The Wu’s latest project, Legendary Weapons, was released a few weeks ago. With the only Clan member missing being GZA, everyone appears on the RZA-produced album along with guest appearances from the likes of AZ, M.O.P., Sean Price, Killa Sin and others. The video is comprised of some dope shots of skaters tearing up NYC- most likely the Shaolin (Staten Island) itself.
Gucci Gucci Louis Louis Fendi Fendi Prada, basic bitches wear that shit so I don’t even bother. So go the head-nodding lyrics of one Natassia Zolot- a Bay Area 21 year old that fronts the ‘White Girls Mob’ composed of Kreayshawn (pronounced ‘Crishon’), DJ Lil Debbie, and V-Nasty, who also raps. The whole presentation- the outfits, the piercings, the tattoos, and the music itself oozes swagger- one could only chalk it up as her being a product of her environment. What type of 21 year old girl raps? And what type of 21 year old girl raps about Swisher blunts and Adderalls?
With accolades from Lil’ B, Soulja Boy and most notably Odd Future, it’s obvious that she has been around the block. As a Berkley Film School dropout, she obviously learned something about building hype and visual enticement- she even produced the Lil’ B ‘Like A Martian’ video. She’s been heralded by Drizzy Drake himself and even the Red Hot Chili Peppers have come calling looking for her directional leadership for one of their videos. Think what you want about the styled-up ditzy looking hypebeast, but she knows how to draw a following.
Tyler, The Creator is gearing up for a cross-country tour.
Odd Future has announced a U.S. Tour that will undoubtedly raise hell in your nearest city. Tickets go on sale this week. The “Golf Wang” Tour is listed below:
9/28 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
9/30 – San Francisco, CA – Warfield
10/2 – Portland, OR – Roseland Ballroom
10/3 – Vancouver, BC – Vogue
10/4 – Seattle, WA – Showbox Market
10/7 – Salt Lake City, UT – In the Venue
10/8 – Boulder, CO – Fox Theatre
10/9 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
10/11 – Lawrence, KS – Granada Theatre
10/12 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
10/14 – Chicago, IL – Metro
10/15 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogarts
10/16 – Detroit, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre
10/18 – Toronto, ON – Sound Academy
10/19 – New York, NY – Terminal 5
10/21 – Boston, MA – Royale
10/22 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
10/23 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
10/24 – Baltimore, MD – Sonar
10/27 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
10/28 – Atlanta, GA – Center Stage
10/30 – New Orleans, LA – Voodoo Fest
10/31 – Miami, FL – Fillmore
11/2 – Tampa, FL – Ritz Ybor
11/3 – Orlando, FL – The Beacham
11/6 – Austin, TX – Fun Fun Fun Fest
11/8 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre
The RockSmith brand took the liberty of honoring Wu-Tang with this year’s summer lineup of t-shirts and tanks, and they couldn’t have done any better. The lookbook above features hip-hop well knowns Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, Machine Gun Kelly, Stalley, Fonzworth Bentley, and the LEP Bogus Boys. Peace Gawd, I’ve got my eyes set on one of those Method Man tees or the RZA Bobby Digital shirt.
Wiz and Atlantic Records celebrate Gold.
It was not long ago that Flight School, Deal or No Deal and Kush & Orange Juice was all Wiz Khalifa had to boast on his resume. After a bidding war over his talents, he ultimately signed with Atlantic Records and began working on his first major-label release. The album would be called Rolling Papers, and it would become one of the most hotly debated albums of the 2011 release line-up. Led by the radio-ready production of tracks like ‘Black and Yellow’ and ‘Roll Up,’ the album’s sugar-coated production and Wiz’ noticeably toned down lyricism didn’t sit well with everyone. There is no denying that Wiz can rap- he proved that on his three prior mixtapes that bumped the speakers of every pothead from Pitt to Cali- but it seems that he figured out he could make more money if we works the system with the Atlantic suits, creating a number of mainstream sing-along songs that could work the simple-minded 15 and up crowd.
Khalifa Covers Rolling Stone.
Not everyone loved it, but the plan to sway towards Pop seemed to work- he got Gold. 2011 has been a huge year for the kid from Pittsburgh. But after the confetti settled and the champagne hangovers subsided, he was right back in the studio with mentor Curren$y and newest G.O.O.D Music prodigy Big Sean as the trio dropped 5 fire tracks 5 days in a row- ‘O.T.T.R. (Off To The Races),’ ‘Flowers,’ ‘Weed Brownies,’ ‘Dot, Dot, Dot,’ and ‘Proceed.’ Young Khalifa goes harder on these tracks then he does any song on Rolling Papers, and now fans are speculating that these three could have a mixtape project in the works. For our sake, let’s hope so. At a time when Jay-Z and ‘Ye are stealing the spotlight with the Watch The Throne release date creeping forth, Wiz’s return to the lyrical mastery that got him here in the first place might be stealing the show.
The Throne.
Jay-Z and Kanye dropped ‘Otis’ at the end of last week and it took the internet by storm, sampling an Otis Redding hook and proceeding to spit an epic back and forth that can only make you wonder what the rest of the album has in store. To add to the excitement of the August 1st release, tour dates have also been announced. Kicking things off in Mo-Town on Sept. 22nd, the duo will make multiple appearances in Jersey, Chicago, and LA, wrapping up the set November 3rd in the one and only TD Garden. It’s going to be a hell of a ride and an even better album. The complete dates:
Sept. 22 – Detroit, MI – Palace of Auburn Hills
Sept. 24 – Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre
Sept. 25 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
Sept. 27 – East Rutherford, NJ – Izod Center
Sept. 28 – East Rutherford, NJ – Izod Center
Sept. 28 – Washington, DC – Verizon Center
Oct. 4 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
Oct. 6 – Chicago, IL – United Center
Oct. 7 – Chicago, IL – United Center
Oct. 8 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
Oct. 10 – Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
Oct. 13 – Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Dome
Oct. 14 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
Oct. 16 – San Jose, CA – HP Pavilion
Oct. 17 – Sacramento, CA – Power Balance Pavilion
Oct. 19 – Los Angeles, CA – Staples Center
Oct. 20 – Los Angeles, CA – Staples Center
Oct. 21 – Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena
Oct. 25 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Oct. 26 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
Oct. 29 – Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena
Oct. 30 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum
Nov. 1 – Baltimore, MD – 1st Mariner Arena
Nov. 3 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
The Empire 
August 8, 2011
‘Watch The Throne’ Released Without Leak
Those Watching the Throne will have a hard time looking away.
If there was anyone that could keep this mega-project from being released to the public before the scheduled release date, it was this duo of Jay-Z and Kanye West. With Watch The Throne being distributed digitally first and then physical copies hitting Best Buy shelves August 12th, there seems to be a plan in place to make the most cash possible. The news that these CDs would only be released at Best Buys nationwide caused uproar amongst independently owned record shops- indie stores and privately owned places that have been struggling to stay afloat in a time and age when no one pays for music anymore. But this phenomenon has taken its toll on the entire industry, and that includes the musicians themselves. It seems the only ones making out in all of this are us as the listeners.
John Meneilly, Jigga’s manager, has come out to say this Best Buy only deal was to avoid a leak. I guess the probability of a privately owned record shop employee swiping a copy of the heralded product is higher than a Best Buy employee doing the same- seems bogus. In all reality, a deal may have been worked out between Roc-A-Fella and Best Buy to exclusively push this album. If you look at it from Jay and Kanye’s point of view, they won’t be paid anyways with millions of kids downloading their beats for free, so they might as well take the commercial cash from a big-time distributor and turn some sort of profit. Otherwise, this masterpiece would have been out a week or two ago and the hype would have already died. But let’s not let all the politics surrounding this bad boy bring it down- this quality rap indeed.