According to a now deleted tweet from Chicago rapper Vic Mensa, the Roc Nation artist was kicked off an United Airlines flight on his birthday for talking to a depressed fan before the plane’s takeoff. “TWEET @united AND TELL THEM FUCK YOU FOR KICKING ME OFF THE PLANE ON MY BIRTHDAY #FUCKUNITEDAIRLINES,” Mensa writes.
An online representative for United responded to Mensa’s tweet, asking for the ‘Feel That’ rapper to send them a direct message to better understand what happened. It’s unclear what exactly went down, but according to Mensa he was escorted off the flight before takeoff for taking to a depressed fan on the phone. Of course on-flight phone calls aren’t allowed, but if the plane had yet to take off, maybe kicking Mensa off the flight wasn’t the best option.
Thank you for reaching out to us. Can you please DM us the details so we can better understand? ^FS
Just as The Roots travel north to New York City every night for Jimmy Fallon and The Tonight Show, their awesome music festival, The Roots Picnic, will be traveling to the Big Apple as well. After a huge 2015 for the Philadelphia festival, which took place last weekend with performances by some of the biggest names in music, the festival has just announced a second weekend of music, this time in New York, NY on October 1st and 2nd.
And if you thought their Phili lineup was great, the NYC lineup next fall is just as amazing. Performing at The Roots Picnic’s first New York festival this year will be D’Angelo, John Mayer, the Wu Tang Clan, Kevin Gates, X Ambassadors, of course the legendary Roots crew and many more!
Tickets go on sale this Friday, June 10th at 10:00AM, so check out RootsPicnic.com for more info!
Moments ago, California indie rock band The Neighbourhood (“The NBHD”) stepped off stage after a memorable sold out performance at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, WI. Known most for their #1 alt-rock hit, ‘Sweater Weather’, the Jesse Rutherford led group performed much more than their A-side singles and brought some talented supporting acts to set the tone for the rest of the night. With some awesome opening sets from Canadian R&B artist, JAHKOY, and one of rap’s most exciting emerging artists, Kevin Abstract, The Neighbourhood had a tough act to follow, and fortunately for their Wisconsin fans, The NBHD put on as great of a headlining performance as the talented artists before them.
Kicking off the Nu Waves Tour tonight was indie rap artist, Kevin Abstract. An artist who admittedly draws inspiration from Childish Gambino, an super-talented but very polarizing rapper, Kevin Abstract is nerdy and weird in the bestmost abstract way. Not only did he perform a quarter of his set in his signature motorcycle helmet, but he did it while someone was waving a flag throughout the show, moments before he busted out a Razor scooter. And although Abstract has definitely built a core fan base in the past couple years especially, the Texas-native turned a lot of heads with his music video for ‘Echo’, easily one of the best videos of 2015. Performing ‘Echo’, ‘American Boyfriend’, ‘Empty’ and more, Abstract gave fans a taste of his debut, MTV1987, and what they can expect from his forthcoming album, They Shoot Horses. He is certainly his own artist, but if you’re a fan of Childish Gambino, Tyler the Creator, Frank Ocean, Kid Cudi or anyone in between, you’ll love Kevin Abstract.
Following Abstract’s energetic performance was JAHKOY, also not an indie rock performer. While you may expect The Neighborhood to recruit other indie rock artists, perhaps ones that sound like lesser versions of the headliners, you couldn’t be more mistaken. Although it definitely makes sense to stay within your “genre” to set the tone for your forthcoming performance, The NBHD flipped the script by recruiting an R&B singer and a rap artist. And if it were just any R&B artist, or any rapper, this method could have easily failed. However it would be difficult for The NBHD to have chosen any two better emerging acts in the hip-hop world than JAHKOY and Abstract. JAHKOY is seeing a huge wave of success and co-signs in the past year, especially with the debut of his single ‘Odd Future’ on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 Radio just a few months ago. Lowe wasn’t the only huge name in music to give the Def Jam artist a big co-sign, as Drake later played the same record on his OVO Sound radio program. While still building up a discography of his own in his very young career, JAHKOY introduced himself to fans tonight with a selection of some of his newest records, and while many didn’t expect to attend an R&B concert tonight, they are glad they did.
After a brief intermission between performances, it was time for The NBHD’s return to Milwaukee. Performing in support of their 2015 album, Wiped Out!, the guys opened with the LP’s record, ‘Greetings From Califournia’. And while the crowd overwhelming enjoyed the performances from Abstract and JAHKOY, you could instantly tell this was the moment they were waiting for. Throughout the night the crowd was singing along every word, whether it was one of Wiped Out!’s B-side tracks, or whether it was a track from The NBHD’s earlier years. The energy never reached a low point, even for the band’s most laid back records, and all eyes watched Rutherford’s every move throughout the night. Closing the night with two awesome performances of their number one hit, ‘Sweater Weather’ and Wiped Out!’s equally successful closing track ‘R.I.P. 2 My Youth’, The NBHD definitely delivered for Milwaukee tonight.
Check out our photos from tonight’s performance below and check out the remaining dates on the Nu Waves Tourhere.
Chicago’s 107.5 WGCI is bring the Summer Jam back to the Windy City and it’s all going down Friday, June 17th at the United Center. In what will surely be Chicago’s biggest rap concert of the summer, the Summer Jam will feature some memorable performances from Fetty Wap, T.I., Jeezy, 2 Chainz, Migos, Desiigner, Lil Durk, Plies and Kent Jones. While a concert from just one or two of these artists would be a can’t miss event, with such a stacked lineup, there is no better place to be than the house that Michael Jordan built in just a couple weeks.
Hit the jump and check out our list of the 10 songs that we need to hear at the WGCI Summer Jam, and if you haven’t yet, get your tickets now while you still can!
After years of inactivity and speculation on the highly anticipated collaborative album, Kanye West has finally released new music that will be heard on the followup to Kanye’s GOOD Music album Cruel Summer, similarly titled Cruel Winter. Kanye surprised many as he shared the news earlier this morning, moments before he paid a visit to Big Boy’s 92.3 to debut the track. Titled ‘Champion’, as confirmed by Travis Scott on Twitter, the new track is fire and star studded. ‘Champion’ features Kanye West, Gucci Mane, Big Sean, Yo Gotti, 2 Chainz, Quavo (Migos), Travis Scott and GOOD Music‘s newest signee, ‘Panda’ rapper Desiigner.
While Cruel Summer was met with mixed reviews, and expectedly wasn’t as complete as a solo album from Kanye, the album had a number of bangers, and if ‘Champion’ is any indication of what to expect from Cruel Winter, then this sequel will be no exception when it comes to stacked hits and perhaps it may be a step up from Cruel Summer.
Friends and collaborators, Adam Friedman and Mike Posner, have teamed up again, this time for Friedman’s new addictive record, ‘Lemonade’. While Friedman solo career is now beginning to emerge, he is no stranger to the music world. Friedman introduced himself to many as he supported Posner on his impromptu “Ninja Show” tour, where the two traveled across the country performing intimate acoustic sets for a number of Posner’s biggest fans. And if ‘Lemonade’ is what we can expect from Friedman’s solo work in the future, than we are more than excited.
If you like what you hear with Friedman’s most recent efforts, you’ll certainly want to check out his record ‘Pretty Things’, the singer’s debut single which he released just a few months ago.
Give yourself a voice in our country’s future and get free music out of it, not a bad deal right? Well lucky for rap fans, Vic Mensa is giving you the option to download his brand new EP, There’s Alot Going On, for free and all you have to do is pledge to vote. Sponsored by Mensa and Hip Hop Caucus, if you visit RespectMyVote.com until July 4th, you will get a free WeTransfer download link to Mensa’s new project, simply by pledging to vote in the upcoming presidential election.
Mensa has always been a socially conscious rapper and a social advocate for Chicago, but this time he has took it a step further. Let’s just hope that other rappers take notice and offer fans free music for doing things that we all should be doing anyways.
Pledge to vote and get a free download of Vic Mensa’s new EP here.
‘U Guessed It’ rapper, OG Maco, is back with his brand new anticipated single. Titled ‘Don’t Know’, there is only one thing that the College Park, GA rapper doesn’t know and it’s you. Produced by Money Montage, ‘Don’t Know’ is fire and another quality track from the 2015 XXL Freshman who has been putting out a number of projects since ‘U Guessed It’ took over the rap world in 2014.
The “Summer’s Last Stand”, Chicago’s North Coast Music Festival is returning to Union Park this summer and now fans can check out the festival’s full 2016 lineup. Performing at NCMF this year, which takes place Labor Day Weekend, are Odesza, Umphrey’s McGee, Grouplove, Bassnectar, Zedd, Logic, Raury, Matt & Kim, Ty Dolla $ign, Juicy J, Action Bronson and many more!
This marks another great lineup for North Coast and we couldn’t be more excited. You will definitely want to get your tickets before it’s too late, so check out North Coast’s official website for more information.
Check out North Coast’s full 2016 lineup below and check out our photos from last year’s NCMF here.
Although the original leaked version of the record, which only featured Thugger, was released over a year ago, today we have the official version of Young Thug’s Dun Deal produced track, ‘Friend Of Scotty’. This time with some assistance from Free TC rapper/singer Ty Dolla $ign, Young Thug and Ty kill the track, even though Thugger characteristically has some suspect lyrics throughout the song.
The Early Registration 