Childish Gambino's Redbone Gets a Mustard Upgrade

Calling Childish Gambino's Redbone a modern day classic is getting less and less outlandish with each day. I'm still amazed that he pulled off that falsetto so flawlessly. You'd be hard pressed to find me another artist who could sell hundreds of thousands of records as a rapper, then turn around and drop an R&B classic.

Original aside, when I saw the track below on DJ Mustard's new DON'T BOX ME vol. 1 playlist, I was more than a little curious. Pressing play resulted in a much more excitable, snappier remix. The slow ebb and flow of the original was augmented with some heavy bass and a bouncy synth progression on the hook that almost overpowers the vocals. Were the vocals trampled a bit? Maybe, but the vibe of the original still carried over in a much more party friendly fashion. Share it with your friends to defamiliarize them with the original version that they're probably getting tired of hearing around now...#Redbone

Childish Gambino - Redbone (DJ Mustard Remix)

The List of Redbone Covers Continues to Grow

One of the most impressive surprises in music last year was Childish Gambino's Awaken My Love. It seemed a little weird at first, but the more people listened to it, the more they understood the genius behind Donald's vision for the album. It's no surprise that the standout track on the album, Redbone, has turned into a modern day classic. To this day I'm still finding it hard to imagine Donald singing the vocals and it doesn't match up. Multiple views of his performance on the track on Fallon have helped, but it's still a stretch.

Back in March, Snakehips & MØ tackled the track head on in BBC Radio 1's studio, setting the bar high for remixes of the track. Check it below in case you missed it...



Wiz must have been listening because he wasn't shy about releasing his own Weedmix of the track. Based on the title you already know he flipped it into a two minute and 45 second Mary Jane promo. Subject matter aside, he stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park. He has always had one of the smoothest deliveries on the mic and that was on full display below. He dropped a fire verse and then finished up with some soulful vocals than few rappers could claim to be capable of. Not sure about y'all, but I'm excited as hell for Rolling Papers 2. If you're one to indulge the green, check out his new growing simulation app Weed Farm too...#StayStoned

Wiz Khalifa - Stay Stoned (Redbone Weedmix)

Videos of the Week March 10th

It was bound to happen at some point, but this week there's a rare top five filled with all music. Leading the way was Snakehips and MØ's in studio cover of Childish Gambino's Redbone. I'll admit, it was a lot jazzier than I thought it would be, which was a cool surprise. After that there was a little bit of dark EDM (I Love You) and a little bit of fun EDM (Just Hold On) brought to you by Axwell Λ Ingrosso, and Steve Aoki. Both were cases where I got to re-live two songs I really like and had written about previously, but in more intimate ways.

If you were wondering whether Bebe Rexha was as good looking as her vocals led you to believe, you got a resounding answer to that question in her FFF video. Her and G-Eazy make for a dynamic duo and their chemistry is palpable. And if you haven't gotten a big enough dose of sexy, Jeremih has you covered on I Think of You. As a bit of icing on the cake, this week's top five ended on a high note with a roller skating dance video. Who doesn't love a good Hip Hop video at a roller rink??...#IThinkOfYou

Childish Gambino - Redbone (Snakehips & MØ Cover)

Axwell Ingrosso feat Kid Ink - I Love You (Video)

Steve Aoki feat Louis Tomlinson - Just Hold On (Video)

Bebe Rexha feat G-Eazy - FFF (Video)

Jeremih feat Big Sean and Chris Brown - I Think of You (Video)

Photo Credit - YouTube

Videos of the Week December 9th

This week's top five skewed toward music videos, but there were a few interesting debuts that deserved some love. This week started off on a high note with Jimmy Fallon debuting the new Nintendo Switch on his Tonight Show. Imagine how nerve wracking that must have been to play the game on live tv in front of the game's creator? After the type of pressure, it was fun to turn a page with Party Favor and Dillon Francis's revenge of the nerds montage with their Shut it Down video. If you take away one lesson, it's to not mess with nerds, they'll always find a way to get back.

Then came one of the most exciting trailers I've watched in a long time. The original Guardians of the Galaxy far exceeded my expectations, so seeing Baby Groot teeter on the atomic bomb launch button while being yelled at by Rocket did nothing but pour even more excitement for Vol 2. Then came the weird music videos, led by Childish Gambino's trippy VR video for Me and Your Mama. I'm still trying to wrap my head around whether or not attending the Pharos concert at Joshua Tree would have been a good move. Either way, I'm stoked that he's back to releasing new music. And finally, ending the week on an animation high note, Borgore and Juicy J released some equally trippy visuals for Magic Trick. It's hard to visually match the craziness of the beat for the song, but somehow they pulled it off in a kaleidoscope of color and craziness...#MagicTrick
Jimmy Fallon Debuts the Nintendo Switch

Party Favor and Dillon Francis - Shut it Down (Video)

Guardians of the Galaxy Teaser Trailer

Childish Gambino - Me and Your Mama (Pharos VR Video)

Borgore feat Juicy J - Magic Trick (Video)

Photo Credit: YouTube

Stranger Things Theme Get's Bonfired

As both a Strangers Things (Netflix show) and Childish Gambino fan, you could imagine how floored I was to see that both were combined together. I'm generally hesitant to post mash-ups, but this one was too hard to pass up. Not only is there the 1980s synth nostalgia from the Stranger Things instrumental, but there's also the nostalgia of Childish Gambino when he was ripping out hot 16s left and right. If you're like me, when you listened to the mash up below, you thought it sounded very familiar lyrically. Here's the original for those that need to catch up...
Bonus points for those who were able to immediately recognize the track as Bonfire from Childish's Camp album back in 2011.

As far as the mashup is concerned, it's a clash of two different moods with the instrumental amplifying the spooky and the verses projecting pure aggression. It's hard to tastefully blend moods the way this mashup did, which is why it's deserving of a post. As a side note, I'm equally excited to hear What So Not's remix of the theme song whenever it decides to drip drop all over the internet. Is anyone as excited as I am for season two to hit Netflix? Probably not, but join me in raging to this molotov of mystery below...#StrangerThings

Videos of the Week January 16th

Eclectic week for videos with Fallon and Gwyneth leading the way on Broadway versions of Hip Hop hits. I really don't know how Jimmy keeps doing it, but he has an uncanny ability to get celebrities to play unfamiliar roles in really entertaining ways. Right behind the clear top video is deadmau5's Spirit of Gumball documentary. It's interesting bioptic on featuring the always entertaining deadmau5. Yea, it's a safe bet that you're going to hear some great music mixed throughout the exotic card racing on the sixteen minute documentary.

In other news, Childish Gambino and Run the Jewels were the talk of the town when it came to late night. For those of you keeping score at home, Donald Glover took over Kimmel, while RTJ took over Conan. So many late night options these days it's becoming hard to track. Rounding out the top 5 is the Mikey Posner assisted video for Sugar by Maroon 5. Ever wondered what wedding crashing is really like? Well press play and watch Adam Levine go to work...#Sugar

Jimmy Fallon & Gwyneth Paltrow Sing Broadway Versions of Hip Hip Verses

deadmau5 Spirit of Gumball Documentary

Childish Gambino Performs Sober on Kimmel

Maroon 5 - Sugar (Video)

Run the Jewels Perform Lie, Cheat, Steal on Conan

Photo Credit: YouTube

"Dylon, Rap Like This, You're an Icon"

Well this is a first. I can't say I've ever hyped an up and coming Belgian artist, but that all changes tonight with my introduction to Selah Sue. It seems like the getting is good for female Indie vocalists in 2014. From your Tove Los to your Banks' to your Lykke Lis, there's room for success if you can weave together an interesting mix of harmony and synths.

In addition to the overall climate being favorable, going 3x platinum in France with your debut album is a great way to get some attention. Also, when you collaborate with Donald Glover, you're probably going to get a look by default. Me, I got sucked in by the twangy chords and sultry vocals off top. The synth kicker after the hook and Childish Gambino verse were a delicious creme fraiche-like topping on an already tasty dish. In about a week, you'll be able to cop Together and the entire Alone EP if you like it enough. The main takeaway from me is to be on the look out for much more of Selah's work because it's clear that she's not going to be satisfied with running the EU...#SelahSue

Videos of the Week October 17th

There's quite a bit of entertainment mixed into the top 5 this week. In my eyes, it's a toss up between Jimmy Fallon/Brad Pitt's break dance conversation video and Kevin Hart's freestyle as Chocolate Droppa. Anytime you leave Kendrick Lamar speechless while freestyling, you know something great just happened.

On the music tip, Alesso and Fall Out Boy released new videos for their latest singles. I'm always impressed with what Fall Out Boy is able to put together creatively and their new video was no exception. On a final note, I'm continuing to be intrigued by video companies partnering with Hip Hop artists on trailers for new games. This time the makers of Far Cry 4 got together with Childish Gambino to put together an interesting video detailing the collaboration between the two. Makes me wish they had more Hip Hop in video games back in the day...#FarCry4
Jimmy Fallon & Brad Pitt Have a Break Dance Conversation

Kevin Hart's Alter Ego Chocolate Droppa Freestyle with Kendrick Lamar

Alesso feat Tove Lo - Heroes (Video)

Far Cry 4 and Childish Gambino: The Collaboration

Fall Out Boy - Centuries (Video)

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week February 7th

Folks, there's a lot of value added content in this week's top five. I'm not trying to gas you up when I say that PBS did a great job with Blank on Blank in animating Jimi Hendrix's last interview. A few weeks back I posted a similar one featuring 2pac, so if you were a fan of that slice of creativity, you'll enjoy this one too. In other news, Chromeo's brand of funk is really starting to grow on me. Their newly minted visuals for Come Alive are on point.

The rest of the videos this week are really awesome covers. It's a coin flip between Childish Gambino and Lorde for who produced the better cover, but if you twisted my arm I'd probably give the nod to Donald Glover. P.M. Dawn's classic, Die Without You, isn't an easy cover, but he really showed off his dynamic ability as an artist on the track. Oh and this just in, The Roots might be the most unde appreciated band on the planet. The have been and will continue to be one of the few Hip Hop acts that are above average to see live in concert...#RealTalk
Jimi Hendrix's Last Interview Animated by PBS

Chromeo – Come Alive (feat. Toro y Moi) (Video)

Lorde Cover James Blake's Retrograde

Childish Gambino Covers PM Dawn's I'd Die Without You

Justin Vernon and The Roots Perform Holocene


Image Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week November 15th

Definitely Hip Hop centric on this week's rendition of top 5 videos. I found it interestingly coincidental that the week Drake and Rihanna made it rain $17,0000 in ones, they also released videos for new singles. As a quick side note, the sheer fact that they were able to quantify that Drake dropped 12 racks and Rihanna 5 stacks speaks to our culture's awesome ability to parse out details during chaos. Can you imagine 17 thousand one dollar bills being scattered on a stage area? My mind exploded too, but if you're super curious how it looked, it sorta looked like this.

If you're in the mood for some substance that may be off the beaten path, I'd encourage you to check out the inspirational trailer for Shake the Dust. Long story short, it's about how kids in war torn areas of Africa like Uganda are making something our of nothing by break dancing. The documentary is produced by Nasir Jones himself and seems to showcase a few areas where roses were able to grow from concrete through the inspiration of Hip Hop. You can bet I'll be tuning it when the full documentary comes out because there's nothing cooler than when music can help create a path for kids through life...#ShakeTheDust

Drake - Worst Behavior (Video)

Kenna feat Childish Gambino - Relations (Video)

Shake the Dust (Trailer)

Rihanna - What Now (Preview)

Busta Rhymes feat Q-Tip, Lil Wayne & Kanye West - Thank You (BTS)

Image credit: Vimeo

I'd Buy Kenna's Brand of New School Funk Any Day

New school funk that compares to retro funk of decades past is hard to find theses days. That's why I jumped up out my seat when I heard Kenna's new one Relations. The Chad Hugo produced beat showcases 80s synthesizers that compliment a funkadelic beat. The sheer fact that the word relations is used speaks to its throwback nature. Check the original below for reference...

Don't expect the remix below to be markedly different, but do pay attention to the Childish Gambino verse. With his new Because the Internet album due out in a month, he seems to be rounding into tip top lyrical shape with the bars he let loose on the remix below. Do me a favor and throw this on the next mix cd you burn your dad (does anybody still burn cds? maybe cloud it to him?). You heard it here first folks, your parents might even enjoy this one...#Relations

Kenna feat Childish Gambino - Relations (Remix)

Videos of the Week October 11th

Interesting collection of videos centered around Hip Hop this week. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the sheer awesomeness of Marina Shifrin's "take this job and shove it" video that catapulted Kanye's 8 yr old track Gone to 4th on Billboard's Hip Hop chart. Everybody would love to do this at some point of their life, but kudos to her for actually pulling it off and going viral.

Aside from that business, Eminem got around to make a new video for his video game inspired track Survival and Childish Gambino is starting to ramp up the hype for his upcoming album. Quick side note, that Travie McCoy and Jason Mraz track is dope as hell...#RoughWater

The Video that put an 8 yr old Kanye song at #4 on the Current Billboard Charts

Eminem - Survival (Video)

Childish Gambino - because the internet (Teaser)

Janelle Monet feat Miguel - Primetime (Video)

Travie McCoy feat Jason Mraz - Rough Water (Video)

"If the World Doesn't Change, We'll Never Get Dressed"

It's so rare that I come across a great R&B ballad these days that when I hear one, it's incredibly refreshing. Even better, the ballad below features two of my favorite artists you may not have a healthy enough appreciation for. I've waxed poetic a few times about the talents of Donald Glover, but you may not have gotten a solid dose of the extremely soothing vocals of Jhene Aiko. There's a complete calmness about her voice that sounds so soft on the ears. There's a great underlying message in Bed Peace that I hope you can fully take in too. It's extremely well written and thought provoking, so don't cut it short by simply vibing out to the mellow vibes the track produces. Word on the streets is that the track below is going to surface on her upcoming Sail Out EP that will be a precursor to her big studio debut Souled Out, which is scheduled for a 2014 release by Def Jam Records. You can bet that this won't be the last time you hear from her on this blog before that comes out...#BedPeace

Jhene Aiko feat Childish Gambino - Bed Peace

Hip Hop and Dubstep Compliment Each Other Well

Rarely do I ever re-post songs, but I'm going to make an exception today because when I posted the original version of Do or Die back in December, it was a choppy radio edit. Today the visuals came out for the Flux Pavilion and Childish Gambino's collabo, which prompted the second wind. Check out the video below...

The CDQ of the track is much more palatable and gives the Hip Hop/Dubstep mash even more credibility. The track comes off as even more methodical and even slower than the original I remember. I enjoyed the end of the track too, Flux showed off a bit by seamlessly mixing in the synths to the heavy dub beat. I said it before and I'll say it again, hopefully there's more Hip Hop/Dubstep collabos to come...#DubHop

Flux Pavilion feat Childish Gambino - Do or Die

"Gambino Forever and Royalty is Do or Die"

You knew it was only a matter of time before Dubstep and Hip Hop would start hanging out more. With electronic music as a whole starting to gain some traction in American pop music and Hip Hop continuing to lead pop music, the two high energy genres simply can't be kept in two separate corners. Earlier this year, we saw @LupeFiasco collaborate with @bassnectar on Vava Voom, but Hip Hop/Dubstep collabos have been few and far between so far.

...which is why it's so awesome that two up and comers like @Fluxpavilion and @DonaldGlover got together on a new track together. The rumors of a new track came to live back in September when Flux debuted the track at Electric Zoo, but he's kept it under wraps until this week. I'll put it this way, it was well worth the wait. The opening verse from Donald fits well over the high energy synths, which give way to a drop that goes well beyond epic at the 1:05 mark.

The track is scheduled to surface on Flux's upcoming Blow The Roof EP, which will hit shelves on January 28th. From now on when I think of a best case scenario for blending Hip Hop and Dubstep, Do or Die will set the bar...and set it very high at that. #DubHop

Flux Pavilion feat Childish Gambino - Do or Die

Videos of the Week June 15th

It's a toss up this week deciding which video was most entertaining between @RealWizKhalifa getting Punk'd by @MacMiller or @theroots, @jimmyfallon and @carlyraejepsen rocking out a bare bones edition of Call Me Maybe. One on hand I thought it was great hearing Wiz answering the question, "Have you been drinking?" with "No I smoke weed." But it was pretty clear that he knew all along that it was a set up, so that took away from the punchline a bit. Even worse, @ActuallyNPH and @Revis24 mostly evaded freaking out, leading me to gain more respect for the job @aplusk does.

On the other hand, the schoolhouse rock style acapella version of Call Me Maybe was pretty fun to watch. With all the instruments, Jimmy helping out on the vocals and The Roots jumping in head first to help out Carly, it was really cool to watch. Pretty nuts this little delight of a pop track is over the 100 million views mark on YouTube. It pays to be popular folk, don't ever underestimate that!

Oh yea don't sleep on that @DonaldGlover freestyle, dude killed it! Can't wait to see him in Philly in three weeks...#SeeYaThere

Wiz Khalifa Gets Punk'd by Mac Miller

The Roots, Jimmy Fallon & Carly Rae Jepsen Perform Call Me Maybe

Avicii - Silhouettes (Video)

Sean Kingston feat T.I. - Back 2 Life (Video)

VH1's Yo: The Story of Yo! MTV Raps (Trailer)

Childish Gambino Freestlyes for BET

"My Rollie so Racist, All Black Faces"

After making a big splash with his debut album Camp, @donaldglover is back for round two in the form of a new mixtape. The yet to be titled mixtape is supposed to drop next week and will feature the previously released track Unnecessary with @SCHOOLBOYQ and his new one below featuring a verse from @nipseyhussle and production from one of Canada's finest, @Boi1da. Also, it's the first feature I've seen from Boi-1da proteges The Maven Brothers (@zalezy and @BretRyan).

Luckily for us, Donald was nice enough to post the track for download on his website along with an interesting commentary by Big Ghost aka Childish Gambino/Donald Glover imitating Ghostface Killah while providing commentary on new songs...

The lyrics on Black Faces of American Chariot (according to @samspratt the artist who provided the cover art) go hard and send a clear message that the new kids on the block are on some new shit. They're about gaining and keeping wealth instead of spending wealth so their family and future generations can come up. It's an interesting, enlightened message that is clearly aimed at a new school train of thought. I say more power to them, there's a lot of intelligence in that message.

Keep an eye out for that new mixtape next week and if you're like me, you've already signed on to see Childish live this summer on his Camp Tour...#SummerConcerts

Childish Gambino feat Nipsey Hussle - Black Faces (American Chariot) (prod by Boi-1da and The Maven Boys)

Videos of the Week May 4th

Bunch of interesting videos this week ranging from an extremely awkward samurai flavored MTV First Date for @donaldglover to an Electric Feel type of woodland forest video from @rihanna. In other words, this week strayed off the beaten path since there were less big video releases. Pretty cool to see how @BIGKRIT lives life on tour and how incredibly down to earth he is. It was cool to see all the cameos on the Street Knock video too from @alleniverson to @therealkiss. Anybody else not believe @macmiller is from earth? Didn't think he was capable of a track like Clarity, but that's not necessarily a bad thing...#Maturity

Rihanna - Where Have You Been (Video)

Swizz Beatz feat A$AP Rocky - Street Knock (BTS Video)

MTV First Date with Childish Gambino

Mac Miller - Clarity (Video)

Road Less Traveled Part 2 with Big K.R.I.T.

"Nah I Ain't Drunk I Just Text Badly"

I used to think it was strange that there weren't many comedians that tried to parlay their talents into Hip Hop careers. When you think about it, the skills set for both professions include confidence, a razor sharp wit and usually a solid stage presence. But then you get to listening comdians like @THEREALMIKEEPPS on tracks
like this or @KATTPACKALLDAY doing this track with @LILJON and you're left thinking, "ya know what maybe they're meant to be kept apart." The closest comparison I can come up with is an NFL player trying to play NBA basketball. The skill set is damn near identical, but you never see it happen.

Which brings me to the subject of my post tonight, @donaldglover. After hearing his debut album, Camp, in it's entirety, I'm more than convinced he can reach heights previously unreachable by comedians turned Hip Hop artists. Case in point, the 1:58 mark where he seamlessly transitions from funny storytelling mode into his next verse. Changing personas mid sentence without sounding stupid is not an easy thing to do, which is why I'm steadily gaining respect for this Donald Glover dude. So much so that I threw a couple $$ his way in the form of a future concert date. You can bet I'll have a lot more to say after I see him in person, but for now, how bout we stick to hoping for a full length mixtape? #WishfulThinking

Childish Gambino - Eat Something

Videos of the Week February 10th

Considering how many damn times they play the song in concert, it's about time @kanyewesta and @s_c_ made a video for N****s in Paris! Other artists should take note that all it takes is a little creative editing and some concert footage to make a decent video. Love how we've evolved as a culture to put disclaimers for epileptics too...

I would probably pay a lot of money to be able to see Drake anywhere within a two hundred mile radius of where I live, but unfortunately it's not in the cards this year. I'll settle for the teaser (literally) promo video I guess. Still digging Wilds Ones by the way and if you haven't caught on to Eric Turner yet, then shame on you. Oh yea, Avengers are coming soon too...#SuperheroMoviesWin

Jay-Z & Kanye - N****s in Paris (Video)

Flo Rida feat Sia - Wild Ones (Video)

Drake's Practice/Club Paradise Promo (Video)

Eric Turner feat Lupe Fiasco & Tinie Tempah - Angels & Stars (Video)

Super Bowl Commercial for The Avengers (Movie)

Childish Gambino - Heartbeat (Video)