Saturday, August 29, 2009

Jay-Z is en fuego with new track Ghetto Techno


Just in case the first two tracks by Hovie produced by Timbaland this week, Off That and Reminder weren't enough for you, here's a third track by the unstoppable duo this week called Ghetto Techno.

I knew making the early proclamation that the Drake, Lil Wayne, Kanye & Eminem collabo was going to be the song of the year was going to haunt me...because this track is NUTS! I dunno what Timbo was thinking when he made this beat, but it's the most attention grabbing/in your face beat that he has produced in recent memory. There's so much fast paced organ laced elctro-percussion that the beat not only encourages you to dance, it compels you to bust a move. Undeniable club appeal to this heat rock with all of the bottle popping and shot taking talk throughout the track.

Anybody else notice that the official tracklist of Blueprint 3 doesn't include ANY of the aforementioned song with Jay-Z and Timbo? And the one song that Timbaland produced on the official tracklist When it Comes to This still hasn't even leaked yet? Must be nice to have extra tracks THIS good....

Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the over the top references to Jay-Z's official endorsement of champagne by Armand de Brignac named the "Ace of Spades" (pictured below):

Ever since the whole run in with Cristal boss Frédéric Rouzaud over racist remarks in 2006, Jigga has been doing his absolute best to get behind this new, up and coming, pricey champagne.

For example, quotables in Ghetto Techno about the "Ace of Spades" are everywhere:
Intro: "If you on that Ace, get ready to spray the club"
1st verse: "Southpaw I'ma outlaw, Ace of Spades comin out of my paws"
2nd verse: "Me I'm doin' me I'm just goin hard, got a table full of Ace like a deck of cards"
End of Track: "Johnny, Patron..haha..we got 'em...Hey I'm need a Methusalem, not a Magnum, I need a Methusalem, I need a bottle that's like...tall as a 6 year old"...haha that's great.

I think this was what he was talking about...

Which begs the questions, is that bottle as big as a 6 yr old?? and is Beyonce making that face in the background because she has never seen anything that big or impressive??...haha

And in case you need to be schooled on the difference between a Magnum champagne bottle (1.5L) and a Methusalem bottle (6L) get your knowledge here.

Other quotables:
"We mix the Patron with Cham-pagne washin away our sorrow, cause we don't wanna feel the damn pain, I hope I'm hung over tomorrow, cause we don't wanna feel a damn thing!"

"Honey's white but she dance black, had ask little broad how she dance like that"

"But I ain't doin' nottin I can give back, I know half the club wanna Twitter that"

Jay-Z - Ghetto Techno (prod by Timbaland) Fiery Hot!!!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Song of the Year??? Drake feat Lil Wayne, Kanye West & Eminem - Forever


Off the new upcoming Lebron James documentary More Than a Game. Early comparisons to Swagga Like Us are both fair and legitimate.

Early indications are that this will be the better of the two heavyweight tracks because Drake and Kanye's verses are pretty fierce and dwarf the overall pretty average verses throughout Swagga despite the start studded lineup.

Drake takes out some aggression with his "Look I done made it haters!" tone and Kanye continues his string of downright vulgar but genius punchlines on his verse.

Weezy's verse leaves a bit to be desired and honestly I'm just happy Em is starting to get back in the game collaborating and sounding somewhat serious and hungry when he's rhyming again...despite sounding like he's tryin to keep up with the beat his whole verse. Shake the rust off Marshall, I got big hopes for Relapse 2 because its the last shot you got at keepin' my respect after the last few albums.

It is what it is, give it a few listens, let it grow on you...

Drake feat Kanye West Lil Wayne & Eminem - Forever (prod by Boi-1da) MUST HAVE!!!

New Artist Spotlight: Pacific Division


Pacific Division, aka Pac Div, consists of brothers, Like and Mibbs, along with longtime friend BeYoung. The three came together in high school and have been slowly gaining legitimacy underneath the Hip Hop radar. Hailing from north Los Angeles, you could compare their style to a modern day Tribe Called Quest or De La Soul in the way their music has undeniable raw energy and consistent flow to it. If you are familiar with The Cool Kids, their production is very similar in that it is very heavy on bass and features simple, dulled down, old school percussion.

They have sort of a throw-back sound that sounds original amidst all of the overly synthesized beats that mainstream Hip Hop has become accustomed to. As a result, like The Cool Kids, their originality will always put them a step ahead of the competition and promise limitless potential in the years to come. You could say their future has started now with the release of the Church League Champions mixtape.

Last month, I hit you guys off with a video sample of what they have to offer over a DJ Khaled beat on their upcoming track Doom:



After watching that a few times, here are my observations:
1) There is no weakest link in the group, they all bring 100 all the time lyrically
2) They all have the ability to up their game on a great beat (I got you Khalil)
3) How big might they become if they got top shelf production?

And that's not to demean the sound they have now, I'm a big fan of them keepin' up with the originality and not following the crowd production wise...but that Khalil beat is disgusting and they went after it bar after bar showcasing why they are so underrated.

Which leads me to the review of their Chruch League Champions Mixtape...



The highlight of this mixtape for me was their track Knuckleheadz, which sounds like a Mikey Rocks production with the rolling trap laced percussive bounce beat that gives way to a slowed down bass infused beat at the 1:48 mark. Like I alluded to earlier, very organic production, not too over cooked you could say and very very likable due to its originality.

Pac Div - Knuckleheadz


Add to that, their track Whiplash with its dark, grimy beat that sticks to you with the catchy "I used to drive a Honda til it ran outta gas, now I'ma push this E til it run outta class" hook. If you're a fan of quality Hip Hop verses I'd encourage you to give Whiplash a listen.

Pac Div - Whiplash

Finally, they take it up a notch with the sampling of Duke/Carolina fans with the background imitating their student sections during basketball games. All in all pretty creative and I like how they incorporate a little drumline in there for good measure. Pretty cool how they just jump into the track and hit the ground running on the first verse, setting the tone for a hype track.
"Your girl jock me like I'm in school with the letterman..."....Solid effort...

Pac Div - We The Champs (Duke vs. Carolina)

No headphone rankings needed, let this spotlight review be a warning...Pac Div is no joke and like those ominous black clouds on the horizon, they're whats coming and they're about to "Katrina" on the Rap game as Kanye would say. Get some rest tonight so you don't keep sleepin on these cats....

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Pitbull + Jim Jonsin = A Good Look

Unstoppable Duo
Some producer/artist collaborations or teams are just matches made in heaven. For example, Dr. Dre with The Game or Aaliyah with Timbaland or even The Clipse with the Neptunes. Regardless, the two pictured above are producing such consistent hits every single time they work together, you could say they are the now version of an unstoppable team. Here's plenty of recent evidence why:

Pitbull - Call of the Wild (prod by Jim Jonsin) Hooot Club!!

Pitbull - Give Me a Bottle (prod by Jim Jonsin) Best creative Club sample off new album!

Pitbull - Room Service (prod by Jim Jonsin) Best Club beat off new album!

Pitbull feat B.O.B. - Across the World (prod by Jim Jonsin) Current Favorite!

Gotta love it too that at the beginning of every one of the songs, he gives a shout out to JJ. Probably because he knows how lucky he is to be teaming up with such a talented producer that continues to make his name known with all of these ridiculously hot songs. My current favorite is that B.O.B. Across the World track, so if you're tired of hearing the first three tracks when you go out every night, give the last one a chance because its a lot more mellow and likeable in a different way than the other three club tracks.

It's Cooooommmiinnngggg...and approaching Classic status....

September 1st

Monday, August 24, 2009

Jay-Z - Reminder (prod by Timbaland)

What a great week....two new Blueprint 3 tracks prod by Timbaland...and one is with Drake...can't do much better than this. This one Jigga steps it up vocally and spits bars after bar of fire all over this one. Crazy hot track....


Jay-Z - Reminder (prod by Timbaland)
Hooooottttt!!!!!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Album Review: America...David Guetta has arrived

David Guetta - One Love

What do you get when you mix European club music with American R&B/Pop?? The answer to that is simply David Guetta. He is fairly well known in France as a DJ and prior to this release he had released four albums without anyone in America really knowing about him.

That all is quickly changing as he has more or less created a new genre of music known as Hip-House in his new album title One Love. While a lot of traditional Hip Hop heads will more or less write this off as an extremely pop mutation of Hip Hop and the traditional Euro trance fans will probably get annoyed that David more or less sold out at the mercy of Contemporary American musical taste, I am a big fan of both respective styles and will willingly adopt this beautiful creation of upbeat Hip Hop. In my eyes this is a stellar combination of two contrasting music genres that, generally speaking, are demographically polar opposites.

If I were you I would go out and cop the album right now, but in case you don't you should definitely give a full listen to a few songs. My guess is you have already heard his two most popular songs on the album When Love Takes Over and Getting Over somewhere on the radio or out clubbin. Not much to say other than they are extremely catchy pop/club songs that are going to continue to be in heavy rotation because of how wildly popular they are.

Those two songs aside, in my opinion, the best song on the album is a toss up between either Sexy Bitch with Akon or Memories with B.O.B. Sexy Bitch definitely has the in your face lyrical sassiness that will undoubtedly appeal to its target demographic club goers, as well as those will instantly hear Akon and like the song, which happens all too often. The second song, Memories, is probably the coolest cross genre mashup/collaboration I have heard in a long time. This song continues to show how the new up and coming Hip Hop acts are freeing themselves from the myopic, traditional sound of Hip Hop music if favor of trying new, creative and even daring collaborations. From the bouncy piano sample moving to the house style BPM beat to the chorus with the addictive vocal coo-ing? (I really don't know what to call it, it's just B.O.B. impersonating a club sounding synthesizer), while adding to it the theme of the song which is letting go and just having a great time out, it's an extremely fun track. I would pick this any day over the rival Black Eyed Peas "Have fun summer anthem" I Gotta Feeling as this is more evidence of why Hip Hop is becoming so much more than just Rap.

Overall I give it a strong 4 headphones rating, bordering on 4.5 just because it is a great, one of a kind compilation of fun, entertaining Pop/Club songs. Many songs on this album should be made into singles and I hope it does get the credit it deserves because trying to create a Techno/Dance album and making it appeal to the Contemporary crowd is no small task...Cascada is the only one that comes to mind as an artist who has pulled it off.





Here are three of my favorite tracks from the album that you may not have heard yet.

David Guetta B.O.B. - Memories Best song on Album!

David Guetta feat Akon - Sexy Bitch Club Anthem!

David Guetta feat Ne-Yo & Kelly Rowland - Choose Underrated track!

New Jay-Z feat Drake - Off That (prod by Timbaland)

Yea this is that track I was referring to in my previous post...interesting futuristic sound to it with Timbo on the beat. Drizzy brings a high quality hook too...can't do a collabo much better than this, which makes it pretty hard to sleep on...

Jay-Z Feat. Drake - Off That (Prod. By Timbaland) Hotttttt!!!!!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

August 22 New Music

Baby feat Lil Wayne & Drake - Money to Blow Fire!!

Drake feat Nipsey Hustle - Killer New Drake!!!

Brian McKnight - What I've Been Waiting For
Hoott Slow Jam!!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

New Artist Spotlight - Jaicko Lawrence

Jaicko Lawrence


Man it must be cool to be 17 years old, have a record deal with Capitol Records and already have producers like Jim Jonsin, Ne-Yo, the Stereotypes and Stargate wanting to do songs with you. This Barbados native is soon to be blowing up radio stations near you with his well put together ballads and great vocals. I would compare his voice and uplifting tone to Chris Brown, very similar in tone and vocal range. While he does have a hint of Caribbean accent to his voice, his sound has a lot of pop appeal which is why its only a matter of time before he gets his break.

Here are my four favorite tracks from him, with
Dreaming About Me being my hands down favorite and probably my favorite R&B track this year to date. Jim Jonsin KILLED the beat with those synthesizers and the song lyrically tells such an emotionally vulnerable story that it's really hard not to like. You can hear traces the Chris Brown - Forever beat with the measured rolling beat of Will You Be There. I really don't think Jim Jonsin has ever produced something mediocre. Gotta love his version of renowned song writer Claude Kelley's - Not Tryna Fall in Love too. His first single is titled Oh Yeah, but I figure you'd enjoy Snoop's version where he blesses the track with a nice verse.

Jaicko Lawrence - Dreaming About Me (prod by Jim Jonsin) BEST of R&B '09!!!!

Jaicko Lawrence feat Snoop Dogg - Oh Yeah Remix (prod by Stereotypes) First Single!!

Jaicko Lawrence - Will You Be There (prod by Jim Jonsin) HOT!!

Jaicko Lawrence feat - Not Tryna Fall in Love
(written by Claude Kelley) Hot!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Slow Jam of the Month: Leona Lewis



Monday, August 17, 2009

Who Rocked it Better? Sean Paul feat Keri Hilson vs J-Status feat Shontelle

Who Rocked it Better??

J-Status feat Shontelle - Pieces Verry Underrated!

vs.


Sean Paul feat Keri Hilson - Hold My Hand New Hott!!


GWDJ Verdict: Difficult to reach a verdict on this one. Definitely one of the sexiest mellow reggae R&B beats I've heard in a while, dominated by addictive fretless bass. Despite my never-ending affinity for Keri and how well she sounds on this beat, I gotta give the nod to J-Status. Their melodic Reggae infused lyrics fit the song very well and Shontelle even adds a little accent to her verse, giving it more of an authentic feel. Can't go wrong with either, but if you twist my arm I'd pick J-Status.

Entourage: Sloan vs Ashley

Sloan McQuewick (Emmanuelle Chriqui)
vs
Ashley Marsh (Alexis Dziena)


Sloan McQuewick (Emmanuelle Chriqui)


Ashley Marsh (Alexis Dziena)

To some of you this is probably a no-brainer, but I thought I'd pose the question regardless because many people who watch Entourage are fans of them both. I've always been a huge fan of Sloan for obvious reasons, she's just downright naturally beautiful...but this year she has had stiff competition with Ashley bringing her lil petite frame, alluring eyes and catchy smile. Either way it must suck being E, getting attention from both...(until last night's episode). You be the judge, who do you think is the most desirable?? (Poll below)

Sunday, August 16, 2009

New Artist Spotlight & Album Review: Shawn Chrystopher

Enter Shawn Chrystopher an up and coming Hip Hop artist from the left coast, fully reppin Inglewood, CA. And why is he cool you may wonder? Well to start out with I'll let you get to know him a little better with this video:




Now that you've got a feel for his style, which might I add is not what you're used to hearing from a cat coming out of Inglewood aka a hotbed for gangsta rap, he's a little more complex than most Hip Hop acts. Having received a 4 and a half year scholarship to USC at age 16, the intelligence and drive are there. Add to that the fact that he takes pride in doing everything from writing, producing, mixing, and mastering all of his own music because he sees that ability as being a necessity in the music industry if is going to achieve longevity in the industry.

I'll transition this spotlight into a review of his new Album:


After giving City With No Seasons a full listen, I am now officially a fan of his. I already really really liked his first single Untitled, which shows the depth of his creativity with poetic lyrics and a dramatically orchestrated instrumental. If you haven't heard it, please do Shawn a favor and check it out:

Shawn Chrystopher - Untitled
Hot!! First Single

After listening to a few more songs, he does a good job at continuing that theme of storytelling through poetry. My favorite track on the album is hands down is Position, the one where he takes John Mayer's Heart of Life song and adds to it a few inspired verses, while leaving the original John Mayer hook. He adds a few subtleties to the original acoustic version with the percussion and does a good job at tweaking just enough to make it sound different than the original. Check it out:

Shawn Chrystopher - Position Hottt!!! Best Song on the Album

Continuing on, another standout track is Believer, which sounds more like a Tim and Bob beat with the rolling, measured beat claps. Interesting chorus too with the electronica flavored sound and then he throws in some electric guitar sample which adds some complexity before gradually fading out to a more basic version of the beat and ending with an a symphonic tip with the strings ending the song. Just goes to show how well it sounds when someone is experimental in adding instruments and sounds that aren't common in Hip Hop to a Hip hop song. Check it out:

Shawn Chrystopher - Believer Great track!!

Overall I give his debut album a very solid and underrated 3.5 headphones because my feeling is there is a lot more and a lot better to come from Shawn. He has a few aforementioned standout tracks that really should start to gain him the love he deserves and I really hope you all give him a shot and especially listen to the tracks I posted above. You'll regret it if you sleep on him....


Thursday, August 13, 2009

New R&B August 13th


Man this new Sean Kingston album is starting to approach that classic level with songs like I'm at War, Face Drop, Why U Wanna Go, Fire Burning and now Wrap U Around Me.

Sean Kingston - Wrap U Around Me (prod by JR Rotem) Hotttttt!

While I'm at it, might as well sprinkle in a few new tracks the ladies drop it to in the club...

Livvi Franc feat Pitbull - I'm that Bitch (Remix) Ladies Anthem!!!

Ester Dean - Drop it Low (prod by Polow Da Don) Hott!!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

New Artist Spotlight: Kevin Cossom


Quickly gaining steam in the underground is up and coming R&B sensation Kevin Cossom. Lo and behold homie was born in illadelph too! What you don't know about this dude is he's very well known in the game already as a go-to writer for hit singles. Yea you guys may have heard a couple of the hooks he wrote: Rick Ross - Speedin, Young Jeezy - Go Getta, Maino - All the Above, Ace Hood - Cash Flow...just to name a few new ones.

Needless to say he's got the tools for success in his writing ability and on top of that he's now starting to do his own R&B thing, having just released his own Pre-album through his myspace. Luckily for him, he's made music with two of the biggest production giants in The Runners (songs above) and is now signed to Danjahandz's record label N.A.R.S. (New Age Rock Stars).

Here are a couple of his best songs that you probably haven't heard yet. Be sure and check out that new one with Snoop prod by Danja....crazy
HOT!

Kevin Cossom - You Know What You Doin (prod by Danjahandz) Hot!

Kevin Cossom - Compatible (prod by The Runners) Hott!!

Kevin Cossom feat Snoop Dogg - Relax (prod by Danjahandz) Hottt!!!

Extra Video: Kevin talks about working with Danjahandz.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Album Review: Slaughterhouse


In my humble opinion, this new album from Slaughterhouse had the chance to be one of the best collections of lyricists assembled since maybe NWA. I use NWA as a comparison because lyrically they share the same energy and rawness in their delivery. With true "gangster rap" fading out in the 90s and being largely looked down upon at the time by pop culture...but still at the same time being recognized by true Hip Hop heads as a neccesary element that helped shape the future of Hip Hop, this release by Slaughterhouse had a chance to be that album that did what NWA couldn't do during their era...make an in your face Hip Hop album that was characterized by strong lyrics (both explicitly and creatively), but still appealed to more than just dedicated Hip Hop fans.

Let me first say, if you’ve read any previous reviews or even noticed my banner on the blog you would have noticed how big of a fan I am of Crooked I. Lyrically none in the game now can match his wit and incredible off the brain creativity. While Crook has always been a favorite, Joell Ortiz has really impressed me since the inception of Slaughterhouse as a group. He’s the second best to Crook at freestyling lyrics on the spot and when you really listen to what he's saying. He's sort of got that same one step ahead flow that always comes off like he's got every lined planned out but he's still spitting words wildly that make sense.

Now the other two members, I’ve always has a lot of respect for. First, Joe Budden with songs like Whatever it Takes and The Unforgiven, he's always released tracks that should be given the respect they deserve just because of how real they are. Joe B definitely has a lot of skeletons in his closet, but he is not afraid to let them out of the closet through his verses and there’s a lot to respect about that, it shows his interest in getting things off his chest and trying to improve as a person by venting to complete strangers...which takes a lot to do. Last, but definitely not least, Royce Da 5’9....clearly he’s always had talent, why else would Eminem have signed him? But he’s still never really gotten his break despite always putting together extremely well lyrically conceived tracks. I can respect him taking a leadership role in this eclectic foursome because despite being a genuinely under appreciated artist, he still plays the role of veteran well.

As far as the album goes, it was pretty strong. I can't say it was very strong or a classic by any stretch of the imagination because after song 7, Cuckoo, there were only terrible interludes and filler tracks in my opinion.

Now that doesn't take away from the beginning of the album that brings nothing but high energy and on point lyrics. I really like the way they set up the album with the personification of every Slaughterhouse member as a body part on the track Sound Off. Every verse on the track gives a little quick intro of each member's style with a quick intro, then they all show their versatility by absolutely waxing the end of all their verses when they speed up their rhymes.

The heat continues on the next track, Lyrical Murders, which is my favorite track on the album. it has the perfect sort of West Coast organ gangster rap sound that fits what they bring as a group. Microphone continues the freestyle beat sound that really augments the strong lyrics of all four artists on their verses. Honestly, I would have liked the next track Not Tonight better if Joe Budden hadn't already used the beat because Alchemist kills the keys in the background. The next two tracks are my other two favorites
, The One and Cuckoo. Both tracks have gotten a lot of love on the 'net and provided the hype needed for this album to potentially be successful. Of course they are both produced by one of my favorite producers in the game, DJ Khalil, who brings more of a party beat on The One. The track has pop culture infused lyrics that were probably intentionally placed to gain some radio love as a single. Can't hate on that especially when they follow it up with such a lyrically sick (literally) track that Khalil laces with a "horror rap" sounding beat. Really lends credence to their group name Slaughterhouse, not for the faint of heart, just in your face vulgar Rap. With lines like:

"killin every feature like I'm a drunk plastic surgeon, certainly dirty past detergent" and "If you cross me, here is how your life story will begin...Once upon a time...THE END!"

All in all a very solid first effort for Slaughterhouse. I'll reluctantly give their album 4 headphones as it was well on the way to a solid 4, but filler tracks and interludes cost them a shot at a borderline modern day Hip Hop classic.

Best Tracks from the album:


Slaughterhouse feat Kay Young - Lyrical Murderers Hot!!!


Slaughterhouse - Cuckoo (prod by DJ Khalil) Best beat!!


Bonus:

Joe Budden feat Slaughterhouse - We Outta Here Hotttt!!

EXTRA: Slaughterhouse Rules Video....hilarious.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Who Rocked it Better? Whatcha Say vs What U Say

Imogen Heap





Who
Did
it
Best?





Loon VS Jason Derulo
First a little background on the original sample taken from Grammy nominated English singer songwriter, Imogen Heap. She is incredibly talented vocally and her music has a very Indie vibe that can be described as a mix of electronic, folk and alternative. Put it this way she plays tons of different instruments and exhibits her stylistic independence by frequently sampling her own music to create organized chaos.

Which leads us to more modern Hip Hop...where producers are thankfully sampling creative music from other genres in an attempt to further break down the "traditional" barriers of "Rap" in favor of a more sophisticated sound that is more respectable to people who wouldn't usually listen to what pop culture understands as raw Hip Hop or Rap.


*FYI...I'll frequently refer to Rap as a more of a negatively connotative term that describes the realer side of Hip Hop and is characterized by explicit lyrics and simple production. Hip Hop, on the other hand, I will use as a term of endearment to describe an advancing genre of music characterized by innovative individuals that choose to produce real, emotion evoking music characterized by intelligent lyrics that serve to further cast light on the black cloud that some Rap music has cast over what's now accepted as Hip Hop. We clear on that?

Back to the topic at hand...in one corner we have the under appreciated Loon, who has blessed us with guest verses on tracks like:

Dream feat Loon - Krazy Hot!
Ryan Leslie feat Loon - My Woman Hott!!

Both tracks show his knack for being able to tell a story and give some love to the women while weaving his way through the beat seamlessly. He clearly brings it with intelligent, well conceived verses, something that I can respect because it reflects real talent and the ability to write.

In the opposing corner we have Jason Derulo, who, lucky for him, is teaming up with JR Rotem to create quite a buzz for his new album with his single Whatcha Say. You may or may not know him from these unreleased hits:

Jason Derulo - Keep it on the Hush Hot!!! (1st single that got him on the map)
Jason Derulo - Blind (prod by JR Rotem) Hot Slow Jam!

His vibe is definitely more pop/R&B, but he's clearly got a great voice and commercial appeal with his sound.

You make the call, who took Imogen's sample, flipped it and did it the best? (LINKS RE-UPPED 04/2010)

Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek (fast forward to 2:50 if you want to hear the sample) New Link Re-Upped!!
Listen to Hide and Seek


Loon feat Christopher - What U Say Classic!!! New Link Re-Upped!! 05/02/10
Listen to What You Say

Jason Derulo - Whatcha Say (prod by JR Rotem) New Single Hot!!
Listen to Whatcha Say

****Acoustic Version Bonus:
Jason Derulo - Whatcha Say (Acoustic Version) Better Than the Radio Version!!!
Listen to Whatcha Say (Acoustic)

GWDJ verdict: I will always favor Loon's well crafted verses over Jason Derulo's pop infused, radio friendly R&B ballad. On the other hand, I do appreciate the way JR Rotem added his touch to the beat, there's no getting around his undeniable talent as a producer. Final vote goes to Loon because as much as I love JR's beat, I really think Loon's first verse on his version is untouchable and gives him the slight edge.

Sunday, August 09, 2009

July Song List Top 5 of July


Top 5 Songs from July:

1. Jay-Z feat Rihanna & Kanye West - Run This Town

2. Fabolous feat Kobe - Imma Do It (prod by DJ Khalil)

3. Fat Joe (Feat. Pleasure P) - Aloha (prod by Jim Jonsin)

4.
Dorrough - Ice Cream Paint Job (Official Remix) Feat. Jermaine Dupri, Soulja Boy, Jim Jones, Slim Thug, E-40 & Rich Boy

5.
Tony Collins - Get Into You

Fresh New Kicks....Ohio State Blazer Hi

Kudos for Nike developing a shoe strictly for the school that I without fear rep, The Ohio State University.

Pros: The colors (obviously) and old school design with the Blazer Hi top.

Cons: Not sure what they were thinking with the skull versions of the traditional football helmet stickers. I guess they expect you to go to the bookstore and grab a couple of these to put on the shoes then. Kinda wish they weren't Hi-tops too, even though Kan-Yeezy is doin his best to keep them in style.


Football season is right around the corner, go get a pair before you see everyone in the Shoe rocking a pair.

Credit

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Concert Review: Trapt and Puddle of Mudd


I'll first start off by giving a little background on the week long event called Musikfest that takes place every August in Bethlehem, PA. It's a pretty cool week long festival that more or less centers around music and drinking...both fun activities especially when experienced at the same time.

This year the headliners were David Cook, Third Eye Blind, Matt Nathanson, Trapt and Puddle of Mudd. Pretty solid lineup all in all. The concert I immediately circled was Trapt and Puddle of Mudd though. I have always been a pretty avid fan of Trapt and fondly remember freshman year in college at Ohio State listening to my boy Schneid play the acoustic guitar in our dorm room when he learned the chords to their song Stories...which was my favorite song...and they neglected to play it. But that's another story....


Luckily for me I had with me a Musikfest veteran who knew the ropes like where to park and how to turn lawn seats into front row seats, stuff like that. As you can see by the pictures, we were all up in the grill of Trapt when they performed, which was awesome. The only thing was...they are a band who thrives on their lead singer Chris Brown's vocals...and for some strange reason the sound board refused to turn up his mic. As a result we were literally five feet away from him and still could barely hear what he was saying or even what song it was. See video clip below of Trapt performing
Who's Going Home With You Tonight:



Needless to say, pretty underwhelming set by Trapt that left a lot to be desired. Moving on to Puddle of Mudd who absolutely rocked. I really had forgotten how much I liked some of their songs, most notably Away From Me and Blurry. Luckily whatever sound issues that were going on with Trapt, did not continue for Puddle of Mudd. Watch the video below of them performing Blurry.




Pretty decent concert all in all to wrap up a pretty entertaining week of Musikfest. Below are a few more pics of the concert:


Friday, August 07, 2009

We have a Ma$e sighting...


Just when you thought he had left us forever to preach the Lord's words, Mr. Harlem world is back...

And now he's reuniting with Cam'ron for a comeback single? Now sure if I'm a fan of that choice, but they go way back to their Harlem days and I'm glad they squashed the beef to make what amounts to one HELL of a comeback single.

Ron Brownz don't get it twisted, I am still not a big fan of yours either, but my hat is off to you with this ridiculous beat you blessed Ma$e and Cam with.

Check it out y'all...

Ma$e feat Cam'ron - Get It (prod by Ron Brownz)
Hot!!!

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

New Artist Spotlight: Francisco


The first of many introductions to a lot of my favorite artists that aren't getting the credit they deserve. Whether it be they are just unsigned or incredibly talented or under appreciated, I feel like it's my job to give them their time in the limelight in hopes of them being able to pursue more lucrative careers and mainstream stardom.

Enter Francisco, once known as mainly a reggaeton artist, but everything I have heard from him has been a mix of R&B and electro/dance. Believe it or not this dude has already done a tour in 5 countries and 31 cities, but you still have yet to hear his name. Once acclaimed by MTV as one of the Top 20 unsigned artists in the U.S., he just may actually be putting out an album soon. He's most well known for remixing well known songs, which has done a decent job of getting his name out there (see song with Nicole Scherzinger below). Here is a song that is going to be ranked pretty high on my upcoming July Song List:

Francisco - In the Mood (prod by Oddz.N.Endz) Hot!!

And if you're feelin that new track, check out a few of my past favorites from Francisco.

Francisco - I Will Be There (Prod by DJ Crystal) Hot!

Francisco - Should We Go Our Own Ways (prod by Gee Futuristic) Favorite!

Nicole Scherzinger feat. Francisco - Whatever U Like (remix) Solid remix!


Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Blueprint 3...Another Soon To Be Jay-Z Classic...


Jay-Z - Blueprint 3 Tracklist

  1. What We Talking About (Produced by Kanye West)
  2. D.O.A. (Produced by No I.D.)
  3. Weigh Me Down Feat. Kid Cudi (Produced by Kanye West)
  4. Unforgiven (Produced by Kanye West, Additional Production: MGMT)
  5. Run This Town Feat. Rihanna & Kanye West (Produced by Kanye West)
  6. Empire State Of Mind Feat. Nas (Produced by Kanye West & No I.D.)
  7. When It Comes To This (Produced by Timbaland)
  8. Always Feat. Drake (Produced by Kanye West)
  9. Scenes From The Past (Produced by No I.D., Co-produced by Kanye West)
  10. Everyday A Star Is Born Feat. Mr. Hudson (Produced by Kanye West)
  11. Already Home (Produced by Kanye West)
  12. Forever Young Feat. Mr. Hudson (Produced by Kanye West)
  13. Thank You (Produced by No I.D.)
Wow...So many things to be excited about when it comes to this album. First and foremost no more autotune. Secondly, a whole lotta Kanye West production...and now that he's out of his depressed state, you know he's gonna come strong with some A+ production. Exhibit 1: First single off Blueprint 3...

Jay-Z - Run This Town Feat. Rihanna & Kanye West (Produced by Kanye West)
HOT!!!

Third reason...Song #7...anytime Timbo and Jigga get together it's a classic...I've got three very underrated reasons why below...yea you know you wanted to try that Skip Screen out, so here's your chance...

Jay-Z feat Juvenile - Snoopy Track (prod by Timbaland) Classic!

Jay-Z feat Memphis Bleek - 2 Many Hoes (prod by Timbaland) Classic!

Rell feat Jay-Z - It's Obvious (prod by Timbaland)
Unreleased Classic!


Blueprint 3...Coming September 11th

Monday, August 03, 2009

Tech Must Have: Skip Screen Add-On


For those of you (like me) who frequently download files and treat the internet like a big playground, this add-on is a
must. Now I know a lot of you have moved on to Google Chrome because it loads faster or if you have a Mac you prefer Safari, but my vote is definitely for Mozilla Firefox.

So many cool add-ons like Download Statusbar and FireFox Universal Uploader, but this one definitely wins for saving me the most time during a day. Basically whenever you go to download a file from one of the well known free file hosts (Rapidshare.com, zShare.net, MediaFire.com, Megaupload.com, Sharebee.com (the best), Depositfiles.com, Sendspace.com, DivShare, Linkbucks.com) it skips the mandatory waiting time that you would usually have to wait to get a link to download the file.


Watch demo...




And here's the installer...just make sure you have FireFox installed before you try and install the add-on...sadly that's not always self explanatory...

Install Skip Screen to Firefox

Check the next post to try out Skip Screen....I'll post a link for you to try it on...

Sunday, August 02, 2009

Drake is the Man

Yea we've all dealt with adversity at some point, but man wouldn't it suck if you were just starting to make it big and two tour dates into your first big tour you had to have reconstructive surgery to basically rebuild your knee so you could *maybe* walk again?? Then to go and release a statement to the fans that is this genuinely positive despite what he's going through as if he still owes us something...

From Drake's Blog October’s Very Own:

"This bottle of Opus One is low but my spirits are high my friends. I am about 2 hours away from Toronto, CA where I will be spending the next chunk of time recovering from a surgery that I now must have. I embarked on this tour with a torn ACL, MCL, and LCL and due to the events that happened the other night lord only knows what other damage I have done. On the bright side I will begin the reflecting and soul searching that its going to take to make this album and my outfit on the night I fell was crack.

I will forever push myself beyond the limits despite advice and recommendations given because even with this new found success I am still the kid who wanted this more than anything in the world. Its funny when I read comments from previous fans who have lost interest because of the radio play and exposure I have. I just want to assure anyone reading that nothing has changed on my end. I refuse to get comfortable, I refuse to fall in line and follow anyone elses formulas. I still work as if So Far Gone had never dropped and I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to gain entry to this game.

“Missing someone gets easier everyday. Because, even though it is one day further from the last time you saw each other, it is one day closer to the next time you will”

See you soon.

Drizzy"

Good luck with the rehab Drake, if anything we owe you for going out there and putting on a show despite your knee being in pieces. Really glad I copped this while I was there now...






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