DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist Announce "Renegades of Rhythm" Tour

DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist announced that they will be touring the United States this fall and playing music by Afrika Bambaataa. The Renegades of Rhythm tour is co-signed by the Zulu Nation founder himself.

“I call on all who love Hip Hop to come out, see them, hear them,” Afrika Bambaataa says in a press release. “My story is our history in deejaying.”

Afrika Bambaaataa is a deejay from New York. His music is not only Hip Hop but also features many genres from pop to salsa. His most popular work is the single “Planet Rock,” which was released in 1982 in collaboration with The Soul Sonic Force. They released Planet Rock - The Album in 1986.

DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist will be playing vinyl from Afrika Bambaataa’s personal collection. The records were stored in Cornell University’s archives and the deejays had to sort through more than 40,000 of Bambaataa’s records to decide which ones to use on the tour.

The tour is slated to mesh the old with the new by utilizing six turntables and visual effects from Ben Stokes, who frequently collaborates with DJ Shadow.

DJ Shadow has performed with Diplo and Bassnectar and helped with the music for the video game Grand Theft Auto V.

Cut Chemist is a former member of the Rap group Jurassic 5 and the Latin Funk group Ozomatli. His first solo project was 2006’s The Audience’s Listening. He started deejaying when he was 11 years old.

This isn’t the first time DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist have worked together. In 2008, they released The Hard Sell.

The Renegades of Rhythm tour flyer and tour dates are as follows:

9/1 - Toronto, ON - Guvernment

9/3 - Boston, MA - House of Blues

9/4 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza

9/6 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts

9/8 - Washington, DC - The Fillmore Silver Spring

9/9 - Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Soundstage

9/11 - Charlotte, NC - The Fillmore Charlotte

9/12 - Atlanta, GA - The Loft At Center Stage

9/14 - Orlando, FL - House of Blues

9/16 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues

9/18 - Austin, TX - ACL Live
v 9/19 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues

9/20 - Houston, TX - House of Blues

9/22 - Louisville, KY - Mercury Ballroom

9/23 - Chicago, IL - House of Blues

9/24 - Minneapolis, MN - Skyway Theater

9/26 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre

9/27 - Aspen, CO - Belly Up Aspen

9/29 - Las Vegas, NV - Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas

10/1 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues

10/2 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues

10/3 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Palladium

10/4 - San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine

10/7 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater

10/8 - Seattle, WA - Neptune

10/9 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom

UNIVERSAL HIP HOP MUSEUM | TO OPEN IN THE BRONX

Before hip-hop became a musical genre, it was a form of expression — and an escape — for its early creators in the Bronx.

Now some of those elders of the genre want to underscore its Bronx roots by opening a hip-hop museum inside the Kingsbridge Armory, a long-empty fortress that is being redeveloped into a national ice sports center. The museum — to be called The Universal Hip Hop Museum — would utilize interactive technology to provide a comprehensive look at hip-hop, including its historical and cultural roots and the contributions of break dancers and disc jockeys, according to museum organizers.

“Many people have a misconception of what hip-hop is,” said Afrika Bambaataa , who is often called the godfather of hip-hop and will serve as the museum’s chairman.

“When they say hip-hop, they only say it’s the rapper, and there’s a whole culture and movement behind it.”



The plan for the museum was announced by a group of hip-hop artists and their supporters at a news conference in front of City Hall on Wednesday after a City Council ceremony inside to honor the achievements of Mr. Bambaataa and other early hip-hop pioneers, including Grandmaster Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz and Grand Wizard Theodore. The new museum, which is still being developed, is the latest in a line of efforts to honor hip-hop that date back to at least the mid-1990s.

In a separate project, Craig Wilson, co-founder of the National Museum of Hip-Hop, said that he was in negotiations with developers to open his museum in Harlem, though he added that he would consider a proposed location in the Bronx. But citing studies on foot traffic and tourists, he added that “the numbers in Manhattan make more sense financially than in the Bronx.”

Rocky Bucano, the president of the planned Universal Hip Hop Museum, said that their effort was different because it had the backing of Mr. Bambaataa and other artists who have agreed to serve on an advisory committee for the museum and raise money on its behalf. He said that they hoped to open in the armory by 2017. “Since we started the art form,” he said, “we think we should have the most invested in it.



The redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory will include 52,000 square feet of space dedicated to community use, said Councilman Fernando Cabrera, whose district includes the armory. Mr. Cabrera said that while he supported the idea of a hip-hop museum, the final decision would be made by an advisory board that was still being appointed to oversee the community benefits from the armory. He added that about a dozen community groups have expressed interest in using space at the armory, including a youth basketball program.

Grandmaster Melle Mel said that a hip-hop museum could draw tourists to the Bronx and become a destination like Yankee Stadium. “If you just keep it on the music level it cheapens it,” he said. “To embrace it as an art form, that’s what makes it a museum.”

The museum hopes to open in 2017 inside the Kingsbridge Armory.

ASIA ONE | Expect the UnExpected

For those who don’t know her, legendary Bgirl Asia One is originally from Denver, Colorado who migrated to the West Coast where she cut her teeth and honed her skillz with the Rock Steady Crew and the Zulu Nation..She’s been in countless videos and has worked with everyone from the Black Eyed Peas to Tribe Called Quest and the late Malcolm McClaren.



She later established (1994) the BBoy Summit which has been one of the premier and dopest International Hip Hop gatherings around.. In recent years she’s been working directly with youth and setting standards with her organization No Easy Props which now has chapters in Europe.

She has been featured in Vibe’s Hip-Hop Divas book and the We B*Girlz book by Martha Cooper and Nika Kramer.

Late this summer Asia One was featured in a short documentary called Asia One: Expect the Unexpected. It’s about her life, put together by long time writer, film maker, racial justice activist J-Love Calderon who is also from Denver, Colorado..The film was an official selection of 2013 Hollywood Film Festival and has been getting rave reviews. J-Love and Asia One also teamed up with a tech company called gravidi to enhance the viewing experience..and make the movie more interactive.

In the meantime folks may wanna check out the film below and dive into the unique lifestyles of the global concrete jungle led by enlightened street icon Asia One. Explore behind the scenes world of Hip-Hop culture and street dance told through the eyes of an unlikely bgirl born and bred in the Midwest.