Hotel. MymanHenri, who’s another well-respected DJ opened things up with a twenty-five minute set that included some Jay Dee remixes and some down-tempo funk. It was a smaller venue at the Drake and the crowd was somewhere between hipster and hip-hop heads. Read the rest of this entry »