Last night, OVO Sound‘s iLoveMakonnen rapped for a packed Chicago crowd at The Metro. Performing his hit song ‘Tuesday’, as well as a number of his Drink More Water tracks, Makonnen definitely delivered. Chicago fans also saw a great opening performance from Atlanta rapper, Key!, as well as a DJ set from Makonnen’s producer, Sonny Digital. Don’t miss Makonnen as he comes back to Chicago this summer for the Pitchfork Music Festival.
Check out our photos below, as we sent our photographer Jesus Montero to capture some of the night’s best moments.
Taking a page out of his good friend Kanye West’s book,Tyler the Creator has decided to alter the meaning of a negative symbol (similar to the use of theconfederate flag in Yeezus merch). For a tee shirt in his Spring/Summer collection of his clothing brand Golf Wang, Tyler dresses the white power symbol in rainbow colors and surrounds it with the phrase “Golf Pride World Wide”.
Tyler also penned an open letter to subscribers of his GOLF Media app in order to explain the meaning and creation of the shirt. He says that he wants fans to know what they are purchasing.
Many are anticipating a reaction -if there will be one- from GLAAD. The anti-defamation organization has previously spoken out against Tyler, specifically when he won the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist in 2011. On their official blog, Tyler was berated and painted as a homophobe for his use of slurs, though he had repeatedly explained that his intentions were not to hurt LGBT people when he used them. A quote from GLAAD’s Senior Director of Programs said that “given Tyler’s history of such remarks, viewers and potential sponsors should refrain from honoring homophobia and in the future look to a more deserving artist.” In other words, he didn’t deserve the award in their eyes. GLAAD blog writer Matt Kane also suggested that Tyler should have never been nominated- not because of the quality of his video, but because of his language.
This ordeal of miscommunication and finger pointing brings a much bigger question to the table: Should artists be questioned and accused for their art? And where is the line drawn between hate speech and free speech? Or better yet, sensationalism vs. combating prejudice in the media. In a 2013 interview at a New York radio station, Kanye Westmade a comment that “black people don’t have the same level of connections as Jewish people. Black people don’t have the same connections as oil people.” Is that a generalization? Yes. But according to the Anti-Defamation League, this was “classic anti-Semitism”. Though it may not have been the best thing to say, it’s definitley not anti-semitism, which is defined as a “hatred of Jewish people” by Merriam-Webster. The statement from the ADL seems less like a group standing up against hatred and more like nitpicking in order to continue the bad guy trope that keeps websites like TMZ in business.
Read Tyler’s letter below and check out the rest of his Golf Wang collectionhere.
via Noisey
Will Lampley really liked Cherry Bomb. Follow him @willcDPR.
Coming off their critically acclaimed debut album, Young Fathers are back with one of the best albumsof the year thus far with White Men Are Black Men Too. Alloysious Massaquoi took some time to discuss the role of pop music, the album’s production, race and identity, and the power of messaging through music.
This weekend, a bunch of artists rocked the stage at Madison’s Revelry Music and Arts Festival. The packed University of Wisconsin crowd saw performances from Chance The Rapper and The Social Experiment, Mick Jenkins, AlunaGeorge, Until The Ribbon Breaks, The Chainsmokers, Nick Hakim, LordPrez, and many more! And not only did we capture some great shots from the festival, our photographer Dan Garcia got some great footage as well.
A few years ago Madison’s Revelry Music and Arts Festival booked Chance The Rapper for a small performance, and for a crowd of less than a couple hundred. A lot has changed since then, and the numbers showed last night. Performing a headlining set for the University of Wisconsin crowd, Chance The Rapper and The Social Experiment shut down Mad-Town with a number of his Acid Rap hits, along with his new music as well, and this time for a crowd of thousands!
Chano wasn’t the only one to hit the Revelry stage though. This year, fans saw great performances from Chicago’s Mick Jenkins, AlunaGeorge (‘You Know You Like It’), Until The Ribbon Breaks, The Chainsmokers, Nick Hakim, LordPrez, and many more! If you weren’t there this year, you definitely missed out and you won’t want to skip next year, as the festival will only continue to grow.
Earlier this month we wrapped up our amazing experience during our first year at Coachella. The weekend was surreal, as music fans saw performances from Drake, Lil B, The Weeknd, Tyler the Creator, Toro y Moi, Action Bronson, Raekwon & Ghostface Killah, Vic Mensa, Run The Jewels and many more! While we posted a small selection of our favorite photos last weekend, to share our experience with our readers, we will be posting new photo galleries from Coachella EVERY DAY FOR THE NEXT MONTH. We saw over 30 great performances this past weekend and we will share our collection of photos of each until we run out!
Check out our last Coachella Photo Series of the year, of Jenny Lewis’ performance below.
Minutes ago, Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) finished his amazing performance at The Metro in Chicago, IL. With opening performances from Chicago’s Ty Money, Abel Black, and a very special performance from G.O.O.D. Music‘s Malik Yusef, Chicago got more than its money’s worth even before Yasiin Bey hit the stage for the sold-out crowd. Performing a catalog of his best and critically acclaimed tracks, Bey kept the Windy City in awe all night.
Check out our photos below, as we sent our photographer Dan Garcia to capture some of the night’s best moments.
Earlier this month we wrapped up our amazing experience during our first year at Coachella. The weekend was surreal, as music fans saw performances from Drake, Lil B, The Weeknd, Tyler the Creator, Toro y Moi, Action Bronson, Raekwon & Ghostface Killah, Vic Mensa, Run The Jewels and many more! While we posted a small selection of our favorite photos last weekend, to share our experience with our readers, we will be posting new photo galleries from Coachella EVERY DAY FOR THE NEXT MONTH. We saw over 30 great performances this past weekend and we will share our collection of photos of each until we run out!
Check out our nineteenth Coachella Photo Series, of The War on Drugs’ performance below.
Earlier this month we wrapped up our amazing experience during our first year at Coachella. The weekend was surreal, as music fans saw performances from Drake, Lil B, The Weeknd, Tyler the Creator, Toro y Moi, Action Bronson, Raekwon & Ghostface Killah, Vic Mensa, Run The Jewels and many more! While we posted a small selection of our favorite photos last weekend, to share our experience with our readers, we will be posting new photo galleries from Coachella EVERY DAY FOR THE NEXT MONTH. We saw over 30 great performances this past weekend and we will share our collection of photos of each until we run out!
Check out our eighteenth Coachella Photo Series, of St. Vincent’s performance below.
Earlier this month we wrapped up our amazing experience during our first year at Coachella. The weekend was surreal, as music fans saw performances from Drake, Lil B, The Weeknd, Tyler the Creator, Toro y Moi, Action Bronson, Raekwon & Ghostface Killah, Vic Mensa, Run The Jewels and many more! While we posted a small selection of our favorite photos last weekend, to share our experience with our readers, we will be posting new photo galleries from Coachella EVERY DAY FOR THE NEXT MONTH. We saw over 30 great performances this past weekend and we will share our collection of photos of each until we run out!
Check out our seventeenth Coachella Photo Series, of Lykke Li’s performance below.
The Early Registration 
