rhymes in ya ear

Iconic rapper Busta Rhymes brings all the lyrics to Houston's ears on new tour

Busta Rhymes

Photo courtesy of Busta Rhymes

Effortlessly clever and a born performer, iconic rapper-actor-performer Busta Rhymes is a living link to the early days of NYC/East Coast hip-hop's origins and modern entertainment. Next year, Houston fans can catch all his lyrics inside their ears when he hits town.

Busta Rhymes will bring his energetic brand of showmanship and raspy-voiced rhymes to 713 Music Hall on March 28, 2024 as part of his just-announced Blockbusta North American tour. Supporting his acclaimed new album of the same name, the Blockbusta tour will also head to Dallas' South Side Ballroom on March 24 and Austin's Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater on March 26.

Tickets are available via Citi presale now, with more presale promotions running the week ahead of the general on-sale, beginning at 10 am Friday, December 1at LiveNation.com. Fans can look forward to VIP packages and experiences, including general admission tickets, individual Meet & Greet, photo op, and Q&A with Busta Rhymes, autographed item, early entry with priority access to the floor & more. Those interested should check out more at vipnation.com.

Fresh off supporting 50 Cent on the historic, global Final Lap Tour, Busta will drop a feast of new Blockbusta material from the Busta co-produced with A-listers Pharrell Williams, Timbaland, and Swizz Beatz. Check out new tracks — including the latest single “OK” featuring Young Thug — here.

The NYC native boasts 12 Grammy Award nominations, more than 10 million albums worldwide, seven Top-10 debuts on the Billboard 200, and a "greatest performer of all time" title glossed by none other than one JAY-Z. He has also starred in notable roles in films such as Higher Learning and Finding Forrester and has even rubbed elbows with Former President Barack Obama.

But he still keeps it real from his East Flatbush Brooklyn early days, with cred such as BET Jams crowning his "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See" as the "Greatest Hip-Hop Video of All-Time." Busta also recently scored the 2023 BET Icon/Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.

Here is the full list of Blockbusta 2024 tour dates.

3/13 San Francisco, CA The Masonic

3/15 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Palladium

3/16 Anaheim, CA House of Blues

3/17 San Diego, CA SOMA

3/19 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues

3/20 Phoenix, AZ The Van Buren

3/22 Denver, CO Fillmore Auditorium

3/24 Dallas, TX South Side Ballroom

3/26 Austin, TX Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater

3/28 Houston, 713 Music Hall

3/30 Atlanta, GA Coca Cola Roxy

4/1 Orlando, FL House of Blues

4/2 Miami Beach, FL Fillmore Miami Beach At Jackie Gleason Theatre

4/4 Raleigh, NC The Ritz

4/5 Charlotte, NC The Fillmore Charlotte

4/7 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore Philadelphia

4/8 Silver Spring, MD The Fillmore Silver Spring

4/9 Boston, MA House of Blues

4/11 Detroit, MI The Fillmore Detroit

4/12 Toronto, ON HISTORY

4/14 Chicago, IL Radius Chicago

4/17 Nashville, TN Marathon Music Works

4/18 Cincinnati, OH Andrew J. Brady Music Center

4/21 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Paramount

Waddle We Have Here

3 endangered penguin chicks just hatched at Galveston's Moody Gardens

A Humboldt penguin chick in an Easter Basket at Moody Gardens

Photo courtesy of Moody Gardens

Look what showed up in an Easter Basket!

Galveston's Moody Gardens announced this week that it has successfully hatched three Humboldt penguin chicks in the Aquarium Pyramid, the first time the facility has done so.

“This is our first ever time having Humboldt penguin chicks, so we’re very excited,” said Amy Jones, a biologist who works with the penguins and seals at Moody Gardens.

Two chicks were born to penguins Yolanda and Cusco, and another to Marcona and Ballesta, all between March 15 and 18. Aquarium staff has been monitoring the chicks and their parents, and all seem to be thriving.

Humboldt penguins are warm weather penguins that naturally inhabit the coasts of Peru and Chile. Moody Gardens introduced Humboldt penguins to its aquarium in 2017. A burrowing species, mating pairs lay and protect eggs in protected nests.

The new chicks will remain secluded in their nesting box for the time being until they develop their waterproof feathers. The parents are keeping them warm and fed. Sex will be determined via DNA testing at a later date, after which the chicks will be named and formally introduced to the public.

Achieving viable Humboldt penguins hatchings is a significant feat for a program that is less than 10 years old, according to Moody Gardens. The birds require strict diets and climate controlled habitats to thrive, and successfully housing a colony of 12 in an environment that makes them comfortable enough to breed is quite an achievement. Engagement and stimulation is key, and visitors to the aquarium can often see the penguins playing with bubbles and toys that simulate activity in the natural environment.

Successful hatchings are also a win in the fight against extinction. Humboldt penguins are classified as a vulnerable species, with only about 23,000 left worldwide. The birds are heavily impacted by El Niño events that disrupt the nutrient-rich Humboldt current that forms the base of the penguins' food pyramid. Driven by man-made climate change, these events are increasing in number and severity. Overfishing, pollution, habitat loss, and being caught in fishing nets also accounts for a decline in the population, according to press materials. Programs like the one at Moody Gardens help educate the public on the dangers the penguins face in the wild.

The real question is: when will visitors be allowed to see the babies? Staff continues to monitor the chicks with regular weigh-ins. The chicks will remain in the nesting boxes for at least several weeks until they are mature enough to start entering safe areas and, eventually, the main habitat. In the meantime, people can see videos on the Moody Gardens Instagram page.

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