Old School Sundays today, and we got the incredible mashup by DJ Danger Mouse where he takesJay Z’s Black Album & respectively mashes it with The Beatles White Album. I made a nice diagram to make it more clear for those that learn better visually. Basically it’s Raw; it’s that Grey Baby! Life is Grey, and that’s why this mashup is so great; you take greatness from one spectrum, and add it to greatness from another part of the spectrum, and boom - you get a whole new reinterpretation of beauty.
“I wish I can give ya this feelin’ / I wish I can give ya this feelin’ / And when the workout plan ain’t work out mange / Me and Common is back on the corners again / On the corner!” - Kanye West
Jyea! Thanks 2 FSD again for another CHI-Town anthem featuring some sick lyrics from Kanye West, Common, AND Mikkey Halsted “blowin’ it off the hinges!” All with their signature, Chicago-inspired flow over a NEW, HOT beat! Damn. This one is a MUST-DL! Gotta run 2nite, would say more, but just peep the songs on this latest update (scroll for more..) and enjoy!
FULL, CDQ, Rumored track from upcoming album, Sketches Of A Man *Tibs Fav.
The feature track for 2day is the RMX 2 Dwele’s first single “I’m Cheatin’” featuring fellow Detroit artist, Slum Village! It’s a unique R&B track with Dwele singin’ about cheatin’ on a girl, not with another girl, but cuz the girl is different, while Slum Village adds a nice flavor 2 the RMX. Not sure if the track will be included on the album, but the original sure will and its due out in stores on June 24th! Down below, a couple trax from some hip hop heavyweights - a short freestyle over “A Millie” (what else is new?) but this time by Jay-Z and a new release from G-Unit produced by Swizz Beatz. Also down below, don’t sleep on a HOT R&B slow jam track by virtual unknown - Nathan. He should be grateful for that ridiculous StarGate beat, which is attractive 2 ur ears on first listen. And finally, the video premiere of Estelle’s latest single - “No Substitute Love”, a nice video with some old school elements telling the story of the song! 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!
Slow Sunday for some hot trax, but I saw this unofficial compilation of a ton of artists over “Flashing Lights” featuring old verses from all of the above (For ex: Lupe & Santos’ “Superstar” is over the “Flashing Lights” beat.) Nonetheless, it makes for a nice listen if u can’t get enough of “Flashing Lights” (which I can’t, haha.) Down below are some big names like The Game, Akon, Pharrell, but I’m not really feelin’ any of those trax. No bigger names tho than USHER & MICHAEL JACKSON, who are apparently collaborating (with T-Pain tho… ugh) and the snippet is out on their song. We’ll see how the full version turns out but so far it sounds pretty sick! The song is credited w/ the artists listed below and shouted out by T-Pain on the track, but again, we’ll see when the full version leaks! Enjoy!
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!
The above live performance is simply a must-see. Lupe straight up rips it word for word on my favorite track from Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool and Nikki Jean provides the nice, soulful chorus. Their energy really gets the crowd going and you can tell as the song progresses 2 the very end. I had 2 watch that another time myself, haha. A few notes on the NEW trax below… really feelin’ the Taio Cruz/Estelle RMX and “War Is Necessary”, which I’m re-posting with the CDQ version. The “Flashing Lights” track is the Glow In The Dark Version, which is not live, but CDQ and features a slight, yet interesting take on the track, that I’m sure sounds 10x better if that is used when he performs it in his show. Finally, the Jay-Z track is an interesting one as he fired back at DeShawn Stevenson in support of his boy LeBron James - in fact, it is one of the strangest, most entertaining feuds (LeBron & DeShawn) that I can remember. There’s a link 2 the full story below the track that is a must-read if you’re interested in the details. Enjoy!
FULL, CDQ, 1st Official Single off upcoming album, Rising Down*Tibs Fav.
Above is the OFFICIAL 1st single off Rising Down called “Rising Up” featuring up and comer Wale & the wonderfully talented Chrisette Michele! I love a lot about this track - nice beat, great vocals from Chrisette and of course some sweet verses from Black Thought and Wale! Def DL this above, it’s good hip hop! We also got some NEW trax featuring heavyweights Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, & R. Kelly below. Also be sure 2 check out the latest from Minneapolis duo Atmosphere (really feelin’ that slow, laid back track) and a couple Keyshia Cole videos! Enjoy!
Here’s 2day’s batch of trax and vids - the featured track being a RMX of one of my fav. songs ever “Can’t Help But Wait” f/ Rick Ross. I like that new beat so def worth a DL for you guys. There’s also the NEW Jay-Z/MJB/Swizzy collabo, a NEW track from Day 26 (not 100% sure if it’s them tho.. but its credited 2 them..?)… a cover of another one of my fav. songs ever - “U Got It Bad” by Frankie J (but why cover such a classic song that can’t get any better? Still good tho.) Also check out another full track from Francisco and a neat behind the scenes look at “75 Bars” from The Roots! Enjoy!
Old School Sundays - The Grey Album
Basically it’s Raw; it’s that Grey Baby! Life is Grey, and that’s why this mashup is so great; you take greatness from one spectrum, and add it to greatness from another part of the spectrum, and boom - you get a whole new reinterpretation of beauty.
