Photo Credit: IkeAbakah

Over the weekend, Genius held a special event that brought together many different artists and fans under one roof to celebrate the Hip-Hop culture that we all love and live by. IQ/BBQ — hosted by Genius — invited RESPECT. Magazine to come be on hand for this event, encouraging attendees to have a good time, enjoy BBQ and test your Hip-Hop knowledge in exchange for some special prizes. Ultimately, this would lead up to a list of live performances that went on throughout the night that everyone at this event seemed to enjoy. Below, I have gathered my thoughts to explain the experience for some that might have not had the chance to witness this event; enjoy reading below.

Starting off the night was up-and-coming rapper Rico Nasty, who is growing quickly on and off the internet with her catchy sound. Without a doubt, this artist has flow and star power, as she proved on stage while the Brooklyn crowd embraced her fully. For me as a new follower of her music, I was highly excited to see this artist perform and Rico definitely set the bar for the rest to follow as she went through songs from her debut project Tales of Tacobella. Overall, I honestly enjoyed her performance and look forward to seeing more of Rico Nasty.

Photo Credit : IkeAbakah

Following Rico’s performance, I had the chance of seeing Ski Mask The Slump God. I’m not a stranger to a Ski Mask performance; this is my second time getting to see this Floridian rising artist on stage. Just like was I witnessed previously, Slump puts out 100 percent as he feeds off the crowd, taking his energy higher and higher. Overall, this performance worked well and was energy packed all the way through…Slump gave the people exactly what they wanted, from a mosh pit to having the crowd pick out which songs to perform. Truly, I would give Slump God the title of being a true crowd pleaser.

Next up to grace the stage was Atlanta producer-emcee Sonny Digital, along with some of his friends. This talented artist did it all, from rapping to controlling the crowd by going through his long list of hits that he produced for some of the most talented emcees in Hip-Hop right now. He even gave out a birthday cake to a special attendee, something that I never thought I would ever see in my life; truly was a moment that I had to capture for everyone to see.

Out of Detroit, Dej Loaf graced the stage in all out style for everyone in attendance, bringing nothing but energy. She started off her set with the song “Bird Call” from her 2014 mixtape Sell Sole. Dej didn’t have any trouble getting the crowd into her performance, as she controlled the vibes with ease, displaying her true star power while she went through via her list of songs that the crowd sang along with. That led up to the emcee performing her breakout single “Try Me” followed by her new single “No Fear.” And just like that, Dej Loaf was off to shut down another venue.

Photo Credit: IkeAbakah

Adding to the vibe, Bronx golden boy Artist aka A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie hit the stage to perform his hits and Brooklyn did everything and more showing love to the NYC artist. Standing alone on stage (save for his DJ in the background), A Boogie gave the people song after song while the screams grew for this Bronx emcee. Boogie didn’t lose a step throughout, pulling off a perfect show for his home base area while showing visitors of NYC how it goes down in the city. From his old songs to new songs, the crowd sang along, getting louder and louder…for me, this was one of my favorite performances of the night. With that said, if you have a chance to catch this artist perform, make sure you don’t miss it.

To end this wonderful night in Brooklyn, it was only right that Hip-Hop veteran Pusha T would send everyone out with the last performance of the night, and it was an honor to see this legendary artist perform. As I waited with the rest of the crowd, I wondered what I was in store for, and honestly the G.O.O.D. Music artist-executive didn’t disappoint.

Final thought: this was a perfect night of BBQ mixed with trivia and Hip-Hop performances, making for a perfect Saturday night in NYC.

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Often times more than not, we find ourselves looking up lyrics to our favorite songs by our favorite artists. However; we may be unaware of the artists’ true intent behind a certain lyric. Genius, the media knowledge company that hosts a community of users annotating lyrics taps into Spotify for a huge collaboration. Their collaboration is in the form of an app called “Behind the Lyrics.”

With their “Behind the Lyrics” feature backed by both companies coming to Android, hip-hop fans can satisfy their need for knowledge behind any song. Originally introduced to iPhone iOS last year, the program was called “Fact Tracks” in which users where given artist anecdotes as the music streamed.

Alternative-R&B artists Khalid celebrates the Android expansion by sharing why he believes in Behind the Lyrics.

Twitter via @thegreatkhalid

In an interview with HipHopDX, Khalid says, “You listen to a record, and you interpret it in your own way. But with this, you can see what the artist felt. ‘Maybe it means this.’ Music can mean anything you want.”

Spotify users can listen to the “Behind The Lyrics: Hip Hop” and “Today’s Top Hits” playlists to kick off the new Spotify and Genius collaboration.

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The post Spotify and Genius Link Up To Bring “Behind the Lyrics” To Android appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

#DYKRapPeople (DYKRP) Hip-Hop Jeopardy was a popping event in Brooklyn on January 19th presented by Jaz and Brianni T. Taking place at Genius headquarters, the show was MC’d by Colton, who brought everyones’ energy as up as 11 teams prepared to test their knowledge of OG hip-hop. Teams with names like “A Tribe Called Flex” and “Put Some Respek On It” worked, all with their hands full of red cups filled with libations like Coconut Sake and Agave Gold Tequila, supplied by TY KU and Jose Cuervo. Not only did they fight to prove they were the wokest in terms of hip-hop knowledge, they also battled for sick prizes – including a GROSS magazine, Def Jam swag and dank apparel. The competition was obviously fire, and people brought their A-Game to try and snag up one of the unreal gift bags.

As people filled up the space and got rowdier as the points stacked up, there was an obvious energy in the room putting everyone in the spirit of competition for the game. DJ RUNBOX played the hip hop classics – and even remixed the jeopardy theme song so everyone could get down to it. The hype around who was gonna take it was literally palpable and in turn the event stayed lively up until the winners were announced. As it slowed down people enjoyed bowls of ice cream from Mikey Likes It Ice Cream, grabbing their last drinks. Some took home their winnings (and a bigger ego) knowing they were hip-hop champions while others went home hoping to prove themselves next time.

Shout out to all the dope sponsors that made #DYKRapPeople possible:

• TY KU
• Jose Cuervo Especial
• Ethik
• Gross Mag
• Turntable Lab
• Gifted Apparel
• Legacy & Luxe
• Republic Records
• Def Jam
• Mini.hiphop
• Monday Suck
• University of Dope
• Move Forward Music
• Mikey Likes It

If you want to test what you know, check out the next one; #DYKRapPeople will be heading to Boston in the spring and back in NYC this fall. If you are interested in getting involved, email Jasmina Cuevas to get in on it.

The post DYKRapPeople’s Hip-Hop Jeopardy Brought Out Hot Competition in BK appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

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