live review

After surfacing as one of the leading voices of the “New New York” back in 2011, Pro Era frontman and heavyweight spitter Joey Bada$$ released his highly anticipated debut album B4.DA.$$ and celebrated his 20th birthday all within the same day...

Freddie Gibbs was the headliner last night at Rough Trade NYC in Brooklyn, headlining a performance that showed off why he's one of the most powerful and dexterous MCs on the planet right now. But for all the Gary, Ind. rapper displayed, the two younger artists on the bill, New Orleans rhymer Pell and Queens-based World's Fair MC Remy Banks, held their own as well...

Perhaps Kevin Gates doesn’t get as much credit as he should. You have multiple other artists — specifically Drake and Kanye West — subverting and disintegrating the image of the hard-as-diamond man. But what of Gates, who’s admittedly not as welcoming of a figure with that compass between his eyes and the two tattooed teardrops — usually a sign of some unspeakable sin...

Wiz Khalifa's career hit a turning point in 2010 when the Pittsburgh native declined an invite to go on tour with Drake and instead headlined his own nationwide tour. Traveling across the country in support of his critically-acclaimed Kush & Orange Juice mixtape and monster single, “Black And Yellow,” off his then-upcoming album Rolling Papers, Wiz sold out all 50 dates. Wi...

Seventeen-year-old Swedish rapper Yung Lean has been a growing Internet sensation for around three years now, bringing his "Sad Boys" movement to a fan base which has slowly transitioned from ironically invested to honestly intrigued. And when he was booking his first-ever New York City shows, the demand was so high that he sold out Webster Hall last night in Manhattan not once, but twic

The independent grind isn’t an easy one. With a bevy of obstacles in the way of stardom, many artists falter before even having the opportunity to stare success in the eye. This past Tuesday, Bay Area rapper G-Eazy inched a step closer to fortifying his name in the rap game after his intimate show at the Apple Store in SoHo...

One glance down 11th street at 7:30 p.m. last night (June 8) was enough to know one thing: G-Unit is back. The block encompassing Manhattan's Webster Hall had cops posted at either end and milling all throughout, while the line of people waiting to get in as the doors opened stretched nearly out to 4th Avenue as everyone showed up as early as they could to get through what was, of course, multiple

Featuring a highly-indecisive crowd of rare OG Dipset fans sprinkled amongst a mass of EDM punters with pupils wider than the Atlantic Ocean, the aesthetic at Saturday night’s Cam’ron and A-Trak collaboration show was a bit confused...

Last night, SOBs in Manhattan played host to the album release party for Harlem's own Smoke DZA. The Kushed God dropped his long-awaited first official full-length project, Dream.ZONE.Achieve, on April 1, and the three-part, 19-track collection serves as his most complete work to date, with guest spots from Cam'ron, Ab-Soul, Joey Bada$$, Action Bronson and CJ Fly, to name a few...

It's been seventeen years since Minneapolis duo Atmosphere dropped their first full-length album, but even after all this time, Slug and Ant have been able to remix their tried and true formula for their latest album, Southsiders, which dropped this week on their Rhymesayers label...

Chants from the shoulder-to-shoulder standing crowd of, “Iggy, Iggy, Iggy,” turned into, “What the fuck? What the fuck?” as they waited for Iggy Azalea come to the stage and perform for her scheduled 9 p.m., sold out show. The rapper, dressed in her signature hot pants and crop top—this time in bright pink—and an oversized baseball jersey, finally made an appearance around 9:30 p...

It might be impossible to name everyone who was on stage at Best Buy Theater for the final stop on the Hot 97 and Metro PCS 5 Boro Tour. The New York hip-hop showcase attempted to pack artists from all five NYC boroughs, check-ins with Hot 97 personalities like Peter Rosenberg, Cipha Sounds, and Ebro Darden (including a DJ set by Funkmaster Flex), and so many guests that by the time Swizz Beatz sh