mixtape maestro (2.0)

Kinda frightening to think what the rap landscape will be like once Wayne has to spend his year in prison, innit?

Even at his most irritating ubiquitous, the man has the power to heighten hip hop-themed conversation unlike very few others, with whatever new song, remix, freestyle to emerge from him destined to light up the blogosphere commentary world with record speed no matter how great or meh said product is.

Knowing Weezy though, he’ll make sure the twelve month sentence will fly by without folks getting the chance to miss him too much, as he’s probably in the lab right this moment cooking up enough freestyle dishes to ensure one new lyrical treat premieres each of the three hundred and sixty-five days. Alongside “official” joints set for planned near-future releases both solo (the long pushed-back rap/ rock question mark Rebirth, The Carter IV) and label related (Young Money Fam; solo debuts from Mack Maine and Nikki Minaj), Wayne will likely remain just as omnipresent as he has been the past few years.

But to steer focus back to what this post was really supposed to be about…Wayne’s newest mixtape, No Ceilings, has hit the Webs (four days earlier than expected), and for all those longing to hear the Young Money king slather some of the hottest hip hop beats of 2009 (from Jay’s “Run This Town” to Gucci Mane’s “Wasted” to, er, the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling”) with his typically WTF vocabulary (you could make a drinking game out of the many creative ways he spins an “I’m the shit” boast or cleverly embeds an athlete’s name into a line)…think of this as an early Christmas present.

Catch some of our favorites below, including “Break Up”, a collaboration with Short Dawg and Gudda Gudda over the beat behind Mario’s current smash (and oh how much better that circular Bangladesh-produced loop sounds when it’s not being awkwardly used to support a R&B track), and “Throw It In The Bag”, which sees Wayne narrating the pleasures of lavish life-aided rap sex-mance (“Fuckin’ on Versace/ Napping on satin/ I love to hit it backwards, Call it Pig Latin…”) atop the seducingly hypnotic instrumental of Fabolous’ Dream-sampling “Bag” remix.

(Or you could simply save a bunch of time by downloading the entire [more often-than-not awesome mixtape] from Nahright.)

DL: “Break Up” (alt)

DL: “Throw It In The Bag (Remix)” (alt)

Poor Amerie.

Despite the fact that she consistently produces far more entertaining/ adventurous R&B than a majority of her contemporaries and continues to have the undying support of most critics, she just can’t catch a break when it comes to commercial success. Both her In Love & War lead singles, the pleasantly ’90′s throwback-ish “Why R U” and the crackling “Heard Em All” (probably the best of her endless “1 Thing” retreads) were/ are bonafide JAMS, but for whatever inexplicable reason, neither one have managed to catch fire on the charts the way they deserve.

Hopefully her label has enough confidence in her to give her one more shot at a hit single (y’know how record companies love to drop acts with the quickness these days), and if they do, we pray they plant their focus on really pushing the Trey Songz duet “Pretty Brown”, another lovely nod to ’90′s contemporary soul thanks to it’s memory-jogging sample of Mint Condition’s 1992 smash “Breakin’ My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes)”.

Sparking from the get-go with the familiar instrumental bursts that made the Mint Condition such a cherished favorite, “Pretty Brown” manages to sustain such high levels of pleasure throughout the rest of it’s length as Amerie and Trey circle round eachother’s high-pitched pipes, trying to figure out where all the heat went to in a once-solid romance. “Is it a crime to want that old thing back?/ Can it be wrong to miss the way you used to kiss me?” goes Amerie, her desperate, edge-of-sanity vocal still one of the greatest sounds to ever pierce the ears.

Catch an “alternate” version of the track featuring Lloyd Banks below, and don’t forget to pick up In Love & War when it drops November 3rd.

DL: “Pretty Brown (Remix)” (alt)

Seeing as though Timbaland and Keri Hilson’s attempt to re-create the sexy he-say/ she-say barb over Euro-pop beats magic of “The Way I Are” on her underrated In A Perfect World… single “Return The Favor” ended up being a major flop, it’s not all that surprising that for “Rumors”, their lone collaboration on Timbaland’s Shock Value 2, the duo would take a wildly different approach. What is surprising though, is how much a record that features not only Tim and Keri but also a cameo from Jay-Z, totally stinks.

Over a completely boring spare synth-and-tumbling drum shuffle that feels like it was concocted by a Timbaland protogee rather than the man himself, Keri extends what might have been an okay hook or bridge about dismissing ever-gabbing haters over two verses that fail to keep your attention even a few lines in, while Jay yawns through another forgettable sixteen.

Every few years Timbaland seems to hit these creative droughts where he’s simply re-heating old beats. And right now, he sounds like he’s there again, this time dragging a couple others into his un-inspired funk along the way. We say pass.

DL: “Rumors” (alt)

If Emmy The Great’s fall of ’08 gem “We Almost Had A Baby” had been delivered by some R&B diva-to-be, the ’50′s-flavored ball of melodic sugar in which she narrates a twisted revenge fantasy of getting pregnant by some heart-crushing ex simply so she “could have something above (him)” would have been answered back via numerous rapper-laced remixes by now, with many emcees excitedly competing to see who could drop the cruelest rhymes about how she’s nothing but a loony groupie chick.

Alas it wasn’t, so the only response Emmy’s awarded arrives from this year-later semi-cover by Micah P. Hinson, a crit-approved, indie-rock singer-songwriter who spends the first half of the song gruffily mimicking the original’s lyrics from the opposite perspective.

Mid-way through though, Hinson changes course, running off on his own tangent to flesh out the male perspective. Unfortunately, he can’t really match the colorful kookiness of Emmy’s pen, only able to contribute a half-hearted semi-apology about how he was “only a kid” when they had their fling and really hadn’t even thought of her at all after they went their separate ways.

Boo. Micah’s rendition may still be one of the highlights of his latest album, the excellently titled all-covers set, All Dressed Up and Smelling of Strangers (featuring compelling takes on overly-familiar tunes from the likes of The Beatles, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan and Frank Sinatra), but as far as creative input goes, if he wasn’t going to deliver a straight-forward remake, he could have repped for the fella’s a lot better than he does here.

Hopefully some other indie dude, hungry mixtape rapper (or, hell, R. Kelly) will one day come across the Emmy original and give it the true juicy soapy response it begs for.

DL: “We Almost Had A Baby (Emmy The Great Cover)” (alt)

Below, catch the video for Micah’s cover of “Are You Lonesome Tonight”:

Are You Lonesome Tonight

Micah P. | MySpace Video

Weezer will likely forever more incite heated commentary from listeners on whichever album era it was when the band/ Rivers Cuomo officially “jumped the shark”, but you still have to kinda give it up for the boys for continuing to press on in the face of ever-present “why won’t they just retire?” balking, even if it’s a bit tough to disagree with that sentiment.

At least new single “If You’re Wondering If I Want You To (I Want You To)”, the lead cut from the band’s Raditude, is fun enough to temporarily distract you from pondering over the confusing entity Weezer has become over the years. It’s happy-go-lucky, “Walking On Sunshine”-like power-pop plodding making for a delightful three minute toe-tapper, “Wondering” also benefits from River’s umpteenth lyrical well-dipping into the gawky bliss of young love, it’s “boy loves girl” theme entertainingly speckled with references to “Slayer T-shirts”, viewings of Titanic, trips to Best Buy and meat loaf dinner with her parents (“I dug you so much/ I took one for the team”, Cuomo, a World’s Sexiest Vegetarian nominee, sings).

The same surprisingly likable results also emerge from the recently leaked, highly anticipated Weezer/ Weezy collabo “Can’t Stop Partying”, a brow-raising number co-written by Jermaine Dupri (!?!) that was originally heard in oddly somber acoustic demo form on Rivers’ compilation sequel Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo.

Yeah, Cuomo still sounds mega-silly vocalizing some mocking rap star fantasy that has him downing Patron and E tablets while kicking it with his “deep posse” in the hottest clubs’ VIP sections (even if it can looked at as some sort of extension of “Buddy Holly”‘s awkward “what’s with these homies dissin’ my girl?” urban-speak), but we’d be foolish in denying the guilty pleasure glee that’s stirred up in “Partying”‘s newfound glossy pop production polish (perfect for Top 40 spinning betwixt similar goof-pop entries by 3Oh3! and Cobra Starship) and Lil’ Wayne goblin-grinning his way through lines like “Party like tomorrow is my funeral/ Gotta stop mixing alcohol with pharmaceuticals”.

Raditude drops November 3rd.

DL: “Can’t Stop Partying” (alt)

The go-to gal when it’s odes of heartbreak and loneliness dressed in twinkly, melancholic arrangements you crave to help get you through a gray-skied afternoon, Swedish songbird El Perro del Mar keeps chugging out that depressing bewitch-craft on “Change of Heart”, the first single off her latest collection, the recently-released-in-the-States EP Love Is Not Pop.

A bit musically denser than the twee orchestral seasonings that framed her previous works (yet still somehow still able to grasp her signature stamp of weightlessness), “Change” rides along a ’70′s rock-inspired soundbed of thickened bass grooves and echo-y guitar curlicues that drift in and out of a dream-like haze as Mar’s forlorn chirp mourns yet another dead-end romance.

It’s gorgeously transfixing stuff, an aesthetic brilliantly matched in it’s accompanying clip featuring the mesmerizing visuals of two golden-hued bodybuilders doing some amazingly slo-mo’ed performance art choreography.

El Perro Del Mar “Change Of Heart” from The Control Group on Vimeo.

Well damn, that was fast.

In record time, Rihanna’s underwhelming “comeback” single “Russian Roulette” has already spawned a remix. And to be honest, if we had heard this version, featuring a “killer” (heh) intro sixteen from Kardinal Offishall, first, we would have had better things to say about the record initially.

“Russian roulette/ My name’s written on your bullet/ Hollow points pointing at your heart/ Gwan, pull it!” the Canadian emcee opens, his voice adding an exciting new layer of menace to the track’s other ominous goings-on, and, like magic, instantly upgrading the track from so-so likable to a hot new favorite (which is quite a feat seeing as though we would have probably had the opposite reaction if Jay-Z’s portion on “Umbrella” hadn’t arrived until a few days after that record premiered, so bravo KO!!).

If radio attaches itself to this take, we definitely won’t mind having to hear it’s joy-sapping doom-and-gloom spew from our speakers over and over again.

DL: “Russian Roulette (Remix)” (alt)

After spending a large part of 2009 having to deal with the embarrassment of having everyone know (and freely share their opinions and concerns) about a certain Grammy night ordeal, you would think that Rihanna, one of the decade’s top singles artist, would deliver an upbeat fourth album lead-off single that was all shades of game-changing kick-ass to succinctly remind the masses of how she really became a household name in the first place.

Instead, as the first taste of the November-set Rated R, Ri-Ri has oddly chosen to give us a Ne-Yo co-penned ballad that utilizes the title “Russian Roulette” as a metaphor for taking a chance on love over a backing track that’s all intense and menacing, with rolled dice (or is that the crackle of a barrel turning?) and gun shot sound effects thrown in to add more oomph to it’s darkened moodiness.

We’ll give “Roulette” a few points for effectively illustrating the tense stand-off between the song’s two lovers, with a relentless heartbeat-like drum stomp and the occasionally haunting lyric (“…And then I get a scary thought/ That he’s here means he’s never lost”) doing enough to bring about a couple of arm goosebumps. But following the first few curious listens, it’s spooky intrigue fades, exposing it for the largely lackluster “comeback” it is.

Put simply, if we wanted noir-ish ambiance from Rihanna right now, we’d revisit her and Ne-Yo’s previous single collaboration “Unfaithful”; for goth-toned pop, we’d rather give “Disturbia” a re-spin (and if we wanted gun shot-accented R&B, Lloyd’s “Pusha” would be the ticket).

“Russian Roulette” is okay (in a third or fourth single kind of way), but as the first solo thing to emerge from the singer following all that Chris Brown drama, releasing an eardrum-rupturing club-pop confection (possibly about how much angry lil’ ex-boyfriends suck) would have been far more appreciated.

Rated R arrives November 23rd.

“Russian Roulette”:

Los Angeles-based four-piece King Washington describe their music as “a throwback to when rock and roll was a songwriter’s game” and we couldn’t agree more after investing a few minutes of our time enjoying their pleasant brand of three-part male harmony blessed, ’60′s/ 70′s-influenced pop/ rock.

Locking onto easily accessible melodies and lyricism that will likely inspire many “Beatles-esque”-focused critical write-ups once their debut EP arrives next year, Washington make it seem like the past forty years in music never happened, mastering this sunny simplicity in their sound that comes across as oh-so-refreshing during a time when all new music that arises seem a little too desperate in their attempt to invent their own hyphen-heavy sub-genre.

Below, dig into the loose playfulness of “I Get By” or the sunshiny, doo-wop-like structuring of (our favorite) “Angela” (where lead vocalist/ rhythm guitarist Tyson Ritter’s voice reaches a desperate rasp as he longs for the titular woman to rescue him from the depressingly hum-drum existence he currently calls life), and take note of the feel-good high that washes over you when listening to them.

DL: “I Get By” (alt)

DL: “Angela” (alt)

As pop songs go, “Fight For This Love”, the debut solo single from Girls Aloud member/ X-Factor judge Cheryl Cole is definitely an earworm, matching sturdy lessons in love (summary: romantic relationships aren’t meant to be a walk in the park, they constantly require work on both partner’s parts) with a nicely subdued lite R&B-dance production buzz that’s further heightened by string melody snippets ripped straight from K Ci & JoJo’s wedding staple “All My Life” and a percussion thump focused breakdown.

But with as many replay spins we’ve given it since first hearing it a while back, there’s always been something that annoyed us about it that we couldn’t quite put our finger on. After recently coming across the long-ago leaked demo version, performed by co-songwriter Andre Merritt (Rihanna’s “Disturbia”, Chris Brown’s “Forever”), we quickly figured out what the source of our irritation was: Cheryl Cole herself.

Cole’s a decent vocalist, but her overall contribution feels almost too anonymous, especially the icy-cold tone she brings to the verses (only Rihanna really succeeds at sounding like a dead-eyed zombie these days). Merritt’s suave tenor, on the other hand, brings a certain level of warmth to “Fight” that makes it flow so much more better, from the falsetto-lined chorus to the little R&B trills he comfortably sneaks into the verses.

What do y’all think? Peep Cheryl’s official “Fight” video here then check out a slightly humorous meshing of the same video with Merritt’s vocal (dubbed “The Perfect Love”) here and tell us which one you dig more?

DL: “Fight For This Love (Demo)” (alt)