Wu-Tang Clan, Nas Announce North American Tour

Courtesy Live Nation 

Hip-hop belongs to the world now, but there is no denying that its ancestral home is New York.

On Tuesday, rap legends Wu-Tang Clan and Nas announced they’re co-headlining a tour guaranteed to remind those who may have forgotten the state’s importance to the art form.

RZA, GZA, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Raekwon, Masta Killa, and Cappadonna — who emerged from the slums of Shaolin (New York’s Staten Island) like the Voltron lions to form the rap supergroup Wu-Tang Clan — and Brooklyn-born, Queensbridge bred (raised in Queens, New York’s infamous Queensbridge Houses public housing development) Nas, NY State of Mind tour is slated to launch late in the summer.

The 25-city tour begins Aug. 30 in St. Louis, Missouri, before making stops across North America including Atlanta, Toronto and Houston before wrapping up Oct. 4 in Los Angeles.

The first official tour featuring the two icons, however, will not include any shows in their native New York.

Both acts began their careers with genre-defining albums in the 1990s. Wu-Tang Clan’s kung-fu crossed with hardcore hip-hop-inspired debut "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)" dropped in November 1993, and Nas’ “Illmatic” hit the airwaves six months later.

Courtesy Live Nation 

"Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)” ranks 27th on Rolling Stone's updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, while Billboard wrote in 2015 that “'Illmatic' is widely seen as the best hip-hop album ever.” It was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" in 2020, and last week it was announced that “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)” would be receiving the same honor.

Nas, who earned his first-ever Grammy Award for best rap album in March for his twelfth solo studio album, King's Disease, has appeared as a featured artist on several tracks by members of Wu-Tang Clan as well as with the whole group on a song titled "Let My N—- Live" off Wu-Tang Clan's 2000 album The W. He also appeared as himself in the 2019 Showtime documentary series Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men to speak about his time working with the group.

NY STATE OF MIND TOUR DATES:
Tue Aug 30 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre*
Thu Sep 01 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center*
Fri Sep 02 – Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre*
Sat Sep 03 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre^
Sun Sep 04 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage^
Wed Sep 07 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center*
Thu Sep 08 – Camden, NJ – Waterfront Music Pavilion*
Fri Sep 09 – Hartford, CT – XFINITY Theatre*
Sat Sep 10 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center*
Tue Sep 13 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center^
Wed Sep 14 – Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach*
Fri Sep 16 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live*
Sat Sep 17 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek*
Sun Sep 18 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion*
Tue Sep 20 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre*
Wed Sep 21 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre*
Thu Sep 22 – Atlanta, GA – Lakewood Amphitheatre*
Sat Sep 24 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center^
Sun Sep 25 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater^
Mon Sep 26 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion*
Thu Sep 29 – Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion*
Fri Sep 30 – Irvine, CA – FivePoint Amphitheatre*
Sat Oct 01 – Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena^
Sun Oct 02 – Wheatland, CA – Toyota Amphitheatre*
Tue Oct 04 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl*
TICKETS: Tickets go on sale starting Tuesday, April 26th at 10am local at livenation.com

Hi-Five's Roderick 'Pooh' Clark Dead at 49

Instagram @officialhifive 

Roderick "Pooh" Clark, an original member of the R&B quintet Hi-Five, which enjoyed a meteoric rise to
fame in the early 1990s thanks to its self-titled multiplatinum debut album, is dead at 49.

The musician died on Easter Sunday. While the family has yet to confirm an official cause of death, TMZ reported that the entertainer succumbed to an infection after a bout with pneumonia at a Waco hospital.

Clark was a founding member of the Hi-Five along with fellow Waco, Texas natives Tony Thompson, Marcus Sanders, Russell Neal, and Toriano Easley from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

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A post shared by Hi-Five (KissingGame) (@officialhifive)

His time with the group ended when he was paralyzed from the neck down in 1992. A car rear-ended and flipped the group's vehicle on their way to a radio interview in Florida.

Following his death, several friends and former bandmates took to social media to remember Clark.

The group’s former manager, Jonathan Kinloch, wrote on Facebook: "We were blessed and had a great time as a family. A huge part of what made it fun, was because of Roderick 'Pooh' Clark. He was the serious member, who made sure that the guys together worked hard."

Fellow original member, Sanders, who confirmed his death to TMZ, posted, ""Roderick 'Pooh' Clark Feb 27, 1973- April 17, 2022 Rest In Peace My Brother," on Facebook, sharing a short video of Clark as well.

The band's former musical director Martinez Little also shared a Facebook tribute.

"Pooh was the most athletic of them all," wrote Martinez. "In basketball he could stand right under the basket and jump straight up and dunk the ball. Our play fights and Super Soaker battles were epic. We also used to battle each other hard on the Bball court in most cities. I still miss the fun times touring with my little brothers as Musical Director. My condolences to Hi5 and his family. R.I.P. Pooh."

Known best for their 1991 Billboard No. 1 hit single, "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game), Hi-Five's original lineup has suffered a series of calamities over the years since their initial success.

Easley was expelled from the group in 1990, at the age of 17, after shooting an acquaintance and receiving a 15-year prison sentence for attempted murder. Thompson, the original lead singer, died in Waco in 2007 from inhaling freon. Neal was charged with murder for fatally stabbing his wife in Houston in 2014.

DJ Kay Slay Dead at 55

Instagram @djkayslay

Easter Sunday, the legendary graffiti artist and hip-hop icon, DJ Kay Slay, died following a prolonged battle with Covid 19.

The native New Yorker, born Keith Grayson, was 55. Grayson had been battling the disease for four months.

He was hospitalized in December and, reportedly placed on a ventilator.

At the time, his brother Kwame Grayson disputed those reports, telling HipHopDX, “It was a machine that was helping him breathe, but it was not a ventilator. I don’t know where they get this information."

First reported by his longtime friend and collaborator, hip-hop promoter Van Silk, his death was confirmed by his family in a touching tribute posted by New York radio station Hot 97, where his show the "Drama Hour" was a staple of the station's lineup for over 20 years.

“Our hearts are broken by the passing of Keith Grayson, professionally known as DJ Kay Slay,” the family wrote of Grayson who was also known as The Drama King and Dezzy Dez. “A dominant figure in Hip Hop culture with millions of fans worldwide, DJ Kay Slay will be remembered for his passion and excellence with a legacy that will transcend generations.”

It continued, “In memory of DJ Kay Slay, our family wishes to thank all of his friends, fans, and supporters for their prayers and well wishes during this difficult time. We ask that you respect our privacy as we grieve this tragic loss.”

“Hip Hop lost a real gem,” Silk told HipHopDx. “My dear brother is gone. I’ve known him since he was 16 years old. He was my little brother...

“the world not only lost a real dedicated person to the culture of hip-hop but a source of bridging the gap in hip-hop. I’m gonna miss my little brother.”

Born in August 14, 1966 in East Harlem, Grayson began his career as a graffiti artist. He performed hip-hop in his spare time.

He revealed to Forbes in a 2019 interview that he never had intentions of it being more than a hobby.

 “It was just something to do that was fun and that I enjoyed doing," he said.

He has already gained a reputation as a prominent graffit artist when an appearance in the iconic hip-hop documentary "Style Wars," in 1983, cemented his place in hip-hop's zeitgeist.

He earned the moniker "Drama King" for being the go-between and referee of epic MC battles on his "Streetsweeper" series of mixtapes.

His debut album "The Streetsweeper, Vol. 1" dropped in 2003, and he went on to release five studio albums, 27 mixtapes and a joint album with DJ Greg Street.

Hot 97 posted its own tribute to Grayson on social media following the news.

"Hot 97 is shocked and saddened by the loss of our beloved DJ Kay Slay," the statment read. "We cherish the many memories created through the twenty-plus years he dedicated to the 'Drama Hour.' A cultural icon, Kay Slay was more than just a DJ, to us he was family and a vital part of what made Hot 97 the successful station it is today. Our hearts go out to his family, friends, and fans worldwide and we will always and forever celebrate The Drama King's legacy."

A Word From The HOT 97 Family: 🕊️

RIP DJ Kay Slay pic.twitter.com/TawxjRSSRh

— HOT 97 (@HOT97) April 18, 2022