Last year three MCs got me loving rap again. A-1 (Adam Raps) was first, and shortly after Anderson .Paak and Goldlink. I’ve highlighted the first two before, but Goldlink is doing as well now as he did back then, so I thought I’d highlight him now.
Fall in Love is my favorite of his and it’s only been out for a month. Rarely does a song live up to its hype when three great musicians get together on it, but Kaytranada & BadBadNotGood work well together with Goldlink’s style.
Hieroglyphics is a hip hop group out of Northern California. Each year they celebrate new hip hop talent with their own festival in Oakland on Labor Day. I got the chance to cover their show this year and even though there were over a dozen quality performers to see on each stage, I was there for one.
It took me over three hours to get to Hiero Day, public transit wasn’t doing so well. When I got there the temp had to be hitting on 90 and everyone was looking for shade to sit in. But I had to find Anderson .Paak. The main reason I was there.
I caught him right before his performance on the Third Eye stage. I ran up to him like a giddy fool and blathered about my love for his music. When I realized how foolish I was sounding, his manager assured me that they all felt the same way too. We talked a bit longer about other LA emcees, I actually told him the only other one that could compete with him was Doja Cat. He got a kick out of it.
His performance on stage had just as much character as his music, along with the short time I talked to him. The day was a highlight I’ll be holding on to at least until next Labor Day.
It only takes a little something to make the beat ring right. Born UndaDogz take an old school sound with their single, “Back Then”, and put a little finesse to it. Love what they’re doin’ with that East Coast style, gonna try to get out of my West Coast funk, though it may take a bit more convincing.
[audio:Back-Then.mp3|titles=Back Then (feat. June Da Kid)]
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months (and it’d have to be a rock without access to the internet or mainstream radio), you’ll have been exposed to Far East Movement’s “Like a G6“. Love it or hate it, well, that doesn’t matter – it’s topped charts everywhere. Personally, when I first listened to it (unaware of the hit it was to become), I thought it was catchy enough, but it was relatively uninspiring, and grew old after a few listens. It was banished to my music library wasteland that is “three stars”. Well, it become a hit, and with any huge hit, comes a shitload of remixes […]
[audio:LikeaG6JesseJamzRemix.mp3,LikeaG6DJPhilistineRemix.mp3,LikeaG6DiscoFriesRemix.mp3,GhostsonaG6.mp3|titles=Like a G6 (Jesse Jamz Remix),Like a G6 (DJ Philistine Remix),Like a G6 (Disco Fries Remix),Ghosts on a G6 (Basic Physics Mashup)]
It’s not his drummer boy flow. Or his dark persona. It’s not the puns, pot, press or any of it. What Cudi brings is himself.
When you create something, you create it for yourself. You share it with the world and should expect nothing back.
Welcome to the manic depressive world of Scott Mescudi. Get caught up in his highs and lows. […]
[audio:Mr-Rager.mp3,GHOST.mp3,All-Along.mp3,Trapped-In-My-Mind.mp3|titles=Mr. Rager,GHOST!,All Along,Trapped in My Mind]
Before I give a look at Cudi’s newly released album, I wanted to point out my favorite thing thus far – Mary J. Blige.
Not only does she accompany Cudi on two tracks, but the two bring out a more sophisticated side of his music. He may be known for his introspection, but it seems to be sprinkled with a little less keef for these two tracks, unlike the rest of the album.
Check ’em out and give some thoughts on how you think the duo stacks up.
“So much whiskey all in my liver. I really like the punch it delivers, makes me warm when I high five sinners.”
[audio:Dont-Play-This-Song.mp3,These-Worries.mp3|titles=Don’t Play This Song (feat. Mary J. Blige),These Worries (feat. Mary J. Blinge)](Download Link in Full Article)
I’ve been posting waayyy too much Chiddy Bang over the past month. I feel like I’ve dedicated a blog to them… hint, hint (it’s in the works). But they are too damn good to pass up. With their EP, The Preview, just around the corner, Chiddy’s droppin’ some fine remixes to get the word out.
Their remix of New Zealand’s chart topping “Young Blood”, originally by The Naked & Famous, goes so damn well with Chiddy’s style, especially with Alisa Xayalith’s backup vocals. They also did a cover of Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy” for Billboard.com‘s mashup monday – take a look at it below.
I also had to include one last track from their EP that’s droppin’ this next Tuesday (support that shit!). “Bad Day” is […]
[audio:Young-Blood.mp3,Bad-Day.mp3|titles=Young Blood (Chiddy Bang Remix),Bad Day (feat. Darwin Deez)](Download Link in Full Article)
With all these tracks Kanye is pushing out and his G.O.O.D. music label growing, the man’s becoming a multi-purpose music machine rather than just a top charting hip-hop artist. But unlike Diddy, KanYe is enlisting some of the best acts in hip-hop.
If you take a look at the two’s recently released tracks – KanYe’s “Christian Dior Denim Flow” & Diddy’s “Another One” – you see where hip-hop is growing apart and evolving (at least in some areas). It’s not really about how the beat’s evolving or even the lyrics. That may have a part in it, but it’s mainly how the culture is progressing. For too long hip-hop’s been about […]
[audio:Christian-Dior-Denim-Flow.mp3,Another-One.mp3|titles=Christian Dior Denim Flow,Another One](Download Link in Full Article)
When I posted “The Good Life” a couple days back, I wasn’t expecting to listen to The Preview just a few days later. I had no idea at the time that the Australian release was set for October 1.
Last night a buddy of mine from New Zealand hooked me up with a link. I thought he was fucking with me at first, but after sampling the tracks I figured it was legit. The album’s been on repeat since and of course I have mixed reviews (always happens with new albums).
To The Preview and Chiddy Bang’s credit, these guys have come out with two stellar tracks in the past few month “Pass Out” & “The Good Life”, not to mention […]
[audio:All-Things-Go.mp3,Old-Ways.mp3|titles=All Things Go,Old Ways](Download Link in Full Article)
With The Preview right around the corner, I decided to post a preview of The Preview.
Chiddy Bang’s first single off their upcoming EP dropped just over two weeks ago. I’ve had some time with the “The Good Life” and it’s definitely a good show at what’s to come.
I really think Chiddy Bang has serious potential at making it big. First off, they are signed under Parlophone Records, which houses some great acts, including Gorillaz, Radiohead and The Chemical Brothers, just to name a few. Second, the duo has the character and personality to hook a wide audience. So much hip-hop today lacks character/personality, and with Chiddy Bang’s cunning play on words and finely laid out beats, I expect these two to […]
[audio:The-Good-Life.mp3|titles=The Good Life](Download Link in Full Article)