This Memorial Day, May 28th, Talib Kweli, will kick off his “Prisoner of Conscious Tour” at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City. The talented people who put this tour together, Move Forward Music, have provided us 2 free tickets which we are giving to you!

Here’s how to win tickets:
1. Like BeforeBigs.com
2. Like Move Forward Music
3. Share this post on facebook and tag the BeforeBigs.com and Move Forward Music facebook pages in your status update. Writing why you should win tickets or your favorite Talib Kweli song improves your chances of winning! Here’s an example of a great contest entry:

The contest ends Friday May 25. If you don’t win, purchase tickets here.

Heres some info below about Talib Kweli‘s ”Prisoner of Conscious” album and tour. (more…)

Tags: contest, Le Poisson Rouge, Move Forward Music, New York City, Prisoner of Conscious, Prisoner of Conscious Tour, Tali Kweli, ticket contest

SoCal synth-pop duo Junior High (aka Michael Deakers and Josh Ottum) celebrates the sounds and emotions that are inextricably linked with the emergence of the synthesizer, the warmth and nostalgia of a pastel-colored windbreaker, sailboats, and the unapologetic lyrical positivity of the 1980′s. In an age thick with irony and emotional distance, Junior High is a sincere, catchy, and highly danceable breath of fresh air. This is music made by instinct. And these instincts say, “Pretend you are 13 and you’re alone in your bedroom dancing in front of the mirror!” The catchy single “PSA” incorporates 80s grooves with a modern touch – integrating nods to Michael Jackson and soundtrack composers Harold Faltermeyer and Giorgio Moroder.

Junior High is pleased to share their video for “PSA,” throws a visual aspect on the party-time track. Gold lamé, ray-bans, vibraphone, breakdancing and special f/x straight out of an 80s Saturday morning Public Service Announcement–this band knows how to have a good time. Watch “PSA” below. (more…)

Tags: 80\'s, Junior High, Southern California

Despite encountering some of the worst case scenarios, Canada’s The Rest can finally say they are releasing their sophomore record, Seesaw. Their music video for “Always On My Mind” was filmed just this past April in one continuous take with the help of 30 people and a couple furries. The track and video give a perfect first impression of The Rest: the video displays their big family style and the track’s methodic distortion is a running theme throughout the record.

“Always On My Mind” was stuck in my head immediately and their similarities to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah give their songs a comforting familiarity.

The Rest reveal a new track every week until the release of Seesaw on June 19 and offer each track download for 7 days. Stream and download below!

Watch the “Always On My Mind” video with a live choir and animals below. (more…)

Tags: Canada, The Rest

Lyriqs da Lyraciss performs “Underdogcentral”, second single from his debut album “The Nobody’s Monologues 2“. Enjoy!

Watch the Official Music Video below. (more…)

Tags: Lyriqs da Lyraciss, The Nobody's Monologues 2

We all love aimlessly wandering through Youtube until we finally find that one song that really catches our ear. Today I stumbled across this group straight out of Detroit named Clear Soul Forces. The group consists of four members;  E-Fav, L.A.Z., Noveliss, and producer/emcee Ilajide.

Their track entitled “Get No Better”  reminded me that Hip-Hop is far from dead. These dudes pack an old school flow mixed up with some new school beats and some tight lyrics. If there is any doubt in your mind that today’s  industry is filled with swagged out white kids who can’t spit a rhyme, I highly suggest checking out “Get No Better” by Clear Soul Forces.

Be sure to check out their Facebook. Watch Official Music Video to “Get No Better” below. (more…)

Tags: Clear Soul Forces, Detroit

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson brings us his music video for “Niggas Be Schemin” featuring Kidd Kidd. The first few minutes is just them talking, but it’s worth your time because they both kill the track/video! Enjoy! Also, be on the lookout, 50 Cent‘s mixtape, The Lost Tape, is scheduled to drop on May 22nd on ThisIs50.com!

Official Music Video -

-EllisD @DreamChaserLSD

Tags: 50 Cent, Kidd Kidd, The Lost Tape

New Orleans-based emcee Harn SOLO presents the Mally X-directed music video for “Say Bruh”, the first single from his new album Shooting Star, produced entirely by NOLA HipHop Award-winning producer Pro Prospek. Moving from Los Angeles to New Orleans a few years ago, SOLO has since performed alongside Wu-Tang Clan, Rebirth Brass Band, Mickey Factz and more. SOLO has seven albums under his belt including The Awakening, SOLO 3.0, Reaching Higher and The Grind, his recent full-length with fellow Nola emcee Lyriqs da Lyraciss

Watch the Official Music Video below. (more…)

Tags: Harn SOLO, Los Angeles, Mally-X, New Orleans, Pro Prospek

Beta Wolf is a rock group from Los Angeles that deserves your attention. Their music is infectious and this is a band that should not be overlooked. I’d rather let the music speak for itself though, so here’s four of their most recent songs.




If you like what you hear, watch their latest video, “Believe In Love” below. It’s my favorite song from Beta Wolf!
(more…)

Tags: Beta Wolf, Los Angeles

If there’s nothing I love more, it’s collaboration. Especially when one of my fave rappers gets with another talented rapper and produces something WORTH listening to. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the future of of rap is here. It’s happening right now, kids. Bye bye to all the rappers with limited vocabularies, overinflated egos, and absolutely nothing to show for all their big talk. Essentially, anybody can get up on stage and throw around a few cuss words and call themselves a hustler but can you tell a STORY? A story that’s real, asks deep questions, challenges social norms, empathizes with what it’s like to be a struggling human being?

Enter Dylan Owen, a 20 year old up and comer from Goshen,New York.

The story gets better. This kid got with Jeremy Dussoliet from my all time fave rap duo, Kinetics & One Love, and cranked out a video that, after watching it more than a few times, gave me a feeling in my gut that I was witnessing the game of rap on the brink of a complete 180. These guys are telling stories that are relevant – they’re making rap MATTER.

The combination of Owen’s fast-paced, go-hard delivery with Dussoliet’s (a.k.a. Kinetics) gritty, no-nonsense, straight-from-the-gut story telling in this video is unreal. Watch “In The Corner” below.

(more…)

Tags: Dylan Owen, Jeremy Dussoliet, Kinetics

Sam Lachow is a super underrated artist whose talent has yet to be heard by many. Sam released the video for his song “Got Soul” in April. Sam is truly a jack of all trades having experience as a producer, songwriter, rapper, videographer, director, and editor of video and music.

He is currently promoting the release of his debut album “Brand New Bike” and his new EP “Avenue Music”, which are both available for free stream/download on samlachow.com! Expect to see Sam at the top of the game in no time, but for now enjoy my favorite track from Sam Lachow “Got Soul” (Ft. Ariana DeBoo) below. (more…)

Tags: Avenue Music, Brand New Bike, Sam Lachow