One Direction’s huge stadium tour has been out-shadowed this past week by the news that the guys will soon be going on an extended hiatus come next March. While fans can only speculate whether a “hiatus” truly means a hiatus, or whether taking a break will lead to a total break up, fans in Milwaukee Tuesday night, got to put everything aside and just enjoy one hell of a show, even with it being 1D’s first show since confirming their hiatus. With parking lines spanning the length of a hundred semi-trucks and with lines to the door long enough to wrap around the entire stadium (and maybe to Wrigley Field), One Direction’s fans could not wait any longer until showtime. But until Harry, Liam, Niall and Louie hit the stage, the 1D dominated crowd was still treated to a great opening performance by ‘I Love It’ singers, Icona Pop. The Swedish electricpop duo performed about 10 songs, including ‘We Got The World’, ‘Clap Snap’ and ‘Then We Kiss’, until they left the stage asking Milwaukee just one question. “Are you ready for One Direction?” Even if the signs in the crowd were for the eyes of the headliners, with huge recognizable hits from Icona Pop, the duo gave a great set to warm up the crowd.
Being so close to home and so close to Hollywood, you would only imagine that Taylor Swift’s surprise guests for her Los Angeles leg of her 1989 World Tour (aka her sold out residency at the Staples Center) would really turn up. And with appearances from Justin Timberlake and Selena Gomez, Taylor’s fans definitely got their money’s worth and then some (and then some more). But no one could ever have imagined that her best guest would be a fictional one (kind of)!
Last night, during another sold out night at the Staples Center, Taylor brought out actress Lisa Kudrow to perform an awesome duet of ‘Smelly Cat’, the fictional hit from Kudrow’s character Phoebe Buffay, from the huge sitcom Friends. Watch the two perform ‘Smelly Cat’ below and check out our photos from Taylor’s Chicago performance here!
Texas based rapper Kevin Abstract is busier than ever. After premiering his group BROCKHAMPTON’s single on Ebro Darden’s Beats 1 radio show earlier this week, he performed with Allan Kingdom, London O’Connor and Well$ at Pigeons & Planes’ #NoCeilingsNY show last night in Brooklyn. Now, the BH track “Dirt” has officially released as a one off on Fool’s Gold Records. The video for the record is set premiere on MTV sometime in September.
On the track, Kevin, Matt Champion, Ameer Van, Dom Mclennon and Merlyn Wood rap about southern culture over grimy, thumping production. The song is the 3rd release from BROCKHAMPTON since they disbanded AliveSinceForever earlier this year and rebranded themselves. As someone that’s been following Kevin’s career for years now, it’s extremely exciting to watch him and his friends climb closer and closer to mainstream success.
Stream “Dirt” below.
Will Lampley bought Nelly’s SweatSuit CD when he was in the 3rd grade because he really liked Paul Wall’s verse on “Grillz”. Follow him @willcDPR.
Big K.R.I.T. is hitting the road this fall on his forthcoming massive 38-date Kritically Acclaimed Tour, and of course with a new tour you need some new music to perform as well. Well to warm up fans until K.R.I.T. comes to a city near you, the Cadillactica rapper dropped a new track on his Soundcloud. The new record, titled ’86’, is another K.R.I.T. produced banger for your whip, so get ready to blow those speakers out.
Stream ’86’ and check out Big K.R.I.T.’s Kritically Acclaimed Tour dates below and get your tickets here.
Inspired by the early hip-hop movement, GRiZ describes his new track ‘Feelin High” as “a tribute to one of my favorite songs, ‘2000 Seasons’ by Reflection Eternal.” With a trumpet solo by the talented Eric Bloom, this is definitely a smooth record. And for GRiZ’s Chicago fans, hopefully this can keep you warmed up until his forthcoming Chicago performance at Freaky Deaky in October, or until he comes to a city near you (check out his tour dates below).
Last night, One Direction brought their “On The Road Again” Tour (get your tickets here) to Milwaukee’s Miller Park. Knowing that it just may be the band’s last performance in Wisconsin, as the group is taking an extended hiatus next year to pursue solo projects, the fans put just as much energy into the stadium as 1D put into their memorable performance. Full of some of their biggest hits and fan favorites, the night included a great opening set from Icona Pop, a Harry Styles led moment of silence for the Green Bay Packer’s Jordy Nelson (who recently tore his ACL), and a killer performance of their brand new single ‘Drag Me Down’.
Check out our photos from One Direction’s “On The Road Again Tour” stop at Milwaukee’s Miller Par below (and check out our review soon)!
New Jersey native Fetty Wap is living the dream. As he states in the new promo video for his album, “Last year I didn’t have an address… Now I have 5 addresses”. Avoiding the trap that has plagued Lil Durk, Migos and many other urban artists that popped recently, record label 300 has got to work to release Fetty Wap’s self-titled debut album on September 25th. In promotion of the project that currently has 3 #10 singles, Fetty has released the cover art and a freestyle over Future’s 56 Nights cut “Trap Niggas”. Fetty’s freestyle gives the song a new energy, with him even doing melodic runs towards the end.
Stream the “Trap Niggas” freestyle and watch 300’s promo video for Fetty Wap below.
Will Lampley isn’t a Remy Boy. Follow him @willcDPR.
Tyler, the Creator is no stranger to controversy. After he was denied a visa to enter Australia earlier this month, the California based artist has been vocal about his displeasure with the ban he’s received. Now, according to Tyler’s manager Christian Clancy, he’s been banned from entering the UK “for somewhere between three to five years per a letter from the Secretary of State for the Home Department of the United Kingdom”. The ban has hit Tyler and his fans in an even harsher way, as he’s had to cancel a stringof shows across the country. The cause of the ban is controversial in itself, being that it was due to his lyrics from up to six years ago on his debut project Bastard and his 2011 album Goblin.
Though he hasn’t returned to the violent subject material of those albums in about four years, he’s still being punished for them. As Clancy has stated, this situation highlights an issue of free speech being restricted for unfounded reasons.
Tyler won’t be back in the UK for a while, but you can catch him on tour in the US with A$AP Rocky, Danny Brown and Vince Staples. Tickets are available at rockyandtyler.com.
Will Lampley just turned 18. Follow him @willcDPR.
From his recent Fuk Wat They Talkin Bout mixtape, Tyga released his new music video for ‘Glitter’ today. Making references to his relationship with Kylie Jenner (we will assume he wrote this rap after she turned 18) in the new record, you can get the mixtape now on iTunes, while Tyga drives through Los Angeles in his new music video. Watch the official music video for ‘Glitter’ below.
‘White Iverson’ rapper Post Malone made a recent stop at Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club and tackled an often unspoken topic in the music industry, “industry plants”. For those who don’t know, an industry plant (as described by Complex) is “is a pithy derogative that we (haters) wield to imply that a rapper or singer is an upstart fraud, a record label puppet, a focus group-tested vessel of creativity so-called.” When Charlamagne Tha God warned Post that he would get questions about white privilege, Post joked about accusations that he is an industry plant. “I’m a industry plant,” said Post. When asked what that means, Post said “I don’t know, that’s what they call me.” Not sure if Post (or really anyone) is a plant, but it’s good to see he has a sense of humor about it.
Watch Post Malone’s full interview with The Breakfast Club below.
The Early Registration 