A few nights ago our esteemed Editor-in-Chief and Laugh-of-the-Year winner Elliot Wilson sat down with Tyler, the Creator and they got their Oprah on. Moments like this are what keep the game pure.

See the image in action after the jump.

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Bronx rapper Euro League recently dropped a free project entitled Cloud 9. Inphanyte was behind the boards for the majority of this one. Stream the six-track EP down below or download here.

Euro League will be opening up for A$AP Twelvy and Chase N Cashe at Highline Ballroom in NYC on December 27.

The post EP: Euro League – <em>Cloud 9</em> appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

The cycle of redemption represents one of the many shining moments of any upcoming artist’s career. Big K.R.I.T. has completed that cycle as he performed at the same Highline Ballroom that booed him only two years ago while performing his Southern anthem “Country Sh*t.”

Now, “Country Sh*t” has a remix which features Southern heavyweights Ludacris and Bun B. He has one of the most discussed projects of 2011 with Return of 4Eva and he headlines shows across the country including this year’s third consecutive invitation to Austin’s SXSW. His latest project, 4Eva N A Day, was met last week with much thanks and praise from his loyal fan-base and rap critics.Things are looking a little different than that day in June 2010.

Accompanied by Big Sant playing the role of hypeman and DJ Wally Sparks, the Mississippi native was in good company knowing that the crowd wanted to hear every last syllable of any rap he was willing to perform. DJ Wally Sparks tested the waters with Outkast’s “Elevator (Me & You)” which elicited a rowdy response with waving arms and reminiscing thoughts. “I know I’m in the birthplace, but we’re reppin’ where we from this evening,” warned Sparks. The crowd didn’t mind one bit. For all I knew, we were somewhere in the Bible Belt. The then-futuristic sounding computer keyboard beat of Clipse’s “What Happened To That Boy,” and its thumping bass had the venue moving in sequence.

K.R.I.T. entered from off-stage after the first chorus of his single “Boobie Miles,” a saxophone-laced tune that sounds like every aviation pilot’s theme music. The chorus ends with “You have to play it till the end/The only difference between a winner and a loser is a winner play until he wins,” a rhyme that only works because his country drawl’s pronunciation makes it fit.

Big K.R.I.T. donned a Public Enemy jacket over a black tee that read “Heroes Eventually Die” with “Black Panther 1970s” on the sleeve. Black and red Jordans hugged his feet and a wooden chain with a cutout of his home state banged on his chest with every sudden movement. A stack of properly folded black hand towels rested on the corner of the DJ’s table ready to be drenched in sweat.

During the performance of “Hometown Hero,” off of Krit Wuz Here, a fan near the front held up a shirt that read the same thing. K.R.I.T. grabbed the shirt and bounced on his toes holding up the shirt as the crowd jumped with him in unison to the Adele-sampled track.

“This is kind of an anniversary,” said K.R.I.T. as the DJ cued up the song the crowd anticipated all night. “I meant what I said then and I mean what I say now,” he said as “Country Shit” began to play and the crowd bumped to the narrative of his upbringing. Toward the end of the night, “The Vent,” off of Return of 4Eva, was met with church-like attention and sincerity as the song does say, “it might expand your mind, if you listen to it.”

‘Twas a glorious revisiting of the place which once rejected him and Big K.R.I.T. came back for his stamp of approval from New York.

Photos by Lucas Alvarado

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Big K.R.I.T. is an artist who takes his craft very seriously; just read the below interview and his full-ass answers (as opposed to half-ass), after listening to the questions with wide-eyed anticipation. He’s coming off of an impressive performance in NYC, the praise and discussions revolving around 4Eva N A Day and preparation for his upcoming performances at SXSW. Fortunately for us, K.R.I.T. took the time out to let us know his thoughts on XXL‘s Freshman cover, his upcoming album and the importance of NYC’s reception of his music.

Two years ago you didn’t have this much love, what’s the difference this time?

I think people really see that I’m really being myself. They can see that. They see that the music is not gonna change and I’m not just trying to have a single to take off. It’s really about the music for me, at the end of the day. As far as hip-hop is concerned, it’s really not a coastal thing anymore, it’s becoming like ‘We all just wanna make good music.’ That’s why my brother, Smoke DZA – me and him can jump on the same record. It’s just the love, man. They feel the passion behind the music, man. At the end of the day, I like to say, ‘if you ain’t in the city, you in the country.’ And we in one of the most powerful countries in the world. It’s still a country.

It was funny because Jay Electronica (who he was opening the show for), the night that [I got booed] – he came out and told everybody, ‘I got booed once before and now I get love.” I’m blessed that people feel the music now.

When are you flying down to perform for SXSW?
The 14th. And we gon’ be down there. Aw man, it’s gon’ be crazy.

Can you tell me how this all came together? This is your third time in a row, performing, right?
This my third year. The first year was Smoker’s Club. The only show I had down there was Smoker’s Club. And then the second year I had nine shows. This year we got at least 5, I think 5 or 6. It just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Every year the crowd turns out more and it’s exciting to see so many different people from so many different places coming to see different artists and supporting independent music. That’s really what it’s about. Last year I saw a number of L.E.P. Bogus Boys posters. And you see what it did for them. They popped. So yeah, you gotta get down there and promote.

XXL Freshman Cover came out recently. Being that you were on it last year, I wanted to know if you had any opinion on this year’s cover?
I feel like it’s dope, man. I really rock with Don Trip. He had a lot of passion in “Letter To My Son.” It’s an amazing record. Future been doing his thing. Machine Gun Kelly – I had the opportunity to be on tour with him. If you ever seen him and how he feels about his music – he’s so passionate about it. And he got a song that’s doing its thing on radio. Only thing I would definitely tell them is to focus on the positive that you get from having the cover. It’s gonna put you to a point where millions of people gon’ know who you are. You gotta take advantage of that and not slow down and keep putting out content and utilize that as a stepping stone to get your album out. Promote. It’s extremely music.

You produce all of your music. As far as the album’s concerned, is it gonna be the same method?
I’m producing my whole project.

You think you’ll have a project where you might reach out?
Oh yeah! Probably the second album. DJ Tonk, 9th Wonder, DJ Premier, David Banner. And I hope to one day get a Kanye track. At least a Co-Pro, a co-produced one. And I’d like to co-produce one with J.Cole, that would be crazy.

With SXSW, I read that you created “Glass House” there. How did that happen? Did you  plan to do it before or was it happenstance?
It was wild. Curren$y was the homie at the time and he had heard “Glass House” without any verses on it earlier when it was just the beat. Wiz came to the crib we rented and Curren$y was like, “Yo play that ‘Glass House’ shit.” And I played it and Wiz was like “Yeah, let’s do that and I’ma put it on Kush & Orange Juice.” I was like ‘Yeah!’ and we did that motherfucker.

Do you have any plans for this SXSW?
I don’t know, but I’m gonna bring my equipment and then we gon’ see what happened.

As far as the album is concerned, do you have any collaborations?
I can’t tell you all of ’em. Big Sant is gonna be on the album. “Money On The Floor,” featuring 8Ball & MJG & 2Chainz. There’s one particular features that I’m so blessed to have this particular artist on this album. The people gon’ find out soon. Shit, June right around the corner.

How important is it for you to have that approval of New York?
It’s hip-hop. It’s hip-hop’s Mecca. So to come and sellout and rap about country shit, real country shit. For people to fuck with it and understand it, means we definitely reached. We got through with the music. And that’s a beautiful feeling, bro. Because there was a time in my career where it was hard for people to hear my shit in my neighborhood. And when we young, we all go through it, but to be able to come from the  South and represent and go everywhere else and people dig it and love it? It’s amazing. It’s amazing.

-Photos by Lucas Alvarado

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For Casey Veggies, even a smaller, more intimate crowd wasn’t too much of a change. “I used to do shows with 50 people in it, a n***a never too good for this,” he said on Friday night at the Highline Ballroom.

This was the second performance for Casey Veggies and Pac Div – the artists are currently openers for the three month old The Blue Slide Park Tour. The show was meant for fans that didn’t get to see them earlier. CV rapped a set quicker than usual, possibly because just hours before he was worn out by thousands of fans awaiting for independent Pittsburgh hustler Mac Miller to hit the stage at Best Buy Theater. Still, he kept his energy up and jokes flowing when the small audience gave him mellow claps after every song. “This is like some spoken word shit,” he said. Snaps were his next request and it started to feel like the Nuyorican.

Casey follows a new generation of rappers from the West Coast swagging out the industry. On “Ridin’ Roun’ Town” off his debut Sleeping In Class, Casey’s hypeman shouted “Swag!” after every line with the crowd habitually mouthing along. It felt like the adlib spoke to more than just hard-hitting punchlines. “Ridin’ roun’ town, mo’ change, mo’ steelo [swag!] /New girl with me, but I keep it on the d’lo [swag!].” There can never be enough swagger to pass around in the Peas and Carrots camp, especially when lines are this emphatic, catchy and straightforward.

On “Euphoria II,” CV took a personal route, revealing that he wrote this song one day while he was in his room. He spit effortless bars that switched up the entire mood of the show, trading smoker anthem rhymes with talks about his natural high. “CDC” featuring an absent Dom Kennedy shifted us back to the LA takeover and “30,000,” his finale, had the crowd jumping.

Pac Div (Like, Mibbs, and BeYoung) are a rap trio from southern California with laid-back flows that translate well to their performance. Backed by Casey’s DJ, their 2011 mixtape Mania! and the group’s debut album The DiV were the focus of attention, running through standouts from both: “Super Nergoes,” “Anti-Freeze,” “Fallin’,” and “Posted.” They also made a couple comments about the modest turnout. Like came with arguably the best tweet-ready quip, “We can definitely go to Wingstop now!”

A bigger show might have been more rewarding for the trio, but to see the three of them wild out Highline as if it was packed was impressive. They pumped in humor, shared stories and looked very comfortable on stage. Add the theatrics from all members and it’s clear that Pac Div want to build a reputation as lively entertainers.  The looser tracks from their mixtape catalog – “Broccoli,” “Don’t Forget the Swishers” – had accompanying gestures that had the crowd mimicking. At one point, Mibbs stepped off the stage and everybody huddled around him. The intimate show just got a little bit closer.

Another side of Pac Div is that they’re talented lyricists. “Whiplash” is a smooth metaphor for hard work paying off. “Mayor”, one of their most successful singles, makes you realize they would be entertaining executives. More requests from the crowd were geared toward their classic tracks, but nothing topped their last song “Fa Real.”

There was no encore and no surprise appearance from young Veggies to perform any of their collaboration tracks. By the end Pac Div looked exhausted. But as the lights were dimming down, the group stuck around to take photos, sign autographs and just mingle with their fans. Despite their exhaustion from performing two shows in one night, this last effort was appreciated by the Highline crowd.

The post Concert Review: Casey Veggies and Pac Div at Highline Ballroom appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Myspace and Hot 97 present Wale & Friends Midnight Release Show at The Highline Ballroom NYC on 11/2 absolutely FREE! First come first serve so make sure you get there early! Doors will close once the venue reaches capacity.

Hosted by Miss Info with Special Guest DJs:
Funkmaster Flex
DJ dB

Where:
Highline Ballroom
431 W 16th St
New York, NY 10011

When:
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

A limited number of tickets will be available starting 12pm 10/31 @ The Highline Ballroom Box Office 212.414.5994

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Here’s what he had to say about the show (sent through email):

I didn’t know what to expect when I got to Highline Ballroom last night in NYC. My nephew who is 18 years old had told me that KreayShawn is the latest “KreayZe” among all of the girls in his age bracket. So about 5 days ago I went to YouTube to start my research on her; much to my astounding shock her song “Gucci Gucci” has close to 12 million views. Even as I am writing this email, the video of her performing last night has close to 25,000 views already. KreayShawn sold out NYC and proved that the culture is moving in a very ambitious direction. I teach my nephew about Pete Rock and CL Smooth, Pharcyde and other great hip-hop of the 80’s and 90’s and he gets to show me KreayShawn, such irony. Lol. I had a lot of fun seeing what she was about and actually found myself bouncing. To be about the culture is to be about the culture. I watched DJ Enuff and his Protege DJ Quiz (A good friend of mine, both from Hot 97 who are great HIP-HOP heads) witnessing the same thing I did. She has a huge following. You can’t really ignore her even if you’re a hater.

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