“The hottest motherf*%er out there” according to XLR8R, Quantic is set to release his fourth solo album, ‘An Announcement To Answer’ on July 25th that will include guest artists Noelle Scaggs from The Rebirth, Ohmega Watts and Puerto Rican percussionist Tempo. A diverse record that showcases his broad musical palette of hip hop, jazz, funk and soul while still clearly being a Quantic record, this looks to be his best yet. Getting time to briefly sit down with the man himself,...

It's no doubt that not only hip-hop, but the music realm suffered greatly with the passing of producer extraordinare, James Yancey - known to us as J Dilla. On June 30th, in his hometown of Detroit, Common and Karriem Higgins will host a special concert to benefit Mrs. Maureen Yancey's J Dilla Foundation. Slated to perform are Amp Fiddler, Waajeed (Platinum Pied Pipers), DJ Dummy and many others. For those that can't troop to the event, Digital DJ's is offering a live stream with several...

Her career best, Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous" featuring Timbaland claimed the top spot on Billboard's Hot 100 this week, pushing out American Idol winner Taylor Hicks. Her album, 'Loose' also made it to the number one position on the Billboard 200, selling more than 100,000 copies this week in the US.

Announced a few weeks back, Digable Planets are set to play at Nokia Theater in NYC on August 24th. However it now looks like the production trio, SA-RA will join them in support of their forthcoming record, 'Black Fuzz.' Already signed to Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. label, the cutting edge threesome are set to break their swinging electrified hip-hop beats into the mainstream. Tickets can be purchased here .

With a new album out this week titled 'Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship', 2x Grammy winning writer, singer, songwriter and guitarist India.Arie, will appear on Regis & Kelly tomorrow. Be sure to check out as she prepares to tour in early July in support of her third career album.

With Stones Throw, MF Doom/Danger Mouse and now record label Chocolate Industries having teamed up with Adult Swim, they are slowly becoming my best friend. Perhaps that is the marketing dollars at work, but with a free six track EP, 'Chocolate Swim,' that is available here , they are definitely pulling on the right strings. Track Listing 1.Kovas “Up In Here” 2.Lady Sovereign “Hoodie” (Spank Rock Remix)...

Must have missed this one, but it looks like Van Hunt will be opening up for The Brand New Heavies for a handful of dates as listed below, with the exception of July 14th (Newark, NJ), where Van Hunt will open up for none other than Anthony Hamilton. Tour Dates July 1 Gypsy Tea Room, Dallas, TX July 3 House of Blues, New Orleans, LA July 5 Roxy Theatre, Atlanta, GA July 7 Theatre of Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA July 8 9:30 Club, Washington, DC July 9 Rams Head Live!,...

With Brazilian superstar Marisa Monte's back catalog recently added to iTunes, including 'Barulhinho Bom,' 'Cor de Rosa e Carvao,' 'Marisa Monte' and 'Memorias Cronicas e Declaracoe' Marisa Monte returns to the fold with two albums set to release simultaneously, 'Universo Ao Meu Redor' and ‘Infinito’ on Metro Blue. Presenting a unique identity that shows the remarkable breadth of Monte’s musicianship, as singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer and musicologist, each of the...

The voice of UK trip-hop, r&b and pop band Morcheeba for 7 years, Skye will join Matthew Herbert on the bill on Wednesday, August 23rd at Irving Plaza. For more information visit here . Featuring soulful, story-telling tracks produced by Pat Leonard (Pink Floyd, Madonna) and Daniel Lanior (U2, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris), Skye's forthcoming album 'Mind How You Go' tells the story of Skye's personal journey like you've never heard her before.

With there being Jamie Lidell fans who visit Giant Step, it seems only natural to talk about Beck, who like Lidell, mixes multiple genres into his music to create a refreshing sound. While usually tipped on more the rock side, Beck's new album will reportedly be strongly influenced by hip-hop. The follow-up to last year's 'Guero,' the as-yet untitled record will be recorded with Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, and will feature tracks such as "Soldier Jane", "Nausea" and "1000 BPM."...