Category Archives: Music

Exclusive interview with G.O.O.D. Music’s Malik Yusef

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Tomorrow (9/18) the highly anticipated G.O.O.D. Music album Cruel Summer drops. Earlier this week the album became available to preorder, and if you eyed the official tracklist you surely noticed a featured artist’s name you might not have seen before. On the eighth track “Sin City” G.O.O.D. Music signees John Legend and Cyhi the Prynce headline with Malik Yusef.

A five-time Grammy award winner, forty one year old Yusef is a longtime collaborator of Kanye West’s, having co-wrote a whopping seven songs from West’s impressive 2010 release My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. He also dipped his creative hand in helping produce West’s Runaway short film, and he went on to co-write two tracks off West and Jay-Z’s collab album Watch The Throne (2011). With a youth literacy foundation under his belt and an eye for high fashion, Yusef is a philanthropic member of West’s G.O.O.D. Music team, and his sense of style, word choice, and ear for a solid beat make him a vital member of the formidable team ‘Ye built in the rap community.

Jump after the break to read experience-it-all‘s exclusive interview with Malik Yusef. In it the spoken word artist discusses what it is like working with Kanye West in the studio, what G.O.O.D. Music stands for, he’s asked about the Chicago rap scene, and hypes a new, up-and-coming artist by the name of Tyran Brown. Continue reading Exclusive interview with G.O.O.D. Music’s Malik Yusef →

The Weeknd readies ‘Trilogy’ release, drops “Wicked Games” as lead single

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Twenty-two year old Abel Tesfaye, better known by his stage name The Weeknd, is about to take the industry by storm. If you haven’t heard of the R&B crooner, it’s about time you did. In 2011, Tesfaye released three critically acclaimed mixtapes consisting of nine tracks each through his own label XO. It didn’t take very long for rap superstar Drake to notice his talents; Drake is featured on the second mixtape in the song “The Zone” and Tesfaye would go on to take over Drake’s Take Care track “Crew Love.” After performing at this year’s Coachella, he started a US tour that goes into the fall when he will release Trilogy, an album that will combine all three previously released mixtapes–House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence–delicately mixed and remastered. It will also include three bonus tracks he’s currently producing in the studio today. His label XO has teamed with Universal Music Group’s Republic Records for the commercial release.

Fans of The Weeknd will all agree: choosing standout track “Wicked Games” from House of Balloons is the perfect single to promote Tesfaye’s Trilogy. You’ll notice striking and subtle differences in the remastered, radio-friendly version of the song. Listen to it below, and compare it to the original. Soon the single will be sold via iTunes, and when it hits the ‘Net I’ll amend the post. If you haven’t already, you can download the mixtapes for free right here.

The Weeknd started out as an undercover oddity whose actual identity was shrouded in mystery. With “Wicked Games” on the rise and Trilogy around the corner, Abel Tesfaye and his decadent themes and soothing, sophisticated style better be ready for the spotlight.

[Via PotholesInMyBlog; Billboard]

Flight of the Conchords returns for charity

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Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement–the duo that makes up parody folk band Flight of the Conchords–reunited this summer for Red Nose Day 2012 to support Cure Kids, a New Zealand charity whose proceeds fund medical research into life-threatening childhood illnesses. The 14-minute clip starts off like a typical Flight of the Conchords episode that would air on HBO. Band manager Murray Hewitt (Rhys Darby) plays the “present” game with the guys and informs them that they’ve got a new gig to play. After some nostalgic back and forth between the three of them, the bulk of the clip features Bret and Jemaine interviewing schoolchildren from Auckland and Wellington about a range of topics including what it means to be sick and how to raise money. The video concludes with a brand new Conchords track featuring other NZ celebrity voices; the lyrics are born out of the entertaining answers provided by the kids. Bret and Jemaine are known for their comedic timing and keeping a straight face, so when they break out in fits of laughter during the interviews it makes it all the more fun.

Revisiting the band meeting and watching Bret and Jemaine back in full form is such a treat, but let’s not forget why they did it. After watching the video embedded above, purchase the song “Feel Inside (and stuff like that)” at iTunes and .91 cents from the sale of the track will go to the Cure Kids organization. Continue reading Flight of the Conchords returns for charity →

G.O.O.D. Music’s ‘Cruel Summer’ up for preorder, see tracklist here

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Kanye West is cutting it close, but he’s just going to make it. His G.O.O.D. Music compilation album Cruel Summer is set to hit stores September 18, three days before the sweltering season comes to a close. Since the album is now available to preorder digitally at iTunes, the official tracklist is out in the open. You may be surprised to discover that ‘Ye reached out to artists outside his G.O.O.D. Music label to contribute to the album. Such guests include R. Kelly, The-Dream, and Ma$e. A total of 12 tracks make up Cruel Summer, and five of them we’ve already heard: Mercy, Cold, I Don’t Like, New God Flow, and Clique. Disappointing? Perhaps. Even more so is that Kid Cudi is only featured on a single track (all by himself) and Mr. Hudson is no where to be seen.

Jump after the break to view the full tracklisting. The video embedded above features an animated rendition of the artistic tri-fold packaging. [Preorder a digital copy at iTunes / Preorder a physical copy at Amazon]

Continue reading G.O.O.D. Music’s ‘Cruel Summer’ up for preorder, see tracklist here →

2012 MTV VMA winners: Rihanna & One Direction on top

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Last night MTV Video Music Awards was a total bore and the ratings reflect that. Only 6.1 million viewers tuned into the Thursday night telecast; that’s down over a whopping 50% from last year’s show when a record-breaking 12.4 million people watched. Was it host Kevin Hart’s mediocre monologue or the unmemorable performances and acceptance speeches that caused the viewership plunge? Or maybe airing it on a school/work night wasn’t the best idea. No matter the case, it was dull so let’s just skip to the winners.

Rihanna took home the top prize Video of the Year for her Calvin Harris-produced dance track “We Found Love,” but UK boy band One Direction came out most successful with three Moonmen for Best New Artist, and their hit single “What Makes You Beautiful” scored them Best Pop Video and Most Share-Worthy Video. Other notable winners include Chris Brown (“Turn Up the Music” won Best Male Video), Nicki Minaj (“Starships” won Best Female Video), and Drake (“HYFR” won Best Hip-Hop Video).

Click here to view the full list of winners.

G.O.O.D. Music drops single “Clique” before ‘Cruel Summer’ release

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The latest single off Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music compilation album Cruel Summer is “Clique.” It features verses from Big Sean, Mr. West, and the other half of The Throne, Jay-Z. The track is produced by Hit-Boy and it’s a hot one. Hear it below and get ready for Cruel Summer due out September 18.

Gotye remarkably remixes his song “Somebody I Used To Know” using YouTube clips

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Yes, I’m sick of this song as well. Radio stations overplay it and that’s twisted it into a painfully catchy tune you never want to hear again but even if you did you’d probably let it play all the way through before screaming at yourself.

That said, give it one more listen because this rendition is fascinating. No really, do it. Wally De Backer (aka Gotye) took it upon himself to scour YouTube for so many covers of his popular Making Mirrors track “Somebody I Used To Know” and then remix them all together to make what he calls “Somebodies: A YouTube Orchestra.” The result, as aforementioned, is fascinating and well worth a listen.

Wally tagged the almost six minute clip with this: “Reluctant as I am to add to the mountain of interpretations of “Somebody That I Used To Know” seemingly taking over their own area of the internet, I couldn’t resist the massive remixability that such a large, varied yet connected bundle of source material offered.

”

Enjoy the collective effort.

Green Day readies three new albums, releases music video for ‘¡Uno!’ single “Oh Love”

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Ever since releasing the mega-popular 21st Century Breakdown in 2009, punk rock band Green Day has been relatively quiet in terms of new material. That ends now. Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tre Cool came up with so many new songs that they refuse to fit it all on a single album. In April the band announced that they plan to release a trilogy of new albums aptly titled ¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tre! and they will come out September 25, November 13, and January 15, 2013, respectively. The first single off ¡Uno! is “Oh Love” and the music video for it, directed by Green Day clip collaborator Samuel Bayer, is embedded above. In it the band performs the catchy track in front of an audience of scantily-clad, tattooed ladies.

If you have been preparing yourself for more politics from the band who made Breakdown and American Idiot, you’re in for a surprise. Frontman Armstrong told MTV, “It was a time for us to step away [from political overtones], because we didn’t want to come across as politicians. We’re in a band first and foremost, and we wanted to have a good time making music. So it was kind of a way of us getting back to basics.” Bassist Dirnt puts the trilogy in perspective like this: “There’s a lot of that in these records. It’s kind of like getting ready and charging to the party on the first record, and then getting to the party on the second record and having an absolute great time and overstaying your welcome and doing a lot of damage, and then kind of looking for your car keys and doing some self-reflecting on the third record.”

As for the single you’re about to listen to, Armstrong describes it like this: “It’s kind of a tension ballad … instead of pulling at your heart strings, it’s like a noose pulling at your heart a little bit, and trying to keep your emotions intact. It’s very lustful, which is kind of a subject we haven’t gotten into in a long time.”

[Via MTV]

‘Watch the Throne’ documentary unearthed by creative Robert Lopuski

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Though this docu dropped over a year ago, Paradigm Magazine’s recent interview with filmmaker Robert Lopuski successfully launched the ten-minute behind-the-scenes look at the making of Kanye West and Jay-Z collab album into the wild for the masses to finally witness. The interview, which can be read in full here, tells the story of how Lopuski randomly bumped into West in New York City and how that act of fate fashioned the opportunity for the filmmaker to collaborate with the musician in Sydney, Australia during the production of Watch the Throne. Lopuski was forced to shoot most of the video with cheap Flip cams but the result is quite grand. West is known for his secrecy, and this is an exciting (even if very brief) glimpse into his life as he’s amongst friends (Jay, Beyonce, Russell Crowe, other producers) and making music. The best part, however, is when we get to see Kanye’s life-long mentor Jay in a rapper’s predicament as he practices his verse from “Why I Love You”; this starts at the 7:30 mark.

Lopuski shines a candid light on the typically private life of these rappers and the final product is definitely worth a look. The video attempts to bring things full circle as the WTT footage is mixed with archived clips from the early days when Jay was helping producer Kanye elevate his game as a solo rapper. Says Lopuski, “In the world of hip-hop, anybody who does something different is a genius, anybody who does something successful is making history; you know it all becomes these exaggerated, bombastic endeavors. And so, for me, I was not interested in that; I was more interested in the smaller moments. The quiet power of talent.”

[Via Paradigm Magazine]

Kanye West tags “Cold” music video with DJ Khaled’s “I Wish You Would” Rick Ross-assisted track

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A mouthful, isn’t it? But so is this two-part music video. DJ Khaled sixth studio album Kiss the Ring is out tomorrow (August 21) and to kick-start the hype machine he enlisted famed hip-hop clip director Hype Williams to shoot a music video for the album’s single “I Wish You Would” that features Rick Ross the boss and Kanye West. At 3:53 that track comes to a halt and ‘Ye’s controversial “Cold” (formally “Theraflu” and “So Cold”) starts up. Though the track is edited and gets cut short there is a brief cameo from West’s current girlfriend Kim Kardashian, so don’t blink. Though the clips are literally all over the place with shaky cam business, Williams did a good overall with it; I especially like the parts when West’s eyes go dark and are replaced with those glow-in-the-dark slits. How does it compare to the unofficial clip from Caleb Harper aka mini Kanye? Can your headphones go louder? Check it out.

Music video: Hit-Boy – “Old School Caddy” (Featuring Kid Cudi)

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Called it. After Hit-Boy released that teaser for his second single “Old School Caddy” ya’ll knew those clips had to have been taken from a lengthier music video. And presto, here it is. In it producer-turned-rapper Hit-Boy jumps in an old school Caddy and featured artist Kid Cudi takes a new school Benz for a spin and leggy models assist. The smooth beat is the purest ear candy and the raps flow without waver from newcomer Hit-Boy and his fellow G.O.O.D. Music signee Mr. Rager. Watch it above. And if you haven’t already, download Hit-Boy’s first album HITstory for free.

Kid Cudi drops first single from ‘Indicud’ album “Just What Iam”

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After releasing two rap albums and a rock album, Kid Cudi is returning to his roots with Indicud, his upcoming fourth studio album that promises to prominently feature Cudi the rapper. “Just What Iam” was produced by Cudi himself and it features guest artist and long-time Cudder collaborator Chip tha Ripper who now likes to be called King Chip. During the hook Cudi makes it clear: “I need smoke.” But I thought he quit smoking… Preview the track below and snag it for keeps at the download link.

Download: Kid Cudi – “Just What Iam” (Featuring King Chip)

[Via DatNewCudi]