Sunday, August 30, 2015
Kanye West; Enough Said
Nicki tried to steal the internet away with her (definitely fake) Miley Cyrus hate (which I didn't oppose, because Miley killed these VMA's and not in a good way), but did she REALLY think she was going to take the spotlight away from Kanye West? Not even if Kanye had booty shots. Posting for Kanye West appreciation; currently I'm sitting (about an hour after the actual speech) re-watching Kanye's 2015's VMA speech. I'm almost in tears (again) at how awesome this shit is (don't judge me, sometimes I cry at awesomeness). I'll admit, I don't listen to Kanye's music willingly, and I don't like to say Kanye is one to rant just for the sake of ranting, I've always listened to what Kanye has had to say. I don't like to say I'm a fan of Kanye West because of his "artistry", I don't preach about how "deep" Kanye is, and I will never kiss the ground that a man wearing a fucking ADIDAS YEEZY BOOST walks on... don't get it twisted. Kanye fucked up with "New Slaves", and lot of other shit, I'm not going to suck up. But when it come to genuine people, when it comes to appreciating the art of it all, and when it comes to putting rap on the map (whether good attention or bad attention), Kanye NEVER disappoints, and his 2015 VMA's speech might be the realest I have ever heard. Nothing else to say here, full screen it and enjoy.
(*I do not own this video, or the rights to it*)
Monday, August 24, 2015
Mac Miller's GO:OD A.M: What Do You Expect?
From Easy Mac With The Cheesy Raps to ImMACulate (I just made that up, Em style). From KIDS to Macadelic. From Blue Slide Park to Watching Movies With The Sound Off, Mac Miller has transformed himself into a sort of morphing, conscious, yet heavily drug influenced Two Face of the rap industry. On one side of it all, you have the KIDS version of Mac. Clean rap (as in strictly weed and no other "influences"), catchy hooks, and an incredibly likable character that makes music based on the stoner life. Then comes the morphing process, and you get Watching Movies With The Sound Off (and not to mention Faces) Mac Miller. Suddenly a switch is flipped; the music becomes more abstract along with the rhymes, the subject matter becomes something only a drugged out rock star in the 60s could relate to, and Mac taps into an alter ego of sorts. Both sides of Mac have gained fans (personally Faces got my attention, which led to Watching Movies With The Sound Off ), but there is only 1 Mac. Which Mac will we see on his upcoming album, GO:OD A.M.?
A clean Mac Miller. In case you haven't been keeping up with Mac since his resurfacing back into the music scene, he recently moved to New York with his girlfriend, and is currently in the process of keeping clean of drugs (although not alcohol as seen by his Breakfast Club interview, he admits it's a work in process). Mac knows he disappeared and will tell you himself, but for good reason. He kicked the bad habits (most of them), and a big part of this is due to his moving to legendary producer Rick Rubin's home in Malibu for the summer of 2014. " For 2 to 3 years, I was just numb," Mac was quoted as saying in an interview with Grantland. "So when you're coming out of that, it's all going to come out at once. I was crying every day."
With Mac's drug problem being a big part of his music making process, it would be safe to assume that we'd see quite a different Mac on his upcoming GO:OD AM album, set for a September 18th release. With both singles that have been released, it's hard to tell what to expect from Mac's upcoming album (I've learned not to judge an album based on a single), but we do see some comedy with "100 Grandkids", and we do hear Mac back to his rappity rap shit on "Break The Law."
Mac recently (finally) signed a major label deal with Warner Bros. for $10 million. Now if you know Mac Miller and how he's come up in rap, a lot of his fans like to take his side because he's been independent all of these years (I'd hope you wouldn't just like a rapper because he's independent, but some people enjoy being rebels without a cause), so Mac's signing a deal with a Major definitely raises some flags amongst his loyal fans, but Mac encourages people not to worry about his music changing because creatively he will still go through the same process. Mac says in his interview with The Breakfast Club on Power 105.1; "That was a big thing. There's no executive producer, there's no A&R. There were labels that I got that vibe from, but with Warner, they said you do you, and whenever you want to give us a single, let us know."
Mac also explained the album title, GO:OD A.M.: "I didn't like Good Morning as a title, but I liked it as a concept. I wanted the album to be like, that breath of fresh air. I wanted the idea to be refreshing. You know, you wake up in the morning and it's new." Mac also went on to explain that producer No I.D. gave him the idea for the album title.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxkkvNTU0qo
(Mac's second single, "Break The Law", *I do not own these videos or the rights to them*)
Faces and Watching Movies With The Sound Off are 2 of Mac's absolute best projects. Now admittedly I haven't extensively listened to all of KIDS or Best Day Ever (what Mac's diehards say are some of his best projects), but when I hear things like "Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza" or 'Senior Skip Day", I have to admit I'm not impressed. I don't hear the spitting ability as something like "Here We Go" off of Faces, and I don't hear the abstract sound that makes him different from every other rapper on the planet like "The Star Room" off of Watching Movies With The Sound Off. Both of these projects give Mac that "it" factor that he just doesn't have on his early mix tapes. These 2 projects are Mac's Two-Face to his Harvey Dent (meaning musically AND lyrically, WMWTSO and Faces are Mac at his best). I can only hope that Mac's "alter ego" doesn't lead to a complete relapse, and his drug-influenced (it'd be wrong to say "greatness") music doesn't mean the death of him in the end.
A clean Mac Miller. In case you haven't been keeping up with Mac since his resurfacing back into the music scene, he recently moved to New York with his girlfriend, and is currently in the process of keeping clean of drugs (although not alcohol as seen by his Breakfast Club interview, he admits it's a work in process). Mac knows he disappeared and will tell you himself, but for good reason. He kicked the bad habits (most of them), and a big part of this is due to his moving to legendary producer Rick Rubin's home in Malibu for the summer of 2014. " For 2 to 3 years, I was just numb," Mac was quoted as saying in an interview with Grantland. "So when you're coming out of that, it's all going to come out at once. I was crying every day."
With Mac's drug problem being a big part of his music making process, it would be safe to assume that we'd see quite a different Mac on his upcoming GO:OD AM album, set for a September 18th release. With both singles that have been released, it's hard to tell what to expect from Mac's upcoming album (I've learned not to judge an album based on a single), but we do see some comedy with "100 Grandkids", and we do hear Mac back to his rappity rap shit on "Break The Law."
Mac recently (finally) signed a major label deal with Warner Bros. for $10 million. Now if you know Mac Miller and how he's come up in rap, a lot of his fans like to take his side because he's been independent all of these years (I'd hope you wouldn't just like a rapper because he's independent, but some people enjoy being rebels without a cause), so Mac's signing a deal with a Major definitely raises some flags amongst his loyal fans, but Mac encourages people not to worry about his music changing because creatively he will still go through the same process. Mac says in his interview with The Breakfast Club on Power 105.1; "That was a big thing. There's no executive producer, there's no A&R. There were labels that I got that vibe from, but with Warner, they said you do you, and whenever you want to give us a single, let us know."
Mac also explained the album title, GO:OD A.M.: "I didn't like Good Morning as a title, but I liked it as a concept. I wanted the album to be like, that breath of fresh air. I wanted the idea to be refreshing. You know, you wake up in the morning and it's new." Mac also went on to explain that producer No I.D. gave him the idea for the album title.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxkkvNTU0qo
(Mac's second single, "Break The Law", *I do not own these videos or the rights to them*)
Faces and Watching Movies With The Sound Off are 2 of Mac's absolute best projects. Now admittedly I haven't extensively listened to all of KIDS or Best Day Ever (what Mac's diehards say are some of his best projects), but when I hear things like "Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza" or 'Senior Skip Day", I have to admit I'm not impressed. I don't hear the spitting ability as something like "Here We Go" off of Faces, and I don't hear the abstract sound that makes him different from every other rapper on the planet like "The Star Room" off of Watching Movies With The Sound Off. Both of these projects give Mac that "it" factor that he just doesn't have on his early mix tapes. These 2 projects are Mac's Two-Face to his Harvey Dent (meaning musically AND lyrically, WMWTSO and Faces are Mac at his best). I can only hope that Mac's "alter ego" doesn't lead to a complete relapse, and his drug-influenced (it'd be wrong to say "greatness") music doesn't mean the death of him in the end.
Friday, August 21, 2015
What Compton: The Soundtrack Has Done (Kind Of, Not Really An Album Review)
In a realistic, sad world, a hip hop blogger/writer has to find a way to be able to give an honest, unbiased review of music they don't care about. They listen to stale artists day after day to be able to get a review of an album out, and when it comes to the "actually being able to listen and enjoy the music" aspect of it all, love is lost. As a hip hop blogger/writer, this happens to me at times as well. Is it because the shelf life of a song nowadays is a day? Does social media ruin the impact that the music has on people? Or are artists just not making music that measures up to our expectations anymore? These are questions that not just the writers, but die hard rap fans think about constantly, but recently an album dropped that made me forget about all of that, and allowed me to get back to enjoying the music. Compton: The Soundtrack has opened up my eyes on the musical aspect of rap, and the practice of not only perfecting an album's overall sound quality, but crafting the perfect song with the right people. I refuse to do an album review on Compton: The Soundtrack, those are out there if that's what you want, so instead, I've decided to list a few things about the soundtrack that you don't hear in hip hop today (and maybe a few things that I liked about it, but that's beside the point).
Soulful, Emotional Singing
It's been quite awhile since I've heard anything in hip hop that has allowed the listener to understand what the artist is going through, where he/she is from, etc., and for some reason I have truly connected with Dr. Dre on Compton: The Soundtrack. It'd be wrong to say that Dre has updated people on what he has been up to since his last album release, but Compton: The Soundtrack does an incredible job of making it easier to connect emotionally with a billionaire. The singers Dre reaches out to on the album might not have been big names we had heard before, but ones who played a very crucial part in the sound of each song. Justus and BJ The Chicago Kid's voices on "It's All On Me" truly portray the sound of a man who has dealt with stress to a breaking point. Marsha Ambrosius and Andersen .Paak bring the soul to a high on "All In A Day's Work", and Andersen .Paak's voice on "Animals" says a lot about how residents of Compton feel about the way their city is depicted. If hip hop had more artists that devoted themselves to relating with their fans, with voices that have emotional range that make you really think about the subject matter, then hip hop wouldn't be where it is now.
The Breakdown Of A Song
It's also been a long time since I've heard anything in hip hop that doesn't sound repetitive. After a certain while, the music just becomes a beat, or even worse, the music becomes complete noise, almost as if someone plays the music just to have some background distraction, and not actually playing the music for how great it truly is. Anyways, Dr. Dre flips this on its ear. Sometimes it's 50/50 when a song can sound great or terrible when the beat completely flips into something else, but Dr. Dre made a point to have a point. Towards the ending in "All In A Day's Work", Dre and protégé singer Andersen .Paak do make a point that symbolizes Dre's career as of the last 16 years: "back to work." In the song "Issues" featuring Ice Cube, Andersen .Paak and Dem Jointz, .Paak's (ironic to say just his last name) singing breakdown is great. It' almost an eye opening view of Compton and what it is. The gunshots and the helicopter sounds only paint the picture more vividly. If hip hop had more artists that knew how to put together a complete song and get to a point, a message with their song, then it wouldn't be looked down upon and spoken ill of as it is now.
Cadences
Another thing that Dre brings to the table with Compton: The Soundtrack that you just don't see in rap anymore is cadence. Now for those who don't know what cadence is, cadence is the way an artist goes about singing or rapping their part in the song. So if an artist is angry in the song, you should hear their anger, or if the artist is truly hurt and expressing it in the song, you would be able to hear the cracks and trembles in their voice, and the pain being expressed by the artist. Dre finds ways for not only himself, but the artists he features to reach their maximum potential possible on each cut (as we know, Dre is a perfectionist, he'll admit it and people he's worked with will tell you). Dre's 2nd verse on "All In A Day's Work" is a perfect example of his frustration/anger with what hip hop has turned into. On Game's song "Just Another Day", his flow and delivery is as vicious and tenacious as Game is known to be, and his talks of coming up in the game (ha) and growing up in Compton is a great reason for Game to show that he has a fire for what he does, and that he's electric about his journey from where he came to where he is now. If hip hop had more artists that spit and spat the way they felt, and actually showed emotion in their music as opposed to acting like a bunch of money grabbing, expensive car driving robots, then hip hop would be in a better place.
Dr. Dre's mere presence almost forces artists to step their game up. Once you start working with The Good Doctor, you're supposed to give your all, or you can leave the studio. From listening to interviews of countless people working with Dre, the likes of the obvious names like Eminem, Kendrick, Snoop, Game, etc., and even down to the not so much expected artists like Gwen Stefani (whom Dre made cry working on the hook for Eve's song "Let Me Blow Ya Mind"), they will all tell you that Dr. Dre is about the craft. Dr. Dre and his protégé's all have 1 noticeable character detail in common (maybe besides Game, considering he looks for fights); they let their music do the talking. Eminem and Dre hate doing interviews, and Kendrick is as humble a person as it gets if you've ever seen him in an interview. These guys focus on 1 thing; music.
So Compton has introduced me to some new artists I need to look out for (King Mez, Andersen .Paak, Marsha Ambrosius, but also reintroduced me to Jon Connor), but also reminded me that that the Doctor is one of those rare artists. He's not just rare because he doesn't put out music every day, he's not just rare because this is his first album in 16 years, but he's rare because of this: he cares about how the song turns out. He cares about the music. How can you not appreciate someone like that? His craft is a craft like no other, he goes after the absolute RIGHT people for the job. I had admittedly never heard of Andersen .Paak, Marsha Ambrosius, Candice Pillay, Asia Bryant, or most of the other artists he featured, but every artist featured had a specific part that they had to play, and they did it. That's why it blends so perfectly, and that's why Dr. Dre is doing things that expand, and push hip hop to an entirely new level. Dre proves that California hip hop is a brand and a sound, and it is global. Once hip hop artists stop making beef (although entertaining) over stupid little things, once hip hop artists stop making "twitter fingers" a valid phrase, once hip hop artists stop making "turn up" music and popping "molly's"... then maybe... just maybe... The Doctor will see you as a worthy artist, and give you the Good Treatment.
Soulful, Emotional Singing
It's been quite awhile since I've heard anything in hip hop that has allowed the listener to understand what the artist is going through, where he/she is from, etc., and for some reason I have truly connected with Dr. Dre on Compton: The Soundtrack. It'd be wrong to say that Dre has updated people on what he has been up to since his last album release, but Compton: The Soundtrack does an incredible job of making it easier to connect emotionally with a billionaire. The singers Dre reaches out to on the album might not have been big names we had heard before, but ones who played a very crucial part in the sound of each song. Justus and BJ The Chicago Kid's voices on "It's All On Me" truly portray the sound of a man who has dealt with stress to a breaking point. Marsha Ambrosius and Andersen .Paak bring the soul to a high on "All In A Day's Work", and Andersen .Paak's voice on "Animals" says a lot about how residents of Compton feel about the way their city is depicted. If hip hop had more artists that devoted themselves to relating with their fans, with voices that have emotional range that make you really think about the subject matter, then hip hop wouldn't be where it is now.
The Breakdown Of A Song
It's also been a long time since I've heard anything in hip hop that doesn't sound repetitive. After a certain while, the music just becomes a beat, or even worse, the music becomes complete noise, almost as if someone plays the music just to have some background distraction, and not actually playing the music for how great it truly is. Anyways, Dr. Dre flips this on its ear. Sometimes it's 50/50 when a song can sound great or terrible when the beat completely flips into something else, but Dr. Dre made a point to have a point. Towards the ending in "All In A Day's Work", Dre and protégé singer Andersen .Paak do make a point that symbolizes Dre's career as of the last 16 years: "back to work." In the song "Issues" featuring Ice Cube, Andersen .Paak and Dem Jointz, .Paak's (ironic to say just his last name) singing breakdown is great. It' almost an eye opening view of Compton and what it is. The gunshots and the helicopter sounds only paint the picture more vividly. If hip hop had more artists that knew how to put together a complete song and get to a point, a message with their song, then it wouldn't be looked down upon and spoken ill of as it is now.
Cadences
Another thing that Dre brings to the table with Compton: The Soundtrack that you just don't see in rap anymore is cadence. Now for those who don't know what cadence is, cadence is the way an artist goes about singing or rapping their part in the song. So if an artist is angry in the song, you should hear their anger, or if the artist is truly hurt and expressing it in the song, you would be able to hear the cracks and trembles in their voice, and the pain being expressed by the artist. Dre finds ways for not only himself, but the artists he features to reach their maximum potential possible on each cut (as we know, Dre is a perfectionist, he'll admit it and people he's worked with will tell you). Dre's 2nd verse on "All In A Day's Work" is a perfect example of his frustration/anger with what hip hop has turned into. On Game's song "Just Another Day", his flow and delivery is as vicious and tenacious as Game is known to be, and his talks of coming up in the game (ha) and growing up in Compton is a great reason for Game to show that he has a fire for what he does, and that he's electric about his journey from where he came to where he is now. If hip hop had more artists that spit and spat the way they felt, and actually showed emotion in their music as opposed to acting like a bunch of money grabbing, expensive car driving robots, then hip hop would be in a better place.
Dr. Dre's mere presence almost forces artists to step their game up. Once you start working with The Good Doctor, you're supposed to give your all, or you can leave the studio. From listening to interviews of countless people working with Dre, the likes of the obvious names like Eminem, Kendrick, Snoop, Game, etc., and even down to the not so much expected artists like Gwen Stefani (whom Dre made cry working on the hook for Eve's song "Let Me Blow Ya Mind"), they will all tell you that Dr. Dre is about the craft. Dr. Dre and his protégé's all have 1 noticeable character detail in common (maybe besides Game, considering he looks for fights); they let their music do the talking. Eminem and Dre hate doing interviews, and Kendrick is as humble a person as it gets if you've ever seen him in an interview. These guys focus on 1 thing; music.
So Compton has introduced me to some new artists I need to look out for (King Mez, Andersen .Paak, Marsha Ambrosius, but also reintroduced me to Jon Connor), but also reminded me that that the Doctor is one of those rare artists. He's not just rare because he doesn't put out music every day, he's not just rare because this is his first album in 16 years, but he's rare because of this: he cares about how the song turns out. He cares about the music. How can you not appreciate someone like that? His craft is a craft like no other, he goes after the absolute RIGHT people for the job. I had admittedly never heard of Andersen .Paak, Marsha Ambrosius, Candice Pillay, Asia Bryant, or most of the other artists he featured, but every artist featured had a specific part that they had to play, and they did it. That's why it blends so perfectly, and that's why Dr. Dre is doing things that expand, and push hip hop to an entirely new level. Dre proves that California hip hop is a brand and a sound, and it is global. Once hip hop artists stop making beef (although entertaining) over stupid little things, once hip hop artists stop making "twitter fingers" a valid phrase, once hip hop artists stop making "turn up" music and popping "molly's"... then maybe... just maybe... The Doctor will see you as a worthy artist, and give you the Good Treatment.
Friday, August 14, 2015
Miley Cyrus' Frustration With the Industry Taken Out On Kendrick Lamar
Recently in an interview Miley Cyrus called out Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar on their "violence and drugs in their music videos" and was quoted as saying both are "bad role models", to which I could not help but laugh when I read it. Now sure, you may say "alright Geff chill, it looks like you're just defending any rapper/rap artist who gets some flack thrown their way." This statement would be correct to a degree. But for Miley Cyrus to call out Kendrick and Taylor Swift on violence, drugs, and "politically incorrect things" in their videos, it's like Kobe Bryant calling out Gilbert Arenas for being a ball hog. This is why I'm glad I'm here; to make points.
Now the point of this is not to bash either (okay maybe a little Miley bashing) artist, but to point out each artist's content and see where the flaws AND great things lie. We'll start with Taylor Swift. In her latest interview with Marie Claire magazine, Miley was quoted as saying (speaking about Taylor Swift's Bad Blood music video featuring Kendrick);
"I don't get the violence revenge thing. That's supposed to be a good example? And I'm a bad role model because I'm running around with my (breasts) out? I'm not sure how (breasts) are worse than guns."
Okay, so Taylor Swift's video features some guns and swords (and is supposedly a subliminal diss to Katy Perry, which I find hilarious that beef isn't just found in hip hop now, but that story is for another person to write). In a music video for a song called "Bad Blood" you wouldn't exactly expect flowers and dancing in fields, would you? If so, I wonder what your stance on bad blood is. But I'm not so much concerned with her opinion on Taylor's music video, it's her comments on Kendrick Lamar;
"There is so much sexism, ageism, you name it. Kendrick Lamar sings about LSD and he's cool. I do it and I'm a druggie whore."
Okay, now this comment does not make any sense whatsoever. This is the biggest bit of evidence that Miley (and probably many other Kendrick bashers) does not understand Kendrick's music. If you really listen to Kendrick's "For Sale?" interlude, Kendrick is speaking on "Lucifer", Lucy being a short name that he uses to reference Lucifer. Kendrick talks of what Lucy could bring him if he "signs his deal with the devil." Some of Kendrick's lyrics in the interlude go as follows;
"My name is Lucy Kendrick, you introduced me Kendrick, usually I don't do this but I see you want me Kendrick, Lucy give you no worries, Lucy got a million stories, about these rappers that I came after when they was boring, Lucy gone fill ya' pockets, Lucy gone move ya momma out of Compton inside a gigantic mansion like I promised, Lucy just want your trust and loyalty, avoiding me? it's not so easy I'm at these functions accordingly, Kendrick, Lucy don't slack a minute, Lucy work harder, Lucy gone call ya even when Lucy know you love your father, I'm Lucy, I loosely heard prayers on your first album truly, Lucy don't mind cause at the end of the day you'll pursue me, Lucy go get it, Lucy not timid, Lucy upfront, Lucy got paperwork on top of paperwork, I want you to know that Lucy got you, all your life I watched you, and now you've grown up to sign this contract if that's possible."
https://youtu.be/REDMPXa4hVQ
(Here's the link to the song, for some reason I couldn't find a version to put directly on the blog. *I do not own these songs, videos, or the rights to them.*)
Oh yeah, I definitely see where "Lucy" could represent a drug after hearing these lyrics. Kendrick admitted to having depression (on the album) and even openly admitted in interviews to having problems with prescription drugs for quite some time in interviews after To Pimp A Butterfly was released. So is Kendrick perfect? No, he's not. But for Miley Cyrus to judge Kendrick on "talking about LSD" in a song that clearly doesn't talk about LSD, is a classic example of an artist that has had enough of the BS and needs to take it out on someone else. But how do you expect not to get any flack when you sing about drugs, pose nude, twerk, swing around naked on a wrecking ball and tour in a thong-ed out leotard (I can't tell if it's a bathing suit or a leotard, y'all can be the judge)? Kendrick brings these drugs/bad lifestyles to light to shed light on them and hopes for a better tomorrow for the youth, not to brag about how he's killed a man or how many drugs he's done. For Miley to do her own thing is fine, but when it comes to judging others and saying they're "bad role models"; Miley has no right because she's just as bad. Hip hop will not take another L because some die hard fans of Miley misconstrue her misplaced anger, and have no understanding of what the message of Kendrick Lamar's song truly is.
Now the point of this is not to bash either (okay maybe a little Miley bashing) artist, but to point out each artist's content and see where the flaws AND great things lie. We'll start with Taylor Swift. In her latest interview with Marie Claire magazine, Miley was quoted as saying (speaking about Taylor Swift's Bad Blood music video featuring Kendrick);
"I don't get the violence revenge thing. That's supposed to be a good example? And I'm a bad role model because I'm running around with my (breasts) out? I'm not sure how (breasts) are worse than guns."
Okay, so Taylor Swift's video features some guns and swords (and is supposedly a subliminal diss to Katy Perry, which I find hilarious that beef isn't just found in hip hop now, but that story is for another person to write). In a music video for a song called "Bad Blood" you wouldn't exactly expect flowers and dancing in fields, would you? If so, I wonder what your stance on bad blood is. But I'm not so much concerned with her opinion on Taylor's music video, it's her comments on Kendrick Lamar;
"There is so much sexism, ageism, you name it. Kendrick Lamar sings about LSD and he's cool. I do it and I'm a druggie whore."
Okay, now this comment does not make any sense whatsoever. This is the biggest bit of evidence that Miley (and probably many other Kendrick bashers) does not understand Kendrick's music. If you really listen to Kendrick's "For Sale?" interlude, Kendrick is speaking on "Lucifer", Lucy being a short name that he uses to reference Lucifer. Kendrick talks of what Lucy could bring him if he "signs his deal with the devil." Some of Kendrick's lyrics in the interlude go as follows;
"My name is Lucy Kendrick, you introduced me Kendrick, usually I don't do this but I see you want me Kendrick, Lucy give you no worries, Lucy got a million stories, about these rappers that I came after when they was boring, Lucy gone fill ya' pockets, Lucy gone move ya momma out of Compton inside a gigantic mansion like I promised, Lucy just want your trust and loyalty, avoiding me? it's not so easy I'm at these functions accordingly, Kendrick, Lucy don't slack a minute, Lucy work harder, Lucy gone call ya even when Lucy know you love your father, I'm Lucy, I loosely heard prayers on your first album truly, Lucy don't mind cause at the end of the day you'll pursue me, Lucy go get it, Lucy not timid, Lucy upfront, Lucy got paperwork on top of paperwork, I want you to know that Lucy got you, all your life I watched you, and now you've grown up to sign this contract if that's possible."
https://youtu.be/REDMPXa4hVQ
(Here's the link to the song, for some reason I couldn't find a version to put directly on the blog. *I do not own these songs, videos, or the rights to them.*)
Oh yeah, I definitely see where "Lucy" could represent a drug after hearing these lyrics. Kendrick admitted to having depression (on the album) and even openly admitted in interviews to having problems with prescription drugs for quite some time in interviews after To Pimp A Butterfly was released. So is Kendrick perfect? No, he's not. But for Miley Cyrus to judge Kendrick on "talking about LSD" in a song that clearly doesn't talk about LSD, is a classic example of an artist that has had enough of the BS and needs to take it out on someone else. But how do you expect not to get any flack when you sing about drugs, pose nude, twerk, swing around naked on a wrecking ball and tour in a thong-ed out leotard (I can't tell if it's a bathing suit or a leotard, y'all can be the judge)? Kendrick brings these drugs/bad lifestyles to light to shed light on them and hopes for a better tomorrow for the youth, not to brag about how he's killed a man or how many drugs he's done. For Miley to do her own thing is fine, but when it comes to judging others and saying they're "bad role models"; Miley has no right because she's just as bad. Hip hop will not take another L because some die hard fans of Miley misconstrue her misplaced anger, and have no understanding of what the message of Kendrick Lamar's song truly is.
Friday, August 7, 2015
The Return Of The Fresh Prince: What I (And Maybe You) Want From Will Smith's Comeback Album
Will Smith, The Fresh Prince, is coming back to rap. Just let that sink in for a moment. I know I already posted about this several months ago, but seeing more news and rumors of Will Smith's comeback has really got me thinking about the possibilities. Now when you think of Will Smith and rap, you may think of his and Jazzy Jeff's "Summertime", you may think of "Welcome To Miami", or you may even think of "Gettin Jiggy With It", but based on some minor rumors buzzing about social media, we may be getting a different kind of Will Smith rap album. I'd like to detail what I'd like to see (and maybe what you'd like to see as well) from Will Smith's comeback album by expressing my thoughts, including some facts, and definitely some opinions on how Will Smith could make the most out of his planned comeback.
Now besides laughing at Meek Mill memes (which I think we've all been doing a lot of lately), Will Smith has been quite a social guy lately. He showed up to Drake's OVO Fest a couple of days ago and was very comfortable and close with Drake and Kanye backstage. What the three were talking about (besides Meek Mill) remains to be seen, but rumors on Twitter have surfaced that say Will Smith has not only been in the studio working on new music with Kanye, but with Drake as well! Can't wait to see what these guys cook up. Now there are very few details about how Will's studio sessions with them have gone, but Will confirms working on new music below.
Will Smith also spoke about his album back in July on Jaden Smith's Beats 1 radio station, MSFTS Frequency, and also spoke about his recent studio time with Kanye West. Some quotes can be heard below from Complex.
(*I do not own these videos or the rights to them*)
Interesting right? Now one last thing I have to say that would be absolutely explosive, and only fitting for Will Smith's comeback rap album would be a DJ Jazzy Jeff collaboration (oh yes, that's right, Jazzy Jeff is still producing). Or even a couple of them would be nice! Imagine DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince reuniting; it's only proper for Will's return! Plus DJ Jazzy Jeff's recent work with Philly rapper Dayne Jordan could make for a pretty cool Philadelphia inspired collaboration on Will's album. Imagine Will and Dayne trading verses, paying homage to the city of brotherly love; it'd be one for the ages. I know how far fetched all of this sounds, but I can dream, can't I?
Hearing about Will Smith wanting to get in the studio and plan a rap comeback is a dream. Many people hate the clean rap that Will usually serves up, but NOONE has hate for Will Smith. I mean, how can you hate Will Smith? Honestly... I'll wait. You can't hate the man! He's an entertainer's entertainer! It will definitely be interesting to see what Will and Drake and Kanye cook up. Hopefully Kanye doesn't try to change up Will's musical style (knowing how much Kanye changes his up), but Will rapping over some Kanye beats would be magical, almost fitting. Without knowing anything about Will and Drake's possible collaboration you'd probably think that it would be the first single (knowing Drake's feature verse power), but we'll just have to wait and see what happens. The return of the Fresh Prince is coming!
Now besides laughing at Meek Mill memes (which I think we've all been doing a lot of lately), Will Smith has been quite a social guy lately. He showed up to Drake's OVO Fest a couple of days ago and was very comfortable and close with Drake and Kanye backstage. What the three were talking about (besides Meek Mill) remains to be seen, but rumors on Twitter have surfaced that say Will Smith has not only been in the studio working on new music with Kanye, but with Drake as well! Can't wait to see what these guys cook up. Now there are very few details about how Will's studio sessions with them have gone, but Will confirms working on new music below.
Will Smith also spoke about his album back in July on Jaden Smith's Beats 1 radio station, MSFTS Frequency, and also spoke about his recent studio time with Kanye West. Some quotes can be heard below from Complex.
Interesting right? Now one last thing I have to say that would be absolutely explosive, and only fitting for Will Smith's comeback rap album would be a DJ Jazzy Jeff collaboration (oh yes, that's right, Jazzy Jeff is still producing). Or even a couple of them would be nice! Imagine DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince reuniting; it's only proper for Will's return! Plus DJ Jazzy Jeff's recent work with Philly rapper Dayne Jordan could make for a pretty cool Philadelphia inspired collaboration on Will's album. Imagine Will and Dayne trading verses, paying homage to the city of brotherly love; it'd be one for the ages. I know how far fetched all of this sounds, but I can dream, can't I?
Hearing about Will Smith wanting to get in the studio and plan a rap comeback is a dream. Many people hate the clean rap that Will usually serves up, but NOONE has hate for Will Smith. I mean, how can you hate Will Smith? Honestly... I'll wait. You can't hate the man! He's an entertainer's entertainer! It will definitely be interesting to see what Will and Drake and Kanye cook up. Hopefully Kanye doesn't try to change up Will's musical style (knowing how much Kanye changes his up), but Will rapping over some Kanye beats would be magical, almost fitting. Without knowing anything about Will and Drake's possible collaboration you'd probably think that it would be the first single (knowing Drake's feature verse power), but we'll just have to wait and see what happens. The return of the Fresh Prince is coming!
Monday, August 3, 2015
Dr. Dre Announces First Album in 16 Years, World Says "We'll See" (Album Cover Art + Tracklist)
Soundtracks seem to be the move nowadays don't they? Shortly after Eminem's Southpaw soundtrack debuts, The Doctor announced that he would be dropping his first album in 16 YEARS, a soundtrack to the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton. Crazy to think that the thing that inspired Dr. Dre to finally drop a project was a movie (NWA movie, probably not so crazy). The buzz around this project is obviously going to be INSANE, so I'm here to drop a few facts (and probably rumors) about the project.
The soundtrack is called Compton: A Soundtrack By Dr. Dre (simple name, but it's not about the name) and will feature the likes of Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, and many more, and will be entirely produced by the man himself. Did you expect anything less? The album cover and track list can be seen below.
pic.twitter.com/nWcUeCtVWm
The soundtrack is called Compton: A Soundtrack By Dr. Dre (simple name, but it's not about the name) and will feature the likes of Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, and many more, and will be entirely produced by the man himself. Did you expect anything less? The album cover and track list can be seen below.
pic.twitter.com/nWcUeCtVWm
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)