If you followed our CMJ coverage last week, you might recall our correspondent Jamie Falkowski’s lament at having missed a performance by up-and-coming Gary, Indiana, rapper Freddie Gibbs at S.O.B.’s.—seems he might possibly have been yanked off the stage after exhibiting his fondness for a certain controlled substance. That report might have smelled like urban myth, but the stark new video for “Boxframe Cadillac,” a track from Gibbs’s outstanding mixtape MidwestGangstaBoxframeCadillacMusik, lends credence to the claim: In no uncertain terms, the rapper describes his policy for mental-enhancement therapy behind the wheel. The video is beautifully shot and the hook is addictive; some of the language, needless to say, is NSFW. (Hat tip to The Smoking Section.)

Download MidwestGangstaBoxframeCadillacMusik at the Smoking Section.

Duke University senior Mike Posner performed at a classic CMJ hip-hop showcase at S.O.B.’s Thursday night, headlining a bill of mostly new and young talent at the Elitaste x NUE Agency showcase presented by Puma. Above, a video of highlights from Posner’s set with his guests Big Sean, 2AM Club and Eric Holljes. After the jump, a recap of the night’s lineup, featuring Camp Lo, Brandon Hines, Theophilus London, Pill and Freddie Gibbs.
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Welcome to Play Count, the Volume’s weekly mix of the best in recent hip-hop. In this edition, new music from Nyle, Phonte of Foreign Exchange, Oddisee, Freddie Gibbs and more. This week we highlight some of the best shows coming to town next week for CMJ.

Click past the jump for commentary.

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Photos by Dan Dealy

Over the past few weeks, catching a hip-hop show at S.O.B.’s has been well worth the price of admission. It seems that the artist on the marquee is rarely the only big name in the house. Above, check out photos from the album-release party for KRS-One and Buckshot’s collaborative project, Survival Skills. The two pulled out all the stops, bringing along Tek of Smif-N-Wessun, Skyzoo, Funk Flex, Busy Bee, Sean Price and Pharoahe Monch.

After the jump, view another slide show, featuring photos from Peter Rosenberg’s Who’s Next Live event with Raekwon. The Chef put on a stellar set, performing both classics and selections from his latest, Only Built for Cuban Linx…Pt. II, and freestyling alongside Wyclef.

S.O.B.’s hosts the latest installment of Who’s Next Live tonight, with GOOD music’s Consequence. Rumors are already flying about who will show up to support. For one thing, we’ve received word that John Legend will be stopping by to guest on Con’s first single from Cons TV, “Whatever U Want.”

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“Tonight it’s party time, it’s party time tonight.” That, in our mind, is the deepest thought that any philosopher has ever conceived. The words are from the lyrics of Class Action’s 1983 club hit, “Weekend”—on that note, here are our top clubland choices for tonight, tomorrow and Sunday.

Friday

Frolic to off-the-beaten-path disco, boogie material, left-field house and more, as Darshan Jesrani and Citizen Kane spin at Cielo’s Adult Section affair.

The Burning Man–approved Pornj Star party features a slew of techno spinners, including Germany’s WJ Henze and NYC icon Joey Beltram.

The U.K.’s DJ Pinch and Mary Anne Hobbs crash the dubstep-happy hoedown Dub War at Love.

Saturday

Ride the wild surf to a drum ’n’ bass soundtrack at the Camouflage Boat Bash.

More dubstep! The Trouble & Bass Third-Anniversary Party features the bass-heavy rhythms of Skream and Benga.

Broken-beat/future-jazz maven Daz-I-Kue on the decks, global-soul sister Joy Jones on the mike—it’s another late-night edition of Sol Ascension at S.O.B.’s.

Sunday

It’s the final Été d’Amour of the season (été is over, after all)—and it’s a hot one, with aural insurrectionists DJ Harvey and DJ Spun on the decks.

London’s premier polysexual disco hoedown, Horse Meat Disco, takes control of the rooftop at Hudson Terrace.

As most of you will have heard by now, Wu-Tang Clan rapper Raekwon the Chef finally released Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II this week, and celebrated the long-awaited sequel to his vastly influential 1995 solo album, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, with a star-studded release show at Santos Party House. But the party’s far from over: Raekwon will be celebrating once again tonight at S.O.B.’s, presented as part of Hot 97’s Who’s Next Live series hosted by Peter Rosenberg. To mark the occasion, we let hip-hop scribe Jesse Serwer go long on what might just be the hip-hop joint of the year:

Film sequels that surpass the quality of the original are rare, but there are a few out there (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey). But while rappers love franchises just as much as Hollywood, you would be hard-pressed to name a single hip-hop LP redux that truly outclasses the OG. Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II isn’t a better product than the “Purple Tape” (as the first Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… is often called, in reference to the cassette version’s unusual coloring). But even considering that seminal release’s status as one of hip-hop’s most distinctive and influential albums, the long-awaited second installment is a truly worthy companion piece.

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Thought we forgot about you today, didn’t you? Not a chance. We might be slow off the starting blocks after a long, carefree weekend, but we’d never neglect to point you toward the shows you’ve got to check out tonight. Topping the list is Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon, whose long, long, long-awaited Only 4 Cuban Linx Part II finally dropped today. Early spins indicate that—no offense, Jay-Z—Cuban Linx is the hip-hop record to beat this year; marking the occasion, the Chef arrives at Santos Party House this evening for a record-release date of epic proportions. Expected guest performers include Wu-Tang associates Ghostface Killah and Method Man, plus Beanie Sigel, Talib Kweli, Slick Rick and Lyfe Jennings.

Elsewhere, the grunge-era survivors of Alice in Chains hit the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza with a newish lead singer (William DuVall), a brand-new album (Black Gives Way to Blue) and a strong catalog of durable hits (”Them Bones,” “Would?” and “We Die Young” among them).

Buzzworthy South African combo BLK JKS arrives at S.O.B.’s tonight to celebrate the release of its new full-length on the Secretly Canadian label, After Robots, which packs a heady brew of Afro-jazz riffs, tribal rhythms, hardcore blasts and catchy hooks.

Any one of the players in the Overtone Quartet—saxophonist Chris Potter, pianist Jason Moran, bassist Dave Holland and drummer Eric Harland—might normally be encountered as a bandleader; tonight at the Blue Note, the four come together in a new collective, and the results should be well worth hearing.

And ebullient tenor-saxophone master Joe Lovano makes a rare appearance at the intimate jazz club Smalls tonight, lending his talent and energy to drummer Rob Garcia and his group in a fund-raiser for Connection Works, the not-for-profit organization behind the Brooklyn Music Wide Open outreach program. Show up early, and don’t be surprised if additional guests drop in unannounced.

In preparation for his show tonight at S.O.B.’s, Blitz sat down with us to talk about the process leading to his latest project, Stereotype. The album took Blitz close to four years to complete and hit stores and iTunes August 4. To celebrate, he will be performing the entire album this evening, along side his band, the Embassy Ensemble. Opening for the Ambassador will be Lessondary crew member Che Grand, promoting his own new project, Everything’s Good Ugly.

Get to know Blitz in the video above, and sample a taste of the show by downloading the free mixtape from Blitz, On My Mixtape Sh*t.

After catching up with 88-Keys and his surprise guest, Colin Munroe, at Nokia Theatre last week, we were curious to find out more about the latter artist, a Canadian pop singer with strong ties to the rap community. In the video above, Munroe discusses his creative process. Although he has joked on Twitter that he fears becoming the “white Nate Dogg,” the hip-hop world has embraced him wholeheartedly. Munroe names Novel and Black Milk as two of his prime collaborators.

Recently Munroe has been showing up all over New York City. In addition to his appearance as part of The Great Hangover Tour, he has hosted a party at Sutra and has another big gig lined up at S.O.B.’s on Wednesday (July 29). The show celebrates the first anniversary of Homebase NYC, and in addition to Munroe, it features local talent, including Melo-X and Nyle.

The management team  GFC New York might seem like a strange match for a pop songbird, but it’s with them that newcomer Jade is making a name for herself. The entire GFC crew—which includes includes Mickey Factz, FKi and Stalley—recently joined up at S.O.B.’s for their Black Apple showcase headlined by Factz.

In between hip-hop acts, the Brooklyn-raised singer put on an extravagant stage show. Abetted by a full band and a costume change, the singer tore through the songs off her debut EP, It’s My Heart Cookie.

After the performance, Jade spoke to us about the project and her collaborators, including J. Carmelli, Precize and Chuck Inglish of The Cool Kids on “Beautiful Problems.”

Jade is planning for a busy fall, with more performances to come, the next as a special guest at Marquee on August 12. She plans to put out new material by year’s end as well—for now, It’s My Heart Cookie is available as a free download.

We’re proud to say that we were relatively early to jump on the bandwagon of Asher Roth, who headlines the Great Hangover Tour at Nokia Theatre Times Square tonight. After extending the impish Pennsylvania MC a shout-out during his mixtape days, we featured him on the eve of his breakthrough release, Asleep in the Bread Aisle. Additionally, we shot some live video at Roth’s last area appearance in April. Check out that footage below and get psyched for this evening’s festivities, at which Roth will be joined by fellow It rapper Kid Cudi.

If you’re not in the hip-hop mood, check out another deafeningly hyped young artist: Nathan “Wavves” Williams—playing at Bowery Ballroom tonight—who has recently seen his life turned into a perverse sort of reality show by the music blogosphere. Drama aside, Williams’s fuzzed-out, hook-filled punk tunes are among the catchiest on the current indie landscape. Opening is psych-folk-ish Volume fave Woods. (Check out our recent Woods Q&A here.)

And if you’re at all attuned to the jazz world, you’ve no doubt read tons of breathless press concerning Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, hitting (Le) Poisson Rouge tonight. Check out TONY’s take on the self-proclaimed steampunk big band here.

Elsewhere in the city, it’s all about the free, outdoor shows, and there’s something for every taste. Left-field guitar virtuoso Kaki King hits Stuyvesant Town Oval, eccentric jazz nostalgist Don Byron salutes Motown sax powerhouse Junior Walker at Madison Square Park, freestyle mainstays George Lamond and Judy Torres stop by the Bronx’s Crotona Park, and Count Basie associate Frank Foster helms his eponymous big band up at Grant’s Tomb.

At the clubs tonight, women rule. The raging female-fronted metal unit Jucifer takes no prisoners at Cake Shop. Nashville songsmith Sarah Siskind (who recently taped an exclusive outdoor a cappella performance for the Volume) brings her Bon Iver–approved tunes to Joe’s Pub. And thoughtful pop storyteller Aimee Mann takes the stage at City Winery.

It’s also a strong night for Latin-music fans, as Jamaican reggae crooner Beres Hammond performs at BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, and the charismatic Sergent Garcia makes his U.S. debut at S.O.B.’s. Last but not even remotely least, the Jonas Brothers—a little up-and-coming band you may have read about in the pages of TONY—faces the adoring throngs at Izod Center.

Last week TONY caught up with up-and-coming local artist Outasight moments after his performance at S.O.B.’s. He and producer-DJ 6th Sense talked about their latest collaboration, “Brand New Day,” a track previously featured in Play Count and the most recent peek at Outasight’s upcoming debut album, From Here to Eternity. Our exclusive video above also includes footage from the concert.

The name Anthony Gonzalez might not ring any bells for you, but that’s because you know him better for his synth-pop revival band, M83. Tonight, Gonzalez (pictured) goes under his civilian moniker for a performance at the World Financial Center’s stately Winter Garden, in which he’ll spin out ambient sounds to accompany video imagery from artist Janet Biggs. The show starts at 9pm, and best of all: It’s free.

Elsewhere around town, erstwhile TONY music editors the Jonas Brothers come home to New Jersey for a big show in the Izod Center, shared with American Idol champion Jordin Sparks and nattily coiffed pop act Honor Society. (Admit it, by now you’re curious.)

Brainy Bronx rapper Mickey Factz lets the words fly tonight at S.O.B.’s, heading a bill that also includes pop diva Jade, Sunni rapper Stalley and quirky Atlanta duo FKi.

Out at Queensbridge Park, you can catch a free show by promotional stunt turned hip-hop-legacy act the Sugar Hill Gang. Rap along: “I said a hip, hop, the hippie, the hippie / To the hip, hip hop a you don’t stop.…” You know the rest. Get going.

And at the Village Vanguard, puckish Michigan pianist Bill Carrothers kicks off a rare weeklong engagement with his trio, spinning out fistfuls of notes alongside bassist Nic Thys and drummer Dre Pallemaerts. Our full-length preview won’t be posted online until tomorrow, but you can catch a sneak preview right here.

With today’s release of Asher Roth’s Asleep in the Bread Isle and the returning presence of Eminem, two artists of the Caucasian persuasion are generating some of the biggest buzz in the hip-hop industry. It’s easy to see why two outsiders can garner so much attention, but Roth and Em aren’t the only white artists and entertainers who’ll be making their mark in 2009. After the jump, the top white hip-hop movers and shakers you should be checking out.—Jamie Falkowski

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