August 2009 Archives
Retrovirals: Jadakiss ft. Bubba Sparxxx - "They Ain't Ready"
This > Your favorite rap song/video.
Jay-Z ft. Kanye West - Hate
Kanye on the beat as well.
The leaks keep coming, folks.
Dreams of a throwback soul stirrer from Kanye? Nope: spacey, synthy, Autotune production. Bangs relatively hard, however, and it's just the two giants trading bars in the tradition of Common and Ye's "Southside."
UPDATE: That's 9/15 total BP3 leaks for those keeping score at home. Here's the latest wave. You should be able to Mininova the whole thing by week's end. Not that such behavior is advocated by ATG. You can also cop the other five leaked jams from us.
Jay-Z ft. Kanye West - Hate
Jay-Z - Thank You (produced by Kanye West, No I.D.)
Jay-Z ft. J. Cole - A Star is Born (produced by Kanye West, No I.D.)
Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind (produced by Al Shux)
DJ AM, 1973-2009
Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein was found dead in his New York City apartment over the weekend. Cause of death is as of yet unknown, though he was found with drug paraphernalia. Drug overdose, basically.
He was a revered club DJ; in Crazy Town; scratched on records for Will Smith, Jay-Z, Madonna; survived a plane crash and generally was beastly on the ones and twos. ATG is saddened by the recent news.
Stretch Armstrong remembers AM after the jump.
Continue reading DJ AM, 1973-2009.
New Drake, Trey Songz video - "Successful"
One of our absolute favorite songs of the year gets the proper, expensive rap clip treatment.
Directed by Jake Davis.
Kid Cudi album snippets
Now you can (sort of) judge for yourself. Looks like Kanye gave him the Big Brother treatment, only producing one song besides "Poke Her Face" (they've been trying to rename it "Make Her Say" but we know the truth). Proppers to DatNewCudi.
Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon: The End of Day Snippets
New Wale ft. Jazmine Sullivan - World Tour
Knocks. Attention: Deficit out Oct. 20th.
Wale ft. Jazmine Sullivan - World Tour (prod. Cool and Dre)
Jay-Z + Bill Maher
Continue reading Jay-Z + Bill Maher.
To ponder this weekend
Given an inevitable full-album leak, and having already lost the press war, we're a bundle of nerves and anticipation as we wait to see how BP3 we'll be received by diehard Hov fans (like us).
>> Why are the leaked Blueprint 3 songs getting worse? (NYM)
WSJ talks to Questo
The Root's top twitterer talks to the Journal about the band's new album How I Got Over and their groundbreaking day job with Jimmy. If you've heard the eponymous first single (link below), you know that the Philly gang seems to have stumbled upon a surprisingly great sounding gospel vibe, a departure that ?uest elaborates on a bit.
"This is as close as we'll ever get to spirituality. There's no standard for black men being this bone-serious in entertainment. I'm getting a little tired of reading bloggers who say, "Don't they smile? Don't they have fun?" I'm not saying we have to walk through life like Kurt Cobain or early Lou Reed, but we still deal with everyday people. We see suffering that goes on. We're a band that reflects what we see."
For the record, we've been just fine with The Roots' recent embrace of the darkness, but you gotta love how these guys keep changing it up.
The Roots - How I Got Over
>> The Roots Branch Out (WSJ)
Ghostdini - Wizard of Poetry album art
We're PUMPED.
NYT untangles 'good hair'
"If you're hair is relaxed, white people are relaxed. If you're hair is nappy, they're not happy" - Paul Mooney. Hahaha. But seriously, some have derided Chris Rock's upcoming documentary Good Hair as esoteric, silly or even divisive. But in a lot of ways it's a really potent issue, and I'm glad to see it play out in public. Especially with those beautiful black women in the White House. Shoutout to the homey Smilupe.
>> Skin Deep: Black hair still tangled in politics (NYT) (Be sure and check out the interactive features in the sidebar)
Metrics: Kid Cudi's album is a 'five-act play'/ Come on, Cudder
ATG sizes it all up.
Speaking of Cudi. Uh, yeah. You know, I'm ALWAYS for rapper's pushing boundaries and experimenting creatively. In fact, I still defend Electric Circus to this day, despite the fact that it gets me dagger stares in hip-hop debates. So why am I so cynical about this album?
Maybe it's the hideous artwork, or the awful subtitle (Man On the Moon: THE END OF DAY in stores Sept. 15th), or maybe it's the general feeling that Kid Cudi tries so fucking hard to be DIFFERENT that he just ends up looking like a clown.
Continue reading Metrics: Kid Cudi's album is a 'five-act play'/ Come on, Cudder.
ATG Presents: DEF NFL PREVIEW RAW
This blog is not about sports, granted. But ATG used to write these previews during college and we think you'd agree the NFL is infinitely more interesting than Kid Cudi.
More importantly, hip-hop, over rivaling genres, is woven with American sports into a two-way, perfectly symbiotic establishment. Michael Phelps shares his affinity for Lil Wayne during his Chinese medal bonanza, then he introduces a Weezy performance at an awards show, then Lil Wayne writes a song about Phelps.
Rappers praise. Athletes listen. Most involved with either love the other and lines are crossed.
There's the justification. Also, I need to switch gears and stop writing about Jay-Z.
Moreover, if you're like the minds behind ATG, you're burning for kickoff extra hard right now. Maybe it's the way things ended last year for Cowboys fans, the brimming excitement behind extra-compelling preseason storylines, the lack of faith in baseball's modern era, the lack of American hegemony in soccer, the fact golf is more interesting when golf balls are neon colored and putts avoid windmills and dinosaurs, or that football provides the most thrilling competitive action available on my off-brand HD TV, but I'm fucking jacked.
Smell the glove here.
Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Eminem - Forever
This got that making of a legend feel.
How is this song good? A six-minute posse venture for some project LeBron James (i.e. Nike or one of his other proprietors) is behind, with Autotune, cannot live up to billing. It should be a phoned in payday for the game's upper echelon.
As I write this, heads are shutting servers down and arguing about who goes the hardest. It is a good day for hip-hop.
Drake is amazing, relishing in the post-So Far Gone glory and autobiographically boasting while crooning another bananas hook; Kanye West is a deity, as usual saving his best bars for when he knows they'll be stacked alongside the biggest lyricists; Lil Wayne is spastic and menacing; Eminem name checks Hannibal Lector and destroys.
Thank you, Lilwaynehq.
UPDATE: The aforementioned project is a James documentary, and this joint will be on the Interscope-released soundtrack. You can read about the origins of the song here.
Drake, Eminem, Kanye West, Lil Wayne - Forever
Jay-Z - Venus Vs. Mars
Another Blueprint 3 leak and another Timbaland beat. Respect to the NMC for systematically leaking this album one frenzied mp3 at a time.
Jay-Z - Venus vs. Mars
Bill O'Reilly responds to Jay-Z
Mr. O'Reilly absolutely adores quoting songs out of context and taking hip-hop to task.
But on the Drake-collabing "Off That," there's no violation of values with which to frighten isolated people, just a simple name check:
"Please tell Bill O'Reilly to fall back."
That's it. As such, the on-air mention only serves to rally O'Reilly's ever-eroding viewership against Jay-Z. Classic move: put the onus on your peoples to fight back on the basis of disrespect.
UPDATE: Rush Limbaugh, consumate conservative talking head, felt the need to acknowledge the drop. Check his shot at Obama after the jump.
..Really, the bigger story is how terrible "Off That" is. Phoned in lyrics, no Drake verse, wack beat. If you don't already have it, snag it here.
Continue reading Bill O'Reilly responds to Jay-Z.
Review: Slaughterhouse
ATG weighs in on the massive underground uprising.
Which rapper comes hardest? Click here to find out.
It's getting old out there
New York Mag comes through with an on-point piece about an interesting facet of the moment in hip-hop: the sustained presence of rappers in middle age.
The coming months will see a host of new albums from hip-hop acts closing in on 40. Ghostface Killah is 37; the Roots' ?uestlove is 38; Raekwon and Q-Tip are both 39; and Jay-Z will hit the big 4-0 in December.
Grey Hova is notable for the way his maturation has noticeably effected his lyrical output; sometimes to heavy criticism.
Jay-Z tried growing up once before, with 2006's Kingdom Come, his post-retirement album about healthy credit and beach furniture, and was rewarded with the worst reviews of his career.
Check out the article here.
Jay-Z - Reminder
Propers to the NMC.
Timbaland on the incredible, knocking, futuristic beat. Sorry, I just became the 1,000,000th critic to refer to a Timbo beat as "futuristic." Jay proceeds to list off accomplishments like a beast.
"Tell them ordinary Joes to Budden up." Get it? Budden as in "button," like a shirt? Diss.
Tight, literal hook from a nondescript female R&B crooner and the first incredible Jay leak from BP3 I've come across. Yes. Brilliant.
Jay-Z - Reminder (produced by Timbaland)
"Tell them ordinary Joes to Budden up." Get it? Budden as in "button," like a shirt? Diss.
Tight, literal hook from a nondescript female R&B crooner and the first incredible Jay leak from BP3 I've come across. Yes. Brilliant.
Jay-Z - Reminder (produced by Timbaland)
New Beanie Sigel video - "In the Ghetto"
Love Beans.
The Broad Street Bully arrives September 1.
Hard, hollow, piano-driven beat mauled by the hard, brick flow of State Prop's finest. Nice clip too: crackheads, assault rifles, corner hustles, sweeping cinematography.
New Asher Roth video ft. Keri Hilson - "She Don't Want A Man"
Speaking of Ash Roth...
Listened intently to his album, especially disliked this song.
This begets the fair point, why are you putting on this video while simultaneously dissing it?
Mr. Roth is still news and his saga requires continuity: Fabricated internet hype; cosigning by real artists on equally fabricated viral videos; an enormous hit for people that don't care about rap; the suckling at the Roth teet by most relevant hip-hop media including us; the commercial failure last spring; the continued wasted money on a one-hit wonder.
Sway details MTV's Hottest MCs list
Continue reading Sway details MTV's Hottest MCs list.
Case of the Mondays - August 24
The weekend in MP3s.
Switching it up a bit. Previously, we've poached links from other blogs for the purposes of arbitrarily updating readers on what's new in the world of leaked, fresh hip-hop tracks. In the process, we've found, lots of the songs are uninteresting, unfinished, unworthy of a put on. Even if Lil Wayne was behind them.
Also, most of the links wither and die within a week or so.
Henceforth, Case of the Mondays will be a recurring bundle of ten songs, you know, actually worth listening to. This edition's track list after the jump.
Case of the Mondays - August 24th
Continue reading Case of the Mondays - August 24.
ATG Presents: Summer Grams '09
Dear Summer,
As you will soon be gone, we've made this mixtape in your honor. You've been good to us this year, so we took care to make it special.
Continue reading ATG Presents: Summer Grams '09.
Drake - Killer f. Nipsey Hu$$le
Another incredible Drake song.
Knocking drums, deep bass, fuming church organs, light autotune, a pair of smooth verses from Drizzy and L.A.'s Nipsey.
The earnest, subtle boasting from both rappers is extra fresh. "I took my wildest dreams, then mapped 'em out," goes Nip while Drake reflects Rick Pitino headlines and proclaims, "I'll never be the reason that a bitch get paid."
Drake - Killer f. Nipsey Hu$$le
Blueprint 3 "official" tracklist
While you're bumping the Prelude, here's something worth salivating over: a new official BP3 tracklist. Looks like several changes from the earlier version (though it could just be renaming), most significantly the addition of about a dozen guest features (too many?) some of which make me nervous (I'm looking at you Swizz Beats and Alicia Keys). MGMT don't appear in name (though they were just credited as producers on the last version) but Luke Steele of Australian MGMT sound-alike duo Empire of the Sun will be guesting on the opener. (ummm... ok). Other new arrivals include Young Jeezy, Pharell and J. Cole. Get all the details and artwork after the jump.
Continue reading Blueprint 3 "official" tracklist.
Metrics: Movie Review - District 9
ATG sizes it all up.
I could count the number of times I've walked out of a movie on one hand. Not only do I avidly avoid suspected cinematic stinkers, but I generally hate leaving anything unfinished. Usually, if I find myself parked in front of a particularly bad waste of celluloid (Shrek 3, The Taking of Pelham 123), I'll just doze off and catch up on some shut-eye while I wait for the third act resolution. Halfway through District 9, though, as my brother and I gathered our half-eaten, over-priced snack foods, arose from our seats and prepared to exit the theater, I have to admit that I felt pretty good about it.
Continue reading Metrics: Movie Review - District 9.
Estelle, Ludacris, John Legend - All Night Long
Eskay has the narrative of this song's history with the net and its origins.
An unfinished demo and a leak, basically, tied to an Estelle project. A true leak in the sense that, as I write this, lawyers and management firms are trying to neutralize this demo's circulation.
The hook is cut and pasted from Lionel Richie's corny '80s pop masterpiece, emboldened by shitty electro-grooves and segued by Luda's between the sheetz banter. In effect this song blows, unfinished rough draft or not.
Most links are dead, however, so this is kind of a cool commodity. Here's a protected ATG exclusive...
Black Milk - In the A.M.
One of my favorite artists in hip-hop; can't stress this enough. An extraordinary talent.
Can't tie this joint to a specific project, just some early morning rhymes spurned by restless creativity and, like, Insomnia.
Bangs hard as shit, though.
Black Milk - In the A.M.
Felt - Protagonists
The first leak from the third Felt LP.
Felt is Slug and Murs and a revolving producer. Each album is a tribute to a B-list actress. Not about the actress, more of a cheeky, playful name drop. Christina Ricci, Lisa Monet, etc.
The above LP intangibles (producer, actress) will be revealed in the coming days.
This aims for detached irony, but I find it a lame, pretentious theme. The work is solid, however, and worth tracking and ultimately copping provided the producer isn't on Def Jux.
"Protagonists," with its choppy, start-stop drums and sparse electric guitar sample, sounds like Def Jux. Damn.
Felt - Protagonists
Stimulus: Diddy a.k.a. Lectro Black - Last Train to Paris mixtape
I can't speak for Ramon or the rest of the ATG clan, but I have to confess: I'm a HUGE Diddy fan. Despite the man's unparalleled track record for destroying careers and lives, due to some sick fixation I can't get enough of his antics or unflappable knack for co-opting and exploding the popular music zeitgeist. This was my favorite song and video in middle school. He is and was the American Dream.
On the Last Train to Paris Mixtape (preceding the forthcoming Last Train to Paris album), we get introduced to "Lectro Black," the hilarious moniker for Diddy's new alter ego, perfectly timed, of course, to exploit the strain of watered down electronic dance music that has increasingly dominated pop, hip-hop and R&B roughly since Kanye West's chart-topping, Daft Punk-hybridizing "Stronger" in 2007.
The pulsating, club-hop mix (chopped by Chicago staple Felix da House Cat) is so far only available in giant mp3 format, but I'm crossing my fingers for a properly digestible version soon (please? I need my fix!).
Download it here and "Dance muthafuckas! Dance, I said!!"
Budden v. Raekwon makes the New York Times
When we decided to step in and give some context to the Wu vs. Joey Buddens debate, we didn't know the issue would blow up quite this much. After Jay Smooth got to pontificating, the Grey Lady weighed in this weekend in a characteristically broad-scoped piece about vets versus young bucks and rapping in the internet age (subjects we cover quite a bit). The piece doesn't really offer any real new insights, but is worth a look if only for the fact that it comes from The Paper of Record and marks Internet hero Budden's debut in that publication.
"When Two Rappers Collide, in Cyberspace and Elsewhere"
"When Two Rappers Collide, in Cyberspace and Elsewhere"
ATG Presents: Never Stepped On w / J. Couch - SPORTS
ATG's own J. Couch goes in.
It's been a minute folks, we apologize. The homie Couch has been busy making moves up and down the East Coast. Politics.
This morning, dude checks in with the beautiful and talented Quota to recap an extraordinary weekend of sports including Michael Vick's tax problems, Usain Bolt's turbo mode, and the AL Wild Card race.
Special congrats are in order, as it's late August and Couch's Rangers continue to flirt with the postseason. Stay tuned.
Wale - My Sweetie
Dope nugget leaked via Wale's Twitter account, Ill Roots.
And years later, a positive impact from the aforementioned, incessant marketing poison: rappers can leak their own shit directly, in real time.
Don't know about mixing Guinness with Dr. Pepper, but dig the theme, "If your last name got 13 letters this song for you." His personal elaboration after the jump.
Wale - My Sweetie
Continue reading Wale - My Sweetie.
"Run this Town" Music Video Trailer
Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kanye West - "Run This Town" Trailer
Remember when we told ya'll about the trailer promotion game gettin' heavy? We here at ATG remain excited to see the finished product. Even if the video looks like a bad Boys in the Hood, meets Mortal Kombat rendition.
Ill Doctrine: Joe Budden + Raekwon + hostility
Honestly, Ramon's nicer with the pen (and more timely). But a word from Jay Smooth is always cool, too.
The Next 48 hrs w/ Fabolous
If you follow the site, you know that Fab is one of the main guys we fuck with right about now. Check out part 1 of a three part video series documenting the release of Loso's Way, in stores now. Celebrity cameos and such.
Official Kid Cudi Album Cover Artwork
I'm diggin' it but it's definitely not what I expected. Editor's note: This shit is Fugly.
Cudi's debut album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day, drops Sept. 15th.
Mickey Factz + The Cool Kids + Lupe Fiasco inTokyo
For a performance at the 10th Anniversary Swagger Show.
"What day is it here?"
"Friday"
"What day is it in New York?"
"Thursday"
"We're in the future right now."
Stimulus: Shawn Chrystopher - A City With No Seasons
We're fans. You might know Shawn from his zeitgeisty "I Wear Glasses" series, but this isn't a mixtape, it's a free album; his debut, in fact.
We're not gonna pretend like we're bowled over by dude's lyricism or flow, but he has a sincerity and freshness of perspective that makes him a new voice with potential - no small thing in the crowded 'Net Rapper scene. Plus he produces his own shit and is an ace on the keys.
Check it out.
Metrics: Budden's fruitless feuds
ATG sizes it all up.
Joe Budden could do with a warm glass of shut-the-hell-up.
Rather than his forceful, personal, honest Mood Muzik mixtapes or his strong-suited pair of LPs or his ambitious lyrical capabilities, one of the decade's most compelling, volatile personas is defined by petty skirmishes with bigger names.
Continue reading Metrics: Budden's fruitless feuds.
Wale - Attention Deficit: Album Preview
Rap-Up got a rare listen to what's already been called the most sonically adventurous hip-hop album of the year, and they seem fairly pleased. Some have expressed concern over the quantity/quality of guest features, but we're still counted among the faithful.
Production by: Dave Sitek of TV On the Radio, Mark Ronson of Grammys/Amy Winehouse fame, Best Kept Secret of TMAN fame, and more. Appearences by: Rihanna, Bun B, K'naan, Gucci Mane, Travis Barker, etc.
Read all about it.
New Clipse video ft. Sk8board P - "I'm Good"
'
'Till the Casket Drops due out this October.
Homophobia, hip-hop, no homo, etc.
Slate's Jonah Weiner on the rise of "no homo" and homophobia's changing face in hip-hop. The timing of Kanye's backtracking opening line on Jay's new shit serves to validate this strong piece's timeliness.
The rap game? Homophobic? In other news, rappers enjoy sporting shiny metals.
"Cam'ron and the Diplomats are, ironically, among the most homoerotic MCs in rap...They wear pink and purple furs and brag regularly about how good they look. In the video for "Pop Champagne," Jim Jones and Juelz Santana giddily douse each other with frothy white geysers of bubbly. On Cam'ron's "Hey Ma," he describes having sex with a female paramour with seven vague words--"She was up in the Range, man"--but when the girl leaves, he immediately calls Santana to narrate the act in detail and, in a sense, to enjoy and consummate it fully."
Stimulus: Chamillionaire - Mixtape Messiah 7
The south's premier lyricist of the decade proves the claim embedded in this sentence. Act like you know.
UPDATE: This is part one of four. Disc 2 is dropping today.
Cham is responsible for, hands down, the best mixtape series of the decade; above Dedication, Mood Muzik, you name it. All the haters on the East Coast blogs are off.
Hilarious Drake spoofs - "This is not my best" and "C'est la vie"
This video almost had me in tears. Very well done, lol. Remember when Drake was all giddy about working with Jay and 'Ye and dating Rihanna and we feared things were gonna get rough for him? Well, after getting hated on for blackberry freestyles, an extremely awkward BET performance and questionable video making, the meteoric new star has arrived at the internet spoof phase.
"When I rap I oscillate my hand like this."
Ah well, it's all part of the game. It's the Real says "C'est la vie" after the jump.
Continue reading Hilarious Drake spoofs - "This is not my best" and "C'est la vie".
Blueprint 3 tracklisting: lotta 'Ye, lotta momentary flavors, one Queensbridge legend
Right after the jump, promise. ATG comes through with that breaking news.
Issues:
- No Eminem collabo; wishful thinking all along.
- Kanye West responsible for production on 12 out of the 15 tracks.
- The reported MGMT collab made the final cut.
- Guests include Kid Cudi, Rihanna, Drake, and....
- Fucking Mr. Hudson. Twice. In other words Jay takes young, mad gay rappers to task and then invites the really popular talent for his LP. This would be a potential concern except...
- Nas is here and on a song temptingly titled, "Empire State of Mind."
- No I.D. and Timbaland round out the beat duties.
ATG Presents: Prelude to The Blueprint 3
Without further ado, we give you our second mixtape: Prelude to The Blueprint 3, a careful collection of the god emcee's most definitive leaked tracks and guest features from the past year. In anticipation of the biggest rap album of 2009, Prelude was designed to whet appetites while shedding some light on Jigga's state of mind. It sounds like Jay's been sounding: clear, confident, seasoned and a little political - all with swag on levels heretofore unheard of. Its compositions feature a handful of bracing and aggressive samples, hinting forays into alternative genres like jazz, synth rock and world music.
Guest features include: Kanye West, M.I.A., Nas, Ludacris, Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, Coldplay and more.
The Blueprint 3 will be released on September 11; until then, we hope you enjoy Prelude. Tracklist and download after the jump.
Continue reading ATG Presents: Prelude to The Blueprint 3.
Metrics: K. West/Fine arts/Pop future
It makes sense that as we watch the music and persona of Kanye West drift into the outer reaches of the popular stratosphere, ripple effects would start to emerge. But I can only imagine what it was like to watch the pale, shirtless, "free spirits" midway through the interpretive dance of "Robocop" depicted above...
Continue reading Metrics: K. West/Fine arts/Pop future.
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