John Legend

John Legend Stunned The Crowd At Auction Last Night

I was peacefully enjoying the live auction at City Harvest's "Practical Magic" fundraiser at Cipriani 42nd Street last night when a surprise item came up for bidding. John Legend came up from the audience and offered to give a private concert to anyone who had room for a piano in their house! Shock ... More >>

Here's The Stellar Lineup For The Inauguration! What A Concert!

What was supposed to be a simple inauguration for President Obama's second term is turning into the concert of the year. Kelly Clarkson will do "Breakaway." Usher's crooning "Something Special." Katy Perry will belt "Firework" one more time. John Legend is set to perform "Ordinary People."

2 Chainz Brings His T.R.U. Story To The 40/40 Club

Last night at the 40/40 Club, during the listening session for 2 Chainz's debut Based On A T.R.U. Story (Def Jam), it became apparent that the Atlanta MC grew up watching What's Happening?—he kept insisting that he could feel someone recording his album in the crowd a la Rerun's run-in with th ... More >>

SWEET LIFE

Frank Ocean sets Terminal 5 
to Channel Orange

Scissor Sisters+Rye Rye

Live: Labrinth Brings The New And Old Schools Together At Santos

Labrinth Santos Party House Tuesday, June 5 Better than: Watching American Idol. Labrinth has a bit of a foul mouth. It's jarring—his boyish looks and feel-good pop tunes don't betray any sort of edge, but the rising U.K. singer/producer dropped a healthy amount of F-bombs last night at Sant ... More >>

SUPER CUTS

Scissor Sisters hit the Bowery Ballroom

Oddsmaker: Do Beyoncé And André 3000 Have Enough Swagu To Beat Kanye And His Dozens Of Friends At The Grammys?

​The Grammys created the awkwardly named Best Rap/Sung Collaboration category ten years ago, around the time Ja Rule's various "thug love" duets were dominating the airwaves. The award recognized a growing sector of popular music that didn't quite fit into the preexisting rap, R&B or pop song ... More >>

Oddsmaking: Will Adele Go "Rolling" Over Her Song Of The Year Competition?

The Grammys have a determinedly behind-the-times history, and Song of the Year is one of the ceremony's most reliably old-fashioned categories. It's given to the songwriter—even though what constitutes a "song" today is a lot different than when the Grammys began in 1959, back when sheet music ... More >>

Live: Common Keeps The Intensity High At Highline Ballroom

​Common Highline Ballroom Monday, December 19 Better than: Holiday store displays involving snow globes and marionettes. On "The Sixth Sense," a DJ Premier banger and one of the greatest cuts to come out of the second golden age of hip hop, Common chided that "this industry will make you lo ... More >>

Live: Common Serves Up Fresh Nostalgia On The Dreamer/The Believer

Common Catch, NYC Monday, December 12 Better than: Waiting until 12/20/2011. Common has always been a bit of a rap conundrum to me. There's no denying he's talented—"I Used to Love H.E.R." is arguably the greatest ode to/about/inspired by hip-hop of all time—but somewhere between the ... More >>

Cassandra Wilson

Jay-Z And Kanye West Spared No Expense To Watch Watch The Throne

​That Jay-Z and Kanye West's Watch The Throne didn't leak until about half an hour before its iTunes release is a noteworthy story in this age of Rapidshare and Megaupload being as stuffed with digital versions of new releases as iTunes and Amazon. And it turns out that the business decisions ... More >>

Will Bon Jovi Be The Band That Heals The Wounds Of 9/11 Once And For All?

​Probably not, but: "New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is in secret negotiations with HBO to produce a historic Bon Jovi concert in Central Park the night before the 10th anniversary of 9/11." That's from The Daily's gossip page today. So, you know, this show—which will reportedly be ... More >>

Live: Sade Reaches Out To The People At Nassau Coliseum

Sade w/John Legend Nassau Coliseum Tuesday, June 21 Better than: Date night at home. It's probably obvious to say that Sade makes "mood music." The velvety, sultry voice of Sade Adu serves as the emotional center, radiating feeling even when it's seemingly at its most reserved; her phrasing open ... More >>

Summer Guide: Don't Take Brad Paisley to the Airport Strip Club

The country star likes six strings, not G-strings. Plus, summer music picks

Richie Rich Goes All Out

Live: Kanye West At Bowery Ballroom, Ranting, Seething, And Enthralling

GOOD Friday: Kanye West Begrudgingly Drops "Christian Dior Denim Flow," Preps for SNL

​Kanye West was not himself this week. Online, at least, where West has enjoyed repeated recent successes, he was frustrated and felt betrayed by the leak of an unauthorized, unfinished track called "Lost in the World." "It would have seemed like since I give free music every week even the low ... More >>

Live: Rating Rock the Bells Sets From Slick Rick, Wu-Tang Clan, Lauryn Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, Snoop Dogg, and More

Oh, hey Q-Tip. All photos by Rebecca Smeyne.​On a sweltering Saturday, the seventh annual hip-hop nerd convention Rock The Bells took over Governor's Island. It's a place where people know to "throw a one in the air" for Guru before DJ Premier even asked, a place where you can overhear a convo ... More >>

Kanye West Played A Secret All-Formal-Attire Show at the Box Last Night

For those of you wondering why certain select people in your Twitter feed started complaining late last night about having to put on something nice and go somewhere secret, here is your answer: Kanye played an unannounced, all-formal-everything show (men weren't allowed in unless they had a suit a ... More >>

STILL DREAMING

Danny Glover speaks at BAM's annual MLK celebration

Drummer Jerry Fuchs Falls Down Brooklyn Elevator Shaft, Dies

​Details emerge about the drummer who fell down an elevator shaft in Brooklyn on Sunday and died. Jerry Fuchs had worked with LCD Soundsystem, !!!, Turing Machine, Maserati, and many other bands, and appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman supporting John Legend and MSTRKRFT. "This week ... More >>

Bruce! Sam! Billy! Bonnie! Live From The Ludicrously Star-Studded MSG Rock Hall Extravaganza

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Celebration Madison Square Garden Thursday, October 29 The first half of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's two-night benefit concert and 25th-anniversary celebration lasted six hours, ended at 1:30 a.m. and featuring star-studded sets by curators Bruce S ... More >>

SXSW 2009: Top Five Wholly Subjective Austin Moments, Starring Dent May, Micachu, and Metallica

Nate "Igor" SmithJust some guy Two red-eye flights there and back, a night in a camper without a pillow or blanket, another crashed uninvited on an angry stranger's futon, no consistent shower or WiFi in sight--with pilgrimages like this, I think you're supposed to find God, but instead I found Den ... More >>

Post Responds to Monkey Cartoon Flap; Other Flaps to Follow

The New York Post runs a small editorial this morning about Sean Delonas' ape-stimulus cartoon, which ran in the paper earlier this week and which some have characterized as a racist swipe at Barack Obama. In some quarters the editorial is called an "apology," but it's way too pugnacious for that. " ... More >>

Inauguration Special, Pt II: Barack, Michelle, Beyonce

Let's let this Vibe clip/description speak for itself: Captured on video by singer John Legend, the Obamas walked up to greet Beyonce. Michelle Obama says, "Mr. President, you didn't tell Beyonce about 'Single Ladies'? Your rendition?" "I'm not like Justin [Timberlake]" Obama says laughing, refe ... More >>

REBEL REBEL

Honoring America's visionaries and change-makers

Bernie Mac's At His Best in Soul Men

This Week's Voice: Ice-T and Richard Hell on the Election, They Might Be Giants, Craig Finn, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and More

John Legend's Classic-Soul Odes to Apocalypse

Ne-Yo's Fantastic R&B Finds Strength in Vulnerability

The Year of the Gentleman proves soft is the new hard

Al Green's Lay It Down

There's still babies to be made, people

Al Green Samples Some New Producers

Estelle Stumbles Around, Harangues Former Lovers, Espouses Casual Sex

Estelle's Shine

Another sing-rapping Brit to fall in love with

Idol Gives Back 2: A Running Diary

Splendour in the Crass

Spring load with punk psychopaths and cheerleader cherrybombs

Polite But Firm Loverman Flaunts the Soft Triumph of Subtle Soul

Stuff You Need to Know About to Avoid Ostracism

Saturday 7/29

Carrie Underwood and John Legend Ruin the NBA All-Star Game Halftime Show

The Grammy Awards: A Preview

The Grammy Awards: A Running Diary

Forever Young

The joyous clamor of today's youth punches you in the nose

Pulling the White Strings

Light-skinned acts ride hip-hop’s changing tide with dark-skinned Svengalis

DJ Kicks

Nine sane and rewarding life choices we promise you will not get punished by God for

Music

Kanye Protégé Belies Name, Keeps Swagger Humble Enough to Convince

Music