Producer: Cool & Dre & The Game - FULL, CDQ, Track off upcoming album, Untitled, in stores 07.15 *Tibs Fav.™
Aite, so Nas’ upcoming album, Untitled, has been leaked by now and tons of trax have been available everywhere, in addition 2 the ones that have appeared on GWHH. If u want the whole album, I’m sure u can browse our affiliates and find it, but since we don’t post full albums on GWHH and try 2 limit the amount of trax also, I figured I would just post 1 more goodie for ya’ll that wanna sample or wait til 07.15… and it’s Nas’ unique collaboration with The Game & Chris Brown! It may sound surprising, but it’s a very quality track with Nas & The Game ripping over a ridiculous Cool & Dre beat, with CB enhancing the track throughout (listen and you’ll see what I mean..). Def a MUST-DL and I can see the track blowin’ up as a 2nd single with the appealing names and production involved. Below, we’re playing catch-up with 16 trax total from the past few days (since we let the Kidz In The Hall interview and Mr. Music get the well-deserved, extended spotlight) featuring a ton of big names. A few thoughts… Usher track is RIDICULOUS… pretty sure that’s a snippet but it’s a 2:51 long snippet, if that, and it’s HOT! Also, u may notice the same song by Lloyd and Sterling Simms, and well, that’s cuz it is… it’s just a different singer for each version. The early edge goes 2 Sterling IMO, but I’ll need a few more listens. Other than that, u can peep my favs below and I’m sure u’ll find somethin’ u like, in addition 2 the video premiere of Lil’ Wayne’s “A Milli”! Enjoy!
And in some bad news, fellow blogger gowhere? cannot access GWHH where he is staying in China because he’s in a restricted area or something like that. So unfortunately, it looks like we won’t be getting the unique posts from gowhere? until mid-August when he’s finally back in the States. But u kno Max G. & myself will be holdin’ it down for ya!
12:10PM - Just upped “Swing Your Rag” by T.I., produced by Swizz Beatz (formerly known as “Louis Rag”). It’s the clean version, but the previous version was littered w/ shout outs. Def update ur iTunes w/ this one below. Shouts 2 Z for sending this thru!
My brief hiatus is finally over, (haha, been mad busy the last couple days, sry!) and as I’m sure many ppl know by now, our hometown Chicago Bulls made it official last nite, making hometown prince Derrick Rose the number 1 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft! As u can imagine, I’m beyond excited for Rose (nice suit btw, Derrick) in Chicago and the entire city is buzzing about the homecoming of the best Chicago high school player in years! Yes, it’s off-topic but as big basketball and Chicago fans, it is quite an exciting day for us and an exciting weekend as well with the Crosstown Rivalry starting up again as well as the Taste Of Chicago (see below.) And Chicago remains the theme for this post as I gotcha all caught up on the latest music from some of Chicago’s finest MCs (props 2 FSD & Boogz!) NEW, unreleased (quite possibly records from years ago, however) music featuring Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West (pre-accident), Rhymefest, Mikkey Halsted, Bump J as well as Chicago’s finest R&B group, One Chance! A bunch of Tibs Favs 2 be had below, as the listener can really see the talent of Lupe & Kanye at such a young stage in their careers with the below trax. Also make sure 2 get the A-Trak / LUPE version of “Me & My Sneakers” in the post below.. straight up ridiculous! I threw up a lil’ Kidz In The Hall video as well as they just completed a tour out in Europe! Below that, MORE NEW music featuring some of the mainstream artists with Usher covering One Chance, Nas, Joe Budden, and maybe my favorite track outta that bunch, Gym Class Heroes collaborating w/ The Dream! Plenty 2 DL and plenty 2 like, so check it all out below! Enjoy!
Above are a couple Chicago tidbits with the hilarious rap battle between the famous managers of the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox - Lou Piniella and Ozzie Guillen. Both are funny for their own reasons and a quick view of that 30 second commercial spot that’s been airing here will simply show u how. (Cubs lose 2day but still up 3-1 in the season series!). Also, it warrants mentioning that the world’s largest food festival starts 2day - the 28th annual Taste Of Chicago! The festival features food from the various, unique restaurants around Chicago, dipping into all forms of ethnicity, and also includes many outdoor activities. The one most relevant 2 u Chicagoland readers is the musical performers each day of the Taste (June 27th-July 6th) and the notable ones include Estelle on July 2nd, Joss Stone on July 1st, and Stevie Wonder 2morrow on June 28th! So if u are planning on going 2 the Taste, but don’t know which day yet, maybe one of those would be a good time for ya! It’s a good time for everyone and a good time 2 vacation 2 Chicago! And maybe you’ll see us there!
Another HUGE update for ya (sry, going 2 be inconsistent w/ timely updates the next few days…) with the feature track being the HOT, Swizz Beatz-produced?, RMX of Alicia Keys’ latest single “Teenage Love Affair” featuring LL Cool J! LL’s male perspective definitely adds 2 this song that was lyrically brilliant in the first place. Another big RMX below is from Usher for his latest single “Moving Mountains” featuring Hood Fella. Not sure if that’s official, but Hood Fella adds 2 the original beat pretty well also. More songs 2 add 2 ur collection include the latest GemStones track “Never Give Up”, which features the new and improved GemStones - meaningful, conscious lyrics and a beautiful, passionate chorus that brings the cliche some depth. The mixtape should be hitting the web within the next couple days as it’s finally done (unfortunately we couldn’t hit up the mixtape release party last nite). It’s just a matter of time and once it pops up in our e-mail or around the other blogs, u’ll see it on GWHH. Be sure 2 scroll below for the boatload of new hip hop and R&B trax, requests, and videos as the Keyshia Cole Letterman performance is especially worth ur time! Enjoy! (Big ups 2 FSD & NMC)
01. USHER “PLAY ME” *Tibs Fav.™
02. DONNIE KLANG “TAKE YOU THERE RMX” *Tibs Fav.™
03. SASHA PAYNE “FLASHY”
04. DEAR JAYNE “FALL BACK”
05. ASHANTI “THINGS YOU MAKE ME DO”
06. RAHEEM DEVAUGHN “EMPTY” *Tibs Fav.™
07. ASHANTI “YOU’RE GONNA MISS” *Tibs Fav.™
08. CASELY “IT’S GETTING HOT” *Tibs Fav.™
09. PLEASURE P “LUCKIEST MAN”
10. KIERAN “MY WAY”
11. SLOW PAIN “OG LOVE”
12. DEM FRANCHISE BOYZ “TURN HEADS” F/ LLOYD
13. TREY SONGZ “CRAZY” *Tibs Fav.™
14. ASHANTI “SO OVER YOU” *Tibs Fav.™
15. FASHO’ “I’M WIT IT” *Tibs Fav.™
16. LIL’ WAYNE “COMFORTABLE” F/ BABYFACE (PROD. KANYE WEST) *Tibs Fav.™
17. CHERISH “NOTICE”
18. SEAN GARRETT “COME ON IN”
19. PRINCE “FUTURE BABY MAMA” *Tibs Fav.™
My boy DJ B-Bop comes thru yet again with another nice mixtape featuring some R&B trax from GWHH, some R&B trax from talented up and comers you may not have, and even dabbles into some hip hop as well! He blended the mix 2gether for your listening pleasure in long car rides, at your computer during school or work, or wherever..! The mixtape is yet again a MUST-DL for any fan of hip hop and especially R&B and you can do that above. Click HERE for more mixtapes from DJ B-Bop and HEREfor another archive of mixtapes from the Twin Cities DJ! Enjoy!
“Happy flowers for the lady keeps the monster away”
Yeahh… so this one is brand spankin’ new and one of my favs from the boy James Grady! I love the metaphor and the violent Mickey. Pretty G. Also some G tracks below. SaWeet!
Also in other news GWHH Designer Max G. designs the invites/etc. for Perez Hilton’s One Night In Toronto. The event which is thrown by Perez Hilton, sponsored by Calvin Klein, and presented by BMF Media will be off the chain including special guests Simple Plan! This after party to the Much Music awards is sure to be crawling with many hot celebs, but unfortunately is invite only!
A couple of HOT hip hop bangers for ya 2day. Props 2 FSD once again for their periodic drops of old, yet unreleased material - this feature track coming from our boy Lupe Fiasco; a harder, bangin’ type track with help from a hard piano. I like it, especially with a couple well-placed name drops of Rosa Parks and rapper Fabolous in the last verse. Def a MUST-DL, as well as the latest from DMX down below. Him and Freeway flow real nicely over a unique horn-based beat that isn’t really DMX’s typical style, yet he adapts 2 it nicely. Furthermore, check out the CDQ version of Robin Thicke’s “Magic” and a Casely feature that is a nice track as well. And finally, this might be bad for Pharrell, but he pushed a dude off stage and well, its still kinda funny. 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!
So I was teased into thinkin’ the above version of “Stop Playin’” was the FULL, FINAL version featuring Usher & Michael Jackson, BUT this 4:42 long song still has no Michael Jackson vocals and I did some digging and it seems like the track is complete, save for a verse for Michael Jackson, which is either happening at the end or in place of Ryon Lovett’s 1st verse. Phew, so hopefully u followed that. I’d DL this extended version anyway… my thoughts… Usher is awesome over this track, but T-Pain… what is T-Pain doing on this track? He ruins it with his trademark autotuner crap, except that it sounds awful in that chorus. When used properly, the autotuner enhances the song, but in this case, even T-Pain might be getting a lil carried away. Ugh, why can’t this just be an Usher / Michael Jackson duet..?? It’s what everybody wants 2 hear! Oh well, down below, u can enjoy a couple trax from R&B singers Taio Cruz & Casely and the video premiere for Yung Berg’s rising single, “The Business”! Enjoy!
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!
Real quick update for me, then off 2 work and Common @ DePaul! Usher performance vids above that are pretty sweet as you’d expect and a couple NEW trax below f/ Ashanti & Robin Thicke and a large RMX f/ a bunch of guys by Rick Ross w/ Trey Songz on the chorus. Scroll and check out Max G.’s sweet post below! Enjoy!
Nas “Make The World Go Round” f/ Chris Brown & The Game - MORE
but still up 3-1 in the season series!). Also, it warrants mentioning that the world’s largest food festival starts 2day - the 28th annual Taste Of Chicago! The festival features food from the various, unique restaurants around Chicago, dipping into all forms of ethnicity, and also includes many outdoor activities. The one most relevant 2 u Chicagoland readers is the musical performers each day of the Taste (June 27th-July 6th) and the notable ones include Estelle on July 2nd, Joss Stone on July 1st, and Stevie Wonder 2morrow on June 28th! So if u are planning on going 2 the Taste, but don’t know which day yet, maybe one of those would be a good time for ya! It’s a good time for everyone and a good time 2 vacation 2 Chicago! And maybe you’ll see us there! 
