Watch the chaos unfold in Chaka Khan’s official video for “Hello Happiness.” Messages about people over 50 cheating on their partners and the rise of H.I.V. in this group of people bookend More »
St. Louis rapper Smino announces his headlining Hoopti tour of North America. The tour will begin on March 23rd in Chicago and will end May 17th in Detroit. Smino just appeared with Noname More »
Gary Clark Jr.’s video for “This Land” addresses race in the country right now and he can be heard singing about living in Trump’s America. Images of young Black boys, a Confederate More »
The 1865 is a blues-punk new band formed in 2017 by veteran journalist Sacha Jenkins who was one-half of The White Mandingos with Murs. Professional skateboarder and musician Chuck Treece, Shoegaze singer Carolyn More »
Chicago producers Tensei (Midas Well and Chris Kramer) have completed their new album Constellate. The seven songs reflect some of their longstanding inspirations including R&B, hip-hop and pop. Today they shared the More »
St. Louis rapper Smino announces his headlining Hoopti tour of North America. The tour will begin on March 23rd in Chicago and will end May 17th in Detroit. Smino just appeared with Noname and Saba on The Tonight Show for a performance of “Ace.” Smino’s sophomore album NOIR was released last year following his 2017 breakout blkswn. Tickets for the tour go on sale Friday January 18th at 10 AM ET at zerofatigue.com.
Hoopti Tour Dates
The 1865 is a blues-punk new band formed in 2017 by veteran journalist Sacha Jenkins who was one-half of The White Mandingos with Murs. Professional skateboarder and musician Chuck Treece, Shoegaze singer Carolyn “Honeychild” Coleman, bassist Flora Luccini and Jason “Biz” Lucas drummer for Dragonz Of Zynth joined Jenkins to complete The 1865. The band’s name is an obvious ode to the year the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery was instituted and the Reconstruction era after the Civil War. Their upcoming album, Don’t Tread On Me, which is a reference to the 1775 flag named after General Christopher Gadsen, has songs that talk about life in America during 1865. “Buckshot” is the first single from Don’t Tread On Me and it is about the perspective of an escaped slave. Jenkins explained in a press release that The 1865 “Was a great way to create contemporary music that spoke to the past, but also spoke to the same things that continue to happen over and over again in our country.” Don’t Tread On Me can be picked up after January 25th.
Missy Elliott now has the honor of becoming the first woman rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. She is the fourth hip-hop songwriter to be inducted sharing the distinction with Jay-Z, Jermaine Dupri and Dallas Austin who is also a 2019 inductee. Elliott’s success in the ’90s put her among the most influential artists of the decade. She broke through as a unique voice comprised of humor and style when she debuted as a solo artist with the single “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” in 1997. It was the beginning of her time as a creator of some of the era’s classic songs with Timbaland’s computerized rhythms that complimented Elliott’s singing and rapping. Her pen extended its reach to gain writing credits for Aaliyah, Whitney Houston, SWV, Total, and Destiny’s Child among others. The Songwriters Hall of Fame describes Elliot as “One of the most significant female artists in contemporary music history.” Chairman Nile Rodgers said in the press release that the 2019 inductees wrote songs that made the music of today possible. Elliott’s music resisted stereotypes about women and opened up a new path of individualism for women rappers and her videos have inspired artists across genres. The induction event is scheduled for Thursday, June 13th 2019, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
