While it might not be his strongest work to date, “Nothing On You” should give B.O.B. the chance to leapfrog a handful of cats in the game right now. At the end of the day, hits get peoples’ attention, and the song is still smashing on most of the shit on the radio lately. Bobby picked the right director for the job though. Ethan Lader, the mind behind quality videos from Pac Div, Kidz in the Hall and my personal favorite, Rob Roy’s “Fur In My Cap”, put together some creative visuals to accompany the song. Expect to see Bobby and Ethan back soon.
Seven years ago, a little known trio from North Carolina dropped an album that made an extraordinary amount of noise. Within months of The Listening being released, 9th Wonder was being commissioned for a beat on The Black Album, and the album was drawing unsolicited praise from hip-hop royalty like Pete Rock and ?uestlove. A few years later, their soulful sound has led each of LB’s three members on different paths. Phonte’s Foreign Exchange is Grammy-nominated, Pooh is a few quality solo projects deep, and 9th, who bowed out of the group in ‘07, is a certified super-producer for everyone from Erykah to De La. Next month should see the release of Leftback, unfortunately billed as Pooh and Phonte’s final album together, with “Curtain Call” as the first single. Khrysis killed this one though, and if this a sign of things to come, we got one more quality album to look forward to.
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Blockbuster collabs are a funny thing. Sometimes we get a classic, sometimes we forget they even happened. In my humble, this one doesn’t really fall into either category. The latest from Cudi, presumably off the upcoming Cudder doesn’t really deviate too far from the subject matter we’ve come to expect, but it’s not a major problem with the song. At the end of the day, we can always use more songs to smoke weed and drink to. The outro might just be the cleanest part though.
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Recently I had the opportunity to chat with Mykola Dosenko, also known as Myk Dawg. Born and raised in Kiev, Ukraine, Mykola’s inspirations paint an interesting portrait of popular culture in the late 80’s and early 90’s. A self proclaimed graphic designer, celebrity chef, comedian and stunt driver, it was not difficult to strike up a conversation about Myk’s interests and inspirations. With his graphic design work popping up on popular websites across the net, Mykola’s aesthetic is becoming recognized for it’s vibrant colors and retro influences. Touching on everything from Lebron James to zombie snails, our conversation was peculiar to say the very least.
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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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Any chance we get to take a look into the world and the mind of somebody as inspiring as Basquiat is one I think we should take. Tamra Davis’ upcoming documentary feature, Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child will offer just that: a glimpse at the life and work of her personal friend, and one of the most important visual artists of the 20th century. Slated to drop later this year, the film features original music from Adam Horovitz & Mike D of the Beastie Boys and visual work from Shepard Fairey. Peep the trailer above.
Cole asked me if this was going to become a regular thing. The short answer is yes, it is. I love music, and consequently, I like to blog about it. But folks like say, Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek, U-N-I or Sharon Jones (look below) just aren’t really sensitive to the fact that we like to post songs one at a time. We’re inspired by a lot of things at once. So my hands are pretty much tied here. For the record, Gorillaz kinda stole the show this week. Plastic Beach drops next week, so get you a copy.
Let’s not play ourselves. Slaps like this are important. Our generation doesn’t really have a Teddy P (RIP) or a Prince, so sometimes cats like Luda and Trey need to come through with the baby-making music. Despite the recent wave of flop decisions on Mr. Bridges’ part (a handful of weak singles, the Justin Beiber feature and one seriously hurt album cover), this joint caught my attention. Props to the big homie Sam, who’s been keeping me thoroughly entertained with the slaps and outta pocket shit of late. Oh, and in case you haven’t noticed, Trey’s been killin it for a while now. If this doesn’t hit the radio, it’d be a damn shame.
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For lack of better words, this album is about to be on some other shit. If the guestlist (Lou Reed, Little Dragon, Snoop Dogg, Bobby Womack) didn’t cue you into that, this should. Taking a unique approach to promotion for Plastic Beach, Gorillaz dropped this 8-minute collection, featuring a preview of some of the project’s most interesting cuts. Included in the mix are the single, “Stylo” and the De La Soul-assisted “Superfast Jellyfish” which has been making the rounds on the blog circuit over the last few days. The official release date is March 9th. Until then, we got the album mix.
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This is one of those collab projects that just makes too much sense. With the Roc pretty much officially toast, it’s hard not to feel nostalgic for the soul-sampling, gritty shit that made them the most relevant label out in the first half of the last decade. Enter Jake One. Having made a name for himself crafting bangers for everyone from 50 to De La, Jake provides the perfect soundtrack for Free to shine, effectively updating the Philly Freeway formula perfected by Just Blaze and the Baseline team. From the singles, “You Know What I Mean” and “One Thing” to the deep cuts, the result is one of the best-produced hip-hop albums in a minute. Listen up.
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This is the inaugural so let’s start from the beginning. The brainchild of Joshua Kissi and Travis Gumbs, Street Etiquette is the creative effort of the duos interests, passions, and personal style. Combining a weekly selection of looks and outfits, Street Etiquette has managed to develop a keen fashion sense that’s suited for the urban environment of New York City. Travis and Joshua’s most recent project Sewn From The Soul is a celebration of iconic African Americans who have inspired thoughtfulness and creativity through their work. The Renaissance is here, and these cats are at the forefront. It’s getting worse and worse everyday. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
A conversation on Twitter got me thinking (thanks to Luis). It started with me making the statement that musicians shouldn’t be making millions of dollars a year. Teachers and social workers struggle to pay bills, yet some of the richest people in our country make millions by recording music. It ended with me being called a communist.
The idea of capitalism rests upon the assumption that the market is dependent on the consumer. If customers have options and information, the value of products will be adjusted to fit the consumers’ demand. When an industry is dominated by a few very influential players in a market with high barriers to entry, this concept goes to shit. Right now, you’ve got four major labels (Sony BMG, Universal, EMI, & Warner) deciding your options for you. Instead of having thousands of artists to choose from, the majority of the population is force fed 50-100 options in each segment. This means most artists never make it. Very few make it big. Some artists seen as marketable get huge pushes and end up making millions. Most end up broke.
It’s always interesting to see how advertisers attempt to link their products with particular aspects of culture. It appears as though Sprite has been marketed as the “soft drink for urban youth” since the 80’s. Even though, in reality, it’s just some chemicals mixed together that you can drink with your meal. Think about it. There’s nothing inherently cool, creative or unique about Sprite except for what they associate with it. I suppose this is just marketing 101, but they’ve been doing it for 20 years plus. Hit the MORE to see what I’m talking about. Good afternoon.
