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Win Tickets To See RJD2 At The Canal Club!
A couple of years ago, RJD2 dropped into the Canal Club to rock the place with a DJ set that blew the place away. At a time when a lot of DJs are content to stand behind a laptop pressing buttons, RJD2 kept the party rocking in highly energetic fashion by working four turntables at once, flipping from crossfaders to stacks of LPs and never standing still during his entire performance.
DAILY RECORD: Kanye West
Kanye West - Yeezus (Roc-A-Fella)
No artist has been as ubiquitous or as culturally pervasive in the last decade as Kanye West. Whether he’s riling the ire of teen pop stars or the president, Mr. West continually pushes the boundaries of pop culture with his unique ability to crystallize the zeitgeist of the moment in maximalist statement after maximalist statement, filtering the emerging movements of the underground into documents of mass consumption that steer the taste and sound of the mainstream for years to come.
See Kanye West's Face On 3 Different Walls Around RVA Tonight
Are you picking up on the hype for the new Kanye West album? If you're aware of pop culture enough to be reading this website, we don't know how you could miss it. And if you haven't missed it, then surely you've heard about the projections of Kanye's face, accompanied by public playbacks of selections from his new album, Yeezus, which have been taking place in cities around the world over the past couple of weeks. Well, guess what? Tonight, projections of Kanye's face will make their home in RVA.
Bare Bones Battle Breaks: An Interview With DJ Ragz
DJ Ragz knows his stuff. An accomplished turntablist with over 20 years of experience scratching and making beats, Ragz has represented underground hip hop on both coasts, and continues to do so at full force.
Win Tickets To See Action Bronson At Kingdom!
It's happening, y'all! The man who has been taking over hip hop for the past two years is coming to RVA to take over our own river city, and I for one am glad to see it occurring. Queens rapper Action Bronson hit the scene in 2011 with his excellent debut album, Dr. Lecter, and has been cranking out dope hip hop jams at a prolific rate ever since.
RVA No. 13: So !lla
So !lla is hungry. This up-and-coming RVA artist, known to Uncle Sam as Will Keck, has been doing a lot in recent months to make a name for himself, starting with his music. The 18-track mixtape he dropped last fall, #ForTheFuckOfIt, grabbed some attention locally, as did his recent followup single “Antics.” However, music is just the beginning for this hip hop entrepreneur, who considers management, booking, and networking just as important to his grind as rapping. Affiliated with So Proper Entertainment, he also runs Broad Street Elite, which works with local venue Kingdom to bring hip hop to the stage in RVA. In addition to Richmond Royalty, the regular local hip hop night he’s been promoting for over a year, So !lla has played an important part in bringing national acts like Ace Hood, Lil B, Hopsin, and Riff Raff, among others, to the city for live performances. On top of all that, he’s managing other local artists, and still finds time to make his own tracks and collaborate with other local rappers. With all the work he’s putting in, you’re sure to see a lot more from So !lla in the coming months. We caught up with him to get the details on how he stays motivated and where he sees hip hop going in the future.
RT's Mixtape Double Feature: Seap One & Sleaze X Graphic Melee
Seap One - The Sickness Of Seap (Bandcamp)
I want to start of this review with my condolences to the family and friends of local emcee Daniel Davidson, aka Seap One, who passed away recently. His legacy will live on in RVA, in many of our hearts, and definitely through his team, Gritty City Records.
DAILY RECORD: Ghostface Killah & Adrian Younge
Ghostface Killah & Adrian Younge – Twelve Ways To Die (Soul Temple Music)
There was a time when a listener could purchase anything affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan without worrying whether the level of quality would hold up to that of their larger body of work. For several years after their inception, the group's output, alongside that of its component members and collaborators, defined itself by experimental tendencies and raw darkness unparalleled in anything that was going on in hip hop, especially the genre's more popular strata.
Get Ready For The Luggage Party Weekend!
This weekend, we've got a special presentation for all you fans of hip hop, partying, and good times. Veteran RVA rappers Luggage have created an epic video trilogy in collaboration with local production house Studio 7E, and we'll be premiering one video from this trilogy per day throughout this weekend!
RT's Mixtape Double Feature: Young Neez & Trance Da Chancellor X Dilly
Young Neez - The Feature Presentation (iTunes)
This next mixtape comes from a RVA emcee who tells nothing but straight facts and has proved it through his buzz and street credibility. Young Neez is an artist who tells it how it’s supposed to be from the gritty side of RVA.
Win Tickets To See Young Jeezy At The National!
Calling all RVA hip hop heads! It's been a while since we've done a giveaway for a local hip hop show, but we're making up for it in a big way with this one. Coming off the recent release of his twelfth mixtape, It's The World, this past December, Young Jeezy is bringing his thug motivation to The National next Friday, May 24.
SATURDAY: Photosynthesizers Present Listen Vol. 1 at The Camel
Looking for something to do with that special someone this Saturday? We have just the thing for you! The first of a ten-part series brought to you by The Photosynthesizers, entitled, Listen Vol. 1: The Light In Sound, will be taking place at The Camel.
RT's Mixtape Double Feature: Frank Math & Handles
Frank Math - SOG 2 (Still Cooking) (Datpiff)
Frank Math is an artist in RVA who is making a name for himself appearing at local shows or alongside battle emcee Moon, not to mention with social media. His movement, known as SOG (Surviving Off Grams), is what he's based the second installment of his mixtape series, Still Cooking, on.
William And Mary Launches Virginia Hip Hop Collection
When most think of Virginia’s hip hop culture, they think of an era in the 2000s during which artists such as rapper Missy Elliot, producer Timbaland, and beat making duo The Neptunes frequently sat atop the charts. Virginia, a state known more for its contributions to the tobacco industry than to music, put itself on the map and was more relevant to hip hop culture than it had ever been before.
THURSDAY: Immortal Technique At The Jefferson Theater In Charlottesville
Hip hop's best-kept secret will be coming to the VA area this week! Immortal Technique, the Peruvian-American rapper with a reputation for uncompromisingly political lyrics, will be appearing at the Jefferson Theater in Charlottesville this Thursday, and hip hop fans would be foolish to miss him.
The Banksquiat: A Mini-Interview With Robb Bank$
Robb Bank$ is a young emcee from South Florida who got his start the way a lot of young artists are doing today--through social media. Originally calling himself "Tumblr God," the blogging/social networking became a launching pad for Bank$'s music the way it has for other artists who've gotten big outside of the standard music industry in recent years.
RT's Mixtape Double Feature: Louie P & Scuba
Louie P - A Dollar And A Dream (Datpiff)
So I checked my email one day and came across an email from an emcee named Louie P. I thought he was from RVA until I did my research on him and learned that he is actually from Rockland, New York--but that's OK. We don’t just talk RVA here, we talk Hip Hop nationally. I took a listen and instantly became a fan.
The Women Of RVA Hip Hop/Urban Culture (Part 4)
Well, we have reached the end of this fascinating and informative series. The talented women we have in RVA go unnoticed too often, and this has been a month dedicated to appreciating and respecting the hard work and time that they put in for every event, show, concert, fund drive, and other endeavors they are responsible for.
RT's Mixtape Double Feature: Kay Blokx & Peter Sun
Kay Blokx - Eyes On My Destiny (rnbxclusive4.com)
This mixtape comes from the new generation of RVA Hip Hop, and possibly the RVA version of Kendrick Lamar. Kay Blokx is one of the best lyricists that I have met so far in my journeys in this city.
The Women Of RVA Hip Hop/Urban Culture (Part 3)
After three installments of this series, I can honestly say that writing it has been one of my most enlightening and informing experiences thus far. I have enjoyed talking to each and every woman I've interviewed, and have learned a lot more about how verbally and physically involved women are in Hip Hop around RVA.
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