As we know Mos Def has been outta the spotlight for quite a while (not talking Movies here yo). Yeah I know he dropped “Tru Magic” this past year, but we all know how that went down. So anyway as a huge fan of his I’ve been lookin’ for Mos to make some big moves as an MC (shit he’s the reason why I began to listen to hip-hop.). I guess apparently there’s just some shit we just dont really know too much about, like the problems with Geffen, the divorce, and other bullshit.
So anyway I’ve noticed that the track listing for Ye’s “Graduation”, has Mos appearing on two tracks “Drunk & Hot Girls” (thats dope) & “Good Night”. To me its not necessarily a huge surprise, but its great to see him appearing on one of this years most highly anticipated albums. As matter of fact that shit means a lot me. I just hope this continues to be a pattern for Mos, but not just with Kanye but on his own too, you know maybe getting around letting us know more about himself and his travels as the MC, not just the actor.
And I say all this because we got Kweli doing his thing with Blacksmith, Com and the recent mainstream success he’s been having, 1st 15th for Lupe, The Roots moving to Def Jam, plus they got ?uestlove allover the place, and finally Ye… well shit he’s Ye.
I dont know it just feels as though he’s missing, and sometimes I just cant help but wonder about it.
With Ear Drum upon us on August 21st, some of the tracks are leaking this week in addition to the ones that already have. “The Nature” features Justin Timberlake and conveys a positive message about the nature of the world today. It is one of the 3 bonus tracks according to the tracklisting for Ear Drum. The lyrics are posted on Talib’s official website and you can find them here (I especially like the Dwyane Wade mention in the 2nd Verse!). I also found an interesting remix/freestyle of Kweli spitting over The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby”. The flow and lyrics are sick over the classic Beatles instrumental. Enjoy and go out and support Kweli on August 21st!
Rumored new track that will be on Graduation… thereby makin‘ the Graduationtracklist posted earlier NOT final. ‘Ye has said publicly that he likes Lil’ Wayne’s work and has been in the studio with him. So without further ado, here is what they came up with…
Tibs is back.. been out of town for the weekend, but back with a couple tracks. First, I saw the music video in a Champs about a week ago and definitely had to get it. Great vibe to this song and Common’s verse brings out chills. The song was released in July as Joss Stone’s 2nd single off her album.
The new remix of Keyshia Cole’s hit “Let It Go” recently leaked and it features T.I., Missy Elliot, & Young Dro. It will be released on Keyshia’s new album Just Like You. From the sound of the remix, Just Like You looks like an album to keep an eye on, to be released on September 25th from G.O.O.D. Music.
Finally, here are a couple of the pics I got when I met Common at Best Buy in Chicago for an autograph signing. In the brief exchange I had with Common, he immediately came off as a real chill dude and of course very friendly to the people. What came as a surprise to me was how large he is.. at least 6′-4″ and built like a football player. Anyway, it was an awesome day for me and all his fans in Chicago who were able to make it. Aite, here are the pics…
Here are some new singles that will definitely be out on the radio in a month or 2. 50’s much anticipated collaboration with R&B singer Robin Thicke “Follow My Lead” that will of course be appearing on 50’s Curtis and the confirmed 2nd single from Chris Brown “Kiss Kiss” f/ T-Pain off the new album Exclusive.
Stumbled upon an UNOFFICIAL remix of “Stronger” f/ Lupe Fiasco on the kanyetalk.com message boards. It is real well done and features Lupe’s verse from “Touch The Sky”. Below is also another unofficial cover art for “Stronger”.
Kanye West was a surprise guest on MTV’s TRL yesterday and performed a medley of “Stronger” & “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” that was pretty electrifying with some sweet strings in the background. Check out the video below.
And finally, more Kanye news as “Stronger” is nominated for VMA Video of the Year along with Justin Timberlake’s “What Goes Around…Comes Around”, Rihanna’s “Umbrella” f/ Jay-Z, Justice’s “D.A.N.C.E.”, & Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable”. Check out all the nominees here. The VMAs are LIVE in Las Vegas on September 9th!
Love the cover and might actually buy the album on iTunes now just for that bonus track, instead of at Best Buy. For some more Kanye/50 controversy, CHECK THIS OUT and we might be seeing a live debate between the 2 hip hop superstars sometime very soon! (Thanks again to Brian Moschel, haha)
****UPDATE 2:47 PM: From mtv.com,
50 Cent knows Kanye West better than you think. After accepting a challenge on BET’s “106 & Park” to debate with West the merits of their respective new albums — which will go head to head in stores when they street on September 11 — Fiddy replied, “Kanye, he’s not going to want to show up.” During the VMA announcement Tuesday, West made 50’s prediction come true, declining the proposed debate and calling it “the stupidest thing.” “What am I going to debate about?” he said. “I’m going to go in the studio and make music.” But ‘Ye, who said he doesn’t have beef with anyone, had something positive to say as well: “With 50’s album dropping and my album dropping on the same day, everybody wins because you get a lot of good music at the same time.”
So no live debate, but that’ll help bring closure to what is reported in the above link.
Some brand new tracks that are both appearing on Lupe Fiasco’s sophomore album The Cool due out on Halloween - October 31! These are both LIVE performances by Lupe Fiasco at LAST NIGHT’S Lollapalooza in Chicago, IL. He introduced both songs as new and specifically said that “Superstar” is the one song that is completed for the album as of now. I’m really feelin’ “Superstar” as both Lupe and Matthew Santos (also featured on “American Terrorist” on Food & Liquor) deliver thunderous and electrifying performances. Can’t wait ’til Halloween! Enjoy!
***Listening to the intros before the songs might get annoying, but in iTunes simply right-click the track, click Get Info and then the Options tab. You can change the Start/Stop Times for any track so here’s what I inputed for both songs…
I stumbled upon this interview with one of G.O.O.D. Music’s underlooked artists - Consequence. It’s a very interesting read as ‘Quence discusses everything from music to fashion. Here are some excerpts…
When asked about his relationship with Kanye came about…
“Two things…The reason I’m in the game period is because of A Tribe Called Quest. When I met Kanye, he knew me as being Consequence from A Tribe Called Quest. You know, me and Kanye have been working together before he had a deal as a solo artist, when he was producer for Roc-a-Fella…” - ‘Quence goes in much further detail with this interesting story..
When asked whether or not hip-hop is dead…
“How can it be dead when Don’t Quit Your Day Job is out? I’m not even saying that to be funny. But for real, for real, I mean I respect the question that he [Nas] raised and I’m not mad at it. It does get to a point where you have to call people out like — the original form of Hip-Hop…is anybody else still doing it? But I don’t think that snap music kills Hip-Hop because that’s like saying stage music killed Hip-Hop.”
And a brief mention about the next album…
“I’m working on the next album already. It’s called You Win Some, You Lose Some. It’s gonna be crazy — a continuation to Don’t Quit Your Day Job. So now that people know I got another album on the way. They can actually buy it when it comes out instead of three months later.”
You can read the full interview here. And check out a few tracks below from Consequence’s debut album Don’t Quit Your Day Job in stores now!
I know “Grammy Family” is an old track, but ‘Ye and ‘Quence are straight up ridiculous and the track is featured on the album. “Feel This Way” and “Disperse” are 2 of the standout tracks on an album full of quality tracks, with “Disperse” also featuring 2 Chicago and G.O.O.D. Artists - GLC and Really Doe. Enjoy and go out and support another G.O.O.D. artist - Consequence!
Here’s an old track featuring Lupe Fiasco that to my knowledge not many people have heard about. It’s the “Didn’t You Know RMX” f/ Joe Budden & Lupe Fiasco by the female R&B group Tha’ Rayne. This remix came out in 2003 and features Lupe Fiasco on the 3rd verse. Lupe’s flow and wordplay was as top-notch back then as it is today. So without further ado…
Mos On Graduation
