Nicki Minaj is Cocked Back and Roman Reloaded

Staying true to the new trend that most artists are following in order to get everything they can out of an album, @nickiminaj will be releasing a Roman Reloaded version of her debut album Pink Friday. No word yet on whether Roman Reloaded will be a re-release with a couple new singles or all new material, but I'm going to put my chips on the re-release based on the title. In case you're wondering why Roman keeps popping up in all of her music, it just so happens to be her alter ego Roman Zolanski. It's always fun to have a gay male alter ego, everyone should have one right? If you want to hear her/he/it in action, see her track Roman's Revenge with @liltunchi.

Safe to say that Nicki goes absolutely ham sammich on Roman in Moscow, taking no prisoners and sounding like a female version of Eminem. I've never been a huge fan of artists cursing every other word on a track because it detracts from the substance and makes a track difficult to take seriously, but I can appreciate her uniquely ferocious delivery. I fully understand why Nicki is so successful and popular and I think she deserves it by filling a void that was vacant in Hip Hop. It's a genre that carers to the original and audacious, which is why she was able to ascent so quickly.

Roman Reloaded is scheduled to hit stores on Valentines day on February 14th, 2012. Shouts out to @srbeats and @saromsoundz on the production of the single below. High octane beat for a take no prisoners style lyrical performance by Nicki. Seems about right, go check it out on iTunes...

Nicki Minaj - Roman in Moscow (prod by StreetRunner and Sarom) (CDQ)

|iTunes

Videos of the Week

It's about time @avicii did a video for Levels. It might be the strangest video I've seen since @lmfao's banana hammock infested Sexy and I Know It video. Interesting seeing @drake's three part homecoming series and hearing him reflect on a lot of issue including his recent collabo with Rihanna. I'm still loving every bit of Shady 2.0 too. They're taking over for 2012...#BelieDat...

Avicii - Levels (Video)


Trey Songz feat Fabolous - What I Be On (Video)


Drake The Homecoming (Part 1)


Drake The Homecoming (Part 2)


Drake The Homecoming (Part 3)


The Shady 2.0 Boys (Yelawolf, Slaughterhouse & Eminem) Live


Kanye & Jay-Z Perform Niggas in Paris at Victoria Secret Show


Ludacris feat Wacka Flocka - Rich & Flexin (Video)

"I'm From Houston, Texas, Home of the Texans"

It's become a necessity these days for every pro team or city to have a Hip Hop anthem. Houston...it's your turn, STAND UP! From the minute I caught wind of this track, I knew it would be on point. You can't bring together three of Houston's finest rappers, name the track Houston and have it fall through. When you're reppin' a whole city and shouting out all of the Texans on the track, you better be bringing the heat.

Thanks to the Fox Sports theme song sample put together by Houston's own GL Productions, the track has an instant element of familiarity. Everyone watches the NFL, so everyone will dig the sample. Most people may not know all the player shouts outs, but @slimthugga, @chamillionaire and @PAULWALLBABY go as far as to shout out @briancushing56, @jjwatt, @ArianFoster, @johnson80...even Mario Williams gets some love. It's loud, perfect for an NFL stadium and why not make a track the year that Peyton Manning gets hurt and gift wraps the division title to you? Too bad now have Jake Delhomme guiding the ship through the playoffs. You can only go so far without a good QB...#HoustonInTrouble

Slim Thug feat Paul Wall & Chamillionaire - Houston(prod by GL Productions)

"Ain't Talkin' Bout Apple But iMac"

What the hell, why not let a mix of young G's and OG's from south of the Bay Area have a crack at Drizzy's track The Motto? With the video in the editing room ready to drop this week, the hype will only continue for one of the most bangin' tracks in 2011. Obviously y'all recognize uncle @snoopdogg, but you may be hearing about Compton's own @defjamyg and LA's finest, @nipseyhussle. Both are steadily making a name for themselves and the remix below should lend credence as to why.

Only thing I wish I could have gotten out of the nice remix below is a different verse from @drake. You wanna talk about re-upping a single's potential, all that would have been needed is a fresh, new verse. Kinda #weaksauce that the version below is edited too, but beggars can't be choosers. Keep it locked for the real version...we keep it 100 in this area of the internet. Compton/LA area rap should never be censored under any circumstances. I can only think of one video to describe how I feel about the remix below being edited...

#Classic + Nick Swardson

Drake feat YG, Snoop & Nipsey Hustle - The Motto (LA Remix)

"I'm Straight Like 12:30"

Man @bobatl must have heard me raving about @mikeposner's new mixtape The Layover. Not even a full week after Mikey P dropped his front to back classic tape, Bobby Ray let loose his new tape, Every Play Is Crucial. On it you'll find features from @liltunchi, @tip, @eminem, @bigkrit, @bunbtrillog to go with production from Ryan Tedder and @iamjimjonsin...#Exhale. Yea, that's wassup, absolutely star studded like you'd expect from a studio album.

Below are my two favorite tracks that may get lost in the shuffle among the high powered collabos. The first is what you'd expect from track with @roscoedash on the hook. It's laid back, high energy with plenty of horns and a repeatable hook. Oh yea, don't sleep on the quotables B.O.B. sprays all over the track either.

B.O.B. feat Rosco Dash - Guest List (prod B.O.B. & Kutta)


All I needed to see on the second track is that Ryan Tedder was on the production credits. It's got a One Republic type of uniqueness to the beat, which is cool. It's another one of Bobby Ray's addictive sing alongs that you'll find yourself singing after a few listens. Go ahead and try it and don't be bashful about copping the mixtape, it's free and 37,000 have already downloaded it...#WorthThePricex10

B.O.B. feat Spodee - Wrong (prod Ryan Tedder)

New Drake Over My Dead Body Remix

Apologies for missing yesterday's post y'all. It's a rarity, but there are a handful of times in a year where I'm inundated with family stuff and just can't get something up. Back on the grind today though, starting with a picture (above) from @drake's new video shoot for The Motto featuring @MistahFAB and @e40. Why not invite the Bay area's finest on a video shoot for a song that's reppin' the 505 and 707. As an aside, is it becoming a new trend to make a single out of a bonus track? I say that because it makes sense to push the deluxe version hard to maximize the profit, but why it is only starting to work now for artists? #FoodForThought

Anyways, the real reason for this post is to shout out one of UK's finest DJ's in @StarSlingerUK. He managed to inject a dance-able rhythm to one of my favorite Take Care tracks. That's no small task considering how slow and melodic the original track sounds. Take notice of the chipmunk echo on the vocals too, nice touch. My only critique of the remix is how jumbled the sound becomes when adding in another element to the rhythm. Yes, you can still hear the vocals clearly, but it's a bit of chaos when all put together. If you're in the mood for chaos and are a fan of Drake, give this one a listen...otherwise, I'm more than happy referring you to the original, which I'll always like better than any other version...#TakeCare

Drake - Over My Dead Body (Star Slinger Remix)

"We All Want to Believe in a Beautiful Lie"

"What would you do if this was your last day on earth?

As for me, I'd be doin' exactly what I'm doin' now"

I've always been a big fan of @ryanleslie and I've been pretty clear about that from the beginning. Dude is a wizard with the keys, percussion and anything else you could imagine that would be in a beat. If you don't know what I mean or haven't been privy to all of his in-studio videos, you need to watch him in his element to understand...

From the start of the beat with the drums, to the layer after layer of syntheizer samples, it's really cool watching him do his thing. Shoot, he can even put most rappers to shame on the mic over his own beats. The complexity of all of his instrumentals become a lot more apparent when you can see all of the elements being added one by one.

The track below is scheduled to surface on his upcoming album Les is More, which was scheduled to drop a couple times already, only to be pushed back. R Les keeps telling us it's coming and it's slated for Fall 2011, so I'll remain hopeful, but mildly cynical that it'll drop before 2012. Whatever the case, it's going to be a great album and everyone should be grateful that a finish product will be delivered at any point considering how much adversity the album has underwent.

Ryan Leslie - Beautiful Lie (prod by Ryan Leslie)

Videos of the Week

In case you missed it, there were a whole lot of great performances last week at the American Music Awards. To see all the performances, feel free and visit idolator here. Also, you may have missed the brief lyrical spat that @ludacris had with @drake and @bigsean. I doubt much will come of it since none of them really preach negativity and they all still respect each other. Every rapper borrows from the next rapper at some point, so saying anyone is sampling from another artist is like saying you saw another human eat food and it was the first one you've ever seen do that...#DontTrip

Really cool seeing @flo_tweet cover Drake's new material too, don't miss that below...
Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa - Young, Wild and Free ft. Bruno Mars


Florence and the Machine Cover Drake's Take Care


David Guetta & Nicki Minaj Perform Turn Me On at the AMAs


Drake Performs Headlines at the AMAs


88 Keys feat Colin Munroe - Wake Up Call (Video)


Ludacris - Bada Boom (Drake & Big Sean Diss) Beef?

"I'm the Bomb, I'm Dynomite, Pyro"

New single off @tip's upcoming 2012 album Trouble Man. Pyro is supposedly the first "official" single, following the two promotional singles, Here Ye, Here Ye and I'm Flexin'. It's a self described, party track that has an upbeat, live band feel to it thanks in large part to @theebandgeeks. This is the first I've heard of Two Band Geeks, but I'm diggin' the beat on this one.

Trouble Man is slated to drop in February 2012, but I wouldn't be surprised in the least if it got pushed back because the folks at Gran Hustle find themselves at an impasse trying to clear samples and whittle down the 45 tracks that were recorded for the album. In the grand scheme of things, probably not a top 20 T.I. track, but still a worthy single. I also liked I'm Flexin', but I still have yet to hear the clear standout track that all T.I. albums are known for. It'll come soon enough and lord can only hope DJ Toomp is behind it.

Oh yea...Happy Thanksgiving y'all!

T.I. - Pyro (prod by Two Band Geeks)

"No Light to Guide My Way"

It's safe to say that chapter one of @wizardcud's journey into the realm of psychedelic rock is now complete. Last night he let loose a flurry of tweets forecasting the release of his new track. The boldest statement is shown below...

Is Break a little different than the usual sound of his music? Slightly, in that the instrumentation is more focused on heavy, tripped out guitar riffs rather than beats and percussion. Content wise though, it's the same brand of loneliness and despair that we've become accustomed to with his first two albums.

It is revolutionary? Maybe in a sense that no other Hip Hop artists have tried to channel their inner Pink Floyd, but maybe that was he and @dotdagenius are going for? Regardless of reason, it's definitely different and I still haven't wrapped my mind around whether or not I'm a fan of it yet. I can tell you I'm excited that I'm cautiously excited to hear WZRD's debut album due out January 30th. Despite the isolated feel of the track below, Cudi hinted at their being radio friendly content on the way. No word on what the new album will be titled, but you can bet the end product will be polarizing in that critics will either hate on it to the extreme or call it revolutionary...#ICallItInteresting

WZRD - Break (prod by Dot da Genius)

"I See Some Ladies in Here Tonight I Might Marry"

Unless you're @thecoolkids, @RYANLESLIE or @LUPEFIASCO, it's rare to have an album as delayed as @YOUNGJEEZY's Thug Motivation 103: Hustlerz Ambition. Jeezy began making records for the album two years ago and it's finally going to be released on December 20th. To date, the two singles we've heard are Lose My Mind (and remix feat @drake) and F.A.M.E. feat @tip.

The track below has yet to be labeled a single, but there's no doubt it'll be one of the first tracks everyone will skip to because of the name power on the features. It's been a real long while since we've heard new verses fromthree stacks, but after this one and Drake's The Real Her, I'm hoping the rumors of a 2012 Outkast album start gaining some steam. Shouts out to @m16beats who did his thing on providing a simple instrumental that serves it's purpose in enforcing the celebratory tone of the track. All in all, not my favorite track, but it's cool getting to hear three industry heavyweights on a track together.

#TM103...Dec 20th

Young Jeezy feat Jay-Z & Andre 3000 - I Do (prod by M16)

"You Could Go Hard or You Can Go Home"

This has the making of being the most hyped and overplayed single of 2011. It doesn't take an idiot to figure out that putting @Jagger_M, @iamwill and @jlo on a track together will result in the largest possible demographic reach when you factor in the different genres. Call this the perfect Super Bowl track because it's @bep style pop, which is like crack these days and correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't all three performed at the Super Bowl? Not sure on J-Lo, but you get my point.

This is slated to appear on Will's new album fashionably titled #willpower. First of probably many hash tagged album names this next year I'd imagine. One of those consume it before it gets to the masses type of tracks. For me I'll give it a week before I leave it to the hyenas of contemporary radio. This, folks...is the epitome of pop...#EvenMyParentsWouldLikeIt

Will.I.Am feat Jennifer Lopez & Mick Jagger - T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)
|iTunes

Sample Justice: Mike Posner Takes on Elton John & Oasis

Want in on a little secret? There's a reason why mixtapes can sometimes trump studio albums when it comes to quality. Two words...Sample...Clearance. Ask yourself, do you think @Oasis and Elton John would allow @mikeposner to sample their biggest hit for free out of the kindness of their heart? FOH! Course not!

So what's the best way to get around it? Make a free mixtape featuring a bunch of great artists and offer it for free on datpiff on a customized page with a countdown to hype it up. Today it will drop in it's entirety and it's an absolute beast as a whole. I can say that without hearing all of the tracks because I already really like four of the tracks. They're not only noteworthy samples of classic tracks featuring some of my favorite rappers (@bigkrit & @BunBTrillOG), but even more amazingly, they're produced by Mike Posner himself. To a layman, that may not mean much, but flipping two classic and trying to mold them into your own sound is not a small task.

Even better, Mike understands the value of making great music to increase his buzz. How did the tracks leak prior to the release of the mixtape? See below, it's simple...

Suffice to say he's making a lot of good music of late and making my job as a blogger easy as hell. There's no telling when Posner's sophomore album Sky High will drop, but if it's half as awesome as his newest mixtape, it'll be pretty epic. After one lap around The Layover, I see no reason why it can't be in the discussion for best mixtape of the year. To put it simple, Sample Justice was served in both instances below, no hatin' over here, he did that...#BunBVoice

Mike Posner feat Bun-B - Rocketman (prod by Mike Posner)

|Download Mixtape

Mike Posner feat Big K.R.I.T. - Wonderwall (prod by Mike Posner)

|Download Mixtape

"You're Like a Laserlight Burning Down on Me"

Continuing his onslaught on American Dance/Pop music, @davidguetta cooked up another heat rock. This time he hooked up with @jessiejofficial on a track that was included on the Nov 9th re-release of her latest album Who You Are. Seems to be the trend these days to make a really solid single post-album launch and use it to give your latest album sales a boost. Can't hate on that and to be fair, you can still cop the individual track via iTunes if need be.

The formula is the same, but like Coca Cola, why fix it if it ain't broken? With the build up leading to the chorus, I'd bet the farm that this will be on more than a few college pre-gaming mixes. Ah yes, the "we drank last night, but need some upbeat music to rally" mix. Y'all know what I'm talmbout, press play and break out that 30 case of Stones or Natty and rally the troops...#ILovedCollege

Jessie J - Laserlight (prod by David Guetta)

Videos of the Week

Man, I'm pretty solid on the fact that @coldplay is on my concert bucket list. They definitely play in concert and their SNL appearance was a testament to that on a much smaller, more intimate scale. Pretty cool to see @drake bring out @MACHINEGUNKELLY while performing in his hometown of Cleveland. Is it me or does it appearance wise like @jackiechain74 isn't what you'd expect when you think of Southern Rap? That's what's great about Hip Hop, you can find a dude who doesn't look like he'd fit in completely blend with two of the best in @BunBTrillOG and @bigkrit. Don't sleep on that @Wale album either, it's been out a few weeks on iTunes...

Jackie Chain feat Bun-B & Big K.R.I.T. - Parked Outside (Video)


Wale feat Miguel - Lotus Flower Bomb (Video)


Drake Performs Make Me Proud & Brings Out Machine Gun Kelly in Cleveland


Coldplay Performs Paradise on SNL


Coldplay Performs Every Teardrop is a Waterfall on SNL


Taio Cruz - Troublemaker (Video)

"I'm Throwed to the Side Like a Lateral"

Recently, every time I look for new music it seems like @bigkrit's name is all over it. I can't confirm it, but based on context clues, i.e. the slightly screwed hook, I'm guessing K.R.I.T. was behind the beat. Put it this way, if you're not singing the hook to yourself after the second listen, you must not have an appreciation for Southern Hip Hop. Even better, @BunBTrillOG chipped in on a verse, which served as icing on the cake for an already awesome track.

@bobatl's new mixtape, Epic: Every Play is Crucial is where the track below,5 On the Kush, is first supposed to land. I say first because the track is also tentatively slated to land on his new studio album Strange Clouds in March 2012. No firm date on the mixtape, but since his first single off Strange Clouds is already out, I'd be willing to bet coming soon is a safe bet.

Anybody else really enjoying all this great Southern Hip Hop that's dropped lately? I know I'm biased because much of my love for Hip Hop music originated from songs that sound exactly like the track below, but it's really cool seeing the impact K.R.I.T. is beginning to have on Southern Hip Hop. He's doing his best to keep the screwed and chopped flame alive by evolving its original sound to be more contemporary. When I say contemporary, I mean most screwed and chopped tracks don't ever make it to singles, but K.R.I.T.'s sampling of the sound is less abrasive and easier to listen to. Evidence? #PressPlayBelow...

B.O.B. feat Bun-B & Big K.R.I.T. - 5 On the Kush

"I’m Embarrassed, I’m Feeling Like a Suicidal Terrorist"

Out of all the tracks that ended up on the final tracklist for Take Care, one of the most overlooked tracks will end up being an interlude. I use the word overlooked because for some reason, the leaked version of Take Care had track #7 (below) attached to the end of Marvin's Room. Since most folks had already heard Marvin's Room, it's not a unreasonable to think that most people who copped the leak, completely missed @kendrick_lamar's small, but potent contribution to the album.

This is exactly why Kendrick is rapidly ascending to the top of Hip Hop. At first, his alien, disoriented flow is awkward. Then all the sudden the beat rolls in and the delivery he unleashes a perfectly measured barrage of lyrical mastery. The speed, timing and tone of every syllable perfectly matched the beat to a T. As simple as the instrumental (provided by @ovo40) ended up being, the gentle, rolling rhythm is incredibly soothing.

As far as interludes go, it doesn't get better than this. Drake was nowhere to be found on the interlude, but the addition to the album is going to be huge. I'm pleased that the final iTunes version of Take Care will have this as a separate track, rather than attached to the end of track 6. On a related note, if you like what you hear below, make sure and give a listen to Section 80, which was one of the more slept on albums in 2011. Kendrick may not get his big break til Detox, but in my mind, he's already arrived...

Drake feat Kendrick Lamar - Buried Alive (Interlude)(prod by Noah "40" Shebib) (iTunes)

"I Got This Drank in My Cup"

If @1yungchris can come up with a single that every artist in Hip Hop wants to be a part of, then anything is possible. I preface my review of the track below with that statement because you probably haven't heard of Kirko Bangz yet. Proof that the codeine and promethazine, white styrofoam cup with a Jolly Rancher is alive and well, Kirko fully represents H-town and everything that it stands for.

What's interesting to note is that there hasn't ever been a big R&B artist to ever come out of the Houston area. Will @kirkobangz be the first one? Hard to tell, but his lead single has Hip Hop talking, which is a good enough start to a career. Check his new video for Drank in My Cup below to see what everyone is talmbout...


Who says autotune is dead?...#NotMe. There's always room for thuggish R&B and that's what you can expect below. It'll be interesting to see which big name Hip Hop acts hop on the remix, but my vote is for Twista. It'll probably end up being some combination of Lil Wayne, T.I. and T-Pain on the remix, but I can always hope. Keep an eye out for Kirko's new mixtape Progression 2 and feel free to peruse Progression over at datpiff or the remix to his track What Yo Name Iz feat Wale, Big Sean and Bun-B if your interest is piqued...

Kirko Bangz - Drank in My Cup (iTunes)

"Take a Shot For Me..."

"May your neighbors respect you

Trouble neglect you, angels protect you

And heaven accept you..."

As promised, I told y'all I was going to take a few laps around Take Care before I made any judgments. Now that I've got my cardio in and I've had a chance to figure out which tracks I find myself gravitating to when I browse through the album, I've picked a favorite in Shot For Me. The timeless, nostalgic feel of the track is downright addicting. To start with, you've got @OVO40 providing the perfect slow bass with snaps over heavy background synths. Add in an SWV - Anything sample, a double shot of harmony and emotional lyrics that conclude with a perfectly executed toast by @drake, and you've got the makings of a really great slow jam.

There still isn't anybody close to as emotionally accessible than Drake in Hip Hop and this track is a great example of why that is a fact. The struggle to try and maintain certain relationships during his ascension to success is clearly something that he's needed to vent about through his music. It's as if he still misses that girl from back home who didn't really believe in his lofty dreams and now that he's worked to make those dreams come true and proved her wrong, he's subtly saying "I knew I would make it and you should have believed in me." Keeping it 100, past relationships are a great source of motivation and maybe that's another reason why I find Drake's music so accessible. True or not, there's a lot of bits and pieces to hang onto in every one of his verses, which is why so many people listen when he talks.

Take Care hits iTunes in a matter of hours at midnight tonight and both you and I should do our part in showing our appreciation...#CopIt

Drake - Take a Shot (prod by Noah "40" Shebib)

|iTunes

"Exotic Dancer Strut, I Would Tip You For Walkin'"

I should have known why I liked the new remix to @DEVISHOT's track, Kiss My Lips, so much. One Google search later, lo and behold, @thecataracs were responsible for the beat. Now before you go getting excited that this track might have been on that Dev album you copped back in September called The Night the Sun Came Up, it's not. Instead, it's a remix of the album version, so you'll probably have to wait to grab the single on iTunes when it's posted instead.

I wish more artists would flip non-single tracks into singles by allowing "(insert Hip Hop artist)" to add a verse. In this case it was @MYFABOLOUSLIFE, who is about as good as you could get for a token hot 16. It adds the spice that some otherwise average tracks need to become relevant. Now I'm not saying I still wouldn't have shouted out Dev on this track sans Fab because of original Cataracs beat, but the verse made it even more post-worthy. Let me know if I'm off base on that, but pop tracks with Hip Hop verses seem to be the formula for success these days on the radio.

It's probably going to be tough for Dev to shake the Ke$ha comparisons, but as long as they both keep making upbeat, catchy pop music, I'll continue to be a fan of both equally...#UpbeatPopWithSassWins

Dev feat Fabolous - Kiss My Lips (Remix) (prod by The Cataracs)

|iTunes