Videos of the Week September 16th

A little bit of this and a little bit of that is the theme of this week's top five. If novelty is the name of your game, then you might enjoy Michael Phelps pulling his best Eminem impression when he lip synced Lose Yourself on Lip Sync Battle. If you'll allow me to be critical for a minute, I was expecting a bit more raw energy. Where's that gold medal effort Phelps?!?!

If you're like me, you've done your best to tune out politics, but when Hip Hip artists want to make a statement, they know how to get peoples' attention. The black and white aesthetic with the colored flag was tastefully done in the FDT Part 2 video from Macklemore, YG and G-Eazy. If spontaneous is what you want, it doesn't get more freestyle than Donald Glover riffing on stage with Late Late Show's Reggie Watts. A little bit of funk and some harmony is all you need to get people dancing. If an actual music video is what you're looking for then enjoy some tribal dancing in exotic scenery during Major Lazer and Bieber's Cold Water video. And last, but not least, the whole gang showed up on stage when Chance the Rapper performed on Ellen. Lil Weezy and 2 Chainz joined him on stage to perform their hit No Problems with a whole lot office destruction happening in the background. Can anyone say, 352 paper pickup?...#NoProblems

Michael Phelps Lip Sync Battles Eminem's Lose Yourself

YG, Macklemore & G-Eazy - FDT (Part 2) (Video)

Donald Glover and Reggie Watts Freestyle on The Late Late Show with James Corden

Major Lazer feat Justin Bieber & Mo - Cold Water (Video)

Chance the Rapper Performs No Problems with Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz on Ellen

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week September 9th

Variety is the name of the game in this week's top five. There was some music, a cross-genre cover, a lyric video, and a premiere of a much awaited show. Normally novelty and comedy lead the way, but this past week was the Drake and Beyonce show. Let me ask you this, how many time are you going to get to see Tyra Banks shove cheesecake in Drake's face and then douse him with red wine? And how many times are you going to see Beyonce's sexy self in a frilly dress taking a baseball bat to a chevy? Yep, that's why they led the way.

Then, there was that time Usher did a live cover of The Chainsmokers Don't Let Me Down. Didn't see that coming, but it speaks to how multi-talented Mr. Raymond is and how big The Chainsmokers are now. In an effort to keep up with the new trend of creative, lower budget videos, Kygo and Julia Michaels put together a fun video for Carry Me. Picture an in-studio performance with a live orchestra and lots of fun, whimsical lyrics painted on the screen narrating the entire thing. And then there's the premiere of Donald Glover's new show Atlanta. I've posted a few trailers for the show and now y'all get the full 26 minutes in all it's glory...#Atlanta

Drake - Childs Play (feat Tyra Banks) (Video)

Beyonce - Hold Up (Video)

Usher Covers The Chainsmokers Don't Let Me Down

Kygo feat Julia Michaels - Carry Me (Lyric Video)

Atlanta Full Episode 1

Videos of the Week August 26th

There was a whole lot of straight up caucasian, whiteness to this week's top five. It all started with DJ Shadow and Run the Jewels video for Nobody Speak where a bunch of white politicians decided to duke it out. From there it got a lot less violent, but still stayed blanco with a new video from G-Eazy for Calm Down and another more than mildly entertaining video from Lil Dicky and Gronk. Those two need to go on tour together, straight up.

And for your usual late night fix, both Seth Myers and Fallon delivered the goods with entertaining guests. Current favorite Jon Bellion continued his rampage through pop culture with another rousing performance of All Time Low. Saying he's safe bet to rise to super stardom isn't even a bet anymore, it's simply a matter of when. Speaking of super-stardom, you're not going to find anyone more talented than Donald Glover. Not only is Atlanta on the horizon, he's also got an album and unique album debut concert experience coming up. I believe in all that is Childish Gambino, so count me in on whatever he decides to be a part of...#Pharos

DJ Shadow feat Run the Jewels - Nobody Move (Video)

G-Eazy - Calm Down (Video)

Lil Dicky and Big Daddy Gronk Talk Physique vs Technique

Jon Bellion Performs All Time Low on Late Night With Seth Myers

Jimmy Fallon Interviews Donald Glover on Fallon Tonight

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

"Made the Beat Then Murdered it, Casey Anthony"

"I always wanted to get picked on the cool team

But alone is exactly how I should be"

First of all I want a show of hands if you have heard the name Donald Glover. Maybe you've seen him on Community as Troy Barnes? Or you may know him as a talented writer for 30 Rock? Not ringing a bell yet? What about as a writer for the Daily Show? Stop me if you're not impressed yet because I haven't even gotten to the music yet.

In an attempt to put a neat little bow on the intro paragraph, feel free and check out the five minute feature Forbes magazine did on @donaldglover as one of their 30 disrupters under 30...

Acting, writing and rapping...can anybody think of someone else who has done that? Alright, I'm not going THAT far to compare him to @drake, but between the two I'm learning what type of Hip Hop I value most. I like Hip Hop that is provocative, creative, funny, witty and well thought out. That's why I enjoy rappers like @crookedintriago, @joebudden and Notorious B.I.G. to name a few. Sure they say some messed up, crazy shit at times, but there's meaning behind what they say and their lyrics are consistently a step ahead of what your brain is able to process while listening. Lyrical depth is when you listen to a track ten times and on the 11th you finally understand a line that was previously nonsense.

Why did I just go off on a long tangent about Hip Hop with meaning? Because I'm getting a strong sense that Childish Gambino embodies just about every characteristic I covet in a Hip Hop artist. I'd describe him as a mix between Tyler, The Creator (says f'ed up things like "Or you can fuckin’ kiss my ass, Human Centipede"), Fredro Star of ONYX (delivery on Bonfire reminds me of Fredro on verse 1 of Slam) and a mix of Kanye West/Kid Cudi (has slightly dark, introspective thoughts like "Sometimes I feel like I ain't supposed to be here, Sometimes I wake up, I don't want to be here"). Give a listen to his high powered lead single off of his debut album, Camp and feel free to judge the comparisons...

Childish Gambino - Bonfire

No holds barred is a good way to describe Bonfire, but don't form your opinion without giving my favorite track of his a listen. I say that because there's a chance you listened to Bonfire and heard enough weird vulgar references to get turned off like I did when I first listened to @fucktyler.

Instead of a lyrical rampage, on All the Shine you can expect a full on display of styles, tempos and emotions that make the complicated Childish Gambino great. From the dramatic beat build that leads into a triumphant instrumental, you can feel a palpable energy snowball rolling downhill. Between the witty rhymes ("that's why i come first like my cell phone"), to the justification of saying stupid provocative sh** on the track, to the surprisingly melodic and catchy hook, the track has much to offer. Even better, he shows off a vulnerable side on the last verse as he wonders about his fate in Hip Hop aloud and even questions his existence in a very Cudi manor. I really don't know why I find depressing introspective diatribes so interesting, but I'm thinking that it comes from being amazed with a rapper's ability to switch gears and be two polar opposites all in one track (confident and vulnerable).

As I listen to his album more and more I'm a little angry at myself for being late to the party. Sure his album was released mid-November and is only two months old, but still, not one single listen from ya boy until this week. What's even crazier is the wide range of reviews Camp received by various music outlets. They ranged from really favorable (4 out of 5 cigs from the TSS Crew) to downright awful (Pitchfork...seriously @sexyresults?? a 1.6/10...smmfh #credibilityLoss). I'll side with @The_TSS_TC and the @TSSCrew's infinite wisdom because Donald Glover can do no wrong with anything he does of late and that most definitely INCLUDES music...#DebatablyClassicDebut

Childish Gambino - All the Shine

|iTunes