Month: April 2014

For a while, the general audience associated the A$AP movement with two things: A$AP Rocky and A$AP Yams’ birth mark. That was until A$AP Ferg stepped into the scene.

If you kept up with the A$AP crew, you might have known A$AP Ferg from his features on A$AP Rocky’s Live. Love. ASAP, or maybe you caught him doing a couple of freestyles at radio shows with Rocky. Needless to say, the few glimpses we got to see of the Harlem native were promising, but he remained a mystery for the most part.

When Lord$ Never Worry dropped, that all changed. Ferg stole the show with his intoxicating track, “Work”, which continues to be a crowd favorite to this day. The tape also helped solidify Fergie as a versatile rapper. Not only could he produce a turn up anthem, Young Fergenstein could also give us hood ballads like “Choppas On Deck”.

His individual success on that mixtape resulted in Ferg’s rise in popularity, which in turn led to him becoming the second member of A$AP to release a solo album. Trap Lord followed the same formula that brought Ferg so much praise. “Shabba” was the party anthem that helped build up hype around the project, while tracks like “Hood Pope” and “Cocaine Castles” showed Ferg’s softer side. The success of the album eventually helped Ferg land a spot at this year’s Coachella Music Festival.

A$AP Ferg has been releasing a solid stream of freestyles as of late, as well as doing features on a few tracks. No matter what lab he steps in, he continues to create vicious monsters (“Shit Y Not” freestyle) as well as gentle giants (Big K.R.I.T.’s “Lac Lac”). In case you haven’t figure it out, that’s why he calls himself The Fergenstein.

Check out some of A$AP Ferg’s classics before heading out to JMBLYA this weekend and if you still have a chance, get tickets to see him while he’s still in his prime.

05/02 – Dallas – Mainstreet Garden Park – SOLD OUT

Meet Magnus August Høiberg, the coolest cat on the block. Better known by his stage name, Cashmere Cat is quickly becoming one of the most talked about electronic artists out there.

The young Norwegian was introduced to the world at the DMC World DJ Championships, where he represented his home country from 2006 through 2009 under the alias of DJ Final. He placed himself in the finals a few times, but decided to switch things up a bit in 2011.

It was on February of that year that Cashmere Cat was born. The DJ”s new persona of a “forest cat with a passion for making music” perfectly embodies the type of music which he creates, and it also serves as a genius marketing tool. If you check out  Cashmere Cat”s Facebook page, you”ll see pictures of cats rolling  around on stacks of money or, my personal favorite, a fluffy cat tangled up in computer chargers with a caption that casino online reads “me working on a new song in the studio”.

When he”s not battling power cords, Cashmere Cat either produces downtempo/abstract electronic music or remixes other people”s work. His remixes of tracks by the likes of Lana Del Rey, Jeremih, 2 Chainz, and Miguel brought him a large amount of attention from music industry giants such as Hudson Mohawke and Diplo, but that”s not to say that his production isn”t as good as his remix work.

Cashmere Cat”s 15-minute debut EP, Mirror Maru, is the opposite of everything that Grumpy Cat stands for: R&B, Pop, and drum samples are fused to created the warmest of sounds. The lead single for this EP also managed to get a spot on the coveted Grant Theft Auto V soundtrack, which is not an easy feat. The Norwegian feline has since moved to Manhattan and released his second EP, Wedding Bells, at the beginning of this year.

Check out some of Cashmere Cat”s sounds before heading out to JMBLYA this weekend and get tickets to see him if you haven”t yet.

05/02 – Dallas – Mainstreet Garden Park – SOLD OUT

What does Action Bronson do when he”s on the road? Well, he eats. Check out a preview of Bronsolino”s upcoming “Fuck, That”s Delicious” series with Munchies.TV, where the rapping chef will detail his experiences with the food that he eats while he”s on We cover Flint and all of Michigan with:- News that is time stamped for up-to-date content- Weather (including radar, animated radar and school-delays.com closings)- Sports video- Live video at certain times of the day- News video – Horoscopes- Lottery results- Community calendarCompatibility: Requires iOS 5. tour. From the looks of it, his taste buds have a blast no matter where they are in the world.

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Source: Munchies

In case you missed it, Future’s recent interview with Elliott Wilson included some bonus takes, which include fan Q&A’s as well as Future talking about working with Pharrell and Pusha T. Check the clip out below and click through the dates to get tickets to see Future, Rico Love, and Que when they make their way through Texas on the Honest Tour.

06/19 – Dallas

RELATED: Future – Honest [Album Stream]
RELATED: Future – I Won (feat. Kanye West) [Video]

Source: CRWN

Where’s Brooklyn at!? The New York borough has played an immense role in hip hop, bringing us the likes of the Notorious B.I.G. and Jay Z. Now, BK is birthing a whole new school of great emcees, including psychedelic rap duo The Underachievers.

Issa Gold and AK, collectively known as The Underachievers, met at a friend’s house and bonded after discovering that they were both into psychedelic drugs. AK had been rapping since he was young, but Issa only started taking it seriously around 2011, when the two decided to form The Underachievers. Shortly after that, in 2012, the duo got signed to Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder record label.

The group’s first project, Indigoism, introduced the world to their movement. Indigoism is more than just music, but?that was the perfect platform for the duo to deliver their message to millions of people world wide. Indigoism?stands for a new age of conscious; ultimately, The Underachievers want you to meditate, open your third eye, and realize that we are one people and can be unstoppable if united.

The crew decided to put that message on hold to have a bit of fun on their second tape, Lords of Flatbush,?which was mainly produced by Lex Luger. Even though they switched their style up, this project was still well received. But don’t get it twisted, the duo aren’t going to stop making conscious music. Their next album, The Cellar Door, is going to be filled with “lyrical, conscious, expanding knowledge, magical, triple optic shit”, according to Issa Gold. Look for The Underachiever’s debut album to be released in either April or May of this year.

Last year, the duo was busy touring with Joey Bada$$, PRO ERA, and Flatbush ZOMBiES, all of which reign from Flatbush, Brooklyn. They’ve all known each other since they were young and are collectively known?as Beastcoast. You can also expect them to come together on a project soon.

Outside of music, Issa Gold and AK are both into psychedelics, which they do once or twice a year. Issa was baptized at the age of 13, but then became an atheist and now practices Buddism, which he picked up from his dad. To him, drugs and philosophies go hand-in-hand because the drugs will help you zone out, which helps you reach a higher level of meditation. The duo’s influences come mostly from non-rap acts including John Mayer and Fleet Foxes, but they are also influenced by the likes of Nas and Lupe Fiasco.

Listen and watch some of the stand out work from The Underachievers below before you head out to JMBLYA this weekend and get tickets below if you haven’t yet.

5/2 – Dallas – Main Street Garden Park – SOLD OUT

JMBLYA is a couple of days away, which means it’s time for a quick crash course on all the great acts which will be blessing the stage this year. Today we’ll take a look at one of the youngest performers, 19 year old Denzel Curry.

Denzel “Aquarius Killa” Curry grew up in Carol City, Florida, a city known to most Americans thanks to Rick Ross. Denzel began to catch people’s attention in the early stages of his career as a member of fellow Carol City native SpaceGhostPurrp’s Raider Klan. Even though his verses on Klan projects where building up a buzz around his name, Denzel decided to amicably split from the crew in the summer of 2013 in order to pursue his own sound.

Curry’s new sound was presented to the masses in the form of?Nostalgic 64, his first studio LP. Unlike the aggressive rap typical of South Florida, this project is more of a reflection on Denzel’s surroundings. This mindset continues to influence Denzel’s raps going into his next project, Planet Shrooms EP, which will drop later this year. “Stadium Starship”, the first single off that LP, shows the pain that Denzel has experienced being a young, black male growing up in South Florida. More specifically, he is searching for peace during a time when black youths such as Tiarra Grant and Trayvon Martin (the latter of which attended?Miami Carol City Senior High School, the school from which Denzel recently graduated) are being senselessly murdered in Florida.

On a personal level, Denzel is a fan of Wesley Snipes and Sylvester Stallone movies, his favorite N64 games were GoldenEye and Super Smash Brothers (he uses Donkey Kong, Sonic, or Kirby), he’ll ONLY drink Fiji water, and he’d rather write a song sober because weed makes him lazy. He also did karate for five years and does the cover art for his projects. Talk about unique.

Check out some of the songs and visuals that helped Aquarius Killa blow up in 2013, and make sure you catch his sets at JMBLYA and JMBLYA Late Nights. Get tickets to JMBLYA and JMBLYA Late Nights below if you haven’t yet.

5/2 – Dallas – Main Street Garden Park – SOLD OUT

The fun people at MONTREALITY caught up with The Underachievers to talk about some interesting subjects. Psychedelics and the duo’s upcoming album, The Cellar Door, are expected topics of conversation; but UA also touched on a range of other things in this interview, including their ultimate fetishes, the biggest lie in the world, and the type of students they were in school.

Check out this great interview before you head out to JMBLYA this weekend. Dallas G.A. is sold out, but New Braunfels and Houston can still get tickets by clicking through the dates.

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Source: MONTREALITY

Some of you may not realize this, but DJ Drama is responsible for most of your favorite songs from the 2000″s. Arguably one of the most hardworking hip hop artists in the history of the game, the Atlanta DJ has undoubtedly had a major role in shaping today”s rap scene.

Perhaps the most notable of Drama”s achievements is the way in which he transformed the role of a DJ in hip hop. It”s true that DJs hosted mixtapes before him, but no mixtape series has EVER had as big of an impact on the rap as Drama”s Gangsta Grillz series. Drama made an art out of the mixtape industry, often putting out more hits in a free project than other people had in their full-length studio albums. The success of his mixtapes was so high on the street level that artists soon began to use Drama”s mixtapes as launching pads for their careers. For example, there was an obvious rise in Lil Wayne”s popularity after his Dedication series with Drama.

Unfortunately, Drama suffered a minor setback in 2007, when authorities raided his Atlanta studio because they suspected that he was distributing bootleg music. Drama ended up doing a bit of time, but most of the work found on Gangsta Grillz tapes was specifically recorded for the tapes, so the feds didn”t have much of a case against him.

Drama came back stronger than ever after the mishap, releasing Gangsta Grillz: The Album. Perhaps the strongest track on that project was the fourth part of OutKast”s “The Art of Storytellin”, best online casino where Drama reassured the world that he was here to stay. Since then, he has released three more studio albums and hosted countless mixtapes. He”s currently planning on releasing his fourth studio album, Quality Street Music 2, later in 2014.

Drama has also ventured on the executive side of the the business. He and Don Cannon, along with DJ Sense, founded Aphilliates Music Group in 2013. And in January 2014, it was announced that Drama was the new A&R for Atlantic Records,which means that he”s now responsible for bringing you the the likes of Young Thug and Que.

Check out some of the legendary DJ”s work below before you head out to JMBLYA this weekend.

Future continues to push Honest, which was released earlier this week. The auto-tuned rapper made his way to Hot 97 to talk about said album, as well as his roots with the Dungeon Family, his upcoming work, Ciara, and more. Future was also a part of Elliott Wilson”s CRWN interview series, where he talked about songwriting, making hits, and more topics related to the music industry.

Check out both interviews below and make sure you get tickets to see Future, Rico Love, and Que as they make their way through Texas on the Honest Tour.

06/19 – Dallas

RELATED: Future – Honest [Album Stream]
RELATED: Future – I Won (feat. Kanye West) [Video]

Source: Hot 97 and CRWN

Wiz Khalifa was a part of this year’s 12 Fest, held in Ohio. Check out a recap of Wiz and the Taylor’s time at the festival in his latest “Day Today” vlog, directed by Frank Paladino.

Wiz will also be headlining the Neon Desert Music Festival next month. If you like what you see in the video below, click through the date and get tickets for you and your friends.

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Source: Wiz Khalifa