The West Coast continues to be a breeding ground for talent. Though decorated with household names like Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Ice Cube and Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre showed California so much love with his comeback album Compton, a companion to the blockbuster N.W.A film Straight Outta Compton. Poke around the credits of Dre's set, though, and a flurry of rising acts joined the bill, including Oxnard, Calif. native, Anderson .Paak.

After rolling out his 2014 debut Venice and teaming with production duo Blended Babies earlier this year for The Anderson .Paak EP, the soulful singer-songwriter is dropping his second full-length effort called Malibu via OBE, Steel Wool Entertainment and ArtClub International. The forthcoming LP -- whose wavy artwork can be seen below -- hosts .Paak's latest two singles, "The Season/ Carry Me" and the 9th Wonder-produced "Am I Wrong" featuring ScHoolboy Q

For the uninitiated, .Paak was raised a Southern Baptist in L.A. who spent his early underground career as Breezy Lovejoy, rolling out independent projects like 2010's Violets Are Blue. His experimental sound genre-hops from hip-hop to rock to R&B and shows a knack for storytelling (see: the dark banger "Milk N' Honey," the funky jam "Luh You" and the smooth love note to Venice "The City").

The Virtual Reality Company Produces VR Concert With Singer Anderson .Paak

Malibu will feature other collaborations with The Game, Talib Kweli, BJ The Chicago Kid, and Rapsody, as well as production from 9th Wonder, Callum Connor, DJ Khalil, Madlib, Kaytranada, Pomo, Hi-Tek, Chris Dave, Robert Glasper and Dem Jointz. .Paak's new album will land on Jan. 15.

FestiFi has been brought on to supply crowd wifi for events world-wide through 2016.

Bands Perform for Virtual Reality Viewers in New VRC Recording Studio (Exclusive)

SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 | 02:30PM PT
Variety
Janko Roettgers
Senior Silicon Valley Correspondent

The next performance of your favorite band may happen in your living room — or at least it may feel that way, thanks for virtual reality.

More and more musicians are looking to record live performances and music videos for virtual reality (VR) headsets, and Southern California-based Virtual Reality Company (VRC) is building a dedicated VR recording studio at the Mack Sennett Studios in Los Angeles. The studio is being built in cooperation with Steel Wool Entertainment.

The new studio will record both 360-degree video and binaural audio. It is being designed by VRC co-founder Robert Stromberg, who previously worked on major Hollywood blockbusters including “Avatar,” “Alice in Wonderland” and “Maleficent.” “Virtual reality creates the sense of being with the band on the stage, backstage, in the audience and more — it’s a 360-degreee experience that enhances live performances by introducing a new dimension of entertainment,” Stromberg said.

VRC will start to record first performances in the new studio in the coming days as part of a soft-launch. The company isn’t the only one looking to musicians to produce VR content. IM360 recently recorded a 360-degree video of Taylor Swift on behalf of American Express and Jaunt released a VR recording of Paul McCartney a year ago.

FestiFi was founded to provide flexible WiFi solutions targeted at monetizing and expanding crowd engagement. Successful mobile sponsorship campaigns and robust applications require reliable internet connectivity and demand for these services has overloaded traditional cellular networks. FestiFi provides fast, high throughput, stable wireless-centric solutions.

Dr. Dre's announcement of his upcoming Compton album feels like a fever dream. The most worrisome aspect of Detox, Dre's oft-promised, oft-delayed follow up to The Chronic 2001, was the sense that waves of culture were continually passing the album by: after producing a classic rap record that was so far ahead it was literally timestamped two years into the future, how could Dr. Dre keep up with the shifting sounds and stars that'd sprouted up since?

The answer, he made clear, was that he wouldn't try. Detox was scrapped in favor of Compton, tethered to the upcoming N.W.A biopic. It's a deft move, allowing the producer to engage in nostalgia while pushing forward: the teased tracklist includes stalwarts like Eminem, Xhibit, and DJ Premier alongside just-breaking acts like BJ The Chicago Kid, King Mez, and Anderson .Paak, who clocks in at least four credited contributions.

June 25 // Club Bahia // Los Angeles, CA*
June 27 // The Middle East // Boston, MA*
June 28 // The Cutting Room // New York, NY*
July 2 // Underground // Stoke On Trent, UK
July 3 // Craufurd Arms // Milton Keynes (Blakelands), UK
July 4 // South at Bussey Building // London, UK
July 5 // Turnbridge Wells Forum // Wells, UK

*performing with Hayley Kiyoko

Steel Wool Entertainment and Media just signed four directors to its roster. We're very excited to be working with such talented people. Check out Jackson Adams, Mike Dempsey, Kyle Morrison and Tony Yacenda's work here: http://www.steelwoolentertainment.com/production

APR 9 // BALTIMORE, MD // BALTIMORE SOUNDSTAGE
APR 10 // COLUMBIA, SC // MUSIC FARM COLUMBIA
APR 12 // OXFORD, MS // THE LYRIC OXFORD
APR 14 // PENSACOLA, FL // VINYL MUSIC HALL
APR 15 // JACKSONVILLE, FL // FREEBIRD LIVE
APR 16 // GAINESVILLE, FL // HIGH DRIVE
APR 18 // CARRBORO, NC // CAT'S CRADLE
APR 19 // ASHEVILLE, NC // THE ORANGE PEEL
APR 20 // KNOXVILLE, TN // BIJOU THEATRE
APR 23 // COLUMBUS, OH // THE A&R MUSIC BAR
APR 27 // GRAND RAPIDS, MI // THE STACHE
APR 28 // ST. LOUIS, MO // THE READY ROOM
APR 29 // LAWRENCE, KS // GRANADA THEATER
MAY 1 // FORT COLLINS, CO // AGGIE THEATRE
MAY 2 // BOULDER, CO // FOX THEATRE
MAY 3 // COLORADO SPRINGS, MO // BLACK SHEEP
MAY 5 // COLUMBIA, MO // BLUE NOTE
MAY 6 // MADISON, WI MAJESTIC // THEATRE

JEZ DIOR, J COLE, JIMMY EAT WORLD, SLIGHTLY STOOPID, + MANY MORE

TICKETS ON SALE MARCH 20
PRE SALE MARCH 19

Watsky is performing at the Soundset Music Festival in Minnesota!

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

www.soundsetfestival.com

Hayley Kiyoko is on CSI:Cyber!

WEDNESDAY'S 10PM PST ON CBS

Check out Jez Dior's brand new single "Parachutes" on HipHopDX, Hype Machine, SoundCloud, Spotify, etc...