When I saw Black Star on the lineup for Bonnaroo I couldn’t believe it. We’re talking Mos Def and Talib Kweli, reunited and ready to drop some of the best beats of the festival. I’d had the chance to see Kweli once before but this is going to be something special. Having released only one album, it was like a flash in the pan and now the duo are slated to finally come out with a new record together. I can remember in high school cranking Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star and having “Definition” on repeat; “1,2,3, Mos Def and Talib Kweli, we came to rock it on to the tip top, best alliance in hip hop, why oh.” Indeed that should reign supreme next month. I mean we are talking like this is one of the top 10 shows not to miss at the festival this year.
New Music: Clement Marfo & The Frontline
13 JanTGIF and this Friday we head across the pond for some righteous new music courtesy of Clement Marfo & The Frontline. The seven member posse led by Marfo is a mixed bag of fun incorporating everything from hip-hop, rock, funk, pop, R&B, soul, ska and more. Think energy and excitement when listening to this London group and look out for big things in 2012.
Below is the video for the current single “Overtime” but click HERE to listen to “Shock & Awe” my favorite so far.
New Music Tuesday: Drake, Childish Gambino, Los Campesinos!
15 NovNew music Tuesday is here and a good week if you love hip-hop.
- Drake’s much anticipated sophomore effort, Take Care, drops and should come firing out the gate and reach number one on the charts.
- Donald Glover and his alter ego, Childish Gambino, release his debut album CAMP, a follow-up to his heralded EP.
- Betty Wright: The Movie with The Roots, a soulful album with plenty of guest spots may be the play however.
- And on the indie front, Los Campesinos! are back with their latest full length release, Hello Sadness.
New Music: Childish Gambino – “Bonfire”
19 Sep
He was one of my favorite performers at Bonnaroo and now that he just signed to Glassnote Records, Childish Gambino aka Donald Glover is already dropping some new tracks. Give a listen to “Bonfire” and hear for yourself. Also I don’t know if it’s just me but at times the beat sounds like Lil Wayne’s “6 Foot 7 Foot.” Can’t wait for the album!
New Music: Sublime with Rome ft. Wiz Khalifa – “Can You Feel It”
29 JunPutting the finishing touches on what should be a killer summer playlist and I figure why not tease it a little with this new track, “Can You Feel It” from Sublime with Rome featuring Wiz Khalifa. Also Sublime with Rome are getting set to drop their album Yours Truly, July 12.
Happy Birthday Tupac/Bishop
16 JunToday would have been Tupac’s 40th birthday. I figured it was an appropriate time to recall one of my favorite movies of all time, Juice and the character he played, Bishop.
New Music: Childish Gambino
16 JunOne of the best parts of a music festival is discovering new music and at Bonnaroo I did just that. On the first night of the festival I found myself bouncing around and after catching the end of The Walkmen’s set and waiting for Deerhunter to go on, I stumbled upon Childish Gambino and within minutes was blown away. I had absolutely zero notion of who he was or what kind of music I was preparing myself for but left craving more and while hip-hop is his game, I loved the fact that he has a kick ass band backing him. Oh yeah, Childish Gambino is the alter ego of comedian Donald Glover; a tiny bit of information you should know 
.
I may be late to this party as he’s be rapping for some years now but I’ll take a new discovery any day.
Follow @doyouheartmusic
Revisited: Bonnaroo 2011
13 Jun
10th anniversary of Bonnaroo is in the books and I’m ready to get tickets for next year. Being a Bonnaroo rookie, it was all about taking in as much of the experience as possible. After an afternoon waiting for everyone to fly in, rent the truck and an off the reservation experience at Walmart, we were on the road. Some 60 miles and one wrong turn later, we arrived. After finding the RV and unpacking enough food and booze to feed the entire stage crew for the festival, it was time to get the party started. Meandering through the festival grounds at night it was hard to capture just how big the Bonnaroo fields are and how over 100,000 people flow in and out. The first time you see it during the day, your jaw drops at the sight of an entire city being created in virtually the middle of nowhere. If that’s what it takes for people to get along, be polite and just have a good time, I can live with that.
I also learned that no matter what bands you plan to see, you can go ahead and throw that plan out, it just isn’t going to happen and that’s a good thing. Getting a chance to pop in and out of shows, listening to some new bands (and some old), wandering around the festival grounds and just kind of going with the flow seemed to be just fine. Photos will be coming soon (I promise) but here are some of my highlights from Bonnaroo X.
My First Show: The Walkmen
My Final Show: Apache Relay
Best What Stage Show: The Black Keys
Best Which Stage Show(s): G.Love/Warren Haynes
Best Tent Show: Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses
Best Overall Show: Walk The Moon
Biggest Surprise: Childish Gambino
Best Legend Show: three way tie – Robert Plant, Dr. John, Gregg Allman
Random Moment Of Awesomeness: blue blinkers dropping from the sky for Arcade Fire’s set
Overall Stage With The Best Performances: On Tap Stage – shows included Band of Heathens, Apache Relay, Chancellor Warhol, Mat McHugh, Pimps of Joytime, JEFF The Brotherhood, Bobby Long and more
Most Entertaining Show: Lil Wayne for the fact that at least 40,000 festival goers/hippies knew all the lyrics to his songs – you had to be there to understand where I’m coming from
Most Disappointing Moment: Terrible sound quality for the Buffalo Springfield show made it almost impossible to listen to (this saddened me more than anyone will ever know)
Next Big Thing: Walk The Moon and Apache Relay
Top Party: the overflowing sea of madness for Girl Talk at 2:30am
Oddest Show That Was A Blast: Primus
Funky Good Time Show: Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
Band I Was Sad To Miss: GIVERS
Angriest Performer: Eminem
Best Intro: Lewis Black for Warren Haynes
What Would Have Been Great: a late night set from a headlining DJ
Top Roo’er: Guy trying to make the “World’s Biggest Glow Stick” (if you saw/met him, you know what I’m talking about)
Top Sports Bar Moment: Game 6 of the NBA finals was like the March Madness scene in Vegas (video coming soon).
Best Festival Eats: Bear Creek Farms’ hand cut French fries and Gravy
Best Broo’ers Festival Beer: Ashville Brewing Company’s Ninja Porter
Best Place To Cool Off: the cinema (if no line to wait)
Biggest Waste of Time: anything that involved a line
Shocker Of The Festival: no rain
Worst Part: Dust everywhere and if you didn’t have a bandana, you were SOL
Clutch Move: renting a pickup truck
Tip For Next Year: less junk food and more healthy food, bring laxatives and don’t go off the reservation
More Tips: flip flops are your enemy, dust sucks, that fountain water is filthier than Vegas’ Rehab, expect rain, drink water and more water
