Category Archives: Music

Short film: Kid Cudi in ‘Maniac’ (NSFW violence)

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Last November Kid Cudi hinted that a short film based on one of his songs was coming and yesterday on Halloween he released it on the ‘Net. The short film, directed by Transfomers star Shia LaBeouf, is titled Maniac and it is “inspired by” the song with the same name featured on Cudder’s sophomore album Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager. The extremely dark, gritty, and violent clip does not play the “Maniac” track behind it, nor does it refer to the lyrics in the song as it plays out like a short film and not a music video. The score that plays in the background is original music produced by Cudi and Wizard collaborator Dot Da Genius. In the nearly ten-minute short, a film crew follows two serial killers (played by Cudi and Chris Palko) documenting their exploits. As made explicit in the post title, this video is NSFW due to graphic violence and gore and in fact it is rated NC-17.

You have been warned. Mash play at your own risk. Happy Halloween!

Update: Cudder sat down with Complex and shared some insight into the making of the Maniac video. In it he talks about working with Shia LaBeouf, the character he played in the video, funding the film, and he explains why the characters speak in French. Read the choice quotes over at Complex.

Kanye West & Jay-Z go on tour, give fans a backstage pass

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Kanye West & Jay-Z’s Watch the Throne tour kicked off last week on Friday in Atlanta, and so did their all-access pass website called VOYR. The Throne teamed with ad agency GlobalHue to create a video-based portal that gives fans inside access to behind the scenes during the length of the 26-city tour. The cost of entry is $4.99/month, and according to Complex that gives you “a 720-degree look of the stage, rehearsals, personal exercise routines, an exclusive Kanye documentary, and an animated series based on Kanye’s Runaway film.” Five episodes of behind the scenes footage will be uploaded to VOYR each week. Visit VOYR to watch a couple previews and you’ll find a link to sign up and subscribe there, too. Paying anything to view BTS footage from a music tour might be steep for most people, but if you consider yourself to be a big fan of Kanye and Jay-Z’s collaborative effort and missed out on purchasing tickets for the tour, this kind of exclusive content should do you some good.

[Via Complex]

YouTube musical sensation Karmin release first official single “Crash Your Party”

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The infectious musical duo known as Karmen–comprised of vocalist Amy and keyboardist Nick–just released their first official single called “Crash Your Party.” Amy and Nick are best known for their unique covers of popular songs they upload to their YouTube channel. Shortly have they posted the amazing cover of Chris Brown’s “Look At Me Now” earlier this year, they exploded overnight. The video went viral and some time later they signed with Epic Records. Check out their first single in the video above to get a taste of some Karmin originality. The duo describes their music as “hip-pop” and this song, in my humble opinion, manages to fuse together elements from both genres in a fun (and downright catchy) way. Don’t act so surprised when you hear this track on the radio; Karmin has to potential to explode yet again…this time on a more mainstream scale. Expect their debut album to release in 2012.

Lost single: Kid Cudi – “Bigger Than You” (produced by Emile)

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Here’s a nice treat for all you Cudder fans. Today Complex released a mastered version of the very first track Kid Cudi and longtime producer/collaborator Emile ever made together. The song is called “Bigger Than You” and it was meant to serve as the lead single off Cudi’s debut album Man on the Moon: End of Day. Since it was created so early on in 2007 (and the fact that it leaked under the false title “Do It Alone”), Cudi and Emile ultimately decided to scrap it and not include it on the album. The Dot Da Genius produced track “Day N’ Nite,” as we all know, would go on to become Cudi’s first hit record. In a 2009 interview with Complex, Emile shed some light on the making of the lost single today reborn:

He had in his head what he wanted to start the album with. Like way back it was a song called “Bigger Than You,” which some people might of heard because it leaked. It was a really dope record. “Bigger Than You” was actually the first record me and Cudi ever did together. It was on the first day that we met, we cut that song. Once we cut it, he was like, “That’s the intro to my album.” It stayed that way for a while, but that record was cut a long time before the album was ever done, so eventually it kinda faded out.

Listen to it below; a download link is provided. Two words: classic Cudi.

Download: Kid Cudi – “Bigger Than You” (produced by Emile)

[audio: Bigger Than You.mp3]

[Via DatNewCudi; Complex]

Music video: Coldplay – “Paradise”

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Today Coldplay released a new music video for the track “Paradise,” the second single off their upcoming fifth studio album Mylo Xyloto. The sweeping anthem plays in the background as we watch a costumed man in an elephant suit journey around the world to find his bandmates. His method of transportation is a unicycle. I don’t want to give anything away, but Coldplay frontman Chris Martin makes unicycling look easy! Whoops. The vibrant clip was directed by Mat Whitecross, the same guy who helmed the music video for the previous single “Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall.”  Mylo Xyloto releases October 24.

Music video: Rihanna – “We Found Love”

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Rihanna’s catchy dance track “We Found Love” now has a music video to go along with it. The Calvin Harris-produced lead single off RiRi’s upcoming sixth studio album Talk That Talk hit the radio earlier this month and quickly became a chart-topping hit. The clip embedded above features trippy visuals and contains too many jump cuts if you ask me. The Barbadian sex symbol doesn’t take much time to strip in front of her boy toy in this one. Pump up the volume and mash play to watch Rihanna let loose. Talk That Talk is due out next month.

Music video: David Guetta – “Without You” (Featuring Usher)

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“Without You” is the third single off French DJ David Guetta’s latest album Nothing But the Beat and immediately it clicked with the general music-listening public. So much so, in fact, that the smash radio hit now stars in its very own music video. Turn up your speakers and watch Guetta and featured artist Usher ride the wave of plate tectonics in the clip embedded above.

Single: Wale – “Focused” (Featuring Kid Cudi)

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Wale has teamed up with Kid Cudi a second time for the rapper’s newest single “Focused.” It’s a cut off Wale’s followup album to 2008’s Attention Deficit called Ambition. And if you’re wondering, the last time the two worked together was on Cudder’s track “Is There Any Love” from his popular mixtape A Kid Named Cudi (2008). Cudi opens “Focused” and returns throughout on chorus duty. The track has a good vibe, so take a listen below and download it for keeps if you like. [Update: get the track at iTunes today.] Ambition drops in November.

[audio: Wale – Focused.mp3]

[Via DatNewCudi]

Single: B.o.B – “Strange Clouds” (Featuring Lil Wayne)

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Bobby Simmons is back with the Lil Wayne-assisted lead single “Strange Clouds” off his upcoming sophomore album that shares the same name. The blaring beat is addictive, so plug in your Beats, mash play, and preview it above. Download it for keeps at iTunes. This trailer was created to promote the single, so we can expect a music video to land soon. Lil Wayne being present in it is still up in the air. B.o.B.’s followup to 2010’s The Adventures of Bobby Ray is due out spring 2012.

Music video: Sara Bareilles – “Gonna Get Over You”

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Sara Bareilles’ Kaleidoscope Heart is still beating strong. “Gonna Get Over You,” the latest single off her third studio album, just got the music video treatment and it’s a doozy. Bareilles, typically a relatively reserved singer-songwriter, busts a move in this wonderfully choreographed and colorful clip. It features a dolled up Bareilles playing dance-tag (you’ll see what I mean) inside a Spanish market. The song, like most of her others, is catchy, upbeat, and worthy of repeat listening. And in this specific case, repeat viewing. Bareilles never looked so good. Fun fact: actor Jonah Hill makes his directorial debut here.

Jason Mraz releases new track “The World As I See It”

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It’s been a long while since Mr. A to Z released new music. Since dropping his third studio album We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. in 2008, Mraz has been touring the world and managed to slip in the five-track Life Is Good EP in 2010. Though the new track is not an official single off his next album (which is expected to release in early 2012), it should still excite you because it’s a never-heard-before song from the acoustic-loving crooner. “The World As I See It” serves as the theme for the “In Search of Incredible” campaign headed by Mraz and tech companies Asus and Intel. The project “seek[s] the most amazing stories from around the world” and you can find out more about it at this website. Listen to the track above, download it at iTunes, and collect the geometrically-inclined artwork after the break. Continue reading Jason Mraz releases new track “The World As I See It” →

Kid Cudi pieces together his life of fame in latest Complex cover story

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Rapper Kid Cudi finds himself on the cover of Complex Magazine for the third time in so many years. In this latest cover story interview with Complex editor-in-chief Noah Callahan-Bever, Cudi opens up about his murky past consisting of drinking and smoking, how things have changed for the better managing a sober lifestyle, and the inspiration behind playing guitar and forming the Wizard album. You can read the interview in full right here; below I’ve copied a couple of standout moments.

When asked about why he spend so much time with fellow rapper Kanye West: “I was at another place, another dark place. Me and my girl had broken up. I wasn’t fully healed yet. And being around Kanye and music was my escape. He’s a sober guy, he has a drink every once in a while, but seeing how he throws himself into the studio when he’s stressing about something, I totally admire that. Being around that was therapy for me.”

When asked to look two years into the future: “I’m always going to be working on something because I have too many ideas. Every day I come up with some wild fucking idea, some type of scheme. I feel like I have a purpose and if I don’t create then I’m letting myself down. I’ve been given this opportunity for people to listen to me worldwide. I’m just gonna fucking keep rocking and keep rocking and keep rocking until I’m in a wheelchair somewhere.”

Browse pictures from the photoshoot below, and watch some behind-the-scenes action after the break.

[Via Complex; DatNewCudi] Continue reading Kid Cudi pieces together his life of fame in latest Complex cover story →