Hip Hop
Lasers Album Cover Revealed
Hoodie Allen Releases “Dreams Up”
Four months after the release of his mixtape Pep Rally, rapper Hoodie Allen has sent us first single “Dreams Up”. The Oh Land sampling track will be on Hoodie’s forthcoming Leap Year mixtape. Check out the song below.
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Goes Platinum
Just eight weeks after its release, Kanye West‘s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy has been certified platinum (officially selling over 1 million units). This was West’s fifth platinum solo LP. Congratulations Yeezy!
More information can be obtained from the RIAA.
Review: J. Cole – Friday Night Lights
J. Cole – Friday Night Lights
Released: November 12, 2010
Label: Roc Nation
“So here we are…”
Here we are, indeed. Say hello to the third mixtape from North Carolina’s J. Cole, approved by Hova himself. With his debut album scheduled for a 2011 release, it certainly is Cole’s time to shine. This is “his moment”: his chance to achieve the success that is the subject of almost every one of his songs.
If you aren’t already familiar with J. Cole’s life story, Friday Night Lights can certainly fill you in. Like the TV show of the same name, the mixtape focuses on the struggles of small-town folk struggling in the larger world; in this case, Cole’s poverty growing up in Fayetteville, North Carolina and his transition to the world stage as a rapper. Cole, who graduated from St. John’s University magna cum laude, is a deep-thinking, well-educated lyricist, taking nothing for granted. It is obvious Cole works extremely hard for everything in his life and he does everything in his power to force you to realize that.
Keeping that in mind, Friday Night Lights contains nothing inherently new in terms of Cole’s choice of subject matter. This, however, also means that Cole is doing what he does best: rapping about himself, his dedication to the “game”, and his rise from obscurity and small town North Carolina. Complimented by the bright, twinkling piano lines of the mixtape, J. Cole spits smoothly and with modest self-confidence.
Friday Night Lights features twenty tracks of rap in its most unadulterated form. Cole handles almost all of the production himself and only includes three rapping features, excluding Kanye West‘s G.O.O.D. Friday track “Looking For Trouble”. The highly anticipated Drake collaboration, “In The Morning”, is a solid showing from both young rappers, with both donning ‘thoughtful loverboy’ personas. J. Cole’s girl is “summertime fine”, while Drizzy’s is “wintertime cold”, but in the end, this makes no difference. Both are troubled by the same internal question that is plausible only because of their meteoric rises to stardom.
Is the mixtape fun? Sure, listen to the energetic “Higher”. How about serious? Cole definitely has that taken care of. Coherent? Absolutely. Friday Night Lights is a great effort from Cole all around, showcasing both his lyrical and production talents, but still addressing all of the emotional issues that have become the ‘bread-and-butter’ of Cole’s musical repertoire. If you’re looking for the future of hip-hop, this is it.
Cole World, here we come.
8.6
Standout Tracks: “Before I’m Gone”, “Higher”, “In The Morning (feat. Drake)” and “Home For The Holidays”
New Member of the Gorillaz
A new member has been added to the Gorillaz, based on a fan-submitted design from the character competition contest. The new character is called “The Evangelist” and has been redrawn by Gorillaz co-creator/animator Jamie Hewlett.
According to the Gorillaz website, “‘The Evangelist’ is the opposite of ‘The Boogieman;’ the light to his awful shade…’The Evangelist’ is a similar entity, but the flip-side of ‘The Boogieman.’ He/she may even be revealed as ‘The Boogieman’s’ avenger. His/her outer appearance is yet to be defined.”
You can see the images and find more information here.
Drake Works With The xx and Florence and the Machine
According to NME, Drake is working with The xx‘s Jamie Smith and Florence and the Machine‘s Florence Welch. Smith says that he has been working with Drake on the rapper’s upcoming album Take Care. Drake has also announced that he may appear on the new Florence and the Machine record.
As of now, no release dates have been anounced. To tide you over, you can watch a fan video of Florence performing “Fireworks” with Drake in London below.
First Single from Watch The Throne
Kanye West and Jay-Z have released the first single from their upcoming collaborative album Watch the Throne. The new song, entitled “H•A•M”, can be listened to on the album’s official Facebook page.
Kanye West and Jay-Z Collab Update
After almost a decade since Kanye West sampled the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” in Jay-Z‘s “Izzo” and produced a third of The Blueprint, the duo will be releasing a collaboration album together. Fittingly titled Watch the Throne, Kanye has announced at a concert in Las Vegas that the album should be released in the next week, as the two will be traveling to Australia to finish the final tracks.
EDIT: It looks as if Kanye was a little off in predicting the release date. Look for the album to come out March 1st.
Finally Famous: Finally No DJ
G.O.O.D Music signee Big Sean‘s 2010 mixtape Finally Famous Vol. 3 has been rereleased. This time around, the mixtape no longer has annoying DJ shouts throughout each song. Download the mixtape for free here (via the G.O.O.D Music blog).
Single: The White House Band – “Grown-Ups”
Track: “Grown-Ups”
Artist: The White House Band
Release Date: November 26, 2010
Label: Cap City Records
Taking a page from Cleveland rapper Kid Cudi‘s book, The White House Band combine heavy guitar riffs with angst-filled, reflective rapping on new single “Grown-Ups”, from the band’s upcoming Stimulus Package EP. Lead man David E. Beats is honest and likable enough, rapping about painful experiences in his childhood and ultimately progressing to becoming a “grown up now.” After a short instrumental interlude reminiscent of the tracks on Kanye West‘s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, David E. Beats returns with verse number two, sounding very similar to Rick Ross on “Devil In A New Dress”. But enough with the comparisons: where Kanye West chooses to use samples in his music (and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that!), The White House Band play every note. Be sure to give this solid track a listen.
Rating: 6/10
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