[ed.- You're fired for that headline.]
So, Eyedea & Abilities are amazing right? The group is comprised of one of the best MCs ever and an amazingly talented DJ who's extremely entertaining to watch. My personal favorites of the Rhymesayers collective, these two dudes have so much credibility that they simply laugh at people who forget that they're one of the best hip-hop duos around. In their faces!
The thing is… they haven’t really done that much in a couple years. And, to be honest, the “rock” band that Eyedea had for awhile… they kinda sucked. But Eyedea has won like a BILLION rap battles, and DJ Abilities did all the turntable work for El-P’s phenomenal album Fantastic Damage (old-school TMT Review), so I always give them the benefit of the doubt based solely on what they're capable of, even if not everything they do is "awesome."
But who gives a shit about everything I said, because they're back with a new album! By the Throat is scheduled for release July 21 on Rhymesayers, and I bet it will totally blow away their last album, 2004’s breakout release E&A (TMT Review). The press release describes the new songs as “ranging] from intensely personal topics to the more esoteric [quantum mechanics],” which, yeah, that sounds kind of old-hat for [E&A, but they do stuff like that so well!
In support of the new album Eyedea & Abilities are scheduled to appear this Sunday at Rhymesayers' Soundset ’09, as previously reported. The band also expects to headline a tour in the fall, including dates at this year's Rock the Bells.
Here are some dates, all properly formatted and such:
06.27.09 - Chicago, IL - First Midwest Bank Amphitheater
06.28.09 - Detroit, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre
07.05.09 - Toronto, ON - Molson Amphitheater
07.12.09 - Washington, DC - Merriweather Post Pavilion
07.18.09 - Boston, MA - Comcast Center
07.19.09 - New York, NY - Jones Beach Amphitheater
08.01.09 - Vancouver, BC - Deer Lake Park
08.06.09 - Denver, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheater
08.08.09 - Los Angeles, CA - San Manuel Amphitheater
08.09.09 - San Francisco, CA - Shoreline Amphitheater