Recaps
‘Black Ink Crew’ Recap: Teddy Goes Hollywood & Ceaser Is BIG MAD About It
HipHopWired Featured Video CLOSE Source: Nicholas Hunt / Getty Last week on Black Ink Crew, Ceaser checked Alex for a shady Instagram comment he dropped, and Young Bae’s new boo was giving all the red flags. This week, Ceaser has an issue with Teddy pursuing a new dream, and Bae introduces Jay to her mom. Momma Bae Is Back In Town & It’s Not Looking Good For Jay Due to the pandemic, Momma Bae has been stuck in Korea, but as things have gotten better, she decided to hop a plane to see Young Bae and her grandson Niko. Bae immediately tells her mom that she has a new boyfriend, BUT she doesn’t tell her that they have only been dating for two months and live together. Momma Bae wasn’t too pleased after Bae said her boyfriend was like her. When the day comes for Momma Bae to meet Jay finall...
The Best, The Mess & The Rest: Coachella 2022 (Weekend 1)
This weekend, Coachella came back for the first time since Joe Biden was just the former VP and no one could’ve told you what COVID stood for. The biggest music festival on the planet returned for the first time since April 2019, headlined by Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, and The Weeknd x Swedish House Mafia (after Kanye fell through). As per usual, it was the singular hub of music, American culture, capitalism and pretty much everything else for three days in the California desert. Full of surprise guests, the hottest trends, and both expected and unexpected hijinks of every variety, SPIN was out in full force throughout the festival’s first weekend, experiencing all of the highs and lows firsthand so you don’t have to. Here’s The Best, The Mess & The Rest of everything to do...
Cupchella: The Cup’s Coachella 2022 Experience
Attention good readers of SPIN and/or fans of Coachella, it is I, the handler of the world-famous The Cup. If you’re not familiar with my celebrity clientele, I urge you to read the exclusive interview that I allowed SPIN to conduct with The Cup last week. It is even moderated by The Cup’s original creator, Chris Farren. I am writing this intro on behalf of The Cup, who is entirely too exhausted to be bothered for such activities right now. After all, he has just completed his very first full weekend of Coachella (at a mere three months old, no less). The Cup attended parties, catered to some of his adoring fans (including several valuable influencers and important artists), formed both romantic and strategic alliances, and provided the finest coverage you will read anywhere...
The Best, The Mess & The Rest: Big Ears 2022
An enormous electronic bass drop, an impossibly high falsetto run, a slinky blues guitar solo: These are your typical “holy shit” moments at popular music festivals. (Pick any one you want: At this point, they’re basically all minor variations of each other.) Here are some “holy shit” moments I experienced at Big Ears 2022: a percussion quartet abusing string instruments, a composer conducting violent jazz-metal, a “transnational” indie pop band mingling electronics with violin and pan flute. As always, there is nothing conventional about this festival, an event so wonderfully weird that lumping it in the same bracket with the world’s Coachellas feels almost insulting. Did the seventh Big Ears deliver a higher jaw-drop rate than the previous six? For me, yes, in part because of context: Th...
SPIN at SXSW: The Lemonheads Reignite Austin With It’s a Shame About Ray Performance
Not gonna lie: we kinda missed SXSW, traffic, lines, free-flowing human chaos and all. SPIN hosted a number of raging day shows throughout the years, but for SXSW’s return, we had to come back with a real-deal official showcase at Stubb’s. And who could be more official than The Lemonheads? Evan Dando and company ripped through their classic 1992 album, It’s a Shame About Ray, as the party’s marquee feature, and even if at least half of the audience hadn’t been born by the time they initially broke up, Dando’s youthful warble still filled Stubb’s vast gravely lawn. One could probably hear Dando and the rest of us “Raaaaaay” from the Capitol less than a mile from the venue. Nearly three decades later, the one-two punch of “Bit Part” and “Allison’s Starting to Happen” still goes for the punk...
Jawbreaker Bring Workmanlike Attitude to Dear You Anniversary Tour Opener
The final chord of “Bad Scene, Everyone’s Fault” had barely faded into oblivion when Blake Schwarzenbach laid himself bare. Standing on stage at Seattle’s Showbox Sodo, a relatively intimate venue cowering in the shadow of the baseball stadium up the street, and tuning his guitar, the mercurial leader of the recently resurrected punk outfit Jawbreaker admitted that was the first time the band had played the song live. It never felt right for the trio to trot that tune out in the past, he said, due to the rising tide of pop-punk groups coming up behind them. They missed their chance, he went on. “If I had kept on that road, I could be Machine Gun Kelly. I could be hanging out with Kardashians.” Instead, Schwarzenbach admitted, he was still living in a studio apartment in Brookly...
Arcade Fire Return With a Roar to Bowery Ballroom in Surprise New York City Show
It had been nearly 20 years since Arcade Fire played the Bowery Ballroom on Friday night, and a concert wasn’t enough—they added a parade in, too. The Canadian indie-rockers returned with the cinematic sound and infectious energy that helped cement their fanbase when they began 21 years ago. Truthfully, at the New York City venue, it could have been 2004 again. While The Lower East Side show was a surprise, it wasn’t exactly random. Last week, the band began teasing a comeback through had cryptic messages—postcards and online ads. Arcade Fire revealed on Thursday they would be releasing their first new album in five years, WE. Alongside it, they debuted its lead single “The Lightning I, II,” a ballad-turned-heart-racing anthem whose shout choruses signaled a return to form for the group. I...
The Best, The Mess & The Rest: Innings Festival 2022
Despite the fact that Spring Training isn’t happening this year, the Innings Festival still returned to the February baseball hotspots of Tempe, Arizona and Tampa, Florida. Green Day and the Lumineers are headlining the East Coast rendition in March while Foo Fighters and Tame Impala hit the desert this past weekend. The Arizona location featured a wide variety of baseball legends hanging out and quite a few activities. But it wasn’t all home runs. SPIN was on the ground at Tempe Beach Park for all of the rocking out and baseball fun. Here’s The Best, The Mess & The Rest of everything from this weekend. St. Vincent on Saturday evening. (Photo by Craig Cummins) The Best St. Vincent — Dave Grohl might’ve been the biggest rock star there by name, but St. Vincent was clearly the most inter...
‘Black Ink Crew’ Recap: Donna Leaves The Show, Spyder Still Hating On Rok & Crystal, Ceaser Is Still Beefing With Cheyenne
HipHopWired Featured Video CLOSE Source: VH1 / Black Ink Crew Black Ink Crew is back, and so is the drama we tune in for every week. Ceaser Makes Some Changes, Still Is On The Outs With His Daughter It’s a new season, so of course, there will be some new changes, whether they work out for the better is another thing. The premiere opens up with Ceaser and the gang actually doing some good and getting New Yorkers signed up to get vaccinated by offering them FREE tattoos, so good for them. Now that the good is out of the way, it’s time to hop in the mess that is Black Ink Crew. Ceaser reveals that he is still beefing with his daughter Cheyenne and her mother, Crystal. His baby mama is not missing any opportunities to hop on social media and drag him, plus he still can’t get in touch with Chey...
#BlackInkChi Recap: Ryan & Kitty FINALLY Confirm They Had An Intimate Relationship, Twitter Says It’s About Time
HipHopWired Featured Video CLOSE Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz83 Last week on Black Ink Crew: Chicago, Ryan confronted Steven for not living up to his guest spot obligation, and Prince went ham on his boss Charmaine and her husband, Neek. This week Ryan decides to gather the crew for some team-building in hopes of bringing everyone together. Prince Is Done With 2nd City Ink This week’s episode opens up with us being introduced to Ryan’s artist Shogun. The 9 Mag captain breaks down the 2nd City Ink drama to Shogun, explaining that he believes Charmaine doesn’t truly understand her mistake by firing her lead artist Prince. Ryan also believes that for Charmaine to be a successful tattoo shop owner, she needs both Prince and Draya to thrive in the industry. But, in the same breath, h...
#BlackInkChi Recap: Ryan Confronts Steven, Prince Goes Ham on Charmaine & Neek
HipHopWired Featured Video CLOSE Source: VH1 / ViacomCBS Ryan returns from his mental health sabbatical he embarked on last week’s episode, and Charmaine has an issue with another one of her artists on this week’s episode of Black Ink Crew: Chicago. Ryan Thinks Steven Didn’t Fulfill Guest Spot Obligation Last week’s episode took a more serious tone as Ryan decided to address his self-sabotaging ways. This week he returns and is thrust back into the madness that is Black Ink Crew: Chicago. Ryan decides to stop by 2nd City Ink to check up on his friend Charmaine who is fresh from laying her father to rest. Related Stories After Ryan thanks her for being at his therapy session, Charmaine reveals she too might need to sit down and talk with a therapist to help her deal with losing both her par...
“#BlackInkChi” Recap: Ryan Tries To Rally The Crew Following Struggle Tattoo Convention Outing, Fails Miserably
HipHopWired Featured Video CLOSE Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz After 2nd City Ink’s embarrassing showing at the tattoo convention on last week’s episode, Ryan decides it’s time to rally the troops, but he quickly finds out that’s not going to be so easy. Ryan & Kitty Detail Where It All Went Wrong The episode opens up with Ryan recapping last week’s tattoo convention that was an absolute mess for 2nd City Ink, thanks to the beef between Charmaine, Draya, and Kitty. Ryan breaks down to Phor and the rest of the 9 Mag crew how he feels Charmaine needs to step her managerial skills up, but at the same time, he understands what she is going through. When the topic switches to Kitty, his former “friend” Ryan believes Kitty started acting brand new after Anthony called him out, and ...
