Are your ready for a weekend of beats, rhymes, and mayhem? Dust off your flyest kicks and your Cazale shades, because it’s summertime, and there’s rap in the air. New York boom-bap demigod El-P (video below), who recently released his 5th solo studio album on Fat Possum Records, “Cancer 4 Cure,” will rock Irving Plaza this Friday the 13th. If post-apocalyptic jazz-rap is not exactly your bent, then you can skip over to the Mercury Lounge for a heavy dose of Funky with Brooklyn’s dance-rap outfit Deathrow Tull and funk-damentalist Bernie Worrell (P-Funk, Talking Heads). Saturday you can revisit your roots at the 8th Annual Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest. You’ll see a diverse array of new and old-school artists including Maya Azucena, Freeway, and the mighty Busta Rhymes. Later Saturday night, test your mettle as east village gem NUBLU hosts the bombastic Underground Horns in what will surely be a sweat-drenched carnival of hip-gyration and swagger. After a rejuvenating Sunday afternoon BloodyMary-soaked brunch, saunter over to Brooklyn Bowl at 6pm where Queens legend Pharaohe Monch (pictured) will be rocking alongside Olamide and J Ross Parrelli as part of a fundraiser for MORE THAN ME, a local non-profit which builds schools for orphans in war-torn Liberia. Monday, unfortunately, you might have to go back to work. -=brokeMC
Ambient and slightly androgynous, the duo Belle Mare released their dreamy debut EP “The Boat of the Fragile Mind” earlier this spring. The EP resonates with somber tones and almost whale-like howls, unraveling soft acoustic guitar, simple piano melodies, and occasional subtle drones. The title track features the quivering vocals of Amelia Bushell, one half of the Belle Mare duo with guitarist Thomas Servidone, painting a dreamscape portrait of longing. Charade (streaming below) gently develops an unexpected blue melody that can lull you into the deepest of sleeps - I've heard of people dreaming of sleeping, in NYC. The duo met at an open mic night in Brooklyn and recorded the album in Servidone’s apartment, but notwithstanding the DIY approach, the record is full of character and the sound mature. With their mix of rich surrealism and an almost gothic aura, these song sounds as if played through an antique phonograph inside a parlor room... located in the deepest of our subconscious. While “The Boat” could easily draw comparisons to other dream-poppers Beach House, Belle Mare’s subtleties and extreme sparsness create a stronger emotional drive and more nostalgic appeal. - Devon Antonetti
