Videos of the Week February 17th

Man, I'm not sure what the deal is with 2017, but it's been one stellar week of videos after another. This week I legitimately had about 15 videos that I had to narrow down to a top five, which proved to be a thankless task. It was a tough decision, but if I didn't include Melissa McCarthy's latest SNL skit where she roasts Sean Spicer, I wouldn't be doing this list any justice. Maybe our political system is a bit messy right now, but it's creating such an onslaught of comedy gold that we've got more than enough to be distracted with. Similarly, I probably could have created an entire post dedicated to The Grammys, but instead I've been sprinkling the videos across posts this week. I particularly enjoyed Weeknd's performance of I Feel It Coming with Daft Punk, though.

In the world of regular videos, The Weeknd made sure to keep his name circulating with visuals for Reminder. In the video you may see Drake, Travis Scott, and A$AP Rocky partaking in the expensive cars and private jet with Abel. Must be nice to have so many friends in high places. In case you forgot about Alex and Drew for a minute, they got back in the limelight with their new video for Paris. Man they really meant that "if we go down, then we go down together" line because there was a lot of falling from heights in their new one. Luckily there was a soft landing, sort of like the couch in NxWorries performance of What More Can I Say on Fallon (see what I did there?). Who says you can't perform on stage in your jammies? I know Anderson .Paak doesn't care and neither should you...#NxWorries
The Weeknd and Daft Punk Perform Star Boy and I Feel It Coming at The Grammys

Melissa McCarthy IS Sean Spicer on SNL

The Weeknd - Reminder (Video)

The Chainsmokers - Paris (Video)

NxWorries Perform What More Can I Say on Fallon

Photo Credit: YouTube

"For Her I Cut All My Players, Mess Up My Salary Cap"

Listening to Wale's remix of Ed Sheeran's new one makes me nostalgic. About a decade ago, you could count on at least one well known rapper to go in on every single catchy pop single. Now that EDM is eating up all the remix usage, hearing a hot 16 over an Ed Sheeran joint is a novelty.

One word of caution before pressing play below, it's basically the original track after Wale's verse. In other words, the remix basically ends at the 1:05, so feel free and carry on if you're not in the mood to hear Ed's infectious vocals. As a bonus here's his performance of the track at The Grammys last weekend. Needless to say he killed it when he built the beat from scratch and rocked it solo...#ShapeOfYou


Ed Sheeran - Shape of You (Wale Remix)

Videos of the Week February 19th

You'd be hard pressed to find a more stacked week for videos. Truth be told, it was hard narrowing down the ten or so videos that were in the running for the top five. Between the Grammy performances and Kanye performing on SNL, there was a lot of content to pick from. In my opinion, the Kendrick Lamar and Justin Bieber/Jack U performances were the most memorable, but I'd give Lady Gaga's David Bowie tribute a solid honorable mention. And as far as Kanye goes, I don't really have word for Ultra Light Beams. It's dramatic, it's emotional and it's everything you'd expect in a Kanye performance.

In the land of non-live performances, Flume came through with some trippy and emotional visuals for his new single Never Be Like You. Love everything about the slow trap movement, which includes slow bangers like that one. And for some a humorous ending to the week, there's the third incarnation of musician Mean Tweets from the Kimmel Show. My favorite digs were on Ed Sheeran, Common and of course the creative Mumford jab in the end was worthy of mentioning...#MeanTweets
Kendrick Lamar Performs The Blacker the Berry and Alright at The Grammys

Jack U and Bieber Performance at The Grammys

Flume feat Kai - Never Be Like You (Video)

Kanye West Performs Ultra Light Beams With Chance the Rapper on SNL
Mean Tweets Music Edition #3 on Kimmel

Photo Credit: CBS

Videos of the Week February 13th

The Grammys were without a doubt the big ticket item this week in the world of videos. While I was tempted to do a top 5 Grammy videos, I felt like picking a top two out of the many videos would be more impactful. That being said, it was a tough decision, but Sia's Kristen Wiig and Maddie Ziegler assisted performance of Chandelier and Common & John Legend's emotional rendition of Glory were my favorites. What pushes Glory to the top are the real life social issues that continue to make the lyrics and message of the song extremely apropos for 2015. Honorable mention performances include Sam Smith and Mary J's performance of Stay With Me and Ed Sheeran performing Thinking Out Loud With John Mayer, Herbie Hancock & Questlove.

Grammys aside, the Imagine Dragons video for Shots was extremely well done. Watching the Incpetion-like visuals made me like the song more, which is exactly what a video should do. In other news, Charles Barkley still is comical anytime he swings a gold club, especially when Jimmy Fallon is there to observe. And last but not least, I'm still trying to wrap my head around Drake's new short film Jungle. I appreciated the nostalgic look back at where he came from and getting to see firsthand how his music began opening up doors. If it's meant to show what a day in the life looks like for him to generate empathy, then mission accomplished. Either way, it's thought provoking, which isn't a bad thing...#Jungle
Imagine Dragons - Shots (Video)

Drake - Jungle (Short Movie)

Sia - Chandelier (Live at Grammys feat Kristen Wiig & Maddie Ziegler)

Common & John Legend - Glory (Live at the Grammys)

Jimmy Fallon: Hallway Golf with Hugh Grant & Charles Barkley

Photo Credit: YouTube

Kendrick Lamar...Hip Hop's New Leader

Wow doesn't really do justice to the ferocity of Kendrick Lamar's performance last night on The Grammys. Today I've heard numerous people who have no business talking about Hip Hop throwing all sorts of compliments K Dot's way. It feels like his buzz gotten to the point that it's "cool" to like Kendrick Lamar, which speaks to his meteoric rise. He's the first rapper since Eminem whose talent has allowed him to stay true to rapping because people aren't put off by his at times abrasive lyrics. In case you missed it, check out the awe-inspiring performance below...

The best part about the performance is that the folks at KIDinaKORNER/Interscope Records had the Radioactive Remix up on iTunes before the performance was over. I can't tell you how many times a great song either leaks or the stream is released weeks in advance of consumers being able to purchase it. What a great surprise to be able to purchase it right after seeing the performance.

Even more dap is in order for Macklemore who admittedly thought Kendrick was robbed of album of the year. His performance was inspiring in it's own right, but it's refreshing to hear that he understood how historically good Kendrick's debut album was. Just a great, feel good night in general, but I was extremely proud of how Hip Hop represented themselves last night...#Grammys

Imagine Dragons ft. Kendrick Lamar – Radioactive (Remix)

Videos of the Week January 17th

Definitely a Hip Hop centric top five this week. Not sure about y'all, but I have my DVR set to record SNL this weekend with Drake hosting it. The promo for the show (below) is a bit over the top, but the whole "saddest boy in all of Toronto...no you know what Canada" bit around the 1 min mark with the heavy daytime-tv style dramatic acting was entertaining. I hope he continues to poke fun at himself for the generally accepted reputation of being a sensitive dude.

Really cool get a behind the scenes look and some reflection from K Dot as a promo for the Grammys. In a similar way, I'm excited to see more of Wale's documentary soul-searching trip to Africa. A one minute snip doesn't even begin to tell the story, but it looks interesting. From a user experience (UX) design perspective, it was cool to hear Pharrell talk about the experience he tries to create through his music. People may not realize it, but the producers that care THAT much about the opinion and perspective of the listener tend to be the best ones. Keeping with the UX lens, Bobby Ray's video for John Doe was well done with the storytelling angle he took. Even though it was a tough story to watch, it's much easier to connect with lyrics when I can see the meaning unfold in a real scenario...#JohnDoe
Drake Saturday Night Live Promo

Day in the Life: Grammy Nominee James Blake & Kendrick Lamar

B.O.B. feat Priscilla - John Doe

Pharrell Just Wants You to Jam

Wale - "I Am From" Documentary Trailer

Photo Credit: YouTube via NBC

Videos of the Week June 28th

In case you've been living under a rock and haven't seen the hundreds of Samsung commercials that Jay-Z has been putting out, I should probably let you know his new Magna Carta Holy Grail album is coming out in then next week. As much as I kid, I'm pretty pumped to give the high octane, super-produced album a listen. I enjoyed Wale and Big Boi's new visuals and it was pretty cool to see some genuine excitement from Drizzy as he made his whole crew take shots out of his Grammy. If you want some shock and awe, give cute little Aaralyn's death metal a listen...#ShockValue
Jay-Z Magna Carta Holy Grail "One Too Many" Commercial
Wale feat Sam Dew - LoveHate Thing (Video)

Drake Receives His Grammy...Then Takes a Shot Out of It

Big Boi - The Thickets (Video)

6-Year Old Little Girl Screaming Death Metal on America's Got Talent

"Starships Are Meant to Fly, Hands Up and Touch the Sky"

Man what a week it's been for @nickiminaj. First she turns heads at the Grammys with a performance that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Then she turns around the next day and releases her new single Starships on iTunes. Coincidence? I think not, especially since I had some co-workers who are not at all in touch with modern pop music tell me that they had never heard of Nicki until they saw her performance on the Grammys.

What did I think of it? I think it was a blatant attention grab in an attempt to get people talking about her. I say that because I really enjoy her music, but was more than a little confused at where she was going with the whole exorcism/Catholicism on blast shock and awe display at the Grammys. I know, I know, no publicity is bad publicity, but for me as a fan, if you're going to sell your soul to the devil and play provocateur to try and increase your reach, there's gotta be some downside. When I say downside, I mean if you want me to take your music seriously then keep making good music like your new single below and be yourself. The whole Roman alter-ego is unique, but I'm not really buying your songs when you dip into that persona. Keep doing your barbie thing and turning heads that way, it's unique enough to set you apart from the next female Hip Hop artist.

Like I said above, I'm a huge fan of your new single Starships featuring the stellar production of @redone_official. It's a great mix of vocals and dance with a candy sweet hook. Keep this up on Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded and I'll continue to keep singing your praises...#April3rd

Nicki Minaj - Starships (prod by RedOne)

|iTunes

Bonus: I'm not sure if this is going to make the cut for Roman Reloaded, but I'm an even bigger buyer of her new track Young Forever. Apologies for the slight tags on the track, but you can bet as soon as the full tagless version drops I will be posting the hell out of it. S/O to @thedoctorluke on production on the track...

Nicki Minaj - Young Forever (prod by Dr. Luke)(tags)

|iTunes

Hip Hop Grammy Performances

Really doe, Esparanza (@espespalding)??? C'MON MAN (Keyshawn Johnson voice)!! #TheGrammysHateHipHop. Need some evidence that Grammy voters are a little long in the tooth? Welp, you could say there was a whole crime scene's worth last night. The fact everyone had to Google who beat out Drake and Biebs for best new artist is a joke. I get it, I get it it's funny a BASSist conquered all Hip Hop acts...ha ha mo h r f c in HA! Still was an entertaining night though, check the videos below...

Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Florence Welch, Martina McBride & Yolanda Adams - Aretha Franklin Tribute

Bruno Mars, B.o.B & Janelle Monae - Nothin On You/Grenade/Cold War

Lady Gaga - Born This Way

Justin Bieber & Usher - Never Say Never/OMG

Cee-Lo Green - Forget You (w/ Gwyneth Paltrow)

Eminem, Dr. Dre, Rihanna & Skylar Grey - Medley

Rihanna & Drake - What's My Name

One Album Later...7 Grammy Nominations for Bruno Mars

Kinda proud today that the two artists who made the biggest splash in 2010 were awarded with the most Grammy Nominations. Without a doubt, the best album of the year was Eminem's Recovery and in line with that was his ten Grammy Nominations. I'm not naive enough to think that those 10 nominations came just from his previous album, but instead from his unique ability to stand out in a world where he doesn't stereotypically fit, combining razor sharp wit with raw lyrics delivered with emotion. I'll be the first to admit, I was critical of him as he went through the drug years, making made overly corny, half assed music on Encore (somewhat) and Relapse (definitely). Because I was so critical and I had been such a fan of his spirited efforts prior on the Slim Shady LP and Marshall Mathers LP, I made it a goal to go out of my way to write and hype up his 180 turn around on Recovery when he went back to his passionate, hungry, perfectionist ways. Dude is truly a rose that grew from concrete and as abrasive as his music continues to be with all his domestic violence filled verses, you can't help but admire every bit of his struggle he continues his intellectual assault verse after verse. Congrats @eminem...

As far as my man Bruno, there's little doubt who should be breakthrough artist of the year. Listen below to @brunomars react to his seven nominations...

Given that the music he makes is more than a little pop, it's not a huge surprise he's getting so much Grammy dap, but still, it's nice to see great work rewarded and the fact that his music crosses generations in appeal should vault him to levels unreached by any Hip Hop act. Hopefully he can keep following it up with great music and albums to come...kinda like the song below which managed to find it's way on the interwebs today. A mixed tempo track with a fire hot hook, leaning on the vocals that took him to the place he is now...a pop icon who is now being formally recognized at the highest level.

Bruno Mars - Killa On the Run

|iTunes

Lil Wayne, Eminem & Drake Perfrom "Drop the World" and "Forever" at the Grammys

After receiving info from a hidden source a lil after 9pm last night that Lil Wayne and Eminem were going to perform Drop the World live at the Grammys, I instantly became glued to the set in anticipation. Even better, it was supposed to be followed by Forever, which would add to the mix the #1 draft pick in the land, Drizzy Drake.

About a month ago, I raved about how epic of a collaboration Lil Wayne and Eminem turned Drop the World into and last night I wasn't the least bit let down after watching them perform it live.

I do have a lot to say about last night at the Grammys, mostly centering around said performance so here goes...

First off, I couldn't agree more with many of the points David D over at The Smoking Section, a blog I frequent daily (they have over 14 million views in 5 years for good reason and it's not just because TSS contributor MZ bleeds the same Scarlet and Gray as ya boy), made about the performance.

The first and most glaring observation had to do with the annoying censorship overkill done by CBS in a desperate CYA attempt. Evidently I wasn't the only one who felt this, as many others were also upset at the 10 second at a time bleeps during the performance...it almost sounded like they were trying to make it seem as if there were serious technical difficulties, like some fat guy had literally fallen on the bleep button and couldn't find a way to get off of it. To illustrate my point, directly below I'm going to post the "uncensored version" of the performance, which is PG-13 at worst since Lil Wayne, Eminem and Drake all made concerted efforts to personally edit their own words before CBS aggressively muted them.


Why CBS would willingly make the last performance of the night, which is generally saved for the biggest and most anticipated act, a mute fest that relies on visual rather than sound is beyond me and came off as such a "safe move" that I wanted to get sick. I will applaud whoever planned the Grammy's for being smart enough (hmm why smart? $$$) to make this performance the closing act and thus recognizing that this form of music is now the second most consumed form of music behind Rock (when Rap & R&B are combined to make Hip Hop). Which then brings me to my next beef with the whole dog and pony show that the Grammy's has become.

I'm going to borrow David D's words a bit and second his notion that the Grammy's have become borderline exploitation of the genre of Hip Hop. How is that you might ask? 1) No Hip Hop albums were even nominated for Album of the Year. 2) Most of the Hip Hop awards were given off camera.

On top of that, David D put it best by saying:

"But Heavenly Lord almighty in a kangaroo pouch, nobody on this planet is going to convince me that Taylor Swift had the best album of the year and should be winning the same awards Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder won before her. Going from Thriller to Fearless is like having sex with Halle Berry then doing anal with Star Jones’ liposucked fat juices."
-David D of TSS

A little graphic with the anal-ogy but funny and true nonetheless. Unfortunately, Hip Hop is still too "vulgar" and "risky" to be given it's fair due at music's most celebrated award show, but I guess if you want to take a positive outlook on the situation it's better to be whored out to the masses in an attempt to gain ratings than to be completely slept on and not talked about.

Aside from all that venting and criticism of the Grammy's I was still extremely proud of how well the three artists Drake, Eminem and Lil Wayne absolutely held down the whole Hip Hop game to the fullest. When you hear stories about how Eminem approached Drake at rehearsal, offering him support in undoubtedly the biggest show he's ever performed, everything surrounding the performance ending up generating a lot of positivity for the culture as a whole. The fact that a seasoned industry legend like Eminem would go out of his way to give the rookie rising star some advice like a Senior on the basketball team would be to the All American Freshman before playing in the National Championship made me feel like all these different generations of Hip Hop are coming together a bit and lookin' out for each other. Really helps when you can look across the stage at someone who has been there before and is unphased by the moment and gain strength from their mere presence.

Travis Barker gave the performance a shot of life on the drums, Lil Wayne brought the energy, Eminem was on point with every word...and I mean every when I say it, and Drake was able to have that kid in a candy store, I made it moment where for the first time he was able to perform in front of millions of people...and it was evident with his ear to ear smile of being in the moment at the end of the performance...word is bond, I got a chill watchin' it.

My only hope is that next year we get a little bit of fair representation from the Grammy's so Hip Hop can become less of a side piece and more of a wifey or girl you'd take home to meet mom and dad. Follow me?