To celebrate the release of his highly anticipated new album, The Dreamer / The Believer, Common took the stage to a sold out crowd at Highline Ballroom in NYC.  Backed by a live band, Com performed many new cuts as well as some of his classics.  One of the shows highlights was a surprise appearance by Nas to perform NY State of Mind and Ghetto Dreams.  For fans who could not attend in person, Spotify and Livestream webcasted the concert, and we have the mastered soundboard audio rip below.

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To commemorate the release of their 13th album, Undun, The Roots performed three sold out shows at Highline Ballroom in NYC.  At these shows, The Legendary debuted many new songs from their latest release.  There has been a lot of buzz around their “bonus” performance of The Otherside w/Bilal on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (see video below), so we thought it was only right to let loose an epic, extended, 15 min version from Highline last week.  One of our favorite cuts off the new album is Lighthouse, so we’re also including the live version as well for your listening pleasure.

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After much hype, the Watch The Throne tour finally kicked off last weekend as Jay-Z and Kanye West rocked stages in Atlanta and Greensboro.  Luckily for us, a recording has already surfaced from the Greensboro show.  Here is the complete show for download (setlist is below).  Enjoy and be sure to get your tickets for when the show comes to your city.

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Questlove and Tony Allen drumming on stage together?  Talk about a dream concert… then add in the rest of the incredibly talented ensemble that comprised the Afro-Picks Big Band and you have something truly special.  Described as “a journey through African funk: past, present & future”, Questlove teamed up with the Red Bull Music Academy to co-curate a special concert dedicated to the immense impact of African funk and soul on modern music.  The unique show was a selection of tracks played by the Afro-Picks Big Band, which featured Tony Allen & Questlove on drums, Macy Gray, Black Thought, Mamani Keita, Amp Fiddler, members of Antibalas, the David Murray Big Band, Damon Bryson (of The Roots), cast members from Fela! the Broadway musical and more.  Needless to say, if you like good music, say Yeah, Yeah and listen to this epic show.

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Last week, Mos Def (or Yasiin if you insist) teamed up with The Brooklyn Philharmonic for an awesome set @ the WFC Winter Garden for some truly fantastic orchestral arrangements of his hits.  Courtesy of a WNYC webcast, we are treated with soundboard recordings of Mos and company performing Life In Marvelous Times, Revelations, Coming Together and Casa Bey.  Streams/downloads are below.

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The Robert Glasper Experiment teamed up with Pete Rock and the legendary Roy Ayers for a few special shows over the past year or so.  Earlier this summer, we were blessed with a soundboard recording of the super-group performing live at the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands.  Last year we presented some treats from their show in Harlem (refresh your memory here), and now we have the full set for your download pleasure below.  Big thanks to Randy from Funk It for passing along this show- be sure to check out his site Funk It for all that live funk goodness.

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