[Hip-hop] is the greatest gay market in the world. The hip-hop community is most likely owned by gay, to be honest with you. I happen to think there’s a gay mafia in hip-hop. Not rappers. The editorial presidents of magazines, the PDs at radio stations, the people who give you award at award shows. This is a fucking gay mafia, my man. They are in power. So why wouldn’t a guy come out and say, ‘Yo, I’m gay,’ and get that type of love. I mean, Lady Gaga, I don’t know if she’s gay, but she running with that gay shit for real and she is winning.

-Fat Joe

The old woman that I’m slowly turning into has been wary of this new trend in streaming concerts, not trusting video quality or not wanting to watch a concert that I can’t make it to. I’ll admit, and I don’t do this often, that I was wrong, it’s awesome. I recently tuned into Foster the People’s set on Live on Letterman, having missed the live airing, and was totally pleased to have the best seat in the house all while never leaving the couch. Their lead singer gets me every time because he dances so enthusiastically (let’s be real, awkwardly) that I can only imagine that’s what I look like when I’m getting down. I was really pleased that they took the time to rock out some of their better songs and didn’t stick to milking Pumped Up Kicks for all that it’s worth. Foster, you’re good, you don’t have to rely on 15 minute Pumped Up Kicks jam sessions. The most notable tracks that they killed it on were Miss You (maybe I’m biased, but I just love that song), Helena Beat (another favorite), and Color on the Walls (ugh, I love every song, I have a problem). Although I’ve been pimping out this band since the beginning of the summer if you haven’t checked them out yet this is a perfect opportunity, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Check it out here, here, here!!

I remember rap.

This is not the official video for Foster the People’s Helena Beat… but it should be:

LOLOLOL, what other platinum selling rapper hops out of a trunk to start his performance, and then goes on airlift? Only this guy nicknamed Ye.

Below, There are even more LOLs to be had at Kanye forcing a re-do during the opening of All Of The Lights when the (majority white) crowd didn’t call and respond to the “MJ Gone..” line loud enough.  A Rest In Peace shout-out to Black Eyed Peas was totally normal, too.

From the reviews ACL sounded like a swell job to wrap up the tour supporting My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

Sacramento’s Chuuwee rapped over two minutes of haywire jazz sounds from producer Rufio’s new beat tape. The video captures a picturesque bedside studio session plus rhymes that might have been penned on the back of a Chinese takeout menu. Fun over frills hip-hop.

Can you really call it shoegaze if they’re barefoot? Regardless, beautiful song.

Von Pea’s beard is more refined, precise, and dynamic than your favorite rapper’s beard.

Torae getting his Fabolous on in this video from his Heart Failure mixtape. Hear that? It’s Marco Polo severing all ties.

Amy Winehouse died on Sunday. According to The Sun, a source close to her family said the cause was alcohol withdrawal. As a tribute, Big Boi posted this unreleased remix of “Tears Dry on their Own” by Organized Noize and Dungeon Family. A spokesman for Universal said there are twelve unreleased Amy Winehouse songs.

When Isaac Hayes and Gil Scott-Heron died, it didn’t hit me that hard, because I’m 22 years old and I discovered their music decades after after they made it. It was my parents’ music. But Amy was ours and I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve lost a distant, but cherished family member.