Big Sean Speaks at Donda’s House’s “Behind The Mic” (Photo by Dan Garcia/The ER)
For those who don’t know Donda’s House is a non-profit organization created in honor of Kanye West’s late mother, Dr. Donda West. The mission of Donda’s House is to honor the educational legacy of Dr. West by implementing arts, health/wellness, and literature experiences that transform youth. In addition to their daily operations and weekly events, Donda’s House has put on a number of big events in the past year specifically, including their “Behind the Mic” event with Big Sean and their community showcase at this year’s AAHH! Fest. Now because of Illinois budget cuts, Donda’s House and its mission has been threatened, and they are asking for your help to make sure that all of Chicago’s youth has access to arts and a safe space at Donda’s House.
Yesterday Chicago’s Chance The Rapper continued to give back to his city, by hosting his first “Open Mike” event. From raising $100,000 for Chicago schools, to attending Big Sean and Donda’s House‘s “Behind the Mic” event for young Chicago artists, Chance always puts on for his city. Last night though, Chance and the Young Chicago Authorsgave local high school students a night that they would not forget, as the Chicago Cultural Center was packed with nearly 300 young artists. In addition to young musicians, poets, and comedians getting on the mic, some of the pros got to hit the stage too. Chicago comedian Hannibal Buress and rapper King Louie both performed for the young crowd, and SAVEMONEY‘s Vic Mensa was even in attendance.
Check out our photos below as we sent our photographer Andrew Baker to capture some of the best moments last night, and be sure to stay tuned as this is just one of many similar events that Chance will host in Chicago.
In 2015, if you are a rapper and you have zero internet presence, you won’t make it, its that simple. YouTube, Vevo, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook… these are just a few things a rapper needs for relevancy. So it is no surprise that some rappers owe a great debt to the Internet and certainly some rappers more than others have utilized the world wide web to build their fan base. Of course there are others, but when I think of rappers that truly win at the Internet, I think of artists like Lil B, G-Eazy and Watsky, for a number of different reasons. And what do these rappers all have in common? Coincidentally (or perhaps not) they all are from the Bay Area.
In the past few hours the winners were released for the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, and already a lot of disagreement is surrounding some of the picks. While music is subjective in many ways, you of course can never make everyone happy. However, this year seems to be especially bad. Personally, I did not agree with almost all albums that were given a Grammy this year, so I was curious to see what the top critics in music thought.
You probably thought Kanye West was being funny and joking when he stepped on stage while Beck received his Grammy for “Album of the Year”, well guess again. Speaking with E! after the Grammys, Kanye shared his opinion about Grammys and their selections this year.
Watch as Kanye West gives an emotional performance at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards of his Paul McCartney assisted ballad ‘Only One’ (a song from the perspective of his late mother Dr. Donda West about Kanye and his daughter North). It was just a few years ago in 2008, as Kanye gave a memorable performance of his Late Registration track ‘Hey Mama’ after the death of Dr. West, and now the man who has boycotted the Grammys the past few years just gave them another unforgettable moment. Check out the touching performance below.
There was a lot of uncertainty as to who would take home the award for the “Best Rap Album” at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards today, especially since the disappointment in the rap community when white rapper Macklemore beat out Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West’s critically acclaimed albums. Would it be the talented veteran Eminem (who has won a number of Grammys in the past)? Would it be Iggy Azalea (who like Macklemore, is white and considered more pop than rap by many)? Or would it be one of the Grammy’s newcomers, like Childish Gambino’s Because the Internet or SchoolBoy Q’s Oxymoron. Well now we know, as this year Eminem’s album Marshall Mathers LP 2 took home the Grammy.
Big Sean may not “f*ck with you” but he certainly f*cks with a “G.O.O.D.” live performance as he just got off stage for a sold out crowd at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, CA. If Big Sean wasn’t enough, to make things even more special for his Los Angeles performance, which was streamed online by Yahoo! Live, Big Sean brought out a number of guests and guest performers including Kanye West, J. Cole, Travis Scott, Meek Mill, YG, Chris Brown, Ty Dolla $ign, Tyga, Kylie Jenner, Justin Bieber and DJ Mustard.
Even before his debut album (which fans are still on the edge of their seats for), Chance The Rapper has given back to his hometown of Chicago, IL on a regular basis. From raising $100k for Chicago schools, to attending Big Sean and Donda’s House‘s “Behind the Mic” event for young Chicago artists, Chance always puts on for his city. And now Chance is taking things even further by hosting his first “Open Mike” open mic event for Chicago area high school students. The open mic will take place this upcoming Monday (February 9th) at the Cassidy Theatre (The Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington), starting at 5pm. Doors open and sign-ups begin at 4:45, but be sure to get there early as this will be a can’t miss event for those who are eligible.
The Early Registration 