VIdeos of the Week November 17th

It was definitely a performance-centric top five this week. Led by Travis Scott's memorable performance at the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards, the week got off to a noteworthy start. Not sure about y'all, but I would be pretty hesitant to be jumping around while performing when I'm standing on top of a giant floating bird about 30 ft about the crowd. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Butterfly Effect and the performance was lit, but join me in hoping he never falls off that big, menacing bird.

On a less dangerous note, both Daft Punk and RL Grime put out tour videos this week to give everyone a glimpse of what they're missing. Having recently seen RL live, it was cool to be reminded of how hype of a show he's capable of putting on. Switching to a more calming, intimate setting, Anime did his thing on NPR's Tiny Desk stage this week. He cycled through a few Good For You favorites like Caroline, Slide, and Wedding Crashers during the short set. And of course last, but always the most entertaining, Macklemore stole the show with his Corner Store performance on Fallon. Such an uplifting track and those horns man...such a solid track...#CornerStore

Travis Scott Rode His Huge Bird Performing at the EMA's

Daft Punk Alive Tour Video

RL Grime - Nova Tour Video Part 1

Anime Puts on a Tiny Desk Concert

Macklemore, Dave B & Travis Thompson Perform Corner Store on Fallon

Photo Credit: YouTube

"I'm Luke Skywalkin' on These Haters, Splish!"

What happens when smooth R&B meets the king of ad libs? Well, it's as smooth as you could imagine with both Miguel and Travi$ Scott trading sing-songy verses back and forth over a calm beat. Sky Walker is a laid back, flossy track that fits the pool party vibe exemplified in the new fresh new video below...



My only comment is why how the crowded bath tub got into the mix? Must be extra lit when you can jump in a crowded pool with two bunnies rather than spread out in a pool or in the sauna? Somebody will have to explain that one to me. Video aside, it's further proof that Travi$ Scott can slide into just about any track and sound right at home. I've always been of the mindset that auto-tune can be a craft too. If it were that easy to be successful using autotune wouldn't everyone do it? Yea, that's what I thought, or as the homie Travis says "Strrraight UP!...#SkyWalker

Miguel feat Travi$ Scott - Sky Walker

Mike Dean Delivers a Tour Version of Goosebumps

Even though Mike Dean stays behind the scenes making a lot of the music from your favorite artists, my ears perk up when he drops a breadcrumb or two on remixes. The latest example is his Tour Version remix of Travis Scott and Kendrick's Goosebumps. The remix isn't a huge departure from the original, but there's much more of an ebb and flow with the tempo breaks added on the remix.

In related news, if you're wondering where the moodiness of Kanye's music comes from look no further than Mike's new single Three Jewels. The edgy synths and reverb bass remind me of tracks like Love Lockdown off 808s and Heartbreak. Diving deep on the inner workings of who is responsible for music being successful is something I geek out on. You may not care about the ingredients as long as the final product sounds good, but without knowing the ingredients, I wouldn't have an appreciation for the Mike Deans of the world...#Goosebumps

BONUS - check Mike doing his thing in studio back in 2015...

Travis Scott feat Kendrick Lamar - Goosebumps (Mike Dean Remix / Tour Version)

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

Videos of the Week July 14th

For whatever reason, this week was dominated by huge music video releases. It seems more like the exception than the norm for a week's top five to be so heavily skewed toward music videos, but such was the case this week. Led by the action packed visuals from Dillon Francis and G-Eazy's Say Less video, there was plenty of bottle smashing fun littered throughout. Then, Macklemore did a complete 180 on his video for Glorious where he took his grandma around town to celebrate her 100th birthday. In hindsight, the vibe of the track fits perfectly for the celebration of life, so kudos to Macklemore for sharing the moment with all of us.

Then things got a little trippy on Travis Scott's Butterfly Effect video. Don't care what the critics say, that track goes hard and I have a really hard time skipping past it when it plays. In case that first dose of Travis Scott wasn't enough, he made an appearance in the dance heavy video for Know No Better. I'm not exactly sure what story is trying to be told other than kids that are picked on can still get girls too through their dance moves? Last, but most expensive was literally everything about deadmau5's new studio. Such a cool behind the scenes look of all the bells, whistles, nobs, and keys the make up his arsenal of music making equipment. Not sure about y'all, but I was impressed by the amount of analog based sound machines and old keyboards he had. If you had an inkling that he cares about his craft, your perception should remain unchanged...#deadmau5Studio

Dillon Francis feat G-Eazy - Say Less (Video)

Macklemore feat Skylar Grey - Glorious (Video)

Travis Scott - Butterfly Effect (Video)

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

A Behind the Scenes Look at deadmau5's Studio

Photo Credit: YouTube

"My Lil' Baby on Thick, Thick"

Here we go again with this laid back, carefree vibe from Calvin Harris. Don't Quit just surfaced on DJ Khaled's new Grateful album, but it fits like a glove with everything Calvin Harris has put out the past three months. Slide, Rollin', Heatstroke, and Feels have all followed the same sound...to the point that it's starting to sound manufactured. The reason I'm being so critical of the sound is because I know Calvin is capable of so much more than what's amounting to formulaic pop music featuring buzzy artists. Maybe I'm in the minority with that take, but if there's one thing I can't stand, it's seeming like you're making music that you think people will like. There's a thin line between trend setting and trend matching that I feel like he's walking right now.

Aside from the whole Calvin Harris beef above, I was a fan of Travis $cott's sing-songy autotune and Jeremih's vocal contribution. Of course I could have done without Khaled's hypeman style ad-libs that are so played out they sound like white noise. I get it though, branding and all. The good news is that this has some potential for being a standout track on a compilation album, which is exactly what Khaled's new album is. It's all over the place stylistically, but that's cool as long as it's expected from the start. Head on over to iTunes or Spotify for a few laps around the album...#DontQuit

DJ Khaled feat Travis $cott, Calvin Harris, and Jeremih - Don't Quit

Videos of the Week June 2nd

What better way to welcome the summer months than a top five chalked full of Hip Hop goodness. Led by Kendrick Lamar and his flying car, Perfect Pint was the lead off hitter this week needed. I can't speak to the random animals, unicorns, or super-imposed Gucci Mane in the video, but it made for a chaotic watch. If a much more chill, SoCal Hip Hop video is more up your alley, then Mura Masa and Desiigner have your back. Let's just say Desiigner has never been accused of a lack of energy and that was evident in the video. If you're a Nike fan, then you can move right past Travis Scott's new Way Back video because it's one big James Harden Addidas commercial. Can't hate on the cross culture collabo between Hip Hop and NBA talents, but it comes off a bit too opportunistic for my liking. Speaking of opportunistic, how about Lil Yachty making a fashion splash in his first TV performance. Do the words Lloyd Christmas mean anything to you? Suffice to say, he pulled it off like a champ.

And in case you're not into Hip Hop videos, rounding out the top five is a trailer for the new four part HBO documentary detailing the come up of Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine. It'll have cameos from the likes of Snoop, Will.i.am, and Eminem cameos, the series will have all the big names you'd hope would help tell the story. The Defiant Ones will premiere on July 9th, so set your DVRs y'all...#DefiantOnes

Mike Will Made It feat Kendrick Lamar, Gucci Mane, Rae Sremmurd - Perfect Pint (Video)

Mura Masa feat Desiigner - All Around the World (Video)

Travis Scott feat James Harden - Way Back (Video)

Lil Yachty Performs Bring It Back on Kimmel

The Defiant Ones: Cut To The Chase Tease (HBO)

Photo Credit: YouTube

"Save That Talk for the Ones Who Don't Know No Better"

Just when you thought it would be an average Thursday, Major Lazer drops a new 6 song EP out of the blue. That news alone is exciting, but when you add to it a title track featuring the likes of Travis Scott, Camila Cabello and Migos' own Quavo, it gets much more exciting. It may not be the tribal, booty-shake anthem you were hoping, but it is a fun mish-mash of styles and deliveries. Led by Travis Scott and Camila's sing-songy vocals and some auto-tune mastery by Quavo, the beat finds a way to take a back seat to the talent on the mic. Like any self-respecting release, the song's release came equipped with a fun lyric video too. Check it out, as well as iTunes or Spotify if you're like me and eager to see what the other five songs on the EP sound like...#KnowNoBetter



Major Lazer feat Travis Scott, Camila Cabello & Quavo - Know No Better

"M&M's, Sweet Like Candy Cane"

Last week I made a best of Travis Scott playlist in an attempt to reel in all my favorite tracks of his throughout the years. Of the favorites, Dance on the Moon, Wonderful, and Oh Me Oh My stood out as a top three, but that was before I heard his new one below. Butterfly Effect deserves to be in the same upper echelon as the top three because it has exactly what the other tracks have. It has a mellowed out beat with sing-songy vocals and sharp ad-libs mixed throughout. Credit to Murda Beatz for setting the tone on this one. His simple, but somehow not monotonous steady clapping beat with quiet synths painted a perfect canvas to showcase Travis's wide range of vocals and bars. I can't honestly tell you what in the hell the song is about, but it doesn't matter because each time I listen, I find myself trying to sing along. A trademark of good Hip Hop is that it can be about nothing at all and the audience still feels compelled to try and keep up with their own vocals. Travis had mastered that to a T, which means I'm going to keep falling for his mellowed out brand of Hip Hop with each release...#ButterflyEffect


Travis Scott - Butterfly Effect (prod by Murda Beatz)

Videos of the Week April 15th

This week was a special week in that it brought with it a clear candidate for video. Unsurprisingly, Lil Dicky was the mastermind behind the near 11 minute short movie that ended up being the crown jewel of this week's top five. I can't even really do justice trying to describe it, but I will warn that the first minute or so has a bit of nudity, so be mindful of the NSFW tag. Let's just say the video is a slow paced, non-linear train of thought style conversation that will take your imagination and sense of humor on a roller coaster of emotion. There's literally too much comedy gold in there, so feel free and reference the lyric Genius link as you watch.

On a whole different top four list, there was a slew of new music videos that were worthy of note. Let by Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar's haunting, CGI infused video for Goosebumps and Wale and G-Eazy's new spiffy visuals for Fashion week, Hip Hop ruled the roost on the music tip. An honorable mention goes to Major Lazer, Nicki Minaj, and PARTYNEXTDOOR for their house party with FaceTime themed video for Run Up. Closing out this week's top five was The Chainsmokers who made their SNL debut last weekend. Playing a small, quaint venue like Studio 8H isn't exactly what they're used to, but they found a way to deliver a solid performance. They won't be mistaken as rock stars stage presence wise, but Drew especially is coming into his own vocally, which is fun to watch. I for one am stoked to see them live in a few weeks when they come to Bill Graham. I'll see y'all there...#MemoriesDoNotOpen

Lil Dicky - Pillow Talk (Video) NSFW

Travis $cott feat Kendrick Lamar - Goosebumps (Video)

Wale feat G-Eazy - Fashion Week (Video)

Major Lazer Nicki Minaj, PARTYNEXTDOOR - Run Up (Video)

Chainsmokers Perform Paris on SNL

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week December 30th

In perfect 2016 fashion, I'm ending this year on a completely random, somewhat entertaining, yet slightly disappointing way. While I wouldn't characterize any of the following videos as must see, they all cater to a specific music demographic. If you're a diehard, music OG who supports artists who consistently put on stellar live shows, then you'll enjoy Bon Iver's BK warehouse and Yasiin Bey (Mos Def)'s Fallon performances. As a side note, it was heartwarming that Mos gave the NY folks a proper goodbye at the Apollo last week. I'm bummed to see him hanging up his mic, but he'll always be one of my favorite multi-dimensional performers.

If you're the type of person who geeks out over typical Hip Hop videos stocked with full-lambo tricks and video girls, then you'll appreciate Travis $cott's new video for Biebs in the Trap. Side note - watching Travis surprise his family with a new house was pretty cool. Continuing on, if you're the type who loves getting up on that new video everyone is watching then I need to introduce you to Moshow. He's a rapper/cat enthusiast who released an awesome new video promoting washing and adopting cats. Can't make that stuff up, you just have to watch. Finally, looking forward to 2017, Movie Pilot put together a two and a half minute movie trailer montage for all the films you're looking forward to in 2017. If you're a cliff notes type of person, this one is perfect for you. Happy new year y'all...#Welcome2017

Bon Iver Live at the Pioneer Works Warehouse in Brooklyn (presented by NPR)

Yasiin Bey Performs Seaside Panic Room and N.A.W. on Fallon

Travis $cott - Biebs in the Trap (Video)

Moshow Raps About Adopting Cats

2017 Epic Movie Trailers Montage

Photo Credit: Facebook

"And Everything I Do, I Do It Three Ways"

If you haven't figure it out by now, I'm a big fan of this heavy, sing-songy, auto-tune style that Travis Scott is rocking. The methodical, layered instrumentation always sucks me in and makes me forget about the generally dumbed down lyrics. If you're tuning in for some thought provoking stories, this style of music isn't going to be for you. But if you're in the mood for some heavy bass and an instrumental that sounds like the majority of what Kanye puts out, then you'll enjoy 3 Wayz. Speaking of the production, shout out to Hit-Boy for laying the ground work on the beat to set up Ty Dolla $ign and Travis for success. If you're digging this, it will be surfacing on Ty's upcoming Campaign album later this month. Play it loud if you're also someone who enjoys things in threes, like days in a weekend...#3Wayz

Ty Dolla $ign feat Travis Scott - 3 Wayz (prod by Hit-Boy)

"Feelin' Kinda Loose Off the Hooch"

There's something about Travi$ Scott's style that I can't get enough of. Part of has to do with the consistency of his beats, but his mix of sing-songy autotune verses and hooks are downright dope. I'll put it this way, I fully understand why Kanye leans on him as a collaborator because he mixes tempos and moods so well in his music. To a casual observer, his music may not sound all that special, but it's far from formulaic.

His new one, Hooch, is more or less an ode to his favorite bootleg liquor. Everyone has their on variety they like, but not all can put a song together to adequately describe it like Travis can. The track will be landing on his upcoming Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight album that will be landing on iTunes on August 26th. On the album, you can expect to see some of your favorites like Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi, and Cashmere Cat to name a few. Oh and don't expect to get a bunch of singles before now and then because Travis wants you to hear all of it at once rather than bleeding it out single by single...#TheHooch

I want y'all to take this album in as whole I'm so anti singles. U will love me for this. Trust in the flame

— TRAVIS SCOTT (@trvisXX) August 12, 2016

Travi$ Scott - The Hooch (prod by Vinylz)

Videos of the Week June 17th

Given the events of the last week in Orlando, it was legitimately hard to find fun, inspiring, non-political videos. Luckily artists like Bassnectar were there to save the day with tasteful, creative visuals. His video for Reaching Out was a carnival of illusion wrapped in mellow bass. If you were to watch one video this week, it would be that one.

Aside from that, Major Lazer chipped in a fairly typical Hip Hop video with an incredibly original cash, cars, and women theme. On the other hand, it was really cool to see the 2pac biopic starting to finally come to life. There have been rumors about it for a while, but a teaser trailer should ignite that movement. In the world of late night, both Fallon and Colbert found a way to inject some mindless comedy into an otherwise harsh week. Like only Fallon can, he teamed up with The Rock for an extremely awkward promo scene, while Colbert found an entertaining way to explain Net Neutrality in layman terms. I'm not sure I was able to keep up with a lot what the guy was saying on the roller coaster, but hey, kudos for the attempt to make the topic more exciting...#NetNeutrality
Bassnectar - Reaching Out (Video)

Major Lazer feat Travis Scott, 2 Chainz, Pusha T, Mad Cobra - Night Riders (Video)

All Eyez on Me (2pac Biopic) (Teaser Trailer)

Jimmy Fallon and The Rock Are Awkward Prom Dates

Colbert Explains Net Neutrality on a Roller Coaster

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week January 15th

This week's top five is all about variety. There's a bit of Trop House, Hip Hop, Pop and even some mashed up alternative. Led by the editing insanity of The Usual Suspect on his use of 183 movies to mash together Linkin Park's In the End, there was some high end novelty potential this week. No idea how long it took for him to create that video, but the nearly two million views are well deserved. Coming in close behind is a much tamer, but equally awesome performance Stole the Show from Kygo and Parson James on Ellen. Sidebar - Kygo killed it last night in SF.

In the realm of Hip Hop, DJ Mustard and Travis Scott led the way with their booty shake inducing new one Whole Lotta Lovin'. Speaking of booty shaking, the final two videos offer plenty of dancing. 99 Souls video for The Girl is Mine is about as fun as it gets with creative editing and interesting transitions. The final video of the week from Miike Snow is about as interesting and outlandish as it gets from a plot perspective. Picture a Dr. Evil-esque villain who is experiencing some bit of sexuality confusion. Then, he falls for the secret agent that he captures and lives happily ever after as a same sex couple. Can't make that type of stuff up, you just have to watch...#GhengisKhan
Kygo Performs Stole the Show on Ellen

Linkin Park's In the End Sung by 183 Movies

DJ Mustard feat Travis Scott - Whole Lotta Lovin' (Video)

99 Souls feat Destiny's Child & Brandy - The Girl is Mine (Video)

Miike Snow - Ghengis Khan (Video)

Photo Credit

"I Don't Need No Lip, Just a Whole Lotta Lovin'"

I've been impressed with how DJ Mustard has went from one of most well-known Hip Hop producers to an artist who has the capability of headlining a show. It's an evolution that not a lot of Hip Hop producers have been able to make and it speaks to his ability to produce a wide range of high energy music. Recently I've enjoy how he's been able to start catering to the electronic demo by bringing in some trap elements to his music.

Case in point, his new one, Whole Lotta Lovin', with Travis Scott. The track starts with a cooled out, snappy vibe, but by the time it gets to the hook it takes on a whole new personality. There's an EDM-esque build up that gradually works its way to the top before giving way to a trippy, bass heavy breakdown. It's not something I saw coming, but that's what made it so interesting. All in all, definitely one of my favorite tracks to date from Mustard...#WholeLottaLovin

DJ Mustard feat Travis Scott - Whole Lotta Lovin'

"Oh My, Oh My What a Wonderful Time"

It's as if The Weeknd was starting to worry that the public perception of him was full-on-pop the way he's been attacking the Hip Hop scene the past week. First it was his collaborations with Future on Low Life and Jeremih on Pass Dat, now it's Travis Scott.

With all due respect to the first two tracks, Wonderful is by far my favorite of the three. It has that type of gritty, bass heavy production that Kanye West fell in love with when he started shouting out Travis. Normally I get annoyed with the use of autotune, but there's something tasteful about the way Travis utilizes it that adds to the value of the track. It's hard to mess with a bangin' beat (shout out to T-Minus and Boi-1da), a couple catchy verses and a hook that listeners can latch onto with ease. Love everything about this collaboration because of how well these two artists' styles work together...#Wonderful

Travis Scott feat The Weeknd - Wonderful (prod by T-Minus & Boi-1da)

The Sky Keep on Fallin' With RL Grime & Salva

Yea, this is that dopiness you've been waiting on. Continuing a hot streak of Hip Hop songs turned Trap, RL Grime and Salva gave Travi$ Scott and Young Thug's Skyfall a shiny new paint job. For about the first minute, you're wondering what madness is going to ensue post drop. Then at the 55 second mark, you get a play-action-fake beat switch for ten seconds. That's when the addition of some heavy bounce is thrown in the mix with the bubbly synths.

After only a few listens, I'm not afraid to proclaim that this is one of my favorites from February. The depth and pace jives so well together that it hits home with the core of what I like going on between Hip Hop and electronic music right now. Best part about it, it's available for free via Soundcloud. Free things do come wrapped this nicely in packages, so do it justice and play it loud when you see that .part file become .mp3 in your downloads folder...#Skyfall

Travi$ Scott feat Young Thug - Skyfall (RL Grime & Salva Remix)

All Day Kanye - "Red Leather Jacket With the MJ Zippers"

So the Grammys are tonight and word has it Kanye is going to be debuting a new song at the award show. Presumably, the song will be his new collaboration with Travis $cott, All Day. A high-ish quality rip of the track has been circulating the past few days and can be played below. It's high quality enough for you to understand the hard-hitting beat and braggadocious vibe of the lyrics. While the song probably won't go down as one my favorites of his, it's equipped with more than enough energy and intensity to get the hype train rolling toward a new album.

In other news, Kanye actually did something randomly nice. While exiting House of Blues, he gave Cameron Grey a shot at impressing him with a few bars as he was walking to the car. Is this an effort to finally get some good publicity or was he actually impressed? I guess we shall soon see if anything becomes of this, but the skeptics out there will be following up, you can bet that...#CameronGrey

Kanye West feat Travis $cott - All Day

Ever Wondered What It Sounded Like to Drive in 1975?

For those of you who gave a full listen to Travi$ Scott's debut mixtape Owl Pharoah, the track below will sound familiar. It was one of the many highlights on a mixtape that put Travi$ on my radar as an artist to watch going forward. All that being said, I didn't envision a British Indie rock band remixing Drive at any point of time.

Enter The 1975. Last year the quartet from Manchester released a self titled debut album that found it's way to certified gold status. That fact combined with their silky smooth treatment to the track below has piqued my interest in the band. Boy did they make James Fauntleroy sound at home over the new beat. Feel free to add this to your latest cool out mix and keep an eye out for anything labeled The 1975...#The1975

Travi$ Scott feat James Fauntleroy - Drive (The 1975 Remix)