"My Sins Need Holy Water, Feel It Washing Over Me"

It's been a relaxing two weeks off for the GWDJ crew, but we're back after it starting with the most eye opening collaboration in recent memory. I say that with hesitancy as Eminem's new album is chalked full of interesting, high octane efforts like the one below. The sheer novelty of hearing Ed Sheeran's quietly powerful vocals mixed with Em's forceful bars is hard to put into words. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the gruff tone Eminem showcases on his new album, but there's no questioning his vigor and energy on the mic is alive and well. There's a lot to comb through with Revival, including collabos with Alicia Keys, Skylar Grey, and Pink to name a few, but early reviews have been positive. You can bet that as we put together a few end of 2017 mixes, there will be plenty of Eminem sprinkled throughout...#Revival



Eminem feat Ed Sheeran - River

"I Walk on Water, But I Ain't No Jesus"

After weeks of rumors circulating about a new Eminem album, we've finally got our first warning shot. Matter of fact, warning shot probably doesn't convey the epic-ness of the track below, it's more like a surprise scud missile. Featuring soulful vocals from Queen Bey herself, Walk on Water amounts to a candlelight therapy session for Eminem. It's as dramatic and introspective as I've ever heard from Em. The quiet intensity is palpable, but I appreciate his restraint in use of vulgarity. Sure there are a few f bombs, but they're intricately placed, rather than napalmed all over the track like he's been known to do.

If this track has taught me anything, it's that Eminem's style is still evolving and he's even more complex than we thought. I'll have to listen to his new single many more times to fully wrap my head around the message, but I appreciate it's depth. If this doesn't get you amped for his upcoming Revival album, then nothing will...#Revival



Eminem feat Beyonce - Walk on Water

"We Can Do Revenge, Revenge, Revenge, Together"

Nothing like a playful song about making someone feel the same type of pain they made you feel. Conjured up by two of the most fierce, emotional artists in music, Revenge straddles the fence between spiteful and funny. These three bars by Pink sum it up quite well, "Sue you, take your dog, take your house, Take your shoes, take your heart, And now here comes that singin' part."

As for Eminem's verse, he doesn't hold back on his favorite derogatory female descriptors, but his tone is far from serious. There's an interesting harmony in both Pink and Eminem's verses that encourage retaliation too. The back and forth comes off as more of a game, adding to the playfulness of the vibe. The song emerged as one of the 13 songs on Pink's new Beautiful Trauma album that dropped yesterday. I haven't given the album much of a listen yet, but you can bet it'll contain at least a few chart topping singles. One thing that stood out to me is the lack of features on the album. I guess when you get to be as big as Pink, there's less of a necessity to pull in other artists to make great music. More power to her, looking forward to picking a few favorites from the album...#Revenge

Pink feat Eminem - Revenge (prod by Shellback and Max Martin)

Videos of the Week October 13th

This week's top five starts and ends with Eminem's fierce lyrical attack on Donald Trump via his BET Awards Freestyle Cypher. The amount of energy it generated throughout music and politics speaks to the time we're currently living in. As more and more of pop culture, entertainment, and professional athletes draw lines in the sand with their stance on our president, it'll be interesting to see who ends up "winning" the social media war in the end.

Aside from super-caustic freestyles, Odesza and Leon Bridges jumped in to remind us that music is as soulful and pure as ever. There's such a warmth surrounding the vibe of Across the Room and the video did a good job of capturing that feel-goodness. Speaking of feel-goodness, nothing butters my bread like some good ol' instrumental experimentation. Hard to imagine someone being more equipped to do that than Mura Masa and we were lucky enough to have the curtain peeled back a bit to see his creative process. If you're in the need of some hype to finish out the week, look no further than Goldlink's performance of Crew at one of his recent shows. You can always tell if an artist is hype but how the crowd reacts to his music. Watch that performance and tell me he doesn't have a hardcore following. Rounding out the top five is some Country music. Not just any Country music though, it's Kendrick Lamar's hits being flipped into Country. Fyütch took a page out of South Park's book with this one, but it wasn't any less entertaining...#CountryKendrick

Eminem Goes IN on Donald Trump via BET Awards Freestyle

Odesza feat Leon Bridges - Across the Room (Video)

Rhythm Roulette with Mura Masa

Goldlink - Crew (Live)

Fyütchology Ep 12: Country Kendrick Lamar

Photo Credit: BET via YouTube

Videos of the Week August 3rd

Tis the season for music videos! It's a rare top five full of 100% music videos this week. Led by a few heavyweight efforts from K Dot/Rihanna and Jay Z, every other video seemed to easily fit in the shadow of the first two. That being said, neither were my favorite this week. That honor goes to Major Lazer's cutting edge interactive video for Know No Better. It's an interesting feeling being able to poke around at different camera angles and experience a video from different, unique angles. I'm sure this is only the tip of the iceberg with where technology is heading, but it's a trend I hope to see continue. A close second this week goes to Macklemore and Lil Yachty's video for Marmalade. They did a really good job casting their younger selves in the video and the cameos were fun surprises. Rounding out the top five was the trailer for Eminem's new rap battle movie titled Bodied. Something tells me we've seen something like this cough, cough 8 Mile. Fingers crossed for a fresh story line in Em's foray into film...#Bodied

Kendrick Lamar feat Rihanna - Loyalty (Video)

Jay Z - Kill Jay Z (Video)

Major Lazer feat Travis Scott, Camila Cabello & Quavo - Know No Better (Interactive Video)

Macklemore feat Lil Yachty - Marmalade (Video)

Eminem's New Film - Bodied (Trailer

Photo Credit: YouTube

"I Been Talking to God Like He My Therapist"

It's only fitting that on Super Bowl Sunday I write about a new track where Eminem rattles off a prolific four-bar Patriots assault...

"Surely I'm turning into the Aaron Hernandez of rap
State of emergency, the planet's having panic attacks
Brady's returning, matter of fact I may be deserving
Of a pat on the back, like a Patriots jersey" - Eminem
The track I'm talking about is off Big Sean's new I Decided album and appropriately titled No Favors. I say appropriately titled because the vibe of a track is a "no-holds barred" cypher. Sure, there's a hook that provides a margin between the verses, but it's all about the rhyme after rhyme, 100 mph storytelling.

Was anyone else wierded out by Eminem's gruff tone on the track? It almost sounded like he was trying to make fun of himself or play up a serial killer diction on the track. As soon as he hit his stride mid-verse he drifted back into the Eminem I'm used to hearing, but it the contrast was a bit odd. Interesting tone aside, it's cool to see the Detroit legends go in on a track together. It's also yet another reason to go and check out Big Sean's new album that dropped this week, so here are the obligatory iTunes and Spotify links to the now #1 album on iTunes...#NoFavors

Big Sean feat Eminem - No Favors

"Cause Baby I'd Kill for You"

It literally doesn't get any better than when Eminem and Skylar Grey collaborate. Whether it's I Need a Doctor, C'Mon Let Me Ride, Twisted or Skylar writing Eminem's hit Love the Way You Lie, there's a long history of great work they've done together. Their newest addition to that list, Kill For You, is an accurate portrayal of both their dark sides. There's an undercurrent of devotion, anger, and violence that bleeds through the lyrics, creating a powerful tone for the track. Sure, the gun shots mixed in at the beginning and end provide the dramatic flair, but it's a rare instance where the over-the-top sound effects actually fit the drama of the track. The best news out of all this is that Skylar has a new album coming out tomorrow. If Natural Causes is even half as good as the performance she put on at the Regency Ballroom on Friday, it's going to quickly become one of my favorite albums...#NaturalCauses

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 November 27th

I'll be honest, with the American Music Awards being last weekend, it was tough picking my top five favorite videos of the week. To make things simple, I picked the most novel and interesting performance of the night, which went to Pentatonix. Their orchestra aided acapella rendition was quite a sight to see. Similarly, SNL's Thanksgiving gone bad where Adele's Hello saves that day was a pretty funny skit. Yes, the song is getting to be extremely overplayed, but I like that people are being creative with it now at least.

The final bit of novelty of the week came from the Muppets and Eminem My Name Is mash up. Every time I click on one of those videos, I roll my eyes thinking that this one is going to be just like the last ones. Then, I watch the video and end up being really entertained, so take that for what it's worth. In the world of music, Avicii created an inspirational mini-movie for his newest single Arrows. Really cool father daughter story having to do with high jumping, so give that a watch. And last but not least, Alex, Drew, and Tritonal came through with a typically entertaining competitive spin class video for Until You Were Gone. Everyone seems to fall in love with their spin instructor, so it was fun to see them poking fun at something that a lot of people can relate with...#UntilYouWereGone
The Chainsmokers & Tritonal – Until You Were Gone (Feat. Emily Warren) (Video)

A Thanksgiving Miracle From Adele

Pentatonix Star Wars Tribute at the American Music Awards

Avicii - Broken Arrows (Video)

The Muppets Singing Eminem's My Name Is
Photo Credit: YouTube

Eminem Cruises Over The Hills

In hindsight, I thought The Weeknd had a lot of talent, but I can't say I anticipated him reaching the level of stardom he's at now. It seems like every couple weeks he's had another single reach the top of the charts to a point where everyone seems to have taken a liking to his edgy R&B sound. Speaking of edgy, it doesn't get much more rough around the edges than Slim Shady who blessed The Weeknd's latest chart topper with two white hot verses. Like only he can, Eminem tells his own vivid tale peppered with drama, drugs and fluctuating emotion. Unless you're used to his choppy, cliffhanger bars and stop and go diction, it's always a challenge to follow along. But for those that are used to it dissect it, there's always more than a little brilliance in the mix. It only happens two or three times a year, so enjoy this gift that seemingly dropped out of the sky this week...#TheHillsRmx

The Weeknd feat Eminem - The Hills (Remix)

Videos of the Week July 17th

This week was a bit of a grab bag of epic, funny and interesting. Leading the way is the epic trailer for Batman vs Superman. With such a star studded cast and a plot line to lure any type of superhero fan into the theaters, it will be hard to limit the expectations of the highly anticipated flick. Speaking of limiting expectations, anyone who has been to a Jack U show knows exactly how crazy their set can get. For those of you who haven't caught them live, feel free to check out their 90 minute Toronto set from last week.

If EDM and funny are on your list of things you enjoy, then you'll get a kick out of the long line of people dropping DJ names to try and get backstage. DJ Jumpsuit? Really? In other music news, Timeflies just put together another mush up of awesomeness in this week's Timeflies Tuesday. Cal always brings his A game and he did his thing with some Eminem, Jay Z bars to compliment the "bye bye miss American Pie" hook. Rounding out the week in a classic form is Eminem's new video for Phenomenal. I don't know much about Southpaw, but early indications are split on the Rotten Tomatoes score. The real question remains, will Apple Music be releasing a new exclusive video every week?...#AppleMusic
Batman vs Superman (Trailer)

Jack U Full Flex Express 90 Minute Set in Toronto July 11th

Comedy Central Social Scene Makes Fun of DJ Names

Timeflies Mashes Jay Z, Eminem & American Pie

Eminem - Phenomenal (Video)

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week July 2nd

I'm going to refer to this week as music sandwich week. It's a music sandwich because there's a whole lot of high quality music making up the middle of this post. There's a new videos from K Dot, Disclosure and even a tasteful video from Jack Ü with the Biebs. Hard to pick a favorite between the three, but I'm partial to Kendrick's Bay Area flavored video for Alright that has an added two minute and 30 second intro and minute long outro.

The most novel video by far goes to the public access TV debut of Stephen Colbert. It's a full 41 minutes with some random guests, one of which is Eminem who stops by to sing along on a few Bob Seger favorites. Random really doesn't do it justice, all I know is I would have been a mix of confused and strangely entertained if I lived in Monroe, Michigan and saw this come on. Finishing out the week on an even lighter note is Jimmy Fallon and Mark Wahlberg's entertaining game of Headshots. Those darts were no joke, I wouldn't have blamed either of them for flinching...#Headshots
Stephen Colbert Interviews Eminem on Public Access TV in Monroe, MI

Kendrick Lamar - Alright (Video)

Disclosure - Holding On (Video)

Jack Ü feat Justin Bieber - Where Are Ü Now? (Video)

Mark Wahlberg & Jimmy Fallon Play Headshots

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week June 19th

Definitely not the usual week for videos with a grab bag of variety being the theme of the week. Is it me or are lyric videos now a pre-requisite to the making of actual videos? Whatever the case, the production quality for lyric videos have gotten a huge boost, making for really entertaining watches. Case in point the use of perspective on the printed lyrics of Eminem's latest track Phenomenal off the Southpaw Soundtrack.

If you're not into reading, Big Sean put together a whole 13 minute documentary surrounding his latest Dark Sky Paradise album. On the real music video front, Travie McCoy and Sia came through with a deserted Western themed movie for Golden. I'm not a country guy, but Timeflies did their thing when they flipped Sam Hunt's House Party into a listenable mix. And for those of you who came for some awkward and a dash of silly, Alan Rickman and Jimmy Fallon took in some helium and hilarity ensued...#Rickman
Eminem - Phenomenal (Lyric Video)

Big Sean's Dark Sky Paradise (Documentary)

Travie McCoy feat Sia - Golden (Video)

Alan Rickman and Jimmy Fallon Ingest Helium and Hilarity Ensues

Timeflies Covers Sam Hunt's House Party

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week May 1st

To be completely honest, it was a dreadfully slow week for music. Rarely is there ever a week where it's a struggle to decide what the heck to write about. Luckily, videos of the week touches on much more than just music and Jimmy Fallon is always there with something entertaining to offer. My personal favorite of the week was Jimmy's sidekick Steve Higgins trying to one up Shaggy at his own accent. Needless to say hilarity ensued. Likewise when Kristen Wiig hopped on the set to deliver an interesting Khaleesi impersonation. I'm not a huge Game of Thrones guy, so it was tough for me to judge how funny she was when being interviewed.

Despite a lack of quantity, there was some quality when it came to music videos this week. The X Ambassadors are growing on me more and more as I can't stop listening to their new single Renegades. Similarly, when Eminem decides to rip through a few verses with the help of Yelawolf, it's always worth a listen. Finally, if you've ever wish you knew more about T-Pain, here's your chance. His Bigger Than Pain documentary was an interesting biopic on someone who never seems to get the credit he deserves talent wise because the majority of his vocals are auto-tune aided. Needless to say, he's a talented dude from Tallahassee and the 20 minute documentary is proof why...#BiggerThanPain
Jimmy Fallon & Shaggy Have a "Shaggy Off"

T-Pain Bigger Than Pain Documentary

X Ambassadors - Renegades (Video)

Yelawolf feat Eminem - Best Friend (Video)

Jimmy Fallon Interview Khaleesi From Game of Thrones Played by Kristen Wiig

Photo Credit: YouTube

"Sometime I Feel Like I Never Slow Down"

Hearing quality, break-neck speed rapping is so rare nowadays that I can't help to get nostalgic when I hear a heat rock like Speedom (WWC2). Maybe it was because I grew up on Midwest Hip Hop and, subsequently, put Twista on pedestal as a modern day legend. I can still remember hearing his Padded Room freestyle for the first time and wigging out because it was like nothing I had ever heard before. Check it below if you've never heard it...

Speed-rapping nostalgia aside, hearing Tech N9ne and Eminem kick it into fifth gear is more than worth the price of admission. The track is going to land on Tech's upcoming album Special Effects, which will be his fifteenth full-length studio album. That album number is absolute craziness and speaks to his longevity both as an artist and businessman, as he was one of the first artists to shun major record labels. If you're in the mood to drive fast, this one needs to be added to your weekend riding playlist...#Speedom

Tech N9ne feat Eminem & Krizz Kaliko - Speedom (WWC2)

Yelawolf & Eminem Just Shut it Down With Best Friend

With Yelawolf's sophomore album about a week away from release, feel free to fully allow yourself to get excited. His last two singles are evidence that he's regained the momentum that landed him a Shady Records deal. It's not just me that thinks it either, he touched on "things changing for the better" in a recent interview he did with Complex. As it turns out, all he needed was to go back to Tennessee to regain that low-fi, analog sound...

As soon as I noticed that tracklist to Love Story was devoid of features, it became abundantly clear that Yelawolf wanted to get back on his feet without any help...except for one track on the album. That's when he enlisted the help of his boss to lay down yet another legendary verse on Best Friend. The track is a perfect canvas for Em to go in on. It has a mellow, acoustic vibe to it that sets the mood right for the 0-100 style of intensity that Em brings on the mic. I need not wax poetic, he's a legend, go cop Yelawolf's album next week, it's in the lead for album of the year in 2015...#BestFriend

Videos of the Week March 6th

This week, you can expect a few standouts mixed in with some humor. Leading the way is the 30 minute documentary style story that Complex put together on Shady Records. The documentary features a lot of interesting commentary from Eminem, 50 Cent, Dr. Dre and Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg. The parts focused on the signing of Slaughterhouse and Yelawolf toward the end were most interesting to me because I had always wondered what led to all the worthwhile lyricists in Hip Hop being gobbled up by Shady Records.

On the music side of the fence, Big Sean brought his A game with Drake and Kanye on the Blessings video. I'll say this, Dark Sky Paradise deserved to make it to the top of the charts. Speaking of top of the charts, that's where Major Lazer's new single Lean On is headed. Lyric videos can be so easily botched, but the vivid imagery did the track justice in their case. Finally, ending the week with some humor is never a bad thing. Led by DJs from around the world talking about the craziest things they've witnessed on stage and finishing with Action Bronson's entertaining interview on Dan Le Batard's Highly Questionable...#MrWonderful
Not Afraid The Shady Records Story (with Eminem and Dr. Dre)

Major Lazer & DJ Snake feat MØ - Lean On (Lyric Video)

DJs Talk About the Grossest Things They've Seen on Stage

Big Sean, Drake & Kanye - Blessings (Video)

Action Bronson is Interviewed on Highly Questionable with Dan Le Batard

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week November 14th

Interesting mix of Hip Hop and EDM for this week's top 5. Shady Records made a big splash with their lengthy cypher that is being used to create momentum toward the new Shady XV Compilation. Along the same lines of stand out performances, anybody who had any doubt in Logic making it big time needs to watch his performance on Fallon. The kid can rock a mic, that much I know.

On the EDM front, Ellie & Calvin delivered an emotional video for their latest single Outside. On the other end of the wild spectrum we have Steve Aoki's new one. The video is so incredibly Will i am it's not even funny. The futuristic tech with plenty of crazy futuristic CGI mixed in. And to top it all off, how about a slice of silly thanks to Jimmy Fallon and Channing Tatum. I might as well carve out a permanent spot on the weekly top 5 for something related to the Tonight Show as it continues to set the bar higher and higher for late night television...#LateNightFallon
Calvin Harris feat Ellie Goulding - Outside (Video)

Shady CXVPHER

Steve Aoki feat Will i Am - Born to Get Wild (Video)

Jimmy Fallon & Channing Tatum Play Box of Lies

Logic Performs I'm Gone on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week August 20th

When it came to videos this week, there wasn't much buzz beyond Nicki Minaj's soft core porn video for Anaconda. My goodness...it has more buns than bakery on a Sunday morning. Shoot somewhere Sir-Mix-Alot is blushing because of the asstronomical amount of booty viewable in that video. Even tossed in a Drake cameo while they were at it case you wondered how he behaves at strip clubs.

Beyond that, Haim's new Hip Hop flavored My Song 5 was a fun watch, as well as Seven Lions' sci-fi, planetary visuals for Worlds Apart. Oh I see what they did with the whole worlds and planet thing. As if Denzel's presence wasn't enough to carry a trailer, the creators of The Equalizer decided it would be an even better decision to throw in a clip of an unreleased, upcoming Eminem song with Sia. That was a good call and we're all now excited. And finally, Floss gave a short 10 min behind the scenes look at his tour, which was pretty cool to watch. Living on the road has to be tough, but when the audience gets THAT hype to your music, it has to get to a point where he's pinching himself on a daily basis...#HDYNATION
Nicki Minaj - Anaconda (Video)

Haim feat A$AP Ferg - My Song 5 (Video)

The Equalizer Trailer (feat new Eminem song)

Flosstradamus Tour Video

Seven Lions feat Kerli - Worlds Apart (Video)

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week August 8th

If you haven't seen Guardians of the Galaxy, you need to for a lot of reasons. I'm not a huge comic book guy, but I thoroughly appreciated the mix of humor and action, largely provided by Chris Pratt in the movie. Little did we all know he could also flow, dude killed that Forgot About Dre cover!

It's good to see Wu-Tang back together again and making new music. I'm glad they picked the Daily Show to let loose some new music. I'm also glad that Electric Zoo is taking on the Molly movement head on with their promo video. The whole "Be Present" is a little preachy, but I don't care if they straight up threatened kids, the deaths at festivals needs to stop. What doesn't need to stop is the antagonistic banter between T.I. and Jimmy Fallon. Slow down the video, Jimmy looks legitimately threatened. Rounding out the top five is a new Asher Roth cut that deserves extra love for the Flohicans reference...#Flohicans
Chris Pratt Covering Eminem's Forgot About Dre Verse

Electric Zoo 2014 Promo

Wu Tang Reunite and Perform on The Daily Show

Asher Roth feat Major Myjah - Last of the Flohicans (Video)

Will Arnett Starts a Beef Between T.I. and Jimmy Fallon

Photo Credit: YouTube