Philly Fourth Of July Jam Hosted By Comedian Kevin Hart

COMEDIAN KEVIN HART NAMED AS HOST OF PHILLY 4^th OF JULY JAM

VH1 AND PALLADIA TO SIMULCAST AND LIVEDSTREAM ON JULY 4^TH FROM 8-11PM ET/PT

New York, NY- June 4, 2013 –Comedian Kevin Hart has been named the host of the third annual Philly 4^th of July Jam, as part of the Wawa Welcome America! Festival. The event will be simulcast on VH1 and Palladia on Thursday, July 4 from 8-11PM ET. In addition, the event will be live streamed on VH1.com with frequent editorial coverage across MTV, VH1 and CMT news and blogs. Hometown favorites, The Roots, will once again serve as musical curators for the event, they will play their own set and also perform along with special guests John Mayer, Jill Scott, Demi Lovato, Ne-Yo, Grace Potter and J. Cole. Capping off the musical event, the evening will include a spectacular fireworks display over the iconic Philadelphia Museum of Art.

"We are excited to bring Kevin back home to Philly to host the Largest Free Concert event in America", said show Executive Producer Shawn Gee.  "With Kevin, The Roots and Jill Scott, the show will definitely have a Philly flair to it, however with the other great talent on the show, this is guaranteed to be the best Philly Fourth of July show ever. And now with our new partners VH1, the entire country will be able to experience the annual party we have been throwing for 500,000 of our closest friends on the Ben Franklin Parkway each year.”

In addition to hosting the third annual Philly 4^th Of July Jam, the actor and comedian has a new movie, KEVIN HART: LET ME EXPLAIN, hitting theaters on July 3^rd. The movie captures the laughter, energy and mayhem from Hart’s 2012 “Let Me Explain” concert tour, which spanned 10 countries and 80 cities, and generated over $32 million in ticket sales. 

Billed as the “Largest Free Concert in America,” the Philly 4^th of July Jam is a celebration of freedom and music. The Philly 4^th of July Jam is an unforgettable, entertainment-filled night that has featured some of the top artists in the music industry. This is a one-of-a-kind concert, free of cost and fun for all ages, located right in the heart of the City of Brotherly Love. With 500,000 people jamming out on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway--- there is no other place to spend the Fourth of July.

The Jam is coordinated by Welcome America, Inc. and its Executive Director Desiree Peterkin-Bell, along with Executive Producers Scott Mirkin and Shawn Gee and produced with Live Nation. Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter of The Roots serve as musical directors for the Jam. Executive producers for VH1 are Lee Rolontz, Rick Krim and Keshia Williams.

The Philly 4^th of July Jam takes place during Wawa Welcome America!, a multi-day festival that celebrates America’s birthday in America’s birthplace, Philadelphia.

About VH1

VH1 delivers the ultimate mash-up of music, pop culture and nostalgia for adults who still want to have fun.  VH1 is available in 99 million households in the U.S.  VH1 also has an array of digital channels and services including VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul, VH1 Mobile and VH1.com and @VH1, the hub for all things music and pop culture.  VH1 is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.  For more information, go to www.vh1press.com, VH1.com, or the VH1 Facebook page.  Follow us on Twitter @VH1PR.    

About Palladia

Palladia, MTV Networks’ high-definition music channel, launched in January 2006 and features original music-based programming for a variety of music genres, including hip hop, rock, country, pop, reggaeton, soul and more, as well as HDTV acquisitions and original content from MTV Networks Music Group’s MTV, VH1, and CMT family of services.  The channel has grown to 12 million households and is available on major U.S. carriers including Comcast, Cox, Verizon FiOS, Time Warner, Dish, DIRECTV, Charter, AT&T u-Verse and Insight.

About Wawa Welcome America!

Wawa Welcome America! is a multi-day festival that celebrates America’s birthday in America’s birthplace, Philadelphia. In 2013, Welcome America, Inc. is proud to celebrate 20 years as the producer of Philadelphia’s Fourth of July festival. For more information, please visit www.welcomeamerica.com, like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wawawelcomeamerica and follow us on Twitter at @July4thPhilly.

About Live Nation Entertainment:

Live Nation Entertainment is the world’s leading live entertainment comprised of four market leaders: Ticketmaster.com, Live Nation Concerts, Artist Nation Management and Live Nation Media/Sponsorship. For additional information, visit www.livenation.com/investors.

###

Get More: 

Questlove, Questlove Music Videos, Free Music Videos

Saturday 6TH Annual ROOTS PICNIC Set Times + Sold Out

Roots Picnic Lineup: Naughty By Nature, Macklemore, Solange, DJ Premier, Trinidad James Identity Ink PreSale

June 1 The 6th Annual Roots Picnic

identity ink Presale Thur 
Password INK
Start: Thu, 01/24/13 12:00 PM ESTEnd: Thu, 01/24/13 11:59 PM EST
Ticket Link http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/02004A32DB6E9427

Lineup 

The Roots
Gary Clark, Jr.
Macklemore
Ryan Lewis
Grimes
Naughty By Nature
Araabmuzik
DJ Premier
Solange
Trinidad James
Gaslamp Killer
Hit Boy
How To Dress Well
Joey Bada$$
Robert Glasper
Sonnymoon
Lushlife

The roster of artists for the 6th Annual Roots Picnic Festival, taking place June 1 at Festival Pier at Penns Landing in Philadelphia, has been announced.

This year, the lineup includes headliners and festival organizers The Roots backing Naughty By Nature for a full set. Performers during the event include Grimes, Gary Clark Jr., Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Solange Knowles, Joey Bada$$, How to Dress Well, Sonnymoon, Jennah Bell, Trinidad Jame$, Robert Glasper, Lushlife, DJ Premier, Hit-Boy, The Gaslamp Killer and araabMUZIK.

Shawn Gee, executive producer of the Roots Picnic who co-manages the group with Richard Nichols, explains that event organizers including Questlove and Black Thought spent months curating a lineup with promoter Live Nation. Like with previous years, which has featured The Black Keys, Gnarls Barkley and Rakim, Gee says that the intention is to offer a diverse group of artists and expose fresh talent.

"We feel this is probably our most balanced year," says Gee, who is also president of music and entertainment at SEFG and serves as a touring consultant for the Blueprint Group. "From an artist's perspective, people understand that the talent pool is handpicked by ?uestlove and the team. They want to play, because they understand what The Roots stand for and what we've built for the past five years."

"The hardest thing is catching acts that are just getting buzz so you can get them on the cusp," Questlove told Billboard. "I thought instantly that Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were going to be poppin. And just on a hunch, I was like, 'Alright.' We hit them and they agreed. Sure enough, after the album came out, they just became unstoppable."

Questlove uses the relationships he's buit on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" to handpick acts. "Now that we've worked at 'Fallon,' it's more sweet than it's ever been," he said. "You have to keep in mind that the picnic started three years before we started with Jimmy Fallon. So the process in the beginning was really tough because we had to go through agents and managers. Once I realized that the real advantage of working at Fallon kind of cut the red tape, it allowed us to deal with the artists one-on-one."

Last year, the festival was spread out over two days, touting performances from Wale, De La Soul, Rakim, Major Lazer, Danny Brown and more. Instead of taking up a full weekend, Gee says that this year's consolidation to one day is the only change that attendees can expect from the concert, which will feature its signature DJ tent as well as a main stage.

"Last year was very successful based on the talent we were able to go after," says Gee. "Every year, it all starts with the talent. When we laid out the talent list, we thought it would be more effective to focus on one day and really balancing out one day versus stretching out for two days based off of the talent that we wanted to go after this year." 

Via http://www.billboard.com/column/the-juice/roots-picnic-lineup-naughty-by-nature-macklemore-1008106162.story?utm_source=most_recent#/column/the-juice/roots-picnic-lineup-naughty-by-nature-macklemore-1008106162.story?utm_source=most_recent

"Live In Brooklyn" Gets Delayed

Jay-Z is planning to release an eight-song collection of live performances from his special eight-show concert series at Brooklyn's Barclays Center. The project was slated to be released on Tuesday, October 9th, but has been pushed back 48 hours to Thursday, October 11th.

The EP's tracklist hasn't been revealed as of yet, but will include eight videos.

The project is Jay's first live album since 2001's Jay-Z: Unplugged, a set of acoustic performances from his The Blueprint album in which the hip hop star was backed by famed hip hop band The Roots.

Kid Cudi A No-Show

Rapper Kid Cudi failed to appear at the 5th Annual Roots Picnic in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, despite being the headliner for the second day. Fans learned that the Cleveland, Ohio via an announcement from Roots emcee Black Thought.

Cheers from the crowd prompted The Roots to perform a set along with Freeway, Skillz and Jakk Frost.

Kid Cudi has not released a statement regarding the event.

?uestlove On Jay-Z

The Roots' ?uestlove shared some of his experiences with hip hop mogul Jay-Z when Jay was the president of Def Jam. It was during his tenure as president that Jay-Z brought the acclaimed Philadelphia-based hip hop band to hip hop's most revered label.

According to ?uestlove, Jay-Z always wanted the band to maintain their integrity.

"(Jay-Z) didn't want to be known as the bad guy that killed The Roots," ?uestlove said. "I told Jay, "Like man, that would be nice to have all my records debut at No. 1 and stuff." But he's like, "Yeah, but you're just looking at that. I got to deal with beef with this cat and that cat. Every year some rapper's going to take a potshot and I got to take the gloves out the closet and start training." ... And (Jay-Z) sees me as an artist making my dream come true. Like, he wants to be seen as a true artist, not the richest guy in hip-hop. Meanwhile, I would like 13 zeros in my account."

Black Thought's Health Initiative

The Roots are supporting the ongoing fight against childhood obesity. Black Thought, co-founder of the GrassROOTS Foundation is hosting his annual "Let's Move It Philly!" charity concert. The band's homebase of Philadelphia will serve as the first in a 10-city initiative that is focused on battling childhood obesity in the African-American community.

Alongside Black Thought, Philly Mayor Michael A. Nutter, state representative Tony J. Payton Jr. and C.H.I.C.K.S. program director Joan Todd will be making appearances at the event and the GrassROOTS sponsored health fair.

The GrassROOTS Foundation was co-founded by Black Thought and sociologist Dr. Janice Johnson Dias. The foundation is committed to promoting healthy lifestyles and wellness initiatives among disadvantaged communities.

Mayor Nutter Raps At His 2nd Term Inauguration Party With The Legendary Roots Band

Album Review: The Roots UnDun

Hip hop's history with concept albums is pretty spotty. The genre has its fair-share of classics within the genre, though the format isn't as embraced as it was in its classic rock heyday. There are some obvious reasons for that fact; hip hop has existed in the CD and mp3 eras; when music fans shuffle and program their own music choices and are less likely to sit and listen to an entire album from start to finish than their LP-raised parents were. But that doesn't mean there are no great hip hop concept albums; quite the contrary--fromDe La Soul Is Dead to Jay-Z's somewhat-underrated American Gangster, rappers have shown that they can wring as much narrative and contextual meaning out of a concept record as Pete Townshend or Ray Davies in their respective primes.

The Roots take a stab at the concept album format with their latest album undun. Named after a song by classic rockers the Guess Who, the album tells the story of Redford Stephens in reverse. The album begins with Stephens flatlining in a hospital before taking the listener on a journey of pathos, struggle and heartache as lived through the corner hustler's experiences.

With uber-rhymer Black Thought serving as primary protagonist and narrator of Stephens' story, you get some of the frontman's deftest raps to date and he effectively paints the portrait of Stephens' tragic life. The fact that the narrative never seems strained nor does it rob the listener of the chance to experience the music organically speaks volumes about Black Thought's abilities to tell a meaningful story. He doesn't bog the listener down with too many minute details in an effort to conventionally 'flesh-out' Stephens; instead, he drops mentions to the character's life and culture.

The Roots have recruited precious few guest stars, most of whom are regular collaborators like Dice Raw, Truck North and P.O.R.N. The Big K.R.I.T.-assisted "Make My" is a melancholy jewel of a song, with the Mississippi rapper blending seamlessly into the overall feel of album and adding to the concept instead of detracting from it, over a breezy groove that requires the sweetest of 60s soul.

As the albums moves from the gorgeous strings of "I Remember" to the darkly solemn "Tip the Scale" it builds towards a musical apex unlike anything heard on a hip hop album circa 2011: "The Redford Suite" a striking musical coda that closes the album in brilliant fashion, showcasing the band's musical gifts (particular ?uestlove's drumming abilities) and ending the album in a dramatic flurry of sound and emotion that only the Roots could pull off without seeming pretentious.

Musically channeling the warm, emotive funk and soul of classic Stevie Wonder and Sly Stone, undun also shares a kinship with classic rock staples like The Who's Quadrophenia and modern masterpieces like Green Day's American Idiot and the Flaming Lips'Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. There are few artists in hip hop that are still pushing themselves artistically after almost two decades, and even fewer succeed in producing a masterpiece as musically rich as The Roots undun.

Looking Back: The 2011 Hip Hop 100

2011 was an eventful year for hip hop. The emergence of new superstars, the affirmation of established legends and their greatness and the sad, untimely deaths of a pair of 90s hip hop legends all gave resonance to the past year. HipHopBlog.com once again decided to list the 100 individuals that sat at the top of hip hop's cache in 2011, and we've included a diverse roster of artists, executives, entrepreneurs and personalities.

There were several new faces that changed the 2011 hip hop landscape. Upstarts like the West Coast collective Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All and Pittsburgh stoner-rap star Wiz Khalifa became household names, while indie maverick Mac Miller reshaped the way a new artist can promote themselves and their art. Several of hip hop's most 'thoughtful' artists found themselves embroiled in controversy this year; with Lupe Fiasco, Common and the Roots all sitting at the center of political firestorms and proving why they are among hip hop's best-suited for such debates.

At the very top of hip hop music and culture, moguls like Diddy and Jay-Z continued to display a golden touch in 2011. Both men were among the year's top earners, and both men had much success throughout the year--both as artists (Diddy's Dirty Money project, Jay-Z's uber-successful Watch the Throne) campaign, and as executives with Bad Boy Records and Roc Nation, respectively.

Hip hop is an ever-evolving artform and a thriving culture. The Hip Hop 100 celebrates both sides of the coin and reminds fans and artists that there are a myriad of ways to make your presence felt in the game. These are the people that have mastered all of them.

Roots Album Could Become A Play, Film

The Roots released their new album undun to much critical acclaim, and the hip hop band has announced that they could be pushing the project a step further. Frontman Black Thought revealed that hte group hopes that the concept album about the life of fictional hustler Redford Stephens could be turned into a film or play.

“It's definitely a set-up for there to be something cinematic or theatrical," he said. "It could be a play or a full-length feature or a short or an iPad app that's more involved than the one that accompanies this record. The idea that those possibilities exist are why we approached (undun) that way; we want there to be an option for the music to be able to live on if we choose to take it there."

"It's been discussed amongst ourselves," he said, "but no one has approached us to say, 'Why don't you do this to further develop this character?' But the backstory that's told and the whole mockumentary thing set it up to be a possibility."

The Roots Have To Get NBC Clearance

The Roots' drummer/producer ?uestlove has revealed that NBC is now clearing the band's selections for walk-on music on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." The news comes after a recent incident in which the Roots played an instrumental of Fishbone's "Lyin' Ass B*tch" as Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann walked out for an interview on the show.

"it was a real bummer that it happened. We don't want to censor anyone, but...I don't know," Fallon said--before joking; "Maybe ?uestlove is a Romney guy."

"It's still a comedy show, so they promise not to step on my toes or that type of thing, but they definitely want to know the title of the song, the subject matter of the song – can it be seen as an insult?" ?uestlove told the Associated Press. "It was kind of wrong for me to throw [NBC] under the bus without telling them what it was, so I understand from a business standpoint."

The Roots Honored With Mural

Philadelphia-based hip hop band the Roots will be honored with a mural on South Street of their hometown, a project which is set to be completed in July of 2012. The mural is in the neighborhood where group members Black Thought and ?uestlove initially hung out.

A formal announcement will be made later in November and The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program plans to include multimedia elements such as video, online interaction and on-site activation.

The program will also emphasize city-wide involvement through paint days, pop up studios, a curriculum for a youth arts component called “Roots 101.”

?uestlove Discusses Roots Album

Roots drummer/producer ?uestlove shared some details about the group's upcoming thirteenth album undun. In an interview with Billbaord, ?uest discussed the album's completion and the concept fueling the project.

"We actually completed [the album] at five [o'clock] this morning, so it's officially done," he said of the album. "It's essentially a biographical narrative about Redford Stephens. Stephens [is] a composite of four or five people that we've known over the past few years from Philadelphia."

?uestlove also shared details regarding his work on soul singer D'Angelo's long-delayed third album. “I'm on his [D'Angelo's] record as well," he said. "He's in the home stretch right now. I know that Fred Wesley and the JB Horns just did a cut that Q-Tip did; I know he's doing his vocals right now."

The Roots Detail New Album

The Roots have shared some details regarding their upcoming Def Jam album. The project is called undun and is a concept album that follows the life of Redford Stephens. The album is slated to be released on December 6th and is the group's first concept album.

“At this point in our career we’d like for our work to have a unifying theme, and an experiential quality,” said Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson. “We’ve been intentionally making our albums shorter in length so that they can be experienced as a continuous work. The music is band-oriented with an eye on the moody cinematic. As a DJ, I am the King of playlists, but I don’t want our albums to feel like a playlist or a mixtape for that matter. We want to tell stories that work within the album format and we want the stories to be nuanced and useful to people. undun is the story of this kid who becomes criminal, but he wasn’t born criminal. He’s not the nouveau exotic primitive bug-eyed gunrunner like Tupac’s character Bishop in “Juice”… he’s actually thoughtful and is neither victim nor hero. Just some kid who begins to order his world in a way that makes the most sense to him at a given moment… At the end of the day… isn’t that what we all do?”

The Roots will be performing at the Highline Ballroom in New York City in late November to promote the project. undun's first single features Big K.R.I.T. and will be released November 1st.

The Roots Prepping New Album

The Roots' drummer ?uestlove has revealed that the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based collective is preparing a orchestral “concept album” that will follow-up their critically-acclaimed 2010 release How I Got Over.

“This is going to be our first full-fledged narrative concept album," he said. "It's going to be a challenge to figure out how to get from point A to B -- or in this case, point B to point A -- and have it seem natural.”

"It's going to be heavy on sort of orchestral chamber music with harder beats in it,” he explained.

“[It will be] kind of flipped," added rapper/frontman Black Thought. "Instead of from dark to light, it's an album that goes from light to dark,” he said of the album, which has a “one-word title that’s spelled incorrectly.”

Jill Scott Re-Connects With Hip Hop

Soul singer Jill Scott has gotten back in touch with her hip hop roots on her highly-anticipated upcoming album. The Light of the Sun features a bevy of hip hop collaborators. Scott, a native of Philadelphia, has never downplayed her connections to hip hop, with the Roots and DJ Jazzy Jeff playing prominent roles on her classic debut Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds, Vol. 1. But she has never had this many rappers on a project before.

Fellow Philly native Eve, hip hop legend Doug E. Fresh and Texas rapper Paul Wall all are among the guests on the album.

"I grew up on Eric B. and Rakim; I grew up on storytelling, on Big Daddy Kane, on flows, on KRS-One," Jill Scott told AllHipHop. "Giving some education and something to think about. You know, I went to what I love most about Hip-Hop and I will stay in that particular genre. And I used some incredibly, incredibly amazing musicians and we freestyle a lot."

Launch Of Nicki Minaj Camera The Casio Tryx In Times Square

Nicki Minaj took time out from the I Am Still Music tour to help Casio launch its new Tryx camera in New York City's Times Square Thursday (April 7). The 26-year-old arrived in a pink double-decker bus and showed off a matching camera, before heading to the Best Buy Theater to meet the winners of her fan look-alike contest.

Casio, a Japanese electronics company, insisted that Minaj's "wow factor" made her the perfect spokesperson for their new product -- a 12.1 megapixel camera that merges hand-held technology with instant connectivity to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. "Just as Nicki brings a unique, exciting and fresh perspective to the world of hip-hop, Casio looks to do the same with Tryx and the digital imaging industry," said Senior General Manager of Digital Imaging Division, Toshi Iguchi.

An excited Minaj was elated to be involved in the product launch. "Today was truly a #moment4life," she tweeted. "Thank u to Casio and everyone who came out to the show!!! We've officially launched the #TRYX."

The Harajuku Barbie capped off the night with a performance at the Tryx Out: NYC 2011 kick-off party alongside the Roots, who also participated in the company's promotional campaign.

Questlove On Kim/Nicki

Roots drummer Questlove offered a unique take on the ongoing Lil Kim/Nicki Minaj feud. Just after a snippet of Nicki's Kim-dissing track "Tragedy" hit the web, Quest took to Twitter to share a different perspective on the bad blood between the boss ladies.

"It's my personal belief that dissing/verbal (well & actual) pugilism is the most intense form of LOVE," Quest tweeted. "Where your intent is to affect/infect em to the highest degree. i know that sounds contradictory (displaying harsh actions as a sign of affection) but if you see this in somewhat of a Shakespearean (or maybe the hero/sidekick narrative of The Incredibles) one can only conclude that if Nik REALLY hated Kim...... she would do the most painful act of hate....which i pretty much know from experience (as loved and hated) the surefire slow burning-last-scene-in-kill-bill-way-to get under ones skin....is to act like they never existed."

VIDEO The History of Rap w/Jimmy Fallon, Justin Timberlake, The Roots