Action Bronson continues his ubiquitous streak, serving up some exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the creation of his latest single “Baby Blue,” featuring Mark Ronson, Chance The Rapper & Zane Lowe. Though the rapper they call Chance wasn’t in attendance, the clip offers a bit of insight as to how the soul-glow magic of the track came together, keening us into the fact that the BBC DJ-turned-Apple-employee we know as Zane Lowe actually wrote the hook to the track in what appears to be the legendary Electric Lady Studios (solely based on the …
Saul Williams Announces The ‘Martyr Loser Kingdom’ Tour
The mighty Saul Williams will be embarking on a month-long marathon in support of his forthcoming and freshly announced Martyr Loser Kingdom LP. Williams will be hitting every corner of the country, with Haleek Maul and Sons Of An Illustrious Father lined up as support. The tour jumpstarts in Cleveland on April 15th and runs straight through May 10th, when the curtains will draw in Philadelphia to conclude the cross-country sprint. Peep the dates below and keep your ear to the ground, Martyr Loser Kingdom is slated for a summer drop via FADER. MARTYR LOSER KINGDOM TOUR DATES: April 15 – Cleveland, OH – The Grog Shop x April 16 – Chicago, IL – …
Dev Hynes Teases Orchestral Sketches On New Blood Orange Demo “Delancey”
Blood Orange AKA Dev Hynes‘ ensemble of one (as far as the studio is concerned) has been a bit quiet as of late. Perhaps its due to the fact that everyone and their mamas want a piece of Hynes in the studio. But today we’ve finally got a new taste of the pop-perfect frequencies Hynes’ has been cooking up for himself while occupying all these other damn kitchens. “Delancey” appeared in all of its synth&cello-kissed glory early this morning on Dev’s site and while certainly rough (meaning not in it’s complete form, as opposed to a texture thing) it implies…
OKP Style: Willow Smith Stars In A Stunning Photo Editorial For ‘CR Fashion Book’
[Photos by Lisa Eisner] Willow Smith isn’t all hooks and harmonies, folk. Today, CR Fashion Book (founded by former Vogue editor, writer and model Carine Roitfeld) unleashed a new photo editorial featuring the young heiress to Bel Air, who appears as the muse for acclaimed fashion photog Lisa Eisner. Already known for her keen sense of style (even in her adolescence,) the spread finds Smith draped in all kinds of lavish garb and working the lens like she’s been there before, all while ensconced gold plated and sequin blouses to peacock-print dresses to exquisite headdresses, probably better suited for an Algonquin high-priestess. And while it’s probably a nice…
Jay Z’s Bid To Acquire European Music Streaming Service ‘Aspiro’ Has Been Blocked
Early this year, we learned that Jay Z would be trying his hand at the music streaming industry with an 8-figure bid to buy European streaming service Aspiro. Well, it appears that not all business ventures come wrapped in ribbon. Today, it was reported by Swedish publication Dagens Industri that Hov’s $56,000,000 bid was rejected by the company’s minority stockholders after being unanimously excepted by the board. And while he’s not exactly out of the race to purchase the highly-coveted streaming service (with the terms of his offer ending next week on March 11th) the shareholders will continue to work out more favorable terms for themselves. Jay’s Brooklyn Nets venture didn’t …
Eric Andre Speaks Out In Defense Of Eddie Murphy & His ‘SNL 40′ Moment
By now we’ve all probably had the time to properly deal with Eddie Murphy‘s slightly underwhelming return to the SNL stage for their 40th anniversary festivities. And yeah, we were all hoping for the Gumby or James Brown bit, but after learning of the absolutely polarizing and hardly hilarious Bill Cosby routine Lorne and the gang proposed to the man that singlehandedly saved the show, we can hardly hold that against him. But what about a burgeoning young comedian like Eric Andre? What might he have to contribute to the discussion as a spry funnyman, making waves of his own with jarring, at times downright uncomfortable joke…
Estelle To Guest Star & Premiere New Version Of “Conquerer” On ‘Empire’ This Evening
Estelle will be making her TV screen debut tonight on Fox’s soap hip-opera Empire. Youngins maybe more familiar with the West London souldstress’ voice on Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe, but this evening will play host to her very first primetime role, wherein she will debut a new version of her single “Conqueror,” with actor Jussie Smollett adding his croon and transforming the ballad into a tender duet. Estelle will be but the latest guest to bring their real world star-power to the show, following Gladys Knight, Anthony Hamilton, Courtney Love and Jim Beanz, but …
Method Man Is Just As Outraged By The 88-Year Embargo On ‘Once Upon A Time In Shaolin’ As You Are
The Wu-Tang Clan‘s long-buried treasure of a piece AKA Once Upon A Time In Shaolin AKA the 1-of-1 AKA the five-million dollar album will not be coming to a store, phone or even a museum any time soon. And as devastated as I know all of you are, the one and only Method Man is just as, if not exponentially more displeased with the announcement. In a fairly off-the-cuff interview with XXL, Mef kept it 100 (as he always does) and expressed a fair amount of outrage over how the album’s roll-out (or lack thereof) has been handled thus far. To be frank, there were no kind words, but anyone who’s followed the…
Chance The Rapper & Donnie Trumpet Discuss Their Beginnings, Staying Independent, Activism + More On The Breakfast Club
Chance The Rapper and creative kin Donnie Trumpet took to The Breakfast Club this morning to teach Charlamagne, Angela Yee, DJ Envy and the world how to be an insanely successful (and dope) independent artist without losing your soul in the process. Once Chicago’s great redeemers warmly introduce themselves to Power 105.1’s power trio, we find the duo painting a powerful picture of the creative culture they’ve helped foster as The Social Experiment collective and how that’s helped them impact their community, make excellent –and free– music, garner attention from the music industry’s top tier (I mean, Frank Ocean brought Madonna to one of their shows) and put you on…
Jodeci Stay True To Form, Share Hype Williams-Directed Clip For Comeback Single “Every Moment”
We tried to warn you. Almost a year ago we got word that a new Jodeci record was on the way with contributions from Timbaland on production. Today that dream is realized with the unveiling of a Hype Williams-directed visual for their new single “Every Moment” off the anxiously anticipated comeback record The Past, The Present, The Future. The clip manages to channel all of the ’90s r&b video magic, placing the four-piece (DeVante, KC, JoJo and Mr. Dalvin all accounted for) on a snowy Colorado mountaintop as they croon their tender true-to-form ballad with all of…
Will Smith Goes Full Fresh Prince, Performs “Summertime” Live On Kimmel
Will Smith may very well be enjoying his recent jog of press stops, but it seems he’s using the time to get reacquainted with the stage. As a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night, he was digitally reunited with long lost homie DJ Jazzy Jeff via phone-in, which played perfectly into Smith’s performance of their collaborative classic “Summertime.” And though Jeff was locked away in digital purgatory, Kimmel’s house band stepped in to provide the cuts and scratches, but were obviously no sub for The Jazzy One himself. If anything can be taken from this and the few …
Watch Kanye West Debut “All Day” Live At The 2015 BRIT Awards
Kanye, Kanye, Kanye. Seems like all we hear these days is your boy’s name with some heated verbiage attached. And rightfully so, especially if you’re one of these champions of artistic truism. But today we’re being treated to some new ish from the man that can do no right. While the states are still stuck in their 9 to 5s, the UK has been celebrating the 2015 BRIT Awards, which played host to the unveiling of the first full treatment of his new song “All Day.” After hearing the track in a number of manifestations (with and …