Tag Archives: Hip-Hop

Featured Music Theophilus London: Music, Fashion and Weird Science

by Rich Thomas
June 14, 2011 - 10:45 am

Theophilus London

Swag. It’s the term you love to hate, but it’s easy to tell who has it and who doesn’t. Brooklyn’s Theophilus London has it, and not just in one place. His debut album, Timez Are Weird These Days, doesn’t drop until July 19, but he’s already been featured in more fashion spreads than your average supermodel, and his mixtape game has been on point for a minute now. A YouTube search will pull up performances at Cannes and Letterman, and London’s Tumblr is constantly popping off with stylish photos of him in various locales across the globe. Pretty soon you’ll even be able to dress like him. A collab with Cole Haan will see a limited run of TL-signature, triple blue suede loafers on the shelves of select boutiques. So are these for fashion or for function?

“F*ck fashion. This is lifestyle!” he says. “This is for kids to jump on a plane with. This is for you to wear to the all-white party this summer, hanging out pool side. You could rock these to the store. Your girls can rock these unisex!”

Consider yourselves on notice. Check out his first single, “Last Name London,” then download 2009′s This Charming Mixtape from MediaFire here.

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Gallery Music Rapid Fire Delivery: Machine Gun Kelly

by Dustin Downing
June 14, 2011 - 10:11 am

“It’s that rapid fire delivery style of mine,” spits Cleveland, Ohio’s hometown hustler Machine Gun Kelly when queried about the correlation of monikers between himself and the machine gun toting prohibition gangster of lore. “Like him, I got machine guns too (large ones tattooed on both calves) and I say f*ck a lot.” Fair enough, but does he have the ammunition to back it up?

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Music 50 Cent Digs Deep In VH1 Documentary

by Max Herman
June 6, 2011 - 11:22 am

50 Cent Documentary

Opting to not read the press release for the documentary 50 Cent: The Origin of Me before watching, it was a mystery whether the film was going to be yet another look into 50’s storied past in Jamaica, Queens or something entirely different. Thankfully this film, which is part of VH1’s “Rock Docs” series, leans heavily towards the latter category.

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Gallery Music Be Easy, the Weezy

by Barbie Brady and Joe Gall
May 11, 2011 - 10:56 am

Lil Wayne may be a lot of things to a lot of people; a rapper, producer, felon, & father. But on Sunday night he was nothing short of spectacular as he closed the three day Bamboozle Festival in New Jersey. He took the stage for a little over an hour as the sun kissed weary crowd stayed transfixed. From an artist who’s playbook includes so many featured acts and guest vocals, one might think the whole Young Money crew travels attached at the hip, but not so. Lil Wayne proved that not only can he carry a show relatively alone, he is in fact a true performer.

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Gallery Music You Bet They Are: LMFAO

by Barbie Brady and Joe Gall
May 6, 2011 - 12:35 pm

LMFAO is a party rock phenomenon. They have not only taken over the airwaves with catchy summer fun tunes you can’t cleanse from your ear hole but they launched a clothing line aptly named, Party Rock. Maybe you can’t get behind DJ/Rappers  Redfoo and SkyBlu’s antics and overall jovial love for the ladies, but you have to admit they bring their A game every show. If you don’t love living in the moment, stay inside ya sad sack and watch The Golden Girls reruns on the tv.

LMFAO at Bamboozle 2011

This past weekend they took the stage at Bamboozle 2011 and we caught em in the act. Shots Shots Shots for everyone!

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Music Pete Rock and Smif N’ Wessun cook up something MONUMENTAL

by Geo Hagan
May 4, 2011 - 10:16 am

SNW 2011

If there is one thing to be said about the current era of rap music, it’s that artists are more willing to collaborate than ever before. There was a time when rap crews stayed to themselves and never crossed family lines to work with other camps. Back then, if you were Ruff Ryder, you only rocked with the double-R, and if you were Wu-Tang, you only broke bread with your Shaolin army. It’s all different now. DJ Khaled can do a remix have damn near everyone that’s buzzing in every region of the country dropping a verse and showing major love for a common cause. It’s in that spirit of connecting forces that we present to you a new project from two legends in the game: the Bootcamp Duo of Tek and General Steele (a.k.a. Smif N’ Wessun) and iconic Mt. Vernon producer Pete Rock. The individual stats of these two entities are too long to list, but together, their soon-to-be-released project is nothing short of its namesake. ChinaShop caught up with General Steele to get the raw information about Monumental, his colossal new endeavor.

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Gallery Music Bachaco Create Their Own Brand of Hot Sauce

by Dustin Downing
April 4, 2011 - 10:32 am

Bachaco’s uniqueness only begins with its namesake, a Leafcutter Ant in Venezuela, which are used by native Venezuelan Indians to create a “picante” sauce. As just like those native tribes, Bachaco, blends Dancehall, Reggae, and Cumbia with a dash of Ska and Hip-Hop to create their own type of spicy global music.

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Music YG: Def Jam’s West Coast Rapping Prodigy

by Nicole Pajer
March 21, 2011 - 11:27 am

YG at Red Bull Studios 2011

It had been 15 years since the infamous Def Jam Records had approached a West Coast rapper with a recording contract. That was the case until they stumbled upon YG. At just 19 years of age, YG signed with the prestigious label and began feverishly writing and recording. With the help of hit single “Toot it and Boot it,” YG found himself on a surreal track to stardom. He is currently working on a new album and is set to drop a mixtape in a few weeks.

The recent 21-year old is having the time of his life: a growing fan base, countless birthday celebrations, radio airplay, and a blossoming career. While in the studio to put the finishing touches on his mixtape, YG sat down with ChinaShop to explain how he landed his deal with Def Jam and how he’s celebrating his newly found success.

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Featured Gallery Music Q&A With The Indelible Talib Kweli

by Rich Thomas and Graham John Bell
March 11, 2011 - 2:52 pm

Hip-hoppers at Winter Music Conference this year got a special treat when the Red Bull Music Academy announced a special two-day event featuring indelible MC Talib Kweli and producer 9th Wonder that hoped to provide an intimate look into two of the game’s most talented and influential artists. After an interview and Q&A session on Thursday, the two artists would then regroup at the Delano Hotel’s Florida Room for an “On The Floor” performance. We had the chance to interview Talib before he took the stage for the interview portion of the event, held at the Raleigh Hotel. Then, due to flight delays with 9th and the session moderator, we jumped on the mic to kick off the discussion while we waited for the rest of the crew to arrive. Below is a portion of our conversation.

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