L.A. Leakers Rewind: Mar. 20th – Mar. 26th

IMG_7259

R.I.P. PHIFE DAWG

Hip-hop lost a true pioneer this week with the death of Phife Dawg, who passed away at the age of 45 after a long battle with diabetes.

His family released a statement which you can read below:

“We regret to share the news that on Tuesday March 22nd, 2016, Malik has passed away due to complications resulting from diabetes,” the statement reads. “Malik was our loving husband, father, brother and friend. We love him dearly. How he impacted all our lives will never be forgotten. His love for music and sports was only surpassed by his love of God and family.”

He impacted many lives since the inception of supergroup, A Tribe Called Quest. The funky lyrics he spit to those classic instrumentals will forever live in my head.

The 5-foot Assassin released five albums as part of A Tribe Called Quest and one solo album in 2000. He was a true poet, lyricist and musician.

I hope you all will Find A Way to the Award Tour as you link up with miss Bonita Applebum to have Hot Sex On A Platter as you embark on the Scenario.

My favorite Phife Diggy line was the one below:

Feel free to share your favorite Phife Dawg line in the comments section.

REST IN POWER, Phife.

50 CENT AND THE GAME PARTY AT THE SAME CLUB

One of the longest standing beefs in hip-hop is probably 50 Cent’s and The Game’s, dating back to 2005. Since then there’s been a number of diss tracks and even a couple of unfortunate violent situations between both entourages.

This past week it appeared as if things were a bit more peaceful with both rappers making appearances at the same club in Hollywood.

Although the two did not share a handshake or even a stage it was huge for both rappers to be in the same building after the negativity that has existed between them.

Game seemed to be playing peacemaker as he ordered more than a few bottles of 50’s Effen Vodka and followed by praising the taste of the vodka on his Instagram. In addition he mentioned the two “used to be as tight as @Kehlani pussy.” The post has since been deleted.

Nice to see the two can actually be in the same place enjoying themselves without any drama. Hopefully they can put their differences in the past and go back to making the fire music they once made together.

KANYE MAKES A QUICK MIL

Kanye West tweeted a couple weeks ago that he was over $50-million in debt. The situation appeared to be so dire he tweeted millionaires and billionaires to invest in ‘Ye.

Well, according to Mr. West he made $1-million in two days from “The Life Of Pablo”-inspired pop-up shop in New York. We’ve all seen the price tags on Kanye’s jackets, hoodies, t-shirts and other clothing so it’s very possible.

“The Pablo pop up was almost a pop up of influence,” he tweeted. ““but there is no other brand that could sell 1 million dollars of clothing in 2 days from 1 location!!!”

https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/712416940711669761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/712417183473782785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/712423750520721408
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/712424774891409410

Well, if things continue to go as they are he just needs another 52 pop-up shops to be debt-free! Yay! Or should I say ‘YE!

JAY ELECTRONICA EMBARKING ON A TOUR

Although this may sound like a myth, Jay Electronica announced he will be going on a five city tour.

The tour is scheduled to be kicked off next week in San Francisco, CA. and most shows will be on the West coast, atleast for this run.

During his April 2nd show he’ll perform a J. Dilla tribute along with Slum Village, Black Milk, Guilty Simpson, Phat Kat, Blaqroyalt.

Here’s all the tour stops and venues:

03/30 – San Francisco, CA @ 1015 Folsom
04/02 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
04/03 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
04/06 – Denver, CO @ Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom
04/10 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Cabooze
04/13 – San Diego, CA @ Music Box
04/17 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s

Listen to his newest song below:

Still no word on the album but don’t hold your breath. I’m sure if it ever drops it will include a Frank Ocean feature and may even drop the same day Detox drops. Jokes.

SXSW RECAP

The biggest independent music festival capped off this week and there was way too much to talk about, so let’s highlight the main happenings.

Drake closed out the final night of the Fader Fort as he surprised guests after Yo Gotti got off the stage.

Drizzy performed some of his newer hits like, “Jumpman,” “Energy,” “Know Yourself” to name a few.

In his final year of presidency, Barack Obama became the first president ever to take part in any festivities at SXSW.

Barack hit up the SXSW Interactive Keynote Conversation where he showed major support and appreciation to “influencers.”

During the keynote, the First Lady released a song to support her #62MillionGirls global education initiative which she discussed at the event.

Listen to a snippet of the song, “This Is For My Girls,” written by Diane Warren and features Missy Elliott, Janelle Monaé, Kelly Rowland, Kelly Clarkson, Lea Michele, Zendaya and others.

Althought there were countless David Bowie tributes at this year’s festival none was bigger than Anderson .Paak and The Free Nationals.

The combination of both genres made for one of the best Bowie tributes I’ve ever seen.

Paak is already a blend of genres in himself with the way he meshes hip-hop, R&B and even a little bit of dance. There was an abundance of energy and the band was simply graceful.


WRITTEN BY: BRYAN MELARA – @IamBNyce

Tim Westwood Drops Exclusive Phife Dawg Freestyle

Today Tim Westwood dropped an exclusive, throwback freestyle from the late, Phife Dawg.

The freestyle was recorded back in 1999 and highlights the kind of spitter Phife was. On the freestyle you will also hear Wildchild and Madlib.

Rest In Beats, Phife a.k.a. Phife Diggy a.k.a. the 5-foot Assassin.

“Everywhere I go they say, “yo that kid is nice…who that kid again” what, Phife.”

WRITTEN BY: BRYAN MELARA – @IamBNyce