Good songs come from a lot of different places. I remember last month at the Foreign Exchange show at Yoshi’s SF, Phonte spoke on the all-too-common, and frankly unnecessary debate between “mainstream” and “indie” fans. The Foreign Exchange proceeded to hit us with the musically inclined, neo-soul versions of “Turn My Swag On” and “Stanky Leg”, among others. That shit was comedy. The point being that at the end of the day, it’s all music, and the lines people tend to draw often have more to do with perception than musical quality. With the Bowties crowd, maybe I’m preaching to the choir. You guys have some eclectic tastes, which is why I can drop some Diddy and some Beach House in the same post, and not really think twice about it. Anyway, we’re glad to have you behind us. The best is yet to come.
No one really likes Monday mornings. Getting up early is weak. Work is weak, unless you’re job is really that clean (Crosby, Will and the rest of the Google staff, I see you). But hey, getting up early has its upside sometimes. Take right now for instance. It’s been a slow ass week, so today’s a good day to drop a gang of new tracks. For the folks who missed the latest snippet from Andre 3000, feel free to peep below, and expect to see the CDQ off Jeezy’s album soon. The K-Os & Drizzy is serious, the Röyksopp is a jam, the Matthew Dear is geeked and that Twista damn near gave me chills. One of the best verses I’ve heard in a minute. Anyway, there’s a bunch of new shit to check out, and the last two songs are about hard drugs, which is cool too. For the folks on the grind, I hope you work somewhere where it’s cool to have some headphones on.
Damn, is it really August already? By some folks’ logic, I think that’s supposed to mean Summer should be winding down. Personally, I like my glasses half-full, so let’s just say there’s a whole month left. Lately, I’m pretty partial to the Freddie Gibbs tape, but Arcade Fire, Slum Village and Seu Jorge’s new projects have all been getting some burn too. For my B-Town folks, I’m not mad at the latest from the Cataracs either. A little pop shit is only healthy. Hit MORE for all of the above, plus the new single from Wayne and Drizzy.
Had to joog the late night crowd. Leftovers don’t always come a week apart, but this week had some gems, so it seemed like the right thing to do. Big Boi’s Sir Luscious Left Foot finally saw the light of the day this week, which is reason enough for some of us to get juiced. If you feel like making that purchase and supporting a legend, check here. Either way, we got you covered on some new shit, with tracks from Ricky Ross & Drake, Chromeo and The Roots, to name a few. The Saadiq cover of “It’s A Shame” is the one to check for though.
We’ve been at this for a while, so first and foremost, thanks to everybody that’s been riding since day one. Please believe, this ride is far from over, and we’ve got some tricks up our sleeves as always. Being that we’re damn near halfway through this Summer already, it seemed like a good time to dip into the archives and pull out some tracks that, for whatever reason, never made it up to the front page of W&B over the first half of 2010. A few new joints in here as usual, but also a gang of shit that’s been in rotation for a while now. Much love to the all my Bay folks. It’s lovely to be back home.
I know, I know. Drake’s overnight success story isn’t news to anybody. Over the past year and a half or so, we’ve watched him rise to superstardom in a way that seemed almost inevitable. If anything, take this one as inspiration, or at least a pretty decent way to entertain yourself for a half hour. MTV’s documentary Better Than Good Enough is a glimpse into the days surrounding the release of Thank Me Later, with footage from studio sessions and on the road. Whether his album is in the whip right now or not, it’s always cool to have a reminder that anything can happen, if you dream big and grind hard. Parts 2 and 3 after the MORE.
A lot of cats in the rap game seem like they’re in a hurry to blow up. As if the first single is the be-all, end-all of their career, or getting picked up by a major is the only thing on their mind. It’s understandable, especially when you consider how volatile the game can be, or how hard it is to make it as an indie artist. But part of what’s impressive about Drake so far is that he has a different approach. So Far Gone had mass appeal, but it wasn’t just designed for the masses. It was personal, experimental, and fresh.
In the same way, Thank Me Later has a refreshing feel to it. Inevitably, some folks will complain that it’s not the blockbuster instant smash everybody wanted. Personally, I’m almost glad it it’s not. What Thank Me Later does successfully is create a sonic atmosphere, and a canvas where Drizzy can once again reflect on personal experience, and turn it into something tangible. So no, it’s not perfect. But it’s original, it’s subtle, and it sounds like the record he actually wanted to make. So thanks for this one, Drake.
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For much of this year and last, Drake’s given us much of the music we celebrate to. Guaranteed we’ll be celebrating to him tonight… Almost as if it was out of thin air, Drake’s become a household name, and a person my Mom asks me about. While the ascension to the pinnacle of hip hop might have transpired in what seems like a single night, I can’t help but believe that the hype is warranted. In what seems like a deliberate stream of consciousness, Drizzy and Jay take turns on the track highlighting their rise to fame, while providing food for thought for those on their own journey. From acting on Noggin, to duets with Jay-Z. If nothing else please use Drake as inspiration, because anything’s possible.
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It seems like Drake thought we needed a reminder. When KP and Matt put me up on him after “Ransom”, it wasn’t so much because of his promise as a pop star, as it was the bars. The fact of the matter is the dude can flat out spit. The latest from Drizzy, a non-album, hook-less cut is him at his best, going in over a pretty serious track courtesy of Boi-1da. In this era, who knows what “freestyle” really means, but this is quality all around. Even if it was read off a Blackberry or something. Thank Me Later is due out June 15th.
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Now this is an interesting turn of events. Although, I think a lot of us could’ve predicted it if we thought hard enough about it. On the heels of “Over”, an egocentric soul-sampling banger, Drake’s second single is a pretty sugary pop love song. “Find Your Love” is far from Drake at his best (or Kanye for that matter), but it’s interesting for a number of reasons. All hype aside, Thank Me Later has the potential to be a really dope album, partly because Drake is versatile. So yeah, a lot of us would rather hear Drake goin in “Ransom” style, but at the end of the day, variety is always cool. Now we just need to get him to drop “Fireworks”.
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Guess he wasn’t kidding about the whole “I’m doing me” thing. The focus of the video for Drake’s latest, “Over” is pretty much squarely on a stoic-looking Mr. Graham the entire time. After the big budget theatrics of videos like “Run This Town” and “On to the Next One” , I can’t say this was quite what I was expecting from director Anthony Mandler. You have to admire the creativity though; there’s a lot going on visually in this video. Like any young phenom, folks are watching Drake’s every move these days. It must be crazy trying to sort through everybody’s expectations. Guess you just have to do you and see what happens.
This one was a long time coming. Suffice to say this is the first official album single from Drizzy’s Thank Me Later. At this point, my opinion on the track isn’t really that important. People will be slappin this one on repeat either way. But yeah, this shit is heat. You already know when the intro drops. Mr. Graham will be going from college to college on the Away From Home Tour starting next month, along with my favorite indie band of the moment. Album in May. This is Wine & Bowties.
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For those of you who missed the show, Wayne, Em and Drizzy shut it down, starting with the Rebirth collab “Drop the World” and of course, “Forever”. Cole knows better than most of us. Overall, the night, and the actual awards given out left something to be desired. After all, it was the Grammys. These three on stage was pretty iconic either way though, even if Yeezy was a no show. Don’t know if it was touching this though. As usual, GaGa went hard with the performance too, pulling a Shady and bringing out Elton John. Check below for the footage.
I don’t know how I feel about recycling verses, but new music is new music. Coming off one of the most impressive rookie seasons in a minute, Drizzy isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. Even the unfinished leaks and fragments that make their way out of the studio have been pretty impressive. “Zone” finds Drake goin in over a heater from J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, which is becoming pretty standard these days. Unclear whether this’ll end up Thank Me Later, but worth the listen either way.
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