Category Archives: Features

6 Degrees, Features

Six Degrees: Best Rap Performance Grammy Nominees Lecrae to Eminem

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BY DAN GARCIA

Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration
Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration

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. This week our 6˚ piece is in honor of the upcoming 57th Annual Grammy Awards, where we will connect the two most opposite nominees for this year’s “Best Rap Performance” category, Christian rapper Lecrae and of course the always controversial Eminem. To spice things up, we will also include the other rappers in the category (Childish Gambino, Drake, Kendrick Lamar), all in just six steps.

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Concert Photos, Features, News

Photos: Logic & Michael Christmas Perform at The Rave in Milwaukee

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BY TER STAFF

Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration
Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration

Last night Logic and Michael Christmas made a stop in Milwaukee for the Under Pressure World Tour. Performing for a sold out crowd at The Rave, Michael Christmas got the crowd hype (returning to Milwaukee for his first time since 2013). Following a half-hour set by DJ Rhetorik, Logic came on to close the night with a number of songs from his Under Pressure album, as well as a collection of his mixtape tracks for his day-one fans. Check out our photos below, as The Early Registration was there to catch some of the best moments from last night.

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Features, Lists

The Top 10 Releases of January 2015

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BY MATT MONROE / DAN GARCIA / VIKASH DASS / TRENT KESLINS

Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration
Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration

This year, January was jam packed with great releases from a variety of artists. Some came to us as a surprise, others beating expectations, and some just simply getting it right. Check out some of the best releases the month of January had to offer.

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6 Degrees, Features

Six Degrees: Lil B to Lana Del Rey

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BY DAN GARCIA

Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration
Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration

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!

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Features, News

Our Picks for the 57th Annual Grammy Awards

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BY DAN GARCIA

Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration
Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration

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.

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Features, Lists

The Top 7 Chicago Artists to Watch For in 2015

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BY MICHAEL TRISTANI

Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration
Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration

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.

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Features, Interviews, News

Interview | Bizzy Crook

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Bizzy Crook

PHOTOS AND STORY BY DAN GARCIA

“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.

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Features, Lists

The 30 Most Anticipated Albums of 2015

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BY DAN GARCIA / VIKASH DASS

The 30 Most Anticipated Albums of 2015

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.

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Concert Photos, Features, News

Photos: Wale, Bizzy Crook & Audio Push Perform at The Rave in Milwaukee

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BY TER STAFF

Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration
Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration

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 Rave in 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.

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Features, Interviews, News

A G.O.O.D. Conversation with Big Sean

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Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration

PHOTOS AND STORY BY DAN GARCIA

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.

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