Monday, January 31, 2011

"Whenever You Call Baby I Roll Up, I Roll Up, I Roll Up"

Slated to be released on iTunes February 8th, Roll Up will be the second single off Wiz Khalifa's upcoming album Rolling Papers due out March 29th. Similar to his first well timed single Black and Yellow, which has served as the rally cry for Steeler nation on their Super Bowl run, Wiz enlists the help of the Norwegian production duo Stargate on the track. If you can imagine it, Roll Up is even more laid back and melodic than the single before it as @REALWIZKHALIFA tackles the hook himself, clearly unafraid to add a little harmony.

I can promise that after a few listens you'll be anticipating and singing the "whenever you call baby I roll up" part of the hook. Can't hate on the single choice, it'll be sure to push more than a few units Soundscan style. On the real, it's been a while since I've heard a Wiz track that I didn't immediately add to my next gym playlist. Saying he's on a roll is becoming an understatement and if he's able to continue this assault on Contemporary Hip Hop, it wouldn't be out of the question for him to open up with 2-400K sales first week #Prediction. Maybe I'm a victim of the hype or dumping gasoline on the sun at this point, but that doesn't bother me a bit cause dude is making some great music lately.

Check his second single as well as the dope new Cloudkicker tee reppin' that's all too appropriate for this weekend...
Wiz Khalifa - Roll Up (prod by Stargate)
|Download

Sunday, January 30, 2011

A Mixtape Worth the Price of Admission

The cat is definitely out of the bag on @thegame's latest mixtape release Purp & Patron hosted by @djskee & @funkmasterflex. With now three high profile mixtapes released this year The Red Room in April and Brake Lights in August prior to last week's Purp and Patron, we're still waiting on The R.E.D. album, which has been pushed back more than a few time and is still slated for a 2011 release.

My favorite track on the mixtape was his lengthened out version of @MYFABOLOUSLIFE's Ferrari Lifestyle, where The Game builds off the original freestyle with two verses of his own. Trey Songz is supposed to be on the final final version of the track or part 3 in the track's shelf life if you're keeping score at home. Real laid back joint with the verses providing most of the likability legwork with lines from Fab like..
"I go from 0-60, a couple seconds
she go from sober to tipsy and gettin’ naked"
Or The Game...
"Me, Mr. O 11 New Edition,
I Call it Mike Bibby,
GPS get lost tryna follow me to my crib"

While Fab's verses will always have a higher degree of witty pop culture wordplay, it's hard to compete with The Game's thuggish non-chalance when he spits...

The Game feat Fabolous - Ferrari Lifestyle
|Download

Ad this to the growing list of artists sampling @LAROUXOFFICIAL's For the Kill as @COOLANDDRE gangsta up the sample with some weight on the bass to compliment the piano and harsh percussion. It's a good look and listening to it right now is making me reconsider my opinion of best track on the mixtape...

The Game - The Kill (prod by Cool n Dre)
|Download

My favorites probably won't be the same as yours especially when you check Game's tracks with @liltunechi and @realwizkhalifa. Feel free to check out the full 2 disk mixtape below via datpiff...

Saturday, January 29, 2011

The Day Hip Hop Met Trance

When I first heard this track, I figured it was a cut and pasted trance remix of some random Busta Rhymes verse. Then I actually listened to the lyrics on the verses and heard @BUSABUSSS shouting out trance, as well as the uber talented producers of the track, @DIPLO and @tiesto...it couldn't be? A legit Hip Hop and dance/trance collaboration? See it for yourself, the video is off the chain, Step Up style...
Is this the beginning of more things to come? First it was @davidguetta then @bot106, now we've got Tiesto and Diplo (who has been slightly Hip Hop from the start) getting on board with the Hip Hop flavor, I hope it continues. I will say though, the first verse on this track is a little clunky, but maybe that's because we aren't used to hearing it? Busta hits his stride as the tempo increases and the beat is unearthed, giving it more of a familiar feel and quality. The track just hit iTunes, feel free to cop it below...
TiĆ«sto vs. Diplo ft. Busta Rhymes – C’mon (Catch ‘Em By Surprise)

Friday, January 28, 2011

"Donne-moi des bouteilles de Conjure"

Case in point for a track that sells itself with @IAMDIDDY teaming up with @ludacris over a @THERUNNERS beat. Nothin' more refreshing to hear than The Runners trademark "Aaaahhhhh" because with it comes an expectation of quality that few producers can claim right now. Kinda like B.O.B.'s Not Lost, it's a damn shame this one didn't make the cut for @dirtymoneycrew's Last Train to Paris. Seeing that Diddy is a business.....man, I'm sure this track won't go un-monetized over time and will someday be made into a single, so no worries folks, this will probably be on iTunes soon enough. 'Til then feel free to sample below and follow word by word with Luda...
"Let’s take a little time off I,
Paid the cost to be the boss I'm fine
Your work, your bills, I’ma get them all off your mind
Let me get ‘em, and hit ‘em up with the rhythm,
Put them right where you want them,
then I’ma blow your brain
Diddy got the remedy for the enemies,
And The Runners is the gunners, so my flow go Bang!
I’m on the last train to Paris,
Lil Jerome , Bonjour
Donne-moi des bouteilles de Conjure (Gimme bottles of Conjure)
see we all just came to party
picture perfect for the paps, just pose
and when we start going in this club
you gon’ start comin’ off them clothes"
Diddy feat Ludacris - Tomorrow Tonight (prod by The Runners)
|Download

Thursday, January 27, 2011

"I'm Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman ...in My Hometown"

I can say with confidence Big K.R.I.T.'s track Hometown Heroes was in the running for my favorite track of 2010. The country swag on the verses matched the screwed sample created this powerfully emotional track that brought out within me so much hometown pride that I felt like I was living in Southern Indiana. Add to it @yelawolf's dope middle verse on the remix and there wasn't much question as to what song I liked best last year.

Below you'll find an in-studio version of Hometown Heroes by @bigkrit with @GoodGrillade off the @yourstrulysf hosted EP The Wuz Here Sessions. The four track EP is well worth the suggested $3.86 price. Peep the video below you'll be hooked...


Yourstru.ly Presents: BIG K.R.I.T. & Grillade "Hometown Hero"


Just in case you're not hooked, feel free and peruse the four track EP before buying and be sure to take note of the King Remembered In Time who is a breakout candidate in '11....

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Brianiac Society Presents...Brain Candy

Below is the first in a series of videos and songs called "Brain Candy" released by Kidz in the Hall through the Chicago based urban lifestyle brand Brainiac Society (@brainiacsociety). Prior to the full track hitting the internet, we got a behind the scenes look of how @KIDZINTHEHALL member @double0kidz. Give it a look...
Being a huge fan of producers in general and having so much respect for how they creatively shape sounds, I've always been a sucker for the behind the scenes YouTube videos. It's easy to like the finished product of something that sounds great, but I feel like not a lot of people know what goes into creating and blending the samples into a beat. That's why whenever I come across a video like the one above, it's going to be the focal point of the post. Sure you could just scroll to the bottom and click play to find out yourself if you like what the final tastes like, but those of you who want to know what ingredients went into oven are the viewers I cater to and who hopefully enjoy the stuff I share....#SomebodyCares

Beat aside, a hot beat can sink if the delivery on the verses is sub-par, which is why @naledgekidz elevated his game up a notch to match the work his boy Double-0 did behind the boards. Be prepared for more to come and even more excited at the prospects of new material from one of the freshest duos in the game...

Kidz in the Hall - So Amzin'
|Download

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

"I Got Enough Change to Afford the Price of Fame"

New week, which means new leaks from Hip Hop's new Drake. I say that not to compare the two as artists, but more meant to point out the similarities between Wiz Khalifa's current buzz and the buzz Drake had last year as everyone anticipated his debut album Wiz has his So Far Gone in Kush and Orange Juice, now all we need is the Thank Me Later to follow.

Below is his recent performance of Black and Yellow where he brought his new girl @darealamberrose onstage...
Seems like the internet is having a field day with interesting new couple considering Kanye and Amber broke up last July. Selfishly, their break up may have allowed more work to be put into My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, so can we all really complain? Seems like she's with someone now who is a lot more down to earth and easy to get along with at least. Either way...#QuitHatinEveryone....oh and #TGOD...
On a related note what did y'all think of his performance of Black and Yellow pregame at the AFC championship in Pittsburgh? Would love to see a rowdy Steelers crowd react to that track live, man that'd give you some chills (and not because of the cold).

Anyways, a snippet of this track surfaced a while ago on his Flight 420 mixtape, but this is the full version and it's worth the wait...
"They say my life’s like the big screen..."

Wiz Khalifa - Big Screen

Monday, January 24, 2011

Buzz Track: Jay Sean feat Lil Wayne - Hit the Lights

Pretty hard not to get excited about Jay Sean's new single with Lil Wayne considering the damage they did on their first collaboration with Down. Betcha didn't know that single sold 6 million copies worldwide, with 4 million of that being purchased in the US. Those types of sales nowadays are unheard of and a great example of @liltunechi's pop culture influence and @JAYSEAN's emerging talent. I say emerging, but out of curiosity, I went back into the archives to figure out when Jay Sean first came across my radar and initially piqued my interest. The answer...April 9th, 2007, when I found his (now classic) track Ride It, that is every bit Pure Moods as it is baby makin' music...#BMM

Don't expect another slow jam or mid-tempo ballad this time as Hit the Lights is a direct assault on the dance floor. Put it this way, I had my roommate singing the hook after a few listens and he's a metal fan. You be the judge on where to go with that observation, but there isn't going to be much resistance as soon as this hits the radio, so get used to hearing it. Oh yea, be on the look out for Jay Sean's new album Freeze Time, supposedly due out Feb 22nd...

Jay Sean feat Lil Wayne - Hit the Lights [No DJ]
|DL|iTunes

Sunday, January 23, 2011

P.A. STAND UP!

Sitting here watching the Steelers dismantle the Jets, I figured what better time than post the newly released P.A. anthem, brought to you by a Hip Hop mainstay from Philly (Freeway) and up and coming Pittsburgh native (Mac Miller). Although I currently reside in P.A., I never really grew up here, so I don't have that homegrown pride that would go along with listening to this track. That being said, I have lots of friends who are eating this up because they will forever rep where they grew up and there's respect for that. Sidebar: I'm not even close to a Steelers or Eagles fan, but I do respect Steelers nation because they treat football like religion, sorta like my kin folk do in Buckeye nation. Game respect game, I'm a fan of the track Black and Yellow and damn near everything the paper plane gang is putting out these days, so I guess you could say guilt by association?

All joking aside, @REALWIZKHALIFA has so much momentum going for him right now, it's not a surprise his Taylor Allderdice High School mate @macmiller is appreciating in exposure too. Put it this way, life is good if you're a Taylor Gang/Rostrum Records member right now and for a kid who has a bunch of raw talent, it's a perfect place to flourish. Keep your eye out for Mac Miller in 2011 and don't discount all the Philly love @phillyfreezer sprinkles all over the track, even going as far as to say, "Next year's Super Bowl Eagles vs Steelers!." Before your mind explodes at the mention of that, mind the beat and host of this track @statikselekt and go out cop his new EP with Freeway titled The Statik-Free EP....

Freeway & Statik Skeltah feat Mac Miller - P.A.
|Download

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Buzz Track: The Script feat B.O.B. - Walk Away (Remix)

Sticking with the whole Hip Hop and Pop collabs, this one caught my eye for a couple reasons. The first being that a band I'm really starting to like, The Script, was able to recruit Contemporary Hip Hop's "new" superstar Bobby Ray to hop on a remix of song 9 off their latest album Science & Faith. The remix is exactly the same plus a few B.O.B. verses like the one below:
"As I fall, a thousand miles an hour
Downward, now that you're gone
I guess its true, words have power
I guess what I said left a taste so sour
In your mouth ya wanted me to see what life’s like withoutcha
So I lay awake, watchin’ DVDs
Season 1, season 2, even season 3
I’m sorry that I couldn’t be inside your fantasy
But if this aint what you want then you should leave"
Without @bobatl's verse, the song is an upbeat, emotional track that hangs it's hat on the background piano and strings that give it a more upbeat, rhythmic Coldplay sound to it. Now the second track I've written about by The Script, I wouldn't say I liked this as much as their first single For the First Time, but I'm really intrigued by their sound in general. After a couple more listens the lead singer Danny O'Donoghue reminds me of U2's lead singer @paul_hewson. They're onviously both from Ireland and that definitely comes off if you're familiar with both of their voices.

Give it a sample and even though The Script has waaaay more appeal in Europe and the UK, their sound works in the arena of Contemporary music in the US. You be the judge...

The Script feat B.O.B. - Walk Away (Remix)

Friday, January 21, 2011

New Hip Pop Remixes

Seems like the drink of choice in the mainstream these days is Pop mixed with shot of Hip Hop. When you think about it, it's a pretty symbiotic relationship. Pop stars recognize a Hip Hop collaboration as being good for their "street cred", as well as opening up the door to a wider demographic. Similarly, Hip Hop has always craved to be accepted in the mainstream because we all know that means...radio play, commercials, endorsements...doller...doller...bills y'all...#LaFlamaBlanca

While I feel like most Hip Hop fans are starting to get used to the fact that their favorite rapper may also be singing the hook or dropping an R&B love song to go along with their latest freestyle, real Hip Hop heads are still not havin' that ish because they remember back in the day when Wu Tang, Nas, Rakim, KRS-One spit fire every time they gripped a mic. In my mind being open minded to change and rolling with the punches (sort of a progressive, new school train of thought), while still appreciating the past and the groundwork it laid for the current generation's adaptation of what they heard growing up, is the best way to look at it. We'll see if the fad lasts, I've got good eyesight and the lines between Hip Hop, R&B and Pop are starting to get pret-ty blurry...

Can't hate too much on @BRITNEYSPEARS's new single that has taken iTunes by storm. Tip of the cap to @official_FLO for hopping on a track that caters to his delivery and making it even better too...

Britney Spears feat Flo-Rida - Hold It Against Me (Remix)


Hey Three Stacks...dude, you keep teasing us with these white hot verses on remixes and it's got your fan base chomping at the bit to get a whole album's worth of new material. Is that too much to ask? PS @KESHASUXX, your trashy demeanor and unapologetic lyrics are more than entertaining to me and the fact you're proud of the way you are makes it even more appealing. Shouts out to @mrbangladesh on the beat too, the depth of the bass you put into songs deserves more praise than it gets.

Ke$ha feat Andre 3000 - Sleazy (Remix) (prod by Bangladesh)


Last but not least, @JColeNC hops on @RIHANNA's new dirty hit S&M and delivers an adequately seductive verse lyrically that fits in well with the chains and whips subject matter. Not used to hearing him go in on upbeat dance tracks, which made him seem a little out of his element, but that's not to say it wasn't executed well. Check it...

Rihanna feat J Cole - S&M (Remix)

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Timbaland Thursdays Week 2

Now entering week two of the fourth day of the work week currently leased by @timbaland007. This week we get a slower, more bubbly, snappy beat that'll get you movin' your shoulders a bit on first listen. Man it must be nice being able to have such consistently interesting and high quality beats eh? Like I'm on some "I think this track is average for Timbo ish", but that's because the ceiling is so high on tracks he produces, it's damn near impossible to always live up to expectations. I'll take a Timbo beat all Russian Roulette style any day of the week over half the stuff I come across on a daily basis in Hip Hop...#DontFront

Most producers nowadays feel like their overachieving when they put in 3 or 4 elements/samples to their beats, while Timbo does that solely with the percussion. Attention to detail is something I covet and appreciate, which is why mad respect is never a tough thing to give to him and his work as an artist. Even better, he gave us a glimpse into the future, uncovering a snippet of his track Warped that will presumably be part of his Thursday series. See video below...
Anyways, you be the judge, give it a listen and watch out for next week's edition of TimblandThursdays...

Timbaland - Round Da Way Tim (prod by Timbaland)
|Download

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Drake Speaks on His Favorite Verse

When I first saw the caption "Drake speaks on his favorite verse" last weekend, I was more than a little curious to see what his choice was and how it aligned with what I thought. Before I speak on it, watch the video of his explanation below...

Can't argue with his choice, there is an uncanny amount of emotional venting on that track that's so real it put him in Marshon Lynch style beast mode on the mic. Anyone ever notice he used two rhyming sounds in the song with the first verse using the hard ō (like in own) and the second banking on a hard ā (like in gain)? I'm a firm believer that the emotional bi-product of adversity can be so inspirational, it can result in truly amazing shit at times. Put it this way, you wouldn't be reading this post right now because I wouldn't have decided to design a blog if my two year relationship that I went all in on didn't end abruptly (#RealTalk), so I can attest to how focusing and harnessing the power of adversity can result in inspiration if pointed in the right direction. And it just so happens Drake used the same energy when he went in the booth and let out the raw emotion explaining the chaos surrounding his life. From the raw energetic delivery to the haunting clap of the beat cooked up by @ovo40, it went from a diamond in the rough track to a standout on one of the best mixtapes in the history of Hip Hop. Song will never have an expiration date in my archives and always own a parking space in my iTunes...#Truth

That wasn't the only interesting video that dropped last week either, as the 17 sec viral Twitvid of @justblaze also hit the blogsphere. Only so much can interest someone in 17 sec (#TWSS), but when @DRDRE insinuates that another album will be coming out on 04/20 as the camera pans to him, people tend to have the patience to watch it...

This was fun for like a day until it was announced by "a rep close to Dr. Dre" that 04/20 wasn't a release date for Detox. Sure it's been damn near a decade long witch hunt with multiple sightings, but with the release of one and a half singles in the past couple months, there seemed to develop a calm before the storm sort of feeling. Ya, I know we've heard this thunder before off in the distance and had our expectations cause anger through immense anticipation, but I think we can all settle on a realistic, we'll believe it when we see it attitude...#KeyserSozeStyle

Also finding it's way on the internet Hip Hop blotter was the birthday of Aaliyah who would have turned 32 last Sunday, Jan 16th. It's more than crazy that she passed away tragically ten whole years ago when she was only 22 years old. Man just think about that, I feel like she made so much great music in so little time and then was taken from us at the drop of a dime. I can still remember back in the day bein' absolutely blown away when I saw the video below:

Man I was only 9 years old when I heard that track and fell in love with it. That song went so hard for a lady R&B singer, it was hard for the fellas to not take notice of he's thug undertones, which were delivered with such melody it was unmistakably different from any other artist at the time. And that's a big reason why she was such a big inspiration to Drake, who needed her to be the pioneer he leaned on to lead by example and instill in him the confidence to do more than just rap. It was interesting to me to hear how he was inspired by her non-gender driven lyrics that were written and delivered in a way that appealed to both men and women at a time where it was strange for a guy to be singing a R&B melody. If you missed it check his open letter to Aaliyah he wrote a year ago...

Evidently @drakkardnoir wasn't the only one who grew up idolizing Dana Haughton either, as @JColeNC also hopped on the cameras provided by SoulCultureUK to open up about the beat he made for Aaliyah when she passed and how he was crushin' on her back in the day...

I'll leave you with one last one of Drake performing Fireworks with Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine live at the Hammerstein Apollo in London. Can't really touch his version with Alicia, but still pretty damn cool...

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

"The More You Wear to the Club, the More You Gotta Take Off"

As @REALWIZKHALIFA's buzz continues to increase exponentially, it's looking like Taylor Gang may be taking over the world...or at least a big chunk of Hip Hop. His newest leak, Exit Row is a characteristically laid back, carefree sing along that will sink it's teeth into you if you give it a fair listen. Couple bets about the track, the first being this will be on his upcoming album that supposedly due out March 29th. I say that because of how fast his camp was to react in making sure this song wasn't available for download at the usual places (hence you'll get the streaming below, sans the dl link...sorry folks, despite it being wintertime, I'm not a fan of getting chilled).

Taylor Gang will become omnipresent in 2011...watch...oh and the bandwagon is about at capacity, better get schooled on some of his older material before you get accused of only liking him because everyone else does....#TaylorGangOrDie...shortened #TGOD

Wiz Khalifa - Exit Row

Bonus: Is it me or does @snoopdogg fit in with Taylor Gang like beans n rice? No joke y'all, this song is cool as a freezer breeze, peep the That Good video...

Monday, January 17, 2011

"They Only Love Ya When Ya On"

I'd consider myself a passive fan of Chamillionaire music...and when I say passive I mean I'd probably never buy a whole album, but there are some songs that he puts out that snatch up my attention quicker than a Rosa Acosta/Amber Rose kiss. As an aside, much bigger fan of the Natalie Portman/Mila Kunis Black Swan scene, which was deemed a lit-tle too inappropriate for the internet.

Anyways, focus you pervs! Like I was saying, once every Hoegaarden(Blue Moon gets too much love for being average), @CHAMILLIONAIRE drops a dope track that immediately steals away my attention from all other music because it's kickassedness. The track below isn't just hot because Grammy Award winning producer Andrew Dawson (check out his mixing/engineering credits) did the beat, it's hot because Nipsey beats the breaks off his verse. Maybe it's the laid back West Coast feel of the beat (like something Westside Connection would go in on), but something about the way @NIPSEYHUSSLE sounds over it with his LA swag just fits.

I can see why they're callin' this Andrew Dawson cat Kanye's secret weapon, dude knows how to mix and engineer a beat. Matter a fact, after seein his production/mixing credits with Cudi, T.I. and damn near all of Kanye's albums, I'm starting to feel like he's got my attention every time he punches the clock. Definitely adding him to the list of behind the boards stars that deserve to be recognized every time they're on a track because they're just as important to the finished product you reading this ends up tasting.

This one will presumably be off Cham's upcoming release Venom due out in March. Feel free to cool out to this and admire the young spitta Nip Hussle, play button is a must and while you're at it check iTunes...

Chamillionaire feat Nipsey Hustle - When Ya On (prod by Andrew Dawson)
|Download

Sunday, January 16, 2011

"Nikon, Polo-roid, I Should Take a Photo Boy, Cause I Be on that A** Like that Man Who Ride the Polo Horse"

Like many others who have been a big fan of just about everything Pac Div puts out, I've been frustrated as a mug waitin' for their studio debut, Grown Kid Syndrome. Instead, we've gotta settle for yet another (presumably high quality) mixtape titled Mania!, which is *supposed* to be their last tune up before the get their real album out.

What's cool about @ITSPACDIV, if you haven't heard their music, is that it doesn't sound like anything else in Hip Hop. That unique sound is most notable to me because of their ability to incorporate heavy, room shaking bass into their beats, similar to the way Chuck Inglish does for the Cool Kids, without having it take over the focal point of the track. In other words it's easy to make a bass beat that you play loudly to drown out the vocals, but not so much with Pac Div, who consistently spit coherent verses with more than a few good metaphors/pop culture references (like the one in the title). Between the Cool Kids and Pac Div, you have the Live Starting Five who are truly on some other shit and represent a very small faction of Hip Hop that doesn't really care what everyone else sounds like because they're gonna make their music the way they know it since their brand of music is original and great in it's own right.

If you can't tell I'm a big fan, and you should be too because you're not going to be fed their music in the mainstream. But that's why you bookmarked this page in the first place and my recommendation to download is something that can go unsaid. Heads up though, 2011 is the year you'll get Grown Kid Syndrome and be the year When Fish Ride Bicycles...#UndergroundNoMore

Pac Div - Your F*cking Song
|Download

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Wiz & Snoop Collaborating is a GOOD LOOK

Seems appropriate I post a new-ish Wiz track with the Steelers taking care of bizness today with one hell of a second half comeback against the Ravens. Bet you didn't know your homie Snoop also dons the Black and Yellow every Sunday too...
The combination of a love for the Steelers and affinity for all that is marijuana seem to be the two things building the proverbial bridge from ol skool Hip Hop (@snoopdogg) to new school Hip Hop (@REALWIZKHALIFA). Below is a recent interview Snoop had with DJ Skee where he talks about the similarities between he and Wiz, their recent collaborations and how's he's bee a huge fan of Wiz before he blew up this year...
He also spoke on the straight to DVD movie titled High School they recently made together, which will be out April 20th. Wait a sec...April 20th...which is 04/20... coincidence? No worries kids, there will be absolutely no drugs in the movie...unless you count the copious amounts of weed that will eminently be smoked in the movie.

As far as the track is concerned, the chemistry is evident from the get go between the two brothers from another mother. I can't even begin to explain how perfect the beat on That Good meshes with both rappers laid back style. The hook is smooth and calming, but truth be told Wiz's verse is what stands out on the track. Doesn't even matter what he's talking about on the track, Wiz's delivery is as crisp as a freshly ironed part of khakis. In other words, if you want an example of why he's one of the best rappers out right now, go listen to that verse and try and tell me it isn't dope.

Anybody else notice #blackandyellow trending earlier today? Steeler nation rolls deep, there's no doubt about that, but we'll see if they can go up and win at Foxboro next weekend...#JetsPatsPrediction. Til then, feel free to zone out and kick it to this smooth track...

Wiz Khalifa feat Snoop Dogg - That Good
|Download

Friday, January 14, 2011

How To Convince Everyone You're Sane...

You get a face tattoo...of an ice cream cone...with 3 scoops...oh yea, with red lightning bolts coming out of it and with your catch phrase "Brr" on the cone. Rewind to about a week ago when Radric David, aka Gucci Mane was forced by a judge to be committed to an insane asylum after violating his probation habitually. I guess we can't be too surprised considering what he admitted to at his previous hearing...
"Mane claimed in court on Jan. 3 that he was unable to "intelligently participate in the probation revocation hearing." He was then committed to a mental health facility, where he was to be evaluated."
I mean I'm not gonna pass judgment on the mental facility he was committed to, but the tattoo he got on his face probably wasn't a good way for that facility to save face. I digress, but there's plenty of reason his name wasn't the only tag used in this post...#SpeaksForItself

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Week 1: Timbaland Thursdays

In typical ol skool Timbo and Missy style, the blast off on Timbaland Thursdays commenced today with a heat rock titled Take Ur Clothes Off. Couple pros and cons on first listen, the first big obvious pro being we're going to get be blessed with one new @timbaland007 beat track every week for the foreseeable future. That alone makes Thursday an immediate rival of Friday, which was previously owned by @kanyewest's G.O.O.D. music Fridays, which ended Nov 14th.

I'm wondering though, are the tags throughout the track really necessary Timbo? I mean sure, I'll take homegrown tags over a random DJ, but still, you didn't hear Kanye or Swizzy taggin up tracks? Part of me justifies it as a premium price for the quality material we're getting for free, but another part of me rationalizes that Kanye's material was just as hot and he didn't tag up tracks on Friday. For now I'll give a pass because Timbo got his Twitter game started up a little late, so he's only now starting to reel in some serious followers.

For sale...Tues, Wed, Sat, Sun...where ya at Drake? Weezy? Cole? Wiz? Cudi? I'm serious, I'd love to be able to have great tracks spoonfed on a daily basis, wouldn't you? Three days will suffice for now, stay tuned for more every Thurs...

Missy Elliot & Timbaland - Take Ur Clothes Off (prod by Timbaland)
|Download

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

A Hip Hop Trend That Needs to Continue

First it was Kanye's G.O.O.D. Music Friday's then Swizz Beatz brought us Monster Mondays...

Now...

We have Timbaland Thursdays..brought to you by the inimitable @timbaland007...starting tomorrow 01/13/11 with Take Ur Clothes Off feat ??

MGMT Daytrotter Session

Currently rated #8 in music blogs on the internet, Daytrotter has always been a great place for new artists to get notoriety through a unique recording. It's rare though, that you get an act as well known as @whoismgmt to do some acoustic covers like Daytrotter did a little over a week ago.

While I wasn't even remotely a fan of the 180 MGMT pulled on their last album, I still respect the hell out of their old school 70's sounding funk and instrumentation. Take for example, one of the few tracks I liked on their last album I Found a Whistle. It was a great track to start with, but the acoustic version of the track is a clear standout on the four song session. The pure moods style dreamy organ offset by the slow and steady acoustic guitar create a dreamlike, out of this world sound that is intensely calming.

Give the tracks a listen for yourself and if you're like me, you'll hopefully gain a little bit of the confidence back in them their previous album robbed you of. Third times a charm? We'll see...
MGMT Daytrotter Session by Hypetrak

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

"Watch the Throne, Don't Step on Our Road, Bad Enough, We Let You Step on Our Globe"

For a week we've been waiting in anticipation for this track and today Kanye released it via Facebook. Personally I enjoyed the fact that they temporarily overloaded the facebook servers, causing the dreaded page cannot be displayed (below)...#SafariSwag
The whole production from the cover art, to the verses, to the white hot beat brought to you by Lex Luger, who is sure to become a household name with this beat. Between this beat, Rick Ross's BMF beat and Wacka Flocka's Hard in da Paint beat, I'd say it's about damn time we give dude some dap.

As far as the track as a whole is concerned, there are a few things I really like about it. First off, the build up of the beat is disgusting, remaining subtle until the hook flies off the hook with the infusion of grandeur through opera style swag at the crescendo. I'm a big fan of goin' H.A.M. or H.ard a.s a M.otherf***** every now and then, so I fully respect putting the term on blast for pop culture to adopt. To me the track came off like a house under construction with the foundation of the track (the beat) leaving a lot of room for expansion (on the verses). It's like they left room for another verse, but the beat was so hard, they let it ride it. It's weird because I respect that since it's different and if you were going to do it, this is the track to do it on, but wanted more because there was a whole lotta unclaimed real estate throughout the beat. Also, was it me or was the vulgarity a little forced since every line contained at least one "hard" word? It's splitting hairs at that point and I'm sure @kanyewest and @s_c_ could give one damn whether or not this gets cleaned off for radio since any and every music fan that likes Hip Hop even a little bit, was well aware of this track today and found a way to cop it.

Don't miss the wagon as it passes and gets jumped on by the masses. Kids ain't safe anywhere but home, March 1st home boy, Watch the Throne...

Kanye West & Jay-Z - H.A.M (Prod By Lex Luger)
|Download

Monday, January 10, 2011

01-11-11...H.A.M.

Consider yourself warned...

"It's Another Lonely Day At the Top"

File this under tracks that should get mad radio play, but may not make it out to the masses. The soothing guitar on the instrumental is what sucked me in on the track and made it stand out amongst the hundreds of tracks I end up running through a month. There's little doubt in the overall talent of @princechrishan and with his latest Man of the Year mixtape hosted by @DEEJAYILLWILL & @realdjrockstar, he's on a crash course for stardom sooner or later. The whole sooner or later part is sorta up to you out there reading who should support his grind on iTunes or Amazon by copping tracks like his hit with Lil Wayne - Bitch Look at Me Now (below)...

From club bangers with T.I. to slow R&B, dude has talent and it continues to be evident, so quit nappin' on him and keep his name in your mouth for 2011...

Chrishan Ft. Young Rocky - Lonely Day At The Top
|Download

Sunday, January 09, 2011

You Know You've Made It As An Artist When...

...you set the reward for your stolen laptop at $1 million. If you didn't hear the original story, R Les was out on the town on October 23rd in Cologne, Germany at a nightclub called Loom when his laptop (mac book) and external hard drive were stolen out of his car. In response, @RYANLESLIE quickly took to the streets and put out a YouTube video offering a $20,000 reward for the return of his stolen tools. In the video he mentions how much he loves touring Germany and how the intellectual information that was lost included many of the tools that contributed to his success. At the end, he also mentions the email address he set up for any tips or information on the whereabouts of it (ryanleslielaptopreturn@gmail.com)(see video below).
When a couple of weeks passed without a significant lead, R Les was prompted to up the ante from $20,000 to $1,000,000. Say WHAT?? $1 million? Now I'll be the first to admit, if I had a hard drive get stolen, or even worse one of my external hard drives, I'd be wrecked because so much meaningful stuff is saved on there, but willing to pay a $1 million to get it all back is a steep price you'd think. Still the bounty was upped and very publicly, too, with another video and verse dedicated to the event...
"Said they tried to take a piece of me,
Out in Cologne, Germany...yea
So if you're wondering where I am
Then look for me in Rotterdam
Said they stole a little piece of my heart
So I'm on my way to Stuttgart...yea
Find me outta next words?
When I finish with them in Frankfurt"
Evidently not though, as he then later divulged that he'd been secretly recording his album Less Is More and all of the tracks were on his laptop/external hard drive. Ouch!

But like everything with $1 million bounties on it, the laptop/stolen bag finally turned up this week when a man name Bernd P. (name changed) "found it while walking through the forest in Stommlerbusch, near Cologne" (HAH!) (Source Bild.de). With the goods safely returned, Hip Hop and fans of R Les can breathe a sigh of relief and hope that all of his intellectual property was kept intact. The only things that remain to be seen now are 1) Were the contents of the laptop/hard drive copied prior to the return of the laptop (wouldn't be fun to see his new album slowly leak) and 2) Is he going to pay the $1 million reward for the return of his stuff. While the answer to number 1 remains to be seen, he has yet to pay up for the return of his goods prompting a bit of an uproar as Bernd P. is reaching out to media outlets for coverage. For example, deeva-tude.com is shining light on the story as well as the website sosickwithit.com (who has been in touch with Bernd) is reporting that there is in fact plenty of reason why the laptop reward was upped to $1 million, as it may contain a whole lot of personal stuff, *secrets* that could be of worth to Ryan. We'll see where this all goes, but the story has yet to have a conclusion and I for one am pretty pumped to hear his live instrumentation driven new album Les Is More.

Bonus: Check out his recent performance with Kanye at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC where he spits his verse off Christina Dior Denim Flow...

Saturday, January 08, 2011

Drake, J Cole, B.O.B. Concert Videos

Couple new concert videos of note, the first being @drakkardnoir and @JColeNC's debut performance in England. Shouts out to The Hip Hop Chronicle UK for putting together the 10 minute clip highlight reel of damn near every song Drake performed. My only question is, did they do In the Morning together??

Another cool video of note I recently came across was B.O.B.'s New Years eve performance where he made sure and signed everyone in attendance a copy of his gold album, The Adventures of Bobby Ray. In case you missed his cover of Cold As Ice off his No Genre mixtape, check his live performance of the track below...

B.o.B - Cold As Ice (Live) from Whynatte on Vimeo.

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