Chicago emcee Rhymefest might be the busiest man in hip hop. The Grammy
Award-winning rapper, whose recent debut LP Blue Collar scored a
minor hit with the single “Brand New,” is thinking much bigger for
his sophomore album. El Che, titled both after his government name
and Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, is supposedly set to be the first hip hop
album/stage musical, according to an interview with Pitchforkmedia. “The
album tells a story from front to back, and you’re gonna have songs you can
take from the album and put them on the radio, and you won’t even know the
difference.”
‘Fest reports that longtime-friend Kanye West will play a bigger role than
he did with Blue Collar, and that he hopes for contributions from
DJ Premier, Ghostface Killah and Kelis. Currently being organized with Anthony
Mosley and the Chicago theater group Collaboraction, videos are being planned
for every song on the album.
Rap Group Bone Thugs N Harmony have
a new label. Krayzie, Wish, and Lazie will call Interscope their new home. The
group is set to release their seventh studio album Strength
& Loyalty, in April on Interscope.
The group was brought out in the
early 90s by the late rapper Eazy-E. Their most successful release to date
is the 1995 E.1999 Eternal. The album went six times
platinum and shor to number one spot on Billboard’s top
200 AlbumCharts and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Album Charts. The disc also
included the group’s number one singles “1st of tha Month” and
“Crossroads” which was a tribute to the death of their founder and
friend Eazy.
The band hit some inner
turmoils when they kicked out then member Bizzy in 2005 due to him missing
many of the group’s shows. Since then they have released two albums Thug
Stories and Thug World Order, without their former band mate.
Strength & Loyalty comes out Apr. 17.
The Bonnaroo line-up was leaked today after a simple password
protection error allowed millions of users to gain access the exclusive
list.
The Roots, Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers, DJ Shadow and Aesop Rock.
The Bonnaroo Music Festival is a four day excursion in Tennessee, the founders of the festival, this year purchased over 530 acres where the venue is usually held.
Reported By: Matt Tomer, Amanda Koger & Darryl Gudmundson
