After having to sit through the endless ramblings found on last week’s underwhelming “ruff mix” leak of Kanye’s Beyonce and Charlie Wilson-aided collabo “See Me Now” (we’ll wait for the edited-down, finalized version of that one, thank you very much), it’s sooooo nice to be able to comfortably jump back on the “Yeezy is ace” bandwagon with the short and solid, track-stealing verse he brings to the mid-section of Kid Cudi‘s latest leakage, “Wylin Cause I’m Young”.
Atop an eerie lo-fi rumble of a beat that sounds like something demonic creatures of the night would two-step to, Cudi and West team up to basically relate the benefits of being debauchery-loving rock stars, boasting of globe-trotting escapades filled with endless amounts of drug and liquor and an ever present bevy of groupie chicks keeping them feeling “hunks”.
Cudi’s depiction of the wealthy, “untamed youth” lifestyle rides on (what else but) a darkly alluring moodiness (“I guess the fact my father smoke and drank/ Made it a young nigga destiny to do the exact thing”), but it’s West who ultimately takes the blue ribbon prize here, brightening things up with a humorous verse in which he confesses of “praying to a box of Mags” and Viagra that he’ll still be able to satisfy the ladies when he’s of the “Geezer…Ebenezer” age.
With B.o.B currently doing such a fine job holding down the hip-poppy, “sometimes I rap, sometimes I sing” lane, it almost feels pointless for Kid Cudi to try to work the same path, yet here he is anyway, maneuvering his better-than-average shower vocals through the buffed pop/ rock crunch of new track “Erase Me”, a cut that’s just begging to be handed over to Rivers Cuomo & Co. for the next Weezer project.
Finding him bragging about how his girlfriend can’t stand him, yet finds it impossible stay away from him (“It’s like I’m her new nightmare/ She ain’t escapin’/ It makes me feel a bit complete”), and featuring a mostly clumsy Kanye West guest verse that’s somewhat rescued by the memorable sixteen-capper “I hope you die-arrhea”, “Erase Me” (from the forthcoming Man On The Moon II: The Legend Of Mr. Rager album) manages to sound like something that will likely end up peaking in the upper reaches of the Billboard Hot 100 sometime within the next few months (whether you want it to or not), but damn…for a song that boasts both Cudi and Kanye and producer Jim Jonsin, it’s a shame that ho-hum (or worse…WTF?!?) is the best way we can think to describe it.
Somebody please tell us that this isn’t the “revolution” that Cudi was referring to on that last joint of his.
Alt-country-tinged indie-pop singer-songwriter Lissie has received plenty of acclaim within the past year, winning over critics with last year’s Why You Runnin’ EP, then sending the blogosphere all gaga over her rustic renditions of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance”, Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” and Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness”. That adoration should only continue as more ears become enamored over the Fleetwood Mac-evocation and heartland charm found within her newly dropped major label debut Catching A Tiger, a surefire bet for Best New Artist attention come next year’s Grammy’s.
On stand-out album track “Stranger”, Lissie nicely blends her classic C&W influences with the dense ’60′s girl group shimmer of Phil Spector “Wall of Sound” pop, but she manages to avoid the doe-eyed girlishness that typified most of those acts, her whiskey-soaked delivery presenting her as no dainty pushover as she dismisses the advances of a wannabe suitor.
Instantly turned off when she notices the ring on his finger (“I thought you said/ That you were single,” she dryly growls), Liss does her best to make him feel as silly and small as possible over the next three minutes, hitting him with a series of turn-downs that build from the simple and direct (“You’re not the kind of man that I wanna give my love”) to menacing threats (“This thing goes, you’ll just be rubble”) as he continually refuses to acknowledge her non-interest in him.
As salty as her lyrics get, though, the arrangement’s twinkling gallop and churn coasts along nicely, ending on an anthemic high of twangy bliss that only heightens the independent woman pride (“I’m not yours, I am mine”) she fades out with.
The first single off Kid Cudi‘s upcoming sophomore album Man On The Moon II: Legend Of Mr. Rager, “REVOFEV”, short for “Revolution of Evolution”, offers a repeat dishing of the “lonely stoner”‘s signature contemplative sing-rap style, with Cudi gifting “the kids” standard words-of-wisdom preachings (“Wake up/ Things might get rough/ No need to stress/ Keeps you down too much”) and bland semi-rebel musings (“Where will you be for the revolution?”) that, well, only an overly-blunted guy like himself would think of as “deep” when they’re holed up alone in a studio at whatever-a.m. in the morning, surrounding (and similarly brain-muddled) entourage/ “yes”-men cheering him along outside the vocal booth via silent “Chuuuch!!” nods.
That “REVOFEV” is filled with such underwhelming lyrical scribblings as the aforementioned lands as extremely frustrating when its backing track (handled by Plain Pat) is as striking as it is: A sinister vintage (soul? prog-rock?) loop plod heightened with sharp string stabs, ached “whoa-oh-oh” ad-libs and marching band drums mimicking battle noise, the arrangement tinges with dark-ish feelings of paranoia and chaos, while at times sounding as if the entire world is about to succumb to some sort of Armageddon at any moment.
So how is it, after no doubt being bombarded with this amazing beat on repeated loop, was Cudi not inspired enough to color it with stronger songwriting than the demo-like placeholder lines it otherwise features? Couldn’t we have maybe received a lil’ glimpse of this forthcoming “revolution”, lyrics-wise?
Double sigh Cudi. We’ll accept this for now (and just assume it’ll sound better in the context of the album), but we’re definitely expecting far better variations of your druggy emo-rap craft when the full-length drops.
Snatch it up below, then peep a fantastic live cover of Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness” (props to We All Want Someone To Shout For) by on-the-rise sensation Lissie.
These days, if you’re a new rapper looking to stand-out amongst an ever-growing crowd of up-and-comers, the trick to quickly make your way to the top of the heap is to pick a indie favorite to rhyme over. Past blogosphere successes of this practice have included Drake, Kid Cudi, Thelophilus London and Chiddy Bang, though in recent days, much attention has been placed upon Long Island newcomer Hoodie Allen and his flip on Marina & The Diamonds‘ self-encouragement anthem “I Am Not A Robot”.
Chopping, dicing and “chipmunk-ing” Marina’s voice to fit the re-imagining’s light upbeat shuffle, Hoodie’s “Robot” (from the upcoming, all-Marina-sampling mixtape, The Diamond Cuts) doesn’t really offer anything too profound lyrically, but it’s a likable enough “let me introduce myself”-type-of ditty that not only nails the “fun rap” niche acts like B.o.B and the aforementioned Chiddy are currently winning with, but ultimately accomplishes it’s duty in piquing interest into what else Allen will be dishing out down the road.
Catch the track below or here, then peep Hoodie’s excellent updating of the Pharcyde classic “Passin’ Me By” (from last year’s Making Waves release).
Following weeks of heavy blog/ Twitter buzz in anticipation of his newest mixtape I Want You, Brooklyn rapper/ singer Theophilus London has further solidified his promise of being the next hipster hip hop sensation to likely break big (a la Kid Cudi and B.o.B) with the unleashing of the doper-than-dope full project on Thursday.
In line with previous heralded collections JAM! and This Charming Mixtape (the latter of which housed one of our favorite overall cuts from 2009, an infectious electro-rap re-haul of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”), I Want You‘s display of slick, non-gangsta rhymes atop blog-baiting samples (musical references here include Ellie Goulding, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Tweet, Discovery and Vampire Weekend) offers an endlessly fascinating (and quite groovalicious) ride that should easily keep people satisfied well into next year.
Grab the entire set here (if only so you can boast of being a fan before London was enjoying multiple entries on the Hot 100, a future that seems to be a given), or simply check out some of our highlights below: the “Giving Up The Gun”-bootleg “Give It Up Dad” and the new wave-ish delight “Sorry To Interrupt”.
It’s no question that the greatest thing to emerge from the introductory season of HBO’s mildly received, new original How To Make It In America (aside from Kid Cudi’s thespian contribution) is the show’s theme song “I Need A Dollar”.
Sounding like it was peeled directly off an old Bill Withers’ album, the haunting track, by Cali-born Stones Throw-signed vocalist Aloe Blacc, is a potent slice of gritty throwback soul that compellingly nails the frustrations of being down and out.
“I need a dollar dollar/ Dollar that’s what I need,” Blacc moans on the hook, his weathered tenor projecting nothing but sunless woe as the arrangement’s insistent horn blurts and piano key strut illustrate the caged-in suffocation he’s mired in. And little hope emerges as the track progresses, it’s depressive, spiritual-esque air growing even thicker with gloom as Blacc unsuccessfully pleas for his boss not to let him go (“But he gave me my last paycheck and he sent me on out the door”) and ends up spending the last of his dough on his “good ol’ buddies” whiskey and wine in an attempt to grasp some sort of temporary solace.
Is it a bit of a “Debbie Downer” record? Totally. But damn if it’s polished retro sound and bleak, relevant-for-today narrative (especially heart-crushing inquiries to the skies like “What in the world am I gonna to do tomorrow?”) don’t grab you smack dab in the middle of your gut, making for a handy go-to reference to quiet “fogey”-ish acquaintances who spend their days endlessly whining about how today’s music lacks the depth and soul of yesteryear.
Catch the video below, anticipate Aloe Blacc’s Good Things album sometime later this year, then take a listen to an amazing gem from the singer’s 2006 set Shine Through: a cover of John Legend’s “Ordinary People” done entirely en español (!!!) and given a light tropical spritz.
Snoop and Cudi go a bit “green” on this Diplo-produced collaboration for the former’s deluxe edition re-release of his Malice N Wonderland album (entitled More Malice, of course).
Beyond a slightly engaging, descending bubble-pop beat supporting the verses and one semi-humorous line from the Doggfather (“Groupies on my head like a kufi”), though, the track never quite lands as the essential release it should be, especially considering the star power it boasts. Shall we say its lacking a certain…ahem, spark? Or maybe we’re just a little too distracted by the creepy, mutated hand Snoop’s sporting in the pic seen left to even give the song a good listen. (Look at it though, aren’t his fingers weird-looking?)
More Malice, which includes five new cuts, a couple remixes and a mini-movie (!!!), drops March 23rd.
Speaking of Cudi, as a bonus, peep an Iron & Wine-sampling, electro-folk (?) cover of the rapper’s woozy single “Pursuit of Happiness” by L.A. newcomers Barbara that works far better than it really should.
British electro-pop singer/ songwriter/ producer Dan Black shook up the music blog scene back in 2008 with his mash-up-to-the-next-level “HYPNTZ”, a half-sung cover of Notorious BIG’s “Hypnotize” backed by an entrancing beat that merged bits of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” with parts of the soundtrack to John Carpenter’s 1984 sci-fi flick Starman. In short, the aural patchwork was utterly brilliant, the kind of stop-you-in-your-tracks introductory record that instantly had you eager to hear more of what this genre-blurring newbie (a sort of modern-day Beck) had to offer in the future.
Two years later, on the eve of the U.S. premiere of his all-originals debut UN (due February 16th, and featuring the Kid Cudi-featured remix of his non-Biggie-”borrowing” “HYPNTZ” rewrite “Symphonies”), Black has put together six more of these dope mix-and-match creations for his new (and free!!) mixtape Weird Science.
You can fnd the entire set here, but check out a couple of our highlights, the Madonna & Kate Bush-fusing “Gimme Into The Cloudbusting” and “Slave To Paper” (a gorgeous synthesis of some hazy 80′s pop number, Dizzee Rascal’s “Stand Up Tall” and a teeny-weeny drum snippet of Missy Elliott’s “Beep Me 911″) below:
At one point we would have been more than happy to hear every rapper possible be featured on endless remixes of Consequence‘s “Whatever You Want” because the track was just…that…good. Twomixes later though, we gotta admit that that idea has lost much of it’s appeal.
Most of that weariness arises from the fact that this much-anticipated third “Whatever” installment (a Bad Boy Remix, hyping the reunion of Diddy and once-again-protégées The LOX) completely fumbles at re-creating the fun-loving air of it’s predecessors.
We get that the street-toughened LOX never settled comfortably with the glittery suits/ money flashing/ ’80′s-pop sampling goings-on that framed Bad Boy’s late ’90′s heyday (that was the whole point of them leaving the label in the first place, right?), but you would think that given this second (Third? Fourth?) chance had a career re-ignition, the boys would sound a little more inspired than they do here.
Instead, they come across like they lost some sort of bet and were forced to appear here, contributing oh-so-bored verses about living the lavish life that make being wealthy feel as entertaining as clipping your toenails. Even Diddy, King of the Monotone Mic Presence, reads fatigued, sleep-walking his way through “throw your hands in the air” hype-man orders as if distracted by the thoughts of the hundred and one other things he’d rather be doing at the moment.
What’s the point of being excited about a LOX/ Diddy reconciliation if all the members involved still sound as disinterested in the situation as they did before the split up?
As nice as it is to get free music, think of how much better your soul would feel if you purchased it the old-fashioned way.
*
Come on, use Amazon or iTunes and help support your favorite artists so they can continue to give us the great sounds we love.
*
(MP3 posts are for promotional and/ or previewing purposes only; if any artist or their representation wish to have the links removed, contact me and I will happily comply!)
After having to sit through the endless ramblings found on last week’s underwhelming “ruff mix” leak of Kanye’s Beyonce and Charlie Wilson-aided collabo “See Me Now” (we’ll wait for the edited-down, finalized version of that one, thank you very much), it’s sooooo nice to be able to comfortably jump back on the “Yeezy is ace” bandwagon with the short and solid, track-stealing verse he brings to the mid-section of Kid Cudi‘s latest leakage, “Wylin Cause I’m Young”. 
Recent Comments