All white was the theme for Kanye West’s Cruel Winter-themed show at Revel’s Ovation Hall in Atlantic City on Friday night. The G.O.O.D. Music leader returned for a second time this year at the $2.4 billion-dollar venue, performing the first of three consecutive shows in style. After making noise online for bringing back his leather kilt at Madison Square Garden earlier this month, Kanye shocked the audience with a Yeti-Abominable Snowman-inspired costume during his cold set of “Say You Will” and “Heartless.” Opening night also featured a new stage setup, as Kanye debuted his “7 Screen Experience” stateside for the first time. The visual show was first introduced during his Cruel Summer film screening this past May in Cannes, France.
West continued with the odd wardrobe choices for a second time, gracing the stage wearing a flashy diamond-encrusted Maison Martin Margiela Haute Couture Mask. The evening went without a hitch as Ye went through classics such as “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” “Jesus Walks,” “Gold Digger,” “All of the Lights,” plus recent summer cuts “Cold,” “Mercy,” and his remix verse on Rihanna’s “Diamonds.” Kanye returns for two more nights this Saturday and Sunday, tickets can still be purchased over at Ticketmaster.
Check out some fan-captured photos and video after the jump…..
Miss Info: 2012 was notable for the way we vicariously experienced the bleak numbness of Chicago’s GBE gang babies, and the way our idea of what guys can and can’t wear changed via Harlem’s ASAP dandies, and the reinvented sound of the Compton Boyz in the Hood…but in addition to those stories, there were others brewing, biding their time.
In 2013, those crews will make their move. Bodega Bamz and the Tan Boyz will add their chapter to the Nuyorican tradition of The Beatnuts and Terror Squad etc. And Phony Ppl, an eclectic crew of kids from Brooklyn, will convert fans by making instruments as vital to their act as lyrics. We’ve seen how fast image and a hook can blow up a “star,” but you gotta think that after the buzz, studying the craft is the only thing that will sustain you, right?
After seeing Phony Ppl perform as a collective, and getting raves from Plain Pat and Theophilus London etc, I can’t wait to see what they do next! The crew is already repped by agent Cara Lewis (Kanye West), and will be joining The Roots and Erykah Badu on tour this spring.
Check out Phony Ppl’s new video “Statues”, and stream their full album Nothing Special ….
And tell me what you think…
After the jump (more…)
It seems like Nike has really heard the cries and complaints from diehard sneakerheads. Jordan fans will be happy to know that the company has decided to bring back the coveted “Nike Air” logo that came on the back of OG Jordans. The majority of the re-releases have come out without this, and only feature a jumpman and the word “air” on the back. There’s no telling if more Js will feature this logo or if it’s just a one off for yet another release of the Jordan III white cement, but we’ll keep you updated. Look out for these to drop sometime in Spring 2013.
This special release will in fact come with a nice commemorative back-story, with Jordan’s 1988 Slam Dunk Contest win possibly at focus (perhaps a February release). Is this a sign of things to come? Will Nike Air make a return with more AJ3 original colorways, as well as the IV, V, and VI? –Sneakernews
I’m sure a lot of you wonder what these rap dudes actually listen to. Whether they’re just being political or sincere, it’s always cool to hear what music they really enjoy. In a recent interview, T.I. counted down some of his favorite rap albums of the year. He mentioned Kendrick’s debut and Meek’s as two of his top projects of 2012. Guess who else he named? Props to the Rap-Up
‘Tis the season that rappers become wrappers and our instagram timeline gets inundated with warm holiday spirit. Pulling from the cutest moments captured on phone, our photo round-up finds Young Jeezy spending Christmas at a children’s toy drive, Tity Boi‘s little girl opening a sea of presents, Big Sean flying home to his dad and brother in the D, and Wiz Khalifa & Amber Rose showing us that love is one powerful legalized drug. Christmas Day also further complicated some love triangles. Or, at least, the only one we care about right now: RiRi-Breezy-Karrueche. Rihanna and Chris Brown were spotted courtside of the Lakers/Knicks Xmas game after they snapped a super editorial pic together with the caption “ThugLife #merryChristmas.” And that’s all square and cute, except Karrueche shared a scantily clad “Christmas” photo allegedly intended for Breezy. Ay, yi, yi…
Click through all of these filtered photos and more, after the jump…
This is a great find from Eskay. Through a rare promo clip for “All City,” a project worked on by 80′s by photographer and graff historian Henry Chalfant, we can witness hip-hop’s childhood years. Originally, he wanted to showcase the hip-hop movement being created in NYC during that time period. In this video you can see Chalfant describing how he wanted to document the incredible things going on in the inner city and hip-hop world. The project never came to life but the footage he captured speaks volumes. A lot of early graf, breakdancing, and rapping is included. Check out this dope history lesson.
In October we got wind of Kanye’s unexpected G.O.O.D. Music signing with Ryan McDermott. The story goes: Kanye flew the singer/songwriter out to Paris and signed him on the spot after hearing him sing. We’ll have to wait until next year for his mixtape, but in the meantime check out him doing a live acoustic version of his single, “Paradise.” Thanks to @MiniGotchu.
On the latest episode of Peter Bailey’s NBC Nite Cap, he sat down with Waka Flocka for a candid sitdown on a lot of issues outside of the normal questions usually thrown his way. He talked about about maturing, defended Chief Keef, and even talked got political for a quick second. At the 4:53 mark, Waka is asked: “What is one issue you would want Obama to focus on?” His answer may really surprise you…
(spotted at Nahright)
Capo has been on the remix tip lately. After tackling Kendrick’s “Poetic Justice,” Jimmy add his flavor to Miguel’s “Do You” record. Love is drug, or is the opposite way around in this video? Directed by our boy, Drewski.
Pro Era’s Capital Steez will not be forgotten. Joey Bada$$ and the boys are going to make sure of that. They aren’t slowing down and will keep his memory alive in their music. Last night, they gave Peter Rosenberg the ok to drop an unreleased freestyle session. After that, you can watch the late Steez do his thing in Times Square.
Update: Listen to Statik’s Capital Steez’s tribute mix
Watch Capital Steez’s last freestyle with MTV News after the jump…
