Summer Stage 6/17/2012: Rahzel, Questlove, Black Thought, and Groove Theory

Every summer, NYC's City Parks Foundation has FREE concerts in various parks in New York City and the surrounding areas. Yesterday, Rahzel, Questlove, Black Thought, and Groove Theory performed at Central Park. Questlove did a DJ set, while Black Thought and Rahzel performed a few songs over various instrumentals.  Below is The Roots "The Fire" over the Otis beat (WTT). Rahzel backs him up with a bit of beat boxing.
 

Apparently this was the FIRST Groove Theory performance in 16 years. Amel brought her beautiful daughter Sky (who is also her background singer) and she sounds amazing! Like a younger version of Amel, still raw but powerful. The video below is of Amel performing D'Angelo's "Lady" and then going  into Faith Evan's "You Use to Love Me."

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#LatePass: Hectic Zeniths

I bet you didn't have a high school math teacher who made beats like these. Adam Morgan Prince is a self-proclaimed bedroom producer and multi-instrumentalist who cooked up one hell of a project with Hectic Zeniths, released back in January and just hitting my inbox Friday. I've been rocking to the beats ever since. Hit play and enjoy.

Buy Hectic Zeniths



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C-Mone "The Rays (Remix)"

I dig C-Mone's sound. There's something about the Nottingham (UK) emcee that I like a lot. Often times when you hear a rapper from across the seas you get caught up in the accent. While present, it brings a unique essence to her cadence. I stumbled across her music by way of a music submission a day or so ago and have been exploring her music since. Peep one of her cool new records below and look for more from C-Mone soon, as she's working on a new project due out in July. Chea!



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EVENT: My-My & RagsToRitz's Presents "Back To Basics"

Boston what up?! Looks like a pretty dope line up for this My-My & RagsToRitz's presents Back To Basics, featuring some pretty dope acts. Peep the trailer up top and check for more info about the show here. Chea!

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@KirbyLauryen's A Song A Day: Day 168

twitter.com/kirbylauryen
kirbylauryensings.bandcamp.com

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EVENT: El-P with Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire, Killer Mike, and Despot @Irving Plaza (7/13)

Founder of the legendary underground hip-hop label, Def Jux, El-P, aka El Producto, is one of hip-hop’s most obstinate and adventurous pioneers, combining a lo-fi old-school aesthetic with a progressive rock musician’s inclination to push boundaries. In the mid-’90s, he developed a cult fanbase with the groundbreaking trio Company Flow, and their heralded debut LP Funcrusher Plus. Over the group’s auspicious stint together, he proved he was himself capable of intense lyricism as well as sonic production so powerful it could stand on its own.

Despite a short stint of reunion shows, including Coachella 2012, Company Flow has long disbanded. However, El-P has enjoyed a resurgence of late, producing music for buzzing MCs like Killer Mike, Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire and Sierra Leone Reggae stars, Bajah + the Dry Eye Crew.

via moveforwardmusic.com

Buy Tickets

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Tyquan Sounds "WHOEVERWHEREEVER (I'm Gucci)" feat. Dom O Briggs

Tyquan Sounds teams up with Dom O Briggs on TheAntyDote produced banger, ahead of Tyquan's upcoming BCAS:DIPHFERENT project due out in August. In the meantime enjoy WHOEVERWHEREEVER (I'm Guicci). Chea.



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Jennifer Hudson "Love Is Bigger Than Fear" (Written by @kirbylauryen)

Kirby has been writing and singing for 167 days, as she marches on an ambitious journey to write a song a day. TMB has been there with her for more than one hundred days as she delivers song after song after song. More recently, in addition to writing material for herself, she's turned her attention to writing with particular music idols in mind. Just a few weeks ago, she wrote with Tyrese in mind. The power of social media allowed her followers to push it to their audiences, eventually catching his eye, leading to both a retweet and some words of encouragement.

That was cool.

As if that moment wasn't big enough, it got even bigger for Kirby less than 24 hours ago. This morning as I was getting ready for work at 3am (don't ask), I checked in on twitter (I'm an addict) catching wind that a song Kirby wrote with Jennifer Hudson in mind was being sung by Hudson during a live stream of a rehearsal. Further proving the power of social media, acting as an A&R/agent/publicist and more. Check out J Hud taking on Kirby's Love Is Bigger Than Fear. As a big supporter of Kirby, we're proud of her and this moment. We're sure she's on cloud nine. Awesome.



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@KirbyLauryen's A Song A Day: Day 166 & Day 167

twitter.com/kirbylauryen
kirbylauryensings.bandcamp.com

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What I'm Watching: Logic & Raze "Here Before"

Moral of the story, stay away from serial killers when you're out at night. Or at least try. Logic & Raze serve up the visuals for Here Before, directed by Mark Gage and Brad Hollander. In the latest single from their ... Still Untitled project, the duo provide a haunting cautionary tale of late night trolling. Be careful out in those mean streets. Ha!

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What I'm Watching: Mic Blaque "Make Way" Feat. Damaja D

No Sleep Pro directs the Tone Tremelo produced track, as Mic Blaque delivers his latest featuring Damaja D. Enjoy. Chea!

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Hip-Hop Breakfast Ep 131

As with every Friday, this episode is compiled of dope tracks featured over at RefinedHype and DJBooth throughout the week. I hope this EP helps kick off your weekend. Chea!

01. Oddisee feat. Olivier Daysoul - You Know Who You Are (Acoustic)
02. ANTHM - Siren's Song
03, XV feat. Slim The Mobster - Andy Warhol
04. Joey Bada$$ feat. CJ Fly - Don't Front
05. T-Shirt - NY Tap Water
06. Pac Div - Automatic
07. Joey Bada$$ feat. Capital STEEZ - Survival Tactics
08. Mean Doe Green - Castle Collectors

Stream / Download

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