Both Rihanna and Kardinal Offishall might be from the islands, but this is still an un-offishall remix.
Karen Wild and Producer L interview Pharrell, Shay and Rhea from N.E.R.D. (sorry no Chad). They talk about performing live, background and concepts to their next album, music, upcoming projects and more!
More from the interview after the cut.
Hov and Skateboard P are on the west coast of Canada for the Blueprint 3 Tour. Here they are performing a cut off Jiggaman’s latest album. Props to Dope Couture for the footage.
More after the jump.
Former Re-Up Gang member Sandman is set to release his Heart of the City mixtape. He decided to use The Clipse’s “Kinda Like a Big Deal” beat for this one.
Nah Right and OnSMASH get a huge shoutout for putting together the Better Recognize showcase at this year’s CMJ festivities. After the jump a tough New York crowd boo OJ Da Juiceman right off stage. All this could have been avoided had Jadakiss joined him for a performance of “Who’s Real” in my opinion.
Pac Div and TiRon perform at this years CMJ ’09 showcase in New York City.
Kweli recalled stories dating from his teenage years to the more immediate past. He discussed how coming from an academic family where both his parents were professors influenced both him personally and his content musically. He then looked back on the days before he broke onto the rap scene, when he was working in clubs, and remembered smoking a blunt with Biggie and Tupac and being in a cypher with Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Busta Rhymes at the club.
Stories about the two groups he has been involved with—Reflection Eternal with Hi-Tek and Black Star with Mos Def—also surfaced. He called “Respiration” “probably one of my favorite records I’ve ever done,” named Mos as one of his closest friends (“our mothers hang out,” he said), and spoke on working with J. Dilla and the influence that Slum Village had on his style. Other topics that came up during the hour-and-a-half talk included his days with Rawkus Records, his early experiences with Common and Kanye West, his relationship with John Forte and Jay-Z, and more.
Props: XXL
More after the jump.
Yesterday morning, singer-songwriter Melanie Fiona kicked off a multicity tour with an intimate performance at Clinton Recording Studio in midtown. For the lucky, in-the-know fans in attendance, this “secret” concert was well worth the early rise. The Guyanese-Canadian showed off her extraordinary talent by performing unplugged songs from her debut album, The Bridge, and answering questions about her recent projects and musical influences. Despite Fiona’s budding career, which has included opening for Kanye West and working with well-known artists such as the Roots, the singer remains incredibly down to earth. Thanks to our handy Flipcam, we captured the highlights on tape. If you like what you see, check out The Bridge, which drops today (October 20) exclusively on iTunes. – Aura
