Results tagged “hiphop”

It's about time: Run-DMC will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame tomorrow. In 1985 (nine years before the real deal opened) they put out a video for "King of Rock" that showed them trespassing at a fictional rock 'n' roll museum (watch it after the jump). Darryl McDaniels, aka DMC, remembers "people were saying that was kind of prophetic: 'You guys are bound for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because of that.' "And now they're being welcomed with open arms.

You can't really beat a $1 mini burger that comes with a side of hip-hop history. The NY Times reports on a tiny "new" burger joint in Hollis, Queens (called Hollis Famous Burgers) that also houses a Hip-Hop Museum, and admission is included with your meal (video!). The paper reports that "There are more than 100 items on the walls testifying to the neighborhood as a fertile ground for hip-hop artists. Along with a helping of chicken wings, washed down with a cup of 'Hollis Famous' lemonade, customers can examine the hit CDs of local rap legends" and much more. At the opening yesterday, the establishment (owned by a childhood friend of RUN DMC) received a blessing of sorts from DMC/Darryl McDaniels as he laid down some classic lyrics and delivered a little speech. Will this give Queens an edge against Brooklyn in the ongoing battle to gain ownership of the genre? Even though the birthplace is in the Bronx, the debate has spread to some of the other boroughs.

The Birthplace of Hip Hop, 1520 Sedgwick, was recently sold to a new owner (a developer), leaving its future more questionable than ever. Luckily, folks are preserving the history of the area in any way they can, most recently Bronx Rhymes launched, which is a multi-media installation by digital artists Claudia Bernett and Maria Ioveva that "celebrates Hip Hop's innovative artistry, inspirational impact and community contributions. It highlights now legendary locations and milestones through a guerilla graphics campaign in the borough where it all began."

NY1 reports that Bronx apartment building 1520 Sedgwick Avenue was sold to a new owner. The address is known as the "Birthplace of Hip-Hop" because DJ Kool Herc first "introduced extended break beats" in the apartment building's rec room back in 1973. Tenants had been trying to preserve its Mitchell-Lama status and keep it affordable by buying it themselves, but the landlord chose developer Mark Karasick to buy the building. Last week, Housing Preservation Department commissioner SHaun Donovan questioned the sale, "It is difficult to understand why the owners would choose to put the affordability of over 100 families’ homes at risk.” DJ Kool Herc himself told NY1, "We have landmark status in our hearts. The fight will continue."

Some good news in the ongoing saga to save 1520 Sedgwick, better known as the Birthplace of Hip Hop. Today Senator Schumer, who has been lobbying on behalf of the tenants to preserve the building's affordability, announced that "the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development rejected the proposed sale to developer Mark Karasick because current rents could not be sustained if the sale had gone through." The move doesn't insure that the building’s owner won't still opt out of the Mitchell-Lama program, however.

They’ll deny it, but most college students who write plays harbor some secret fantastic hope that their new opus will be hailed as the arrival of a fresh new voice and open on Broadway to triumphant acclaim. It obviously never happens, except when it does: 28-year-old Lin-Manuel Miranda, originally from Washington Heights, conceived the musical In the Heights as a sophomore at Wesleyan. After graduating, the show, a hip hop and salsa-inflected homage to his old ‘hood, caught the eye of the producers behind RENT and Avenue Q. It opened Off Broadway last year to rave reviews, packed houses and far too many awards to schlep home on the A train. Now the Broadway incarnation is bounding through previews, having kept most of the original Off Broadway cast, which includes Miranda himself in one of the starring roles. The official opening night is March 9th; ticket prices vary.

Listening to Philadelphia duo Pattern is Movement for the first time can perhaps best be described as taking a ride through Disney's "It's a Small World After All", with each country representing a different period of music. It's a lot to take in, as sounds of the past are layered upon each other to create modern arrangements unlike anything you've heard before, while somehow remaining distantly familiar.

Director of the legendary hip-hop documentary Style Wars, Tony Silver, died last weekend after battling an irreversible brain condition for several years.

The Hollywood Reporter has news that Beastie Boy Adam Yauch will be expanding his music and film production operation, Oscilloscope Laboratories, into indie film distribution. Under the nom de plume Nathanial Hörnblowér, Yauch has orchestrated many of the Beastie Boys videos, as well as the hip hop group’s inventive full-length concert doc Awesome; I Fuckin’ Shot That! Oscilloscope also shot and produced live concert videos for Beck and Ryan Adams.

Prospect Heights mom and Park Slope Food Coop member Yvonne Brechbuhler got a little something extra in a head of organic lettuce she recently brought home: a little green frog “no bigger than the tip of her pinky finger," according to the Daily News. Brechbuhler discovered the frog (pictured) only when she took out the lettuce to make a salad – after it had been in her refrigerator for three days. She insists that her fridge has no frog infestation and speculates the frog hitchhiked in the lettuce from South Florida, presumably seeking fame and fortune in the big city.

Anthony Lappé is a writer, blogger, television producer and executive editor of GNN.tv, the web site for the Guerrilla News Network. He's written for mainstream press like the Times and was the National Affairs Editor for Black Book, and in 2003 he collaborated on the award-winning Showtime documentary about Iraq called BattleGround: 21 Days on the Empire’s Edge, which covered the front lines of the simmering guerrilla war in Iraq in 2003. Part of what he saw there influenced his new graphic novel, Shooting War, which started out as a serial on the Smith Magazine website. The lavish hardcover print edition, with illustrations by Dan Goldman, follows the gonzo adventures of a New York blogger who becomes a media darling in 2011 after his footage of a bombing at a Williamsburg Starbucks gets picked up by the mainstream media. Looking to keep coverage of the ongoing Iraq quagmire edgy, a global news network hires him to bring a youth angle to the guerrilla war. Part satire, part dystopian nightmare, Shooting War is unflinching in its depiction of the hellish future toward which the Bush administration is corralling us.

MUSIC: When we talked to Jonny Greenwood (pictured) back in October, Radiohead's In Rainbows wasn't the only focus. His composition titled Popcorn Superhet Receiver will be performed tonight by The Wordless Music Orchestra with Brad Lubman as conductor. When we asked Greenwood if he would be in attendance, he said "I’d love to but I can’t really justify the flight just to come to that. I’d feel a bit weird about it. If I was in America already for touring or something I’d love to go but I can’t really justify it. It’s a shame." Since you won't be using as many carbon emissions to get there, we suggest you go.

Last year we visited 1520 Sedgwick Avenue's past and uncertain future. The "Birthplace of Hip Hop" was, and still is, in danger of losing its lifeblood when the landlord (BSR Management) announced they wanted to abandon the Mitchell-Lama program. Essentially buying out of the program and leaving the doors open for a rent increase. Then things got worse when BSR made it clear they would be selling the building to a real estate mogul Mark Karasick, which was set to happen next month.

SHOP: Tonight head to Dumbo for an “Evening of Cheer,” where three neighborhood events coordinated by the Dumbo Improvement District will be taking place. "The night’s events combine Dumbo’s monthly cultural event, First Thursdays, with extended shopping hours and promotions by local retailers and the illumination of the Empire Stores in Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park by famed lighting designer Brendon Boyd." 6pm // Various location details here EVENT: Tonight some experts gather around to celebrate...

"New York City in the 1970s was the setting for Taxi Driver, Annie Hall, and Saturday Night Fever, the nightmare playground for Son of Sam and The Warriors, the proving grounds for graffiti, punk, hip-hop, and all manner of other public spectacle. Musicians, artists, and writers could subsist even in Manhattan, while immigrants from the world over were reinventing the city in their own image." Brian Berger, historian Marshall Berman and a troupe of contributers revisit the Big Apple of yesteryear in their book New York Calling. All five boroughs are documented through words and images, becoming a nostalgic collection as well as a reflection on how the city has changed.

EVENT: Julian Schnabel will be screening clips from his latest flick, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly tonight. Lou Reed, who Schnabel recently documented in Lou Reed’s Berlin, will also be on hand. 7pm // Apple Store [103 Prince St] // Free READING: The Desk Set's "Drinks with an Author" series continues tonight at Greenpoint's WORD. This evening chat with Kara Jesella and Marisa Meltzer, authors of How Sassy Changed My Life: A Love Letter...

Last week marked the five year anniversary of the murder of Jam Master Jay, who was shot and killed at his studio in Queens the night before Halloween 2002. The slaying was one of many that went unspoken about by witnesses, all of whom follow the "no snitching" rule. However, The Daily News has just talked to someone who is breaking this absurd code of silence.Randy Allen, the iconic turntablist's longtime business partner, told the...

FAIR: The International vintage poster fair has arrived. It's time to take that ironic velvet Elvis off the wall and class up your joint. The fair will include "over 25 international dealers with more than 10,000 original vintage posters." More info here.

It's more like "will he or won't he"...yesterday we heard about a scuffle between Sean Combs (aka P. Diddy) and Steven Acevedo (aka someone we've never heard of), and today there are conflicting reports about what has happened since the dust has settled.

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on 155th Ave. and 79th St. in Queens, a bank robbery at the Chase branch on De Kalb and Bedford Ave. in Brooklyn, and a pedestrian struck at Hunts Point and Lafayette Aves. in the Bronx. The Guggenheim sent out a postcard inviting people to a seminar about Andy Warhol. The message on the reverse side is expletive-laced and describes Warhol and his fans in derogatory terms...

EVENTS: Both Open House NY and The New Yorker Festival are upon us. You can check out more of OHNY's event here, and The New Yorker Festival here. Some picks:

Almost all of the 17-year-olds' stories make for interesting reading.

EVENT: All week long Lower Manhattan has become a stage. Today, "watching from behind a window overlooking the site, viewers observe Bill Shannon and crew engage with the public space and pedestrian traffic in their freestyle performance that taps into the hip-hop/skateboard tradition of street improvisation. The distance between audience and performers is mitigated by holographic screens and live audio and video mixing by special guests." DJ Excess will be on hand for some live audio mixing. More info here.

MOVIE: In the unlikeliest of scenarios, rapper (and jeweler) Paul Wall, his grills, Reggaetón king Tego Calderón and Wu-Tang's Raekwon traveled to Sierra Leone. The outcome is an informative documentary called Bling: A Planet Rock which focuses on "the flashy world of commercial hip-hop jewelry played a significant role in the ten-year civil war" in West Africa.

This is a pretty interesting clip from a documentary on hip hop called Beat This. In 1984 New York graffiti artist Brim talked about the Vandal Squad, Mayor Koch and New York's finest having a problem with things they can't control.

Comprised of breakdancers from various troupes, The New York City Breakers were the rivals of The Rock Steady Crew. Many became familiar with these breakers (Kid Nice, Mr. Wave, Action, Lil Lep, Glide Master, Icey Ice, Powerful Pexster and Flip Rock) during a legendary battle scene in Beat Street (watch here) where they went move for move with their aforementioned adversaries. They even performed for President Reagan at an event in New York, which you can watch here. Read more about the group's history here, and read an interview with Action here. Here's a video of them breakin' it down in NYC in 1983...

A look at some noteworthy television this week:

Despite the fact that the most common response we've been hearing is "What the hell is High School Musical?", it appears that Rolling Stone coverboy Zac Efron and his overly theatrical buddies are the toast of the town. Topping the Billboard chart, breaking cable TV records and zombifying tweens everywhere (you've probably bumped into a few already this week on the sidewalk with their faces buried in the lyric book). Even though the acting is bad, the songs are cheesy and the plot makes Saved by the Bell seem like Shakespeare, there is no denying the impressive success they've been able to pull off in an era where nobody can sell a cd. For a more sophisticated look into the movie and the phenomenon as a whole (compared to the zOMG livejournal reviews scattered about the web), check out Status Ain't Hood.

Foxy Brown, after violating probation, got an all access pass to the big house this morning. The rapper managed to use a Blackberry as a weapon earlier this month - the latest on a list of violent outbursts, yet has managed to stay out of jail against all odds until this point.