Raekwon Tributes Ol' Dirty Bastard At SXSW 2012

Raekwon ft. JD Era - Dedication (Official Video)

Raekwon Says Collab Album With Notorious B.I.G. Could Have Happened

Raekwon recalls his beef with the Notorious B.I.G. and says that the two could've linked up for an LP at some point.

While Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G.'s beef may go down as the most widely recognized feuds in Hip Hop, one of Biggie's most notorious tiffs transpired between him and members of the Wu-Tang Clan. Now, in a recent interview with MTV, B.I.G.'s one-time adversary Raekwon speaks on his short-lived feud with the Brooklyn legend.

Back in 1995, Rae and his partner-in-rhyme Ghostface Killah lambasted Biggie on a skit from Only Built 4 Linx... titled "Shark Niggas (Biters)" over the similarities between the album covers of B.I.G.'s debut Ready To Die and Nas's Illmatic. Now, the Chef looks back on his past debacle, saying that he never really viewed it as a serious beef and that had Biggie not passed away, a joint album between the two of them could have happened.

“First and foremost when we all came up together it was almost like the best time in Hip Hop. And at that time we were young, we were childhood stars with a vision, at that time we all was doin’ it,” he explained. “Like I tell the world to this day, beef is something when it’s on and poppin’; competition is competition. At the end of the day, I feel like the same way he loved our music, we loved his music - don’t forget, Meth worked with him on joints...we probably would’ve did an album. That’s how I feel, because like I said we were all runnin’ neck and neck.”

Source

GZA/Genius & Prodigal Sunn Enjoys Vegas Sweets Spots

Seen at Sugar Factory American Brasserie last week was GZA and Prodigal Sunn of Wu-Tang Clan. They noshed on the hot spot's Mussels Mariniere, Fried Macaroni & Cheese Pops, BBQ Chicken Pizza and each tried the signature Ocean Blue and White Gummi goblets. The guys stopped by Sugar Factory's retail store where they stocked up on chocolate covered gummy bears, Hershey’s Kisses, and Jelly Belly's.

Cappadonna Interview For Rap Reviews On #BlackCloudTour [Video]

Wu-Tang's GZA/Genius Tours MIT

For those that missed it

GZA talks college science lectures and a new album 'Dark Matter'

Later this week GZA is set to perform with Latin super band Grupo Fantasma at a headlining Babygrande Records SxSW showcase this Saturday March 17 at the Haven Club.

GZA's new album Dark Matter is set to drop later this year on Babygrande Records. It's inspired by his fascination with astronomy, quantum physics and science fiction-turned-reality. To quote:

"I've been interested in many branches of science for years. RZA and I constantly exchange books and ideas. I recently met with quantum physicists who deepened my interest in the cosmos and gave me further inspiration for this next album. I want to take my listeners on a journey through deep space and deconstruct the idea of science fiction. If you think about it, 'science fiction' is an oxymoron but it makes sense because a lot of what was once fiction is now science and a lot of science is fiction until proven beyond hypothesis. For instance, when I was a kid there was a book called "A Wrinkle In Time" and some physicists at Cornell, whom I'm going to meet when I lecture there in April, actually created a wrinkle in time. That's incredible."

Expect the Genius to return to MIT March 21 to lecture in part with the Civic Media Lab. GZA will also be hitting the college circuit and lecturing at NYU, USC and Cornell later this spring.

Lecture Dates:

3/21 - MIT Civic Media Lab lecture

3/25 - NYU EMP Pop Conference/Clive Davis Institute

4/07 - Cornell University lecture T

Tour Dates:

3/17 - Austin - Babygrande Records' showcase at The Haven Club

4/18 - Brooklyn - Williamsburg Music Hall w/ Bad Brains

4/19 - Philadelphia - Trocadero w/ Bad Brains

4/20 - Washington D.C. - Howard Theater w/ Bad Brains

Source

Ghostface, and Raekwon Tapped For 2012 Soundset Festival; Full Lineup Revealed

Earlier today (March 5), Complex revealed the lineup and details for the 2012 Soundset Festival which is slated for Sunday, May 27 at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota.

The 2012 Soundset Festival, which boasts a lineup of over 40 artists, acts, and groups, is being presented by Rhymesayers Entertainment and Rose and will be hosted by Brother Ali, MaLLy, and J Pratt.

This year’s lineup includes acts like Lupe Fiasco, Big K.R.I.T., Atmosphere, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon from the Wu-Tang Clan, Kendrick Lamar, Action Bronson, DJ Premier, Danny Brown, and many more.

In addition to the concert portion of the festival that takes place across three stages, there will be a production showcase, custom car show, skateboard showdown, live paint exhibit, and a B-boy/B-girl dance battle.

Tickets for the Soundset Festival will go on sale to the general public this Saturday, March 10 at 11 a.m. Festival tickets are priced at a reasonable $41; V.I.P. tickets can be purchase for $91.

Source

Young Dirty Bastard - Son Trailer

Uncle Ray's Weekly Wuspiration #6: Hate....

'When people hate you and talk behind your back, remember they took time out of their pathetic lives, to think about you. They love you.'

- Ray Acosta (President/GM @ Wu Music Group)

Raekwon Reveals U.S. Dates For “Unexpected Victory” Tour With Freddie Gibbs

Wu-Tang member and Ice H20 founder Raekwon has just announced dates and cities for the U.S. leg of his “Unexpected Victory” tour.

The tour, which is named after the rapper’s New Year’s Day released mixtape, Unexpected Victory, kicks off at the Gargoyle Club on Wednesday, March 7th in St. Louis, MO and wraps up a month and a half later on April 20th at Ziggy’s in Winston-Salem, MA.
The 28-date tour will take Raekwon across the United States and even have him perform at this year’s SXSW Conference in Austin, TX on March 14th and 15th and at the Paid Dues Independent Hip-Hop Festival on April 7th in San Bernardino, CA.
In addition to Raekwon and his Ice H2O family, Gary, Indiana native Freddie Gibbs will be trekking across the country with “The Chef” as the tour’s opener.
Currently, Raekwon, Ghostface, and Cappadonna are putting the finishing touches on their collaborative project with The Lox titled Wu-Block, which is set for release later this year.
Check out a full list of tour dates and cities below:

3.07.12 – St. Louis, MO – Gargoyle Club
3.09.12 – Pontiac, MI – Crofoot
3.10.12 – Steger, IL – Another Hole In The Wall
3.12.12 – Lincoln, NE – Bourbon Theatre
3.13.12 – Chicago, IL – Cubby Bear
3.14-3.15.12 – Austin, TX – SXSW
3.16.12 – Dallas, TX – Prophet Bar
3.17.12 – El Paso, TX – Lowbrow Palace
3.18.12 – Oklahoma City, OK – Kamps
3.20.12 – La Jolla, CA – Porter’s Pub
3.21.12 – Santa Ana, CA – Observatory
3.22.12 – San Francisco, CA – 103 Harriet
3.23.12 – Reno, NV – Cargo
3.28.12 – Salt Lake City, UT – Club Elevate
3.29.12 – Grand Junction, CO – Mesa Theatre
3.30.12 – Boulder, CO – Fox Theatre
3.31.12 – Denver, CO – Casselman’s
4.01.12 – Sioux Falls, SD – Vault
4.02.12 - New Orleans, LA – New Orleans
4.03.12 – Pensacola, FL – Vinyl Hall
4.04.12 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
4.05.12 – Jacksonville, FL – Brewster’s Pit
4.06.12 – Fort Lauderdale, FL – Revolution
4.07.12 – San Bernardino CA – Paid Dues Festival
4.13.12 – Baltimore, MD – Sonar
4.14.12 – Poughkeepsie, NY – Vassar College
4.19.12 – Portland, OR – Port City Music Hall
4.20.12 – Winston-Salem, MA – Ziggy’s

The Black Keys Names RZA as an Inspiration for their Sound.

Ten years ago, The Black Keys hauled their gear up the steps of Used Kids Records and played their first Columbus concert for a handful of fervent underground music acolytes. It wasn’t the humblest way to debut — the show got local press coverage, and lots of upstart bands play to empty rooms — but it still seems quaint compared with the gig the band will play Sunday, when they headline the Schottenstein Center in the thick of their first arena tour.

The Black Keys seemed like an afterthought, late-comers to a wave of guitar-slinging “The” bands heralding a so-called return of rock. Through perseverance and serendipity, Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney have surpassed and transcended bands like The Strokes (defiled) and The White Stripes (defunct).The Keys have survived and thrived long enough to spawn a whole new wave of think pieces anointing them as rock’s last hope, a mantle Carney more or less accepted in a January Rolling Stone interview. positioning the band’s meat-and-potatoes melodic blues bash-up as an alternative to both hipster-baiting indie and knuckle-dragging modern rock. Though they boast countless imitators, in the top-flight pop stratosphere they are a band alone.“It’s crazy. I mean to have this sort of success — you couldn’t ever bet on it in a million years,” Auerbach said. “But to have had this success without having to have come up with a real shtick, it’s pretty awesome.”The Keys’ shtick is, of course, having no shtick.

Auerbach and Carney began making grimy lo-fi recordings in an attempt to emulate Wu-Tang producer The RZA. They worked off the cuff with as few frills as possible.“You’re talking to somebody who made a record in one afternoon,” Auerbach said. “Nobody made records quicker than we did.”They stuck to that approach until taking a sharp turn with 2008’s “Attack and Release,” which featured production from serial collaborator Danger Mouse.

Read full articlue here