Good news for hip-hop fans!

If you hadn’t heard by now, after popping up together at Rock The Bells and Hot 97′s Summer Jam, Lauryn Hill and the very fine Nas have decided to collaborate the Mary J. Blige and D’Angelo way for a joint tour. Coming this fall, the tour will kick off on Oct. 6 in Columbia, Md., with Nas doing a string of solo performances before Hill joins in for 10 shows and starts by bringing the “Black Rage” in Dallas on Oct. 29, as they continue the tour together. On a side note, “Black Rage” is actually the title of the new track Lauryn Hill is releasing soon, and focuses on “racial inequality and abuse” of all things. According to the Los Angeles Times, the title of the single and her part of the tour’s name a juxtaposition to Nas’s mantra that “Life is Good,” as it can only be good when these issues of racial inequality are finally addressed and something is done about them for the better. In a statement, Hill spoke about why she felt going on the joint tour was necessary:

“I use the performance platform as an opportunity to express the energy of that moment, and the intention behind it. I’ve been a long standing rebel against the stale, over commoditization. As artists we have opportunity to help the public evolve, raise consciousness and awareness, teach, heal, enlighten and inspire in ways the democratic process may not be able to touch. So we keep it moving.”

Cryptic as usual, gotta love that Lauryn! Nas summed things up about the tour everybody’s been waiting for in a much more succinct way: “Better late than never. Life is good!”

If you’re still jamming to “If I Ruled The World” damn near 20 years later (16 to be specific) and crave seeing a stage with both classic hits from Nasty Nas and L Boogie, you’re finally in luck. Tickets go on sale this Friday, and there are pre-sale tickets going out on today. While this sounds like great news (maybe circa 2000), I’m just hoping Lauryn will be able to put on a dope show that will get the fans hype about her new music and endeavors. For the past few years, people have been calling L Boogie out for being extremely late to performances, and then chopping up and screwing her songs so that they don’t sound anything like what people can recognize. And many have complained about her vocal changes. But as a huge fan still, here’s to hoping that things will be different, and that these two will teach these young’ns what real hip-hop is.

10 cities, are any of these near you?

October 29: Dallas, TX (Palladium Ballroom)

October 31: Houston, TX (Bayou Music Center)

November 2: Atlanta, GA (Tabernacle)

November 4: Washington, DC (DAR Constitution Hall)

November 7: Philadelphia, PA (Electric Factory)

November 11: Boston, MA (House of Blues)

November 14: Chicago, IL (Congress Theatre)

November 16: Denver, CO (Fillmore Auditorium)

November 17: Magna, UT (Salt Air)

November 19: Oakland, CA (Fox Oakland Theater)

Are you excited for this tour? Why or why not? 

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Yesterday, when the video of the hologram Tupac performing at Coachella started spreading around the internet, people had one of three reactions. They thought: 1.) This is the so super cool. 2.) This is so super creepy. or 3.) This is so super creepy but still very cool. I was with the first group of people but I will admit when Pac’s hologram disintegrated into dust, I felt myself starting to get a little misty. But once I had gotten over my sadness, I thought, as soon as folks figure out how to manufacture these holograms a less expensively, money will be made.

Tupac certainly won’t be the last artist to be hologramed. And if I have any say in the matter, I’d like to see the following folks be digitally (?) resurrected. Before I enrage anybody with this list, let me preface it by saying that it is not exhaustive and I chose the following people, based on who I would want to see perform, most likely for impeccable dance moves or undeniable stage presence. If your favorite deceased artist is not on this list, please don’t snap. Just add their name to the comments section. So without further ado, let’s get to it.

Source: examiner.com

Whitney Houston 

It’s no surprise that Whitney was not a dancer. She had the type of voice that you could just listen to, no distractions needed. But just because Whitney didn’t break it down on stage, doesn’t mean that she didn’t command it There’s so much passion and conviction in her performances that it would be great to see her, even if she’s just a hologram,  again

Source: memorylane.art.officelive.com

Michael Jackson

There is a reason why the This is It became the highest grossing concert movie and documentary in the history of cinema. People, all over wanted to see Michael perform again, even if it was just him rehearsing. Not to mention, the movie was very well made.  During it’s theatrical run, the movie grossed $261 million dollars. If you had the opportunity to watch an eerily accurate depiction of Michael singing and dancing the way only he knew how, surely you wouldn’t pass it up.

Source: live.drjays.com

James Brown

There would be no Michael, as we know him, if there were no James Brown. As you can clearly see from the picture above, James did not play when it came to his stage performances. The sweat that used to pool on his forehead is enough to let you know that the man truly earned the title of the “hardest working man in show business.” Plus I would have loved to see him fling that cape off his back.

Source: rollingstone.com

Otis Redding

This may seem like a bit of a wildcard but I have some evidence that just might change your mind. Ladies and gentlemen, exhibit A.:

That’s a showman right there. Anytime you’ve got blonde, white girls looking like they’ve caught the holy ghost, that’s good stuff.