PinBoard

As you can tell, we’ve been hella busy this week doing some seriously cool/fun tings! I know the posts have been coming through thick and fast, but boi, blogging is a fast paced bizness!

Anyways, just so you haven’t missed anything or haven’t skipped something you really need in your life, I thought I’d do a little ‘catch up’ post for you…

This week so far [Click The Banner]…

Robin Thicke EXCLUSIVE Interview

Robin Thicke Album Playback / EXCLUSIVE ROBIN THICKE COMPETITION

Erykah Badu @ Brixton Academy Review

N*E*R*D @ KoKo (iTunes Festival) Review

The Cool Kids @ Scala Review

Kidz In The Hall / Brother Ali / Atmosphere @ KoKo Review

Nas - “Untitled”  Leaks

I’m gonna go sleep now.

Don’t expect much activity in the next couple days! Normality will be resumed Monday!

Peace, Love & PinBoard

Speeakz

If you use these pictures/video anywhere else, please credit/link PinBoardBlog.com

We caught up with The Cool Kids @ Scala last night, where they played for a rather energetic and packed out audience.

These guys always do their thing on stage. They got that sh*t everyone likes. The charisma, the look, the swagger and the skills that makes everyone watching spaz out! I’m pretty rubbish at remembering the set list at gigs and every time I go I always think “write it down” but then, who has time [tyme!]?

They did pretty much most of their ‘well known’ tunes including “88″, “Black Mags”, “Pump Up The Volume” & “Jinglin” [to name a few!]. The Cool Kids brought on Killa Kella on stage for a lil’ Beatbox-’Multivocalisation’ rendition of “I (Mikey) Rock” and we caught it on video…

PinBoard Footage:

I was pretty impressed that the everyone in the crowd knew most of the words to their joints too! I think it’s dope that these guys have come so far and are getting the recognition they deserve. It’s easy for a lot of people to disregard their talents because they’re “too Hip Hop” for ‘Hipster Rap” [A term I think is total b*llocks anyway!]. But the truth is, these guys clearly know what they’re doing. You can tell from the offset that they love Hip Hop and are making music as naturally as anyone does anything they love.

The Cool Kids to me are the very definition on where music (not just Hip Hop) is going. It’s about talented young people doing their thing, on their own and making an impression. Two years ago, these guys were unknowns and now they’re in London doing a gig @ Scala AND playing the 02 Wireless tonight? If you don’t have mad respect for that, you just a bitchass hater! LOL!

Wow, that turnt into a lil’ rant there init? Anyways - back to the gig. It was a cool affair, nice to see the guys do their thing again and was glad to see they got a good turn out!

PinBoard Footage:

Much love to The Cool Kids and hopefully next time they’re in LDN, we’ll have a lil’ exclusive sh*t for you!

Peace, Love & The Cool Kids

Speeakz

P.s Sorry about the rant! lol!

More Pics after the jump GO!

If you use any of these pictures/videos, please credit/link PinBoardBlog.com!

We caught N*E*R*D at Brixton Academy a couple weeks back, but we got the chance to see them again @ KoKo for the iTunes Festival on Tuesday too.

We grabbed our VIP passes (you know!) and headed for the VIP lounge (< the last time I will say VIP! Ha!). I really love KoKo, it’s probably my favourite venue. Something about it just works. The size of it, the style of the building, it’s pretty big, but really intimate at the same time. So, I was pretty excited about seeing the guys again, even though I wasn’t reeeeally feeling them when I saw them @ Brixton.

We grabbed ourselves a good, good spot right at the top of the venue, where we had massive leather sofa’s to chill on while we waited! < Pretty fly!

I didn’t know much about the gig before I arrived, but quickly found out that the whole Star Trak family were in attendance AND it was being recorded for ITV2 (boi’d!). It was a heavi surprise that Chester French and Kenna were the opening acts. I’m a big fan of both and was glad they performed their butts off. The crowd loved them!

…Robin Thicke came on quickly to introduce the guys

…And then…

“You so anti-you don’t even matter”…

When N*E*R*D finally came on, the energy flew through the roof. Daaaayum! I think maybe because the crowd consisted mostly of competition winners, the atmosphere was SO on point! The guys did their thing on stage, bringing it hard on every track. It was clear they were having a BIG night themselves and just by looking around errrrryone else was feeding off that!

The set was pretty much identical to the gig @ Brixton, they did tunes like “Spazz, “Fly Or Die”, “Maybe”, “Rock Star”, “Lapdance”, “Kill Joy”, “Brain” and of course “Everybody Nose” to name a few! They rocked out for sure! Pharrell was working the crowd like he normally does and this time I felt Shae did a lot more too, which was pretty cool! Let’s not forget Chad either, rocking his electronic keyboard machine-thing!

Continue reading, watch exclusive footage & see more pics after the jump GO!

Yesterday we brought you PinBoard’s EXCLUSIVE interview with Robin Thicke and today we’re gonna shed some light on what we thought of his new album “Something Else” which is set for a September 22nd release. We’ll also give you the chance to win an exclusive signed poster *picture below*…

So, I arrived at this super plush, private club called Bureau in Kingly Court (LND, you know!) to hear the new Robin Thicke album. As I entered, I was greeted with a nice tall glass of champers [really not good on an empty stomach] and walked into a super sexy main room, where peeps were chillin, listening to music and generally trying to suss who’s who whenever someone walked inna the place! You know how it is! Kinda stoosh, but it’s cool. 

As I walked across the centre of the room, to find a seat Mr Thicke connected with me and thanked me for making it down (the dude thanks me, for coming down? LOL!), which I thought was cool and again, evidence of how nice the guy is! I quickly saw a familiar face, grabbed a seat, bussed some jokes and waited for the album playback to begin.

About 10 minutes later, Robin took the mic and began to introduce himself and his album and spoke about what it was all about etc and…pressed play.

Now, I think it’s pretty impossible to get a good sense of track from only hearing it once, so I ain’t gonna go into too much detail but will give ya’ll the general feel of each joint and will try and decipher my notes in doing so..

“You’re My Baby”

Robin really pointed out the intro of this song, making the DJ rewind it because he “spent a lot of money on them strings”! The joint was smooth and showed off Thicke’s falsetto brillantly. It’s most definitely a “baby making” song, reflecting on the sexy side of a relationship. I know it’s been said a million times, but the way this man channels Marvin Gaye (consciously or unconsciously) is amazing - at a couple points I was taken back to Gaye’s “What’s Going On”. The song also touched on a Latin influence, which was pretty cool.

“Side Step”

This tune was played twice (the second time being at the end of the album playback) because it’s a potential second single. Robin dedicated this to all the guys who had “given their heart to a lady and she then gave you the ‘Side Step’”. This tune has a real, old school feel to it, and while the subject matter was neccessarily fun, it had that fun feel to it. With it’s funk influenced bass line, this is the kind of joint you could easily pump in your car, on a sunny day.

“Ms. Harmony”

This song is also being considered for a second single. It’s soft keyboards introduce the track and then comes that ever-so-familiar Latin/African drum feel that Robin seems to be a fan of. It’s a great mix and when his vocals kick in, I instantly thought “Prince”. He really sounds like Prince at the beginning of this tune. High pitched, sultry and just generally tight. I wrote “Lost Without U” part 2 in my notes, so I’m assuming that this joint took me back to that, which is never bad?

Find the rest from “Something Else” AND get a chance to win an EXCLUSIVE signed poster from Robin Thicke after the jump (more…)

If you use these pictures anywhere else, please credit/link PinBoardBlog.com

I. LOVE. HER.

It’s safe to say, Erykah Badu is not of this Earth.

The woman does things that I don’t think any other artist (or person) could do both creatively and on stage. She has ’something’ that is so special, so unique and so inspiring, that while watching you must remind yourself to LISTEN to what she’s singing.

Badu hit London with her “Vortex Tour” for a one-off gig @ Brixton Academy and it seemed like everyone and their mother turned out! Quite a few PinBoard family members were in attendance and I am in not doubt that like me, they were all blown away by this lady’s two hour set.

Erykah began the evening with “My People” off her new album and effortlessly entertained us by using musical props, an electronic sound machine and Apple Mac Pro - truly an analogue girl in a digital world!

She gave us everything we wanted and kept everyone continually anticipating what song she would perform next and what she was gonna do. Erykah Badu is not someone you can predict, you just gotta go with the flow! She blends sounds and noises and while normally most people would think “er…confuse me?” Badu makes you listen, makes you understand and makes you want more…

I can’t remember the exact set list but I know she went though a good selection of tunes including: “On & On”, “Sometimes”, “I Want You”, “Amerykahn Promise”, “Me”, “Tyrone”, “Love Of My Life”, “Didn’t Cha Know”, “Bag Lady” and  “Solider” < I mean, just those songs alone would have done it, but there were more. Maybe those of you who attended could let me know which ones I missed out??

Oh! And she did her very own version of Lil’ Wayne’s “A Millie” < It was both jokes and DOPE!

All this and not to mention, Badu’s voice. When this woman sings live, she sounds TOTALLY different from the CD you got in your stereo. Honestly, you would never think her vocals could do what they do from just hearing her albums. Her voice is spectacular live and her range is phenomenal!

Aside from her musical talents, Badu is just so freaking cool! Her dancing, her posing, the movements, her swagger, her outfit, her HAIR! Everything about her is so cool! Dear God, I think I’m having [another] moment! haha!

To top it all off, she closed with a rendition of “The Light” by Common. How. Freakin. Perfect?

The evening was simply sublime! < Yes. I said sublime! I really could gush about it for hours, but I can’t/won’t! If you were there or have ever seen Erykah Badu live, then you’ll know. If you haven’t, I urge you, next time she’s in your town - GO SEE HER!

Like I said, Erykah Badu is not of this Earth. She is from some next place…And I want to go there!

Peace, Love & Erykah Badu

Speeakz & Crew

Find more pictures after the jump (more…)

A bit late in posting this. As you can see (above and below) I’ve had some pretty big things happening in the past few days. So, excuse the lateness!

This joint brings together two of my fav MC’s at the moment…

KiD CuDi Feat Wale - “Is There Any Love”

Dope.

Peace, Love & KiD Cudi x Wale

Speeakz

P.s Just realised that Wale will be supporting Jay-Z’s @ his Bournemouth gig and er…Guess who’s going to Jay-Z’s Bournemouth gig?!?! Hehehe! That’s so dope! I haven’t stopped pumping this dudes mixtape since I got it! Overly excited!

If you haven’t yet pleasured your ears by grabbing Daytona’s “A Tribe Called Fresh” mixtape, then I’ll be damned if you ain’t missing out! You gotta get it, like ASAP. Because I’m so good, you can download this ‘must have’ at the bottom of this post < Boooooyaaa!

Anyhoo, here’s his new video, where he covers the classic Tribe Called Quest joint “Stressed Out”. This one features CNN & has Estelle on the hook…

Peace, Love & Daytona

Speeakz

Download: Daytona - “A Tribe Called Fresh”

Mickey Factz just dropped this new leak into my inbox…

“Raps in my heart. Feel it beep out of order”

We’re on Week 28 and I wanted to speed things up a bit as well smooth it out. Sounds far fetched right? Well imagine a fast tempo jazz record with crazy wordplay. That’s what this leak is about. I got my man Fresh Daily on it who will be performing with me at the Bk HipHop Festival on July 12th.

Mickey Factz Feat Fresh Daily - “Keep Moving”

Also, Mickey Factz has been nominated at  the “infamous” Underground Mixtape Awards, so make sure you head HERE and VOTEfor Mickey Factz. You know the man deserves it, he’s working his butt off and delivering you good people with some serious sh*t.

Peace, Love & Mickey Factz

Speeakz

Respected song writer, award winner and multi-platinum album selling soul singer Robin Thicke was in London Town yesterday for a day of press, promotion and play.

As I waited for Mr Thicke, I had the chance to quickly sample his new album “Something Else” via an old school CD player and while I never got to listen to each track fully, I could tell that this album wasn’t just “The Evolution of Robin Thicke” part 2. There was more to this record, more funk, more fun and more fire (OK. That’s all the alliteration ya’ll gon’ get!). But seriously, the album was sounding fresh and so naturally this got me even more pumped about meeting the man.

After about 10 minutes, the surprisingly tall Robin Thicke strolled in, super cool, shook my hand and took me around to the hotel bar seating area. After our introductions and I instantly disregarded every preconception I may have had of a successful recording artist, because it was clear that this man was a down to earth dude, who was not only responsive but also polite and interested.

I began by asking him about his new single “Magic” and what the song was about. “The song is about real people. It’s about everybody. I saw so many people on the road, or just around that had given up or felt like nothing was going to happen for them and I wanted to write a song saying “you got that magic, I got it too!”…We’re all Human and like everybody else, I’ve had my up’s and down’s too!”.

After the jump Robin talks about his highs, his lows and his hot new album  Continue Reading…

Update: The album has leaked! So, er…you know where to get it. I know I always say this, but BUY it legally when it’s released! It’s all about the support people!

So various tracks from this highly hyped album have been leaked online and have spread like wild fire throught the blogosphere. Well, we got our hands on a joint or two too [ok, maybe the full album?] and thought we’d dedicated this post to those leaks.

• Nas Feat The Game & Chris Brown - “Make The World Go Round” [PinBoard]
• Nas Feat Eban Thomas- “You Can’t Stop Us Now”  [OnSmash]
• Nas - “Testify” [2DopeBoyz]
• Nas - “We’re Not Alone” [YouHeardThatNew]
• Nas - “Queens Got The Money” [Fader]
• Nas - “Breathe Dirty” [NahRight]
• Nas - “Yall My Niggas” [Dubcnn]
• Nas - “America” [Dirty]

…Hold tight, there’s more to come!

Peace, Love & Nas

Speeakz

*Thanks to PinBoard reader djeazy for sending over ”America”

TinterNet Family, please welcome Mr Laurence/Lorenzo/RWDN/Whatever he likes to go with, as he is the latest PinBoard Contributor…He’s a cool dude, a part of the family [if you will] and despite his geographical location, knows his sh*t when it comes to Hip Hop!!

Stage presence is a funny thing, some have it and some don’t. While you might expect someone like Jigga or Dizzeeto rock the spotlight with ease, most people’s idea of hip hop doesn’t run to an overweight albino dude from Minneapolis. No, I’m not talking about that fool from Big Brother, I’m talking about Brother Ali from Atmosphere’s highly successful independent label Rhymesayers.

Ali came through Koko in Camden on the 18th of June alongside Atmosphere and support act Kidz in the Hall. The crowd was different to most hip hop shows I go to what with Atmosphere’s #1 ranking in the emo-rap crowd, but once id pushed my way through the sea of piercings and backpacks to the front of the crowd I was pleasantly surprised. In fact the surprise came even earlier when Atmosphere front man Slug came out of the venue to shake hands and greet every person standing in line to get into the show

Kidzin the Hall struggled with Koko’s sound system and most of their lyrics got lost in the mix so that a set I was looking forward to couldn’t really pull me away from the bar. The crowd in general showed no love and it was clear they were just killing time before Atmosphere got on stage.

Once Ant got behind the decks though (and by the way this guy rocks a ponytail and ‘tache combination that redefines sleazy) the place was ready to go off. Brother Ali and Atmosphere smashed the next 2 hours together on stage, flowing through both their back catalogues with ease and alternating main man/hypeman roles smoothly. Even though I wasn’t too familiar with Atmosphere’s back catalogue, which is huge due to both longevity and grind, I got won over by them even as the energetic Slug started to look more and more like the sweaty lead singer of a metal band! Still the star of the night for me was most definitely Brother Ali, who smashed everything he touched whether rapping or singing acapella. The man’s passion for hip hop shone through at every point and it was a lesson to all other acts out there, including Kidz in the Hall who hung on the side of the stage looking envious.

Anyone who hasn’t taken the time to check them out I can definitely recommend Ali’s album “The Undisputed Truth” and I’ll be copping Atmosphere’s latest in the near future.

The Cool Kids new mixtape dropped yesterday. Yes, I’m late in delivering, but the next batch of posts SHOULD explain why. It’s been a very busy, eventful, stressful, crazy, non-stop couple days and the remaining week doesn’t seem set to be any different!

The Cool Kids - “That’s Stupid” Mixtape

The PinBoard crew will be catching up with The Cool Kids tonight @ their gig at Scala. So, will def bring you some of that good, good exclusive sh*t soon! Keep an eye out!

Peace, Love & The Cool Kids

Speeakz

Update: Interview is now posted HERE

Yes, TinterNet Family!

PinBoard has secured an interview with “Lost Without U” singer Robin Thicke!

Holla at us if you have any question you’d like him to answer…

Either email us [pinboard.blog@hotmail.co.uk] OR just leave a comment!

The interview is tomorrow, so hit us up ASAP!

Peace, Love & PinBoard x Robin Thicke!

Speeakz

The Cool Kids do it again!

The Cool Kids - “Dinner Time”

This joint is coming off their brand new mixtape “That’s Stupid” which drops tomorrow and is something I have been looking forward to for a very long time now!

The guys are doing various gigs in LDN in the next couple weeks (yep, we’ll be going to one of them at least!) and you can also catch them here tomorrow:

So for all you stan’s fans out there, go get your queue on and meet the guys!

Peace, Love & The Cool Kids

Speeakz

P.s Go peep their schedule over on their Myspace page

Tunes aiight, video too?! As always, I don’t have much to say about these guys. Yup, they got some serious voices, but are they offering me anything new and exciting? Or can I find this type of song on any 112, Dru Hill or Jagged Edge album? Yuh, i think it’s the latter!

…No bitchassness, this tune is aiight!

Peace, Love & Day26

Speeakz

Update: You can now watch the entire Jay-Z/Glasto set [untill YouTube take it down at least]

If you watched this live (at home) or if you were in attendance (a few [brave/stupid] family members were!) then you’ll KNOW that watching Jay-Z perform on the infamous Pyramid stage @ Glastonbury was not only historic, but also mind blowing. It was so surreal and was so, unbelievably great, it hurts my brain to think about what that man just did for Hip Hop. Straight up.

The videos on YouTube are starting to surface, so THIS post will be updated continually as they drop. For now though, watch how he opened the show (GENIUS) and then him performing “99 Problems”…

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Watch parts 5 to 9 after the jump… (more…)