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This year’s Internet Week kicked off on Monday May 14, 2012 and to celebrate, Mass Appeal and LastFM hosted an official first night after party at the Tribeca Grand in NYC. Internet Week New York is a week-long festival celebrating NYC’s thriving internet industry and it is now in its fifth year of operation. The event featured performances from Mr. Muthaf*ckin eXquire, Rye Rye, and Blaqstarr, and also included DJ sets by Blue Jemz and Dirtyfinger. Click through to see photos from this exclusive event. All photos by Lucas Alvarado / Far Fetched Future.

On Saturday April 28, 2012, EA Sports partnered with Virgin Gaming to celebrate the success of FIFA 12, Madden 12 and NHL 12 by hosting a tournament for dedicated gamers at Terminal 5 in New York City. The tournament was hosted by Gerard “HipHop Gamer” Williams. Following the tournament, Jadakiss and Just Blaze took the stage for a set of special live performances. Click through this exclusive slideshow to take a look at all of the action. All photos by Bernard Smalls.

On Monday April 16, 2012, Jim Jones held an exclusive listening session for his upcoming mixtape, “Vampire Life 2: F.E.A.S.T. The Last Supper” at his studio in downtown Manhattan. In addition to The Cappo himself, Freekey Zeekey, Maybach Music Group’s Audra The Rapper, and porn star Mellanie Monroe were in attendance for the Ciroc-sponsored event. All photos by Bernard Smalls.

On Monday March 26, 2012, DJ Premier and Bumpy Knuckles held a release party for their collaborative project, KoleXXXion, at NYC’s Highline Ballroom. In addition to the veteran rap duo, several legends including Pete Rock, Sweet T, Heather B., M.O.P., Kid Capri, Eric B., DJ Kool Herc, Naughty By Nature, The Cold Crush Brothers, O.C., Grandmaster Flash, Big Shug, Lord Finesse, NYG’z, and more attended. The event was hosted by Flavor Flav. Click through to see photos from the event. Photos by Bernard Smalls.

Renowned battle rapper, Iron Solomon held an album listening party for his full-length debut, “Monster,” at Fight Klub Studios on February 22, 2012. The event was hosted by Peter Rosenberg with music by DJ Meka of 2DopeBoyz. Click through to see photos from the event. Photos by Bernard Smalls.

To say Marz Lovejoy has had an incredible 2011 would be an understatement. Opening the year on the heels of the release her debut EP, “This Little Light Of Mine,” Marz performed alongside Wu-Tang Clan and Erykah Badu at SXSW, putting on a show that New York Times’ writer Jon Pareles described as “among the best” at the festival. In October, she put on yet another stunning performance and stole the show at the A3C Hip-Hop Festival in Atlanta. She went on to win over crowds while opening for M.O.P. at CMJ and by opening for Curren$y, The Jets and special guest Wiz Khalifa at the “Jet World Order” album release party in November.
This year, she also made her feature film debut in director Sheldon Candis’ “LUV,” appearing amongst an all-star cast including Common, Danny Glover, Meagan Good, and Michael K. Williams. The film has been selected to compete in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. On the experience, Marz commented, “I’m very grateful and humbled by this opportunity. I got to be around creative professionals such as Common and director sheldon Candis who exposed me to new experiences and made my first film performance feel as natural as being myself. I’ll be honing in on this new love of mine as time progresses…and going to Sundance is really the cherry on top, I get to go to Sundance with a purpose, that’s exciting! ” Producers Gordon Bijelonic and Datari Turner added, “Marz Lovejoy is an incredible new talent and we look forward to working with her on more films in the future.” The 2012 Sundance Film Festival will take place January 19 through January 29 , 2012 in Park City, Utah.