So, Let’s Talk About Kanye

Notably deemed one of  Hip-Hop’s most controversial rappers, Kanye West  recently released a track featuring the “King of Hype Men” DJ Khaled that’ll have you clenching a fist to your mouth while yelling “Oh!” for several verses at time because you couldn’t believe he would say such a thing. But, then again, this is Kanye West we’re talking about (please refer to the Kanye West Interrupts Taylor Swift at VMAs youtube video if you need a refresher of how arrogant he can be).

In the track titled Theraflu, Kanye talks about well-discussed “barbershop topics” regarding his feelings toward Wiz Khalifa proposing to his former lady love Amber Rose and his rumored relationship with Kim Kardashian. Personally, I had a good chuckle when I heard his verse where he practically threatened Kris Humphries by saying he’s lucky he “didn’t have Jay kick him off the team.” Yet another priceless Kanye verse to add to the list.

Check out the track below:

 

And if that wasn’t enough for you, watch this guy’s review of Theraflu. Trust me, you’ll thank me later for the laugh you will have:

 

- Sherelle

A Well-Deserved Lap of Victory

About a week ago I had a dream that I met Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. It happened at one of their concerts and I was with my best friend. Her and I swooned over the two musicians and they ended up leaving the stage to go and hang out with us. After a while we got to talking and Alison (my friend) and I made it very clear that we were kind of disappointed that they did not play “And We Danced” at the show before we all left (you will understand the importance later). At this moment we were dragged from where we were sitting onto the stage (it just appeared because things like that happen in dreams) and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis played the song while Alison and I danced on stage along side them. Needless to say I was incredibly disappointed to have to wake up for my Environmental Science lecture. Sometimes reality is just so much less exciting.

I have been following Macklemore and Ryan Lewis since I was in the 8th grade. Now that I am away at school every time I hear their music I feel like I am right back in the Pacific Northwest. I know I always talk about music triggering memories but I frequently get tingles in my whole body when listening to this music, it is truly inspiring.

Recently Macklemore was awarded with being a part of XXL Magazine’s Freshmen Class. An extraordinary achievement, and one that him and Ryan Lewis most definitely deserved. This week they released this song and video as a tribute to the path they have traveled to get to where they are today. The song, “Victory Lap” highlights the high (and the not so high) points of their careers and it makes waiting for their new album to come out that much harder!

“Victory Lap”

 

I almost forgot! I told you I would fill you in on why them playing “And We Danced” was so important in my dream… no words can describe, but watch this video all the way through and you will understand.

“And We Danced”

 

Check out Macklemore and Ryan Lewis on their website http://macklemore.com/

The rain today in Boston makes me feel like I am right back home in Washington, and since I have been able to inside all day and simply enjoy the pitter patter on my classroom windows I LOVE IT!

Stay warm and dry!

Love always,

Lanie

P.S. One more video to celebrate the Mariners’ 9th inning comeback against the Rangers last night!

British Children + Quality Rap Music = The Most Adorable Video You Will Ever Watch

It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to say that Azealia Banks is the single best thing to happen to rap music in 2012. Her speedy rhymes and sick beats make almost every track she drops instantly danceable, especially the wildly popular “212″.

I’m a huge fan of the song and her music in general, but the purpose of this post is not to praise her obvious brilliance. It’s to show you CUTE BRITISH CHILDREN reviewing “212″ and dancing around to it and it is literally the cutest thing to ever exist in this world. Literally.

Videos like that make me want to go outside and impregnate the first person I see…or kidnap a child…or maybe just babysit for someone. Yeah, I’d say that’s much more likely.

Have a great week, y’all!

Josh

Weekend of Leaks: Drake, Childish Gambino, AND Birdy!

I’m not sure about all y’all, but the world of music was very kind to me over the weekend. THREE of my most anticipated albums of the year leaked, giving me a ton of new tracks to keep me patient for at least another week or so.

It’s been over a year since Drake released his last offering, Thank Me Later, and his follow-up album is certainly something to get excited about. I’ve only listened through it a couple times so far, and the major standout for me is the sexy title track with Rihanna, “Take Care.”

Childish Gambino is Community star Donald Glover‘s rap project and he’s finally releasing his debut album after a string of mixtapes and EPs. Camp has Glover constantly testing out new genres to accomodate his hilarious and poignant raps. “Heartbeat” goes hard with a legit electronic beat and is definitely worth a listen.

Birdy is a 15-year old British phenom that y’all clearly need to know about. She grabbed major attention last year with her cover of Bon Iver‘s “Skinny Love” and she continues that trend of fascinating covers on her debut album (all tracks except for one are covers). My favorite, a beautiful version of The National‘s “Terrible Love,” was nowhere on YouTube, but I was able to find her equally beautiful rendition of The xx‘s “Shelter.”

That’s it for this week, hope y’all enjoyed the tracks!

Josh

The Case of the Disappearing Indie Band

Not much is more personally fulfilling than discovering an obscure indie band all on your own. You may pride yourself on the find and make it your life’s goal to spread the word around about your new band. But, as with anything obscure, there is a high tendency that the band will completely disappear from your life without a moment’s notice.

Let’s examine some prime examples of the phenomenon.

The Virgins released their first EP back in 2007 and automatically shot to the top of countless buzz lists. That entire EP served as the soundtrack to an early episode of Gossip Girl, which increased their exposure tenfold. Before the pop-skewing indie rock band put out their debut album in mid-2008, they even played BU Central as the openers for Ra Ra Riot. Here’s the band playing one of my top favorite songs in the history of ever, “Fernando Pando,” which is straight off their debut.

For about a year after the album’s release, The Virgins toured around the country and hit up a bunch of festivals. They seemed to really be building upon their success and then….well, they disappeared. According to Wikipedia, the band is hard at work in Manhattan on a second LP, but I’ll believe it when I see a press release or a blog post or a new song or ANYTHING. I just want to know if the band is still alive. I’d really like to know that.

The Clik Clik was a short-lived UK band that defied conventions. They infused their music with hip-hop, funk, pop, and indie. Every single one of the very few they released oozed youthful catchiness, especially this should-be classic, “Did You Wrong.” Again, this is one of my favorite songs. Ever.

Six months after the video’s release, the band had broken up. I was devastated. Frontman Stefan Abingdon eventually went on to massive success with his music/comedy trio, The Midnight Beast (a band I’ll probably write about soon). Frontwoman Maya Yianni went on to virtually nothing music-related, as far the Internet can tell. A band with so much promise calling it quits before they achieve world domination. Truly tragic.

 

…….and Weezy is Free

Yeah, you were probably wondering when I was gonna stop talking about Lil Wayne. Well today, ain’t that day. Weezy is free. Finally. But he walks free now with new responsibility shoved into his arms. He reported that he started writing lyrics in jail, and most of the hip-hop community is expecting his return to be glorious. Well this week we were treated to his first recorded verses since his release. And what do we think? Check it out below.
P.S. Please ignore anything Birdman says, as he is a terrible rapper. Only focus on Wayne’s parts.

Anyway, all Weezy aside, recently my girlfriend showed me this fantastic band that you may or may not know about. They are called Minus the Bear, and are freaking amazing. They are coming to Bostonon December 7th, so if you like this, you should definitely go.

That’s all I got today. Happy Weezy Wednesday!

The Weekly Special

As of now, I think everyone knows to expect a musical gem from Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Friday series that is released on his website every week. He is single-handedly changing the way hip-hop (and quite honestly music as a whole) is being made. Almost every track has been amazing. I’ll post my favorite below just in case you haven’t heard.

But although Kanye may have started this trend, his fellow hip-hop producers have noted its influence and have hopped on the weekend bandwagon. One of them is “The One Man Band Man” himself, Swizz Beats. Swizzy has started a Monster Mondays series, two weeks in. The second installment definitely stands out to me, tell me what you think in the comments.

And just when you thought hip-hoppers could copy themselves no longer, esteemed producer Timbaland has recently announced that Timbo Thursdays is about to become a new institution. Timmy hasn’t produced anything in a while, his most famous work being with Missy Eliott and Justin Timberlake. Here’s a recent track for a quick refresher:

Now these are all good things. Artists realize the music piracy is a real viable threat to their record sales, and instead of going up in arms and pulling a Lupe, they decide to give out free music. This will hopefully become a trend in the music industry. Free music doesn’t necessarily have to mean the end of the industry; it could mean that people are more focused on good music instead of what label A&R’s tell them they should listen to. It is also interesting to note that most of the G.O.O.D. Friday tracks will be on Kanye’s new album this month. It will be worth watching to see if fans reward Kanye for his generosity by buying his album or if they take the music and run. Stay tuned.

OH AND BY THE WAY, Lil Wayne gets out of jail in a day. Let’s not forget who was instrumental in this whole free music era when the man released 1000 free songs in the time span of three years. FREE WEEZY!!!

“Learn Chinese”

What’s up guys? I’m CJ, check out my bio for all that kind of information, because here, I’m getting straight down to the business. First off, I’d like to introduce you to my old blog, one that I had in high school. I maintain it with a friend of mine from high school named Daniel Conover, and we like to think we are rather insightful young men. There’s some good stuff on there; check it out here: Generation Nine Two.

But anyway, I’d like to introduce you guys to some music that you may or may not have heard. One of my favorite subjects of all time is hip-hop. I love the history, the language, the culture, everything about it. Being such a vast kingdom, there’s a lot out there to be discovered. So here’s a song by one of my favorite rappers, credited with being the only mainstream Chinese rapper to ever be signed. He won a series of freestyle battles on BET, and his name is Jin. This one is called “Learn Chinese.” Check it out.

P.S. One of the days I work is Wednesday, 11-12. That hour will be Weezy Wednesdays, so if you want to come listen to some Lil Wayne and rap along, come on down.