Category Archives: News

Photos: iLoveMakonnen Performs at The Metro in Chicago

BY TER STAFF

Photo by Jesus Montero/The Early Registration
Photo by Jesus Montero/The Early Registration

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.

Continue reading Photos: iLoveMakonnen Performs at The Metro in Chicago

UNCUT | Tyler, the Creator Appropriates White Power Symbol for Gay Pride Tee

BY WILL LAMPEY

via Entertainment Weekly

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 the confederate 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 West made 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 collection here.

via Noisey

Will Lampley really liked Cherry Bomb. Follow him @willcDPR.

Watch Lana Del Rey Perform Her New Song “Serial Killer” During her Endless Summer Tour

BY TER STAFF

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

Last night Lana Del Rey kicked off her “Endless Summer” Tour in Woodlands, TX and performed her new track ‘Serial Killer’ for its first time. Not only does this performance get us excited for an official release of the track, which likely will be featured on her forthcoming Honeymoon album, but it gets us excited for the rest of her tour as well. The “Endless Summer” Tour hits a number of stops throughout the U.S., and Lana will be accompanied by Courtney Love and Grimes. You can get your tickets now!

Watch Lana Del Rey perform ‘Serial Killer’ below!

Continue reading Watch Lana Del Rey Perform Her New Song “Serial Killer” During her Endless Summer Tour

ASAP Rocky Teams with Rod Stewart, Mark Ronson and Miguel for “Everyday”

BY TER STAFF

Last night, A$AP Rocky shared news of his new track ‘Everyday’, during his RBMA lecture. Now today we have the official release of the song, which features the legendary Rod Stewart, Miguel, and Mark Ronson. The track is off A$AP’s forthcoming A.L.L.A. album, which has a release date TBD.

Listen to ‘Everyday’ below!

Continue reading ASAP Rocky Teams with Rod Stewart, Mark Ronson and Miguel for “Everyday”

Premiere: Listen to Bloque’s New Track “Purple”

BY TER STAFF

Bloque - Purple

In the past few years, rap music has seen the “new music HUB” switch from place to place. First it was Chicago, then it was Atlanta, and now it’s…. the United Kingdom? That’s right. Americans and rap fans worldwide were sleeping on U.K. rap for far too long, but in the past few months U.K. rappers have been getting their proper recognition. Drake, Rick Ross and Kanye have been co-signing U.K. artists like Skepta and Wiley (just to name a few). And for many Americans, rappers from the United Kingdom are on their radar for the first time ever.

That brings us to Bloque, an artist/producer from Moss Side, Manchester. He is one of the emerging names out of the U.K. with the highest of potential, and already he has co-signs from artists like The Game and Birdman. His movement and team is “ISFTW” (“I Say Fuck The World”), and not only is his potential unmatched, but his work ethic is to the level that it’s just a matter of time before he attains a huge following from London to New York.

His new record, titled ‘Purple’, is hot! The track will officially release tomorrow, but we’re more than happy to share it a day in advance. The song tells us a story about drugs, but unlike most songs about drugs, this one is not from a first-hand perspective. “I don’t take drugs, never have but a lot of the women I’ve been with do, and when my brother (Ceezus) came to me with the beat everything just felt right to me,” Bloque tells us. And the beat? It’s produced by Ceezus, 1/2 of StaticBeatz, Bloque’s in-house production duo, and the way it complements Bloque’s vocals works especially well. And while the hook (which is sung by Bloque) is softer, Bloque goes hard in the verse, which makes for an interesting contrast.

“When she gets sniffin’, she told me that’s she so high there’s no ceilings. She use that weed smoke to hide from her demons. She told me she want to fuck with no feelings.”

Speaking on the record, Bloque told us “I ain’t really ever done a song like this before, like I can spit bars all day, I can sing all night, I can do them on the same song, but this song is different. The hook is so soft and the and the verse is so hard…I love that shit!” Bloque describes himself on ‘Purple’ as “somewhere between The Weeknd and Kendrick sprinkled with cocaine. [laughs]” We agree!

Listen to Bloque’s new track ‘Purple’ below.

Continue reading Premiere: Listen to Bloque’s New Track “Purple”

Frank Ocean Set to Return to the Stage for FYF Fest

BY TER STAFF

Courtesy of Rolling Stone

We couldn’t be more excited for Frank Ocean’s highly anticipated sophomore album. The forthcoming LP is expected to be titled Boys Don’t Cry and will likely have a July 2015 release. But a new album isn’t the only thing fans have to look forward to, as the LA Sports Arena and Exposition Park’s “FYF Fest” announced its 2015 lineup, which will feature a headlining performance from Frank.

Does this foreshadow a summer tour? We sure hope so! FYF Fest will take place Saturday, August 22nd and Sunday, August 23rd, and will feature performances from Morrissey, D’Angelo and the Vanguard, FKA Twigs, Chet Faker, Run The Jewels, Flume and many more!

Check out the full FYF Fest lineup below, tickets go on sale Friday at FYFFest.com!

Continue reading Frank Ocean Set to Return to the Stage for FYF Fest

Listen to Drake’s Remix of Fetty Wap’s “My Way”

BY TER STAFF

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

Remember what Drake was able to do with iLoveMakonnen’s ‘Tuesday’? Well expect the same for Fetty Wap’s song ‘My Way’, as Drizzy took the ‘Trap Queen’ rapper’s track and added a classic Drake verse of his own. As you can expect, the collaboration is fire. The only question left to answer is how long before Drake signs Fetty Wap to his OVO Sound label?

Listen to Drake’s ‘My Way’ remix below and check out our photos of Drake’s Coachella set here!

Continue reading Listen to Drake’s Remix of Fetty Wap’s “My Way”

Vince Staples Announces Debut “Summertime ’06” Album

BY TER STAFF

Vince Staples
Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration

Following the release of his 2014 Hell Can Wait EP, Long Beach rapper Vince Staples has announced his debut album. Vince’s debut LP, which will be titled Summertime ’06, is scheduled for a June 30th release and we can’t wait! Vince has said that his latest EP centers around his summer between 9th and 10th grade, which leads into Summertime ’06.

Summertime ’06 will be released via Blacksmith/ARTium/Def Jam and is executively produced by the legendary No I.D. Speaking on the project, Vince said “Ain’t nothing realer than the truth. Ain’t nothing better than the truth, like I really did all that. I really seen all that. I really been around that my whole life.” Get excited, as in just a couple months we will listen as Staples paints a picture of the brutal and dangerous Long Beach summers.

Listen to Vince Staples’ latest single, ‘Señorita’, below. You can also purchase the track now on iTunes.

Continue reading Vince Staples Announces Debut “Summertime ’06” Album

Vic Mensa and Kevin Abstract Beef Over Twitter

BY TER STAFF

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

Apparently Vic Mensa isn’t a fan of rapper Kevin Abstract, or at the very least he doesn’t think that Kevin Abstract has the hottest page on Soundcloud right now. Last night Vic posed a question on Twitter, “hottest page on Soundcloud?” When one follower replied, saying that Kevin Abstract has the hottest Soundcloud, Vic replied with a big “No”.

When Abstract caught word that Roc Nation‘s newest artist wasn’t a fan, he laughed at Vic’s reply with a tweet of his own. Abstract also compared Vic to a young Chance The Rapper, a comparison that Vic likely hears way too often. Next (perhaps as a subtweet aimed Abstract’s way) Vic posted a picture of his BMW (which has since been deleted), prompting Kevin Abstract to tweet a hilarious response. “Vic mensa just subtweeted me and flexed his bimmer. im currently broke af in my bedroom watching mean girls.”

We are a big fan of both artists but we have to give the “W” to Kevin, unless Vic posts a picture of himself watching Mean Girls in his bimmer, in which case the win goes to Vic.

Check out Kevin Abstract’s tweets and compare both the rappers’ Soundclouds below.

Continue reading Vic Mensa and Kevin Abstract Beef Over Twitter

Listen to Vince Staples’ New Track “Senorita”

BY TER STAFF

Vince Staples
Photo by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration

Vince Staples easily had one of our favorite projects last year with his Hell Can Wait EP. Then, taking almost no time off, Vince kicked off his 2015 as he toured with Odd Future’s Earl Sweatshirt for their Not Redy 2 Leave Tour. And now to keep the Staples’ movement going, the LA Leakers have released Staples’ new track, titled ‘Señorita’. If you are expecting this to sound like the Justin Timberlake track of the same name, don’t. This track is fire and it is all rap.

Listen to ‘Señorita’ at the LA Leakers now. You can purchase the track on iTunes at 9 PM PST.