Light up the world

Bit different from the hip hop I normally post but I saw the video and thought this has to go somewhere!

Light Up (The World) is the third single from DJ/singer/songwriter Yasmin.

Yasmin's been around for a while, born in Manchester and she first started to get noticed in London a few years ago back when she was focusing on DJing, most notably by Neptunes producer mastermind Pharell Williams. Weirdly it wasnt till writing this post that I linked that the pretty DJ I saw supporting N.E.R.D. a few years ago at the Roundhouse in Camden and this years 'next big thing' were the same person.

Anyway talented as both DJ and singer (check out her collaborations with Jamie XX......HERE.....bigggg thingggggs for next year) 2011 was a big year for her, releasing her debut single On My Own in January and her second single Finish Line followed soon after making the UK Top 15. But to me her main releases havent been too exciting and definitely nowhere near as exciting as her next: Light Up (The World) which sees her collaborate with UK Garage MC Ms Dynamite and Jungle/Dnb legends Shy FX, to quote her blog it's a "reggae infused carnival jam".




Yasmin and Cuban Family courtesy of Yasmin's World



The video was shot in Havana, Cuba which so accurately reflects the vibe of the track, Yasmin herself raves about the people, culture and atmosphere of the city and the feel good factor comes right across. Just a jammed track really.

Take a look...

I try and steer away from going toooo UK with this blog, and garage is very UK but if you're into that kind of thing the MJ Cole remix is tooooooooo good to miss - the drop at 1.15.........noice

Dreams Money Can Buy

New Drake - Dreams Money Can Buy from his upcoming album,

All i can say is, I reaaaaally want this instrumental, if anyone has it/has a link please let me know! All the youtube links are up and coming MCs trying to get views.

Beastie Boys for Nixon

To coincide with the release of Hot Sauce Committee Part Two their new album, the Beastie Boys have designed limited editions of the Time Teller P watches in red, white, green and blue with Mike D's picture on the face for Nixon.

Don't usually blog outside of music, but this is a gooooood loooook.

Nixon Time Teller P Original

Aloe Blacc live lounge

Haven't posted in a really long time, had this in draft for ages! But a couple of weeks ago American soul singer Aloe Blacc did a live session for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge feature in London's Maida Vale studios and it was pretty sick. He's generally talented, but his live lounge was so good people were texting in asking if it was actually live. He's been around quite a while with his debut released around 2003 but only recently has he made it over here, signing to Epic last year and releasing single I Need a Dolla and album Good Things. (Which bizzarely has gone Platinum in Switzerland).

You also might recognise I Need A Dolla from that EA boxing game!

Anyway this is his live lounge, for those of you that dont know, Live Lounge Sessions usually are made up of the artists current song, a cover (and there have been some weird covers, including UK rapper Wretch 32's cover of Adele's Someone Like You) and a newer song/another song off their album. And this live lounge was no different with the cover of 99 problems. havea listennnnnnn.....

Free Earl?

Just to add to the last post, just to the Odd Future fans that are wondering where actually is Earl. This was just posted on their blog:

"Our Soldier, Wolf, Bother And Friend Is Currently Not With Us. Stop Asking Where He Is, We Like To Keep This Private Because It’s Very Personal For Us. And No, He is Not As Some Boarding School And Blah Blah Blah, None Of You People Know Because NONE of You Know Him Personally. Free Earl."

This accompanied a new tape with some unrealeased Earl Sweatshirt which you can find here

Green paper, gold teeth and pregnant gold retrievers

ODD FUTURE WOLF GANG KILL THEM ALL

For those that dont know OFWGKTA is a collective, led by Tyler the Creator, there are three groups which fall under the Odd Future heading; MellowHype - producer Left Brain and rapper Hodgy Beats, EarlWolf - Tyler the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt - click link if you're wondering, like everyone else, actually where is Earl? - and then The Jet Age of Tomorrow - Hal Williams and Matt Martians. Domo Genesis, Mike G, singer Frank Ocean and also another producer Syd and Super 3 are also part of the collective.

 I've listened to MellowHype and Tyler and Earl and obvs Frank Ocean but havent really heard much of The Jet Age of Tomorrow so that's something I'm gunna get on that this week with their mixtape The 5th Echelon, in the mean time I thought I'd leave this as an introduction. I'll review some of their mixtapes soon cos if you haven't listened to them you neeeeed to. Whether you like their style or not it's pretty unlike anything else around atm.

First off i know what people are gunna say "You're only doing a post on OFWGKTA cos they got cool recently" But I blog about things I think are worth blogging about, been listening to them for a while now (no they're not new with 3 mixtapes and I think about 8/9 studio albums) but recently they've taken offfffff. They're playing Reading, they're videos on MTV, Yonkers (but a version so edited it was barely recognisable) was actually on the radio the other day....things are looking goood.

Take a look at Tyler, the Creator explaining, as much as you can, the concept of Odd Future and showing the kinda craziness they get up to....

I’m an over achiever, so how ’bout i start a team of leaders// and pick up stevie wonder to be the wide receiver// green paper, gold teeth and pregnant gold retrievers

 

"asian's look like asians"

Question is dyu think they're just a bunch of destructive ADHD kids who just wanna shock with their lyrics, have sucess and as Tyler says on the video "watch cartoons" or dyu think they actually bring something new to the table, an Eminem style dramatic controversial entrance to the mainstream scene? Be interesting to hear what people think. I know what I think about them, but I wanna hear you're views first.....

Welcome to that Garden State of Mind

Got listening to this rapper Moruf after That Good Good Blog put me onto him in her feature People you should know: The Hiphop Edition. He's 22 heralding from NJ originally from Nigeria, he's studying at uni whilst working in Radio Shack. But click the link to read the full interview.

He seems like a pretty down to earth guy. And the mixtape, is pretty sick. He's got a lot of talent even if he is at the start of his career he has an underground feel but it's an accesible one, reminds me a lot of a less lyrically developed Blu. Not that that's a criticism, if he was on a Blu level after 2/3years rapping it'd be craaaazy, actually if i consider anyone on a Blu level it's craaaaazy. In terms of witty hooks and serious wordplay it's lacking, in the sense that trying to find a bar which stood out for a title or quote isnt easy, but then is it a good thing that hiphop has become about Drake style one liners ("chance is like a picture it'd be nice if you'd just take it....". Moruf is more about the poetry, it's less playing around fanciness and more realness, he is undeniably a poet and his style is nice, a little rough but in a good way.

The mixtape is just mellow the way I like music, you can see the Dilla, traditional hiphop influence and I like that, it's far from commercial in the best way possible. Highpoints for are the beats on Story of My Life: Exile stylee sooo jaaaam. And he uses the Slum Village (untitled) Fantastic beat on the Slumdog track one of the best tracks on the mixtape and That Good Good blog just posted the video. Worth watching. From the surreal vibe of Sometimes (just the kind of thing I was talking about in Changing Realities).

He says in the That Good Good interview that he loves music, then hiphop and it comes across, you can tell from this mixtape his a musician not just a commercial rapper who can write a hook. 

"Welcome to that Garden State of Mind as I let my thoughts blossom in this Garden State of Mine"

Download his mixtape Garden State of Mind: Ready to Live here, and check his tumblr for updates on what he's doing atm, and his blogspot for his general lifestyle blog.

Let's go to sleep in Paris wake up in TOKYO

So half the world are focused on Japan at the moment with the huge earthquake which hit Japan a few weeks ago and at 8.9 on the richter scale and an epicentre only 400km (250 miles) north-east of Tokyo. the tsunami that followed was devastating, as you'll know unless you've been sitting in a hole.

Takashi Murakami at the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain

Loads of people have been getting involved, rappers, designers, singers and it really made me think Japan has such a rich hip hop culture.

It seems so long ago that fashion in hiphop was a do-rag and a giant tshirt but from Kanye West using Takashi Murakami for his Graduation cover to Nigo's Bape and Pharrell's Billionaire Boys Club, Nicki Minaj our very own Harijuku Barbie and magazines like i-D constantly doing Japanese spotlights it's pretty clear that in fashionable street culture Japan has been there from the start.

How different would hiphop culture today be without this little island which has changed the scene so much.

It's difficult to say when Japanese culture and Hiphop became so intertwined, I can't say when it started but the first wave of truly fashionable rappers bought it mainstream, Kanye, Pharrell, Kid Cudi; anyone else noticed everything they seem to do has an asian edge, a certain eastern twist. It's almost ironic now that Kanye West wearing a coloured polo and Louis V backpack (a la This Way) back in 2004 was such a fashion statement. But if we wanna go way back and trace the route of the Japanese edge, it was Pharrell who pushed Japanese fashion in Hiphop at the start.

Pharrell has always been known for his Skate Boy P stylee, bright coloured polo shirts, bowties, clear wayfarers, and Nike SBs. Heralding from Virginia, lead singer of N.E.R.D. and one half of the production team The Neptunes since he co-founded the Billionaire Boys Club/Ice Cream Brand with Nigo in 2005 (Japanese designer and creater of BAPE) he pushed luxury streetware to another level bringing it well and truly stateside. Following the example of sister company BAPE there production is limited and prices are high.

Then there's Kanye West, you only have to look at Graduation to see the enchantment with Japanese culture. Getting Takashi Murakami (commonly sighted as a Japanese Andy Warhol) you only have to look at the cover, combining traditional Japanese elements with an anime style twist. Take the video for Stronger filmed over 9 days in Japan which features Japanese Katakana symbols repeating the words of the song amongst others (イマオマエガヒツヨウダ 'I need you right now' if you're interested) set between shots of the city and chaotic Frankenstein like sci-fi sequences.

For the girls Niki Minaj has always been one for Japanese streetfashion following the likes of Gwen Stefani she takes influence from the street fashion of Japan's Harijuku girls. Calling herself the Harijuka Barbie for her she says it's not just the fashion she can't get enough of, it's the expression and freedom of self. And you only have to look to the collaboration with Will.i.am and Cheryl Cole (Check it Out) to see how it's influenced her music....poppy, happy, slightly iritating.....

Top to bottom:

 Kanye West in Bape campaign/Bape Store Harajuku/ Nicki Minaj/ Joel Silver, Pharrell Williams, Nigo, Kanye West, Takashi Murakami

What do you think, has Japan really influenced hiphop that much, or has hiphop and street culture just influenced Japan? And if it has, good or bad?

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Odd Future...on the radio?!

In the middle of two big posts, so much to say at the moment! But just had to write a quick post as today I was driving and heard Frank Ocean on the radio, not just any radio, Radio 1 primetime. Then Reggie Yates starts talking about Odd Future....is what I was talking about in Changing Realities coming true?!

Been meaning to do a big post on OFWGKTA and been listening to Nostalgia Ultra - oh wow - for ages so I'll get on that this week and finish the others sorry I've been slacking!

Also they're playing Reading.....

Jam Track of the Week

You Got Me by The Roots ft Erykah Badu

So jam. Had such a hectic week this is deffo jam track of the week. Makes me feel so mellowwwww

Changing Realities

Currently listening to J Cole The Warm Up but then this came on my ipod. If you read this blog you'll know I got a lot of time for Fashawn. So I was listening to When She Calls best track on the album btw. And it made me think, when did surreal beats and abstract samples, so slow they're almost acapella beats become hiphop.

Kanye West came through with the samples back on College Dropout, and slow jams have always been around. And the abstractness can be found throughout indie hiphop, so I guess that can exclude Blu, Fashawn and Sene.  But who would've thought mellow drawls (outside of the south and the west coast style of the dee-oh-double-gee) would become not only  popular in the underground but mainstream; Drake's Thank Me Later so laidback, mellow, jaaaaam, and the surreal theme runs through the whole album (and is even more concentrated in So Far Gone). Not to say it hasn't been done before Common - The Light etc. but never has it been so mainstream and become so much the thing to do.....

Question is do you miss the days of A Tribe Called Quest or happy that Slum Village/J Dilla style jaaaaamed hiphop is slowly making it more mainstream? Or is Drake just synthy overproduced souless music, lemme know what you think.......

My Boy Blu

So I was looking through my archives and I can't believe I still haven't done a post on Blu. The namesake of the blog and I hadnt even done one......

If you haven't heard of Blu you neeeeeed to listen to this. Blu is a true lyricist, heralding from Los Angeles, California, he made the XXL freshmen list 09, used to be a hype man for Slum Village back in the daaay, and his mixtapes are just haaaaard. His sound is just mellow, easy flow, charismatic but without all the commercial hype. The beats are just jam, loaaaads of samples, old films, 50s jazz, gospel. I think what keeps his music so good is that he's not trying to crack the mainstream, he's so unconcerned with fitting a stereotype he's created his own future of rap. I'd say this is where Dilla saw rap music going.....

The two main producers he works with are Exile, and Mainstream (under the title Johnson & Jonson), he produces aswell, but the only stuff I've listened to he's produced is with Sene (also worth listening too, equally jam, lacks the charisma of Blu, bit synthier, but has some qualityyyy songs - Just Around the Corner - click link to play - so worth listening to). But Exile & Blu are just the dream team....he's got an album coming this year Her Favourite Colo(u)r same title as his most recent mixtape so I dont know how similar they're gunna be think it might just be remastered but excited anyway.

Dancing in the Rain of his debut album back in.....i think it was 07, Below The Heavens

Freshmen....alumni

Talking to some friends about XXL's freshmen list when one of them made this

and it made me think you could not touuuuuuuuuuuch the class of 09, Blu, Wale, Curren$y, BOB, Kid Cudi, Asher Roth, and Mickey Factz, Ace Hood and Cory Gunz but for me the first 7 was like some crazy phsychic prediction from XXL, because they tooook that year.

Then we have 2010 - Fashawn and Big Sean are the ones!

XXL FRESHMEN 2011 - The Recession is overrrrrrr

Here's the list, straight from XXL. Haven't released a cover yet, or most of the freestyles they've only got Yela's and Kendrick Lamar's.

Big K.R.I.T, CyHi Da Prynce, Diggy, FRED DA GODSON, Kendrick Lamar, Lil Twist, Mac Miller, Meek Mill, Yelawolf, YG

Gotta admit haven't listened to Kendrick Lamar's Overly Dedicated Mixtape and apparently it's 'haaaaaard' so I'm gunna have a little listen now. Put some stuff up about each artist etc.......

Fashawn - Higher Learning 2

So I've been meaning to post this for a few weeks now, I know bit slow. Mixtape came out the 16th February. Higher Learning Volume 2, now I know Fashawn's trying to crack the mainstream so I was a bit sceptical about how commercial this would be but I wasnt dissapointed. Since Kanye introduced college into the rap world, higher education has become okay to talk about. And there is some definitely College Dropout style skits on here, "you want a what? A full scholarship....". But the theme "higher", has the classic Fashawn undertones; making yourself better, being the best you can be, whatever it is. Usually a theme which gets old pretty quick but with tracks like Do What I gotta Do the upbeatness is contagious, and I like the way he switches it up; Eastside Party prod Hecktic (produced a lot of Higher Learning vol.1) has something Biggie about it...

The first half is definitely stronger for me, but he does lean towards commercial with tracks like Down that Road ft Sam Hook but in a mellow, not a bad way. Collaborations with quite a few people aswell, J Cole etc.  Tbh I've never heard a Fashawn mixtape where every track was on point but I'm picky but all in all I liked it a lot.

What is it about Drake beats that equals wordplay

I was on Lyriqs Lounge blog, and she was talking about wordplay, so true at the moment everyone seems to be doing it, obviously it's not a new thing but to quote Lyriqs Lounge "it's an epidemic"

DRAKE:
Like a sprained ankle boy I ain’t nothing to play with
Started off local but thanks to all the haters
I know G4 pilots on a first name basis
In your city, faded off the brown, Nino
She instincts she got more class, We know
Swimming in the money, come and find me, Nemo
If I was at the club you know I ball Chemo
So when I saw this on a friend's facebook I couldn't help but think, it's finally spreading to the UK. I think there's a lot of talented UK artists but I've never really been impressed by UK wordplay, it's just basic word association often, but this video made me rethink:

Nuff man make believe i don't rate it

But sign me for a tupac and we'll see some changes

No Drake but maybe we're getting there....

UK VIBE

Little bit old skl, got a lot of timeeee for Wretch32, it's just jaaaaaaam.

All of The Lights

Kanye's much awaited video for All of The Lights, track off My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, featuring Kid Cudi and Rhianna (with long red hair, which I'm still not sure about) but a good video. After the full length Runaway video which if you don't know was a basically a short which he co-wrote and directed and featured all the tracks off the album, and the cinematic black and white opening sequence I was expecting another (slightly pretentious) "visual representation" of the song - a lot of black and white long shots, pauses for dialogue, symbolism (a black-only banquet, served by caucasian servants, role reversal style, far from subtle) etc, so I was quite suprised when it drops and out comes Post-Graduation, 808's and Heartbreaks style neon. Whatever else you may hate about Kanye West you can't argue he constantly suprises.

Kanye to produce John Legend's new album

After the sucess at the grammys for his collaboration album with The Roots for their album Wake Up! (Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Album for the album and then Best R&B Song for "Shine). John Legend revealed he's already been in the studio for what will be his 4th solo album, and he's been working closely with Kanye West. Should be good.

The song that earned them Best R&B song at the Grammys this year.

Wiz Khalifa - Cabin Fever

Cabin Fever: Out 17/02/2011


Letdown, nothing innovative lyrically a bit weak in places "high socks, low cuts/ smell that good weed then you know whatsup". I don't really like the beats, lacks the usual energy. Shame cos i think he is talented but yeah, not a fan really...

Donnis - Diary of an Atlanta Brave

I was looking at the 2010 XXL freshman list today, which to be honest and XXL say themselves was barely a freshman list (it included Wiz Kalifa 7 mixtapes you can't really class as a freshman, OJ da Juiceman's already been on the cover of XXL and J Cole, if you're under Jay Z's wing you're hardly a freshman but then Drake made 09 so....) anyway I saw Donnis who for some reason I'd missed before and I'd never heard this mixtape. It's interesting a little bit generic in places but he has a nice flow, reminds me of Big Sean in places but without the laziness. Some of the beats are definitely Big Sean-esque but it's got a feel good style, and I was suprised I actually liked it Southern rappers arent usually my thing. Underdog's highpoint of the album for me, it's a shame Country Cool straight after it reminds me why I dont listen to southern rappers. Worth a listen just for Underdog though.

"So Cudi's On the Moon and Drake's So Far Gone, I'm Finally Famous like my boy Big Sean"

a new music blog

So i downloaded this mixtape today and i thought instead of filling up my tumblr and personal blogspot with mixtapes which a lot of people who follow me aren't really interested I'd create a music blog. Mixtape reviews, new tracks, new videos etc. Enjoy.