Month: March 2017

17 Artists To Watch At SXSW 2017 [PEEP]

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The 2017 edition of  the South by South West, music conference in Austin, Texas kicked off over the weekend. Although there was some performances, the real action doesn’t begin until this week with several music showcases from Def Jam, Dreamville, HotNewHipHop, The Source Magazine, Atlantic Records, TIDAL, and others.

From signed musicians to up-and-coming independent artists, I’ve compiled 17 artists you absolutely should NOT miss if you are attending the annual music conference. Check it out below.

RICK ROSS

With his 9th studio album, ‘Rather You Than Me’ dropping this Friday, you know Rick Ross is going to light up the VIBE Magazine showcase with new songs and special guests. The performance will take place March, 16th at The Mazda Studio from 12:35 am to 1:05 am.

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DREAMVILLE

One of the most successful teams in the industry, Dreamville, will have their own showcase at Old School on March, 16th, beginning at 8:30 pm. Catch performances from the team’s own: Bas, Cozz, Ari Lennox, Omen, J.I.D, Lute, Ron Gilmore, and a set from DJ Nitrane.

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2 CHAINZ

A staple in hip-hop, 2 Chainz, has an extensive catalog that is sure to turn a party up. The Atlanta rapper has been one of the most consistent artists of this era. You could see Chainz at EMO’s on March 16th at 10:45 pm.

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MIKE WILL MADE-IT

Mike WiLL has been in the studio heavy working on his forthcoming project, ‘Ransom 2’. The mega-producer, has produced for the biggest names ranging from Rihanna to Drake. With two showcases scheduled, the producer may just drop some new shit off the upcoming ‘Ransom 2’.

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METRO BOOMIN’

Responsible for many of the hits topping the charts, Metro Boomin’ is an absolute can NOT miss. Metro will be doing a 1-hour set at Antone’s on Friday, March 17th. You know he’s guaranteed to bring special guests out.

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DJ ESCO

Future’s sidekick, DJ Esco, has had been very influential figure in music. The electrifying DJ always keeps the crowd going as he plays different trap sounds, while rocking the audience. Find Esco at Empire Garage March 15th and Mohawk Outdoor on March 18th.

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A$AP FERG

The Trap Lord had a very successful run through last year’s SXSW showcases. This year he’s minimized his work load to one show, but it is sure to be worth it. Ferg will be at 800 Congress March, 15th at 1am.

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TY DOLLA $IGN

Get ready to get ratchet with Ty Dolla $ign. The LA superstar will perform as part of Atlantic Records showcase with TIDAL at Stubb’s on Saturday, March 18th. Ty will go on at 11:10 pm.

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DAVE EAST

Dave East is one of the most lyrical new artists out. The New York-product displayed his deadly lyrics on his L.A. Leakers freestyle, which you can watch HERE. East will also perform at Stubb’s March 16th.

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KENT JONES

DJ Khaled’s artist, Kent Jones, broke out last year with the single, “Don’t Mind.” Kent dropped a new single over the weekend. Catch the Miami-representative performing at Empire Garage on Thursday, March 16th at 10:30 pn.

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MAXO KREAM

Maxo Kream has a nice blend of sounds that is influenced by the south. The Houston-born rapper will close things out at the Palm Door on Sixth Patio on March, 16th at  1:30 am.

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KAP G

Atlanta has one of the most influential sounds in the industry. Atlanta rapper Kap G is keeping the scene alive with his trappy sound. Since his single, “Girlfriend,” the Mexican-American rapper has been on the up-and-up. See Kap G at the Atlantic Records, “Make Trap Great Again” showcase.

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G. PERICO

Los Angeles rapper, G. Perico, has stayed true to the traditional West Coast sound. If you haven’t yet, listen to his recently-released ‘Shit Don’t Stop’ project. G will perform at the 512 Rooftop on March 16th at 12:30 am.

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DON MYKEL

Uptown, New York’s Don Mykel has been bodying freestyle after freestyle and consistently putting out quality music. Don will show off his skills at two Source Magazine showcases, being “Respect the Plug” on March 15th and “Legally Loud 4” on March 16th.

ZOEY DOLLAZ

FreeBandz rapper, Zoey Dollaz, is one of the nicest new rapper out of Florida. His new single “YAYAYA” featuring Future and Koly P is a party-starter. Catch Zoey performing at The Source Magazine showcases, “Respect the Plug” on March 15th and “Legally Loud 4” on March 16th.

ROCKY BANKS

One of the hungriest up-and-coming rappers, Rocky Banks, was one of my “Indie Picks of the Week” last year and has really continued to develop. His recent project, ‘Trust In Banko’ proves he will be a mainstay in hip-hop for years to come. Rocky will do two showcases. See Rocky at The Palm Door on Sixth for the “Welcome to tha South” showcase on March 15th and March 16th at the “Fresh Picks” showcase at Club 512 Rooftop.

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SAINT JHN

Brooklyn’s SAINt JHN, is an emerging rapper/singer who has a different sound than other New York artists. After going on tour with Post Malone last year, SAINt is destined to show the world he’s a force to be reckoned with. See SAINt’s melodic performance Saturday, March 18th at Empire Control Room.

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@IAMBNYCE

 

 

Drake Announces Release Date For ‘More Life’ [PEEP]

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More Chune for your head top!

Drake has been busy on the road with his “Boy Meets World” European tour. The tour has undoubtedly caused more delay of his forthcoming project, ‘More Life’. After announcing it in October of last year, the so-called “playlist” has experienced several delays.

It was originally supposed to drop December of last year, then pushed back to January, and then rumors surfaced, that it would be dropping during March 4th’s episode of OVOSOUNDRADIO, which was eventually scraped all together.

The 6 God seems poised to drop it and yesterday during a stop in Germany, Drizzy announced he would be going to the hotel following the show to put the finishing touches on the project.

On an Instagram video posted by Drizzy, the project was given an official release date of March 18th. Watch the ‘More Life’ promotional video below.

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I’ve speculated it’s taken this long, because the “playlist” will include over 25 songs.

@IAMBNYCE

New Music: Frank Ocean – “Chanel” & “Chanel” (Remix) Feat. A$AP Rocky [LISTEN]

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Frank Ocean surprised fans with new music on his Beats1 “blondedRadio” show with his new single, “Chanel.” Shortly after the original track dropped, a remix featuring A$AP Rocky surfaced.

On the track Franky talks about his guy singing,”My guy pretty like a girl /And he got fight stories to tell / I see both sides like Chanel.” Rocky raps about his ex-girlfriend, Chanel Iman, who the rapper claims he was really good to. “Was such a good guy to Chanel / Until she caught me sleeping with Cherelle,” raps Rocky.

In addition to the premiere, Frank also played tracks from J. Dilla, Thundercat, and others. “Chanel” follows last month’s collaboration with Calvin Harris and Migos on “Slide.”

Listen to both versions of “Chanel” below.

https://soundcloud.com/myguyprettylikeagirl/frank-ocean-chanel-remix-feat-asap-rocky

@IAMBNYCEList

Rae Sremmurd Share The Trailer For Their Short Film “SremmBreak” [WATCH]

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Party up! Join Rae Sremmurd this Spring Break as they take you on a journey through their Spring “SremmBreak” party, in their new short film directed by Dave Meyers.

Slim Jxmmi, Swae Lee, Mike WiLL Made-It, Interecope Records, along with Meyers created the 25-minute film, where the party goes on in Panama City for a historic party and a crazy yacht ride. Along with the SremmBreakers, the short film will also feature Mike WiLL,  DC Young Fly, Odd Future’s Taco Paul Elia, Luenell Campbell, Julz Goddard, and Baddie Winkle.

The film includes music from ‘Sremm Life 2’ and is available for streaming exclusively on Fullscreen. Watch the trailer below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B_pC1fuPcU

@IAMBNYCE

New Music: J.I.D – ‘The Never Story’ [STREAM]

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East Atlanta rapper, J.I.D makes his Dreamville debut with‘The Never Story’ release.

The 13-track project includes features 6lack, EARTHGANG, and Mereba. The clever MC spits nothing but bars over production from J. Cole, Hollywood JB, Childish Major, The Imaginary Kids, Latrell James, OZ the Additive, and others.

Off top, the project is perfectly crafted by the Atlanta wordsmith. Stream ‘The Never Story’ below via Apple Music.

@IAMBNYCE

Clyde Carson Talks “S.T.S.A. 2”, The Hyphy Movement & E-40’s Influence [PEEP]

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Predominantly known as a hook-maker for years, Clyde Carson displayed his other skills on his recently-released project, ‘Something To Speak About 2’.

Laced with 11-tracks ‘S.T.S.A. 2’, includes features from E-40, Mozzy, Keak Da Sneak, and others, with production from DJ Mustard and Las Venus. According to Clyde the artists he worked with on this project, make it stand out from his previous body of work.

“I feel like this my best work to date given my growth and maturity,” he emphasized. “The different production and collaboration as well, although it still has a similar sound to a lot of my music, but there’s better verses.”

Clyde gained inspiration from different genres of music. He listened to a lot of jazz, EDM, and 80s music, eventually blending all those sounds with “something the streets could feel.”

Having came up during the Hyphy movement in the Bay Area, the rapper stays true to that sound of music. From the bass-booming 808s to the slick piano keys, Carson still maintains that hyphy sound that was instrumental in getting him recognized.

“That Hyphy movement showed the world we’re different up here, it’s a different type of culture we wanted to show off,” he said. “Hyphy birthed a lot of the shit that you hearing today.”

Coming up in the Hyphy-era, E-40 became a major motivator and mentor for Clyde. From pushing the rapper to go harder to keeping him in line, 40 looked out for the rapper and nurtured his career, like he does with a lot of young rappers out the Bay.

“40’s always the guy that no matter what he just will not release his foot off your neck, he’s on your neck, he’s on the case and he gonna look at you like you tripping if you not on yours,” Clyde explained. “That’s motivation for me to be the best I can, ’cause he [40] a triple OG out there moving like he 19.”

Aside from gaining motivation from 40, Clyde also learned respect from the OG. He recognizes that 40 treats rappers selling mixtapes out the trunk with the same respect he does platinum-selling artists.

Even with the recent release of ‘S.T.S.A. 2’, Clyde is back in the studio working. He has another collaboration coming with 40 and is anticipating dropping more music videos for singles off ‘S.T.S.A. 2’. In the meantime Clyde advises to bend a ear to ‘S.T.S.A. 2’, which you can do by pressing play below.

“I got a lot coming,” he said. “But, if you haven’t heard “Something To Speak About” you gotta slap it.”

@IAMBNYCE

New Video: The Weeknd – “I Feel It Coming” Feat. Daft Punk [WATCH]

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Abel gives fans what they want in the form of a video for his single, “I Feel It Coming” featuring Daft Punk off his critically-acclaimed, ‘Starboy’ album.

The Warren Fu-directed video is literally out of this world, with the setting appearing to be shot in another galaxy. The Weeknd also stays true to his artistry by showing off his Micheal Jackson-inspired, out of this world dance moves. Fu also adds a nice touch by shooting the clips with grainy, vintage, VHS stylized effects.

The Weeknd is currently on the European leg of his “Starboy: Legend of the Fall Tour” with Bryson Tiller and Lil Uzi Vert. On the run he’s linked up with Drake, who he brought out at a recent stop in London and Germany. The North American leg of the tour will include 6lack, Rae Sremmurd, and Belly. It begins April 25th.

@IAMBNYCE

New Music: Aaron Cohen – “D.E.N.Y.” [LISTEN]

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L.A. Leakers “Indie Pick of the Week” alumni, Aaron Cohen returns with his hard-hitting track “D.E.N.Y.” produced by Seattle producer, Brakebill.

On “D.E.N.Y.”, Aaron raps about staying independent and “trying to do it like Chance did.” The aggressive rapper goes on to assert his dominance and states what his mission is. AC, admitted to this song being one of the hardest songs he’s ever made.

“Brakebill and I linked up last month to make one song and ended up making 5 of the hardest, most aggressive tracks I’ve ever made,” he proclaimed. “We have a yet untitled project on the way.”

The independent rapper continues to stay on his grind and is currently on tour in Europe. He recently performed in Angers, France, in front of a sold out crowd.

Listen to “D.E.N.Y.” below via SoundCloud.

@IAMBNYCE

New Music: Nicki Minaj – “Regret In Your Tears” [LISTEN]

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Nicki Minaj empowers women and talks about her highly-publiciized relationship and split from rapper Meek Mill on “Regret In Your Tears.”

The final track off her “3 Pack From Paris” releases, puts Nicki’s emotions and strength on display. Over theBoi-1da, Cubeatz, and Allen Ritter-produced beat, Nicki bosses up on Meek by reminding him of what he lost.

“Cause you don’t even know what you just lost / You don’t even know what you just had / I tried to make somethin’ with you,” she sings.

Barbz went on Instagram and stated on a post that this song became her “favorite song of all time,” before dedicating the heartfelt track to “all the bad ass, intelligent, strong, loyal women out there.”

Listen to “Regret In Your Tears” below.

@IAMBNYCE

New Music: Nicki Minaj – “Changed It” Feat. Lil Wayne [LISTEN]

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With assistance from her YMCMB boss, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj throws more jabs at Remy Ma, while also claiming the throne on “Changed It” from her “3 Pack From Paris” releases.

The Detail and Sidney Swift-co-production includes two verses and a hook from Weezy. Nicki Nick does the rest as she shows off impressive bars to prove she still has the same skills that made her who she is today.

If you listen closely, you will hear “another one,” as in another Remy Ma diss. “MJ to the teens / I am Billie Jean and the bitch is my son / I’m doing it for fun, I am the first number, tell them bitches I won / This hoe getting slick, so I put on gym shoes and extended my run / MJ, game 6, Jackson, Tyson,” raps Nicki.

Stream the song below via Apple Music.

@IAMBNYCE

New Music: Nicki Minaj – “No Frauds” Feat. Drake & Lil Wayne [LISTEN]

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Young Money’s “Big 3” reunite for the first time since “Truffle Butter” on Nicki Minaj’s “No Frauds” from her “3 Pack From Paris” releases.

Nicki, Drizzy, and Weezy all unite to call out frauds, phonies, and name-sayers over the Murda Beatz-production. Nicki, kicks off the track by delivering the response many had been waiting for, with gut-wrenching bars aimed at her nemesis, Remy Ma.

“You can’t be Pablo if your work ain’t sellin’ / What the fuck is this bitch inhalin’?” raps Barbz. “Tried to drop “Another One,” you was itchin’ to scrap / You exposed your ghostwriter / Now you wish it was scrapped / Heard your pussy on yuck / I guess you needed a Pap.”

Nicki goes on to speak on Remy’s credibility, while calling her out for plastic surgery rapping, “Sheneneh, you a fraud committin’ perjury / I got before and after pictures of your surgery / Ra took you to her doc, but you don’t look like Ra / Left the operating table, still look like ‘nah.'”

Along with “No Frauds,” Nicki dropped “Changed It” featuring Lil Wayne and “Regret In Your Tears.” However, “No Frauds” holds the most value of the releases, because it includes features from her labelmates, and she delivers a vicious response to Remy, on a track with the right bounce that should garner plenty of radio spins.

@IAMBNYCE

New Video: Mike WiLL Made-It – “Gucci On My” Feat. YG, 21 Savage & Migos [WATCH]

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Mike WiLL Made-It is in full album mode as he continues to put the finishing touches on his forthcoming album ‘Ransom 2’. In the meantime, Mike gives fans the visuals to the first single off the project, “Gucci On My” featuring 21 Savage, YG, and Migos.

The video finds the rappers living lavish, as they all kick it in a very elegant home fully equipped with vintage furniture, gold, an expensive rug, candles, flocks of cash, beautiful models, and of course plenty of Gucci (On My).

‘Ransom 2’ is the sequel to 2014’s ‘Ransom’. It is expected to include features from Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Rae Sremmurd, Gucci Mane, Nicki Minaj, and others. There hasn’t been a release date set as of yet, but watch the video below via YouTube in the meantime.

@IAMBNYCE

New Music: 2 Chainz – “It’s A Vibe” Feat. Jhene Aiko, Trey Songz & Ty Dolla $ign [LISTEN]

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Just yesterday 2 Chainz shout out a couple of angry tweets about a “#vibekiller” for leaking his newest single “It’s A Vibe” featuring Jhene Aiko, Trey Songz, and Ty Dolla $ign. Chainz drops the official audio for the raunchy single, and it definitely is a vibe.

The leak of “It’s A Vibe” was quickly removed off of SoundCloud yesterday and may be the reason, Chainz also decided to drop “Smartphone” along with it today.

“It’s A Vibe” finds all the contributors getting freaky as they all share explicit lyrics about their sexcapades, which are guaranteed to get the right vibes going.

Both “It’s A Vibe” and “Smartphone” are expected to be on Titty’s forthcoming ‘Pretty Girls Like Trap Music’ album, set to be released on April 7th.

Listen to “It’s A Vibe” below via Spotify.

 

@IAMBNYCE