You would think since Lil B and Lana Del Rey are so different, that the two could never be connected. Wrong. Here at The Early Registration we like to pride ourselves on our music knowledge, to stay polished on our musical expertise our new feature is a little game of musical “6 Degrees”. For those who are unfamiliar, six degrees of separation is the theory that everyone in the world is connected by six or fewer steps, so we are now taking the liberty of connecting musicians by songs and features, who you would never think could be connected. Check out first 6˚ piece below!
The 57th Annual Grammy Awards are just around the corner, and because (especially in the hip-hop world) things may not go as we hope, we want to submit our picks now. But we won’t be suggesting WHO WILL bring home the most prestigious awards in music but rather WHO SHOULD. Check out our picks below of what artists and albums should win at the Grammys this year.
It seems like every other year, one or two cities has a flock of young, new artists that all blow up simultaneously and take over the game. In 2012 it was New York with A$AP Rocky, Joey Bada$$, Action Bronson, etc. and Los Angeles, with the powerhouse that was TDE with releases of Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, Ab-Soul’s Control System, and Schoolboy Q’s Habits & Contradictions. 2013 wasn’t the same, which was just a year full of big hitter releases from Kanye, A$AP Rocky, Drake and J.Cole, to name a few. In 2014, it was Atlanta. With the unstoppable force that was Young Thug, Rich Homie Quan, Rae Sremmurd, Peewee Longway, etc. However, in 2015 you can expect the next city in the cycle to be Chicago. Everyone had a taste of the fresh raw talent from the Windy City in 2013 with the breakout releases of Chance The Rapper’s Acid Rap and Vic Mensa’s Innanetape. While both of them have been working on their upcoming, much-anticipated releases, 2014 was a relatively quiet year for Chicago. With many of these artists on the list bubbling beneath the surface, expect many of these artists on this list to breakout and have a huge year.
“Used to ask for a verse, they said $500. Now they want to do a record, n*gga f*ck your budget”, raps Miami-native Bizzy Crook on the title track for his newest mixtape No Hard Feelings. While these lines may come off as vengeful and a contradiction to his “no hard feelings” mentality, it really isn’t. Rather Bizzy Crook, like all great rappers should (but who often don’t), raps about his real life and true experiences, to a more personal level than most rappers ever touch. Whether he is writing about rappers who wanted to charge for a verse who later had a change of heart when Bizzy began to create a buzz, or even the darker moments of his life when he used to battle suicidal thoughts, Bizzy Crook keeps things authentic. And his name is no coincidence, as Bizzy stays busy as well, now touring with Wale as part of the MMG rapper’s Simply Nothing Tour. Fortunately though he was able to sit down with us after he rocked the crowd on his Milwaukee stop of the tour, to talk about his No Hard Feelings project, working with artists and producers like Pharrell, Nelly and Boi-1da, Chicago influences and more.
After a number of music’s big names were touring or recording for the majority of last year, which made 2014 fairly average for album releases, 2015 is already looking to be a great year for albums as those artists release their new projects this year. This year alone we are likely to see releases from music superstars like Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Drake and Adele, but we are also looking forward to a number of sophomore and debut albums from artists like Frank Ocean, Raury, Vic Mensa and more. Check out our list of the 30 most anticipated albums of 2015 to get updated on what releases you need to look out for in the next 12 months.
Last night Wale, Bizzy Crook and Audio Push made another stop on the Simply Nothing Tour, this time for a great Wisconsin crowd at The Ravein Milwaukee. After Bizzy Crook and Audio Push put on great opening sets to get the crowd hyped, we sat down with Bizzy to discuss his newest project (interview coming soon), moments before Wale gave fans an energy filled performance. Check out our photos below, as The Early Registration was there to catch some of the best moments from last night.
Yesterday Detroit’s own Big Sean traveled to his sister city of Chicago to speak to aspiring artists at the Chicago Cultural Center, in an event held by Donda’s House (Kanye West’s nonprofit, named in honor of his late mother, Dr. Donda West). The “Behind The Mic” event consisted of a number of local performances, followed by a Q&A session where fans and the program’s hosts (including the Grammy Award winning Rhymefest) asked Big Sean a number of questions. Throughout the night, Sean gave advice to the young crowd, talked about his upcoming album and payed tribute to his late grandmother. After the event we met with Big Sean to discuss a number of topics, including the sound of his new album, Cruel Winter, a new “G.O.O.D. Fridays” and Kanye’s latest addition to the G.O.O.D. Music team, singer Kacy Hill.
Yesterday Donda’s House and The Chicago Track hosted rapper Big Sean and his Sean Anderson Foundation for their “Behind The Mic” Q&A series. For those who may not know, Donda’s House is Kanye West’s nonprofit organization, named in honor of his late mother, which devotes its time and efforts to supporting young aspiring artists in Chicago. From hosting the community portion of this year’s inaugural AAHH! Fest to hosting this Q&A with Sean, and for the great amount of small events that the organization hosts throughout the city all year,Kanye and the Donda’s House team are continuing Dr. Donda West’s love for education.
Last night Bay Area rapper G-Eazy made his second Chicago stop for his From The Bay To The Universe tour at the sold-out Concord Music Hall. G-Eazy performed a number of tracks from his latest These Things Happen album, as well as a selection from his earlier projects. Also to show his love for the city, G-Eazy brought out Chicago’s own Chance the Rapper, Rockie Fresh and Vic Mensa to help rock the sold-out crowd. Check out our photos below, as The Early Registration was there to catch some of the best moments from last night.
Throughout television and cinema we are constantly introduced to singers, bands and rappers whom we desperately wish were real, but usually the best we can hope for is a sequel. Most recently we have Fox and Terrance Howard’s new series Empire, which follows rapper turned label head Lucious Lyon. Next up we will have Donald Glover’s (Childish Gambino) upcoming FX comedy Atlanta, which will follow two cousins who have very different views on how to rise up in the Atlanta rap scene. To help build the anticipation to these two series, and to get nostalgic on past fictional artists, have comprised a list of the best, most swagged out, and absolutely awesome musicians whom we wish were real (and even one who kind of is).
The Early Registration 