Hot 97 recently threw a show to be closer to their fans on February 22, 2018 at Playstation Theater in the heart of Times Square.
Ebro and Laura Styles brought out all of the homies and I had the opportunity to be there live in person and take some shots.
Setor Tsikudo
The performances started with DJ Kast One warming up the crowd with recent and throwback hip-hop and R&B jams to set the mood.
Cyhi The Prynce opened up the show with a quick 15 minute set with a few songs and kicked a freestyle for the hip-hop fans in the crowd before the show went to the reggae portion of the night.
Setor Tsikudo
The Reggae section started with Hood Celebrity playing a few selects hits to her fans. Stefflon Don was welcomed onto the stage by Laura Styles and Megan Ryte.
Stefflon Don, who hails from London, received a huge amount of love from the fans in the room.
Setor Tsikudo
She performed past and new songs but what made her fans go over the top was when she performed “Hurtin’ Me” and “16 Shots”.
During her last song, she invited friends and a few fans from the crowd to end the set with her.
Setor Tsikudo
Last act of the night was welcomed by the whole Ebro in the Morning team.
Damian Marley was as amazing as expected. His whole set had a Lion of Judah flag waving back and forth during each song and no one could keep their eyes off Damian Marley, from his jumping up and down on stage to his swinging dreads that reached past his knees while reciting all of his hits.
Setor Tsikudo
During “Road to Zion”, fans put out their lighters and cell phones and sang along. To end the night, Damian Marley thanked the Ebro in the Morning team and performed his classic “Welcome to Jamrock” to end the night.
Peep the rest of the flicks from the epic night below.
We got a fun array of releases this week. CyHi The Prynce finally dropped his highly anticipated studio album debut with some fire features.
Hip-hop veteran Talib Kweli released his new album Radio Silence. Philly crooner PnB Rock made his studio debut with Catch These Vibes. Tame Impala dropped a collection of B-Sides and remixes. T-Pain is back with a fire album of bops.
Elsewhere, blackbear continued his wild by teaming up with 2 Chainz for “Gucci Linen”. DRAM teamed up with Playboi Carti on “Crumbs”. Jersey rapper Retch kept his momentum going since leaving prison last month on his new track “2-Eleven”. Roy Woods came through to drop a sultry banger.
There was also some tragic news in the music world this week with the passing of rising star Lil Peep. Peep had a truly unique sound and many saw him as the future of both emo and rap, seamlessly blending both genres to devastating effect.
Check out our November playlist below and vibe out to the 10 waviest tracks of the week.
Lil Peep – “Beamer Boy”
In honor of Lil Peep’s death, we’re gonna start off our week with “Beamer Boy”, a banger from 2016.
This may not be Peep’s best song but it’s the first song I ever heard from the Long Island artist so it holds a special place in my heart.
We’re gonna miss the shit out of Peep, he was truly about to blow up, but his legacy will live on through the new generation of artists. Rest easy, Peep.
CyHi The Prynce – “No Dope On Sundays” (ft. Pusha T)
After seeming discontent between CyHi The Prynce and his label GOOD Music for a couple years over frustration with not getting his project released, it all spilled over when Cy dropped “Elephant in the Room”, an apparent diss track towards the label, Kanye West, and GOOD Music head Pusha T.
It appears all is well now with CyHi’s first official album No Dope On Sundays out today.
The title track displays CyHi and Push going off together over an epic beat crafted by Lex Luger, Mark Byrd, Shawty Redd, and Novel.
DRAM – “Crumbs” (ft. Playboi Carti)
DRAM and Playboi Carti trade dope verses over this head-bopping beat courtesy of OZ. Big Baby DRAM is truly become one of the most enjoyable talents in hip-hop.
On “Crumbs” he’s a little less jovial and a little more defiant than we’ve previously seen.
T-Pain – “Straight”
T-Pain released Oblivion, his first album since 2011 and it did not disappoint. On “Straight” he tells a prospective love interest that he’ll have her living large.
It’s a treat to have T-Pain back.
blackbear – “Gucci Linen” (ft. 2 Chainz)
Rapper/singer blackbear has had a wild year after dropping digital druglord in April and collaborating with some of the hottest rappers in the game.
On “Gucci Linen” he and 2 Chainz flow seamlessly over a menacing trap beat.
PnB Rock – “Confide” (ft. Juicy J)
After a string of singles, PnB Rock finally dropped Catch These Vibes on Friday. It’s a solid project with some fun features.
“Confide” shows PnB and Juicy throwing all the vibes. Shit is hot.
Talib Kweli – “Traveling Light” (ft. Anderson Paak)
Talib Kweli, a true legend of hip-hop, dropped a new album Radio Silence. Unsurprisingly, it’s an incredibly dope record.
On “Traveling Light”, with Anderson Paak in tow, Talib flows over a soulful Kaytranada beat. For any hip-hop heads searching for some “real hip-hop”, look no further.
Tame Impala – “Powerlines”
Tame Impala randomly released a 5-track EP with a couple b-sides and remixes.
It’s nothing too special, all the best tracks were obviously on the official album, but “Powerlines” is an instrumental track with some cool vibes a la early Ratatat.
Retch – “2-Eleven”
Retch got out off a 10 month bid last month and after dropping “First Day Home” a couple weeks ago and being sampled on N.E.R.D. and Rihanna’s “Lemon”, Retch is keeping his run going with the hard-as-fuck “2-Eleven”, produced by TAKENFORGRANTED.
Roy Woods – “Say Less”
Drake protege Roy Woods dropped a new single “Say Less” with typical mysterious/thirsty vibes that recall early Weeknd. One would imagine a project may be on the way from young Woods.
Links and other shit…
Once again RIP Lil Peep.
Shoutout to Jay-Z for speaking on the ridiculous Meek Mill sentencing.
