First off, can we just take a minute to consider the fucking lineup on this track? Yeezy, Hov, Rozay and Nicki would be crazy already. But guest vocals from Bon Iver and Uncle Charlie? Fresh off the news that he and Jay are set to drop a five-track album soon, Ye dropped off the first official track tonight, via Twitter. “Monster”, also the first installment of Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Music Fridays, is as varied, and maybe even as weird as the guest list looks on paper. It’s six minutes plus, and Ye went in. Nicki too. There’s a lot going on here, but at it’s best moments “Monster”, lives up to it’s name.
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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.
So where do you go after you’ve done it all musically? Well after the polarizing, genre-stretching autotune opus that was 808s, I guess a return to his hip-hop anthem comfort zone makes sense. Following up the portrait of “Power”, Mr. West stopped by Angie Martinez’ show earlier today to premier the latest from his forthcoming, still-untitled album. Accompanied by a soulful pair of appearances from Beyonce and Charlie Wilson, Ye drops quotables left and right (“I’m Socrates, but my skin more chocolatey”), over smooth fare from No I.D. with a little help from Lex Luger (Rick’s “B.M.F.”). It’s unmastered, and as far as the new material we’ve heard so far, it’s pretty light stuff. But given that there’s only so much summer left, it’s pretty good timing. Thoughts?
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Whether you love Kanye or hate him, you have to admire the fact that he’s insisted on doing things his way from the jump. For better or for worse, Ye always manages to create things that are distinctively his own. So when he tweeted recently that the video for “Power’ was in fact not a video, but a “painting”, I got the feeling we were in for something unusual. Marco Brambilla on the visuals, Yeezy on the track. You can decide what to make of it.
I think great songwriting, like great poetry speaks for itself. In hip-hop specifically, it’s always been a medium where the way you communicate has everything to do with how you get your point across too. So as Ye prepares to drop his fifth solo album, supposedly a return to the sample-heavy, grounded hip-hop approach that made folks fall in love on Dropout, I suppose this is a pretty fitting way to drop some new songs. Yesterday Ye took over Facebook’s headquarters for a special acapella performance. We thought you should see it, if you haven’t already.
If Jay’s ridiculous verse on “Free Mason” somehow went over your head last week, do yourself a favor and let that one ride out first. My apologies if we’ve been a little Ross-heavy lately (no pun intended), but Teflon Don is looking serious. As far as the rest goes, highlights include some settled Dam Funk, the latest from Cudi and Ye, and a Mayer Hawthorne video full of bad ones. And don’t trip. There’s a plenty of even more obscure indie shit too. Watch the Edward Sharpe if you’re feeling adventurous. Much love to the fam. Last weekend was one for the books.
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Living fast and ballin out is a lifestyle I’m conflicted about. On one hand, the appeal is pretty undeniable. Cars, clothes, drugs and bad ones all have their virtues. But there’s definitely something to be said for just living simply, and appreciating your life as it is. Personally, dropping bread on big ass chains and private flights is doing a lot in my book. But if the major stunters out there give me anything, it’s inspiration. Ricky and Ye put in the work, and now they’re winning. Tough. Looks like they got an another anthem on their hands with this one. And damn it’s good to hear Yeezy back behind the boards lately.
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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’m living in that 21st century.
Doing something mean to it.
Do it better than anybody you ever seen do it. Screams from the haters got a nice ring to it. I guess every superhero need his theme music…”
What can you say about Kanye West that hasn’t already been said. Rather than attempt to relate some overarching conclusion about Kanye and his relevance to music, and pop culture, we should all probably just sit back and enjoy the show. As far as artistry goes, I think Ye’s one of the best. Simply for the anticipation his work builds, and the transcendent quality of his music. Remember, the best artists always have you anticipating what they’ll do next. And quite frankly, I think Kanye might own the Summer.
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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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If you’re not familiar with Francis & The Lights, now would be a pretty good time to get acquainted. Led by their meal-ticket frontman Francis Farewell Starlite, the New York outfit will head out on tour next week, along with none other than Drizzy Drake Rogers. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you, when cats start pretending they were up on them the whole time. Jokes. Anyway, this is one of a handful of tracks that turned me into a believer. Francis & the Lights cover Ye.
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After threatening for a week plus, Yeezy finally dropped the new kanyewest.com this morning. The new format features a plain white background, and a full-screen approach for videos and pics. The shot of Amber isn’t a bad way to lead off either. So far, Ye’s blog has given fans a chance to connect to the man behind the artist, and hear opinions and ideas directly from him, without the filter of the mass media. Which is cool. The interpersonal connection and the sharing of ideas between individuals is the future of this internet shit, and it’s what we’re trying to build our foundation on with you. And him and her too. For now, peep the site here. As always, we’ll keep an eye on what Yeezy’s got up his sleeve next. Expect big things.
I often times feel conflicted about throwing up the Kanye. I always ask myself, is throwing up the Kanye a reflex? Or is it simply the belief that each time I press the play button on a Kanye video I know I’m in for something. To answer my own question, it’s the latter. I usually skip this song when I slap 808′s and I probably still will, but I’m always pleased when Nabil and Ye get together. It’s just the fact that Kanye’s videos are so different, that it makes these other videos irrelevant, and I appreciate that. Very much.
First off, can we just take a minute to consider the fucking lineup on this track? Yeezy, Hov, Rozay and Nicki would be crazy already. But guest vocals from Bon Iver and Uncle Charlie? Fresh off the news that he and Jay are set to drop a five-track album soon, Ye dropped off the first official track tonight, via Twitter. “Monster”, also the first installment of Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Music Fridays, is as varied, and maybe even as weird as the guest list looks on paper. It’s six minutes plus, and Ye went in. Nicki too. There’s a lot going on here, but at it’s best moments “Monster”, lives up to it’s name.
