Videos of the Week July 20th

The onslaught of high powered videos continues this week with plenty of Hip Hop videos to go with a @nodoubt comeback video. I'm still wondering just what in the hell is going on in @liltunchi's My Homies Still video. Think of the most random yard sale ever and on top of that the most random things you could do with those objects. That's the video in a nutshell. You can expect the more typical Hip Hop videos from @meekmill and @MrTeriusNash, with more than a fair share of video girls.

On the other hand @neyocompound will satisfy those looking for a higher degree of visual entertainment and skill. Likewise for No Doubt, who seem to have maintained their sound through the years. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little anxious to explore their new album...#DontCallItAComeback

Lil Wayne feat Big Sean - My Homies Still (Video)

Meek Mill feat Drake - Amen (Video)

Ne-Yo - Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself) (Video)

The Dream feat Pusha T - Dope B***** (Video)

No Doubt - Settle Down (Video)

"You Should Listen to This Beat Through My Headphones"

The phrase highly anticipated seems like cliche hyperbole when @rickyrozay, @drdre and @S_C_ get together on a track. With God Forgives, I Don't about a week away from landing, the Funk Flex release of the new single is timed just right for getting some momentum going. Despite the high profile cast it still smells like a "street single" rather than typical hook driven promo/radio single. The lack of hook and continual head nod beat cooked up by @jakeuno are the streetworthy elements I'm basing my opinion on.

So does the high powered lyricism live up to the hype? Well..let's take a quick inventory on the verses. Dre got to shout out his headphones, Jigga got speak creatively about how embarrassingly rich he is and Ricky Rozay got to uh...you know...do his thing by rapping about the usual money, cash, cars. You could say it's all around par for the course given the cast and simple, get the job done beat. As I write this the track has gone from tagged to untagged too, so you could say it's getting some attention on the interwebs tonight.

If you like Rick Ross, you'll like this track. Post Port of Miami, I wouldn't call myself the biggest Raaaawwws fan, so I can respect the collabo, but it won't have a high replay value on my revolving daily iPod playlists, no matter how much I really try to like it. Still, all signs are pointing toward platinum for #GFID.

Rick Ross feat Dr. Dre & Jay-Z - 3 Kings (prod by Jake One)

|iTunes

JoJo Will Show You How It's Done

In my humble (daily) opinion, matching up @JoJoistheway and @OVO40 on a single together is a good look. Seeing that 40 is @Drake's right hand man when it comes to production, playing the R&B card isn't a stretch at all. I've said before that I'm not afraid to admit being a fan of JoJo and even though Demonstrate probably wouldn't rank in my top five favorite tracks of hers, it's still a solid all around effort.

The track will serve as the second single off Jumping Trains following her previously released Disaster. No word on a concrete release date on her Fall album, but it's becoming increasingly clear that she's breaking out the big guns this time around with @timbaland, @boi1da and @RodneyJerkins all making appearances on the album. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until August 28th to cop the track below on iTunes, but until then feel free to sample below. #TasteBeforeYouBuy

JoJo - Demonstrate (prod by Noah "40" Shebib)
|iTunes

"Hey They Givin' Out Degress For Studyin' Me"

I've learned over the past few years that whenever posting any track featuring @chuckisdope, I might as well attach the 808 Check label before even listening. It goes something like death, taxes and Chuck Inglish's trunk rattling bass. I'll take it one more step and say that his throwback, dumbed down style consistently finds a way to be trendsetting despite sounding "old school". That's not an easy thing to do, but any smart man knows it's easier to find a new use for the wheel than reinvent it...ya feel me?

Anyways, I'd imagine Back Up is going to surface on Chuck's new Convertibes LP due out October 7th. If you haven't already guessed, it will feature lyrics unlike his past two beat tapes Wrkout and Wrking. To me it doesn't really matter because the beats he's able to put together are downright disgusting. Don't be shy on the volume with the song below, it's meant to wake up the neighbors...#BassWins

Chuck Inglish - Back Up (Schoolin' pt.2)

Passion Pit - Constant Conversations

It's been a while since I dusted off my Indie hat, so here goes nothing. Word on the streets is that one of my favorite bands, @passionpit, is coming out with a new album titled Gossamer due out in about a week on July 24th. They're already two upbeat singles deep in the form of Take a Walk and I'll Be Alright, so it should come as no surprise that they slowed it down for #3.

Number three comes in the form of Constant Conversations, which is more of a dreamy, new school lullaby. If you listen closely, the lyrics are all about surviving in a world where people are going to use you when they need you and ignore you when they're whole. It's a subtle message buried deep within a track that sounds like a joyful sing along. While I'm inclined to tell you to go with the flow and lose yourself in the easygoing vibe of the track, it's never a bad thing to take a personal inventory of those in your life that don't just call you when they need you...#RealFriends

Passion Pit - Constant Conversations

|iTunes

"Pool Full of Liquor Then You Dive In It"

Word has it ya boy @kendricklamar's debut studio album good kid, m.A.A.d city is going to drop on October 2nd. I know, I know, what about Section 80 you ask? It was released independently, compared to his new one which will be backed by Aftermath/Interscope. It's  a slight difference that will involve a lot more money and high powered production features that should translate to 1000 times more exposure.

The goal for Kendrick's new track below is that it gains as much traction as his @drdre featured Cali anthem The Recipe. It'll come close because of the on point production donated by @ProducerTMinus and smooth, machine gun flow exhibited by Compton's prince. Shoot Kendrick even channel's his inner @eminem the back and forth alter ego dialog throughout the track. It helps the hook does down smooth too. Who wouldn't want a swimming pool full of liquor to dive into? #GoCrystalClearBelvedere

Kendrick Lamar - Swimming Pools (Drank)(prod by T-Minus)

|iTunes

Bei Maejor & Diplo Party at the Crib

I've been a fan of just about everything @beimaejor has done from his numerous production/writing credits to the mixtapes he has released himself. I've always maintained that his original Upside Down mixtape was my favorite mixtapes in 2010. Still, to date it's only been mixtapes and behind the scenes work with no studio albums to extend his fan base.

That's all going to change around the end of 2012 when he is set to release his studio debut Making Up. On the album you can probably expect his two previous singles Trouble with @JColeNC and Lights Down Low with @WakaFlockaBSM. You can add to that the song below featuring the production of @diplo. What you can expect is a laid back party track with plenty of repeatable, chopped up lyrics. I'm not sure yet whether I will end up liking it more than Trouble, but either way, it's going to get some serious play on Top 40 radio...#SummerAnthem

Bei Maejor - Party at the Crib (prod by Diplo & Bei Maejor)

|iTunes

Videos of the Week July 13th

Interesting week for videos in that the two most interesting videos came in the form of interviews rather than videos. The most interesting by far borders around the potential ramifications of the $10 million lawsuit filed by @LordFinesseDITC vs @MacMiller. The dispute it over Mac's Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza track that sampled Finesse'sHip 2 Da Game from 1995.

This past week, they have traded social networking shots first claiming that they hadn't talked and then talking, but now the situation has deteriorated on twitter. The track was never on a studio album, but on Mac's 2010 K.I.D.S. mixtape. While neither song really made huge waves, in the court of law it's all about setting standards and in Hip Hop the sampling/copyright standard on beats has been non-existent. Think about how many rappers have freestyled over beats that weren't theirs on mixtapes. Can you imagine a world without free sampling in Hip Hop? That world is not somewhere I want to live...#FreeSampling

Timbaland feat Ne-Yo - Hands in the Air (Video)

Werner von Wallenrod Breaks Down Mac Miller vs DJ Finesse $10 million lawsuit

DMX feat MGK - I Don't Dance (Video)

B.O.B. Freestyles in The Backroom (Video)

Narduwar Interviews DJ Premier

"Roof Behind the Grill, Barbeque Sauce"

You'd be hard pressed to find a more summer friendly jam than @asherroth's new one with @meltslovebuddy. I'll take it a step further and opine that if you don't feel like buying some charcoal and making some burger after listening to this track, then you must not be listenin' right. The bangin' beat put together by @hudmo sets the table with plush white linens, allowing both the lyricists to rap about anything and everything involving a cookout.

Ash Roth and Buddy work well together trading increasingly high octane bars as the track progresses. At the very least this track should have you chanting "Barbeque sauce, Buh-Barbeque sauce, barbeque sauce, buh-barbeque sauce" and thinking of your favorite BBQ saaawwwce. If KC Masterpiece or Hunt's doesn't make a commercial using the song below, then someone in marketing is sleeping on the job. Matter of fact, I'ma go and check the fridge to make sure I'm stocked up after thinking about all this time...#MolassesIsWhereItsAt

Asher Roth feat Buddy - Roof Behind the Grill(prod by Hudson Mohawke)

"I Just Can't Keep Hanging on to You and Me"

In case you've been living under a rock and haven't witnesses the ascension of @elliegoulding to worldwide pop star, here's another chance to hop on the band wagon before her second album drops. This week she took to Soundcloud and extended both her arms out to deliver us a tranquil gem featuring @TinieTempah. There's something innately soothing about her harmonization, but on the flip side she has a raspy alter ego that frequently emerges, which gives her sound a unique twist.

No word yet on when or if Hanging On will surface on her sophomore album, but if it does, she was awfully generous to provide it to us for free. Between the track below and her recent cover of the Weeknd's track High For This (which now has over 595,000 plays), I'm 100% sure I'm a big fan of Ellie. Put it this way, I'd give an arm and a leg to see her and her boyfriend @skrillex perform Summit live together as part of the Full Flex Express tour this summer. We'll see if that comes to fruition, but if not, I'm cool with a new album...#BeggersCantBeChoosers

Ellie Goulding feat Tinie Tempah - Hanging On

|Soundcloud

Frank Ocean and Andre 3000 Believe in Pink Matter

Now that @frank_ocean's studio debut Channel Orange is a week away from being released, I feel like it's my job to give you a reason to cop it if you were on the fence. Why is it my job to try and get you to buy it you ask? Well...it's not, but I do respect the hell out of him as a person and artist and as a result feel inclined to be supportive of his music.

To this date, nobody in Hip Hop or R&B has had the balls to openly admit to the world that they are homosexual. That changed last week when Frank shared a long, deeply personal and introspective story about how he once fell in love with another man. Sure, Hip Hop and black culture as a whole has seemingly begun to embrace homosexuality the past few years with Obama leading the way, but that doesn't make his open declaration any easier I'd imagine. I'm hoping more people follow the lead that Jay-Z and Beyonce took when they openly came out in ardent support of Frank.

Even though we all seem to feel like we know Frank a little better after reading his innermost feelings, one thing that hasn't changed is his ability to make great music. His new track below with Three Stacks is all the proof you need to back up my previous sentence. The smooth, jazzy feel of the track works extremely well with Frank's high octane vocals and Andre's quirky, off the wall verse. They're a match made in collaboration heaven stylistically with both preferring to pave their own way rather than follow the path previously traveled.

I'm not even close to at a point yet where I'd feel comfortable picking a favorite on Channel Orange, but tonight Pink Matter is the best I got. Not too bad for a Tuesday night dominated by the #ASG...

Frank Ocean feat Andre 3000 - Pink Matter

|iTunes

Skrillex Knows Drum n Bass

A full on drum and bass assault is how I'd categorize @skrillex's new track DnB Ting. The upbeat video game-esque noises coming from the track will get your attention, then you won't know what to do when you hear a Jamaican dude cut in with a few rude boy ad libs. It's crazy electronics and repetition if that strikes your fancy.

Still not sure if this will make the cut for Skrill's upcoming studio album debut, but that matters less than Prince Fielder missing a meal. I'm watching the #HRDerby right now and dude is dropping some weight on these 450 ft+ HRs. Pretty sure he wouldn't be rockin' out to Skrillex, but his swing is just as violent as the drum and bass below...#LegalViolence

Skrillex - DnB Ting
|iTunes

"With Our Eyes Wide Open, We Rise and Fall"

If you haven't heard of @AdventureDub yet, the track below should serve as a solid example of what to expect. With the help of @krewella, the duo of Christian Srigley & Leighton James managed to put together a solid single that has the potential to gain traction on radio. Given that Dubstep/EDM is becoming more and more mainstream by the day, it's not a stretch to predict radio success.

No word on when this will surface on an album, but given that the duo is from Montreal and Montreal loves dance music, you can bet they'll have a following in no time. For more of their new stuff feel free and check out their Soundcloud page or Facebook page for updates. And if you're a fan of the song below, you'll also appreciate Need Your Heart, which is even more Dubstep friendly. Who doesn't appreciate something that's Dubstep friendly? #NoFriendOfMine

Adventure Club - Rise & Fall (Krewella Remix)

|iTunes

"Listen Close, Can You Hear the Sound of Love?"

There are very few artists or groups who have been able to successfully pull off a mix of Rock and Hip Hop. When I say that I'm not talking as far back as Run DMC or Beastie Boys, I'm talking recently like doing it as well as @theroots. You can add the track below to the list of successful genre mash ups because @JColeNC and @volitheentity.

You may have noticed this isn't the first track Cole world and Voli have done together. About a year ago they teamed up with @OMEN on Pity, which was on Cole's Any Given Sunday mixtape. You may not have thought much of their original collabo, though, after listening to Sound of Love (below_. The upbeat, head nod worthy beat on the track is awe inspiring and reminds me of @puregold183's track The Seed 2.0. Even better, Cole maanged to incorporate some good ol' country fiddle on the end of the track, which was a cool touch. Although the beat is what makes the track, don't sleep on the Jersey native's ability to deliver a quality 16 to match the intensity of the beat either.

Evidently the track below is set to land on Voli's upcoming album The Wall. Feel free to take a quick listen to the album sampler, stream or download here if you like.

Voli feat J. Cole - Sound of Love (prod by J Cole)

Videos of the Week July 6th

Critics have never been shy in calling @kanyewest a genius as an artist, but now I think the credit he receives should be broadened to include his general managing skills. Signing under-appreciated free agent @PUSHA_T, reinvented @2chainz and up and coming @bigsean have all proved to be positive moves so far. This week @g_o_o_d_music continued their ascension with their performance at the @bet awards. That performance combined with the much hyped, high-budget video for @davidguetta's new single featuring the gyrations of @chrisbrown were the two big highlights video wise in the past week.

If you're a fan of Hip Hop dance you'll probably enjoy @justicedanccrew's new Boom Boom video. Also, I found it really hard not smiling when watching @JordinSparks's new Celebrate video that featured the last acting ever done by Whitney Houston in Sparkle. Kudos for the music industry as a whole for doing as many tributes as humanly possibly to honor one of the most influential artists in R&B history.

David Guetta feat Chris Brown &Lil Wayne – I Can Only Imagine (Video)

G.O.O.D. Music Performs at BET Awards

Justice Crew - Boom Boom (prod by David Guetta) (Video)

Whitney Houston & Jordin Sparks - Celebrate
(From Motion Picture Sparkle) (Video)

Wale & Meek Mill feat French Montana - Actin Up (Video)

"The Yeezy's Jumped Over the Jumpman"

Fresh off shutting down the @BET awards, @kanyewest and @PUSHA_T are back with a vengeance with New God Flow. Simply put both lyricists do everything they can on the track below to further the @g_o_o_d_music brand by ripping apart verses in their own unique way. With simple, but sharp production provided by up and coming Chi-town production duo Boogz & Tapez, the track succeeds by adequately spotlighting the verses.

Word has it #NGF is set to be the second single off G.O.O.D. Music's Cruel Summer compilation due out August 7th. Will it be good enough to compete with the likes Young Money and Maybach Music's recent compilations? Time will tell, but my bet is it will be just as good as #YMCMB and absolutely put to shame #MMG.

Kanye West feat Pusha T - New God Flow (prod by Boogz and Tapez)
|iTunes

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July y'all! Seems only fitting I hit half a million hits on Independence Day. I appreciate the daily support and love that you all have given me so far. You can bet I'ma double up soon enough, so keep it locked!

I'll leave you with an obligatory video below...

Eva Simons & Nicky Romero Don't Like You

Had to mix in an obligatory EDM track in a week that has been dominated by new Hip Hop singles. The one below is a remix done by @nickyromero of @evasimons's track I Don't Like You. If you haven't heard the original version of I Don't Like You, which was produced by @Zedd, feel free to check it out below...

The original is more pop/EDM than the dance remix Nicky weaved together, so it's almost like saying which flavor of vanilla do you like better, French Vanilla or regular vanilla? Tonight I'm digging the more traditional ebb and flow of house music, so I'll pick the one below. Assist goes to Beatport's top 10, which again keeps outpacing iTunes when it comes to EDM...#CatchUpApple

Eva Simons - I Don't Like You (Nicky Romero Remix)

|Beatport

"1, 2 Them Boys Coming For You, 3, 4, Better Lock Your Door"

In an attempt to keep up with @Pitbull's album a year pace, @DJKHALED is back at it with a new album in the oven. The first single, Take it to the Head, has gotten some decent traction on Top 40, but single #2 below is going to blow it out of the water. Most of that is because most people will hear @kanyewest and @rickyrozay on the same track and probably buy it based solely on that. Sure the hook is catchy too, but the bass heavy, trap anthem beat cooked up by @Hit_Boy deserved a large slice of that credit pie.

Khaled's new album Kiss the Ring is set to drop August 21st. Like every other album he's released it will be chalked full of high powered cameos from the likes of Ace Hood, T-Pain, Plies, Future, Wiz Khalifa, T.I., Ludacris, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Trae Tha Truth, Mystikal, Big Sean, Vanessa Hudgens, Kid Ink, Birdman, Ice Cube, Fat Joe, Game, Twista, Rick Ross & Maybach Music Group artists (Meek Mill, Wale, & More), R. Kelly, Ghostface Killah, Young Jeezy, Jill Scott, Flo Rida, Drake, French Montana, Young Money & Cash Money. My only question is, who isn't going to be on the album? Word has it @eminem or @drdre might drop a verse on the album too, which would be a whole hell of a lot more noteworthy than the usual suspects above. We'll see if that comes to fruition, but even if it doesn't you can bet there will be at least three more Top 40 singles on the disc, which should make it a solid modern day compilation...#CantHateOnThat

DJ Khaled feat Kanye West & Rick Ross - I Wish You Would (prod by Hit-Boy)
|iTunes

"Yeah We Finally On, Tell the World We On"

It's really easy to make assumptions about artists based on one song. I was about to start this post by saying @IGGYAZALEA sounds like a @keshasuxx 2.0 and I was prepared to base that opinion completely on the song below. Then, I thought to myself, I don't want to be lazy and shallow, I'd rather watch and interview of Iggy talking about her own music before I create an opinion. (I'd encourage you to do the same by pressing play below)...

Turns out, she's a white rapper from Australia, which is something neither you or I have ever experienced before. She's signed to @tip's Grand Hustle record label and her debut album titled The New Classic is going to be executive produced by none other than T.I.You may remember the lead single off her upcoming album, Murda Business (also featuring T.I.), was released back in March and had a lot of people talking.

In comparison, the track below will blow her lead single out of the water. With production from @beimaejor, a fierce hook by T.I. and an above average verse from @bobatl, the track has a lot to be excited about. I'm still getting used to Iggy's delivery and really trying my best to see her like a @nickiminaj rather than Ke$ha because she clearly takes lyricism seriously. One thing I do know is that I will continue to keep an eye out for new stuff from her because she's got plenty of potential... #PotentialGetsYourFootInTheDoor

Iggy Azalea feat T.I. & B.O.B. - Million Dollar Misfits
(prod by Bei Maejor)
|iTunes