Buku Music & Art Festival located at Mardi Gras World in New Orleans, Louisiana. All photos taken by Miguel Crespo for RESPECT.

New Orleans is a Louisiana city on the Mississippi River, near the Gulf of Mexico. Nicknamed the “Big Easy,” it’s known for its round-the-clock nightlife, vibrant live-music scene and spicy, singular cuisine reflecting its history as a melting pot of French, African and American cultures.

Embodying its festive spirit is Mardi Gras, the late-winter carnival famed for raucous costumed parades and street parties. A short couple of weeks later the party continues with with one of the country’s elite music festivals. I mean, we did mention a  vibrant live-music scene.

Buku Music & Art Festival has made its mark as a stand out music festival going strong for the 8th consecutive year. The constant delivery of huge musical acts, traditional Louisiana cuisine, and culture has allowed Buku to expand in venue space and attendees. 2019, Buku’s biggest year to date, consisted of super stars of all levels. Established artists like A$AP Rocky, Lana Del Ray, Dog Blood (Skrillex & Boys Noize) topped the bill. The lineup also included greats like Playboi Carti, Ella Mai, Gunna, Kevin Gates and J.I.D.

Buku is well known for their unique blend of mostly Hip-Hop and Electronic Dance Music, the most popular live music genres in the world. The 2 seem to mesh well as rappers these days are recruiting EDM artists to assist on production more frequently. The music flourished across multiple stages; The Power Plant stage, The Ballroom, The Float Den, The Wharf and The Switch Yard. High volume and heavy bass surged throughout the weekend. Noticeable acts were A$AP Rocky who impressed fans with visuals similar to his ‘Injured Generation Tour’ with slight differences.

Other included Ella Mai who sounded absolutely angelic performing live and J.I.D who almost seems to have become a star overnight. This year’s sold out event was also heavily contributed by Lana Del Ray’s only announced American show of the year. The dream pop singer delivered a beautiful and melodic performance in front of thousands of adoring fans.

Buku will continue to thrive as one of the first festivals to start each year. The outlandish and expressive fashions from fans, attractions and all around fun will certainly bring more festival lovers from all over the country. The Buku experience is one-of-a-kind and they will continue to produce for years to come. 2019’s installment set the tone for festivals set to take place this year. We look forward to seeing what the future holds.

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The post RECAP: Buku Music & Art Festival 2019 appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

UPDATE: If you’ve missed out on Ella Mai’s Debut tour thus far (recap above), you’re in luck: the 10 Summers star has added additional dates for North America. You can see the updated schedule below.

With her recent debut album that was released on October 12, Ella Mai has announced her tour that she will be starting overseas in the UK on January of 2019 and will be headed to the United States on February 12 in Vancouver. The R&B crooner has been having a massive buzz with her 2017 hit single “Boo’d Up” that went quadruple platinum and made history as the longest stream single to hit No. 1 for a woman on the Billboard charts. Tickets go on sale on Friday, October 26.

Peep the tour dates below and her recent visual to “Trip.”

1/8/19 – Birmingham, UK – O2 Institute 2
1/9/19 – Manchester, UK – O2 Ritz
1/10/19 – London, UK – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
1/14/19 – Paris, France – YOYO
1/15/19 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Melkweg Max
1/16/19 – Cologne, Germany – Carlswerk
1/18/19 – Berlin, Germany – Festaal Kreuzberg
1/20/19 – Hamburg, Germany – Grosse Freiheit
1/21/19 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Vega Main Hall
1/22/19 – Stockholm, Sweden – Berns
1/24/19 – Oslo, Norway – Rockefeller Music Hall
2/12/19 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
2/14/19 – Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo
2/15/19 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
2/17/19 – Sacramento, CA – Ace of Spades
2/19/19 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
2/20/19 – Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst
2/22/19 – Phoenix, AZ – The Marquee
2/23/19 – Las Vegas, NV – Brooklyn Bowl
2/25/19 – Denver, CO – Odgen Theatre
2/27/19 – Lawrence, KS – The Granada
2/28/19 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
3/2/19 – Detroit, MI – St Andrew’s Hall
3/3/19 – Chicago, IL – Concord Music Hall
3/5/19 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
3/6/19 – Toronto, ON – The Danforth
3/7/19 – Montreal, QC – Club Soda
3/9/19 – Boston, MA – Royale
3/11/19 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel
3/12/19 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel
3/13/19 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts
3/15/19 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore Silver Spring
3/16/19 – Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Sound Stage
3/18/19 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
3/19/19 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
3/20/19 – Orlando, FL – The Plaza Live
3/21/19 – Fort Lauderdale, FL – Revolution Live
3/23/19 – New Orleans, LA – BUKU Festival
3/24/19 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
3/26/19 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
3/27/19 – Austin, TX – Emo’s
3/28/19 – San Antonio, TX – Aztec Theater
4/12/19 – Indio, CA – Coachella
4/17/19 – Los Angeles, CA – The Novo
4/19/19 – Indio, CA – Coachella
4/23/19 – Oakland, CA – The Fox
4/27/19 – Washington, DC – Broccoli City Festival
4/28/19 – Columbus, OH – Express Live!
4/29/19 – Indianapolis, IN – Egyptian Room
5/1/19 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogarts
5/4/19 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom
5/5/19 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
5/7/19 – Louisville, KY – The Mercury Ballroom
5/8/19 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
5/11/19 – New Haven, CT – Toad’s Place
5/12/19 – Providence, RI – Fete Ballroom
5/14/19 – Norfolk, VA – The NorVa
5/15/19 – Raleigh, NC – The Ritz
5/17/19 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore
5/18/19 – Columbia, SC – The Senate
5/19/19 – Gulf Shores, AL – Hangout Festival
5/21/19 – Memphis, TN – Minglewood Hall
5/22/19 – Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W16bk86xIY0

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The post Ella Mai Adds New Dates to ‘The Debut Tour’ appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Check out “Shot Clock” below.

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A post shared by Ella Mai (@ellamai) on Oct 27, 2018 at 5:21pm PDT

The single was off of her six-track EP Ready. It is crazy that a year later, fans reacted to the No. 1 song from the “Naked” crooner, and it became the summer anthem of the year. With the release of her self-titled debut album, she is giving us too much “sauce” with it plus more. With her smooth voice, we can tell that r&b isn’t dead yet. With her sold-out shows over the summer by having the top No. 1 single, she graces us with her amazing vocals before she released her debut album. Providing us with a 16-track album, you can tell she took her time with her craft with it to make it a nice vibe. Do you remember Anita Baker‘s “T-Shirt and Panties” track? Well, Mai’s record “Own It,” is something similar to a remake of it, but puts her London vibes to make it a success.

She got us “tripping” with many of her tracks of the album with so much emotion. It has been a turnaround in the r&b game, and I can say that Ella Mai is one of the r&b princesses in the game. It is only the beginning with such passion on what she does and I can tell by the pace that she is going, we will expect to see more of her with her longtime friend H.E.R. Ella provided us with a sensual yet seductive album that gets us women to give men a shot clock that we not here just for a season but giving you the opportunity to man up to even being “boo’d up” with our significant other. Kind of giving us high school vibes with butterflies in our stomach with our crush.

She recently announced The Debut Tour that represents her latest album. It will start next year on January 8 in Birmingham, UK and will end on March 28 in San Antonio, TX. She recently sold out most of her show dates in a matter of minutes. With her assertive but yet mystery and inner personality, watch the r&b crooner “trip” visual below.

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Hosted by legendary actor Steve Carell (don’t debate me), this week’s episode of Saturday Night Live also featured R&B star Ella Mai, who performs her two biggest hits to date, “Boo’d Up” and “Trip.” Enjoy clips of both renditions below.

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Quavo – Quavo Huncho

Image credit: Quality Control/Motown/Capitol

Following Culture II at the top of the year, Migos‘ own Quavo has officially stepped out on his own with his debut solo album Quavo Huncho. The project is packed with 19 songs and features from all of your A-list favorites — Drake, Madonna (definitely need to check out the back story on that one), KiD CuDi, Cardi B, 21 Savage, Lil Baby, (his alleged boo) Saweetie and more. Of course, Offset and Takeoff contribute to their mate’s project as well.

Shy Glizzy – Fully Loaded

Image credit: 300/Glizzy Gang

Following last year’s well-received Quiet Storm, Shy Glizzy returns with his new album titled Fully Loaded (whether or not this is what used to be the long-awaited Ain’t For Everybody or a separate release is yet to be seen). Fully Loaded clocks in at 19 tracks with additional appearances from Rick Ross, Young Thug, (“Do You Understand” cohorts) Gunna and Tory Lanez, Q Da Fool, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Lil Uzi Vert, Smokepurpp and more.

Belly – Immigrant

Image credit: Roc Nation

I’m still vibing to Mumble Rap, but I’m happy that Belly has even more music for the masses today (especially that of the socially and politically-charged variety). Check out the 11-track offering Immigrant, which sees additional appearances from Meek Mill, Metro Boomin, The Weeknd, NAV, Yo Gotti, M.I.A. and more. Check that out below, along with a really dope interview Belly did with Hot 97.

Usher – “A”

Image credit: Brand Usher/RCA

Probably the most surprising big release out of the bunch comes from Usher, who — since the release of the sub-par Hard II Love back in 2016 — has found himself in the headlines for non-musical reasons. Now, he teams up with Zaytoven to deliver “A”, an 8-track project that sees appearances from Gunna and Future, making for a presumably more Trap-style release. The artwork looks to take inspiration from Virgil Abloh‘s now-popular Off-White labeling as well.

Ella Mai – Ella Mai

Image credit: 10 Summers/Interscope

After delivering some dope EPs and shattering records with her smash singles, Ella Mai (finally) drops off her self-titled debut album, which contains 16 tracks and appearances from Chris Brown, H.E.R. and John Legend. Check it out below.

WSTRN – DOU3LE 3AK

Image credit: Atlantic UK

From 3 to 2, WSTRN continue to keep it moving with great music. Today, they deliver a new project titled DOU3LE 3AK, which consists of 14 tracks and sees Haile and Louis Rei alonside the likes of Stefflon Don, Tiwa Savage, Mr Eazi and Skrapz. Stream below, along with a new visual for the Skrapz-assisted cut “Round Here.”

Keith Ape – Born Again

Image credit: 88rising

After blasting his way to the top of urban music with “IT G MA” (along with other notable collabs), Korean rapper Keith Ape finally delivers a new project titled Born Again. The 8-track offering sees additional features from wifisfuneral, Chief Keef and Yung Bans.

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Image credit: 10 Summers/Interscope

UPDATE: We also have a new single from the forthcoming project — “Whatchamacallit,” which features Chris Brown, can be streamed below.

This Friday (October 12th), British singer Ella Mai will deliver her self-titled debut album (not counting a trio of amazing EPs), led by the smash singles “Boo’d Up” and “Trip.” In addition, Ella Mai sees additional appearances from Chris Brown, John Legend and H.E.R., making this to be solid R&B effort.

Check out the full tracklisting below and pre-order Ella Mai here. Shoutout to DJ Mustard for just winning.

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A post shared by Ella Mai (@ellamai) on Oct 3, 2018 at 7:30am PDT

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