HUGE update for 2day, encompassing some music from yesterday, but we wanted 2 keep Mr. Music up on top for awhile (DL “Makin Me Sweat”! It’s ridiculous..). Anyway, above is a dope mixtape from The Cool Kids. I just love their unique sound and this is more of the same! Below are some leaked Nas trax off Untitled, ur “A Milli” fix with T-Pain, Trey Songz, and the video by Ne-Yo (still baffles me why everyone is jumping on this, literally..), and some more trax and vids featuring Akon, Lloyd, Kidz In The Hall, & many more! Enjoy!
Chicago’s own rising star, Bullet, is back with another hard freestyle! Homie is doin’ it real smart, jumpin’ AND killin’ all the latest, hot beats, with Polow Da Don’s banger for Nas - “Hero” - is straight up fire. But damn, Bullet is droppin’ the gloves and building his rep and press. And the talent is there, just peep a couple lyrics from the freestyle above,
“And I study everything,
I got the game down to a science,
And I give it my aalll,
But I could lose like Kobe Bryant,
Even though your boy deny it,
Cuz you know that I’m a winner…”
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“I got drive like the shore by the lake,
And I’m rare like the rare meat in steak,
My girl thicker than a Baskin Robbins’ shake,
Yeah, you love the music that I make,
I go hard like a virgin hittin’ on the first date!”
- Bullet “Hero Freestyle”
And don’t worry, he’s got more witty, clever lines like that throughout! Big ups 2 Bullet himself for the shoutout 2 GWHH around 3:20! (”Whattup Tiiiibs?!”) Jyeaaa! Much appreciated young fella! Make sure 2 click the Bullet ‘tag’ for more from the Chi-bred rapper cuz you’ll be hearing his name a lot more real soon. Don’t sleep and DL above! And I can’t forget a couple trax dropped by some heavyweights 2day - Beyoncé & R. Kelly! Beyoncé comin’ thru w/ a nice slow jam and altho R. Kelly is the hundredth person 2 jump on “A Milli”, I’ll give him some dap cuz it sounds pretty smooth. Here’s a challenge for someone: round up every single RMX of “A Milli” and make it into one whole track. Including the original, I’m eager 2 see if we’d reach the 50 minute mark, haha! Enjoy!
I’ve been listening 2 Usher’s latest album, Here I Stand, the past few days and I came up with some interesting conclusions that I feel like sharing w/ everyone. In fact, consider this my first lil’ album review and we may make this a permanent segment. Overall, it is an excellent R&B album and if any other ordinary, up and coming R&B singer came up with an album like this, it would make their careers. That being said, I feel like it had the potential 2 be a classic and just falls short. I feel the album’s shortcomings lie within the lyrics, as they are quite frankly pretty weak in a few spots on the album (conversely, there are points where the lyrics are ridiculous as well…). However, it seems as if Usher relies on his voice 2 sing some of the lyrics that, if not sung so wonderfully, would sound even more weak. A couple examples:
“I’ll be waking u up to a cup of Folgers
Pancakes and eggs I owe ya breakfast in bed, oh baby
And your orange juice sitting on the coaster
Toast on the side baby strawberry and grape jelly”
Usher “Trading Places” (not really feelin’ the detail I suppose…)
“Light as a feather,
but hard as a rock,
Daddy know just what u like…”
Usher “Love You Gently” (lil’ corny for my tastes at least)
Not exactly the strongest lyrics on paper, but like I said above, Usher comes through and makes it tolerable. However, when u take a step back and analyze some of the lyrics, I think it detracts from the quality of the album. There’s a few trax that I’m just indifferent on (”Trading Places”, “Love You Gently”, “Lifetime”) and then some gems (in order of my fav. trax) that are on point with production, lyrics, and performance (”What’s A Man To Do”, “This Ain’t Sex” - my fav. beat, “Moving Mountains”, “His Mistakes”). There are a few trax that I can see growing on me even more that would enhance my opinion of the album like “Best Thing”, “What’s Your Name”, “Will Work For Love [Hidden Track]”, & “Something Special” that I like a lot and it’s probably a matter of time til they get repeat status.
In closing, all you Usher fans will definitely find some favorites on Here I Stand, but given Usher’s previous classics, you might find yourself feeling disappointed. If I had 2 choose right now, I’d rank it 3rd behind Confessions & 8701, but not by much. It is still a great album where Usher grows as an artist, with the overall content dealing with more mature relationship situations, rather than the “lemme get your number” type situations on 8701 for example. Because of that, it may take a few listens 2 fully appreciate the album as a whole and I would hold off judging it until u do reach a few listens. And finally, I can’t go this whole review without mentioning Usher’s banging singles “Love In This Club” & “Love In This Club (Pt. II)” f/ Beyoncé & Lil’ Wayne. Truthfully, I still have not gotten into either. I was waiting for both 2 grow on me, but I don’t think it ever will. I know it’s a HUGE hit with everyone, but I’m just not feelin’ the repetitive chorus, the beats are aite, and it may not be fair 2 compare, but it simply doesn’t compare 2 “Yeah!”. Again, Here I Stand in stores NOW, and u should def support the artist and purchase a copy for a measly 10 bucks!
Hope u enjoyed my first lil’ album review. Expect some more writing from all 3 of us as our unique perspectives will further generate some depth and interest for our GWHH fans! Comments and criticisms are encouraged!
Here’s a quick update for ur Sunday morning. The original R. Les/Cassie collabo of “Addiction” has been stuck in my head all week after hearing it again on DJ B-Bop’s Gotta Stay Fresh Mixtape and I love the RMX even better since I’m a hip hop and Fabolous fan first. LoSo’s (Fabolous, “in case you ain’t kno so”, haha!) versatility definitely adds a nice look 2 the RMX. I think that if the song is marketed well, it has the commercial appeal to become a big radio hit! Down below are a couple more NEW Beyoncé trax… the subject matter is hard for me 2 relate 2, but I have a good feeling the ladies will love it! DL above and below! Enjoy!
11:27 - Wow, I forgot 2 add Usher’s LIVE SNL Performances from last nite, so peep them below as well! Pretty sweet, esp Ush’s dance solo @ the end of “Love In This Club”!
1. Kanye West
2. Jay-Z
3. Lil’ Wayne
4. Rick Ross
5. Snoop Dogg
6. 50 Cent
7. Lupe Fiasco
8. Young Jeezy
9. Andre 3000
10. T.I.
No surprise 2 me as Kanye West was named MTV’s #1 Hottest MC of 2008 after the success of Graduation catapulted the Chicago MC into super-duperstardom. Haha. Kanye’s on another planet right now and very deserving of the #1 spot IMHO. Not 2 many beefs w/ the list IMO as well, although I think I’d switch T.I. and Dre 3000 and 50 and Lupe. Yes, I’m biased on Lupe but his star is quickly on the rise whereas Curtis’ is quickly on the fall. Still I can see the argument as 50 and Snoop Dogg still have more commercial appeal than Lupe at this point. Oh yeah, Rick Ross #4?!?! I hear they’ll be re-airing the special on MTV 2nite (debuted yesterday) so check ur local listings if ur interested. Below you can find a couple nice R&B trax by 2 of the most talented females of the genre - Mrs. Tibs Jay-Z & Jennifer Hudson. (I usually don’t go 2 pics in a post but I think u can forgive me on this 1 :D) The trax are really nice listens tho and you shouldn’t hesitate to DL the slower R&B jams below! Enjoy!
MORE ROOTS! The album leaked so this is likely the last track off there we will post, but it’s another HOT one featuring frequent Roots collaborator and CHI-Town Legend - Common! The beat is raw hip hop combined with some sick drums by ?uestlove and of course top notch verses by Black Thought and Common! A lot 2 love on that track. I also re-upped “Criminal” with no HHDX drops, which has been on repeat all day. In addition 2 the NEW Roots, check out one more NEW mp3 in the form of the “Love In This Club (Part II)” by Usher f/ Mrs. Jay-Z & Weezy. I like the Part II, esp with Usher and Beyoncé goin’ back and forth. Finally, check out a link 2 the NEW Cool Kids mixtape as well as a Lupe Fiasco video interview! Enjoy!
Above is the another HOT Ne-Yo track that all the R&B heads will enjoy. He’s simply one of the elite singer/songwriters in the game 2day and this is just more evidence 2 that. Below there’s 3 more tracks I like from Mickey Factz (I like that Malik Sealy reference) & N.E.R.D., Busta Rhymes (sick, fast flow on this track), and Beyonce (a nice slow jam). Chris Brown also released his official video for “Take Me Down”, which doubles as a live performance. That circular moving thing he is on is cool. And finally, u GOT 2 watch the hilarious cartoon video of Akon calling T-Pain with Snoop Dogg making an appearance at the end. Absolute bonkers, haha! Enjoy!
FULL, CDQ, 1st Single off of upcoming album, First Impression*Tibs Fav.
If you haven’t heard of G.O.O.D. Music artist Really Doe (above, right), well now you will because the track above is a MUST-DL! Sick beat, sick verses from the Chicago rapper and oh yeah, Mr. Kanye West! Any hip hop fan would enjoy that track. Also below there are 2 more HOT NEW trax by the Go’s R&B group One Chance and the first single off of Beyonce’s 3rd album! Below that check out the day’s news and videos! Enjoy!
Finally, the L.A. Times issued an apology for their false story last week on the 2Pac NYC Quad shooting that accused Diddy as part of the set up. The information given to them was wrong and well, they don’t look very smart after this at all. The mysteries surrounding 2Pac and Biggie’s death still remain such. Click HERE for the full story!
Happy Valentine’s Day 2 ya’ll! If you’re lookin’ for that playlist of R&B slow jams that will woo ur Valentine 2day, then look no further then the latest mixtape from my boy DJ B-Bop entitled I’ll Be Right Here! It is a collection of DJ B-Bop’s favorite OLD school AND NEW school Valentine’s Day related R&B trax, including a HQ version of the Ryan Leslie HIT “Valentine”, which I posted yesterday! Definitely should be blowin’ up in your stereos later 2nite,
Special thx 2 DJ B-Bop! Peep the tracklist and DL below!
Here is a new Kanye track that surfaced today, said to be off of the Beyond A Reasonable Doubt tribute project to Jay-Z. You can find more information HERE (courtesy of mtv.com). As usual, Kanye is straight up ridiculous, so listen/DL below!
The Cool Kids - That’s Stupid! (MIXTAPE) - MORE
