Rap’s new found, King Kendrick finally gives fans what they’ve been waiting for, the visuals to his latest single “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe”.

The video to the hit off his Interscope/Aftermath debut good kid, m.A.A.d city premiered this Monday morning, giving all of us a pleasant start to our week. Kendrick finds himself  in a church, dressed in all white, at a funeral service quietly mourning the death of a loved one. In later scenes we can catch everyone celebrating “life” in a white limo which leads to a scene in a deserted green field in which the celebration continues.

In between scenes we can catch kendrick standing alone reciting his verses in a field, separated from all that does not serve peace. These scenes are quite fitting to the message in the track. We can also spot a cameo from Pastor- Mike Epps as he baptizes K. Dot in a “pool full of liquor”. (and we can also catch Dre with the slick product placement with the Beats)

But There seems to be more to this video’s symbolization than meets the eye- form the baptism in liquor to the quick shot screen at the end that reads “Death Of Molly”. To each their own, on interpreting the message behind these visuals.

Personally, I believe this video is exceptionally fitting and in coherence with the track itself. When I first listened to this track it gave me a sense of serenity and taking a look at the video it fills me up with the same notion. The slow motion shots, scenery, and wardrobe all mesh well in creating the ambiance to “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe”. 

Enjoy!

TDE,
HiiiPoWeR!

-Stace Fresh

“Everybody love Q, betta ask yo momma..”

ScHoolboy Q had everybody in the building turnin’ up! The Observatory and Out Da House Productions brought the TDE rapper to Orange County this past Friday, giving us a show that will definitely be one in the best of this year at the Observatory!

As a conglomerate to the crew that is being considered by many rap game critics as Cali’s new kings, Black Hippy‘s- ScHoolboy Q was an act that was guaranteed to sell the venue out and give fans a performance nothing short of a good time, and then some. 

Groovy Q stepped on stage roughly close to 11:30pm, with the signature bucket hat and all. From the jump he began with an enthusiastic energy, fans “turnt up” at the plain sight of the rawest spitter out the Black Hippy crew. Q’s set consisted of cuts off his Setbacks and Habits & Contradictions digitalreleases- “Figg Get da Money”, “Sacrilegious”, “There He Go”, “Oxy Music”, “iBETiGOTSUMWEED” and “Nightmare on Figg St.” had everyone familiar with Q’s catalog rapping along. 

As ScHoolboy Q took a moment to ask fans what they wanted to hear, it was evident from the swarm of responses that “Druggie’s wit Hoe’s Again” was the joint, but before Q hit us with that he had something better in mind. “Y’all know my new album Oxymoron dropping soon…Y’all heard my new shit?!” and at that instance we all thought he was going to go on and rap “Yay Yay” but no- dead wrong! Q surprised all attendees at the Observatory with an exclusive listen and performance of a brand new cut off Oxymoron, titled “Gangsta”. Everyone went nuts at the sinking reality of Q giving us, little ole’ Santa Ana, the exclusive… really?! ScHoolboy Q fed off the crowd and decided to do it one more time giving us an encore. After that, it could’ve been a wrap and we pretty much would’ve left home in pure bliss, but if that weren’t enough Q had something that was more of a big deal for all the TDE fans in the place, SOULO HOE! Y’all know Q and, fellow Black Hippy spitter, Ab-Soul are like rap’s newschool Cheech & Chong- Soulo stepped on the set, ‘leanin’ like a muthafuckin’ cholo hoe’, puffing on some of that dank Cali grown, and between the puffing, passing, and rapping the stage slowly turned into a cloud of smoke in midst of all the flashing lights. Ab & Q hit fans with the crowd favorite “Druggys Wit Hoes Again”. TDE’s deep thinker took hold of the stage for a few minutes, performing the controversial politically- driven cut “Terrorist Threats” off his Control System album. 

But the night’s most noteworthy moment came in when Q performed “Blessed”. Putting a halt to his overly excessive drug, sex, and party raps, Q slowed it down with a much more heartfelt and positive message as we all sang along “Stay blessed, my n****, Blessed my n****… Really think about it, could be worse my n****…Don’t stress my n****, We all blessed my n****” Everyone at that point knew to put three fingers in the air. 

Q ended the night correct with the hit that brought him to prominent fame “Hands On The Wheel”, the crowd went nuts! All that was heard was people chanting “crush a bit, little bit, roll it up, take a hit…hands on the wheel”- and if anybody wasn’t ‘turnt’ the fuck up off previous cuts, that right there got em’ going. 

It’s a special feeling and pleasure to continuously have the TDE crew in the building and in our city. From their humble beginnings, the Black Hippy crew members, from Kendrick to Q, have gone from rocking not even full-filled capacity shows in our Constellation room, to now selling the entire venue out! 

Feels good to welcome in the new West time to time again in our city and at the Observatory! 
Until next time we get Out Da House…

TDE, HiiiPoWeR! 

-Stace Fresh

And as always, it becomes a “family affair” whenever the Wu is in the building.

Out Da House in conjunction with Ad Hoc, and The Observatory in OC brought forth yet another epic show for all the hip hop purists, bringing none other than The Chef, Raekwon, of the mighty Wu-Tang Clan to it’s Constellation Room! 

From the very beginning, the vital presence of hip hop was felt on stage. Pawz One hosted throughout the night, and DJ’s Deejay Daine, DJ Blenda, and DJ Eyeball held it down on the 1’s and 2’s. On the mic were opening acts the Rec Room, Zoolay, Self Provoked, and a few special guests including Psycho Les of the Beatnuts and King Magnetic of Army of Pharoahs, along with a few others. And even esteemed producer The Alchemist came out to show love and support as he was spotted walking around the building. 

The Wu-Tang descendant kept fans anxiously anticipating his presence as the main attraction took the stage roughly close to midnight hour. “Wu-Wu-Wu…” began the chants in the nearly over capacity room as everyone was ready to be served by Chef Raekwon. As soon as he stepped into the stage and the classic “C.R.E.A.M” beat dropped, all the W’s went up in the air. Starting his set off in the most proper way, The Chef fed the crowd of Wu-Tang loyalists a lyrical platter of classic cuts on the mic from the overly powerful and legendary crew. Performing tracks such as “Can It be All So Simple”, “Triumph”, “4^th Chamber”, and of course “Baby I Like It Raw” in honor of the late great ODB. Raekwon followed through with a set of his own joints, mostly reciting on the mic lines off his lyrically acclaimed Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. Fans rapped along to “Ice Cream”, “Guillotine (Swordz)”,“Incarcerated Scarfaces”, and “Heaven & Hell”. 

Raekwon blessed the Constellation Room with his presence as he left attendees satisfied with his performance. It didn’t matter that it felt like a sauna in the jam packed room which holds about a 400 head count and was nearly over capacity, or that there was little to no elbow space between fans, because all those true to the culture and genre will sacrifice accommodation without complaint when it comes to the Wu- everyone is clearly aware of what they are in for at a performance like such. 

Last nights event just served to show that next time around, The Chef will need a bigger kitchen to lyrically serve on the mic- and hopefully we will see Raekwon back on the Observatory stage some time in the near future. 

- Stace Fresh 

(Source: outdahouse.com)

It’s bound to be a ‘Cole Summer’ !

As J. Cole puts the finishing touches on what is to be his second studio album, Born Sinner, the Roc Nation signee gives us a little something for listening in the midst of the wait, with a new track titled “Cole Summer”.

The Cole self-produced track samples Ms. Hill and D’Angelo’s soulful R&B classic “Nothing Even Matters”- integrating the rapper into a smooth musical setting in which he’s simply “sharing things [he] thinks quietly”. 
J. Cole makes it clear in the first verse that “this right here is not a preview of what the album’s gonna bring you” so don’t be quick to build expectations. We are still anticipating surprises. 

With that being said, the Miguel assisted track “Power Trip” remains the only taste we’ve savored from the upcoming release- and with the drop being only 2 months away, I predict we will be getting a follow-up single real soon. In the meantime, we can enjoy J. Cole letting his thoughts run freely on “Cole Summer”.

Born Sinner is set for release June 25^th- make sure y’all mark the date for Simba‘s return this summer!

-Stace Fresh