Tag: rap

Tyler’s Camp Flog Gnaw Year 10 Intersects w/ Chromakopia Number 1

Aria Silva-Espinosa December 17, 2024

A long hike up the hills of Elysian Park is a small price to pay for the view from the top. Three massive stages situated in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium and boasting a wildly impressive hip-hop centric lineup, Camp Flog Gnaw celebrated its 10 year anniversary this past weekend and sold out well in advance, and the lineup wasn’t even announced until a month before the festival. related content: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly: Camp Flog Gnaw 2019 From legendary acts to tributes, DJ sets and soulful serenades, Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival is a uniquely curated exhibition of mainstream and underground artists, youth culture and untethered creative expression. The fan engagement and level of commitment to the art is evident in the way the incoming fans have chosen to dress. It’s early November and we’re up on a hilltop so everyone is a bit bundled up knowing that once the sun goes down it’ll be about as cold as Los Angeles is willing to tolerate. Workwear, faux fur and puffer jackets are out which would make a New Yorker giggle to see how dramatic we are about the shift into cooler weather. Among the masses it’s

PHOTO RECAP: Mike Jones at Echo Flex

Janky Smooth Central Command July 23, 2021

The last concert before Los Angeles’ mask mandate was put into effect had to be LA’s premiere 90’s hip hop party, Echo Flex at the Echoplex where late into the evening fans got up close and personal to each other to romp and dance to hip from the greatest era of the genre’s history, only to top it off with a rare performance from one of the OG’s himself, Mike Jones. Photos by: Rodney Campos Mike Jones

Hip Hop Oasis: Day N Vegas 2019

Janky Smooth Central Command November 12, 2019

Words by: Mario Chavez Photos by: Rodney Campos “In the desert you can remember your name cause there ain’t no one for to give you no pain…” “A Horse with No Name” by AMERICA was the soundtrack on repeat in the back of my mind as we made the trek towards the Las Vegas desert oasis, on our way to the rookie music festival, Day n Vegas. This was a first of its kind gathering on the northern part of the strip, where Hip Hop and R&B can live & breathe as one in one of the entertainment capitals of the world. related content: Rolling Loud SoCal 2017 Doses The Youth With The Latest Opiate Of The Masses Day 1 On its inaugural day, we entered knowing only that it was a Dreamville takeover line up, but all that was yet to be seen. Later, a long-awaited set by Lil Uzi Vert was about to commence. He began his set with his hit “XO Tour Life” and it was off to the races. In true Lil Uzi Vert fashion, he became a tangible part of the show, jumping in to the crowd while performing songs amongst his fans. The Philly

I Got the Mic, So Shut the Fuck Up: Freddie Gibbs and Madlib at the Roxy

Jonathan Reyes June 30, 2019

If there’s anything to take from Tuesday night’s preview of Bandana, the latest release from Freddie Gibbs and Madlib, it’s just shut it and enjoy what could possibly be the best Gangster Rap artist of the last ten years. Counter to that claim, Gibbs would have to care about accolades and “best of” lists, from his yearly revitalization and inability to create anything unoriginal, he couldn’t be bothered, the only thing that seems to matter to him is being the best version of himself. related content: The Music Millennials Make Love To: Smokin’ Grooves 2019 At The Queen Mary If Freddie has all the ingredients, Madlib is the chef preparing the courses. Their second album is Mexican candy, it’s a burger, its caviar, it’s one part Hennessy one part Freddie one part Madlib, and like a basket on Chopped it all works out into an unconventional but complete meal. Imagine being so good that you don’t need gimmicks in a genre populated by them. Think about making best rap album of the year and deciding to put a teddy bear riding a zebra on the cover. The confidence in skill to freestyle multiple times a night, I’ve seen plenty headliners

Make American Green Again: The Great American Smoke Out

Janky Smooth Central Command September 25, 2018

Words and Photos by: Maggie St. Thomas Master rap artist Snoop Dogg celebrated 25 years of Doggystyle, his debut album on Death Row Records. Produced in 1993 by Dr. Dre with cover artwork by Mr. Joe Cool, Doggystyle sold almost a million copies within its first week of being released. While taking the sold-out arena back to the days of old school hip hop using the microphone as a time machine with heavy weights Cypress Hill, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and adding a heavy dose of hazy funky infusion with Slightly Stoopid and reggae legend Don Carlos. Though the words on the flier read that Wu Tang Clan, Berner, and Warren G were scheduled to perform, so were the words ‘line-up subject to change.’ It didn’t seem to matter as the legends murdered the stage, and if you were a participant in that hot-boxed arena at The Great American Smokeout you got more than your money’s worth. Musical Youth, Afroman, Kottonmouth Kings and DJ Quik were also featured performers of the night, but let’s concentrate on the headliners. related content: The Queens Converge At Outside Lands 2018 Cypress Hill opened with “Band of Gypsies” taking our minds to strange and welcome places. B-Real took the stage mixing his helium style rap lyrics with Sen Dog’s rhymes performing their anthems like “How I

The Daytona Experience: Pusha T at the Observatory

Rob Shepyer September 4, 2018

2018 has been an amazing year for rap. We’ve seen the return of Slim Shady, five Kanye West produced albums, and one of the most volatile rap beefs to ever occur in the game with Pusha T completely destroying Drake. Along with making a star fall, Pusha T created my favorite album of the year, the first of the five Kanye produced albums of 2018, Daytona. related content: Summertime In The LBC: This Is Your Dad’s Hip Hop From the very beginning, when the album cover was released and we saw Whitney Houston’s addiction exploited for art with a photograph of her drug strewn bathroom as the cover, Daytona garnered controversy and hype. Then with “Infared”, the last track on the short, seven song album taking shots at Drake, nucleur heat was generated between the two rap Gods. For the first time in a long while, traditional rap stabbed through trap’s control of hip hop media. Finally, there was a ray of hope that hip hop could rekindle its golden years when the metric of quality was lyricism and beef elevated everyone in the game. So Pusha took shots at Drake with “Infared” then Drake came back with “Duppy Freestyle” and Pusha

Rebel Armz in the House: Immortal Technique at Marty’s on Newport

Jessica Moncrief July 31, 2018

Last weekend Hip Hop lovers rejoiced at the chance to catch Immortal Technique spit knowledge two nights in a row along alongside legends Mr.Choc and Chino XL at the ever so intimate setting of Marty’s On Newport . For those of us trying to make sense of the direction new “rap” is heading, catching the lyrical geniuses that made us fall in love with the genre is an essential role in keeping us from being jaded beyond repair. I’d like to think that trap is a fad for the kids and when it fades into obscurity (like so many other fads have over the decades) acts such as Immortal Technique, Beat Junkies, Pharcyde, KRS One will be the ones left standing the test of time. Maybe that is a fallacy, but I still maintain hope for the future of our youth. related content: Summertime In The LBC: This Is Your Dad’s Hip Hop Line-Ups like this are the defibrillation to the heartbeat that is keeping the true voice of hip hop alive. Immortal Technique and Chino XL speak with spiritual intelligence on unity, human intuition, brotherhood, respect for women and community without compromising their hard as fuck stature that has commanded

Summertime in the LBC: This is Your Dad’s Hip Hop

Jonathan Reyes July 16, 2018

Most people read the first part then skim through for pictures of themselves so I want to say this before it gets ignored. The Game never took off his jacket in 100% heat and Ja Rule has those deep dick muscles. The second year of Long Beach-centric music festival Summertime In The LBC felt like it finally lived up to its namesake with the inclusion of the face of Long Beach hip-hop Snoop Dogg. Last year felt like NYC in the LBC with Wu-Tang and 50 Cent being the headliners but this year was like the west coast took back its territory, with that comes some great benefits like great weed everywhere but there was also a dude dressed like a cholo clown popping and locking around like tattoo flash come to life. related content: Summertime In The LBC: Love Letter To A City That Doesn’t Always Love Back Snoop Dogg performed Doggystyle in its entirety and as cool as it was to see its hard not to see its age. As fun as wondering when exactly the jack off hour is, when I listen “Ain’t No Fun” it makes me want to hug 93’ Snoop Dogg and tell him it’s ok to fall in love

Spring Break Can’t Last Forever: Riff Raff At Los Globos

Aria Silva-Espinosa April 4, 2018

It’s something about the impulsive “Spring Break Forever” mentality that carries this fitting sponsorship between the Four Loko brand and Riff Raff’s highly stylized personal brand. For those who haven’t had the misfortune of a lengthy relationship with the canned malt liquor beverage, to try to offer an explanation of the Four Loko Experience might prove difficult in an objective light. When I was a senior in high school, Four Loko was available for $2.50 a can and to this day, I have never been as drunk in my life as I could get off ¾ of a Blue Raspberry-ish flavored drink. Lovingly referred to as “blackout in a can” on the ever-trustworthy Urban Dictionary, the beverage’s original recipe was banned in a number of states due to the severe health risks it posed to those who consumed it. The company has since reformulated the drink to remove some of the stimulatory ingredients, since being accused of marketing to underage drinkers with bright colors, fruit flavors and boasting energy drink-like properties. Still, it has always been my experience that underaged drinkers will literally drink anything, regardless of flavor or the promised effects. related content: Beach Goth 4: The Party Of

Nature World Night Out At The Regent: Building Bridges Between Hardcore and Hip Hop

Rob Shepyer March 3, 2018

Nature World Night Out is musical proof that there is more variation within the groups we separate ourselves into than between those groups. On the surface, Hardcore music and Hip Hop may seem on opposite poles of the musical spectrum but after a little bit of inspection, you realize they both have similar bounce, fashion, and both originated from the streets. Whether you’re black, brown, or white; male or female, there were artists in the Hardcore or Rap categories performing at this festival for you to project yourself onto. I remember my first Nature World Night Out, two years ago back when it was a one night event at Union Nightclub with Trash Talk and Soulja Boy co-headlining. The night was also my introduction to Antwon, Hip Hop’s ambassador to Hardcore and one of the festival organizers. Needless to say, that first NWNO was amazing and to this day, I still regret missing the second NWNO with Cam’ron… these guys booked Cam’ron to play on the same stage as Jesus Piece and No Warning for God’s sakes. related content: Trash Talk, Ratking, and Pangea: Slam Dance 101 At The Echoplex This year’s third annual installment migrated downtown to the Regent

Take This: Nature World Night Out Ticket Giveaway

Janky Smooth Central Command February 13, 2018

Like hardcore? Like hip hop? If you said yes to both then boy, do I have a giveaway for you! Nature World Night Out rolls out to the Regent Theater for three days and nights of underground hardcore, rap, and punk rock. Whether you want to sing to Angel Du$t, slam to Hatebreed, or twerk to CupcakKe, this festival has it all. Straight up, and I’m saying this from experience, I can’t think of a festival that gets more turnt up and this year they’ve moved the operation from Union to the Regent, so it can only get crazier. Janky Smooth is giving away two three-day passes to one lucky winner. Or you can also purchase tickets here: Contest Rules: Share or retweet this post on Facebook or Twitter or repost the flyer on Instagram. Then tag @Jankysmooth and @Nature WorldNightOut in your post to enter for a chance to win 2 three-day passes. Winner will be announced Sunday 2/18/2018