Yelawolf Postponed, Bow Wow, Dev & Florence Announced: Toronto

So I was originally planning on promoting the upcoming Yelawolf concert that was taking place this Thursday March 8th at the Phoenix Concert Hall, until this announcement was made about the Shady Records signed rapper:

The Yelawolf shows scheduled for this week: Wednesday at London Music Hall & Thursday at The Phoenix in Toronto, have been postponed.

After his performance Friday, March 2nd in Madison, WI, Yelawolf was admitted to a local hospital where he remains under observation for illness.

At the request of his doctor, shows for the next couple of weeks will be postponed to a later date.

And a giant sigh was heard from girls all across Toronto who were waiting with bated breath to see the tattooed performer. I'm not sure what it is about him, but he seems to have a drooling effect on his fans.

Another artist that's been popular with the ladies since he was a little boy, Bow Wow's performance at the Sound Academy, March 17th was just announced, along with Dev's show at the Virgin Mobile Mod Club April 9, and the show I'm most amped about from the list, Florence & the Machine at the Molson Amphitheatre August 2.

No word yet as to when Yelawolf will be slated to return to our city.

Soundset Festival 2012 Lineup

The moment all underground hip hop heads have been waiting for has arrived, the line-up for the fourth annual Soundset festival has been announced! But don't start thinking this festival is limited to backpack rappers, the line-up is not limited to the underground or sounds of Minnesota. The headliners include the usual suspects Atmosphere (obviously), Aesop Rock, P.O.S., Evidence, Grynch, J-Zone with Brother Ali taking on hosting duties, also on the list are Grammy nominated (and secret thug) Lupe Fiasco, Wu-Tang's Ghostface and Raekwon, Kendrick Lamar, and Danny Brown.

It all goes down May 27 at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minneapolis. Tickets go on sale this Saturday, March 10 at 11 a.m. looks like it's time to start planning a trip to Minnesota!

J. Cole - Visionz of Home

J. Cole returned to his hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina for the first annual Dreamville Weekend with a surprise visit from the self-proclaimed King of the South, T.I. who announced a collaboration between the two storytelling lions. Until then, Cole released another tracking showing off how Simba has grown, Elite-produced "Visionz of Home."

J. Cole - Visionz of Home

Spank Rock - Car Song ft. Santigold

I saw the Luis Gispert-directed video for Spank Rock's "Car Song" featuring Santigold last week, from his 2011 album Everything Is Boring and Everyone Is a Fucking Liar, but for a multitude of reasons I kept it to myself. Well today Santigold (whom I still refer to as Santogold), released the visuals to her track "Disparate Youth" which is presently unavailable to view in my region(!), so I thought maybe it was the karma gods giving me a message.

Everything Is Boring and Everyone Is a Fucking Liar is available to stream for free and purchase via Spank Rock's website. And Santigold's album Master of My Make-Believe is set to release May 1st.

I can not wait for new Santogold (there I said it)!

Live in the City: Masta Ace (Toronto)

Brooklyn lyricist and recent MF DOOM collaborator, Masta Ace is bringing his narrative to Toronto this Saturday, March 3rd at El Mocambo! As a long time fan I'm pretty excited (and yet still have yet to get tickets?! What is wrong with me and slacking ways as of late, I am not sure?), to revisit an artist from my musical not-too-distant past.

For those who have been slacking too, tickets to see the Juice Crew posse member and Toronto's own Rich Kidd, are available via Ticketmaster.ca, UnionEvents.com, Rotate This, Soundscapes & Play De Record, this is an event not to be missed.

Tona - Reform School and More Toronto

This Friday, March 2nd Toronto-bred rapper Tona is celebrating the release of his upcoming mixtape Reform School, mixed by Smash Squad and award winning DJ Wristpect, at the Gladstone Hotel. This also marks the return of "More" parties, this time celebrating "More Toronto", so be prepared to hear stacks of your favourite Toronto artists (and no this isn't a Drake party, Toronto has more than that to offer!). Music provided by P-Plus and the Boogeyman.

Until then check out the visuals from two tracks off Reform School below and take advantage of the download links!

Tona - Blue Shield

Tona - Vietkwam

NBA All-Star Game Performances: Nicki Minaj, Mary J Blige, Pitbull, Chris Brown & Ne-Yo

Last night was a busy night in television for me, both the NBA All-Star Game was airing along side the Oscar's. Needless to say I was switching back and forth through both (the game has been PVR'd of course, in case I missed any of the action!), I did catch the opening performance (and Idris Elba intro *swoon*), along with a the national anthems and part of the half-time show. For those of you who missed any check the videos below.

Why Nicki Minaj was chosen to open the show, I'm unaware, but it was thanks to these performances I was re-introduced to songs that I wasn't even aware were hers! She opened with “Moment 4 Life,” and “Turn Me On,” to introduce the winning West team.

Nicki performed “Starships,” to introduce to East All-Star team and ended her performance with “Super Bass.” Mary J Blige performed the "Star Spangled Banner" while Toronto group that I have never heard of, Neverest performed "Oh! Canada," and I will include them once I find a good quality video of both performance.

Naturally Pitbull opened the Halftime show, along with Chris Brown and Ne-Yo. I can not wait to watch this entire thing throughout the week.