More Kanye West headlines (and it's not stopping with his performance on SNL just hours away...) as Rap-Up is confirming the much-publicized rumor that Kanye is releasing his next album on June 18th. The title — Yeezus.
The (hip hop) world is talkin' about the premiere of "New Slaves" on 66 buildings in 10 cities last night and the other new, juicy detail is that Frank Ocean is to appear as a featured vocalist on "New Slaves". As if people weren't already excited for "New Slaves" to drop, hah. Count me amongst the many.
INCYMI, Maks G and I marveled at the amazing, pop-up premiere of "New Slaves" and were at two of Chicago's most iconic landmarks to capture some raw video! Read our experiences and watch a full preview of "New Slaves"!
Drake's annual OVO Fest is comin' up this summer in Toronto and for this year's 2-day concert, none other than Frank Ocean will be headlining with him. Hopefully by August, Ocean and Drake will have a collab together... and maybe they'll perform it for the Toronto fans?! All hopeful thinking...
After looking over this weeks Top 5, four out of the five songs are really that kind of zone out to music so I hope you all get that same feeling that I did when I was putting this list together. Lets not waste anymore time and get into these tracks.
Easily the most anticipated song that so many people have been looking forward to in a long time. I compared it to the Mayan calendar, and though the song didn't live up to all the anticipation that it had recieved it still did better then the Mayans. I think it was a solid return for Justin, an I'm still pretty confident that the final album is going to be dope as hell.
There isn't much that can be said about this song that hasn't already been said. The obvious new attraction to this song is hearing Big Boi and Andre 3K on the same song again. Hopefully we won't have to wait another couple of years before we hear them together again because this just reminds us how great they are together.
This is a song that I fear people might have over looked because of the unfimiliar name, but your hearing it here first. Mr. Gage is dope. I've known about him because I'm homies with his camp SUH, but this is my first time hearing his music and I am very impressed. Stay in tuned with this guy.
Murph Watkins finds himself in my Top 5 yet again. Every time I hear new music from him I can't help but to think a better version of Curren$y and this song furthered that idea. Listen for yourself and tell me I'm wrong.
The final song on this weeks list is a definite change of pace compared to the other four songs on the list. When I listen to this it serves its purpose, which to me is club/riding music. If your looking for a dope track to kick off the night to "Millions" is for you.
So that's this weeks list, hope you liked it and if you didn't feel free to tell me about it.
Here is the remix to "Pink Matter" - the original version that was supposed to feature OutKast reunited, but ultimately only Andre 3000 made the channel Orange version, since they didn't want the OutKast reunion to happen on someone else's record.
Big Boi's verse is new - and this one's a must-grab for any Frank fans, any OutKast fans... any music fans.
As planed earlier this summer both André 3000 and Big Boi from Outkast were supposed to appear on Frank Ocean's Channel Orange. These plans fell through because of Big Boi who explained himself through Twitter, he "didn't want an Outkast Record Coming out on anybody else LP." However, André 3000 still kept his spot on the album.
Plans have now changed and a few days ago Big Boi representatives confirmed a new version of "Pink Matter" which will include Frank Ocean and André 3000 together with Big Boi. This will mark the first Outkast appearance in 6 months.
This doesn't seem to be a one time thing since Big Boi announced on Twitter today that him and André 3000 will also make an appearance on T.I.'s "Sorry", there is still no date to when the single will be released but now we all have something to look forward to.
This one will probably grow on me; I dig the vocals off the first listen, but gotta sit with it more to see if it rises up the ranks of my favorite Ocean songs. (3 stars with room for more)
Do you believe this?! Frank Ocean is considering 'Channel Orange' to be his last album... It's been a HUGE year for him and as fleeting he is making himself to be, this past year alone he has established himself as a recoring legend after 'No Church in the Wild', cancelled a European tour, been nominated for grammys, performed a heartfelt show at the 2012 VMAs, Lolla, and SNL.
Frank has done pretty much everything there is to do in just one short year... and of course, broke the standard of bisexuality in the music business via his tumblr account. His posted words still reverberate in the minds of listeners and readers.
Frank Ocean, in my eyes, is the best critically acclaimed artist this year. With lyrical perfection, Frank Ocean strives to better himself and his art. He considers making 'Channel Orange' his last album as he works on other artists in the studio and explores the idea of writing a novel.
Were you excited about that? Does this kind of thing matter to you?
Of course awards matter. It's like a player in any ball league – NFL, NBA, whatever – you come up in these systems of organisation, and you can hate the league but, at the end of the day, you can't hate the championship. Music industry people – and, whether I like it or not, I'm a music industry person – that's the game I came up in. The Grammys are like the championship, and that's cool. It's cool to be recognised by your peers ... blah blah blah blah!
Presumably you didn't want Channel Orange to be a small release.
I'm about being the best. Yeah. I mean, what's the point, right? There might not be a point to anything – that's real nihilistic and shit – but if you're gonna be playing this video game, you might as well win, right? Fuck, yeah.
Did you ever imagine that it would be so successful?
Yes. I told y'all it was going to be the best [laughs].
But were you sure of that when you were recording it?
I mean, let's be clear, I'm being a little facetious. In art, at a certain level, there is no "better than". It's just about trying to operate for yourself on the most supreme level, artistically, that you can and hoping that people get it. Trusting that, just because of the way people are built and how interconnected we are, greatness will translate and symmetry will be recognised.
I'd like to talk about your lyrics. You seem to work in a very cinematic way.
Whenever I think about movies, I always look at that art process as having the best of a lot of worlds. Because if you watch a great film, you have a musical element to it, not just on the scoring, but in the way that the shots are edited – that has music and rhythm and time.
Obviously the cinematography of films is art, just as a still shot can be art. If I'm watching a Wes Anderson movie, the colour palettes alone, and the way they're painted, could be art. With music you're a little bit limited, of course, because it's only audio. Apart from the artwork and the music videos, if you can get the label to give you money for shit like that, or if you can do it yourself. But the storytelling, that's where you can really paint pictures. You can't do it with a melody or a sound or a rhythm or a chord progression. The storytelling part of it is the most interesting and challenging part of the whole process for me.
That's quite unusual. A lot of people don't take care over their lyrics like that.
I don't think that's true. A lot of people do. That's a real – what's the word? – a strength, a focus rather, of a lot of contemporary musicians. But you're right. Some people focus more on sonics. Some people focus more on story. I focus on both sonics and story, but music sometimes, just music itself, can turn into more of a maths problem. I guess everything in life is a math problem, but it can be more about an empirical route to getting the symmetry that you want, and this vibe, sonically. But storytelling's a different thing. Like I said, it's the more interesting part about making music for me, or making albums and songs and stuff. So much so that I might not make another album. I might just write a novel next. I don't know!
I don't believe you. You just said you were in the studio.
Yeah, but I was working on another artist. I wasn't working on me.
So Channel Orange could be your last album? This could be it?
It could be. It could be it, if I flew next week and my plane crashed! It could be it if somebody walked along and shot me for my bracelet or something. It could always be it. The idea of recognising your strengths and using them in as versatile a way as you can is cool to me. I don't ever want to be caught up in a system of thinking I can do one thing cos that's just … that's just telling yourself a lie. But I do like to sing. I play piano every day. I enjoy that.
It's topped our list, which suggests other people enjoy it too. It'd be a shame if you didn't do another.
It wouldn't be a shame.
It would be a shame.
I don't know if it'd be a shame. I'm beginning to question the importance of art in this world these days. Like, I have this little theory that a lot of today's geniuses don't even go into the field of art any more. I did write a song recently, and the first line of the song was, "First off, fuck art." That was the first line!
That's a bit strong.
The way I approach this thing, when I started to get my head screwed on straight and really trying to make something of myself as an artist, when I was 19 or 20, it became more about function for me. Like, what is this song doing to you? What is the function of this type of artform? What is it doing?
For you as the writer, or for the listener?
I mean, I listen to my music too. I can't usually stomach a project after I finish it, but for those days and weeks and months that it's new to me, I do listen to it and it might change over time, but it's about function. If I'm maybe saying something I want to say, or capture a feeling in a story, or illustrate a character that I have on my mind, anything – function first, thrill second.
So this novel ...
You know, I gotta answer those questions for myself day by day. I don't intend to stop making music. This isn't a faux retirement. It's no bullshit. I was just making music yesterday. But I do think – it would be fucking legendary if I just made Channel Orange last year, then put out a best-selling novel next year, then, you know, designed an arena in Stockholm in 2014! I don't know! You just do what you can and you have as much fun as possible, and love your life as much as you can despite the bullshit and all the expectations and shit. You just do what the fuck you wanna do at the end of the day, and don't give a fuck. As long as your intentions are solid, and about growth and progression and being productive and not being idle, then you're doing good in my book.
Are you going to come and play some shows in the UK?
Fuck, yeah.
Is that a guarantee?
That is a guarantee. Wait. Let me get back to my normal self. Nothing is ever guaranteed about anything, but if I'm alive and well this summer, I should see you guys.
Finally, tell me which albums you've enjoyed this year.
Hmm. Let me see what I have. I thought Norah Jones made a really good record. I thought Kendrick Lamar made a cool record. I thought John Mayer made a really good record. Speaking of new records, you know who needs to make a new album? I think Fleetwood Mac needs to make a new album. I think so. I think they do.
Without Christine McVie, though? Stevie said she won't be coming back.
That could pose a problem. I didn't know she wouldn't come back. You just educated me.
She moved back to England in the 90s and gave it all up.
That sounds like some shit I would do! No. I'm not on any retirement kick.
It's Grammy time everybody! Artists in the urban hip hop/R&B spectrum that are leading the nominations include some usual names like Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Nas — and some newcomers, most notably Frank Ocean & Miguel. Scroll down for many of the categories relevant to Gowhere, and then beyond that for the full list, and my predictions.
Album Of The Year:
“El Camino” — The Black Keys
“Some Nights” — FUN.
“Babel” — Mumford & Sons
“Channel Orange” — Frank Ocean
“Blunderbuss” — Jack White
Record Of The Year:
“Lonely Boy” — The Black Keys
“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” — Kelly Clarkson
“We Are Young” — FUN. Featuring Janelle Monáe
“Somebody That I Used To Know” — Gotye Featuring Kimbra
“Thinkin Bout You” — Frank Ocean
“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” — Taylor Swift
Best New Artist:
Alabama Shakes
FUN.
Hunter Hayes
The Lumineers
Frank Ocean
Song Of The Year:
“The A Team” — Ed Sheeran, songwriter (Ed Sheeran)
“Adorn” — Miguel Pimentel, songwriter (Miguel)
“Call Me Maybe” — Tavish Crowe, Carly Rae Jepsen & Josh Ramsay, songwriters (Carly Rae Jepsen)
“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” — Jörgen Elofsson, David Gamson, Greg Kurstin & Ali Tamposi, songwriters (Kelly Clarkson)
“We Are Young” — Jack Antonoff, Jeff Bhasker, Andrew Dost & Nate Ruess, songwriters (FUN. Featuring
Janelle Monáe)
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration:
“Wild Ones” — Flo Rida Featuring Sia
“No Church In The Wild” — Jay–Z & Kanye West Featuring Frank Ocean & The–Dream
“Tonight (Best You Ever Had)” — John Legend Featuring Ludacris
“Cherry Wine” — Nas Featuring Amy Winehouse
“Talk That Talk” — Rihanna Feautring Jay–Z
Best Rap Performance:
“HYFR (Hell Ya F***ing Right)” — Drake Featuring Lil Wayne
“N****s In Paris” — Jay–Z & Kanye West
“Daughters” — Nas
“Mercy” — Kanye West Featuring Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz
“I Do” — Young Jeezy Featuring Jay–Z & André 3000
Best Rap Album:
“Take Care” — Drake
“Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1″ — Lupe Fiasco
“Life Is Good” — Nas
“Undun” — The Roots
“God Forgives, I Don’t” — Rick Ross
“Based On A T.R.U. Story” — 2 Chainz
Best Rap Song:
“Daughers” — Nas
“Lotus Flower Bomb” — Wale featuring Miguel
“Mercy” — Kanye West Featuring Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz
“The Motto” — Drake Featuring Lil Wayne
“N****s in Paris” — Jay-Z & Kanye West
“Young, Wild & Free” — Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa Featuring Bruno Mars
Best R&B Performance:
“Thank You” — Estelle
“Gonna Be Alright (F.T.B.)” — Robert Glasper Experiment Featuring Ledisi
“I Want You” — Luke James
“Adorn” — Miguel
“Climax” — Usher
Best Urban Contemporary Album:
“Fortune” — Chris Brown
“Kaleidoscope Dream” — Miguel
“Channel Orange” — Frank Ocean
Best R&B Album:
“Black Radio” — Robert Glasper Experiment
“Back To Love” — Anthony Hamilton
“Write Me Back” — R. Kelly
“Beautiful Surprise” — Tamia
“Open Invitation” — Tyrese
Best R&B Song:
“Adorn” — Miguel
“Beautiful Surprise” — Tamia
“Heart Attack” — Trey Songz
“Pray for Me” — Anthony Hamilton
“Refill” — Elle Varner
Best Pop Solo Performance:
“Set Fire To The Rain (Live)” — Adele
“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” — Kelly Clarkson
“Call Me Maybe” — Carly Rae Jepsen
“Wide Awake” — Katy Perry
“Where Have You Been” — Rihanna
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:
“Shake It Out” — Florence & The Machine
“We Are Young” — FUN. Featuring Janelle Monáe
“Somebody That I Used To Know” — Gotye Featuring Kimbra
- Frank Ocean wins one of the 3 coveted awards of the evening: Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year, or Best New Artist. I wouldn't bat an eyebrow if he won all 3 - he's got the music and the compelling story behind him, but I also don't really listen to his competition so I can't sit here and compare it all. Ocean is well-deserving though and he'll take home one of those big awards.
- This lyrical hip hop head scoffs at the sight of Rick Ross & 2 Chainz in the Rap Album of the Year category, but I can't deny the big years they've had. That said, Take Care has gotta take this one right?
- Hard to pick one from the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration category. I see it going to either "No Church In The Wild" or "Cherry Wine" and NOT "Wild Ones".
- Miguel's "Adorn" probably won't take Song Of The Year (isn't it funny to see that preceding "Call Me Maybe"?), but it will take best R&B Song and/or Best R&B Performance. It's funny to me because I don't vibe with "Adorn" like I do with much of the rest of Kaleidoscope Dream. But needless to say, I'm glad a nice song like that is getting recognized. Overall, my two best (and favorite) R&B albums that dropped this year, in KD and Channel Orange, are getting that premiere Grammy shine!
What do you think of the nominees? And what are your predictions??
Rita Ora, born in Kosovo, moved to the United Kingdom the same year has been making big waves since her debut studio album release, ORA, with three singles shooting straight to number one. She will soon be making waves as she kicks off her promotional shows in America.
Iggy opening
Iggy in awesome stripperVERSACE heels
With a budding following in Chicago, Iggy Azalea kicked opened wearing a a white crop top and paneled mesh-faux leather legging accentuating her itty bitty waistline and enviable booty. Making her look complete, her porn star-esque booties and sexually charged lyrics had the whole club bouncing. Though some of her songs lacked variety, she showed her potential to grow as an artist. Iggy can really hold her own. Can't wait to see her head lining her own shows in the US because we need more girls like her. Her rocking out the hip hop and Rita Ora coming out next, I was brought back to my girl power days of Spice Girls and thought how much more these girls could pack a REAL punch! Whether the crowd knew Iggy’s lyrics or not, she got everyone to dance and even brought a few lucky fans on stage… including one in a red blazer complete with bedazzled panties. I couldn’t get a clear picture of his crotch because he was gyrating too much.
Fan in homemade panties
Before the concert, I got a chance to meet Rita! She was so cute and bubbly with a fashion sense I admire. She rocked out some dark lipstick, eyeball dangle earrings, skull rings, and a mod white dress. She really has some sick style. As everyone at the blog already knows… I’m obsessed with skulls and creepy things. I’m glad I got to meet her and know that we have an obsession in common.
Backstage with Rita Ora!
Rita Ora kicked off an amazing and intimate show. Her opening song, Facemelt, was 90 seconds of pure energy. Her chained decorated mic and use of drum showed that was ready to give a good show. Her cd years in the making only verified how much she has honed her performing skills. Songs like Rock Da Life and Shine Ya Light were quintessential anthems to her Roc Nation heritage. And of course, she took it slow with an emotional filled rendition of Swim Good. Though not as soul forthcoming as Frank Ocean, her vocal chords were insane. (then again, who can ever be as soul exposing as Frank O?)
Check out that body!
Ending her concert with Uneasy and R.I.P, I felt complete. Rita confessed R.I.P. is her ultimate favorite song. Written by Drake, but rumored to be intended for Rihanna, this song was DESTINED to be Rita’s. Nailing each note and “beating it down to a bloody pulp” as described by Perez Hilton, Rita's rookie appeal and confident attitude is absolute perfection. It was an early concert but I had myself singing her songs all weekend. I left feeling like the next time I see her will be filling arenas. She has a voice that her CD doesn’t do her justice. She has a look that will only get better. The craziest thing of it all… she’s just getting started.
And yes, she is actually that pretty in person… if not more... And her singing is even better live.
Rita is on the RIIIIIIIISEEEEE!
UPDATE: Then I got called out for by Iggy herself on twitter for calling her heels stripper heels...
I GOT... #OWNED
I'm just trying to say that this girl has so much edge ad glam she can make anything look high fashion. You need your own clothing line! How could I have ever doubted this Refinery29 star? :P
