Sincerely Jane ATL: My Janelle Monáe Concert Experience

On April 5th and 6th I had the pleasure of attending the concerts of one of my favorite artists Janelle Monáe. My uber fandom is not a secret. Actually, I usually broadcast it to everyone with statements like, “Have you heard of Janelle Monáe? Oh you haven’t? [whips out iPod] Let me play you a song.”

I haven’t crossed a song I didn’t like. (My compliments to the chef.)

Depending upon which night you decided to attend you were privy to either Metropolis Suite 2 of Suite 3 which have been combined to make Monáe’s first full length album The ArchAndroid. Not only was this a very thoughtful marketing ploy to get fans to attend both concert dates (both dates sold out), it also provided concert goers with an air of mystique and exclusivity providing each date with a unique concert experience.

The Chasemasters (fans of Ms. Monáe and  #58721) were ballooned, feathered, and silly-strung. Fun³. And for those of us who were apart of this “transformative” experience on the 6th were able to tip on the tightrope with Sir Lucious Leftfoot.

Yup, I enjoyed myself. Catch a show in a city near you.

My concert experiences were beautiful like this:

But ROCKED OUT like this:

Bono and Jay-Z Team Up For “Stranded”

Jay-Z & Bono team up for a new track called “Stranded” produced by Swizz Beats. The song will be premiered tonight on the multi-network, MTV fueled telethon benefiting Haiti Earthquake Victims called “Hope For Haiti.”

Bono wrote the hook for “Stranded” — his new Haiti benefit single with Jay-Z and Rihanna, which is subtitled either “Haiti Mon Amour” or “Haiti Mi Amore” — while on the phone with producer Swizz Beatz. “The idea of the song is ‘We’re not gonna leave you stranded’ and that’s what the chorus is,” Swizz Beatz tells Rolling Stone. “So me and Bono started going back and forth with ideas, and he was like, ‘You know this word stranded keeps standing out to me’ and I asked him to sing it, and he put me on hold ’cause he’s recording the ideas on a Dictaphone — so he did it there and then on the phone.”

Read the rest of Rolling Stone article after the jump.

Baby Baby “The Sandwich And I Thought We Were Friends”

I am super late on this but BABY BABY is on the bill for the O Brother Record Release show @ the Drunken Unicorn Tonight. Get your tickets here.

If the band looks familiar it’s because I reviewed them in my column (BABY BABY→The Red Sneaker Diaries) not long ago. Look out for more to come!

Also, not long ago BABY BABY premiered their new video for “The Sandwich & I Thought We Were Friends.” Check it out below.

MTV’s ‘Hope For Haiti’ Performances Will Be Available On iTunes

MTV - One of the highlights of “Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief,” airing Friday at 8 p.m. ET/PT, will undoubtedly be when Jay-Z and Rihanna join U2′s Bono and The Edge onstage in London for a group performance. The star-studded collaboration is just one of many sure to make the George Clooney-led effort a must-see event and bring much-needed aid to Haiti.

Fans salivating for the music won’t have to wait long. Beginning Friday, iTunes customers will be able to exclusively pre-order the “Hope for Haiti Now” full-performance album ($7.99) and the full two-hour video telecast ($1.99). Pre-orders will be delivered in the days following the telethon. Individual audio performances will also be available for purchase and download for 99 cents each in the days following the telethon. Apple, the record labels and the artists will donate their share of the proceeds to Haiti relief funds managed by “Hope for Haiti Now” charities, including the Red Cross and Wyclef’s Yele Haiti foundation. Performances will also be available for purchase in the days following the event through Amazon’s MP3 service and Rhapsody, through distribution provided by INgrooves.

Just Blaze vs. Alchemist RedBull BigTune [FULL Beat Battle]

I grew up on Just Blaze. I have to side with him in this battle. But Alchemist has some true heat.

The rest of the battle is after the jump.