John Legend & The Roots - Our Generation

The Roots & John Legend team-up for Levi’s Pioneer Sessions 2010 Revival Recordings and record “Our Generation” – a classic by soul singer Ernie Hines.

Definitely came out dope.



John Legend is preparing his collaborative album with The Roots, Wake Up! due out later this year.

Absolut Brooklyn - directed by Spike Lee

Check out this cool film short (direct by Spike Lee) featuring spoken word artist Lemon Anderson as he talks about Brooklyn cool. We think Chicago is pretty cool as well. An Absolut Brooklyn tasting will be at The Shrine this Saturday from 10pm to 11:30pm.

FELA BIO BACK IN PRINT!

First published in French and then in English back in 1982, this recently re-issued authorized biography of the late great Fela Anikulapo Kuti by Carlos Moore IS FINALLY BACK IN PRINT!

A biography of Fela based many hours of first-hand conversation with the Afrobeat superstar and firebrand political presence -- written by Carlos Moore and featuring a forward by Gilberto Gil! It's an authorized biography of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti -- the fearless international musical figure whose legend has only increased since his passing and rightly so -- and it's essentially told in his own voice! Paperback, 290 pages. Available at Dusty Groove.

DIGGIN' CHICAGO - WINDY CITY CRATES: COMMON X DILLA X TONY ALLEN = HEAT

Dilla lifted the drums from a then one year old Tony Allen cut ('Asiko') for 'Heat', from Common's 2000 album, Like Water For Chocolate. Heat is right, damn! If you don't know the original cut by Allen, do yourself a favor and click the link above. It comes from Tony Allen's 'comeback' Black Voices album from 1999 - a classic in its own right. (Well you know Dilla was always on some real sh*t!)

Classic Common. Classic Hip Hop. Classic Chi-tilla Crates.

Chicago Saxophone Legend Fred Anderson Dies at 81

Jazz musician and AACM (Assn. for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) founder Fred Anderson passed away this week, leaving Chicago and the world deeply saddened, but ultimately a much better place through his music, and even more importantly, his tireless promotion of jazz music by mentoring young players and his legendary South Loop club, the Velvet Lounge, which has fostered contemporary jazz for nearly 30 years. Anderson remained a vital voice of jazz up until his death, reflecting the vibrant and challenging spirit of his club. The clip below is from 2006, and Anderson was still burning a hot swath across vanguard landscape. He is survived by his two sons, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Chicago Tribune Obituary: Click Here

One Year Without Michael

It's hard to believe it has already been a year since Michael Jackson left us. Still hard to believe at all. There will never be another like him. I sort of think of Aloe Blacc's soulful and bluesy cover of 'Billie Jean' as a New Orleans Funeral March with all of us following behind singing and celebrating the man's incredible life and legacy.



Next up is a live cover of 'Billie Jean' from Brazilian singer/composer Caetano Veloso. Veloso recorded a this brilliant and spare bossa inflected version on his self-titled album in 1986.



WE MISS YOU MICHAEL!!!!

THE READER: BEST NIGHTCLUB 2010! (Thank you Chicago!)

The Shrine was voted best nightclub of 2010 in the Chicago Reader! Thank you to all the people who took the time out to show support by voting, and of course all our loyal customers. Thank you for making our first year out of the box so amazing!

-The Shrine Family

RIP Garry Shider (Starchild)

The world lost a true child of the Funk on June 16th. Parliament - Funkadelic's Garry 'Starchild' Shider passed away from complications due to cancer. Our prayers go out to his family and friends. Known to many as 'Diaper Man', or "the crazy dude in a diaper on stage with P-Funk", Shider was an amazing guitar player with a soulful falsetto reminiscent of Curtis Mayfield. Shider appeared on countless Parliament and Funkadelic records dating back to the early 70s. First up is a vintage clip of Funkadelic getting crazy in NYC back in the day. 'Cosmic Slop' is a classic. Shider handles the vocals. (Yup, that's Garry rockin' a diaper...) Next is 'I'll Stay', which was sampled by Crucial Conflict ('Hay') and De La Soul ('Millie Pulled A Pistol'). One Nation Under Your Groove. Thank you Garry for so much incredible music.

A fund has been set up to help his family with medical expenses. CLICK HERE

(DIGGIN' CHICAGO) WINDY CITY CRATES: THE IMPRESSIONS - I GOTTA' KEEP ON MOVIN'

Here's one that's been glued to the turntable; the late great Curtis Mayfield with The Impressions doing 'I Gotta' Keep On Movin', released in 1964 on their second album The Never Ending Impressions. Most folks know Bob Marley's version, but this is the original! I love thinking of Bob and the boys hanging out in Kingston in the early 60s, listening to the soul music coming out of the Florida radio stations. Mayfield had a HUGE influence on Marley who covered him at least twice for a couple of his biggest hits. (Don't forget 'People Get Ready'!) The original Wailers were styled after the Impressions as a vocal trio. Sweet soul music is universal. Chicago to Kingston to the world!

All about NELLY (This Sunday at THE SHRINE)

As some of you may know Vibe Magazine is NELLY will be hosting & performing (music also by Million $ Mano) at The Shrine this upcoming Sunday. But just added to the event are fellow St. Lunatics Murphy Lee, Kyjuan and Avery Storm. This is going to be a BIG deal, get your tickets now via CLUBTIX!

Nelly x Murphy Lee x Million $ Mano x Avery Storm!

The Roots - How I Got Over (album Sampler)

If you’ve been wanting to check out more on The Roots album, they released a 90 second sampler of every track for fans to preview. I remember The Roots playing a little bit of their upcoming album (How I Got Over) at The Shrine in 2009 and now since hearing “Dear God 2.0”, my high hopes are even higher for "How I Got Over". The crew never disappoints though. You can hear part of Blu’s verse on “Radio Daze” as well. He’s slated to be featured on a couple tracks.

Lauryn Hill rocks the Harmony Festival in California

Lauryn Hill rocked the Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa, California last week. L-Boogie performed Fugee hits & songs from her classic album ‘Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’.

Check out the videos!

DRAKE x COOKIN' SOUL x DON CANNON: Thank Us Later (The Remix Album)

The official remix-release of Drake’s highly anticipated new album.

“Thanks us later” is a new approach to song remixing. Not having the acapellas created a complete new challenge,

Cookin’ Soul got in the studio together with french top producer Spike Miller and electronic spanish producer VibaSound

using real live instruments: guitars, bass, piano, strings, synths…

everything necessary to create this monster with remixes, mashups & original production!




DOWNLOAD HERE (right click save-as)

The Master in the House, Mr Tony Allen!

We were truly blessed Monday night by the presence of Tony Allen and his entire band! No secret The Shrine is named after Fela's original Lagos nightclub, so to have Tony in the building was an honor and sort of brings it full circle. The Shrine hosted the official after-party and the crowd and the band were on the dance floor getting down! Of course the battery died on the camera...! Hopefully we can dig up a few more shots.

Donnis live at The Shrine (re-cap)

Shout out to Ruby Hornet for bringing us (and YOU) Donnis!
Photos by Virgil Solis.

The Shrine Anniversary Week re-cap by FLAIR TV!!!!

Flair TV : Whatsyourflair.com

Check out this amazing recap of our anniversary week at The Shrine!

Brought to you by Flair TV!

TONY ALLEN AT THE SHRINE!

The man who is the beat of Afrobeat, former Fela Kuti drummer and bandleader, will AT at The Shrine tonight Monday, June 14th. Right after his show in Millenium Park, Tony will be our very special guest for the official after-party! DJs Tone B. Nimble, King Scratch and Clark Quente spin the best of Tony and the heaviest in Nigerian sounds. Loads of giveaways, including posters, CDs and more. This is really history in the making. We couldn't be more honored to have Tony Allen bless us with a visit! Doors open at 9pm.



Rare PSYCO ON THE BUS track 2001



NEW PROMO FILM FOR JUST RELEASED 'SECRET AGENT MAN' ALBUM

Maker Vs Now Again

Chicago-area beatsmith Maker marks his Now-Again Records debut with Maker Vs. Now Again an entry in the same “music-library” series that saw the release of limited edition (and often not-for-sale) albums like Oh No Vs. Now-Again and Koushik Vs. Now-Again. A boom-bap era hip hop exercise in dusty drum breaks and two bar loops, this accessible series of tracks is clearly made for easy synchronization. This CD is only available for sale in Japan and comes packaged in a “mini-LP” thick cardboard “tip-on” sleeve.

Hear him spin with JROCC at our Stones Throw monthly on Thursday, July 1st!

DOWNLOAD & PREVIEW LINK: CLICK HERE

Donnis: The Invitation Mixtape

Donnis drops his Fashionably Late EP on June 22nd, and invites you to get ready for the party with this new mixtape done with DJ Infamous and DJ Holiday. The mixtape is 19 tracks including some remixes from Donnis' last offering, The Diary of An Atlanta Brave. It also includes some freestyles, and a few new joints. Download the mixtape below.

Don't forget, Donnis will be in Chicago tomorrow night for our Digital Freshness series at The Shrine. Also on the bill is Rockie Fresh, DJ Just Desserts (everyoneisfamous.com) and of course, DJ RTC. Pre-sale tix are only $10 and available here.



DONNIS: THE INVITATION MIXTAPE

Props to illroots

Donnis: Aquemimi Freestyle

He is bumpin' Passion Pit... Dope. Donnis is dropping a new mixtape tomorrow, and on Thursday he will be in Chicago for Digital Freshness at The Shrine! Get your tix for that right here. Atlanta to Atlantic... Shouts to Lyor Cohen.

LISTEN: DONNIS - AQUEMIMI FREESTYLE

Rhymefest's album release party!

Rhymefest celebrated the release of his sophomore album El Che last week with RubyHornet as part of their Digital Freshness series at The Shrine. The club enjoyed a performance from Rhymefest, as well as sounds by DJ RTC. Check out the recap video below to get a glimpse of the action, and catch this week's edition of Digital Freshness with a special performance from Donnis happening on June 10th. Tickets available here.

DJ Premier and Pharrell

The legendary DJ Premier brought real Hip Hop to Chicago last night for the one year anniversary of The Shrine. The crowd was unbelievably pumped and went even crazier when Pharrell dropped in to make it a serious a party.

SEE EVEN MORE COVERAGE ON NBC.COM!!! CLICK HERE

Like girls from Brasil?

Forro Da Copa!

Live World Cup Match viewing of Brasil v. Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

Also featuring a live FORRO band!

DJ's, Dancing + Caipirinhas!

$5 entry!!!!!

1pm - 6pm!!!

Bottle Service: RSVP@TheShrineChicago.com

2109 S. Wabash Chicago IL 60616 (Valet Available)
Red line to Cermak.

21+

The History of the Vocoder

How to Wreck a Nice Beach
The Vocoder from World War II to Hip-Hop

The Machine Speaks

Dave Tompkins

The history of the vocoder: how popular music hijacked the Pentagon's speech scrambling weapon

This is the story of how a military device became the robot voice of hip-hop and pop music. Though the vocoder, invented by Bell Labs in 1928, was designed to guard phones from eavesdroppers, it expanded beyond its original purpose and has since become widely used as a voice-altering tool for musicians. It has served both the Pentagon and the roller rink, a double agent of pop and espionage.

In How to Wreck a Nice Beach—from a mis-hearing of the vocoder-rendered phrase "how to recognize speech"—music journalist Dave Tompkins traces the history of electronic voices from Nazi research labs to Stalin's gulags, from the 1939 World's Fair to Hiroshima, from Manhattan nightclubs to the Muppets.

The result is an amazing chronicle of postwar music and culture, filled with unexpected and surprising encounters. We see the vocoder brush up against FDR, Solzhenitsyn, Stanley Kubrick, Stevie Wonder, JFK, Eisenhower, Neil Young, Kanye West, the Cylons, Walt Disney, Henry Kissinger, and Winston Churchill, who boomed, when vocoderized on V-E Day, "We must go off!" And now the device is a cell phone standard, allowing your voice to sound human.

From T-Mobile to T-Pain, How to Wreck a Nice Beach is a riveting saga of technology and culture, illuminating the work of some of music's most provocative innovators.

http://www.mhpbooks.com