Hard to imagine a more versatile producer than Skrillex. After running EDM for years and recently conquering pop with Bieber, he's now dabbling in dancehall. On So Am I, he set the table nicely for Ty Dolla $ign and Damian Marley to vibe back and forth over a laid back island flavored beat. Sure, there are some Skrillex-esque echoing synths mixed in, but man those vocals are addicting. At this point Skrillex could make country music and I'd still tune in. He can do it fast or slow, turnt or laid back, it all works for him. Word has it this nugget will be landing on Ty's upcoming Beach House 3 album. In the meantime, hit up Spotify or iTunes for the single below...#SoAmI
Ty Dolla $ign feat Damian Marley & Skrillex - So Am I
For those of you who thought Ludacris lost a step...feel free and take a seat. His new one, appropriately titled Vitamin D, is another trophy on his mantle piece of stellar singles. Equipped with a Thong Song beat sample and a vocal assist from Ty Dolla $ign, there was plenty to sink your teeth into.
The real gold, though, is baked into the lyrics that will have you blushing and cracking up throughout the track. If there's one thing Luda has always done better than anyone else in Hip Hop, it's to be really salacious and vulgar in a playful way. He's got the witty banter and wordplay that will have you singing along no matter how outlandish the lyrics. For example, this classy one liner, "You need a U-Haul, if you leave me, woman, I'ma get blue balls." Needless to say, he's still a heavyweight in Hip Hop and this new banger is all the proof you need for that to continue to be true...#VitaminD
Couple interesting story lines baked into this week's top five. The first being the ultra sexy, Willy Wonka colored video for Jason Derulo's Swalla. Needless to say, the lyrical innuendo on the track manifested itself as well as you could have hoped in the video. Next, let me introduce you to DJ Hanzel, the German alter ego of Dillon Francis. As entertaining as he is, you could imagine why TBS sought him out for his own One Deeper Talks series. There are now seven short episodes in the series and two of them made this week's top five. If you're a fan of tongue in cheek humor and EDM, these will be right up your alley.
Just in case you forgot there was still social turmoil across the US, Run the Jewels took the liberties to bring that to the forefront like only they know how. Let's just say there's a police lineup and all signs point toward it being a setup. And last, but not least, I'm ending this week's top five on a heartfelt note with Sampha's Tiny Desk performance. The dude can flat out sign and all he needs is a crowd and his piano to put on a show. Tip of the cap Sampha, you rocked that tiny desk and had us all on pins and needles...#TinyDesk
Jason Derulo feat Nicki Minaj & Ty Dolla $ign - Swalla (Video)
DJ Hanzel (Dillon Francis) Interviews Calvin Harris on One Deeper Talks
DJ Hanzel (Dillon Francis) Interviews Flosstradamus on One Deeper Talks
Out of all weeks, this was the week for awe inspiring performances. That's not to discount the two buzz worthy music videos in this week's top five, but the live acts were on point like a decimal this week. Led by Chance the Rapper's stunning all-star collabo turned reprise performance of Blessings on Fallon there was a clear pecking order of the top three live acts. Following close behind was Big K.R.I.T., dressed as a police officer, delivering an incredibly passionate spoken word performance of Kenneth Whalum's Might Not Be Ok. There have been many Black Lives Matter protests, but this one seemed to strike a chord with me and all that were watching. Rounding out the performances was everyone's favorite new pop song from The Weeknd. Performing on SNL, he truly stole the show, balancing swagger with harmony like a champ.
If you're able to sneak past the live videos, then have no fear, Kygo has you covered with his new video with Julia Michaels for Carry Me. It was good enough to close out the Olympics, so you better believe the video came correct. And in case you were living under a rock the past 24 hours, you may have missed Bruno Mars' new single. It's filled with as much dancing and funk as you'd hope for in a Bruno single. I wouldn't go as far as calling it Uptown Funk part two, but the similarities exist. Either way it's a fun watch and you'd better get used to hearing it because Top 40 radio isn't going to get tired of 24K Magic for a while...#24KMagic
Chance the Rapper Performs Blessings (Reprise) on Fallon with Anthony Hamilton, Ty Dolla $ign, Chano, Raury, and D.R.A.M
Big K.R.I.T.'s Spoken Word Performance for Black Lives Matter at BET Awards
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)
It'd be going a bit far to say that Kanye is back to making legendary music, but all signs are pointing that direction. His success has always come from his ability to produce music and tell a story. Keeping that in mind, it's no surprise that he's received overwhelmingly positive reviews for his new single Real Friends.
Songs like Real Friends are a reason why I will always be willing to give Kanye respect. On the track he did what he usually does, pulling together a lot of talented pieces including an assist from Ty Dolla $ign on the verses and Boi-1da on the beat. And while you'll never anoint 'Ye as the greatest rapper of all time, you can't hate on his ability to come equipped with raw emotion when he gets into storytelling mode. Not the rapping about clothes and cars Kanye, the one who speaks about real issues that people can associate with. Maybe common folk don't have to worry about having real friends as much as he does, but it's nonetheless one of those rare down to earth glimpses into his genius...#RealFriends
What makes a track interesting you ask? In the case of Diplo's new track featuring Edward Droste (of Grizzly Bear) and Rostam Batmanglij (of Vampire Weekend), it's the history of the beat and the unique collaboration that ended up coming to fruition. For a brief history on the beat, rewind a couple weeks back when Ty Dolla $ign's new Diplo and DJ Dahi produced single Stand For found it's way onto the interwebs. Coincidentally enough, the video for the track dropped last week, so below is "ridin' through my city" tour of LA...
So yea, pretty awesome Hip Hop beat, all things considered. But wait...there's more! Maybe the beat was meant to an Indie hit all along? Rarely can a beat be twisted in two different directions and have a favorable result, but boy did they pull it off. Who's got a coin to flip to pick which one I like better? This is why music and more specifically, producers are awesome. They have so much influence over the experience of a track and when they have connections scattered all over the music industry, they can pull off amazing feats like the two songs mentioned in this post. Slow hand clap for dippy do da himself for puppeteering all this awesomeness...#LongWayHome
Diplo feat Edward Droste (of Grizzly Bear) & Rostam Batmanglij (of Vampire Weekend) - Long Way Home
People may bag on Lupe for his unfiltered style and, at times, overpoliticized verses, but his ceiling as an artist is much higher than most. When his music clicks he has the ability to perfectly match a beat and hook to his style of verses. The latest example is his powerful new single Deliver featuring vocals from Ty Dolla $ign.
If you read between the lines and listen to the lyrics, there's a clear spotlight on inner city violence. It takes a bit of genius to craft a sing-along hook that not-so-subtly points out something that would seem outlandish to 99% of people listening. Violence is so bad in certain places that you can't even get pizza delivered to your house anymore? Sadly, that's probably true and thanks to Lupe, our perspective is forever changed. Tetsuo & Youth is coming soon after the New Year, you now have your permission to get your hopes up about the quality of the album...#LupeFiasco
Feel free and file this under the "you must be living under a rock if you haven't heard this track" category. Like many songs that ascend to the top of the US pop music chart, it can become tough to avoid certain tracks. When I say avoid, what I mean is you find yourself singing it to yourself even though you have no idea what the song is called or who it is by. Well, THAT song happens to be by up and coming Canadian band MAGIC! and their song Rude clearly has a potent combination of harmony and laid back reggae vibes. Check the original for more visual information about who they are...
Like catnip to feline, Hip Hop just couldn't stay away. Under the direction of Travis Barker, Kid Ink and Ty Dolla $ign threw together a few bars to put their own West Coast stamp on the track. The remix isn't much of a departure from the original, but if you're MAGIC!, you've got to love it when other genres start dabbling in your own homemade sauce. Led by Nasri on the vocals, The reggae fusion band must be doing something right because they have found a way to unseat Magic the Gathering for the top SEO result on Google for Magic. Feel free and check out their new album Don't Kill the Magic that has been on shelves since early June...#WhyYouGottaBeSoCruel
What...in...the...hell? This might be the corniest track lyrically in the past decade. The degree of selling out that it takes to get to this end result is so obscene it's almost admirable.
The frustrating part about it is that it's actually a bangin' track if you manage to not get caught up in the lyrics. Kill The Noise and Madsonik craft a trap beat that is 100% dope and the one two punch of Juicy J and Wiz is formidable. The most surprising part from my perspective was Ty Dolla $ign closing it down with authority on the final verse. I'd go as far to say this could have been one of the best Hip Hop EDM collaborations to date if the powers that be didn't go so far out of their way to make the lyrics "kid friendly" and movie relevant that it became the focus of the track. It is what it is, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie comes out on August 15th if you're interested in hearing this on the big screen...#TNMT
And just when you thought Kenny Powers was gone for good, here he comes for Season 4 of Eastbound and Down. Honestly, I'm more than a little intrigued to see where the plot ventures off to now that Kenny seems to be done with baseball. As long as it involves Danny McBride being a complete as$hole, it'll find a way to be entertaining.
Not sure if you've caught it or not, but Drake interviews have been aplenty of late with Nothing Was the Same on the horizon. Just over two weeks left til it drops, which explains why he's saying things like "I aspire to be Marvin Gaye." It's nice to hear that he's not ever going to ever make a 100% Hip Hop album and stray away from what got him to the point he's at now. I still wish I coulda made it to the Made in America Festival last weekend. Ah, how I miss Philly! I've posted a few Decoded videos, but in general I'm a huge fan of the Life & Times series. Oh and Bone Thugs is back, which is good for Hip Hop in general...#BTNH
Eastbound and Down Season 4 Trailer
Made in America Festival Highlights - Jay Z Watching Deadmau5
Drake Aspires to be Marvin Gaye
Big Sean - First Chain (Decoded)
Bone Thugs feat Ty Dolla $ign - Everything 100 (Video)
You ever wonder, "man what ever happened to Bone Thugs?" I'll put it this way, you remember when they released BTNH: Resurrection back in 2000? To put things in perspective, they were already coming back thirteen years ago and that was the last time one of their studio albums went platinum. Sure, their Greatest Hits also went platinum in 2004, but still, they haven't created new music like they did in the 1990s in quite a while. Maybe it was the record labels changing, maybe it was because all of the members weren't entirely present during some of the albums between 2000 and 2010, maybe it was because they simply weren't making great music like they used to.
Whatever the reason was, it's in the rear now that their new single Everything 100 dropped. Two decades later, they can still spit in their laid back, easy to understand way that made them the poster child for Hip Hop success in the 1990s. All members are on deck (Bizzy, Flesh, Krayzie, Layzie, Wish) for their new one that features the vocals of Ty Dolla $ign and production on DJ Felli Fel and Wundermine. Word has it the group is releasing the single in preparation for their upcoming Rock the Bells performances. No word of any new music beyond that, but I think we can all come to the consensus that the world could always use more Bone Thugs...#Everything100
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony feat Ty Dolla $ign (prod by Wundermine & DJ Felli Fel) - Everything 100
