Gorillaz Continue Visual Story Series With “The Book of 2D”: Watch

Gorillaz have shared “The Book of 2D,” the latest multimedia narrative in their recent series about each member of the cartoon that includes “The Book of Noodle,” “The Book of Russel,” and “The Book of Murdoc.” The new story follows cartoon singer/keyboardist Stuart “2D” Pot, who is voiced by Damon Albarn. 2D’s book begins with him getting swallowed by a whale named Massive Dick (“no relation to Moby [Dick],”) according to the story. Watch “The Book of 2D” below.

Gorillaz seem to be getting ready to announce their next studio album. Co-founders Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett were spotted in the studio in this past spring, with De La Soul and Snoop Dogg confirmed as collaborators for the new record. Cartoon guitarist Noodle was recently revealed as the new global ambassador for Jaguar Racing.

The attack on Plastic Beach forced 2D into hiding, but he wasn’t alone...#TheBookof2D http://pic.twitter.com/0rDDh1ZOIW

— gorillaz (@gorillaz) October 28, 2016

During the pirate attack on Plastic Beach... #TheBookof2D http://pic.twitter.com/ZXXAzwIP9K

— gorillaz (@gorillaz) October 28, 2016

#TheBookof2D http://pic.twitter.com/sZJmvNGSgz

— gorillaz (@gorillaz) October 28, 2016

But a lifetime spent eating ocean garbage... #TheBookof2D http://pic.twitter.com/ZRlasotBAq

— gorillaz (@gorillaz) October 28, 2016

#TheBookof2D http://pic.twitter.com/BJQmlf7ojN

— gorillaz (@gorillaz) October 28, 2016

Several months later... #TheBookof2D http://pic.twitter.com/SFfctWU36L

— gorillaz (@gorillaz) October 28, 2016

#TheBookof2D http://pic.twitter.com/4eHOzSUvCD

— gorillaz (@gorillaz) October 28, 2016

As he claimed his prize... #TheBookof2D http://pic.twitter.com/HJQ4Uz6mis

— gorillaz (@gorillaz) October 28, 2016

#TheBookof2D http://pic.twitter.com/sSJS1kvbv8

— gorillaz (@gorillaz) October 28, 2016

#TheBookof2D http://pic.twitter.com/b0ZLsflz1b

— gorillaz (@gorillaz) October 28, 2016

At Heathrow... #TheBookof2D http://pic.twitter.com/O9tGcjuATv

— gorillaz (@gorillaz) October 28, 2016

#TheBookof2D http://pic.twitter.com/DuktE4YgqN

— gorillaz (@gorillaz) October 28, 2016

via Matthew Strauss

Fetty Wap Sued Over “679”: Report

Fetty Wap has been sued over his 2015 song “679,” according to TMZ. The suit has reportedly been filed by P-Dice, a former member of Fetty Wap’s Remy Boyz crew, who appeared on the original version of the track, which credits a feature to Remy Boyz (Monty and P-Dice). On Fetty’s chart-topping self-titled LP, however, P-Dice’s verse is removed and the feature credit belongs only to Monty.

According to TMZ, in the suit, P-Dice claims that Fetty Wap took out his verse because he did not want to pay him his full share of the song’s profits. P-Dice says he held a 16.9 percent stake in the original track, but that share was reduced to just 5 percent on the album version. He is suing Fetty Wap for at least $7 million in damages, according to TMZ.

“679” is the second song over which Fetty Wap has been sued. A Danish musician named Lazar Lakic is suing Fetty and producer Tony Fadd over the hit single “Trap Queen.” Lakic claims that he “purchased the exclusive rights” to the song’s instrumental, but has not received any compensation from the track’s success. Along with damages, Lakic reportedly wants all copies of “Trap Queen” destroyed.

Earlier this year, P-Dice was charged with attempted murder and other weapons offenses, stemming from a shooting that hurt a 7-year-old boy. P-Dice is currently out on bail.

Watch the “679” music video, in which P-Dice appears and raps his verse:

via Matthew Strauss

Obama Discusses His Favorite Rappers: Chance, Kendrick, Kanye, Drake, Jay Z

This morning, President Barack Obama called into SiriusXM’s “Sway in the Morning.” During his conversation, Sway Calloway asked him, “Who are your top MCs today? Who are the top rappers in the game today, in your opinion?” President Obama answered:

I think the young guys, Kendrick [Lamar] and Chance [the Rapper] are doing amazing work. I love Drake, and the girls love Drake, and, you know, so, he’s commercially just doing great, and unbelievably talented. And, you know, Jay Z’s still the king. I mean, you know, he’s got a track record. Same with Kanye [West], so there’s a lot of talent out there, but when I look at who’s breaking new ground, Kendrick and Chance, those guys are doing just amazing work.

And they’re wonderful young men. Chance, I’ve known for years ’cause his dad was my state director when I was a senator in Illinois, so I first met Chance when he was 8 years old, and so we’ve been family for a while. And Kendrick, you know, he’s blowing it up. He’s doing great.

Elsewhere in the conversation with Sway and Heather B., Obama discussed voting, the upcoming election, Justin Timberlake’s controversial voting selfie, and more. Listen to the whole interview below.

As Obama’s presidency comes to a close, he’s been especially active in displaying his love for music. At a recent White House event, he was caught dancing to “Hotline Bling.” The White House also joined with SXSW for a one-day festival called South by South Lawn. Obama recently put Jay Z and Drake, Beyoncé, Courtney Barnett, and more on his workout playlist. He included Chance the Rapper, Wale, Nina Simone, and others on his annual summer playlist.

Read our new feature “The Presidential Suite: A Look Back at Obama’s Musical Milestones.”

Watch Pitchfork.tv’s new “Liner Notes” video, “The Blueprint: An Annotated Look at Jay Z's Classic Album”:

via Matthew Strauss

Azealia Banks Breaks Down Discussing Russell Crowe Incident on “Access Hollywood”

6 Albums Out Today You Should Listen to Now: Empire of the Sun, Jeezy, Marching Church, More

With so much good music being released all the time, it can be hard to determine what to listen to first. Every week, Pitchfork offers a run-down of significant new releases available on streaming services. This week’s batch includes new albums from Empire of the Sun, Jeezy Marching Church, CRX, Topaz Jones, and Michael Mayer.

Empire of the Sun: Two Vines [Astralwerks]

The new Empire of the Sun album is their first since 2013’s Ice on the Dune. It was co-produced by Empire of the Sun and Peter Mayes (Sia, the Killers, Mika). It features contributions from Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham, Wendy Melvoin (from Prince’s band the Revolution), and pianist Henry Hey and bassist Tim Lefebvre, both members of David Bowie’s Blackstar band. Watch the video for the album’s “High and Low.”

Listen on Apple Music

Listen on Spotify

Jeezy: Trap or Die 3 [Def Jam]

Trap or Die 3 is a continuation of Jeezy’s Trap or Die mixtape series. It features guest spots from Lil Wayne, Yo Gotti, Bankroll Fresh, Chris Brown, and Plies. Trap or Die 3 follows 2015’s Church in These Streets.

Listen on Apple Music

Listen on Spotify

Marching Church: Telling It Like It Is [Sacred Bones]

Marching Church is the band led by Iceage frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt. Telling It Like It Is is their second album, following This World Is Not Enough. The band’s lineup includes members of Iceage, Lower, and Hand of Dust. Read our review of “Lion’s Den,” and check out its video.

Listen on Apple Music

Listen on Spotify

CRX: New Skin [Columbia]

CRX is a new band from the Strokes’ Nick Valensi. The other members are Ralph Alexander (The Dose), Richie James Follin (Guards), Darian Zahedi, and Jon Safley (The Reflections). Their debut album, New Skin, is produced by Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal).

Listen on Apple Music

Listen on Spotify

Topaz Jones: Arcade [New Funk Academy]

After releasing a few singles—“Get Lost,” “Powerball,” and “Tropicana”—Topaz Jones has released his new album Arcade. The album follows 2014’s The Honeymoon Suite. Read our Rising feature, “Topaz Jones and the Philosophy of the Groove.”

Listen on Apple Music

Listen on Spotify

Michael Mayer: & [!K7]

Electronic artist and Kompakt co-head Michael Mayer’s new album & is his first LP since 2012’s Mantasy. The album features Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard, Friendly Fires’ Ed Macfarlane, Roman Flügel, Prins Thomas, and more.

Listen on Apple Music

Listen on Spotify

via Sheldon Pearce

Radiohead Announce 2017 Festival Dates

Last week, Radiohead were announced as the headliners for Glastonbury 2017, following the appearance of mysterious crop circles at the festival grounds. Today, the band have announced that they’ll headline another European festival: They’ll perform at Belgium’s Rock Werchter on Friday, June 30, 2017. In addition, Radiohead have recently revealed that they’ll play festivals in Denmark, Poland, France, and the Netherlands. See their current 2017 festival schedule below.

Read our feature “Internet Explorers: The Curious Case of Radiohead’s Online Fandom.”

Radiohead:

06-11 Aarhus, Denmark - NorthSide Festival
06-18 Hillvarenbeek, Netherlands - Best Kept Secret
06-23 Pilton, England - Glastonbury Festival
06-28 Gdynia, Poland - Open’er Festival
06-30 Werchter, Belgium - Rock Werchter
07-02 Arras, France - Main Square Festival

via Matthew Strauss

AFI Announce AFI (The Blood Album), Share New Songs: Listen

AFI have announced a new album, AFI (The Blood Album), out January 20, 2017 on Concord. Produced by Jade Puget and co-produced by Matt Hyde, it’s the follow-up to their 2013 LP Burial. The news comes with a pair of new songs, “Snow Cats” and “White Offerings,” which you can hear below. 

via Jazz Monroe

Amy Schumer Writes Essay Defending Her Beyoncé “Formation” Video

Watch Muse Dress Up as the Cramps, Cover “New Kind of Kick” for Halloween

Muse have momentarily paused their inquiry into on-stage levitation to release a new, Halloween-themed cover of the Cramps’ “New Kind of Kick.” The Tom Kirk-directed video resurrects the group’s spirit and style—Matt Bellamy evidently enjoys his role as Lux Interior, ass-shaking and crotch-thrusting with aplomb, while drummer Dom Howard makes little effort to tidy up his bloody nose. It’s billed as Muse’s “Halloween Special”; watch it below.

via Jazz Monroe

Watch Pusha T Talk Hillary Clinton, Felons’ Voting Rights on “Colbert”

Pusha T made on appearance on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” last night. After small talk about Clipse and the Neptunes’ “Grindin’” beat and the history of McDonalds’ “I’m Loving It” jingle, Push—who has been campaigning for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton—knuckled down to talk politics. Asked about incarceration rates in the U.S., he said he “definitely believes” Clinton will carry on Obama’s legacy, adding that it’s the “most important issue tearing apart our community right now.” He concluded: “You can’t vote, you can’t get grants. It’s like you keep paying forever. We have to change that.” Watch it all below.

Pusha recently appeared in a campaign video for Clinton, speaking with vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine about racism and gun violence. Elsewhere in last night’s “Colbert” episode, Run the Jewels put down comically lewd bars in a skit, “The Halloween Wiggle.”

Watch Pusha T’s episode of “Over/Under” on Pitchfork.tv:

via Jazz Monroe and Noah Yoo

Watch Common and BJ the Chicago Kid Do “Black America Again” on “Fallon”

Common appeared on “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” last night, performing the title track of his album Black America Again. He brought along BJ the Chicago Kid, who sang Stevie Wonder’s chorus. Watch the performance below. The new album is out November 4 via Artium/Def Jam.

Watch BJ the Chicago Kid do “Church” at Pitchfork Music Festival:

via Noah Yoo

Blondie, MC5, the Heartbreakers, the Replacements Members Form Supergroup, Announce Benefit Concert

The Heartbreakers’ L.A.M.F. will be performed in full at an upcoming benefit concert for writer Stephen Saban, who is battling cancer. Clem Burke of Blondie, Walter Lure of the Heartbreakers, the Replacements’ bassist Tommy Stinson, and MC5’s Wayne Kramer have formed a new supergroup for the show, which takes place in the Marlin Room at Webster Hall on November 15.

The original Johnny Thunders-led Heartbreakers were also a supergroup, initially comprised of Thunders, The New York Dolls’ Jerry Nolan and punk icon Richard Hell. New York post-punk band Bush Tetras and Patti Smith collaborator Lenny Kaye are also slated to appear. Tickets to the show can be found here.

via Noah Yoo

Ab-Soul Shares New Song “Braille” Feat. Bas: Listen

Ab-Soul has shared a new song, “Braille,” featuring Bas. Listen to it below. Ab-Soul recently released the politically charged video for his song “Huey Knew,” and this past summer made an appearance on the Black Hippy remix of SchoolBoy Q’s “THat Part.” The rapper’s last studio album, These Days..., arrived in 2014. 

Read “Word is Bond: Black Hippy and the Power of Repetition.”

Watch Ab-Soul’s video for “ILLuminate” featuring Kendrick Lamar:

via Noah Yoo

Meek Mill Releases Dreamchasers 4: Listen

After a long wait, Meek Mill has dropped Dreamchasers 4, the latest in his Dreamchasers mixtape series. See the mixtape artwork and listen to the full release below.

Meek Mill released the first Dreamchasers mixtape in 2011. He followed that up with Dreamchasers 2 in 2012 and Dreamchasers 3 in 2013. Meek recently linked up with Pusha T for the song “Black Moses,” off the soundtrack for The Birth of a Nation.

Read "The Essential Wisdom (and Freestyles) of Meek Mill" on the Pitch. 

Watch the first part of “The Making of 'Dreams & Nightmares'” on Pitchfork.tv:

via Matthew Strauss

Listen to 2 Chainz’ New Hibachi For Lunch Mixtape

2 Chainz has been busy this year, releasing two mixtapes—Felt Like Cappin’ and Daniel Son; Necklace Don—and a collaborative album with Lil Wayne, ColleGrove. Now, the prolific rapper has released another mixtape called Hibachi for Lunch. Stream it below. It features Gucci Mane, Future, Ty Dolla $ign, and Migos’ Quavo.

via Sheldon Pearce

Charli XCX and Lil Yachty Share New Song “After the Afterparty”: Listen

Charli XCX and Lil Yachty have shared a new collaboration, “After the Afterparty.” Listen to the SOPHIE-produced track below.  Earlier this year, Charli XCX released a new album called Vroom Vroom EP, also produced by SOPHIE. Lil Yachty has released two new mixtapes this year: Lil Boat and Summer Songs 2.

In a recent interview with Zane Lowe on Beats 1, Charli talks about how the new song came about, and how Lil Yachty surprised her by saying he loved her album Sucker. “I was like, ‘whoa, that’s cool ’cus I like, hate that album now, so it’s cool that he likes it.” The pair also apparently bonded over a mutual love of Panic! At The Disco. Listen to a clip from the interview below.

Read “PC Music's Inverted Consumerism” on the Pitch. 

Watch Charli XCX’s video for “Vroom Vroom”:

via Kevin Lozano

Q-Tip Announces New A Tribe Called Quest Album

Q-Tip has announced a new album from A Tribe Called Quest. While the album does not yet have a name, it will be released November 11 and features Busta Rhymes and Consequence. In a handwritten note posted to Facebook, Q-Tip explains how the group hit the studio following their first televised performance in 18 years. Member Phife Dawg passed away in March before the album’s completion, but Q-Tip says “he left us with the blue print of what we had to do.” Read the full note below.

Earlier this year, Q-Tip was named the Kennedy Center’s first-ever artistic director for hip-hop culture. His collaborative album with Busta Rhymes, The Abstract and the Dragon, arrived in 2014. Phife Dawg recently had a street in Queens named after him in his honor.

via Noah Yoo

Boogie Shares New “Nigga Needs” Video: Watch

Earlier this month, Compton rapper Boogie released a new mixtape called Thirst 48 Pt. II. The latest release from the project is a video for the song “Nigga Needs.” Watch it below. Directed by Gina Gammell and actress Riley Keough (The Runaways, Mad Max: Fury Road, “The Girlfriend Experience”), it features various Boogies—one with a bullet wound, another holding a child—on display as subjects in a museum exhibit.

Read our Rising feature, “Boogie: A Rapper of Consequence.”

via Sheldon Pearce

Black Mountain Gear Stolen

Yesterday, Black Mountain had the bulk of their gear stolen in Sweden. The missing items include several guitars, effects pedals, keyboards, and modules. “Hey Gothenburg! We just got ripped off in your city. Please let us know if you run across the following gear,” the band wrote on their Facebook page. Find the full list of missing gear here. Fans and supporters have been loaning the band gear so they can continue to play live gigs. They are currently on tour in support of their album IV, which was released in March.

Revisit Black Mountain’s “Mothers of the Sun” video:

via Sheldon Pearce

Watch Run the Jewels Perform “The Halloween Wiggle” on “Colbert”

Run the Jewels are set to appear on tonight’s episode of “Late Show With Stephen Colbert” as musical guests... sort of. The duo appear in a new skit called “The Halloween Wiggle,” where they rap about some spooky sexual antics while Colbert offers up some more innocent alternatives. Check out a video of the full segment ahead of tonight’s episode, featuring lyrics like “Spread your cobwebs and arch your back/And I'ma stick my hand down your candy sack” and “Make you bite on your pillow like it’s a marshmallow.”

Run the Jewels recently shared a new song, “Talk to Me,” the first single from their forthcoming album RTJ3. 

Watch Killer Mike and El-P on Pitchfork.tv’s “Over/Under”:

via Noah Yoo