Given the fact that the 90’s urban pop goddess Aaliyah is still revered in the 2010’s, the world of pop culture was thrust into quite a tizzy when rumors of another posthumous album hit the internetz a few weeks ago. The late singer’s untimely and now infamous death via plane crash in July 2001 broke hearts around the world, robbing them of a performer whose music defined a very specific and popular sub-genre of hip-hop in the late 1990’s. Needless to say, support for once again delving into the Aaliyah archives would be widespread, particularly given the success of I Care 4 U and Ultimate Aaliyah released in 2002 and 2005, respectively. However, buzz surrounding the recent news has turned from being about the album itself to who is behind it, and by that I am referring to the one and only Drake (aliases: Drizzy, Aubrey Graham, Jimmy Brooks, etc.) This piece is really just a brief letter to the former Degrassi heartthrob, which expresses my feelings about his role in the forthcoming album, shared with Canadian producer Noah “40” Shebib, is simply a farce.

Dear Drake, the fact that you are co-executive producing Aaliyah’s next posthumous album makes me quite uncomfortable and the following points are just a few of the reasons why. I know how sensitive you are, so I’ll try to be nice. But I’m not making any promises.

1.) Your credibility--Let’s look at the facts: not only were you 7 years old when Aaliyah’s first album came out, but also you’ve only been in the music game yourself for 6 years. I know that Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number (pun intended), however I just don’t think you have the musical pedigree that one should have to have in order to properly pay homage to the 90’s legend. That being said, one thing I would like to know is how you usurped this role from talented producers such as R. Kelly, Missy Elliot, and Timbaland who have not only been in the game longer, but actually knew and worked with Aaliyah prior to her death?

2.) Your attitude--This one’s pretty straightforward. I mean c’mon, isn’t it a little insensitive to have the champion of the oh-so-nauseating “YOLO” mentality behind this album? Seems a little contradictory to me that the guy responsible for this video is going to be providing the heart and soul of the tribute album. You’ve noted in interviews how much of an inspiration Aaliyah has been in your own music and I don’t doubt that, however I think it might be best for you to just continue channeling your energies into something like your Chris Brown feud over Rihanna and let someone else worry about immortalizing our past music icons. That being said, stop getting Aaliyah related tattoos. Just stop.

3.) Your hip-hop styles conflict--Let’s take the recently released track “Enough Said” as an example here. From Aaliyah we get the beautiful, nostalgic voice singing lyrics about a desire for real intimacy creating an almost ethereal sound on the track. That somehow gets paired with your rap about how trying it is to be famous...really? Case in point: “Every million I gain an enemy or a cousin.” WHAT does that have to do with this song at all? I’m sorry that you’re getting incredibly wealthy. Must be really difficult. Gah. Anyway, I can appreciate the production of the song, but if that’s what we have to look forward to with this collaboration I’d say just work on your own albums/mixtapes and leave the Aaliyah archives alone.

All that being said, I would wager that the album will boast a pretty solid production value, and again, I don’t doubt that you have been heavily influenced and inspired by what Aaliyah did in hip-hop. My feelings are more so coming from a place that says posthumous albums are already risky in a lot of ways and putting someone with a one-noted and brief musical background at the helm makes me a little too nervous. Dear Drake, while your intentions may be good you know what they say about the road to hell.
 
xoxo,
 
Cat Puttmann

(Piece originally published on In Our Words.)

Newly dubbed PBR&B (Pabst Blue Ribbon/Rhythm & Blues), after the choice "hipster" beer, has been growing. Lyrically-layered, emotional verses, lo-fi rhythms, todays R&B artist are not afraid to lay it on the line.  Frank Ocean, Drake, Miguel are leading the pack of breaking and new grounds. Recently coming out about his bisexuality, Frank Ocean risked his commercial success just a week before releasing Channel Orange. Taking influences from Marvin Gaye and the Temptations just to name a few, I like where today's R&B is going.

Read the Spin article here.

Well, if you were one of those many unfortunate people like myself who can’t attend Jay-Z’s Made In America Festival your in luck. Hov has teamed up with Hollywood producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer to produce the documentary style film. The file will show every aspect of the festival through the eyes of Jay-Z.

"The festival showcases 20 pre-eminent artists that speak to the new generation,” Basker tells the NY Post. “I am producing the film with Steve Stoute and Jay. Ron is directing. It is going to be born through Jay-Z’s perspective . . . how he puts the event together.” He added, “Jay stayed the king for a very long time . . . I can’t even begin to explain how he is capable of remaining relevant. He is a phenom, like a musical Michael Jordan".

I really can’t wait for this! Seeing Jay-Z myself live 3 times he puts on a great show. Plus the festival will feature performance sets from Drake, Odd Future, MayBach Music Group, and Run DMC to name a few.

Well things just aren’t looking up for Aaliyah’s upcoming posthumous album. Last week Drake and Aaliyah’s label Blackground stated that Missy Elliott and Timbaland would in fact contribute to the upcoming album. As of today that is now false according to a statement released by Missy Elliot’s Manager.

"Although Missy and Timbaland always strive to keep the memory of their close friend alive, we have not been contacted about the project nor are there any plans at this time to participate," Mona Scott-Young, longtime manager for Missy Elliott, says. "We've seen the reports surfacing that they have been confirmed to participate but that is not the case. Both Missy and Timbaland are very sensitive to the loss still being felt by the family so we wanted to clear up any misinformation being circulated."

Clearly there is a lot of confusion and drama going on with this upcoming release. One being the fact Aaliyah’s brother said no one from his family supports this album. With Missy and Tim out the picture, I’m starting to wonder what is the purpose of releasing the album without two people who really helped Aaliyah’s career. Hopefully a lot of things get cleared up between everyone, because this album seems like a great idea if executed right.

Drake went ahead and broke Jay Z's record of 9 number one hits on the BIllboard R&B/Hip Hop chart with his recent track "No Lie" making him reach that tenth. According to the list, Drake has had 7 collaborations and 3 lead singles out of that ten. Jay-Z has 4 lead singles and 5 collabs for his nine. Coming behind Hov with the #3 spot on that list is Lil Wayne with 8 number one hits and Kanye at the 4 spot. The best part of this is that Drake hasn't even been in the game for 5 years yet. Congrats Drizzy!