Tag: the novo

Whole Crew in the House: The Game at the Novo

Danny Ryan July 16, 2022

Words by: Danny Ryan Photos by: Manuel Arredondo The standards for what makes a hip-hop artist a GOAT amongst fans have shifted dramatically in recent years, as newer rappers bring more eccentric personalities and more diverse influences of sound into the genre than what was seen in its earlier history. As hip-hop evolves through this experimentation, the common debate of which rappers are considered the greatest has widened profoundly from the days of “2Pac vs Biggie” arguments. This is a natural progression, as many younger hip-hop heads grew up listening to more artists from the early 00’s than the artists worshiped throughout the Golden Age of Hip-Hop. Even as these standards change, most younger hip-hop fans have a deep appreciation for the roots of the genre and understand the importance of earlier scenes within it. Nobody has more respect for these ranges in hip-hop’s history than The Game, and his dedication to the genre could not have been more apparent than in his heartfelt tributes to the legends of every era of hip-hop that the audience experienced during his recent “Drillmatic” record release at the Novo Theater. related content: Lyrical Assassin: Pusha T’s “It’s Almost Dry Tour” Hits the Novo

Lyrical Assassin: Pusha T’s “It’s Almost Dry Tour” Hits the Novo

Rob Shepyer June 6, 2022

The year is 2018. Kanye West has announced he will produce five albums, one for himself, one for a project with Kid Cudi called Kids See Ghosts, one for Nas, one for Teyana Taylor, and one for his collaborator in G.O.O.D. Music and legendary member of Clipse, Pusha T. These albums each only featured seven songs and though that’s considered short compared to other releases, each album felt perfect, without a single song worth skipping. These albums were pieces of art, in it of themselves. Of the iconic 5, Pusha T’s Daytona was my personal favorite and probably the pound for pound best of the lot. The moment the album cover was teased, the internet went crazy. Featuring a film photograph of Whitney Houston’s bathroom, Daytona carried a mystique before anyone heard a single song. Then once the album was released, it was evident this was going to be on every major best albums of the year list. I became obsessed with Daytona, going out of my way to see Pusha T on Jimmy Kimmel live and then in concert at the Observatory. Following this, Pusha T engaged in a now legendary rap beef with Drake that saw him victorious

Turnstile “Shake it Up” at the Novo

Danny Baraz March 11, 2022

As I stood in the Novo vaxx card checkpoint line that wrapped around the block and took an hour to traverse, I found myself wondering what it would be like to see Turnstile in such a controlled environment, with a barrier and many different obstacles blocking the way between the stage and the floor. While I was waiting outside lamenting, I missed openers Citizen, Coco and Clair Clair. Sorry guys. It’s hard to believe Turnstile released Pressure to Succeed 11 years ago. While Turnstile have ruled the hardcore scene, to a large degree, to simply call Turnstile a hardcore band would be missing the mark on the massive mutt of music that spawned them. But even with the hints of hardcore punk and most recently, emo (don’t hate me) laced into their songs and albums, make no mistake, they are a hardcore band. Related Content: The Most Complete Sound and Fury 2017 Review on Earth It had been a few years since I saw Turnstile live at Nature World Night Out and the first time since their album, Glow On hit most hipster top 10 albums of 2021- no small feat for a hardcore band from Baltimore. And with that

JPEGMAFIA, Vince Staples, the Novo, the music blogger, liberals and the CIA ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Danny Baraz April 17, 2019

I’m worried about JPEGMAFIA. Not as a person but more as a concept. See, I’ve spent the last 2 years obsessing on the Black Ben Carson album, almost exclusively. His beats are terrifyingly delicious with almost never a single one of them achieving “banger” status. That would be too cute. No, his sound is one of political and social homicide, with techno kick drums that devour 808’s with distorted resonance, with even bigger promises than that of Bernie Sanders in both the horrifically ambient intros and outros, to single handedly promising to be the pied piper that leads hip hop out of the Drake era. The level of shit talking Peggy achieves on this album is unrivaled in any genre and any medium and even by other JPEGMAFIA albums EP’s or singles. Some have come close or even peaked somewhere near the same point but using his latest and most widely ingested release as an example, the first 4 tracks are straight throwaways that would’ve been better served being used hidden tracks or some other gimmick that allows the listener to focus on a message that seems to be contradicting what both he and critics claim is the meat of