Overrating the Underrated

NEW SITE

2009-06-17T21:51:00.001+01:00

I no longer update here, and have moved to overratingtheunderrated.com.

See you there!

For Old Time's Sake

2009-05-04T17:38:00.003+01:00

As promised, here's the new Eminem/Dr. Dre track.

Sounds like absolutely classic Dre and Eminem, and definitely gives me high hopes for the album, which is only two weeks away.

As ever, I expect this link to last for a day or two, so don't waste time.

Without further ado:

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=335b80d8f7131b6b36df4e8dca141969e04e75f6e8ebb871

Eminem-3am

2009-04-30T14:05:00.004+01:00

Hopefully you managed to download the track before it got taken down...

...now enjoy the 34 second trailer to the video for 3am, which should be with us this weekend.

Looks like we're in for a cinematic experience.

As the other post got taken down, the news that was included in that post was also lost, so it's relisted with some new additions below:

-Dr. Dre and 50 Cent are the only features on Relapse.

-Relapse 2 will be out later this year.

-He repeated his respect for T.I. and Lil' Wayne, as well as Kanye West. Addressing the allegations made by Lil' Wayne that 'Eminem was scared to work with him', he apparently wanted to work with Wayne but didn't have the time.

-Most of the album will be more like 3am, not We Made You (Thank God!).

-The tracklisting for Relapse is here: http://www.digitalspy.com/music/a154404/eminem-relapse-tracklisting-released.html

-I'll have 'Old Times' Sake' Ft. Dr. Dre on Tuesday.

Enjoy:

It's Amazing...So Amazing. (Well, it's decent) -Updated

2009-04-24T10:17:00.006+01:00

Want another premiere?

Yeah you do.

The new Kanye West video/single featuring Young Jeezy, 'Amazing', saw the light of day...last night. Does that even make sense?

Couple of more 'Ye related pieces of news:

-Videos have been shot for Paranoid and RoboCop.

-As posted here months ago (maybe even decades), Paranoid WILL feature Rihanna. Not sure whether it will feature her singing and in the video, but at the very least she's in the video.

Anyway, catch another artistic Kanye West video below. It's ripped from BET unfortunately, I'll replace it with a HD one ASAP. However, that does mean it has an interview at the end, which is good to watch. (On a side note, I must say I still find Jeezy's verse the highlight of this song)

Enjoy:

Relapse Cover Art

2009-04-21T20:27:00.003+01:00

A quick one for now. Just got my hands on the cover art for the new Eminem album, 'Relapse'.

Eminem recently stated in an interview that the only artists he feels that are doing hip-hop any justice are T.I. and Lil' Wayne. T.I.'s Paper Trail seems to have had an influence on the art here, as Paper Trail had T.I's face made of paper pieces, whereas here Em's face is constructed using pills.

Enjoy!

...

2009-04-11T16:11:00.003+01:00

...Once again, my previous post got taken down on account of the fact it had a download link. Ridiculous, but at least I'm scaring people. Hope you all managed to download the track I posted before it got removed.

Nothing of any great note in this post besides a reminder that Asher Roth's Asleep In The Bread Aisle is out next Monday. I've listened to about 75% of the album, and it is very, very good. Most of the tracks aren't going to blow you away at first, but much like Lark On My Go-Kart, they will grow on you. Apparently, the track La Di Da is the best from the album, but I haven't heard it yet.

Lupe Fiasco's next album has had ANOTHER change-it is now called Lasers, not We Are Lasers.

That's all for now.

Eminem Video Picture, and Lupe Changing Plans...Again

2009-03-25T15:26:00.008Z

A quick one on a picture that has been doing the rounds on the internet: an image from Eminem's upcoming video, believed to be called 'We Made You'.

Lupe Fiasco has switched things up again and will be calling his upcoming album We Are Lasers. Apparently, he’s been working on it for about a week and is 60% done.

The initial idea of LupEND is cancelled, whilst its original 'replacement' The Great American Rap Album is on hold, he is 'still aiming for two albums this year'. (What is it with everyone dropping 2 albums this year?!).

He also stated that "There’s not too many hip-hoppers on this one...got a slot for Bun B though...contemplating Cudi...". A Lupe/Cudi collaboration would be absolutely epic.

See below for a brilliant freestyle from Big Sean at SXSW Festival (spelt wrongly in the video as SXSX!) in the US. This video is taken from a friendly freestyle battle being had by Kanye, Big Sean and Really Doe.

This One Is For The Real Hip-Hop Heads

2009-03-23T22:48:00.006Z

A short post.

My recent, delayed love for Joe Budden (Padded Room to be specific) has been fully compounded by the brilliance of the new Slaughterhouse track, 'Wack MCs'.

(For those of you not in the know, Slaughterhouse is a hip-hop supergroup comprised of Budden, Royce Da 5'9", Joell Ortiz and Crooked I-four of the best lyrical rappers around.) Royce's verse is priceless, and definitely the standout on the track, although Budden doesn't disappoint with the opener either.

Look for a Padded Room review coming soon, definitely a contender for album of the year.

Also, if you get 5 minutes, check out a very, very cool interview with Asher Roth below. Expect to come away from that video with serious respect for how down-to-earth and intelligent Asher is.

"If Hip-Hop Is All Smoke and Mirrors, Then I'm The Windex and the Napkins"-Joe Budden.

Some Videos and News To Enjoy

2009-03-21T16:08:00.006Z

Kicking off with Wale: His first major single has been debuted on US radio, and as previously mentioned, will be 'Chillin' featuring Lady GaGa. (There's an unfinished version of 'Chillin' that's been around for a while, which doesn't have Lady GaGa and Wale's verses are slightly different.)

Anyway, keep an ear out for this, as hopefully it will be a big breakthrough for Wale.

A few videos below, including the video for Asher Roth's 'Lark On My Go-Kart', which is pretty funny, and a quality live performance of 'Sky Might Fall' by Kid Cudi, which proves that he can actually sing quite well. The last video is of 'Buggin' Out 2009' from a recent mixtape by J. Period, 'Tribute to Q-Tip'. (FYI, Buggin' Out is an old A Tribe Called Quest song, in case you didn't know)

The track features Consequence and Kid Cudi, and is a very good song that I've had on repeat for a while. Both Cons and Cudi drop nice verses, and the video is a fun one.

Enjoy!

A Lot of News

2009-03-17T00:18:00.006Z

It's been a busy few hours.

Firstly, the artwork for Asher Roth's upcoming album, Asleep In The Bread Aisle, was released a few days back. Click the pic for a better view.

A funny picture, although according to Asher we should 'look into the picture and try and find the hidden meaning'. Maybe 'bread' is money, and he's just taking a nap in a money-filled genre/industry? Doing his own thing?

Decide for yourself. He has stated many times that the album won't just be light-hearted efforts in the vein of 'I Love College', which is given further emphasis by the above statement.

Still a great picture though.

The artwork for Asher's next single, Lark on my Go-Kart, is also light-hearted, and can be seen here: http://i.kanyelive.com/uploads/7f8739_asher-go-kart-cover.jpg. Seems as though this should be a fun track too.

Secondly, 50 Cent is following Eminem's suit and also apparently looking to release 2 albums this year. The first, Before I Self Destruct, is scheduled for June.

Thirdly, Wale's debut album has finally been given a confirmed title-Attention: Deficit.

Can't wait to hear this, as Wale has easily become one of my favourite rappers of recent times, on the strength of his mixtapes and features. The first single is also confirmed to be 'Chillin' featuring Lady GaGa. This can clearly be seen as a move to break the mainstream, and will hopefully work out for Wale.

Finally, and most importantly, Kid Cudi has 'announced' that he is 'retiring' from music after his debut album. In a long post on his blog yesterday, he announced that he was sick of the fame, and sick of people claiming he has 'changed' since becoming famous.

This may be simply an impulsive reaction, or a truthful statement. One factor was inevitably the recent altercation at a Reebok event that he was scheduled to perform at, during which he was rumoured to be arrested-all very unusual for someone who is known for being so 'normal'.

(One side of the story says it's because he was wearing Jordans when he turned up and wouldn't change, whereas Cudi claims it was because they were 'unprofessional' and the sound systems sounded like 1980's boomboxes)

Add into this recent comments by Wale on Joe Budden's YouTube channel about Cudi. Cudi and Wale's friendship is well-documented, and they are apparently quite close, however Wale feels 'it's now a different Cudi'. (The video can be seen here-watch it, just to see how funny Wale is!-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP9XORSXQNs).

It's unclear how this will all turn out, and could all be an empty, angry threat that will be (hopefully) taken back. I'll keep you posted.

88-Keys Ft. Kanye West: Stay Up! (Viagra) Video

2009-03-16T14:51:00.008Z

Sports fans,

Do yourself a few favours here.

-First off, watch the video embedded below, funny stuff!
-Secondly, support the artist and buy the video/song from iTunes.
-Thirdly, check out 88-Keys' album, 'The Death of Adam', again available on iTunes. A review of the album to come soon.

Mike Posner and Big Sean

2009-03-14T20:57:00.012Z

Two names for the future: Big Sean and Mike Posner.

Mike Posner: A newcomer who is still a University student over in the US, but is making some moves to get his name known. He has features on the awesome Big Sean mixtape, Finally Famous (Links are below) and on tracks from Big Sean's upcoming album of the same title, namely 'Who Knows', on which he drops a smooth, likable hook.

Posner seamlessly glides across a multitude of genres, from R'n'B, Indie, Hip-Hop and Pop all at once, giving you a style of music that will definitely convince you that he has a sound that is uniquely his.

The mixtape 'A Matter of Time' (released last week) has a nice weighting between original material and covers/remixes. It's probably not even fair to call them covers or remixes, as he takes popular songs such as Beyoncé's 'Halo' and The Fray 'Over My Head' and weaves them into his own distinct sound.

I'll let you make your own judgements on him, but he's got a style that will appeal to a range of tastes, and is definitely a name to look out for. The link below is a free iTunes download of his mixtape, and should automatically take you to the iTunes store link. A full review to come in the near future.

Big Sean: The easiest way to describe Big Sean is Kid Cudi before Kid Cudi was Kid Cudi. Complicated? Exactly.

Big Sean, who is signed to Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music label, dropped Finally Famous back in 2007 and unfortunately hasn't put anything else out since. There's talk of an upcoming mixtape, 'UKNOWBIGSEAN', but with no definite release date as of yet.

Sean has a versatility and flow about him that compliments his decent lyrical ability and charisma on any given track. Sean exudes confidence on the mixtape, and shows more than a hint of potential.

The mixtape is predominantly original material, most of which comes with an uptempo flow and positive vibe. Big Sean definitely has the potential to be a big name, but the lack of any substantial follow-up material to this mixtape is definitely moving him out of the ears and eyes of any prospective audiences.

Tracks such as 'People Mover', 'We Known' and 'Dreams' show that Big Sean has a style that, much like Posner, will allow him to appeal to a multitude of tastes. Keep an eye out for the track 'Who Knows' featuring Mike Posner, which is not on this mixtape, but possibly on both the upcoming mixtape UKNOWBIGSEAN, and his debut album.

To download Mike Posner and The Brain Trust's 'A Matter of Time' via iTunes, go here: http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/new.duke.edu.1926121494

To download Big Sean's 'Finally Famous', head over to http://www.uknowbigsean.com/ which has a link to download a free copy of the Finally Famous mixtape.

A Brief Thought on Pop Rap

2009-03-13T00:12:00.005Z

Is it right to criticise 'pop rap'?

I've been mulling this over recently, especially on the back of both recovering my entire library (and hence reviewing the whole thing) and upon hearing Flo Rida's next single. Stick with me here, don't get turned off.

Anyone who reads this will know I'm about the more artistic, lyrical stuff most of the time, of any genre. Hence, it's about to get controversial.

There would be no good music without pop rap, for two very good reasons.

Firstly, without music that was dumbed-down, melody-driven and as lyrically deep as a puddle of horse piss, would there be anything to compare the rest of the stuff too? If everything was up to the standards of Common, Secondhand Serenade or Lupe Fiasco, would they stand out?

"If everybody looked the same, we'd get tired of looking at each other"....wouldn't we?

Secondly, and most importantly depending on your disposition, it's bloody fun to listen and dance to. Would you really enjoy hearing something mentally challenging, or without a beat that hooks you in so much that your legs flail as if independent from the rest of your body?

For this reason, I commend people like Flo Rida for not pretending to be something they aren't. He knows he makes music for clubs, and for people whose library consists solely of anything they heard in a club or Radio 1. And he does a damn fine job too.

Keep an ear out for the next single of his, 'Sugar'. The sample used will both make you laugh, and probably impress you in its adaptability, much like 'Right Round', as well as his trademark break-neck delivery.

But sports fans, don't get me wrong here. I'm a 'hipster', 'alt&punk', 'chillout' (and about most other types of) music guy at heart, and you all know it.

I won't be praising Flo Rida as a "Hip-Hop artist" at any point soon, nor will I ever allow utter tripe such as N-Dubz to ever disgrace my ears. Let's just not forget to have fun.

That wasn't brief at all.

May 19th?

2009-03-06T10:29:00.007Z

Relapse is coming on May 19th. (For those of you under a rock, that's Eminem's upcoming album, originally due last year)

Oh, this may be of interest to you too: Interscope Records announced that Slim Shady is dropping two albums this year, Relapse and Relapse 2.

Apparently, the first single/video will be premiering on radio and television simultaneously on April 7. This is in addition to Crack A Bottle, for which the video should be coming soon, although it's unclear whether that is actually one of the three artists' (Dre, Em, 50) song, or whether it's just a collaborative effort that may, or may not, feature on all of their albums.

Relapse 2 doesn't have a release date yet, but in a seperate statement Eminem said that he's currently in the studio working on that project and it will come out in the second half of this year:
"A lot of people were expecting Relapse to drop last year, I was one of them. Then Dre and I went back in the studio in September for a few days, and that turned into six months. We were on such a roll; we wound up with a ton of new music produced by Dre. Putting out Relapse 2 will let everyone get all of the best stuff."

In related news, 50 Cent confirmed that Before I Self Destruct will be coming after Relapse, no doubt due to the lack of hype generated, and resounding failure of the singles he has put out so far. (I actually think some of them we're decent, but there you go)

Also, turns out May 19th was the last date given for Lil' Wayne's rock album, Rebirth, but that has now been shifted to a 'TBA', as his label (Universal I think) are worried it's going to be largely crap.

On that note, the video for Prom Queen has been released and isn't too bad, the song grows on me by the day. I would add it here, but the links are all down at the moment.

An update: I have added the function below that allows you to email blog posts to people. For those of you who like what I'm doing, please use this and send it to anyone you think might enjoy it. Also, the comments will no longer be full-page and will instead appear in a pop-up window. Let me know if you prefer this, or if you want it back to full-page.

Kid Cudi-The Sky Might Fall

2009-03-03T14:15:00.005Z

What is thought to be the next single from Cudi's album has leaked...sort of.

Firstly, this song has been used on recent trailers for the new Transformers film coming out this year. Obviously, it was difficult to hear much of the song, but it sounded good.

Then, a video of him performing the track live came to light, and again sounded pretty decent, definitely sounding like a Kanye production, almost like a leftover beat from 808s and Heartbreak.

The track properly leaked last night, and can be found at various sources. However, there a lot of talk that Cudi/his management are infuriated at the leak, especially as the leaked version apparently isn't the finished version and might 'put people off'.

Doesn't seem to be the case for me, as the song sounds pretty damn good. Out of respect for his wishes, I won't be posting a link, but I'm sure if you want to find it, you will.

UPDATED: Kid Cudi-Day 'N' Nite OFFICIAL Video

2009-02-20T00:25:00.004Z

Here it is folks. Ignore the one doing the rounds at the moment, even though it's on TV and stuff, it isn't actually an official video, as well as the fact its for the Crookers remix.

(Which, by the way, irritates me. Don't get me wrong, it's a funky track, but doesn't really make sense as the original is a lot more chilled, lyrical and thought out...)

(UPDATE: SCROLL DOWN TO SEE FOOTAGE OF CUDI AND KANYE ON BET-MUST WATCH!)

Anyway, the video itself is definitely a nice one. It's got some pretty cool cartoony effects which nicely highlight the confusion and isolation of the 'lonely stoner', as well as adding colour and vibrancy to what is a creative track that sounds like nothing else you've ever heard.

It even offers you a different spin on the lyrics, with segments implying the subject is someone who doesn't enjoy the fame in the 'day', and can't just live a normal life. (Kanye West anyone??).

And of course, the fact that the subject is a stoner.

The second video is from the BET show where they premiered the video. The video has Cudi rapping (I thought he was freestyling, but the singing part implies that it may be a song from his upcoming album) and Kanye previewing his verse from 'Maybach Music Pt. 2', scheduled to be on Rick Ross' next album. Both are pretty good, especially some of Kanye's lines (the 'extra dyke' line is hilarious!).

Enjoy!

Welcome To HeartBreak

2009-02-18T11:04:00.003Z

Looks like we got a video for it. However, Kanye West has confirmed that this will NOT be the next single. It is being released as apparently 'there is another video out there using the same techniques we do in this one', so he chose to release it. Oh and the pixellation in the video is deliberate.

To be honest, I'm a massive fan of this video. The combination of the effects, transitions and colours make for a perfect representation of the song.

He also confirmed that the next single was going to be 'Amazing'. Doesn't make sense that the See You In My Nightmares artwork was released the other day, but I suppose that means at some point we'll be getting that too.

Enjoy!

KANYE WEST "Welcome To Heartbreak" Directed by Nabil from nabil elderkin on Vimeo.

A Mixtape Special

2009-02-17T14:10:00.006Z

The mixtape. To a new listener of any given artists, it's never easy to tell when it's official, or whether it's just a bootleg that some DJ has put together.

(It's obvious, but the one key difference is quality. You know it's official when the mixtape has less of those irritating DJ shout-outs all over the tracks.)

Onto the content: Beginning with the classic mixtape tracks using other people's instrumentals. Listening to someone rap/sing over a beat that someone else released never fails to hook a listener, not least to see how they can do on a (usually) popular beat and how they fare against the original.

It offers a perfect chance for an artist to show how versatile they are and how creative they can be with someone else's beat. A fair proportion of mixtape rappers can suffer from an arrogance that they are better than mainstream guys, and for some this proves to be a way to show that they really mean it.

Of course, there is also the meat of the mixtapes, that being the original tracks. Normally, this is a proving ground for all aspiring artists using the medium of mixtape to reach audiences, and rarely will a rapper be accepted or lauded without having a solid mixtape fanbase. Although the tracks/freestyles they do over other people's beats are important, the existence of good original material is obviously the crucial step between mixtape rapper and radio play. The ability to stamp your own identity on a song is only ever going to have a total impact if the song is your own. The list of rappers to have come to the fore having built a solid mixtape fanbase is endless.

For this reason, I've been getting involved the mixtape arena for the last 8/9 months, and find myself anticipating certain mixtapes as much as albums. Not least because 95% of the time, they are legally free to download.

Therefore, from now on, I'll be posting my favourite mixtapes of recent weeks, and will post links to download them, providing they are already made available for free. These may not necessarily be new mixtapes, and could be old ones that either I hadn't heard before or simply chose to revisit.

Mixtape of the Week:

Drake-So Far Gone: http://octobersveryown.blogspot.com/2009/02/drake-so-far-gone.html

Drake is a rapper who has been heralded as the new 'Fresh Prince'. The comparison stems mainly from the fact that he has made his name on television, and is trying his hand at rapping.

That's probably where the similarity ends-Drake has a style that encompasses a wide range of other styles, from Lil' Wayne to Kid Cudi. In honesty, I feel he lies somewhere between the two.

Download the latest (and greatest IMO) mixtape from Drake at his blog (link above) and see how you feel about his potential-I expect him to do really well for himself, and haven't enjoyed a mixtape this much since A Kid Named Cudi. Expect to hear more of Drake.

Kanye's Next Single Is Confirmed

2009-02-12T09:29:00.006Z

See You In My Nightmares. The artwork for the single is over there <-

Seems that the plans for the Rihanna remix of Paranoid were shelved, for obvious reasons given the situation surrounding her at the moment.

A good move in my book, as this is one of the strongest songs on the album. Apparently, the video will be film-style affair, running longer than usual.

More later.

Asher Roth-I Love College

2009-02-10T23:09:00.004Z

Evening. The video for a song I was really loving during the summer has finally dropped, meaning the album can't be far away-Asher Roth has officially released a video for the soon-to-be smash 'I Love College'.

Absolutely love this track, really laid back and with some nice, fun lyrics and delivery. Nothing too challenging, and doesn't pretend to be.

Asher's got some decent mixtapes out, check out The Greenhouse Effect mixtape to see the range of his talent. The fact this mixtape is presented by Don Cannon and DJ Drama, two world famous DJs, speaks leaps and bounds for someone who is essentially an unknown quantity.

Oh, and he sounds EXACTLY like Eminem-but as you'll see, that isn't the only similarity!

(...just in case, the whole white rapper thing...)

I KNEW IT!

2009-02-09T10:43:00.005Z

Yes. YES! Following on from my post a few weeks back about the members of Blink speaking to each other again, Blink-182 are officially back.

At the Grammy's last night, they presented an award together, and appeared together as Blink-182 for the first time in 4 years. They then went on to explicitly state that 'Blink-182 is back!'. As any of you who know me will know by now, I nearly passed out upon finding this out.

The official Blink website also has this message: "Hi. We're Blink-182. This past week there've been a lot of questions about the current status of the band, and we wanted you to hear it straight from us. To put it simply, We're back. We mean, really back. Picking up where we left off and then some. In the studio writing and recording a new album. Preparing to tour the world yet again. Friendships reformed. 17 years deep in our legacy. Summer 2009. Thanks and get ready."

According to David Kennedy of Angels and Airwaves, this does not mean the end of them either, apparently both Blink and Angels will have new albums this year.

Oh god. Summer-HURRY UP.

Confused.

2009-02-01T12:08:00.004Z

It seems Lupe's album plan has completely shifted. Read the below quotes:

"Due to circumstances beyond my control…the album roll out has changed radically…LUPE.N.D. has been postponed indefinitely!!! As a matter of fact consider it cancelled until further notice!!!
Sorry Guys & Gals!!!!…the rumor mill and bitch ass cowards are going to have a field day with this one!!!…I’ll just keep quiet about the actual reasoning so everybody can put their very special two cents in…

OK..so what now??? Actually an album is still coming in June…Thats Right!!!…Drum Roll Please…“THE GREAT AMERICAN RAP ALBUM”
Yeah thats the new title…want the tracklist?ok…

1. Song #1

2. Song #2

3. Song #3

4. Song #4

5. Song #5

6. Song #6

7. Song #7

8. Song #8

9. Song #9

10. Song #10

11. The Greatest Rap Song Ever Made

No B.S.

See ya’ll in June and again in December and again next June…
LupE.N.D. right after that…when the liberation comes!!!…
also JAPANESE CARTOON “IN THE JAWS OF THE LORDS OF DEATH” drops the same day as “THE GREAT AMERICAN RAP ALBUM”…Matthew Santos this spring…oh yeah…FNF UP!!! I hate the music business…but I love music…Grammy’s Here We Come!!!"

So there you have it. Not only has he reneged on the promise that LupEND was to be his next/last album (obviously a good thing as the more albums, the better!) but LupEND is in fact 'cancelled'. I can only assume this is because his record label superiors weren't happy with the ideas, concepts and album release 'style' that he wanted to do. It sucks massively, but there we are.

Things Are Picking Up...Finally

2009-01-25T20:48:00.016Z

OK, so more news.

Firstly, as previously mentioned, Lupe Fiasco is releasing 'Everywhere' from the LupEND trilogy in June. Well, apparently the second disc, 'Nowhere', will arrive sometime later this year too, near Christmas. Nice.

He also addressed CRS, (the collaboration between himself, Pharrell and Kanye, which has thus far spawned only 2 songs) implying that at the moment it's not really on the agenda, but could easily be kicked off again.

Another release date, this time for Lil' Wayne. 'The Carter 3: Rebirth' is coming in April, to be specific April 7th. Not sure whether this is going to be still called TC3: Rebirth, or just Rebirth, but either way it is going to be a 'rock' album with no remakes/same songs as The Carter 3. Apparently, the reason this isn't The Carter 4 is ''cause some people are not gonna like this. We want Carter IV to be what everybody wants it to be."

The first single is called 'Prom Queen' and is certainly different. It's decent, and will probably grow on me. Sceptical about 'Autotune Rock'? It seems to work to be honest, and it's definitely rock, not some half-baked r'n'b effort with a few guitars laced in there. For that reason, I can see this successfully reaching a whole new audience for Wayne.

Another Kanye-related news item: He recently announced plans for a collaborative sneaker range with Louis Vutton. They are due to be released in June, and a few images can be found below:

It's Been A Quiet 10 Days

2009-01-21T14:12:00.008Z

So yeah, it's been a pretty dead week as far as the blog goes. With the exception of the return of Lost of course, there has not been much to discuss, so here's a couple of tidbits for you to enjoy.

Firstly, I came across another brand, CTRL, who get out some pretty unique stuff, which still mixes a lot of different styles together. Check out CTRL @ http://www.ctrlclothing.com/.

Secondly, Lupe Fiasco has officially announced that the first disc of LupENd, Everywhere, will be released in June of this year. Of course, with the delays that all artists seem to have, expect this around July/August.

Also, a new 'rap beef' has emerged in the last 2 weeks or so, that of Joe Budden and Saigon. It kicked off with Budden releasing a diss track called 'Letter To Saigon' (or so I believe that's where it was rooted, I may be wrong) and they've been going back and forth since on various tracks which I haven't got around to listening to yet.

Opinions?

Slices of News, With a Side Dish of Info.

2009-01-14T16:02:00.009Z

Lupe Fiasco has returned...maybe. An indie/punk-style band randomly surfaced called Japanese Cartoon.

No idea where they just appeared from, but they had a few songs up on their Myspace account that got some reaction. The Lupe relevance is that the lead singer, 'Percival Fats' (...come on, how can that be a real name!?) sounds EXACTLY like Lupe putting on a British accent.

They released a Myspace bulletin which 'dispelled' these rumours, claiming Lupe only 'finances the band, and does their production.' Sounds ludicrous? It is. Head over to http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=440389226 and listen to their songs (especially Heirplanes) to make your own judgement.

Secondly, the battle that was hyped up on here long ago rages on. 50 Cent vs. Lil' Wayne. If you have some spare time, head to the following link to hear a radio interview with 50, whereby he goes in pretty hard on Lil' Wayne, as well as a few shots at Kanye. He does however talk some sense at certain points, especially about Wayne not acknowledging 'Louisianimal'.

Listen to the interview here: http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshhaqRtC7MEvFl76jbE.

To finish with, Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 fame has done a very revealing interview with MTV.com recently which gave some clue as to whether a Blink-182 reunion would ever happen, and the future of +44.

When asked about a Blink reunion, it was said that 'the future is wide open.' I think most fans of Blink/+44/Angels and Airwaves always believed that somewhere down the line they will reunite, and this only adds to that belief.
When asked about +44, an answer was given that very few people will have expected: Hoppus is going solo. Although he didn't say +44 was over, he did say that both himself and Travis Barker want to finish their solo albums first. It was common knowledge that Travis Barker had an album coming, but Hoppus' first solo effort was not. They've been working on tracks with one another too, so I'd imagine this could turn out very well for them both.

The Aftermath Bandwagon Rolls On...

2009-01-09T10:38:00.009Z

As previously "reported" on here, the recently leaked Eminem track 'Crack A Bottle' (also wrongly referred to as 'Number One') was a placeholder version, with Eminem filling in Dr. Dre's vocals as a guideline for how he should lay down the verse.

Well, earlier in the week the full song leaked with Dr. Dre doing his verse, and for good measure 50 Cent pitching in with a verse on the track too.

I'm as yet undecided on the track, although it is growing on me. However, the three of them have done and will do better. This song was never confirmed to 100% be on any of their albums so it may never be released, but I am hoping for better from the trio, especially when working together on one track.

50 Cent also leaked a track called 'I Get It In' just a day after the 'Crack A Bottle' leak. I prefer 50's track to Eminem, purely for the inexplicably addictive Dr. Dre beat. Lyrically, it's never going to win any awards, but it's a half-decent track to listen to and a decent album track. Not sure if it would be single quality though, predominantly due to the fact it sounds a lot like a heavily improved version of 'Just a Lil' Bit.'

Oh, and did I mention the Detox track that leaked yesterday? :)

The track has been accredited to both Bishop Lamont across the internet, but it seems the track was destined for Detox, despite there not actually being a Dre verse on the song. A few articles state that Dre is furious that this track has leaked, especially as it is unfinished, and he wanted it on Detox.

The track is called 'Could Have Been You' and features 50 Cent, Bishop Lamont and R. Kelly. It's clearly an unfinished version, so take any opinions I give with this in mind: It's decent, but not great. The beat is actually similar to the new 50 Cent track, and doesn't jump out at you. However the lyrics tell a decent story, with each man telling the tale of a girl and how they have underestimated their ability to please her.

If you want either, drop me an e-mail. And of course leave comments and sound your appreciation!

Nike Air Yeezy's

2009-01-07T09:47:00.004Z

I'm sure some of you will have heard about the upcoming Nike/Kanye West collaborative range over the last year, and there have been a few pictures of Kanye and Kid Cudi wearing them.

Well, a few days ago some concrete images of the sneaker range surfaced, and they look pretty good. The design (straps-based) is one which is now being adopted by a lot of manufacturers, so expect this to be a pretty big look in 2009.

No word on whether these will be a limited edition, where they will be released or when, but early indications are that they should be around Spring 2009.

Personally, I expect them to be limited, and probably only available online and in shops in the USA. They will probably retail at a pretty high price too. There are already fake versions of these popping up online, and people claiming to own them-not true.

Anyway, enjoy!

Enough Lists: News Time

2009-01-05T10:11:00.008Z

And we're back. Some of the news in the post first surfaced a couple of weeks ago, but as I'm sure you can appreciate, it's been a busy period.

First off: The 50 Cent/Lil' Wayne 'thing' I posted on last month. Well, read 50's reply to the whole thing here: http://www.sixshot.com/news/13477/. He makes a valid point, seeing Lil' Wayne has remained suspiciously silent about it all. He also compliments Kanye West...!

Secondly, Lupe Fiasco has confirmed that the first single from Everywhere, the first disc of LupEND, will be called 'Shining Down'. No news on a date yet, if I had to guess though I'd say around March/April.

Finally, a piece about someone who I've rated for a while, and probably doesn't get the credit he deserves: Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes. As well as singing from time to time, the guy is a versatile rapper.

From the earlier, more hip-hop based Gym Class stuff, to the indie-hiphop style they are known for now, and all the way down to verses on Kidz In The Hall's 'Lucifer's Joyride', Travis has always proven to be a talented MC.

He's now getting his shot at mainstream solo stuff, as he recently signed a deal with T-Pain's Nappy Boy label. Personally, I think he could bring something to the table at Kanye's G.O.O.D. Music label, but T-Pain isn't a bad producer and clearly has some good friends in the music business, so hopefully he will get some good stuff out of him.

[Req] The Club Tracks of the Year

2009-01-01T14:07:00.009Z

First off, Happy New Year folks. Here's the latest 'Best of 2008' list, as requested. This one is a bit more mainstream than the other two. It's also longer, so you can either pick out what you want, or just make yourself a big playlist.

This should serve perfectly for your pre-night out music, or a party of your own. You may not necessarily hear all of these songs in clubs, but in my opinion you should. However, you will recognise the vast majority of them, and the odd one that you don't will need to be downloaded ASAP! (Some of the tracks will probably start getting more playtime in clubs in 2009, especially Arab Money.)

Also, bear in mind that this list does not represent how I currently feel about the songs: Some of these songs have been horribly overplayed, and therefore I can't stand them anymore. However, they were great at the time, so they warrant inclusion. (Example: Dizzee Rascal, Dance With Me)

-Kanye West, Love Lockdown
-Kanye West, Heartless
-Common, Universal Mind Control Ft. Pharrell
-Flo Rida, Low Ft. T-Pain
-Grind Mode, So High
-Gym Class Heroes, Cookie Jar Ft. The-Dream
-Lil' Wayne, A Milli
-Ne-Yo, Miss Independent
-A-Trak, Say Whoa
-Chris Brown, Forever Remix Ft. Lupe Fiasco
-Pendulum, Propane Nightmares
-Statik Selektah, Get Out Of The Way Ft. Bun B and Cory Mo
-Sway, Silver and Gold Ft. Akon
-The-Dream, I Luv Your Girl Remix Ft. Young Jeezy
-Utah Saints, Something Good 2008
-Wale, W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E.
-Wiley, Wearing My Rolex
-Wiley, In The Summertime
-50 Cent, Get Up
-Busta Rhymes, Arab Money
-Akon, Beautiful Ft. Colby O'Donis and Kardinal Offishall
-Crookers, Embrace The Martian Ft. Kid Cudi
-DJ Khaled, Out Here Grindin' Ft. Akon, Plies, Rick Ross, Lil' Wayne, Lil' Boosie, Ace Hood and Trick Daddy (!)
-Joe Budden, The Future Ft. The Game
-Kid Cudi, Day and Night
-Lil' Wayne, Lollipop Ft. Static Major
-Maino, Hi Hater Remix Ft. Swizz Beatz, T.I., Fabolous, Jadakiss and Plies.
-N.E.R.D., Everyone Nose
-Ron Browz, Pop Champagne Remix Ft. Ludacris, Jim Jones and Juelz Santana
-Santogold, L.E.S. Artistes
-Shawty Lo, Dey Know Remix Ft. Lil' Wayne, Young Jeezy, Ludacris and Plies
-T.I., Swing Ya Rag Ft. Swizz Beatz
-T.I., Live Your Life Ft. Rihanna
-Madcon, Beggin'
-Akon, I Can't Wait Ft. T-Pain
-Estelle, American Boy Ft. Kanye West
-Sean Garrett, Six In The Morning Remix Ft. Rick Ross
-Lady GaGa, Just Dance Ft. Colby O'Donis and Akon
-Lil' Mama, Shawty Get Loose Ft. Chris Brown and T-Pain
-Dizzee Rascal, Dance With Me Ft. Calvin Harris
-Glasses Malone, Haters Ft. Lil' Wayne and Birdman
-John Legend, Green Light Ft. Andre 3000
-Young Jeezy, Put On Ft. Kanye West
-G-Unit, I Like The Way She Do It

Surely that's enough?

And The Top Albums of 2008 are...

2008-12-30T22:52:00.006Z

A little later than promised-sorry! However, I've built up a decent stash of news to post on here in the coming days, so keep it locked over the next week when I can get back to updating daily.

Unlike the previous list, this list will contain 15 albums. This is solely because 2008 has been nothing but music for me, most of it being old stuff that I had never heard and classics that I had skipped across.

As seems the case with a lot of older albums, they tend to be more consistent as a 'block' of music, as opposed to having one or two blindingly outstanding tracks, this being the reason that I could keep the best songs list down to 10.

The same rules apply to this list as the previous one:

-Albums that you only heard this year, the release date DOES NOT have to be 2008.
-Any genre!

Once again, please get involved, it's always good getting some interesting discussion going on.

It doesn't matter if you have or haven't commented before. You don't need to know me/any of the other regular people who comment to get involved!

Here goes, and again in no particular order:

Quietdrive, Deliverance
Nas, Illmatic
Kid Cudi, A Kid Named Cudi Mixtape
Lil' Wayne, The Leak EP/Mixtape
Lloyd, Lessons In Love
The-Dream, Love Hate
Eric B. and Rakim, Paid In Full
Jay-Z, Reasonable Doubt
Wale, Hate is the New Love Mixtape
N.E.R.D., Seeing Sounds
Sway, The Signature LP
Lloyd, Street Love
Sean Garrett, Turbo 919
Kanye West, 808s and Heartbreak
Fall Out Boy, Folie a Deux

By request, I will be posting up a list of my favourite 'songs to hear in a club' of 2008. If there are any other "top 10/15's" that you would like to see on here, let me know.

So...Best of 2008?

2008-12-22T19:30:00.011Z

It's been a pretty quiet weekend for music/fashion news and exclusives, a trend that I expect to continue until the end of the week at the least.

So, let's do something that inevitably you will see all over TV: What are your favourite songs of this year (in any category)?

They don't necessarily have to have been released this year. My list contains songs that may have been released before 2008, but I only heard this year.

(In a day or two, I'll put up a similar post asking you for your albums. Save that for then.)

Don't be afraid to get involved. I seem to be getting a lot of visits, but only a tiny percentage of you are commenting!

Without further ado, 10 of my favourites (in no order):

-Kanye West, Welcome to Heartbreak Ft. Kid Cudi

-The-Dream, Falsetto

-Quietdrive, Rush Together

-Wale, W.A.L.E.D.A.N.C.E.

-Sean Garrett, Lay Up Under Me

-The Roots, Criminal Ft. Truck North and Saigon

-Saigon, Believe It Ft. Red 5ive

-GemStones, We On Ft. Lupe Fiasco

-Lil' Wayne, I'm Me

-Mayday Parade-I'd Hate To Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About

Get involved!

Kid Cudi on BBC Website

2008-12-18T14:14:00.005Z

Looks like Kid Cudi isn't only being highly rated by me, but BBC.co.uk seem to agree. Take a look at the article, linked below. A brief read, but good to see nonetheless.

Keep in mind though that the Day 'n' Nite video they link to is actually a fake. Cudi has officially stated that it was a rejected video for the song, but somehow got leaked. I read that he was far from pleased about this.

They also mention Lady GaGa, who I was giving a bit of hype earlier in the year . Keep an eye out for her, may not be your style (somewhere between pop, r'n'b and electro) but she will become a big name.

Enjoy: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7766434.stm

Some Very Interesting Info

2008-12-16T23:31:00.013Z

Don't ask how, why or where. Just enjoy knowing before everyone else.
- Kanye West's next single will almost definitely be Paranoid. However, instead of Mr. Hudson and Kid Cudi on the chorus, there will apparently be a new version with...

....Rihanna.

- Busta Rhymes will be releasing a single with Estelle called World Go Round. This song already leaked a while back, but that version didn't have Estelle on it, although it was still pretty good.

Look for both between January and February.

- Oh, and the confirmed (well...pretty much) return of Dr. Dre. Before I get to that, some background info:

The obvious piece of background: Dre's album was said to be coming this year, after 50 Cent's and Eminem's, in many interview with 50, Eminem, and Jimmy Iovine, the head of the Interscope label. Obviously, we have heard that since 2004, but it made more sense this time around, with 50 and Eminem being released too.

The slightly less obvious background: Some of you will have heard/downloaded a track that leaked from Eminem recently. This has been called a few different names, such as 'Number One' and 'Breaking Bottles'.

Well, firstly, it's actually called 'Crack A Bottle'. Secondly, you will notice that this is a 'reference' track for Dre, as Eminem 'introduces' his verses at two different points, and then raps them himself. Hence, it is called a reference track, it is a suggestion for the direction/style/tempo Dre should go at.

That's the background info. Now, the new info:

Last week: Eminem said in response to Crack A Bottle being leaked that he wasn't sure whether they were going to finish the track, and if they did, whether it would be on Relapse or Detox. This, clearly shows that if it was to be on the Spring-bound Relapse, Dre is actually putting material out, and he can't be far behind. If it's made for Detox, the implications are obvious.

Last night: Dre randomly doing a guest verse on an official remix to a Kardinal Offishal song, 'Set It Off'. Why would he randomly feature on a virtual unknown's track? One reason: to start getting people talking about him again. Reminding everyone he can rap, and make a song no-one knows into a hit. An ego trip? Probably.

The comeback is slowly but surely gathering pace. I haven't got around to listening to the track yet, but will post my opinion of it in the comments when I do.

As always, leave a comment, spark some discussion.

Madonna (That's Right!) Featuring Pharrell and Kanye West

2008-12-15T23:32:00.006Z

Yeah, a bit of a guilty pleasure.

It is a pretty funky tune, with a catchy beat and Kanye's verse is good. This song has been around for quite a while, glad to see they made it into a single.

The video is quite conceptual: Madonna isn't even in it! Anyway, it's a track you will inevitably be hearing in clubs and such, so catch a glimpse below.

Quietdrive-Deliverance

2008-12-14T15:18:00.008Z

I would highly recommend you to give this a shot. If you don't like it, you don't like it. At least you broadened your horizons.

(For all of you who are too busy being narrow-minded to try something new, I'm not sure why you're even on here!)

The step from 'When All That's Left Is You' to this album is the biggest positive about this: Quietdrive have evolved and tried something different.

Deliverance is a very difficult album to pigeon-hole into a category, all I can call it is 'alternative rock'. It is both 'harder' and a lot more experimental than the last, but not to the point where they stray too far in one direction-there is still a pop-rock sensibility running straight through the middle of it.

Deliverance sounds like a nice blend of a variety of different styles, it's difficult to pinpoint who they sound like. At times, it sounds like a synergetic combination of U2 and Fall Out Boy and at others there's a sound reminiscient of Blink-182's last, more serious album, highlighted in the fact that Quietdrive have mastered the art of the hook/chorus.

To do justice to this album. it needs to be listened to as a whole. It has a consistency in quality that was lacking on the last album, which had two stand-out tracks which made the rest sound hugely inferior, despite the fact it probably wasn't.

In conclusion, this is probably going to come in as my favourite rock/alternative album of 2008, and probably one of my favourite albums of the year in all categories.

Believe-7.5/10
-The change in their style is shown right from the off: The song explodes in, and begins with a pounding drumbeat.

Deliverance-9/10
-Starts of with a Metro Station/Cobra Starship-esque drum sample, but steps up into a feel-good anthem with a great chorus that blends into the verses nicely.

Daddy's Little Girl-8.5/10
-The title says it all. A mocking, sarcastic chorus surrounded by calm, reflective verses. It all combines into a nice image of a thought process, moving from calm reflection to anger, and back.

Motivation-7.5/10
-A more pop-punk affair, and probably not as lyrically mature as the rest of the album. It is however likeable and highlights the range of styles on the album.

Birthday-8.5/10
-Great lyrics, which are brutally honest and create the impression that this is probably the conversation that was had whilst hungover. Intelligent use of simple, repeated chords in the verses that prevent the song from becoming too serious. Very memorable chorus.

After All-6.5/10
-Least favourite song on the album. The transitition from the bouncy verses to a darker chorus don't quite work, the chorus feels like it should be in a different song. It's also a little disjointed as a song, but it does end quite well, when it becomes introspective and shows a range of emotions from thoughtful, to angry.

Pretend-8/10
-A good song in which the verses probably just outshine the chorus, somewhat of an anomaly for this album. The slow down towards the end builds back into an impressive, Rush Together-esque finish.

Hollywood-9/10
-A great bridge that builds into a very strong chorus. They use a wide variety of styles on this song, with traces of an acoustic guitar in places. This, when combined with the great vocals/backing vocals, good lyrics and slow guitars makes for what is one of the strongest songs on the album.

Kissing Your Lips-7.5/10
-Begins with an almost reggae/pop vibe. Very simple and laid-back, but effective nonetheless. The chorus isn't shooting for overkill, both instrumentally and lyrically, which offers some diversity from the rest of the album.

Take Me Now-7/10
-A good bridge and chorus, which is built up nicely by the verses. A solid track, but nothing outstanding.

Promise Me-8/10
-The opening line draws you into the song, which then builds upon it progessively. It culminates into a big, loud chorus which creeps into the verse. The lyrical (love) content of the verse does prevent this from being as good as it should be, as it doesn't seem to fit properly.

Secret-8/10
-A very likeable song which opens up with haunting vocals, that offer a surprising contrast to the Spanish-style guitars that jump in. It adds together to create another progressive build to the chorus, a chorus which screams Fall Out Boy.

Starbright-9.5/10
-They saved the best for last. A genuinely brilliant song, with really honest lyrics that compliment the fact that this is the softest song on the album, and in turn makes it the most memorable. It feels like an Angels and Airwaves song, but instead of taking a complicated route to getting their message across, they take the idea of appreciation from afar and turn it into an honest track.

Kanye West News

2008-12-12T09:59:00.008Z

Two interesting bits of info on the future for Kanye West, and possibly info that you'll be hard-pressed to find elsewhere on the internet actually:

1. In the more immediate future, Kanye announced on his blog that the next single from 808s and Heartbreak will be either Paranoid or RoboCop.

-Both are good songs in my opinion, RoboCop probably being the better. However, I think he could have chosen a better single, namely See You In My Nightmares, Coldest Winter or Welcome to Heartbreak. We'll see how this pans out.

2. A piece of news that won't take any real shape until around 2009: Kanye West's next album is apparently going to be called 'Winter-Spring-Summer-Fall.' It will be 12 songs long, with 3 songs for each season. This isn't officially confirmed, but if it is, remember where you heard it!

-From the title I suspect that we're going to see more singing. It's a concept album, and Kanye has changed direction far too much now to go back and start all over again. Maybe we'll see more rapping (possibly in the 'Summer' section?) but don't be surprised to see this contain a lot of singing.

Upcoming Reviews

2008-12-12T09:37:00.004Z

Quietdrive-Deliverance: This album veers away from the pop-punk nature of the last one and heads in a slightly heavier, and at times a more experimental direction.

Songs to download from their previous album (When All That's Left Is You) : Rush Together and Time After Time.

Take a chance! If you don't like them, delete them. If you do, congrats!

Common-Universal Mind Control: Another album where an artist changes direction and tries something different, this time moving from conscious, neo-soul rap to a more electro-tinged offering.

According to a recent interview, Common was 'sick of hearing the DJ play all these great party jams but not being able to play anything of mine.'

Songs to download from previous albums: U, Black Maybe (from Finding Forever), Testify (from Be), Breaker 1/9 (from Can I Borrow A Dollar?).

I'm also trying to get hold of Donavon Frankenreiter's newest album. It's highly unlikely, but if anyone has it, send it my way so I can fulfill a review request!

Too Late Watches

2008-12-11T21:54:00.011Z

Evening. The picture across there <- is of a new line of watches from Too Late.

They come in a fairly wide range of colours, and only retail at 15 Euros a piece-I'm picking one up this week.

They're nice, solid coloured watches which look as casual as a wristband and still nice enough to wear out. They're also cheap enough to buy a couple!

You can buy them at the following link: http://store.too2late.com/index.php/watches

Clearing Up Some Stuff

2008-12-09T23:16:00.006Z

Hello!

Apologies for not having posted recently, I've been really busy the last few days. I will hopefully get something meaningful up after this one soon.

Also, in case you wondered where the Kanye West-Say You Will Remixes post has gone, I was forced to take them down, DESPITE none of the songs being official, none of the songs ever going to appear on any CDs published by any record company, and despite the songs being leaked onto the internet in the first place.

If anyone can name me another way anyone would EVER hear these songs, please feel free to tell me. Pretty ridiculous, and I'm contesting it as we speak.

The revolution never stops.

Ajay x

Lupe Fiasco-LupEND

2008-12-06T16:15:00.006Z

Just found out a bit of info on Lupe Fiasco's next/last album!

In case you didn't know, Lupe Fiasco is my favourite rapper of the last few years, and despite only releasing two albums thus far, he has claimed his next one will be his last.

If you don't own The Cool, no matter what music taste you like, you need this album-Mike Tempest will attest to this statement, despite being a devout punk/alternative fan.(There's your shout!!)

Only he recently he announced his last 'one' is actually going to be a three-disc special. Whether it will be released as so, or one-by-one was initially unclear but that seems to now have been cleared up: Apparently the first disc is going to be released Autumn 2009.

Again, for those of you who didn't know about LupEND, he has said each of the last three letters represents a disc: E-Everywhere, N-Nowhere, and D-Down Here. These are the respective names of the discs, so Everywhere will apparently be the first.

EPMD-We Mean Business Review (requested)

2008-12-04T14:25:00.006Z

As requested by Murray, here is my review of the first release by EPMD in over 9 years. For those of you that don't know, EPMD are one of the biggest rap groups to come from the East Coast, and really made an impact throughout the mid-90s.

Before we go anywhere though, it's only fair that I confess to not having a great deal of knowledge or liking for East Coast rap. With that said, I probably can't appreciate or analyse this from a completely perfect perspective.

This album however, was a fairly pleasant surprise, highlighted by the fact it genuinely sounds so old-school, you can smell the dodgy school dinners.

This seems to be further highlighted by who they have chosen to do guest verses on the album. Instead of succumbing to using guys who feature on everything, it's nice to hear from guys like KRS-One, Raekwon and such.

The old cliche of 'going back to my roots' is used all the time by artists, but it never quite materialises. With the guest spots, EPMD are making a clear statement before you've even put the CD in-they do mean business, and they mean it in the same way they did 15 years ago.

They don't sacrifice themselves to the easy money of throwing in a catchy, lyrically-numb hook for the sake of getting some radio time. The hooks and verses seems to flow into one another seamlessly, which is both good and bad-it offers consistency and a nice flow throughout.

However, in certain songs it does give it a repetitive feel which can prevent any particular verse or line from jumping out at you. Arguably, this does create the perception that the guest verses are outstanding, just because they break up the monotony.

Puttin' Work In (Ft. Raekwon) - 7.5/10
-A memorable opening verse with some nice lines, and a beat that hooks you in straight away.

What You Talkin' (Ft. Havoc of Mobb Deep) - 6.5/10
-The beat has a slightly creepy feel which is cool, but I don't really like EPMD's verses as much as Havoc's.

Roc-da-Spot - 7/10
-Another good production job and they do a nice job flowing on this beat, a likeable song.

Blow - 8/10
-Sounds like an old Rakim beat, has an atmosphere and Erick Sermon does a great job with some of his lines-Loving the wrestling reference!

Run It (Ft. KRS-One) - 6/10
-KRS doesn't come as intense as is expected, and none of the verses really stand out.

Yo (Ft. Redman) - 7/10
-I like Redman's hook and verse with his typical energetic approach, and it's got a memorable, uptempo beat.

Listen Up (Ft. Teddy Riley) - 6.5/10
-The beat contrasts with the lyrics, which is good and bad (jazz/pop beat, harsher lyrics). The contrast is creative, but neither the beat nor lyrics are outstanding.

Bac Stabbers - 8/10
-They speed their flow up and chuck in a nice sample for the chorus. The back-and-forth rapping near the end is impressive too.

Never Defeat 'Em (Ft. Method Man) - 7/10
-A nice laid-back beat which lets the lyrics take centre stage. Method Man has done better.

Jane - 6/10
-Just not a fan of this, it's average. Cool story, but seems too forced.

Left 4 Dead (Ft. Skyzoo) - 6.5/10
-Skyzoo does a good job, and EPMD do OK. 9th Wonder has done much better beats though.

They Tell Me (Ft. Keith Murray) - 8/10
-A haunting beat with some quiet, eerie singing makes for a powerful track with some good verses.

Actin' Up (Ft. Vic D and Tre) - 8/10
- I really like some lines in this. The sarcastic drops of certain current artists/albums/lyrics makes for a creative and intelligent track, which is highlighted again in the back-and-forth rapping around halfway through.

Busta Rhymes-Arab Money

2008-12-03T14:28:00.005Z

This is one of those songs you either love or hate. I love this song. It's addictive, it's different, and most importantly it's fun. I can see some people finding it annoying, but to hell with that-it's such a catchy tune!

People seem to get so wrapped up in 'serious' music that they forget they are allowed to enjoy things that are both entertaining and popular, regardless of what genre it is. I'm as lyrical as anyone, but sometimes you want something that is easy on the ear and you don't have to think about.

Anyway, the song has been out for a while, and an all-star remix (Swizz Beatz, Lil' Wayne, Akon, T-Pain and Diddy) came to the surface a few days back too. However, the video for the original has only just been released, and you can find it below.

Try and spot how many guest appearances are in this video-there are a lot of them! Expect to see me doing this dance too. Enjoy!

Getting Involved

2008-12-03T10:29:00.005Z

After a constructive conversation with Murray, we decided a good idea for this blog would be if I took suggestions for album reviews.

I got pretty good feedback for the depth and detail in the 808s review (thanks for that people!) so I'm still going to post reviews of any album I have been listening to extensively, however I expect that some people might not be familiar with all of the albums.

Just as a side note, if you see an album over there -> that you don't know and I haven't blogged about, feel free to drop a comment and I'll give a quick synopsis on it. Don't be afraid to try new music.

Anyway, back on track: If you've got anything in particular you want me to check out, put it in the comments, and I'll do one suggestion per week, as well as one of my own choice.

Similarly, if there's anything else aside from music you come across that I've missed or ignored, and you feel it warrants an inclusion on here, don't be afraid to let me know.

The whole point of this is for everyone else to have some decent discussion about music, fashion and other stuff without suffering through the rubbish you can find on public forums. Hopefully, if this really takes off, I can implement a forum into it.

I need your support for this though, so keep spreading the word, keep visiting and keep posting!

Hugs and Fishes,

Ajay x

Gola/eBoy's New Sneaker Range

2008-12-02T19:53:00.007Z

Check out the new collaboration from Gola and eBoy, in which they've got bags, shoes and t-shirts.

eBoy takes its influences from various sources such as pop culture, LEGO and computer games, to name a few.

The collection will be sold globally at some point this month. Click the pics for more detailed images.

Wale-Nike Boots

2008-12-02T10:45:00.009Z

Hello!

Wale finally put out a video for what is my favourite original track of his!! (as is standard with mixtapes, a lot of his stuff is freestyling over other people's beats).

I've actually got the remix of this song with Lil' Wayne. Post your email address in the comments if you want me to send this over.

Find the video here.

Awesome Headphones!

2008-12-01T22:24:00.005Z

How awesome are these!

These headphones are made of birch, and are moulded just like a skateboard.

I bet they're probably nice and light on the cranium.

A Kid Named Cudi

2008-12-01T16:56:00.005Z

A massive recommendation from me to you-download Kid Cudi's (only) mixtape-A Kid Named Cudi. It was released back in the summer, but I only really got around to listening to it quite recently.

There's something very different about him that I can't quite put my finger on, and naturally that makes me gravitate towards him. He seems to cross Kanye's style with Lupe's lyricism.

By that, I mean he verges on singing at times, has a certain charisma about him and seems to be able to adapt his style to a lot of different beats, but his lyrics are far from predictable-a lot of them are about being 'on the moon'.

Hence his album is going to be called Man on the Moon.

And of course, he nails the chorus on Welcome to Heartbreak.

Oh, and the fact that when we met him at the NEC, he was a really nice guy and took pictures with us. Whilst smelling of weed. (see below for relevance of this comment).

The mixtape is available free on the official site: http://www.kidcudi.com/.

Tracks to look out for:

Maui Wowie (about getting some super-strength weed...!!)

Embrace the Martian (he actually features on this track, it's by Crookers)

Down and Out (really good beat, and a nice mix of rapping and singing)

Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3

2008-12-01T10:11:00.005Z

Another quick one: According to http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/jay-zs-blueprint-3-set-february-2009-release, The Blueprint 3 will be coming in February.

Apparently, the majority of it will be produced by Kanye West, so it should come out pretty well...

Angels and Airwaves

2008-11-30T03:18:00.008Z

A quick 3am post.

As you do.

Just found out that my favourite alternative band of the last few years (since the break-up of Blink-182 of course) are going in the studio to record stuff for their new album in January.

Exciting times for anyone who is a fan, as the first album is an utter classic,with the second one being pretty awesome too.

If you haven't heard of them and fancy hearing something different, and unlike anything you've probably heard before, look up The Adventure-their first and best song.

Time for sleep.

Lil' Wayne dissing 50 Cent? You decide...

2008-11-29T16:26:00.005Z

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/audio/id.6184#comments

Seems that some people have discovered this song (click above), whereby Lil' Wayne apparently takes shots at 50 Cent. I can only imagine that this arises from the line 'I'll pour syrup in your Vitamin Water'.

(n.b. Vitamin Water is a drink 50 Cent released and made a lot of money off)

If it is a diss track, as much as I think Lil' Wayne is a good entertainer, 50 Cent would kill him. The most memorable diss tracks of recent times are 50 Cent's. Think about it: Fat Joe, Ja Rule, Murder Inc. and Jadakiss were all in the prime of their careers. They went back and forth with 50, and where are they now?

I don't actually like 50 Cent much, but this is his style, this is what he does. Wayne is not making a good move going after him.

Assuming this is actually a diss track of course.

808s and HeartBreak Review

2008-11-28T21:57:00.008Z

Might as well start with an album that I avoided illegally downloading, and waited until release date to enjoy, (With the obvious exceptions of Love Lockdown and Heartless)-Kanye West's 808s and Heartbreak.

Most of you weren't too keen on the new direction of 100% AutoTune singing from Kanye on the basis of the 2 songs I mentioned above, and understandably. Graduation was a Hip-Hop classic (go back and listen to it if you dare question that statement) and potentially ruining that is an understandable concern.

Trust me on this-you need to get this album. When people do the same thing on more than one album, it gets boring. That's why Late Registration is never viewed as a classic Kanye album. It was viewed as a lesser version of the (also classic) College Dropout.

Doing something different is always a risk, and fortunately Kanye West pulls it off to near perfection. The AutoTune isn't turned up to max volume unlike some recent songs (Ron Browz/Jim Jones-Pop Champagne abuses the AutoTune) and it still lets Kanye's voice come through.

Most importantly, it just makes artistic sense to use it. The production is generally minimalistic, and almost classic sounding. Adding AutoTune singing gives a nice retro feel, but with a futuristic tinge.

Enough blabbing (I could go on further...). Song-by-song ratings:

Say You Will - 7/10
-It's a bit too long, but has a good beat and chorus.

Welcome To Heartbreak (Ft. Kid Cudi) - 10/10
-Amazing chorus, great lyrics, great beat, almost perfection.

Heartless - 8/10
-Great chorus and bouncy production. This grows on me more and more.

Amazing (Ft. Young Jeezy) - 6.5/10
-The beat is too plain, but Jeezy's verse saves it. May grow on me.

Love Lockdown - 8.5/10
-Great drums and atmosphere, lyrics a bit of a letdown.

Paranoid (Ft. Mr. Hudson) - 7/10
-Nice beat, good rapping from Kanye. I need to listen to it more.

RoboCop - 7.5/10
-Really unusual beat, something different with strings tied to robotic samples.

Street Lights - 7/10
-Nice atmospheric track with some deep lyrical stuff going on.

Bad News - 7/10
-This is generally a sound track, but there's nothing outstanding going on.

See You In My Nightmares (Ft. Lil' Wayne) - 9/10
-A real anthemic feel. Wayne is the star of this. Imagine this with some guitars!

Coldest Winter - 9.5/10
-Brilliant, heartfelt lyrics added to an undeniably memorable chorus.

Pinocchio Story (Live) - 6/10
-Nice lyrics, but far too long, poor quality, and is there even a beat?!

I'm Surprised I Didn't Do This Before...

2008-11-28T21:52:00.004Z

Evening, Mr. Bond.

Seemed like a good idea to start up my own blog for you geezers who ask me about music, sneakers and stuff, and it seemed like a fun thing to do!

Keep coming back for new info and stuff, I'm gonna try and keep this up on a daily basis...

Hugs and Fishes,

x