Words & Flicks by Anthony Campusano      Edits by Lucas Alvarado Farrar

To say he is a genius is an understatement. At the age of 16, Ryan Leslie enrolled in Harvard University and began his pursuit of music, and the rest is history. With the help of McDonalds and 98.7 Kiss Fm, a sold-out crowd was able to rock out and enjoy Ryan Leslie as well as some poets.

Kiss Fm held a poetry competition for $1,000 and other prizes. Followed by an hour and a half of music by the house DJ, the crowd did not lose a bit of energy as they awaited Ryan Leslie. Ryan rocked the crowd for about 2 hours with tracks from all his projects.

With his band backing him up, Ryan Leslie played the keyboard as well, occasionally matching his guitarist. In the middle of his set he brought out Red Café who helped him out with Fly Together and Cafe’s track I’m Ill. A couple songs later he brought out Lloyd Banks to do So Forgetful & Start It Up. The sold out crowd devoured Ryan’s energy.

Set List for Ryan Leslie at SOBs

’Glory’
‘Smothing That I like’
‘Quicksand’
‘Zodiac’
‘Maybach Diamonds’
‘Guardian Angel’
‘Valentine’
‘Beautiful Lie’
‘How It Was Supposed To Be’
‘Fly Together’
‘I’m Ill Remix (ft Red Cafe)’
‘Gibberish’
‘Joan Of Arc’
‘Christian Dior Denim Flow’
‘So Forgetful’
‘Start It Up’
‘Addiction’
‘Breathe’
‘Diamond Girl’

To see more pictures by Anthony check out GRIME

Follow @str8nyc @LexAve, @amc4eva1 & @FarFetchdFuture

Words and Flicks by Sade Joseph

It was a female dominated night as Shyvonne, Jasmine Solano, Zoe Kravtiz and J Davey rocked the mic on Tuesday, June 21st at Prospect Heights’ underground music venue, Southpaw. Solano’s opening words herself commented on the evening’s all star line-up, in which she shot out the talented “fly Bohemian chic rap city bitches” that would be taking over the stage that night. Her words proved true as the talented urbanistas blew the audience away with their powerful rhymes, lyrics and DJ sets. Shyvonne, the lesser-known act still delivered as her sass, bright turquoise hair, and back up dancers kept the crowd on their feet. Solano was up next, stepping from behind the DJ booth to spit her old school hip-hop styled songs. The Brooklyn-based rapper is more commonly known for her DJ work at parties throughout NYC, and has gained a large following in the process. The crowd responded with resounding enthusiasm to Solano’s stage presence and performance, excited to see her take command of the stage.

Elevator Flight followed, whose wings were guided by the petite and vintage clad, Kravitz on vocals and tambourine. With her bottle of Jim Bean close at her feet, Kravtiz sang with deep emotion and rock soul. The set was lively as the band rocked out; dancing and jiving on stage, Kravtiz eventually kicking off her shoes and going barefoot, and guitarist Dominic Angelella jumping into the audience for a solo. This was the first time the band had played together in over a year, and the crowd couldn’t get enough of them. Father, Lenny Kravitz, proudly watched the performance from the back of the room in VIP, along with Drake, who has long been a fan and admirer of Zoe.

After much anticipation, and a treat from special guest Greg Nice, the headlining band J Davey finally graced the room, and it was their performance that shook the house. The duo, accompanied by Def Sound, worked it – with Jack Davey (Briana Cartwright) on vocals and Brook D’Leau providing the beats behind the DJ booth and on drums. Most memorable was the band’s rendition of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and it was their spirit and energy in Southpaw that evening that had everyone wanting more.

Follow @str8nyc and Lick The Bowl

For More Pictures Check Out the STR8NYC Page

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1664198/beyonce-4-album-art.jhtml

March 18 – Buffalo, NY – HSBC Arena
March 19 and 20 – Columbus, OH Baltimore, MD – Nationwide Arena First Mariner Arena
March 23 – Hampton, VA – Hampton Coliseum
March 24 – Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena
March 26 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
March 27 – Long Island, NY – Nassau Coliseum
March 30 – University Park, PA – Bryce Jordan Center
April 1 – Chicago, IL – United Center
April 2 – Detroit, MI – The Palace of Auburn Hills
April 3 – Washington, D.C. – Verizon Center
April 6 – Miami, FL – Bank Atlantic Center
April 8 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum
April 9 – Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena
April 10 – St. Louis, MO – Scottrade Center
April 14 and 15 – New Orleans, LA Dallas, TX – New Orleans Arena American Airlines Arena
April 16 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
April 19 – Phoenix, AZ – US Airways Arena
April 23 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center
April 24 – Oakland, CA – Oracle Arena
April 26 – Sacramento, CA – ARCO Arena
April 28 – Edmonton, Canada – Rexall Place
April 29 – Vancouver, Canada – Rogers Arena

Peace. -@vivalaskool

Last week, Str8NYC got the chance to sit in on an exclusive screening of MTV’s Drake: Better Than Good Enough documentary which airs tonight at 10 pm. Drake recently explained to MTV’s Sucker Free his reasons for going ahead with the documentary.

“I shot a documentary — it was the two months leading up to my album. It was like the most important time of my life — ever. I documented [the months before Thank Me Later dropped] for you to see, so we can get to know each other a little better,” Drake said.

Will you be tuning in?