C2 Productions presents “Glasses After Dark: Love, Soul & Hip Hop Festival,” billed as the biggest Labor Day concert in Detroit, set for Monday, September 7, 2026, at the Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, 2600 Atwater Street.

The lineup features a strong mix of R&B and hip-hop talent, including Blackstreet, The Lox, State Property (featuring Beanie Sigel, Freeway, and Peedi Crakk), Twista, Chrisette Michele, Tweet, Adina Howard, and FakeFree KP.

Doors open at 5 p.m., with the show beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster or C2 Headquarters.

ATC Presents Beats, Vibes & Rosé, billed as New York’s ultimate old-school rooftop day concert, on Sunday, September 27, 2026, at The Rooftop at Pier 17 in New York City.

The 21-and-over event will feature performances from hip-hop legends Rakim and Nice & Smooth, along with Latin freestyle favorite Judy Torres. The musical lineup will also include Hot 97 FM’s DJ Camilo, The Block 94.7 FM’s Ted Smooth, Bronx native DJ Lucho, Rob Lo, Mike Torres, and Ralphie Mercado. The event will be hosted by Nick Storm.

Doors open at 1:00 PM. Tickets are currently on sale through AXS.com and at the AXS Box Office, Monday through Saturday from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

Legendary hip-hop artist Talib Kweli will take the stage in Ottawa on Thursday, September 10, 2026, as part of Cranium Festival 2026. The performance will take place at the Bronson Centre, where Kweli will perform with a live band from 7:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Presented by Cranium Arts Project, the 19+ event will feature music by DJ Karyen and hosting duties by Cheko7even. The performance is part of the five-day celebration running September 9–13 across Ottawa, showcasing hip-hop, R&B, soul and Afrovibes while bringing together established and emerging talent.

Known for his thought-provoking lyricism and influential contributions to hip-hop, Talib Kweli has built an acclaimed career spanning more than two decades. His Ottawa appearance promises to be a highlight of this year’s festival, particularly with the added energy of a live band.

Cranium Festival 2026 also features a broader lineup of artists including Che_Nous, Lindasson, SLM, Romeo Don’t Die, Simora and Avery Jane, with performers appearing throughout the festival’s multi-day program.

Advance tickets for the Talib Kweli performance are available through Eventbrite.

De La Soul and Nas have released the official video for “Run It Back!!,” the standout collaboration from De La Soul’s tenth studio album, Cabin In The Sky. Released August 19, 2026, the visual is now available on both De La Soul and Mass Appeal’s official YouTube channels.

The video takes an imaginative approach to the hard-hitting hip-hop track, using an artistic filter reminiscent of painted brush strokes. The effect gives the visual an almost storybook-like quality, creating a distinctive contrast between its playful, handcrafted appearance and the record’s powerful lyrical energy. Both Nas and De La Soul appear throughout the video in the stylized treatment.

“Run It Back!!” brings together two enduring forces in New York hip-hop, with De La Soul representing their Long Island roots and Nas adding his Queensbridge perspective. The track reflects on hip-hop’s history, evolution and continued influence.

With its unconventional visual style and heavyweight collaboration, the “Run It Back!!” video offers a fresh visual interpretation of a track rooted firmly in hip-hop history while demonstrating that De La Soul and Nas remain creatively relevant across generations.

Tickets are now on sale for the highly anticipated Rock The Bells Festival 2026, bringing hip-hop and R&B icons to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday, November 29, at 7:00 PM.

The festival lineup features hip-hop legend LL Cool J, Lil Kim, Method Man and Redman, SWV, D-Nice, LeToya Luckett, The LOX and David Banner. Additional names will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tickets are now available through Ticketmaster.

KRS-One has released the official video for “What Is The Message” today, August 11, and the visual matches the spirit of the song with undeniable energy.

Bright, colorful, and deeply rooted in hip-hop culture, the video feels like a visual representation of everything KRS-One has stood for throughout his career. From graffiti-covered walls and trains throughout the city to break-dancers bringing movement and energy to the streets, the video puts the culture front and center.

Vinyl also gets its moment, with record stores and displays featuring classic albums that remind viewers of hip-hop’s rich musical history. At the center of it all is KRS-One himself, delivering his rhymes with the authority, passion, and conviction that have defined his career for decades.

“What Is The Message” is already a captivating track on its own, but the official video takes the experience to another level. Rather than simply accompanying the song, the visual reinforces its message by showcasing the art, movement, music, and community that make hip-hop more than just a genre.

At a time when debates about the state and direction of hip-hop continue, KRS-One offers a simple but powerful reminder through both the song and its visual: authentic hip-hop is not dead.