Hundreds of LED lit balloons marked the sky as we gazed over what had become our home over the past four days. It was the last show, the final push. We were running on fumes and anticipation after a weekend full of countless standout acts. This was the set we had been waiting for since we were fourteen, sneaking Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg CD’s into our sister’s Walkman to memorize every explicit detail of what would become so monumental so quickly. As we stood amongst the masses in complete disbelief, the entire weekend flashed before our eyes.
Early on Saturday morning, there were a few fans (myself included) lined up to see some rare Eminem & Shady Records memorabilia in downtown NYC. For one day only, there was a small gallery open to showcase items such as clothes the artists wore, plaques, old photographs and more.
The gallery featured the actual bobblehead of Eminem that Brisk used for their Super Bowl commercial back in February. There were also bunch of old photos, some with the late rapper Proof and some with Em's other labelmates. There were even clothes that Eminem and other Shady artists had worn in the past. In addition, which I found to be really cool, were lyrics posted on the wall including actual lyrics from 8 Mile that were framed. The gallery had plaques and awards which highlighted his many accomplishments. Furthermore, there were sections dedicated to other artists, Yelawolf and Slaughterhouse, whom were both signed earlier this year.
This year (August 5-7) the most major musical event of the summer, Lollapalooza, will be taking place at Grant Park in Chicago. The headliners include Eminem, Foo Fighters, Cold Play, My Morning Jacket, and Deadmau5. Other epic acts like Cults, Lykke Li, The Cars, Crystal Castles, Damian Marley & Nas, and Arctic Monkeys will also take to the stage.
This year marks Lollapalooza’s 20th anniversary on August 5-7 at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois. This music festival will be the granddaddy of all festivals this summer and the most extravagant birthday celebration to date. To help commemorate this phenomenal affair, acts such as Coldplay, Eminem, Damian Marley & Nas, The Foo Fighters, My Morning Jacket, and Deadmau5 top the Lolla lineup. Other top-tier artists include the Cars, Girl Talk, Kid Cudi, Crystal Castles, Ratatat, Collie Buddz, Deftones, and Pretty Lights. With over 130 performers, this is one birthday you won’t want to miss. Check out the full lineup here.
Rihanna has caused quite a stir with her latest “Man Down” video. It seems that almost all of Rihanna’s music videos lately have been extremely controversial. This one, however, undoubtedly takes the cake. In the video, Rihanna’s character is raped by a random man at a party. She goes home to get her handgun and the next day, she murders him. There are several messages that viewers can take from this music video, but overall the believed purpose of this video is to stimulate thoughts about the subject of rape.
Actress Gabrielle Union took to Twitter to share her thoughts on Rihanna’s video. She tweeted, “Saw ‘Man Down’ by @rihanna. Every victim/survivor of rape is unique, including how they THINK they’d like justice 2 be handed out. During my rape I tried 2 shoot my rapist, bt I missed. Over the yrs I realized tht killin my rapist would’ve added insult 2 injury. The DESIRE 2 kill someone whose abused/raped u is understandable, bt unless its self defence n the moment 2 save ur life, just ADDS 2 ur troubles.” Union later explained that she thinks the video did a good job of getting people to talk about rape. However, Union is right, self-defense in the moment is the only excuse for murder. Rihanna’s video just provokes further violence as Union said, and adds insult to injury.
There is no time to waste - The Lollapalooza full set calendar has officially been released. Chicago's Grant Park welcomes the festival for it's seventh year in a row on the 319-acre space. August 5-7 is the weekend and if you want to get tickets you better hurry, both Secret Sale and Early Bird passes are sold out, though there are still a limited number of Regular 3-day passes available for $215, along with single day passes for $90 a pop.
Michael "Laws" Maldonado is a Brazilian-born, Florida raised hip hop artist who signed with the Grammy award winning producer trio J.U.S.T.I.C.E League in 2009. Laws started rhyming when he was 16 and made his way into the rapping realm by competing in and winning lyrical face-offs. He eventually elevated from battler to songwriter and crafted music that caught the attention of Rook, a member of J.U.S.T.I.C.E League's production team. After conversing via AOL Instant Messenger, the two met up, hit the studio, and produced Laws' first mixtape that earned him comparisons to iconic rapper Eminem.
Slim Shady, a.k.a Eminem is back to tracking disses. In his latest work, Em takes a jab at tween sensation, Justin Beiber -and who would've guessed it , Lady Gaga. In the new track off the upcoming "Hell: The Sequel" album with Royce da 5'9, Em (famous for comical disses and slamming pop stars) plays on the old hermaphrodite rumors.
"Tell Lady Gaga she can quit her job at the post office,she's still a male lady. Wouldn't f **ck her with her d**k,You heard it.The verdict's in."
The Grammy's are barely an award show anymore. The producers of the "award show" have decided to focus on the live performances during the telecast; there was only one presentation of an award in the first hour of the show.
The first performance of the night was a tribute to the Queen of Soul - Aretha Franklin. The performance featured the quintet of Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Yolanda Adams, Florence Welch and Martina McBride. The group sang a melody of different songs; each sang well in their tribute to the Queen. After the performance a taped message from the Queen herself (who was noticeably thinner), welcomed viewers to the Grammy's, expressed her thanks to the academy for the recognition,