Hip Hop 50 Live concert announced
A celebratory concert marking hip-hop’s 50th birthday has been announced for New York’s Yankee Stadium in The Bronx.
Scheduled for Friday 11 August, Hip Hop 50 Live at Yankee Stadium will feature Run DMC’s Bottom of the Ninth…The Walk-Off performance, plus legends including Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube, while a Queens of Hip Hop set will feature the likes of Eve, Lil Kim, Remy Ma and Trina.
“I am honoured to hit the stage in the Bronx, the birthplace of Hip Hop and celebrate all of my heroes,” says Run.
“Aug 11th is Hip Hop’s 50th birthday! So…’Up in the Bronx’ where it all started we will be celebrating this historic moment in history! I am honoured to pay tribute to the culture that allowed this little shy kid from Queens to grow up and become The Mighty King of Rock,” adds DMC.
The anniversary event is being co-produced by Nas’ entertainment company Mass Appeal, Live Nation and the New York Yankees
Other performers on the night will include: T.I., Fat Joe, Common, A$AP Ferg, EPMD, Ghostface Killah, Lupe Fiasco and Slick Rick. Additionally, a Pillars of Hip-Hop set will star Kool Herc & Cindy Campbell, Grandmaster Caz, Kurtis Blow, Melle Mel, Roxanne Shante, Scorpio and the Sugarhill Gang. A Legendary DJ set, meanwhile, will showcase Clark Kent, Marley Marl, Mannie Fresh and Battlecat.
Tickets start at US$50, with early bird access to the sale granted to Renaissance Youth Center, New Settlement, SCAN-Harbor, Madison Square Boys & Girls Club, Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, North East Bronx YMCA, Castle Hill YMCA, New York Urban League, Hispanic Federation, Bronx Chamber of Commerce, Bronx Community Foundation, and CORO New York Leadership Center.
The anniversary event is being co-produced by Nas’ entertainment company Mass Appeal, Live Nation and the New York Yankees. Additional acts will be announced in the coming weeks. Emmy Award-winning BASSic Black Entertainment CEO Adam Blackstone is serving as managing creative music director along with partner Omar Edwards, musical director for Jay-Z.
Hip Hop 50 Live at Yankee Stadium is the latest announcement surrounding Mass Appeal’s cross-platform Hip Hop 50 initiative.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Virtual concerts startup Stage11 attracts superstars
Immersive music experience startup Stage11 has announced partnerships with world-famous artists Martin Garrix, David Guetta, Snoop Dogg, Ne-Yo and Akon.
The news follows a €5 million seed round led by Otium Capital, a European venture capital fund backed by Stage11 founder and CEO, Jonathan Belolo.
Belolo is the co-owner of French record label Scorpio Music, which has a 45-year history in the music industry.
Belolo is joined by co-founders Jean-Philippe Braud and Gregory Dhonner, the co-founder and director of business development for Profirst, a luxury event agency for brands in fashion, beauty, and art (Armani, Chanel, Kering, L’Oréal, LVMH).
Also joining as co-founder is Mani Nordine, the president of American Artists Company, specialising in managing A-list artists and celebrities bookings (Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Nas & Lady Gaga).
Stage11 is using the funds to onboard strategic hires, sign key artist and brand partnerships and build its technology platform
Stage11 says it will use the funds to onboard strategic hires, sign key artist and brand partnerships and build its technology platform.
Amongst those new hires are executives who have previously worked for the likes of Assassin’s Creed, Facebook Oculus, Ferrari, Happy Feet, LVMH, Marvel Avengers, Microsoft Kinect, Nike, and Virgin.
Founded in 2020, with offices in both Paris and LA, Stage11 aims to tap into several of today’s fastest-growing markets including gaming, AR/VR, virtual events, and digital goods.
The company claims that it’s “setting out to redefine the interactive music experience” by combining gaming, mixed reality, and digital collectables.
It will achieve this by “building a new creative canvas for artists, allowing them to invite fans to live, play, and create inside their performances and musical worlds”.
We are combining genres, realities and cultures to build something bold, thrilling and timeless
“These worlds combine immersive gameplay sequences, life-like performances, cinematic narratives and exclusive digital collectables,” according to Stage11.
“Fans can not only discover and collect but actually use these interactive NFTs to create and share unique personalised content and even perform with their favourite artists.”
Stage11 can be accessed on desktop and mobile and the company’s first music experience is set to debut in 2022.
“As a gamer and sci-fi nerd, It feels like I’ve been dreaming about the metaverse my entire life,” says Belolo.
“Now that as a society we’re on the cusp of making it real, I find myself blessed to be part of an incredible team setting out to explore the new frontier. Building immersive music events and experiences is just the first step.
“We are on a journey together to reimagine the way artists and brands connect, even co-create, with their fans and audiences. We are combining genres, realities and cultures to build something bold, thrilling and timeless — yet accessible and fun.”
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
TEG MJR and Snoop Dogg sign exclusive touring deal
TEG MJR, the UK-based promotion division of Asia-Pacific live powerhouse TEG, has secured an exclusive five-year deal with hip-hop heavyweight, Snoop Dogg.
Under the multi-million-dollar deal, TEG MJR will promote all of Snoop Dogg’s tours globally outside of North America, beginning with dates for Snoop’s 2022 world tour.
The European leg of the tour kicks off on 20 February 2022 and includes rescheduled sold-out shows at London’s 02 Arena (cap. 21,000), Dublin’s 3 Arena (cap. 13,000) and Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome Arena (cap. 17,000).
TEG MJR CEO Richard Buck penned the agreement with Snoop’s international agents Julian O’Brien and MPI’s Minneapolis-based partner Nabil Ghebre, who have been working closely together with Bobby D (Aaka Robert Dreislen), who is at the helm of Snoop Dogg’s operations in Los Angeles.
Geoff Jones, CEO of TEG, says: “Snoop Dogg is a hip hop pioneer and one of its greatest live performers. He has won an astonishing number of awards and nominations and we are thrilled to be able to bring the man and his music live to fans the world over for the next five years.”
“We are really excited in helping him bring both his new music and back catalogue to life with this touring partnership”
Richard Buck, CEO of TEG MJR, says: “Snoop is one of the most respected and prolific hip hop artists on the planet. We are really excited in helping him bring both his new music and back catalogue to life with this touring partnership.”
Bobby D, Snoop Dogg’s manager and co-owner of Uncle Snoop’s Army, says: “We are excited about this five-year international partnership with TEG and to continuously come overseas to connect with our fans around the world.”
Uncle Snoop’s Army is a multi-million-dollar LA-based music and entertainment company representing hip-hop artists.
The first dates on Snoop Dogg’s world tour (including rescheduled dates for the UK, Ireland and Amsterdam) are:
20 Feb 2022 – Telenor Arena, Oslo, NO
21 Feb 2022 – Bella Center Kongreshal, Copenhagen, DK
23 Feb 2022 – Koepi Arena , Oberhausen, DE
24 Feb 2022 – Sportpaleis Arena , Antwerp, NL
25 Feb 2022 – Max Schmeling Halle , Berlin, DE
27 Feb 2022 – Accor Arena, Paris, FR
28 Feb 2022 – Ziggo Dome Arena, Amsterdam NL
02 Mar 2022 – SSE Hydro Arena, Glasgow UK
03 Mar 2022 – Resorts World Arena, Birmingham UK
05 Mar 2022 – AO Arena, Manchester UK
07 Mar 2022 – First Direct Arena, Leeds UK
08 Mar 2022 – 02 Arena, London UK
09 Mar 2022 – 3 Arena, Dublin IE
11 Mar 2022 – INEC Arena, Kerry IE
12 Mar 2022 – SSE Arena, Belfast UK
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa to play CoD fan event
Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa have been announced as joint musical headliners for Call of Duty XP 2016, a fan convention for the Call of Duty (CoD) video-game franchise.
The rappers will close the event on Sunday 4 September at The Forum arena (17,505-cap.) in Inglewood, California, following in the footsteps of Kanye West, who headlined the last CoD XP in 2011.
“Call of Duty XP is the ultimate Call of Duty fan experience,” says Rob Kostich, executive vice-president and general manager for Call of Duty at publisher Activision. “It’s going to be an amazing time for our fans, even more so now with Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa there to cap this epic, multi-day event.”
“It’s going to be an amazing time for our fans, even more so now with Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa there to cap this epic, multi-day event”
Call of Duty XP 2016 will also feature the Call of Duty World League Championship (first prize: US$2 million) and the world première of the multiplayer mode for new game Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.
According to Statistic Brain, over 252 million Call of Duty games have been sold worldwide since 2003.
Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa are currently co-headlining the Merry Jane/Live Nation-promoted High Road tour, which will stop at the Sunlight Supply Amphitheater (18,000-cap.) in Ridgefield, Washington, tomorrow.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.