the black keys

From its announcement months back, we've been following the development of the BlakRoc project pretty closely. The hip-hop group featuring Akron, OH's garage rock duo The Black Keys immediately stood out to me, and rightfully so. The Black Keys supported by today's best MC's, including Mos Def, Q-Tip, Raekwon, RZA and Pharoahe Monch? Sign me up! The new album never gets cheesy like so many of it's rap/rock predecessors before it, and even with the slew of different rappers, each song flows into one another quite nicely. One of the standout tracks from Blakroc, "Ain't Nothing Like You (Hoochie Coo)," features Mos Def singing harmony while Jim Jones takes over the flows. The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach also gets a chance to lay down his signature vocals, but is used as more of a back-up singer with a host of "La La La"'s. Recently, the group made their live television debut on The Late Show With David Letterman for a performance of said track, and it came out sounding as good, if not better than the studio version. Check it out:

In other Mos Def news, apparently he'll be joining artists like Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, Barry Gibb and Bobby Womack as a guest on the new Gorillaz album. 2010 should be a great year for music, but this LP might just be my most anticipated.

Recently, we posted a bit of news about a new hip-hop project based around the blues rock instrumentals of Akron, Ohio's The Black Keys. The project, entitled BlakRoc, features a marquee list of hip-hop's finest MC's tackling The Black Keys' finest beats, all mixed up by famed producer Dame Dash. I can't wait for the new album to be released November 27th, the day after Thanksgiving – better known as Black Friday. For now, they are promoting the album with a series of videos entitled The BlakRoc Sessions, with the first two clips focusing on the beginning of the recording process, and the first collaboration with Mos Def. So far, so good:

I wish November 27th was right now. More videos to come from The BlakRoc Sessions, as soon as they're posted.

You read that right. A new project entitled BlakRoc is set to release their debut album on November 27, the day after Thanksgiving, better known as Black Friday. Featuring Akron, Ohio blues-rock duo, The Black Keys, supported by a who's who of hip-hop MC's, BlakRoc is probably the most intriguing act to come out of 2009. Spearheaded by rapper Jim Jones, this project has been brewing since early summer when Mos Def joined The Keys to lay down some of the first tracks in a Brooklyn studio. I could only hope a full grown tour will come out of this, but for now we can only wait until the albums release to get our first taste of this interesting fusion.

Check out BlakRoc's album art and track listing after the jump

The guitar playing half of Akron, Ohio garage rock duo The Black Keys, Dan Auerbach, is responsible for one of my top five albums of 2009 thus far. Keep It Hid is full of gritty blues-infused rock that is solid from start to finish. One of my favorite tracks from the album is the Keys-like "Heartbroken, In Disrepair," which showcases Auerbach's songwriting skill and his love for the wah-wah pedal. The new video has Auerbach and his band, including drummer Patrick Hallahan of My Morning Jacket, rocking out in the desert just before sunset. Give the video a watch, then immediately go buy the album (if you don't already own it, of course).

Today the SxSW Music Conference announced their full list of showcasing artists. There are hundreds and hundreds of acts that are going to be making their way to Austin next month for the world renowned multi-media conference. I included the full list after the break for any of you music nerds who need to read every band (like me). For those of you who just want to see some highlights, check out the tags for this post. Also, for all of you Houston readers, I went ahead and bolded all of the bands that are coming from the Bayou City (congrats guys!).

2008 Showcasing Artists for the SxSW Music Conference: