On today's vids!
Kanye & Cudi "Welcome you to Heartbreak, and the old T.I. is "Dead and Gone"!
Click the full story to peep the vids!
Kanye West feat. KiD CuDi - Welcome to Heartbreak
Do not attempt to fix your monitor! Leave it to Ye to try something fresh and new for his videos letting his artist direction persist. Kanye drops his latest video out of nowhere with the help of newcomer KiD CuDi. According to Wikipedia, the next single was "See You In My Nightmares", but "Welcome To Heartbreak" proved it wrong. This is one of my favorite joints off 808's & Heartbreak, and I thought it would be the ideal intro for the album. Anyways, check the video out. Its insane!
T.I. feat. Justin Timberlake - Dead and Gone
Clifford drops the seventh single off of Paper Trail, making it the fifth video from the platinum album! The JT assisted joint is an ode to people he's lost in the past, and the rebirth of T.I.. T.I. also has a current MTV show "Road to Redemption" which showcases Tip's last days before he does his year bid next month. Make sure you check the video out!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Seeing is Believing 2/17: New Kanye, T.I. & Timberlake Vid!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Dope or Nope 1/19: Unreleased Nas (Produced by Kanye)
Nas - The World (Produced by Kanye West)
What's iller than a storytelling track by Nas meshed with soulful Kanye West production? I'm not sure what album this was supposed to appear on, but it's nice. Nas and Kanye should consider doing a project together. "We Major", "Still Dreaming", and "Let There Be Light" are all great tracks and a full album would be crazy!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Polls Is Talkin': Album of the Year x My 5 Favorite Albums of '08
Happy New Years to all! Whatever you do tonight be safe. To bring '08 to an end, I'm posting what readers felt was the album of the year. Based off December's poll, the album of the year is...
Hit up the full story to peep the rest of the results and my top 5.
Poll Results:
1. Lil Wayne - Carter III - 17%
Tied with Kanye West - 808's & Heartbreak
Lil Wayne & Kanye west come in at number one of the polls. Ironically, the frequent collaborators had two entirely different expectations for their albums. Lil Wayne appeared on various tracks and made numerous mixtapes leading up to his highly anticipated album; Mr. West on the other hand, did his thing on features as well, but announced he's releasing an album two months before it's date. Although both artists first singles contributed to this year's autotune craze, the overall sounds of these albums were complete opposites. Carter III is this year's highest selling hip hop album, and 808's & Heartbreaks is officially platinum in over a month.
2. Other - 14%
While the poll consisted of over ten popular albums of 2008, there were other candidates that weren't listed. Therefore the "other" answer was available for those who chose otherwise. Here's nine other slept-on joints that potentially could've been the album of the year.
3. T.I. - Paper Trail - 11%
Tied with: Nas - Untitled
Nas' controversial Untitled album (originally titled Nigger) is tied with T.I. whose no stranger to controversy. While this year wasn't a good start for T.I. with his weapons charge and parole violation, Paper Trail turned out to be a success, and is still selling till this day. While the bold Untitled album didn't feature many radio friendly tracks, Nas' point with this album was to speak his mind and cover racial and political topics.
4. The Game - L.A.X. - 8%
Tied With: Q-Tip - The Renaissance
The last tie on the poll is the feature heavy L.A.X., and the jazzy Renaissance album from Q-Tip. Both were great albums, but had entirely different vibes. L.A.X. gave you a west coast feel and had guest appearances ranging from Ne-Yo to Ice Cube. The Renaissance stuck to the traditional A Tribe Called Quest sound, marking Q-Tip's comeback. The Renaissance received good reviews from critics and fans, but unfortunately it failed to reach gold status unlike L.A.X.
5. The Roots - Rising Down 5%
The Roots continue to deliver solid albums with their eighth effort Rising Down. The album was one of the more darker albums of 2008, but out shined a lot of the material that was released this year.
Runners Up:
Common - Universal Mind Control 2%
Ludacris - Theater of the Mind 2%
My Top 5 Albums of 2008:
Click the album title to read the review
1. Nas - Untitled
2. Q-Tip - The Renaissance
3. Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple (no review available)
4. Kanye West - 808's & Heartbreak
5. The Roots - Rising Down (no review available)
Sunday, December 28, 2008
My Top 10 Singles of 2008
Typically music artists select their best work as singles to help promote their albums. Seeing that singles are usually meant to blow, lets recap some of the hottest singles of the year. Hit up the full story to peep my 10 favorite singles of 2008.
10. The Game feat. Lil Wayne - My Life
The Game linked up with his fellow blood brother Lil' Wayne for his third single off of L.A.X.. While most tracks that were featuring Wayne included a verse, The Game used Lil Wayne to sing on the hook. The Game drops powerful lines about life and death over a mellow Cool-n-Dre produced track.
9. Jay-z - Jockin' Jay-z
Eventhough the Blueprint III didn't see the light of day this year, Jockin' Jay-z was still a solid song from Hov. While it did receive some criticism and it didn't take off like some of Jay's past singles, it still served its purpose of keeping Jigga active and letting listeners know that the Blueprint III is coming. Blueprint 3 is now scheduled for a February 2009 release.
8. Ron Browz feat. Jim Jones & Juelz Santana - Pop Champagne
"Pop Champagne's" late release doesn't prevent it from making it to the top singles list. The single came through just in time to heat up the clubs this cold Winter. Originally the song belonged to Ron Browz, but it's now Jim Jones song featuring Ron Browz and Juelz. The "Ether Boy" also produced and appears on Busta Rhymes' "Arab Money", N.O.R.E.'s "Rotate", and Fat Joe's latest single.
7. Young Jeezy feat. Kanye West - Put On
Young Jeezy dropped the first single for his third album The Recession with a random, but impressive auto-tuned Kanye feature. The city anthem gained a huge buzz resulting in numerous artists freestyling over it and a Jay-z featured remix.
6. Q-Tip - Gettin' Up
Q-Tip dropped The Renaissance, his first album in almost ten years. The first single "Gettin' Up", stuck to the traditional Tribe Called Quest rhythm with Q-Tip rapping over a melodic, piano instrumental. While it didn't blow up like the club banger "Vivrant Thing", Tip released one of the best singles of '08.
5. Rick Ross feat. T-Pain - The Boss
T-Pain was featured on various tracks this year, and one of the most notable appearances was "The Boss".Rick Ross started 2008 off right with his first single off of Trilla, where him and T-Pain rip an insane JR Rotem instrumental.
4. Kanye West - Heartless
When Kanye announced his album will be complete auto-tune and feature little to no rapping, fans pondered if quality will be as good as Mr. West's prior work. When "Love Lockdown" released, reviews were mixed, but what saved it was the follow up single, "Heartless". The song stuck to the albums love theme, but still managed to be radio friendly. Not to mention, the video was dope as hell.
3. Gnarls Barkley - Who's Gonna Save My Soul
The rapper/producer duo Gnarls Barkley's third single "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" was indeed dope. The Grammy nominated music video was from left-field, but interestingly good. The Roots drummer ?uestlove premiered this track, and since then has been used by Jay Electronica & Kid Cudi. I would love to hear Nas or Scarface rap over this. If you haven't heard The Odd Couple, it's definitely worth the listen.
2. T.I. feat. Jay-z, Kanye West, & Lil Wayne - Swagger Like Us
Four of hip hop's heavyweights collaborated on the massive Swagga Like Us. With the late success of "Paper Planes" by M.I.A., Kanye sampled one of her lines for the hook of SLU. When Swagger Like Us first made it's way to the net, many people thought it was a rumored track, but turned out to be an official song. The song appears on T.I.'s Paper Trail, and since "Jockin' Jay-z" wasn't jocked like it was supposed to be, it led to Jay-z labeling "Swagger Like Us" as his first single. For this song to not have a video, it was highly popular and received heavy radio play.
1. Lil Wayne - A Milli
Easily one of the most memorable songs of 2008. Love him or hate him, it was Wayne's year. "A Milli" had to be one of the most rapped over instrumentals of this year. As soon as the song started catching on, the industry began to rape the beat. Jay-z, Jadakiss, Bow Wow, and even R&B'ers Chris Brown and Ne-Yo got on the repetitive instrumental. In the end, Wayne did the beat justice making it one of the best songs on Tha Carter III and 2008.
Honorable Mentions:
Common - Universal Mind Control
Estelle feat. Kanye West - American Boy
The Roots - Get Busy
Busta Rhymes - Arab Money
Nas - Hero
Charles Hamilton - Brooklyn Girls
Dope or Nope 12/28 - Go Harder
DJ Khaled feat. Jay-z, Kanye, & T-Pain - Go Hard Remix
Jay-z hops on the beat Kanye once "fucked up so bad won't nobody want to get up on it". Unfortunately no new Kanye verse here, but still worth checking out. Who went hard on this track, Ye or Jay? Hit up the full story.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Seeing is Believing: My Top 10 Videos of 2008
While 2008 is coming to an end, it's only right that I post my favorite music videos of the year. At a time where music video's are repetitive and cliched, the artistic and original videos deserve recognition. Hit up the full story to peep my 10 favorite videos of the year and more! There's more top ten lists to come!
10. U-N-I - Beautiful Day
There's nothing like watching a video filmed in area's you're familiar with. U-N-I cruises through Inglewood (my current stomping grounds), with an ill slow motion effect making it the first entry on my favorite videos of 2008. Very nice track by the way.
9. Young Jeezy - Crazy World
The best way to summarize this video is chaotic. The song title and music video theme compliment each other fairly well. Jeezy shows his interpretation of how crazy the world is going to become if we dont fix economic issues and unfair laws. "Crazy World" is Jeezy's third video off of his semi-political album The Recession.
8. Nas - Ya'll My Niggas
Nas drops a powerful video for one of my favorite tracks off his Untitled album. Nas doesn't appear in the video but instead it features a young kid rapping the lyrics to the track. As I said in the tenth entry of my countdown, it's always a good look seeing places you're familiar with in music videos. A majority of the video was shot on Crenshaw blvd. out here in Los Angeles, which is where I grew up. Nas also added commentary from hip hop's rival, Bill O'Reilly, followed up with a special message from Esco.
7. T-Pain feat. Lil Wayne - Can't Believe It
T-Pain linked up with 2008's hardest working artist, Lil Wayne for his first single off Thr33 Ringz. To brand Thr33 Ringz as a circus-themed album, Pain applied an amusement park concept to "Can't Believe It". Filled with clowns, coasters, and dope effects, T-Pain provides visuals for the lyrics in the song and album theme. "Can't Believe It" isn't only a clean video, it also makes T-Pain one of the most recognizable artists today with his signature top hat that appeared in many of this years videos.
6. Erykah Badu - Honey
Erykah Badu gives her take on classic album covers from Illmatic, to Paid In Full, to De La Soul's Three Feet High and Rising. She also does her imitation of Andre 3000's memorable one-man band video, "Hey Ya". The clever renditions backed up by 9th Wonder's smooth production makes "Honey" one of the most fun videos of the year.
5. Common - Universal Mind Control
Hype Williams does it again with his Common collab for "Universal Mind Control". "UMC"'s robotic, electronic sound makes it obvious that the video would match the style of the track. Common links up with a BBC Robot to deliver one of the most innovative videos of 2008.
4. Kanye West - Flashing Lights
Kanye's third single off Graduation was none other than "Flashing Lights" (one of my favorite tracks from the album), and the unexpected video raised eyebrows and generated a lot of hype over the net. While the video received mixed reviews, I thought it was simple and changed peoples interpretation of the song. Aside from giving the song a new meaning, it also put the busty Rita G on the map. Watching her strip down makes the video well worth an entry on this top 10 list.
There were two other versions of this video that were nice as well and supposedly all three videos are connected.
3. N.E.R.D. feat. Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, & Pusha T - Everyone Nose (Remix)
"Everyone Nose (Remix)" was instantly one of my favorite videos of all time. I'm a huge fan of Hype William's work and he continues to push the envelope in hip hop music videos. Who would've thought you can mix a 80's video game/space theme video with a song about doing lines? I'm not going to do much discussion with this one, I'll let the video do the talking. On a side note, Pharell's shades are strangely dope.
2. Gnarls Barkley - Going On
The number two spot goes to the innovative and eccentric Gnarls Barkley. Gnarls Barkley has a reputation for delivering standout videos, and they continue to be creative with the video for "Going On". Gnarls Barkley brought the song to life with Jamaicans celebrating their discovery of a new dimension, but in the end the main character doesn't want to be followed there.
1. Kanye West - Heartless
My number one pick goes to Heartless. For one, I dig animated videos, and I also feel the video's artistic appeal. Honestly I didn't like Heartless instantly, but the video raised my appreciation. Not to mention it's my Mom's favorite song and video. Originally the video was recorded and later drawn by 65 animators in Hong Kong. The video was also inspired by an flick called "American Pop". I would love to peep the live version of this joint!
Honorable Mentions:
Santogold - LES Artistes
Gnarls Barkley - Who's Going To Save My Soul
Missy Elliott - Ching-a-Ling
Busta Rhymes - Don't Touch Me
Q-Tip - Gettin' Up
Common & Pharrell - Announcement
Thursday, December 18, 2008
NearClassics: Kanye West - Late Registration
Before Kanye went autotune on us, he was one of the most perfect balanced mc's when it comes to subject matter. His balance was reflected on his first two albums, where he talked about everything from consciousness, to gold digging women, to family emergencies. While College Dropout is hailed as Kanye's best album, I actually liked Late Registration better. It's very rare that sophomores are better than debuts, but in this case the second LP was slightly better than the first. Allow me to introduce one of my favorite albums ever. They ask him "why you call it Late Registration 'Ye? Cause we taking these muh'fuckers back to school"
In 2004 Kanye West debuted with The College Dropout which was full of soul-sample production, witty rhymes, and a college theme complimenting the album title. After the groundbreaking album was released, Kanye did various song appearances on production and laying down verses. While most artists catch the sophomore jinx, fans and critics wondered if the same would happen to Kanye. The release of Late Registration proved Kanye was capable of dropping to hot albums in a row and also stepping up his lyrical skills.
On the albums first single "Diamonds From Sierra Leone", Kanye rapped about his success after his first album, using the title to not only represent his Roc-a-Fella family, but the tragic effects of blood diamonds in Africa. While the original was some of Kanye's best lyricism, he covered more of the topic of blood diamonds on the Jay-z assisted remix. Jay dropped a quite impressive verse on the remix, which caused Kanye to later say "On the "Diamonds Remix", I swore I spazzed, then my big brother came through and kicked my ass"; when Jay spits lines like "Shirley Bassey's in the red sayin' exactly/What I been sayin' practically my whole career/A diamond is forever, I been mining' this forever/Now the Louis Vuitton Don's timing' couldn't be better".
Another factor to Late Registration's great quality is the range of topics covered on this album. The album starts off with "Heard 'Em Say", where Kanye talks about the struggles of African Americans and even government conspiracies. The consciousness continues on "Crack Music". The Game feature was a bit misleading since he only says "That's that crack music nigga!, that real black music", but overall it's an excellent analogy of hip hop music and crack cocaine. On "Addiction" Kanye covers's addictions which is one thing everyone has in common. We seek happiness and satisfaction in things and once we find it, we can easily get carried away; in that case we would have to "Drive Slow".
Mr. West expresses his love for his family on this LP. First there's "Roses" with Kanye telling a story about his Grandmother in the hospital, and how nurses are more concerned about receiving autographs than his Grandma's health. "Hey Mama" is Kanye's version of 2pac's "Dear Mama", expressing his love and admiration for his now deceased Mother.
Aside from the album's content, the production was superb and featured more of an orchestral sound this time around. While the first album's soul-samples can still be heard on some tracks like "On My Way Home", a majority of the songs on Late Registration feature strings and orchestra sounds. The musical masterpiece that is "We Major" features Nas and ends with minutes of pure music and Kanye's excuses for being late. The orchestral sound persists on "Gone" which goes into a break of strings, but is then followed up with an excellent verse by Kanye West. Kanye expresses his thoughts on providing inspiration with lines like "I'ma open up a store for aspiring MC's/Won't sell 'em no dream, but the inspiration is free/But if they ever flip sides like Anakin/You'll sell everything including the mannequin" The album ends with a combination of College Dropout and Late Registration themed production on "Late". The thought about making a whole song about being late may sound silly, but Kanye saved one of the best for last.
For my closing statement, Late Registration shows Kanye at his finest. From the albums opening to it's closing, it's purely immaculate. My least favorite song on this album was "Gold Digger", but that was well receipted by the public. Though Kanye's style gets more and more eccentric each album he releases, this is my favorite out of the four. The lyricism, production, and vocals compliment each other exceptionally well on this album, makes you wonder what made Kanye change to the autotuned singer/rapper.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Seeing is Believing 12/3 - New Ludacris & Kanye Vids!
Speakin of Luda & Kanye, on today's vids...
Ludacris wonders why "Everybody Hates Chris" and Kanye tells a "Pinnochio Story"
Ludacris - Everybody Hates Chris
One of my favorite tracks off of Theater of the Mind. Luda links up with Chris Rock for opening and closing jokes about Luda's success. The public expresses their hate for Ludacris on this here video.
Kanye West - Pinnochio Story (Performance)
The closing track off 808's & Heartbreak which is in stores now. This concert footage made it to the album after being cosigned by Beyonce Carter. Kanye speaks his mind about how he would love to have his life back to the way it was prior the stardom.
Polls is Talkin': 808's & Heartbreak Vs. Theater of the Mind
About four months ago, Kanye West randomly announced that he will be dropping an album this winter titled 808's & Heartbreak. While the announcement caught everyone off guard, the details were even more startling. The album was to said have little to no rapping, and be complete autotune. As soon as the buzz started to pop off from "Love Lockdown" and "Heartless", the release date was moved up to November 25th; the same day as Ludacris' Theater of the Mind album. Eventually both albums got the green light for a November 24th release, but the question was, will Kanye's experimental album flop and how will it effect Ludacris' sales? If you've been tuned in to Hip Hop AD (props if you have), you've seen the poll asking readers which album were they going to buy the first week. Click the full story to check the poll results and the actual album sales!
Based off the poll, here's the results:
Kanye West: 808's & Heartbreak - 41%
Ludacris: Theater of the Mind - 25%
Both - 33%
Neither 0%
The sales are in for the week of 11/24. Kanye tops the charts selling 451,935 and Ludacris debuts at number 5 moving 214,126 units. 808's & Heartbreak will definitely strike gold next week, and I can see it going platinum over time. As for Ludacris, he will definitely make it past gold status. Regardless of the sales, both albums were great. Make sure you go out and support these artists.
Click here to read the 808's & Heartbreak Review
Click here to read the Theater of the Mind Review
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Dope or Nope 11/25: New Common & Kanye West
Common feat. Kanye West - Punch Drunk Love (produced by The Neptunes)
The dynamic duo behind Be and Finding Forever is back with the Neptunes produced "Punch Drunk Love" off of Common's upcoming Universal Mind Control LP. I haven't peeped this track yet, but Common + Ye is the formula to dope hip hop music. Click the full story to hear the track and continue reading.
This, and many other joints on the album are produced by The Neptunes. From what I heard at the concert back in September, it's a great album. Click here to read the Common concert rap up. Universal Mind Control will be in stores December 9th.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Seeing is Believing - 11/24: New Busta, Keri Hilson, Lil Wayne Vids and Kanye's Performance!
On today's edition of Seeing is Believing...
Busta's "got bass", Lil' Wayne "turns on" Keri Hilson, Slim & Fab talk "Good Lovin'", and Kanye's "Heartless" AMA Performance.
Click the full story below to peep the vids!
Busta Rhymes - I Got Bass
Busta gets back on his bullshit with his latest video "I Got Bass". He branded himself as a rap artist with the most unique and animated video's and he sticks to his reputation. Surprisingly, Bus-a-bus made a video for "I Got Bass" before "Arab Money". After several pushbacks, B.O.M.B. (Back on my Bullshit) will be out in March of 2009.
Kanye West - Heartless (AMA Performance)
Kanye and his tail peform "Heartless" at last night's American Music Awards. The creative 808's & Heartbreak is in stores today! Got 808's?
Keri Hilson feat. Lil' Wayne - Turnin Me On
The Lil Wayne assisted "Turnin Me On" is the third single off her upcoming album. Keri's debut album In a Perfect World will be in stores December 9th, and it features production by Polow Da Don (who produced this joint), Timbaland, Danja, and others.
Slim feat. Fabolous & Ryan Leslie - Good Lovin'
Slim's follow up single to his debut solo album Love's Crazy features production and an appearance from Ryan Leslie. Fabolous also drops by to deliver a verse on this joint.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Album Review: Kanye West - 808's & Heartbreak
Kanye drops his breakthrough album 808's & Heartbreak just in time for the holiday season. While the release of this album was rather unexpected, the question is will fans find 808's & Heartbreak boomin' or heartbreakin'?
4/5
In early 2004, a producer-rapper emerged from the Chi with distinctive, soul sample production and realistic song content. College Dropout discussed everything from religion, to college, to slow jams. The album's successor, Late Registration followed the school theme, but also showed Kanye’s progress as a producer. Instead of sticking with the soul-sample sound, Kanye went for more of an orchestral vibe with the album. After years of controversies and outspoken moments, Kanye dropped Graduation which outsold competitor 50 Cent, and showed consistency in his career.
Early in Mr. West’s career, he laid out the blueprint of his album titles; College Dropout, Late Registration, Graduation, and Good Ass Job. About a year after Graduation, Kanye announced he will be dropping an album this year, and decided not to go with the Good Ass Job title. Kanye named the album 808’s & Heartbreak to represent the drum sound on his latest project, the unfortunate loss of his Mother, and the disengagement of his fiancé Alexis Phiffer.
Ye took a different approach with this album. It is full auto-tune, and very limited rapping. The album begins with “Say You Will”, which sets the tone for 808’s & Heartbreak. The booming 808 and the piano laced production shows an emotional sound to Kanye as he expresses his dislike for dishonest women. The follow up track “Welcome to Heartbreak” would’ve been the perfect intro for the album. On the Kid Cudi assisted track Kanye compares material accomplishments to priceless life experiences which equates to heartbreak.
The albums second single “Heartless” is one of the rare tracks that feature rap vocals. The flute driven instrumental features Ye confronting a cold hearted woman saying “How could you be so, Dr. Evil/You bringin’ out a part of me that I don’t know”. The next track “Amazing” has a guest spot from Young Jeezy and features a tribal type of sound similar to the lead single “Love Lockdown”. One of the standout tracks, the synthesized “Paranoid” has an eighties vibe to it, and is followed up with the mediocre “RoboCop”. While the album version of “RoboCop” features additional strings and other efforts, the combination of auto-tune, sirens, and strings is a bit disastrous.
Another sub par track on the album is “Bad News”. The dark sounding track is one of the moments on the album where the auto-tune begins to sound abused. The excessive use of the auto-tune continues on the Lil Wayne collab “See You in my Nightmares”. Overall it’s a favorable song, but after 9 straight songs of auto-tune, it starts to become an annoyance. The album comes to a closing with the mandatory dedication to his late Mother Donda West. “Coldest Winter” is a farewell to his beloved Mother where Kanye does a remake of Tears for Fears “Memories Fade”.
Overall, 808’s & Heartbreak is a great album. The production is genius and shows Kanye’s versatility and progression as a producer and artist. Though “RoboCop” and “Bad News” are my least favorite on the album, Kanye makes up for them with musical tracks like “Paranoid” and “Welcome to Heartbreak”. Also, the use of the auto-tune becomes a problem towards the albums closing. A couple of auto tune-less tracks would’ve been ideal but it could’ve resulted in an inconsistent sound. I can see 808’s… not being accepted by everyone, but a real musician takes risks. Common did it with Electric Circus, Andre did it with The Love Below, and Cee-Lo did it with St. Elsewhere. Since Kanye is at his peak in his career, this would be a good time to drop an experimental album. Upon the first listen on the album, you find yourself thinking “what am I listening to?”, but after two to three more listens, it becomes infectious.
To Sum It Up In One Word: Heartful
Friday, November 14, 2008
News: Kanye Strikes Again, 50 Cent Not Ready To Self Destruct
Kanye West Arrested in England
Kanye West is currently in England doing the international Glow in the Dark Tour, and was arrested after an incident involving a photographer outside of a British nightclub. Though Kanye was arrested and detained, he was later released without any charges.
In other Kanye news, it appears that 808's & Heartbreak has leaked. Since Ye was salty about "RoboCop" leaking, hopefully he decides to move the album up a week since it leaked a almost two weeks prior to the release date. 808's & Heartbreak will be in stores November 24th!
50 Cent's Before I Self Destruct Gets Pushed Back
Fifty's fourth album Before I Self Destruct was scheduled to be released December 9th. However, it will now be released in early 2009. 50 had this to say about the album's delay "Times are hard. Everyone is trying to make the most of what they have. I want to give my fans something extra for their hard earned dollars. They'll get a free bonus when they pick up the album." A film sharing the same title of the album will be included in the deluxe version of Before I Self Destruct, and recently added was another DVD titled "Two Turntables and a Microphone: The Life and Death of Jam Master Jay"; a documentary about Jam Master Jay, who helped start Fif's career.
The album delay is questionable since Before I Self Destruct was said to have been completed already. We may have another Curtis on our hands.
Click Here to Peep the Full Story!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Kanye Friday: Old, New, Interviews, and More!
In honor of the upcoming release of 808's & Heartbreak, I'm bringin' you a segment called Kanye Friday. There's been a slew of Ye material that hit the net today, and it's all here. From the video of "Heartless", to his "Love Lockdown" performance at the Europe VMA's, to the weekly throwback joint of the day. Click the link below to check out the latest and the greatest with Kanye to the...
Kanye West - Heartless
This video randomly hit the net today for Ye's second single. I'm feeling the art direction Kanye & Hype took with this video, contributing to Kanye's artistic videography. It reminds me alot of Pac's "Do For Love" video.
DJ Khaled feat. Kanye West & T-Pain
It's no "Good Life", but it'll do. It just shows what happens when you put Kanye with a bunch of Florida niggaz.
Love Lockdown Performance at the MTV Europe Music Awards
Peep Kanye's performance from last night's MTV's Eurpore music awards.
Kanye Video Interview in Singapore
Kanye sits down in Singapore to discuss classic music, artist development and of course 808's & Heartbreak. Very interesting interview, peep the vid below:
Takin' Em Back 11/7: Kanye West - Thru the Wire
Since this is Ye Friday, I'mma take you back with one of my favorite Kanye joints off of the classic College Dropout. Compared to his current music, it's a huge difference but a true artist switches it up, but keeps the quality of the music up to par. I'm not going to front, I miss the "soulful" Kanye days, but we'll see what all 808's & Heartbreak has to offer.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Dope or Nope 11/03- Another 808 Track
Kanye West feat. KiD CuDi - Anyway
This is the fifth joint to leak off the 808's & Heartbreak album by Mr. West. I heard that he was salty about the leak of Robocop which was unfinished. I say he push the album up to stop tracks from leaking on a weekly basis. I'm not listening to this joint because I don't want to spoil the album (gotta keep it exclusive). With tracks leaking off the album, or you more hyped or less?
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Polls Is Talkin': The Most Anticipated Fall Release Is...
Bases off a poll asking what is the most highly anticipated Fall release, Kanye West won by a long shot. It was obvious that that was the most hyped since 808s & Heartbreak has been the biggest topic on all hip hop sites. With everyone curious to see if this album will be a hit or miss, it will definitely do good numbers. 808s and Heartbreak will easily be one of the more interesting albums this year. And no, that's not the album cover, just a sample I threw together. Click the link below to see the interesting results.
Surprisingly, Cam'ron took the number two spot with Crime Pays. Unfortunately, it got pushed back till early 2009. Dr. Dre & Jay are tied with Detox (which is rumored to drop this year) and Blueprint 3. Last but not least is 50's album Before I Self Destruct which drops December 9th.
1. Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak - 32%
2. Cam'Ron - Crime Pays - 20%
3. Jay-Z - Blueprint 3 - 12% (tie)
4. Dr. Dre - Detox - 12% (tie)
5. 50 Cent - Before I Self Destruct - 8%
Monday, October 20, 2008
Kanye West - Heartless (Mastered)
I'm a lil late with upping this, but here is the mastered version of "Heartless", the second single from the highly anticipated 808's & Heartbreak album. Not much of a difference, but ain't nothing like the real thing. The album cover is not official, just a fanmade album cover. Peep the link below:
Thursday, October 16, 2008
News: Kanye Explains His Heartbreak, Eminem Has a Relapse, Ne-Yo Bows Out of Beef
This past Tuesday, Kanye West threw a listening party for the upcoming 808’s & Heartbreak album. Ye hooked up with Italian artist Vanessa Beecroft (who co-signed 808’s…, stating it touched her “personal life”) to add an artistic touch to his party. The scenery was made up of up to 50 nude model chicks which was contributed by Beecroft. Jay-z, Will.I.Am., Rick Ross, and Mos Def were amongst some of the guests that were in the building.
So now about the album, there were rumors that the album will be in full auto-tune, and that is true. Kanye expressed his love for the auto-tune sound which helped influence him to do a full album using the auto-tune. Kanye also stated that this album is “pop”. Here’s what Mr. West had to say about peoples opinion on the Pop genre “People think pop is bad, but Michael Jackson was pop and who can compare to him?” Kanye also had this to say about the latest project “I don’t give a fuck if it’s hot or not, it’s from the heart… Would you judge a grandmother’s love? Give it two-and-a-half mics out of five?” Kanye felt it was important that this album was released this year and he also has another album dropping in June where he may be rapping or singing.
Click here to read the rest of the story
Eminem Preps New Album
It’s been 4 years since Eminem has put out an album (excluding the Re-Up Mixtape and The Greatest Hits album), and he’s returning to the rap scene with his upcoming album “Relapse”. There were numerous rumored titles such as “King Mathers” and “Empack”, and here is what Eminem cleared up the title stating "There's a lot of fake albums and a lot of bullshit album titles floating around out there." "I just want to tell everybody the real album title is Relapse." A new Eminem joint titled "I'm Having a Relapse" leaked this week (click here to get it).
Shady/Aftermath is pushing the “three headed monster campaign” promoting 50’s Before I Self Destruct, Em’s Relapse, & Dre’s highly anticipated “Detox” Eminem is ready to release his autobiography, The Way I Am, with Relapse rumored to drop in 2009.
Click here to read the rest of the story
Ne-Yo Vs. Young Berg Comes to an End (thank God)
Random. Recently Ne-Yo sat down with Big Boy's Morning Show on Power 106, and of course they asked him a set of funny yet random questions. Big Boy asked Ne-Yo questions about groupies he's taken down and who would he slap if he had the chance to. Without any hesitation, Ne-yo said Young Berg. When asked why, Ne-Yo said he feels Berg is unoriginal and he's copying Wayne & Ye's style on his track "The Business". As soon as Berg got the word, here's what he had to say:
Ne-Yo responded ending the beef. Check the vid below:
Click Here to Peep the Full Story!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Kanye West - Heartless (Unmastered Version)
Ye's second single is finally here. The snippet has been floating around the net for about a week now, but here is the full joint. It's easily more favorable than "Love Lockdown" (which I still think is a nice track). And yes, the autotuner rumors are true. 808's & Heartbreak is due out Nov. 25th!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Seeing Is Believing 10/7: Love Lockdown Official Video! Plus New Vids from Atmosphere & Ciara
Kanye West - Love Lockdown
Mr. West stopped by Ellen to world premiere his video for "Love Lockdown". It's strange that he chose to debut it there, but it was slick in way because people without satellite tv/cable will still be able to peep it and he can expand his audience. I'm liking how he incorporated the African art into this joint, giving the video an artistic look. Kanye West recently announced the new release date for 808's & Heartbreak which will be November 25th.
Atmosphere - You
I fucks with Atmosphere. They're latest album When Life Gives You Lemons...Paint That Shit Gold (lol @ that title) was pretty good. This was one of my favorite tracks from it.
Ciara feat. T-Pain - Go Girl
Ciara can definitely get it. She's back with a T-Pain featured single off her upcoming album Fantasy Ride due out December 9th.
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