You can go ahead and file Kid Masterpiece in the column of "Beatmakers Who Have No Interest In Ever Resting For Too Long". In the past week alone, the rising Montreal-based producer has added to his already fantastic 2013 portfolio with not just one but two stellar remixes, this time turning his focus to more recent R&B favorites. Masterpiece's take on the latest Jeremih single, Thumpy Johnson lead preview "All The Time" , lives up to his previously established affinity for seductive bedroom grooves [...]
The original version of mysterious London duo Snakehips ' "On & On" was pretty much A+ on it's own, its sensual, electro(& Ciara-sample)-glazed R&B shimmer and guest star/ Aussie vocalist George Maple 's lovely, effortless pipes equaling a relaxing hip hop-soul summer jam slow burn that made any attempt to remix the tune pointless, as such efforts would be bound to chip away at the song's perfection... ...that is, apparently, unless the people doing the remixing would happen to be the lead act themselves. Yes, having an artist remixing their [...]
Think being young, gifted and authentic would make life a breeze? On the sobering "Y.G.A." (from the forthcoming Young & Proud mixtape), Bronx emcee Noah Vinson tells us to think again, spotlighting just how far from smooth sailing such an existence can be. Here, supported by L.A. producer Sirplus' looping of Willie Hutch's 1973 remake of the Michael Jackson/ Motown classic "I Wanna Be Where You Are" , Vinson relates the struggles of trying to keep his head above water as stressful realities slam him from every which way, whether its him [...]
Vancouver hip hop outfit Self Taught (emcees/ producers Vintage and Cliff Herman and singer Jay Rod) describe their sound as "something to make a sandwich to and then eat it in the basement on your couch with a pickle and some chips", and while that might not sound like the most exciting way to pimp your brand, upon planting ears on their latest release Feast of Fools it ends up landing as a pretty fitting description, the ten-track collection's pairing of smooth, sample-rich productions and every-man lyrical themes resulting in [...]
If the social media trending topic domination cluttering up your timeline over this past week's giveaway series #PROERAweek -or the heavy on-line buzz generated by anything related to breakout member Joey Bada$$-didn't provide you with enough of a clue, New York's 902s-gazing, twenty-plus artists collective Pro Era have basically cemented themselves as the new, up-and-coming hip hop team to beat within the World Wide Web world. That hype should only continue on with the crew's latest freebie offering "Maxwell", a DJ Black Diamond-produced cut featuring members Dirty Sanchez , Rokamouth and Capital [...]
The triumphant "ashy to classy" narrative is a tried-and-true subject in hip hop: if your dreams finally came true, and with that, you were also living the lifestyle of a big-budget music video far and away from your humble beginnings, why wouldn't you want to reflect in awe of your come-up? While a constant beating down of the theme from your favorite emcees can start to feel insulting though (especially with most of us mired in a current economic climate that seems like it never wants you to "win"), it's hard not to root for [...]
There's an appealing old-school simplicity in the "dudes playing around in the studio, stumble across a smooth-as-baby-bottom reggae sample lope, decide to rap on it" vibe that emanates from DJ Funeral Fresh 's "LILI", the combined efforts of the Cincinnati-based Fresh and rappers Fleaux , Oba Rowland and Randy Lawson reaching a certain degree of loose hip hop fun rarely captured on the often focus-grouped stabs at "joy" pushed at the major label level. A large part of what makes this win is the aforementioned loop, a rolling sea of lightly bobbing [...]
Rarely has a wax marriage bringing together the street corner grit of Wu Tang with some sweet soul sample nostalgia ended up not being good, so, of course, just the idea of two new Raekwon joints backed by classic R&B sounds would fall under the file of "Keepers". The good Chef's newest project, the Lost Jewelry EP, is due in January and teasing the effort is two joints that both swirl in the soulful goodness of some old-school Motown greats, sparking up fond recollections of dealing days long gone. On [...]
For most men of a certain age, seeing the title of and hearing the sample within Kendrick Lamar's "Poetic Justice" brought back all kinds of fond memories of the sexiness that was early-to-mid-902s Janet, when homegirl had switched away from the All Black Everything Rhythm Nation wardrobe phase, trimmed off some of that lovely "Pleasure Principle" thickness and started showcasing some hardcore abs, posed for this classic cover , and had given up all that "Let's Wait Awhile" talk in place of "Anytime, Anyplace" purrs and [...]
Whether you've remained a fan of The Game since he was wallowing in the glories of heavy street buzz and platinum-plus commercial success of the 50 Cent-partnered "How We Do"/ "Hate It or Love It" days or somehow fell off his bandwagon in the somewhat creatively unfocused years that followed, it's hard to ignore the big moves the West Coast emcee has been making in 20122s fourth quarter, sparking much interest back into his career in the run-up to his fifth studio release Jesus Piece (due this Tuesday) with a steady stream [...]
Following the apparent hip-hop law that states that all rappers must drop at least one track devoted to pole-twirlers a year (with some names going the extra credit route by making damn near their entire output revolve around the subject) comes this latest from Game , a track that keeps it to-the-point with the title "Stripper" and was forced to join the "Sunday Service" freebie pile last week after sample clearance issues kept it from scoring a spot on the emcee's upcoming studio effort Jesus Piece . Where ears have [...]
While we first became aware of Bronx emcee Noah Vinson via the oh-so-smoove "I Love You", the rapper on display on new solo tape The Life offers a far more varied bag of mic tricks than that aforementioned preview would suggest, finding Vinson impressively juggling classic East Coast rap braggadocio cool, conscious-dipped inspirational anthems, dizzying trash-talking lyrical exercises and one number that slyly warns of the dangers in dating in the social networking age over the course of the solid set's twelve tracks. It also holds what Noah [...]
After hearing the cool R&B spin Lloyd has put on Future's "Turn On The Lights" and Kendrick Lamar's "Swimming Pools" (heard below) in recent months, if the entirety of the crooner's forthcoming mixtape The Playboy Diaries involved nothing more than him applying his featherweight tenor and original lyrics onto beats familiar, there would honestly be no complaining from this corner of the Interwebz. Latest Diaries preview "Sexcapade" puts a pause on the tour through hip hop's Greatest Recent Hits for a sample swipe from Aaliyah's One In A Million [...]
The Man with the Iron Fists may not be released until November 2nd, but the film, directed and co-written by RZA , already feels destined to be a cult classic. A Wu Tang-affiliated martial arts indie flick boasting acting turns from Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu, the movie's trailer alone has probably already brought forth a record-breaking explosion of "bro" boners worldwide, and that's not even taking into consideration an accompanying soundtrack that features various appearances from the Wu alongside cameos from, among others, The Black Keys, Talib Kweli, [...]
While Mary J Blige can never be accused of not injecting all of her soul-drenched all into her each and every recording, the diva has felt a bit on "cruise control" mode in her most recent albums, efficiently checking all the necessary Queen of Hip-Hop-Soul boxes but coming up a bit weak in dropping anything extremely note-worthy. That said, her latest release, an updating of Arrested Development's classic semi-cover of Sly & The Family Stone's classic original "Everyday People" registers as just the kind of career-rejuvenating jolt she needs. A [...]
Now here's a cool way to leak a song: Hand if off to one of your fans and allow them the crazy-cool, follower-boosting honor to "world premiere" the joint on Twitter . A possible sneak peek at J. Cole 's as-yet-untitled sophomore outing, the self-produced "I'm A Fool"-it samples Cee-Lo Green and Melanie Fiona's Grammy winning duet 2011 "Fool For You" -lands as a decent bit of Simba newness that should satisfy those who connected to the rapper's previous diary-stripped tales. Here, as he slices, screws and chops the [...]
It's probably not a good look for Lil' Wayne that a couple days after dropping his highly anticipated, but overall meh Dedication 4 , the project would end up being bested by a mixtape from a rapper very few would consider sits upon the same level as him lyrically. That's the reality that's been served with Big Sean 's latest full-length freebie Detroit though, a fourteen-cut collection of variously flavored joints that ends up pretty successful in fulfilling its purpose of keeping the G.O.O.D. Music member's solo brand hot in [...]
Top Dawg Entertainment has been on a freebie-dropping roll this past week, letting loose new solo cuts from crew members Jay Rock , Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q for the on-line world to instantly slurp up in celebration of TDE Appreciation Week, but it's only right that the series be capped off with one from the label's most heralded member. The title may aim Kendrick Lamar 's latest in the vein of another Cali-loving "Recipe" -type gem, but "Westside, Right On Time" is so much more, K. Dot spending two verses crafting [...]
With its steady supply of relaxed, conversational flowage painting a jealousy-baiting big baller lifestyle and chilled-out soundscapes built from old waterlogged R&B cassette tape samples and '902s G-funk inspiration, West Coast indie rap fave Dom Kennedy 's latest mixtape release Yellow Album makes a strong bid in becoming one of Summer 20122s top hip hop go-to's; standing out among the thirteen featured slabs of laidback, Cali rap feel-good: mid-set entry "Gold Alpinas", which not only boasts a Rick Ross cameo, but is made extra special by producer DrewByrd 's sweet Aaliyah loop. [...]
myworldmusicfriends.com http://www.worldmusicwire.com “I don't like DJ sets,” exclaims Nicola Gruev, a.k.a. Kottarashky , the Balkan beatologist who made a name for himself with pared-down, eclectic tracks built from folksy samples of everything from Bulgarian traditional singing to overblown flute and whirling clarinet. Now, joined by a live crew of old friends and stellar Sofia musicians, The Rain Dogs, Gruev and company bring a new, crackling energy to Kottarashky’s ethno-mashups and rough-edged romps on [...]
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