To commemorate our 3 year anniversary since we launched, we’re proud to present our first mixtape compilation, The Vaults Vol. 1.  This compilation features exclusive, previously unreleased recordings from The Roots, Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco, Q-Tip, Robert Glasper, Talib Kweli, Phonte, Shad, Pharoahe Monch, Kano, Tanya Morgan and Joe Budden.  Tracklist and download instructions after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Big thanks to our friends over at Funk It who just posted a pro-shot video of The Roots’ entire performance from last year’s Lowlands Festival.  The show took place in August on a brief European tour right after bassist Owen Biddle left the group.  Mark Kelley hadn’t become a member of The Roots yet, but Tuba Gooding Jr. stepped up the low nicely, filling in with his sousaphone.  Full video from the European TV broadcast can be streamed below, and you can download the audio as well.

Read the rest of this entry »

To this day, I still attest that the jam sessions The Roots held for 32 weeks at Highline Ballroom in NYC were the best string of concerts the band has done in their entire career.  For further proof, here’s our exclusive audio recording of The Roots jammin and tearing through incredible renditions of Table of Contents and 75 Bars, with some help from Vernon Reid (from Living Colour), Truck North and Yoshi Takemasa (from Antibalas).  We’ve also embedded some great footage below of the performance courtest of Okayplayer and Noisemaker Media.

Read the rest of this entry »

As we head into the final days of 2011, its time to reflect back on the musical releases this year and examine the best music from the past 12 months.  Compiling this list was no easy task as it was a year stacked with quality releases.  As with last year, since the focus of this site is always live music and we’re discussing studio albums, we’re providing a new live song from each artist who made the list.

Read the rest of this entry »

To commemorate the launch of Quest Loves Eats (yes, Questlove has a catering company), the mighty afro took over both the Blue Note stage and kitchen for a night of good eats and good music.  The set featured collabs with Black Thought, Brass Heaven among others, but the highlight of the night was Bobby McFerrin and Rahzel sharing the stage together, with Questo backing on drums.  The jam was pretty insane, and you can witness for yourself after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

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.

Read the rest of this entry »