Tag Archives: Nas

North Coast Music Festival 2013

North Coast Fest2013The 4th annual NORTH COAST MUSIC FESTIVAL (NCMF) will take place August 30- September 1, 2013 at Union Park in Chicago, IL.  This year’s performers include: Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, Just Blaze and more! Tickets are now available at Clubtix.com!

North Coast Music Festival is produced by a group of independent promoters based in Chicago, IL. Between them they produce hundreds of events each year, including multiple festivals in the Midwest, one off events at Chicago’s premier music venues, street festivals, and more, that attract thousands of fans and artists from all over the world. For more information on the festival, visit www.northcoastfestival.com

Festival line up:

WU-TANG CLAN | AFROJACK | BIG GIGANTIC
NaS | The Disco Biscuits | Lotus | Mac Miller
Gary Clark Jr. | Rebelution | Purity Ring | Laidback Luke 
Datsik | Madeon | Skream | Paper Diamond
Claude VonStroke | Future Rock | Conspirator
RL Grime | Danny Brown | Aloe Blacc | AlunaGeorge | Just Blaze
Capital Cities | Seven Lions | JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound
El Ten Eleven | Cherub | Poolside | Flatbush Zombies | On An On 
Bondax | Midnight Conspiracy | The Knocks | DVBBS | heRobust
Zoogma | French Fries | Dean Cohen | Russ Liquid
Manic Focus | Thibault | K Flay | Brassft Punk | Ghost Beach 
Porn and Chicken | Ghosthouse | The Coop | Gemini Club

Hennessy And Nas Unveil Year Two Of The “Wild Rabbit”

Luxury Cognac Brand Hennessy Partners with Groundbreaking Musician Nas to Inspire Fans to Reach their Full Potential

HENNESSY AND NAS UNVEIL "WILD RABBIT"Hennessy, the number one selling Cognac brand in the world, announced today that its successful “Wild Rabbit” campaign will continue for a second year. Centered on the notion that true greatness is reserved for those who have reached a level of mastery yet still push for more success, the “Wild Rabbit” program draws parallels among the journeys of leading icons in various fields and the paths being forged by Hennessy aficionados.  The award-winning campaign, which in 2012 spotlighted inspiring tales of such masters as Manny Pacquiao, Erykah Badu and Martin Scorsese, will add a new ambassador to their ranks: multi-platinum recording artist and rhyme master, Nas.

“Our ‘never stop, never settle’ mantra communicates a value at the core of who we are as a brand and resonates with our consumers: pursuing one’s potential comes from an inner drive to continuously grow, continuously improve and seek greater levels of mastery,” said Rodney Williams, Senior Vice President, Moet Hennessy USA. “Nas is not only a master in music, but is blazing new trails in film and philanthropy, among other passions.”

To introduce the Nas partnership, Hennessy a private concert was held on January15 at New York hotspot, R Lounge. Hennessy partnered with Livestream to capture the concert for fans worldwide. The event is available for download via Facebook.com/Hennessy.

“This partnership with Hennessy has been almost two decades in the making,” said Nas. “I am honored to be included in the group of previous partners Hennessy has selected over the years and hope this campaign will inspire others to ‘never stop, never settle.”‘

Online, fans can engage with Hennessy on Facebook (Facebook.com/Hennessy), Twitter (@HennessyUS), and at Hennessy.com.  Most recently, Hennessy launched an Instagram profile (HennessyUS) that delivers a visually unique, interactive online brand experience and with Hennessy’s other platforms lets fans discover the world of Hennessy and delve into their own Wild Rabbits. As a reward for their tenacity in the chase, those who venture deeper into the digital rabbit hole can uncover hidden rewards ranging from VIP experiences to event invitations to engagement with Hennessy talent.

The Wild Rabbit campaign received several major awards since breaking last year, including the Cannes Silver Lions Award in Film Craft, the Impact Blue Chip Brand Award, and the Outdoor Advertising Association of America Out of Home Media Plan of the Year Award.

Nas and Lauryn Hill Black Rage Tour Ignites Chicago

By Sommer Thornton

120920_tourNas opened the show with a bang, “God Son” and rolled through his Illimatic album, his Stillmatic classics, and did hits like “Bye Baby”, “Cherrywine”, and “Accident Murders” from his new hit album, Life is Good. This is the second time Nas has been to Chicago recently. He was here for the Heineken Red Star Access Concert with Pusha T in August. I love how the Congress Theater creates intimacy with the masses of people. I saw a 50 year-old white man bobbing his head with 17 year-old black boys and Asian teens dancing their heels off. I saw a lot of billows of weed smoke in the air too.

Nas and his full band ran through a catalogue of hits for the commercial heads, then Nas performed some of his non single classics like “Shoot Em Up”, “Pain”, and “We Major”, from Kanye West’s College Dropout album. My favorite part was when Nas asked for the fans to”pray for his city” of New York, that is still recovering from hurricane Sandy.

When Ms. Lauryn Hill finally graced the stage, she was dressed down in an African military inspired number wielding her arms to the melody of her backup singers and directing her band like a composer. “Everything is Everything” took it to the next level, as Lauryn’s musical journey led the crowd through her interludes and overlapping bridges jazz and rock-reggae infused. Lauryn also performed new versions of “Lost Ones”, “X-Factor”, and “Forgive Them Father” from her multiplatinum album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Lauryn’s set was high energy and eclectic. It was as if the last 10 years of her life were bursting out in a climatic rebirth. In the middle of the set, Ms. Lauryn explained where Black Rage derives from then journeyed her fans through the album the Score with the Fugees, performing “Fu-gee-la” and “Ready or Not.”

The entire show was a dream fulfilled. The only thing missing was a duet of “If I Ruled the World.”

Tour came to Chicago in November 2012.

“Love Comes In Every Shade” This Holiday Season At Gap

This holiday season, Gap’s new global marketing campaign, “Love Comes In Every Shade,” celebrates the colorful, optimistic holiday product Gap is known for and illustrates some of the many forms of love, from puppy love and married love to best friend love and sibling love.

Wearing the must-have gifts of the season in a range of colors, the campaign features a diverse group of actors, musicians and their loved ones. Each group represents a different relationship, including true love with actors Michael J. Fox and wife Tracy Pollan ; fatherly love with rapper Nas and his father, blues musician Olu Dara ; modern love with the cast of NBC’s “The New Normal”; self love with actress Aubrey Plaza ; puppy love with actor Jack Huston and his dog Orso; best friend love with director Gia Coppola and actress Nathalie Love ; and married love with musician Rufus Wainwright and artistic director Jörn Weisbrodt.

“This campaign features some well-known actors, musicians and their loved ones, all wearing clothes from our new holiday collection,” said Seth Farbman, Gap’s Global Chief Marketing Officer. “Their personal relationships help remind us that every family is unique and often goes beyond just those we’re related to—it also includes the people we share our lives and deepest passions with. This campaign celebrates these diverse, optimistic views on family and the many forms love can take.”

Sharing the Love

As part of the campaign in the U.S. and Canada, Gap is spreading love digitally through partnerships with online communities Postagram and Pinterest. Starting November 7, consumers can visit Postagram’s Facebook app to turn their photos from Facebook, Instagram and elsewhere into real postcards that will be mailed to their loved ones at no cost, courtesy of Gap. Then on November 12, users who pin Gap’s favorite holiday items to their Pinterest wish lists through an app on Gap’s Facebook page will be automatically entered to win a Gap gift card. Five winners will be selected each week through December 24.

Styld.by, Gap’s digital catalog collaboration with well-respected fashion and lifestyle websites, continues with new content for the holiday gifting season. Each Styld.by partner, including Refinery29, WhoWhatWear, Lookbook and Rue, will curate holiday gift guides from their own point of view. The gift guides will be based on different personality types, like ‘For My BFF’ and ‘For My Skater’ and utilize pieces from the Winter Icons collection alongside other covetable gift ideas specific to each personality.

The campaign will also appear in December issues of national magazines including Vogue, Lucky, InStyle, Glamour, People StyleWatch and Vanity Fair; outdoor in key markets including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago; and in digital advertisements. To follow the content, visit Gap’s Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram communities and join the conversation with the hashtag #GapLove.

Heineken Red Star Access Concert w/ Nas and Pusha T

By Sommer Thornton

The Heineken Red Star Access tour hit Chicago on Saturday August 18th, and gave real hip hop fans one of the best free shows of the summer. I’m biased because I love Nas and would wait in a trash can to see him live for free. Especially in the intimate House of Blues venue downtown, where music lovers can see a live show amongst their coolest peers and get close enough to touch the artist.

 The Red Star Access concert featuring Nas and Pusha T was a big hit in Chicago. Even though this seemed like an ultra exclusive event, all you had to do was register at www.followredstar.com and be sent a personal invitation to get in. Admission was free, and so was the Heineken bar-my favorite.

Pusha T rocked the crowd first performing his most popular features from “I Don’t Like”, “Mercy” and “So Appalled”. He also shouted out his boss Kanye West and his label Good Music for changing his life this past year, and rejuvenating his career. Pusha T has sort of a cult following right now as his album is still in production. But that night the crowd flowed with all of his features and his original tracks. What I like about Pusha T is that he kept the crowd hype, and didn’t rely on a rap track to amplify him, but instead put passion into the performance. And Push T isn’t afraid to talk religion with the game in his music.

When Nas hit the stage, everything went crazy. For me it was a dream fulfilled seeing him perform his earlier hits like “The World is Yours” and “It Aint Hard to Tell,” that still spin on my Pandora radio. Nas didn’t even need a hype man because the crowd rapped all the words with him. Even when he performed songs off his new hit album “Life is Good” the crowd rocked with him. Nas performance was like watching a timeline of inspirational raps songs from 1996 to 2012. And Nas’ swag was effortlessly on 100 that night. The Don wore simple all black everything yet was still grown man sexy.

 

Photos courtesy of Heineken

Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap hits theaters June 15th

Ice-T takes us on an intimate journey into the heart and soul of hip-hop with the legends of rap music. This performance documentary goes beyond the stardom and the bling to explore what goes on inside the minds, and erupts from the lips, of the grandmasters of rap. Recognized as the godfather of Gangsta rap, Ice-T is granted unparalleled access to the personal lives of the masters of this artform that he credits for saving his life. Interspersed with the performers’ insightful, touching, and often funny revelations are classic raps, freestyle rhymes, and never before heard a cappellas straight from the mouths of the creators. What emerges is a better understanding of, and a tribute to, an original American art form that brought poetry to a new generation.

For more info, visit theartofrap.com, www.facebook.com/ArtofRap and www.twitter.com/artofrap

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Nas & Damian “Jr Gong ” Marley Distant Relatives

Distant Relatives
Nas and Damian Marley
Release: May 18, 2010
Label: Republic Universal Music

By Mozelle Ellis

I’m rarely left speechless concerning music. Amazingly this is one of those cases. Nas & Damian Marley had me just amazed at this miracle composition of tracks.

It is the blessing we have all been waiting on to arrive. Both, Nas and Marley, take us on a world wind trip from the Islands straight to Africa. It is heart beating, strong with pounding percussions and powerful accentuations of rhythms.  Distant Relatives is one of the most amazing collaborations and I’m sure it will be blessed as a classic.  This is the birth of a new sound and I see many Grammy’s from this strong production.

Distant Relatives is very evident that much heart, love, spirit, and knowledge of what the people really want to hear. In addition this definitely was not a rush job CD. Distant Relatives is filled with many thought provoking lyrics, mixing Reggae, Hip-Hop, and World Music (African). It’s not a CD packed with filler or lack of substance. You can push away from the table feeling very full with good vibes and wisdom. The blessing has arrived.

I love every track on Distant Relatives equally, but if I had to pick tracks that stand out with this one it’s not easy at all. The CD was released last night and I woke up to find email and comments on my Facebook from family and friends telling me what tracks they were really feeling. This was definitely a first for me. Nine hours after the release I’m getting emails.