Performance
DJ Premier x A$AP Ferg – “Our Streets†(Live Performance) [Video]
January 19, 2018
Yessir, and please believe. Streets is watching this “Our Streets†move as two heavyweights in the game – DJ Premier and A$AP Ferg – keep elbowing out breathing space in the room by showing and proving their Hip-Hop excellence. Dope performance!
Posted in Hip-Hop, Music, Performance, Videos | 
Tags: A$AP Ferg, DJ Premier, MTV, Our Streets, Total Request Live, TRL | 
No Comments »
Baba Brinkman Is Dropping Science… Brain Science… In His “Rap Guide to Consciousness” (Trailer)
January 18, 2018
Not sure if you know like I know, but there are folks in Hip-Hop whose works I admire yet will probably never totally ‘get.’ Like, I know Raekwon is dope, but sometimes he goes into some bushes I have never seen before… and I can’t follow what he’s doing. I just chalk it up to him doing him doing Hip-Hop… and I stay on a Hip-Hop path because I know he will come back and stomp down a familiar path (or at least one I can follow) and we’re good. That kind of thinking is not just for Hip-Hop. I think about Neil deGrasse Tyson or Gary Vaynerchuk or some of the far-out science/tech articles I post here… not knowing all of what is going on, but knowing there is something there; that this is something I should be following.
This cat, Baba Brinkman. He’s like that; with his lyrical presentations about consciousness and such. I just dug some write-ups about him out of the inbox and peeped this trailer that came with them… I’m seeing critical acclaim, some building buzz, association with work I often follow into some of those aforementioned bushes (see Mega Ran – who I ran across while staying up on the moves of the homie SkyBlew). Yeah. So I subscribed. I get a good amount of what he is spitting about (yeah, like rapping about) in his rhymes that engage and explore the mind. And while I am sure Baba will head off into some bushes I’m not eff’n with from time-to-time, I get the feeling that he will brink it back (come, rewind). Like Chef Raekwon and Dr. Tyson do for me.
Check dude’s trailer out and see if you can keep up with what he’s putting down. One time for your mind!
– @ojones1
Posted in Education, Hip-Hop, Performance, Science, Videos | Tags: Baba Brinkman, Consciousness, Rap Guide to Consciousness | No Comments »
Jimmy Fallon Welcomes His ‘Second Favorite Rapper’ For A Chat (Video)
December 15, 2017
Tarik Trotter aka Black Thought of The Roots and Jimmy Fallon discuss the 10-minute Funk Flex Freestyle that smoked and left the Interwebs wide open. Look back on here and see how Thought got down and shut the off-top rhyme game down… AFTER you watch the talk clip above.
– @ojones1
Black Thought | Freestyles On Flex | Freestyle #087 (Video)
December 14, 2017
Funk Flex got Black Thought of The Roots to fall through and freestyle, too?? MANDATORY watching… this is not up for discussion. Tariq is that BEAST emcee that your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper is not trying to see!!
But you don’t have to take my word for it. Watch Thought do just like how you thought he’d do on here. Mic. Left. SMOKED!
– @ojones1
Posted in Hip-Hop, Performance, Radio, Series, Videos | Tags: Black Thought, Freestyles on Flex, Funkmaster Flex, Hot 97 | 3 Comments »
Talib Kweli – “Heads Up Eyes Open†feat. Rick Ross x Yummy Bingham (Live Performance)
November 24, 2017
Above: Coming up next to Jimmy Fallon’s set… Talib Kweli and Rick Ross and Yummy Bingham doing “Heads Up Eyes Open.â€
(Note to artists: Don’t front. You WANT The Roots to get your back on stage! So dope!)
Dee-1 Speaks On His New Album, His Career & Life Thus Far, And Kills It On The “Five Fingers Of Death” Challenge (Video)
November 23, 2017
Sway started off by saying, “God is great.” Truth! And Dee-1, on that mic, not too shabby. Gotta recognize that. If not now, after you watch dude SNAP on the “Five Fingers Of Death” freestyle segment of this interview, you will!
But don’t skip past the interview. Compelling content. Dee-1 talks about how a male executive ‘tried him’ (e.g. tried to make him do sexual favors). Now that is way past Industry Rule #4080 sh!t there.
Good to see Dee-1 make it through. Still standing. On God, and His Word.
Salute!
– @ojones1
Posted in Hip-Hop, Interview, Performance, Radio, Series, Videos | Tags: Dee-1, Five Fingers Of Death, Sway, Sway Calloway, Sway In The Morning | No Comments »
Iman Shumpert | Freestyles On Flex | Freestyle #085 (Video)
November 15, 2017
Yoooooo! NBA players out here rapping better than many of the mainstream mumblers. Iman Shumpert is doing the work on that mic though, spitting flames like the old NBA Jams video game… He’s on FIIIIIIRE!
Small forward, Iman Shumpert makes it very clear that he’s more than just a ball player! Reppin’ Oak Park, IL, Iman comes through Funk Flex with some bars!
– Hot 97
And, yeah, he got BARZ!
– @ojones1
Posted in Hip-Hop, Performance, Radio, Series, Sports, Videos | Tags: Freestyles on Flex, Funkmaster Flex, Hot 97, Iman Shumpert | No Comments »
Big K.R.I.T. Kills An ‘Imaginary Player’ In Epic Lyrical Freestyle (Video)
November 14, 2017
When you get it out the mud, you come up with some leeches.
Wooo hoo hooo! Tell y’all what… Challenge K.R.I.T. on his mic skills if you want. Your fave emcee will get dealt with!! Dude’s gotz BARZ, son! Peep the freestyle. Tell a hater and give ’em something else to hate on. Ha!
Posted in Hip-Hop, Performance, Radio, Series, Videos | Tags: Big K.R.I.T., Big Krit, Freestyle, Freestyle #030, L.A. Leakers, LA Leakers, Power 106, Power 106 Los Angeles | No Comments »
CyHi The Prynce Lyrically Murders This Flex Freestyle In 84 Ways (Video)
November 13, 2017
If you ever wondered if CyHi had the pedigree to run in the rap circles he does, no you know! And if you needed MORE proof that he is so A-T-L… dude said he had it locked from Douglasville to Conyers!!
You know how when Fred The Godson said that ‘to stay true’ is ‘the right thing’ in his freestyle? Well, on this The Prynce is doing the right thing for damn sure. Click play now. Let’s GO!
– @ojones1
Posted in Hip-Hop, Performance, Radio, Series, Videos | Tags: CyHi The Prynce, Freestyles on Flex, Funkmaster Flex, Hot 97 | No Comments »
15 Minute Hip-Hop Instrumental Medley By An Ochestra (Video)
November 9, 2017
Remember a good while back when we posted on Sir Mix-A-Lot performing with the symphony orchestra backing him (here)? Not quite like that but it sort of is… for me. Music I love done by folks who love a different kind of music. Dopeness, with crossover appeal! Check this out.
– @ojones1
Posted in Hip-Hop, Instrumental, Performance, Videos | Tags: Boom Bap Nation, Hip-Hop History, Jimek, Orchestrated By Jimek | No Comments »
Watch The Roots, Getting LIVE At The Tiny Desk (Video)
October 31, 2017
The Legendary Roots Crew. The get LIVE every night with Jimmy Fallon. But for the tiny crowd gathered for The Tiny Desk… Well, let’s see if they take things up another tick!
(C’mon son, it’s The Roots, Sun!)
Posted in Celebrity, Hip-Hop, Performance, Series, Videos | Tags: NPR, NPR Tiny Desk Concert, Public Radio, The Roots, TheRoots, Tiny Desk Concert | No Comments »
Boyz II Men – “I’ll Come Running Back To You” feat. Brian McKnight (Live) [Video]
October 23, 2017
Nice! Saw Boyz II Men and Brian McKnight on GMA last week doing this and had to stop everything. Not really an R&B head, but these are two of the great acts of my early years. Respect.
And respect for what they are coming back to the table with this go ’round. Doo-wop sounds. For real! Watch above. For more golden-voice goodness, follow link to the new album (below).
BOYZ II MEN – UNDER THE STREETLIGHT (ALBUM)
– @ojones1
Posted in Album, Performance, Soul, Television, Videos | Tags: Boyz II Men, Brian McKnight, I'll Come Running Back To You, UNDER THE STREETLIGHT | No Comments »
Papoose | Freestyles On Flex | Freestyle #076 (Video)
October 10, 2017
Yooooo! Pap came back and snapped on his flow for the Funk Flex show. And before you ask, he did not bring his luscious, lyrical wifey, Remy, this time. But you know he had to rep for her, too… with these “Cash Rules” BARS!
– @ojones1
Posted in Hip-Hop, Performance, Radio, Series, Videos | Tags: #FREESTYLE076, Freestyle, FREESTYLE 076, Freestyles on Flex, Papoose | No Comments »
Method Man x Black Thought Cypher Live On Air (Video)
October 9, 2017
Respect! For these flows, AND for Meth going into the phone to ensure he was NOT caught slipping when he was on the mic live KNOWING that Black Thought was about to hop on and BEAST it with him!
These Legendary Roots Crew-Tang flows though! They KILT IT! Throw a plaid skirt on this sh!t!!
Posted in Hip-Hop, Performance, Radio, Videos | Tags: Black Thought, CYPHER, Freestyle, Method Man, Sway In The Morning, Sway's Universe, SwaysUniverse | No Comments »
Don’t Walk! Run The Jewels… NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert (Video)
September 21, 2017
Let the E&J and lyrics and booming beats FLOW! RTJ on NPR for an intimate, but no-less-energized [Tiny Desk] Concert with rhyme buddies El-P and Killer Mike. Okay, in case you don’t follow Run The Jewels… have any kids leave the F**KING room NOW! Liquor and lyrics laced with profanity and adult dopeness. Party time! Let’s GO!
Mina Tavakoli | February 6, 2017 — Like any good pair of twins, Run the Jewels have a freaky sort of unspoken fraternity. When El-P and Killer Mike strode in with their usual uniforms — Mike in a gold chain as thick as a garter snake, El in a fitted Yankees cap and pair of blue-mirrored sunglasses — the two didn’t have to do as much as nod to one another before upending three tracks from their latest LP, RTJ3, in strange and perfect symbiosis.
El-P (née El-Producto, née Jaime Meline) — rapper, producer, and all-around godfather of the backpacker scene of the late-90’s — and Killer Mike — known for guest features on tracks by Atlanta’s Dungeon Family in the early-aughts, solo work in the mid-to-late ’00s, and perhaps most widely for his very public support of Senator Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign last year — have out-mused each other in a supergroup that somehow seems to get better, louder, and more pertinent since their start in 2013. They represent an ideal evolution of underground hip-hop to mainstream success, mixing a fundamentally activist animus with IMAX-level production without losing a speck of vital force.
On an unseasonably beautiful day in D.C., Run the Jewels was sweaty and sulfuric, ad-libbing with one another in an exchange so slick, easy, and conspiratorial, it felt like we were in on their shared language.
Run the Jewels 3 is available now!
– NPR Music
EL-P X KILLER MIKE – RUN THE JEWELS 3 (ALBUM)
– @ojones1
Posted in Album, Hip-Hop, Performance, Videos | Tags: El-P, Killer Mike, Mina Tavakoli, NPR Music, NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert, NPR Tiny Desk Concert, Run The Jewels, Run the Jewels 3, Tiny Desk Concert | No Comments »
Missy Elliott – “She’s A Bitch” (Live) [Video]
September 21, 2017
Wonder how many tuned into the return of VH1’s Hip-Hop Honors show. Compared to the buzz leading up to show’s past, this last one came back on low volume. But if you saw this performance, you witnessed a textbook example of how to turn up! Missy Elliot was definitely a 90s Gamechanger, and she is one who can still deliver the goods. Believe the hype!
Posted in Hip-Hop, Performance, Videos | Tags: Hip-Hop Honors, Missy Elliott, She's A Bitch, VH1, VH1 Hip-Hop Honors | No Comments »
Common Does A Soulful ‘Tiny Desk Concert’ At The White House (Video)
September 20, 2017
The White House is often at the center of some controversy, more so nowadays. But there was a recent time when there was less ‘crazy’ – as Keith Olbermann might say (here) – coming from the White House …or, at least, a different type of ‘crazy.’ Even then, something like this probably would not have made headline news. But it was certainly worthy of being documented. And I am glad NPR did. And after you watch, bet money that you will be, too.
We’ve never done a Tiny Desk Concert that wasn’t behind my desk at NPR. But when the White House called and said they were putting on an event called South by South Lawn, a day-long festival filled with innovators and creators from the worlds of technology and art, including music, we jumped at the chance to get involved. We chose Common as the performer and the White House library as the space.
This Tiny Desk Concert was a convergence of art and soul, mixing politics with heart. Common’s choice of songs dealt with incarceration as the new slavery, imagined a time where women rule the world and honored the man he looked up to all his life, his father. For this occasion, Common put together a special six-piece band of close friends that includes the great Robert Glasper, with his eloquent and delicate touch, on keyboards and Derrick Hodge, whose music spans from Hip-Hop to folk and has made a big imprint on the world of jazz, on bass. Common also asked his longtime friend and collaborator Bilal to sing on two songs. The performance includes three brand new songs, along with one classic, “I Used To Love H.E.R.”
– Bob Boilen
Yooooo! Brother Common and his crew rocked a [Tiny Desk] Concert at The White House. DOPE!
(Oh, and the girl on the flute is Elena Pinderhughes, who played flute on Future’s “Mask Off.” Hella cute! Especially in that form-fitting dress. Yes!)
– @ojones1
Fred The Godson | Freestyles On Flex | Freestyle #072 (Video)
September 20, 2017
Hard to contain myself. Know what? I’d heard that Fred The Godson was a beast, but I was not ready for him to get on with Flex and snap this hard! Let me put it this way: When heads talk about how they wish Jay-Z would go back to rapping like this or that… What they really wanna say is they want Hov to step his bars UP to Godson’s level. That’s right. Godson > Hov. Yeah, that’s today’s math! Watch.
(Shot to Jaquae for amping things up and doing the most with the hook.)
– @ojones1
Posted in Hip-Hop, Performance, Radio, Series, Videos | Tags: Fred The Godson, Freestyles on Flex, Funkmaster Flex, Hot 97, Jaquae | 1 Comment »
Watch Rapsody’s In-Office Performance (Live) [Video]
September 18, 2017
“Laila’s Wisdom” drops this Friday, September 22nd. But good news for us, Rapsody & Okayplayer dropped off this footage of a free mini-concert of some old and new joints in advance of that. Bonus: I dropped that pre-order link for y’all below!
We’re live with Rapsody for an in-office performance ahead of the release of her album “Laila’s Wisdom” this Friday. Tune in!
Posted in Album, Hip-Hop, Performance, Videos | Tags: In-Office Performance, Laila's Wisdom, OKAYPLAYER, Rapsody | 4 Comments »
A Choir Comes From Texas To Sing “Lean On Me” And Jimmy Fallon Puts A Million Dollars In The Collection Plate For Hurricane Harvey Relief (Video)
September 7, 2017
Jimmy announces the show's $1 million donation to @JJWatt's hurricane relief fund, and invites a Houston choir to sing "Lean on Me." pic.twitter.com/R3ZQb3RDbC
— Fallon Tonight (@FallonTonight) September 6, 2017
Now THAT’S how you use your platform! Salute to JJ Watt of the Houston Texans and to Jimmy Fallon. That fund Watt has going to aid victims of Hurricane Harvey keeps growing a million bucks at a time, and The Tonight Show just added another million!
On top of that, Jimmy invited a Houston area Gospel choir to come take his audience to church in less than 5 minutes flat. If you’ve never been ‘full’ from some good church singing… get ready for that and press play above.
#HelpHouston
Posted in Activism, Call To Action, Cover Story, Faith, Performance, Television, Videos | Tags: Cornroe, fundraising, HelpHouston, Houston Gospel Choir, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, Hurricane Relief, Jimmy Fallon, JJ Watt, JJ Watt Foundation, Marquist Taylor, Texas, The Roots, The Tonight Show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Vicotria White, Victoria White | No Comments »
