Zac Brown Band is back; does Uncaged stick to country roots or does it bring the genre to new heights? Joss Stone’s second volume of Soul Sessions is a self-reflecting effort that will please fans, but is it for everyone? Yellowcard released their eighth studio album Southern Air; do any of the tracks live up to their popular 2003 hit “Ocean Avenue?”
SpeakSonic delivers with this week’s bite-sized album reviews.
Summer is about to turn cruel. On August 2 Kanye West took to Twitter to share the provocative, bright white, raised cover art for his upcoming G.O.O.D. Music collaboration album Cruel Summer. In addition to the art, he also posted a side shot of the album’s packing, revealing that it is of the tri-fold variety much like his previous release Watch The Throne. What’s inside? The CD, of course; but what else? That’s still a mystery. For now, eye the art above and jump the break for the angled shot.
Cruel Summer drops September 4, featuring the slick single “Mercy.” Swerve. Continue reading Kanye West reveals ‘Cruel Summer’ cover art and album packaging
G.O.O.D. Music member Hit-Boy is best known for wearing his producer hat; he’s collaborated with Kanye West, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and A$AP Rocky to design the beats behind “Christmas in Harlem,” N****s in Paris,” “Drop the World,” and “Goldie.” But now he’s ready to step into the spotlight and become a solo artist, his own rapper. Earlier this summer he dropped his first single “Jay-Z Interview” and left the producing to Bink!; it blew up on Twitter as he quickly made a name for himself as a solo rapper in the hip-hop community. This week he shared a new track “Old School Caddy,” and for this one he jumped behind the boards to produce. He is joined by fellow G.O.O.D. Music signee Kid Cudi in the laid back rap that’s spit in front of a smooth-as-butter beat. Listen above. (This release was teased with a 30-second clip featuring Hit-Boy and Cudi, so a full-fledged music video may be coming soon.)
All of this comes ahead of HITstory, the producer-turned-rapper’s first album that’s expected to release August 7. “This album is for the sophisticated ear,” tweets 25-year-old Hit-Boy. Check back here next week for a link to download the free album.
Update (8/7): HITstory is out today. Hit-Boy’s first release contains 11 tracks and guest appearances from Big Sean, Kid Cudi, Chip tha Ripper, Bun B, John Legend, and Stacy Barthe. Download it for free here. Snag the cover art and back tracklisting after the break. Continue reading Hit-Boy shares “Old School Caddy” (featuring Kid Cudi) ahead of album release [Update: ‘HITstory’ out now]
MTV has announced the nominees for a Moonman this year and frequent collaborators Drake and Rihanna lead the pack with five nominations each. Rihanna’s video for her hit single”We Found Love” is up for Video of the Year, along with Drake’s “Take Care” (featuring Rihanna), Katy Perry’s “Wide Awake,” Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know,” and M.I.A.’s “Bad Girls.” Speaking of Katy Perry, she’s on the heels of Drizzy and RiRi banking four nods. Following with three nods are artists such as Beyoncé, Coldplay, newcomer Frank Ocean, M.I.A., and The Throne (aka Kanye West and Jay-Z). Thankfully ‘Ye’s clip for “Mercy” was nominated twice for Best Hip-Hop Video and Best Editing–well deserved. I know you want to see all the nominees, so go on and skip after the break for the full rundown.
The 2012 MTV Video Music Awards airs live September 6 at 8PM (ET) and will feature performances from the talented Alicia Keys and UK boy band One Direction.
Update: Host Kevin Hart jokes with lovebirds Kanye West and Kim Kardashian in a promo after the break.
[Via MTV] Continue reading Drake & Rihanna lead the nominations for the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards
We’ve seen Kid Cudi cover don the cover multiple times, but now nearly every member of Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music label has the time to shine in this month’s issue of Complex Magazine. In a four-page interview (available online and in print), Complex’s Noah Callahan-Bever talks with G.O.O.D. Music members Big Sean, Pusha T, Kid Cudi, Common, John Legend, Q-Tip, and 2 Chainz about what it’s like working with Kanye West inside the studio and how he helped jumpstart and innovate their careers. Since ‘Ye advocates a “no press” policy, this makes for an interesting read for all fans of ‘Ye and his labelmates because it dives into material that otherwise would never make it out in the open.
The interview starts off with the artists talking about what G.O.O.D. Music means to them. John Legend sums it up nicely when he says, “We want to be known for quality. We want to be known for stuff that we all can be proud of. That creativity, that attention to detail, that quality control—that’s what distinguishes us from other folks who might just be chasing a hit. Kanye picks artists who care about making great art. We all want to make money and do well, but we also want to make great art that’s important and interesting.” From there they discuss how Kanye carries the torch and gets involved in their respective music making processes. In the end, these hip-hop musicians are a family, and under Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Music umbrella they help each other push out quality music that pushes the boundaries of the genre to new heights.
Read the interview in full right here. Look in the gallery below to browse pictures from the zine’s photoshoot. Jump after the break to watch a behind-the-scenes video from said photoshoot; in it you’ll hear the various G.O.O.D. artists expound their statements put forth in the interview.
And, for those of you wondering, the G.O.O.D. Music album Cruel Summer is now set to release September 4.
Update: During the photoshoot, Complex pulled Kid Cudi aside to ask him a few questions regarding his relationship to ‘Ye and Cud explained how his mentor will always remain an integral part of his music making process. He also comments on his upcoming solo album dubbed Indicud saying, “I’ve been writing some really serious raps. I’ve been writing some sh*t that’s going to fu*k people up. And it’s about that time that I let n****s know.” Read the mini interview here.
[Via Complex]
Continue reading G.O.O.D. Music covers Complex Magazine
The “Fireflies” and “Call Me Maybe” stars teamed up to produce the summer hit “Good Time” and now there’s a fun music video to go along with it. Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen hang out and dance around in the wilderness in this feel-good, no-frills clip.
How does Chris Brown’s Fortune stack up against his 2011 offering F.A.M.E.? Is Living Things a return to the classic Linkin Park? SpeakSonic delivers with this week’s bite-sized album reviews.
If you haven’t noticed, [experience-it-all] has undergone some cosmetic changes, including a fresh new logo up top and a revamped sidebar that makes navigating coverage simpler and faster. The sidebar also features a new section called Partner Blogs; recently I teamed with SpeakSonic so that I can feature the site’s bite-sized album reviews right here at experience-it-all.com. The concept is simple, really. On a regular basis SpeakSonic will review newly released albums in 200 words or less and I will inform you when new ones go up. So without further ado…
A relatively new destination, SpeakSonic currently has three album reviews up: Maroon 5’s Overexposed, Justin Bieber’s Believe, and Usher’s Looking 4 Myself. Click the links to read the informed reviews and don’t forget to bookmark SpeakSonic and check back for more album reviews soon.
G.O.O.D. Music opened the 2012 BET Awards tonight with a spectacular performance of “Mercy.” Featured artists Big Sean, Pusha T, and 2 Chainz spit their respective verses with absolute confidence and tore the venue up. When it was Kanye’s turn to take the spotlight, he transitioned to “Cold” (the track previously known as “Theraflu” and “Way Too Cold”) and then went on to preview a brand new, still unreleased track “New God Flow.” ‘Ye went hard and did it a cappella, impressing everyone in the crowd and at home. See how it all went down in the clip embedded above. When “New God Flow” drops, you’ll know.
For a list of the night’s big winners, click here.
Update: “New God Flow” featuring Pusha T and Kanye West has arrived. Is it the best G.O.O.D. Music collaboration yet? Hear it here, now.
What happens when you team up synth-pop maestro Adam Young and current pop sensation Carly Rae Jepsen? Well, this.
It’s funny; when I first heard Jepson’s radio smash “Call Me Maybe” I imagined the orchestration as something that could have been birthed by Owl City. Perhaps Young was mesmerized by the track, too, and insisted to collaborate with the Canadian singer-songwriter. The result is “Good Time,” a song that is light on lyrics but instead focuses on a catchy synthy beat that is destined to become the next song to carry us through the summer days. Listen to it in the SoundCloud embed below, and come June 26 I’ll provide an iTunes download link.
In related Owl City news, Young has named his fourth studio album and given it a late summer release date. The Midsummer Station is out August 21. On May 15 he released Shooting Star, a four-track EP that’s a taste of what’s to come in a couple months.
Kanye West and a chunk of his G.O.O.D. Music crew Big Sean, Pusha T, and 2 Chainz light it up in this black-and-white set in widescreen music video for “MERCY,” the first single off the G.O.O.D. compilation album now officially titled Cruel Summer. As the camera swerves left and right the rappers take turns spitting verses, all the while their egos replicate thanks to the inclusion of some neat special effects. Also, a Lamborghini and a couple motocycles linger in the background as they should. Kid Cudi, Cyhi da Prynce, and Teyana Taylor make special appearances.
Cruel Summer is on track to drop sometime this year.
This Friday Jason Mraz will take the stage and host the season premiere of VH1 Storytellers, the music/reality channel’s original program that invites artists across all genres to perform a collection of their songs and share insight into how the music came to be. In this installment VH1 promises that viewers will be privy to “a rich assortment of songs from [Mraz’s] truly outstanding body of work,” including tracks from his latest album Love Is A Four Letter Word. And things will get emotional. In a nearly nine minute preview clip embedded after the break, Jason explores the inspiration behind his hit single “I Won’t Give Up” and tears flow before he performs the song in front of a live audience. The gifted singer/songwriter is known for digging deep into his mind and soul and past life experiences to come up with lyrics and rhythms for his songs; fans should be excited because Storytellers gives him a platform to reveal the secrets behind his most popular tunes. Get a taste of what’s in store after the break. Mraz is arguably the greatest live performer to live, so it is somewhat of an understatement when I say this is must see TV.
VH1 Storytellers with Jason Mraz airs this Friday, June 1 at 11PM. Click here to see pictures from the previously recorded event. Continue reading Jason Mraz hosts an emotional ‘VH1 Storytellers’ this Friday night