J-ESSENTIAL

J-Essential Performing @ "The Line-Up" 12-1-11

2011-11-30T21:43:00.001-08:00

J-Essential will be performing tonight @ Silent Knight & The Band Called Fuse weekly showcase "The Line-Up." The show will take place inside the back room of "Grisly Pear" ( 107 MacDougal St.
Btwn Bleeker and West 3rd st.) - 10:30pm-1am....21+. Fellow emcees Kalae All Day & Ms.Mahogani Brown will also be holding down their own sets!! Guaranteed freestyle jam session for the emcees and artists in the crowd! The MPC will be on deck with brand new beats...

J-Essential Performing Live @ Legion Bar (790 Metropolitan Ave , BK,NY)

2011-11-04T22:17:00.000-07:00

TONIGHT!! J-Essential, We Stole The Show & Unfigured will be performing @ "Show Stealers." The showcase will be held @ Legion Bar (790 Metropolitan Ave. off the L train - Graham stop). Show time is 10pm, 21+ $5 cover! Copies of "Speaker Medicine 2" along with other albums will be available for sale at the event! If you are in the NY area, come through and check out new material that will be dropping before the end of 2011!

TONIGHT!! UglyBraine, Sean Price, Natural Elements...

2011-09-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

Sean Price will be headlining this show tonight @ Public Assembly (70 N. 6th st, BK). Doors open @ 8pm - $10 cover, 21+ Come check out J-Essential rocking with the band Uglybraine! Additional performances by Natural Elements, Maffew Ragazino, Rasheed Chappell, Johnny 3 Rounds, Stark The Dutch, Zeps and hosted by Poison Pen. Copies of Uglybraine & J-Essential LP's along other gear will be available @ the show!

SKI BEATZ "24 HOUR KARATE SCHOOL 2" RELEASE PARTY TONITE!!!

2011-08-09T09:18:00.000-07:00

The legendary Ski Beatz has blessed the hip-hop world at large with yet another amazing project - the 2nd edition of his "24 Hour Karate School" series! If you are in the Brooklyn NY area tonite, come out and support Ski and the Senseis along with performances by Cassidy, STS, Locksmith, Da$h, Tabibonney, and others @ Cameo (93 N.6th st, BK,NY) $8 cover - if you will not be in the NY area please purchase the album via download here

Nocturnal Business - Produced by M-Phazes

2011-06-11T12:47:00.000-07:00

In anticipation of 3 NEW MIXTAPES - 2 of which will feature older, unreleased J-Essential tracks from over the years, and will b mixed/hosted by the 1 and only T.Guilladeane!! - I have uploaded 1 of my favorite joints from back in the day: "Nocturnal Business" - which was produced by the heavily sought after beatsmith "M-Phazes" (recently produced the title track for Talib Kweli's "Gutter Rainbows" album, and did a bulk of Pharaoh Monch's "WAR" LP) Please pass this along, and make sure to keep checking in for the first free downloadable mixtape dropping soon (exact date TBA later this month!)

Defamation Nation Presents: "86'ed Across The Land" Jumpoff Party!

2011-06-03T12:35:00.001-07:00

On Friday, June 17th @ the Brand New "Persona" shop in Lowell MA (51 Market St.), Defam Nation will be hosting a live event to celebrate their summer season line "The 86'ed edition. Along with the showcase of the ill summer gear there will be live performances as well, including sets from J-Essential, Steve Rey, Easy Money & more special guest TBA!! If you are in the Lowell area and would like to attend, please follow this link to the facebook flyer and RSVP!

Photos From The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival "Show & Prove" Competition

2011-05-07T10:52:00.000-07:00

On April 14th 2011 @ Public Assembly in Brooklyn NY, J-Essential performed alongside T.Guilladeane for the 1st round series of Brooklyn Bodega's "Show & Prove" artist showcase. Although J-E was not selected to advance into future rounds of the event, the night still became a memorable one with an explosive set packed full of energy and talent and a special guest appearance from one of BK's finest, Mr.Man of the Bush Babees. Included are several photos from the night taken by Photo Rob - Enjoy!

PLEASURE PETE LIVE PERFORMANCE @ GOOD LIFE BAR 4/19/11

2011-04-18T19:44:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night Pleasure Pete & J-Essential will be performing for "Beats, Rhymes & Life" radio showcase @ The Good Life Bar (28 Kingston Street Boston, MA). If you plan on being in the Boston, specifically Allston, MA area, please come through to this free event! Show starts @ 8pm - 21+

J-ESSENTIAL PERFORMING @ "SHOW&PROVE" APRIL 14TH

2011-04-05T19:22:00.000-07:00

In conjunction with "Brooklyn Bodega," the creators of the "Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival (BHF);" J-Essential will be showcasing songs in order to earn a bid as the opening act of 2011's BHF! The show is set @ Public Assembly (70 N.6th St., Brooklyn, NY) April 14th 8pm w/ a $10 dollar cover. If you are in the NY area and are a fan of J-Essential - submit your attendance like a good student here!

FLIP CAM ARCHIVES: Doron Lev w/ Live Band NYC 3/24/11

2011-03-31T20:25:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday night "The Lineup" hosted by Silent Knight & Kon @ The Grisly Pear in NYC included a dope set from the homie Doron Lev! D played the drums while emceeing - accompanied by a live band and fellow emcees Rabbi Darkside & yours truly! Here's a small piece of the show for everyone to check out! Be sure to swing through www.uglybraine.com for future events and updates.

TONIGHT! "STALLEY" LIVE PERFORMANCE

2011-03-23T11:28:00.000-07:00

If you are in the Nashua NH area, make sure to come to Amsterdam Lounge & Bar (8 Temple St, Nashua, NH) tonight for the "Stalley" Live show presented by Persona Boutique (www.stackboxes.com) $10 @ the door - show starts @ 9pm! Additional performances will include: J-Essential, Pleasure Pete, SH, Aziz, and Steve Ramos. Also - Stalley will be available for a "meet & greet" inside of Persona Boutique (122 Main St, Nashua, NH) from 7-8pm! Be there!!

Doron Lev Presents: Ugly Braine

2011-03-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

Emcee, Producer, Artist, Drummer (the list goes on and on....) extraordinaire Doron Lev unveils his newest creation: www.uglybraine.com. Lev will be dropping new tracks along with videos and show updates on the site - in anticipation of his new EP which will be dropping this month. Make sure to keep checking in for all the official updates! For those in the NYC area: Doron Lev will be performing with a live band and emcee J-Essential (with additional special guests) on Thursday, March 24th 10PM@ The Grisly Pear (107 MacDougal St. New York, NY 10012) for "The Lineup" weekly showcase presented by Silent Knight & Kon. Stay Ugly!!!

TONIGHT: !llmind's B.L.A.P. Music Producer Showcase @ Katra NYC 3/15/11

2011-03-15T18:16:00.000-07:00

The newest installment of Producer !llmind's B.L.A.P. showcase is entitled: "The Kooley High Edition." This is because North Carolina's own "Kooley High" will be taking the main spot in a rotation of producers which also include: Foolery of Kooley High, 86'd Beats, Jordan Meyer, ESTA, and Side Effekt. If you are in the NYC area, make sure to come support and hear the fresh exclusive sounds brought to you by the BLAP Boyz and Guerrilla Words!! Admission is free of charge and the event will run till 2AM. More details can be found HERE

Persona Boutique & BluRoc Present: "STALLEY" Live Performance!

2011-03-10T16:17:00.000-08:00

On March 23rd Persona Boutique will host a meet and greet with BluRoc recording artist "Stalley" from 7-8pm in Nashua NH. A following performance is scheduled @ The Amsterdam Bar & Lounge (8 Temple St.) from 9-till close right down the block from the shop! Additional performances by: J-Essential, Pleasure Pete, Steve Ramos, Aziz, & SH. $10 @ the door or $8 in advance: RSVP info HERE

FLIP CAM ARCHIVES: Q-Tip & Jarobi Perform "Award Tour" @ "Won't Do Part 2" - Drom NYC 2/4/11

2011-03-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

The Flip-Cam Archives provide some very unique, behind-the scenes footage of hip-hop life out in NYC. For the first addition on J-Essential.com we're dropping last months "Won't Do Part 2" show, hosted @ Drom that honors the life and musical genius of J-Dilla. Performers included: T3 (of Slum Village), Illa J, and the legendary Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest. After his DJ/Emcee performance set, Tip took the stage with fellow ATCQ member Jarobi and dropped the old school bomb on everybody - with a special dedication sent as well.

FAT BEATS "Pop-Up Shop" - TODAY!!!

2011-03-05T12:11:00.000-08:00

Fat Beats Records (Audible Treats) will be opening the doors of their Warehouse, located at 110 Bridge Street in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn, from 12:00pm to 8:00pm this Saturday, March 5th for the first of what will be a monthly "Pop-Up Shop" record store and music celebration. DJ sets will be performed throughout the day by Evil Dee, Rich Medina, and DJ Spinna - along with a number of surprise guests!

The event is held in response to the closing of both Fat Beats' NY & LA locations which happened last September. Since opening in 1994, hip-hop fans have traveled from far and wide to visit the iconic Manhattan and Los Angeles stores, in addition to locations in Atlanta, Amsterdam, and Tokyo, all closing shop in recent years. This is the first step in Fat Beats embarking on new and exciting opportunities, including the "Pop-Up Shop" event. If you are in the BK area today please roll through and support!!

Rabbi Darkside's "Darkside of 2010" Mixtape (Free Download)

2011-03-04T08:33:00.000-08:00

Props to my man Rabbi Darkside for his grind and hustle out here in NY!! R.D. just had a showcase for NBC's docu-series "Fresh Prep." Along with Darkside, Tracee Worley, Rosie Perez, Urban Arts Partnership, and special guests Dres, Talib Kweli, Sadat X and Keith Shocklee all took part in the event. You can catch it on NBC 4 in the tri-state this Saturday at 1:30am (after SNL), and will be available online in the next coming weeks. In the meantime...download his new year mixtape "The Darkside of 2010" featuring the track "Deep End" produced by J-Essential ft. Doron Lev & J-E

Download "The Darkside of 2010" HERE!

Ski Beatz DJ Set @ The Good Life - Boston, MA

2011-03-03T09:26:00.000-08:00

Gotta let my people back in the bean know whats good with this one! After participating in a Berklee School of Music sponsored session with fellow Sensei band member (and Berklee Alumni) bassist Brady Watt earlier in the day, Legendary Producer & DJ Ski Beatz (Jay-Z "Reasonable Doubt," Camp-Lo "Uptown Saturday Night") will be spinning a set upstairs @ The Good Life (28 Kingston st. Boston, MA.) Show time starts @ 9:30 - Admission $5 - If you're in the Boston area make sure to show love to the man holdin' down both Curren$y's "Pilot Talk" 1 & 2 along with his "24 Hour Karate School" Mixtape featuring some of the best in the game! additional info. can be found here: www.goodlifebar.com/events

J-Dilla: "Still Shining" Doc.

2011-03-02T17:08:00.000-08:00

This is a dope behind the scenes look and insight into the late, beyond great Jay Dee aka J-Dilla. It includes features and candid interviews from some of Dilla Dawgs' closest associates; Q-Tip, Pete Rock, ?uestlove, Phat Kat amongst many others - really worth the watch - especially for those who are unfamiliar with his legacy! R.I.P Jay Dee!!

"J.Dilla: Still Shining" from B.Kyle on Vimeo.

Pleasure Pete On YouTube

2011-03-01T20:01:00.000-08:00

Big Shouts to the U.V. crew! Pleasure Pete & T.Guilladeane release tracks on Youtube.com from their new LP "ME?!?!" This featured track is called "Stay Live" ft. J-Essential - but know that the entire project stays in heavy rotation werd up!! For booking Pleasure Pete, merchandise or a hard copy of the first full length album, contact PMinkarah@gmail.com

PLEASURE PETE/J-ESSENTIAL/STEVE RAMOS CD RELEASE/LISTENING PARTY - DEC.16TH 2010

2010-12-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

Amsterdam Lounge in conjunction with Persona Boutique (www.stackboxes.com) and Defamation Nation (www.defamnation.com) will be hosting this exclusive event on December 16th in Nashua, NH. 21+ with a $5 cover charge. Pleasure Pete's new LP "ME?!?!" along with J-Essential's "Speaker Medicine 2" will be available for sale during the show! Additional performances include Emcee Steve Ramos and DJ T.Guilladeane on the 1's and 2's! Please RSVP on J-Essential's facebook link!

SPEAKER MEDICINE 2 IS AVAILABLE NOW!!!

2010-11-02T12:03:00.000-07:00

The brand new LP "Speaker Medicine 2" by J-Essential & Producer/DJ T.Guiladeane is finally here! A special limited Bandcamp download is available to everyone worldwide for just $10 - with the digital album in the process of being available through iTunes, Rhapsody, and Amazon.com - to name a few of the future outlets!! For hard copy sales - please make sure to search for J-Essential on Amazon.com as more distributors become available! Click the link @ the top of the site to purchase the new album!!

"Magic" Video + "Dream State" Video - both directed by Joe Cap for "Lost Not Found Productions"

2010-10-27T09:44:00.000-07:00

In anticipation of the new full length Speaker Medicine 2 LP dropping in a cpl days on this site - we decided to dig up the archives and post up some of the videos from past projects!! The first video "Magic" is off of the LP "Full Capacity" and can be found in J-Essential's music section - the second video is titled "Dream State" off of the unreleased "Speaker Medicine: 1.5"

"Magic" Produced by Decap

"Dream State" Produced by T.Guiladeane

J Essential_Dream_State_Lost Not Found Productions Welcome to 09!! from Lost Not Found Productions on Vimeo.

J-Essential - "Elementary" Promo Video (Directed By Jon Wolf)

2010-10-07T19:30:00.000-07:00

SPEAKER MEDICINE 2 - DROPPING OCT 31ST!!!

J-Essential - "Feelin'" Video (Directed by Jon Wolf)

2010-09-25T17:36:00.000-07:00

WELCOME TO J-ESSENTIAL.COM!! IN CELEBRATION OF THE NEW BLOG SITE AND BANDCAMP PAGE WE ARE DEBUTING THE BRAND NEW J-ESSENTIAL MUSIC VIDEO "FEELIN'" DIRECTED BY JON WOLF - FROM THE NEW FULL LENGTH LP: SPEAKER MEDICINE 2 DROPPING OCT.31ST - ENJOY!