The Blog Era Lives On: Ctrl + Alt + Del Brings Hip Hop Nostalgia to Long Beach
- Mars
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
The Blog Era will be celebrated on Sept 12 in Long Beach for the Ctrl + Alt + Del show. The lineup features a broad representation of the artists who defined a distinct run in hip hop. What made the Blog Era so special? It was a time of original and regional sounds thriving simultaneously. It was also the last era in hip hop where real music fans dictated what was hot and what should be elevated to a wider audience.
The lineup brings out Big Sean, Miguel, Dom Kennedy, Curren$y, Pac Div, Casey Veggies, The Cool Kids, and more. This upcoming show brings distinct regional sounds, from the West Coast to the South and the Midwest, together on one stage. It is a roster full of artists who are still selling tickets and doing 30+ city tours, even though they don’t have many, if any, charting records on Billboard.
Their mixtapes and albums did significant numbers in the underground, proving the timeless aspect of their music. While we can all look at the lineup and bring up a list of names who are missing, adding any more artists would turn the show into a multi day festival. Maybe we will get that one day.
For now, this show is a reminder of the last era where, as a music fan, you had to be intentional about discovery. You had to sit down at your computer or laptop with the intent of finding new music. Your introduction to these artists was simply their name, the region they were based in, and a cool cover that made you want to click and listen. From there, core fanbases were built before you even knew what the artist looked like.
A couple of the final products of the Blog Era would be prominent figures like A$AP Rocky and Joey Bada$$. If you remember, Rocky’s mixtape, Live Love A$AP, was championed and stamped by the underground. That acclaimed project triggered a bidding war that eventually paved the way for his major label debut album. That era introduced him to a wider audience, including the passive listener, and we can all see how far he took it in music.
To give you a deeper look at the artists the Blog Era fathered in, you have to mention names like Wiz Khalifa, Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Black Hippy, Big K.R.I.T., and so many more. Their impact is undeniable, and you can celebrate that history live this September.
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