Now that our best of 2012 lists are completed and behind us, it's time to look to the coming year. Welcome to our roundup of the most anticipated albums of 2013, which features a nice mix of albums both confirmed and rumored to drop. Of course, we tried to keep the latter of those to a minimum, but we couldn't pass up making some comments about, say, Jay Electronica's probably-never-being-released Act II . We couldn't fit all of those rumored releases on here, however, because then we would just be going on and on about albums [...]
After exercising some demons on Relapse and getting a pass from fans, expectations were high for Eminem's quick follow-up, Recovery. Then, when the project dropped and sounded sappier and more [...] The post 8 Realistic Expectations For Eminem's 8th Album appeared first on The Smoking Section .
Je l'attendais comme le messie, la vidéo de « Backseat Freestyle » est enfin sortie. L'un des meilleurs morceaux du meilleur album rap de l'année 2012 s'illustra en vidéo pour débuter l'année 2013 sur de bonnes bases. On doit cette réalisation à Jerome D, Dave Free & Kendrick Lamar himself, ils se sont même payé le luxe de valser entre LA et Paris à l'occasion de ce freestyle haut en basse.
2012 was a great year for hip-hop. While many big names dropped much awaited albums the best surprises for me came from younger, lesser known talent such as Angel Haze, Joey Badass and Earl Sweatshirt. Amongst them, Kendrick Lamar definitely stands apart, and 2012 probably wouldn't have been as good if it wasn't for his astonishingly [...]
Day 4 of our 4-day countdown of the best of the year. Part 1 (80-61) can be found here . Part 2 (60-41) can be found here . Part 3 (40-21) can be found here . To recap: AlbatRoss and I had 2 guidelines that we stuck to in compiling this list: 1) it had to be rap (meaning no R&B - Frank Ocean and Miguel had killer years but they won't be found on this list) and 2) one song per project on the list. We did this (including honorable mentions, of course) to make sure we brought a [...]

50. Mikky Ekko - Pull Me Down 49. Blondfire - Where the Kids Are 48. Gap Dream - Generator 47. The 1975 - You 46. Fun. - Some Nights [...]

We’ve finally reached that inevitable part of December, when we all reflect upon the triumphs and trails of the past year. In terms of music, 2012 has seen great things come out of the Vancouver music scene. Not only did local duo Japandroids release one of the best records of the year with “Celebration Rock”, but the Peak Performance Project also showcased some amazing up-and-coming talent. Among PPP’s standout artists were Tough Lovers , a band that consists of four dudes with standout personalities and even better tunes. And yes ladies, they’re all really good looking. Hey Dane [...]

La longevidad no es necesariamente sinónimo de calidad y lo sabemos. Sin embargo, en casos como The Chronic de Dr. Dre esa premisa no aplica. Si hace unos posteos celebrábamos el álbum The low end theory de A Tribe Called Quest, hermano optimista de The Chronic , esta vez nos toca revisar la mejor y más perdurable obra de Dr. Dre. Lanzado en 1992 y transformado casi de inmediato en objeto de culto rapero gracias a clásicos como "Nuthin but a G thang" o "Let me ride", The Chronic no sólo [...]

Post being named the highest earning rapper of 2012, thanks to his 51% stake in headphone line Beats by Dre, the DR. DRE has moved three of his subsidiaries to West Cork Ireland to take advantage of their low corporate tax rate. Nice to see him doing everything he can to hold on to the $110 million he earned last year. Stay tuned, as next week the DRE is expected to give yet another talk about America's need for welfare reform and socialised healthcare. Until then, God bless America.
Last month, Dr. Dre ended up on the top of a Forbes list of the year's highest-earning musicians - this while releasing virtually no music. Dre is up there because of his Beats By Dre headphones line: expensive, reportedly-kinda-crappy ear goggles that are marketed almost entirely on Dre's name. Dre is able to rake in those all those millions, then, because of his rep as a details-obsessed audiophile. And the main reason he has that reputation is The Chronic , an album that celebrated its 20th birthday on Saturday. Upon its 1992 release, The [...]

“It’s been a while/I’m not who I was before,” sings Alicia Keys on Girl on Fire , her fifth studio album to date, after a dazzling intro consisting of nothing but a grand piano and Keys’ mastery over (if you can forgive the pun) the keys. But this is no hollow declaration of rebirth, and though we are not made privy to the details of Keys’ personal life, her newfound bravery and self-acceptance are clearly evident in various inflections throughout the album. From the victorious cries of “It’s a new day!” in the [...]
In the classroom of Hip-Hop 101: The Chronic would be given its own section, likely filed under “The Rise of West Coast Hip-Hop.” Almost twenty years ago on December 15th, Dr. Dre’s The Chronic was released and since has quickly become one of those “must-have” hip-hop albums for any rap primer. I was only 9 when it dropped and wouldn’t hear the album’s lead single “Nuthin’ but a G Thang” until two years later when I saw the video on MTV after my Dad decided to splurge on cable TV. I was living in [...]
It's impossible to describe the particular sound of Outkast (or Big Boi on his two solo albums) without somehow employing the word "funk." Hip-hop's use of bouncy beats is a given at this point, but it was Dr. Dre who first married gritty rhymes and such glossy production, with the G-funk of his 1992 classic The Chronic . Dre's solo debut proved gangsta rap could be fun, that rappers could make party songs without losing street cred — and the genre never looked back. That [...]

Rhino Records will celebrate the 35th anniversary of Fleetwood Mac's landmark Rumours album in January with an expanded anniversary reissue that includes assorted outtakes and demos. An expanded edition also features Rumours on 140-gram vinyl, the 1977 documentary The Rosebud Film on DVD and more outtakes. Rumours 35 is slated for a January 29th release. List Time: Rolling Stone's 50 Greatest Hip Hop Songs Of All Time Trent Reznor and Dr. Dre are teaming up to launch a new music [...]

Sometimes I hear people talk about Detox and I feel like I'm over the whole hype. Then I heard tracks like this produced by Dre and I feel like Detox could (and would) be an instant classic. Guess we'll never know. Game's new album Jesus Piece available now .

Here's another short yet difficult year-end question for you: Who is your favorite artist of 2012? What artist had an impact on not just you, but the whole music industry? What artist deserves the award so much that it would be a crime not to offer them the title? Consequence of Sound chose Frank Ocean , while Sami Jarroush personally chose Jack White. Everyone has an opinion, so for today's Rock it Out! Blog episode, we want to know who you think is the artist of the year. Also, Sami recaps some music [...]
Filed under: News , Pop Culture , Music Appreciation , New Releases Getty | Getty Nine Inch Nails singer Trent Reznor is teaming up with Dr. Dre for a new music streaming service entitled Daisy which will rival Spotify. The Guardian reports the service will launch in the middle of next year and is being developed by the hip-hop artist's popular headphones company Beats by [...]

Trent Reznor and Dr Dre have teamed up to launch a new music streaming service that will rival the likes of Spotify and Deezer. The project, called Daisy , is set for unveiling during mid-2013 and has been developed by the rapper's headphones manufacturer, Bea ts By Dre. A key difference from their peers, however, will be their use of human rather than statistical recommendation. "There's a real value in trusted filters," Reznor told the New Yorker. "It's like having your [...]