Angelo Mota Says "Namaste" On New Banger

New Jersey rapper Angelo Mota saw success from blogs and fans all over social media with his brutally honest and expressive album from last year House Of Diamonds, and now the rapper has returned with his new song, "Namaste."

It's almost as if the game asked Mota if he was leaving any time soon, and Mota simply replied, "nah, Imma stay." No rumor on if the track will live on any upcoming project, but I'll keep you posted if any new information is released. You can listen to the dope new track below.

https://soundcloud.com/angelomota/namaste

Observations From Drake's "More Life"

 

I guess everybody just needs a little More Life in their lives. And it's probably safe to say that Drake knew that. With all of the talks of Drake's newly dropped "playlist", the wonder on social media (mine included) was; why the fuck are you calling it a playlist?  It's all new music, none of it has been previously released, and I'm sure some Drake stans would be writing OVO some angry letters had that been the case, but it was not. Chasing a vibe seemed to be the case, which Drake, as we know, is the king of. Regardless of the transparency of the project, there's still a lot of observations to be made about More Life, and while you should know this is NOT A REVIEW, I do have a couple of points of my own to make about the project. Check them out below.

Drake & Kanye's collaboration "Glow" is probably the best song on the project

https://play.spotify.com/track/28irpKCCK9nn9DZSik2zEx

Due to all of the bullshit that streaming services still cause, I could only put a Spotify link for the song. Anyways, Drake and Kanye truly "Glow" on their collaboration off of More Life. Kanye sounds like classic, pre-insanity, pre-Kardashian, pre-Steve Jobs-genius-level-wannabe Kanye, and he sounds like he's in the moment of the music more than thinking about how he needs to innovate. The wavy production is on point, and with Drake & 'Ye going back and forth with verses and their signature brands of singing over it, "Glow" almost sounds like it could have been recorded in So Far Gone era Drake and 808s & Heartbreaks era Kanye. Now all we need is a proper collaborative title for these 2; So Far Gone Into Heartbreak?  So Far Gone In The 808s?  Eh, we'll think of something.

Drake is still brooding over J-Lo and he really actually sampled her on "Teenage Forever"

https://play.spotify.com/track/6n3HGiq4v35D6eFOSwqYuo

This is actually a pretty decent song considering the circumstances in which it was recorded (supposedly). Drake is clearly singing about his short-lived romance with J-Lo, and although it sounds like he is somewhat hurt over it's end (or he's not hurt at all and he wants to troll people), it's almost hilarious to see him get involved with another A-list celeb and see some drama over it. Even if I'm being callous, this song is another example of why Drake's honesty and ability to put his life into music has fascinated me, but more importantly, kept him on top of the game for years now.

Every song with a feature sounds like the featured artist's song

https://play.spotify.com/track/0xl1w2q4VLojeXp4JfazPL

This is another thing that has bothered me to no end over the last couple of Drake projects; when there's a vibe to be chased, Drake is Usain Bolt. His quest to stay on top looks more like panic and less like genuine craft and ability to mold his signature sound. Don't get me wrong, every project has their highpoints (on More Life they seem to be "Glow", "4422", "Can't Have Everything", and "Do Not Disturb"), but every project also seems to have that song or songs that sound like they should live on the featured artist's project; Young Thug steals Drake's glory on "Sacrifices", and "Ice Melts" practically sounds like it could have been a leftover of Jeffery. U.K. grime rapper Giggs also steals the spotlight briefly on two More Life records ("KMT" and "No Long Talk"). Is Drake trying to pull the Dr. Dre move and use his platform to bring up other artists, or is he using it to expand his brand and fan base?  No matter what the reasoning may be, Drake is certainly reaping the benefits.

Altogether, More Life is a solid addition to Drake's discography and holds a bit of replay value. While the project could be classified as predominantly dancehall and contemporary hit radio music, Drake doesn't stray away from his signature brand of reminiscing and hindsight story telling rapping (though rarely at this point) while giving the world the business over the "right" beat. There's no type of "9 A.M. In Dallas", "5 A.M. In Toronto", or hungry rapping that we normally like to see from Drake, but there are moments on the album where he reestablishes his sound. This critique is me looking for the best in an overall solid, yet underwhelming album, yes, but just because our expectations aren't met, doesn't mean that the album isn't good and doesn't hold value in other markets, or situations. More Life seems more of an attempt at Drake living and trying to give you "more" of his "life", then giving the people more life themselves. Also, is it too late to ask what the hell is up with this ridiculous amount of slang that nobody has heard of before?  Or is everybody just riding the wave and pretending like Drake has been doing this?  Just sitting back and accepting it seems much easier than trying to understand, and I think More Life, though not completely, is a representation of that statement. Now go and "Madiba Raddim" yourselves, and try not to get too "Blem."                    
   

















          

Kendrick Returns With Ether For Somebody (?) On "The Heart Part 4"

Tonight (March 23rd) Compton emcee Kendrick Lamar returned to the rap game in triumphant fashion. Kendrick first posted a cryptic Instagram picture (above) that fans could not quite crack (though one did), but then Kendrick dropped the fourth installment of his "The Heart" series, aptly titled "The Heart Part 4." Kendrick bodies the beat-switching track in true Kendrick form, and social media seems to think that Kendrick has his target set on Big Sean with some of the following lines;

"My fans can't wait for me to son ya punk ass, and crush ya whole little shit
I'll Big Pun ya punk ass you a scared little bitch"

"Tip toeing around my name, nigga you lame
And when I get at you homie don't tell me you were just playing"

While the lines are vague, rumors are that Kendrick is aiming at Big Sean. But wouldn't it make more sense to aim at Drake with the recent release of More Life?  Though Kendrick doesn't need the promotion, he's definitely going at somebody's neck on his new release. What does this mean for his new album release coming?  Oh yeah, Kendrick basically gives a release for that as well, on the last line; "Y'all got til April the 7th to get y'all shit together."

You can listen to the newly released song on Apple Music, which I unfortunately couldn't feature a link for.











  

   

Dave Chappelle Is Back, And His Return Is Giving Me Life

On Wednesday nights from 2003-2005, I remember barging into my sister's room sometimes unannounced and sometimes invited; but either way I was going to watch the coolest and funniest show on television. Though I was too young at the time to realize the impact that David Khari Webber Chappelle would have on my life, every Wednesday night at 10:30, which was well past the time I should have been awake as a budding 10-11 year old, I stayed up and watched Chappelle's Show with a piqued interest. The hip (hop) music, the brain of a scholar (though he didn't attend college), and an unmatched comedic energy kept me zoned in every week to see what crazy antics Dave and friends were up to.

Then abruptly, and viciously, it stopped.

I tuned in to 3 more Dave-less episodes (during the monologues, at least) that became known as "The Lost Episodes" and it felt like there was a void in my life. With all 3 episodes airing a week apart, after each airing, I felt the countdown to oblivion piercing my heart like a dagger. The man who subconsciously taught me about racial equality, schooled me on real hip hop, introducing me to legendary hip hop acts like Black Star, Common, DMX, Erykah Badu and COUNTLESS others, and made me think more than any television show I've seen while touching on issues of the world and making me laugh at the same time... was gone. And I didn't understand why.



Fast forward to 2014; Dave's hiatus is painfully reminded by sprinkles and samples of appearances on late night television and the occasional music festival (though it's better to have a little bit of Dave than none at all), but then it's reported that one of the most thought provoking and lyrical emcees to ever touch a mic, Nas is headlining NYC's Radio City Music Hall music festival hosted by... Dave Chappelle?!?! It was not a dream. The wishes of Dave's return were still not entirely fulfilled, but an event of this magnitude gave the people, me especially, hope.

And then it came. In late 2016 rumors hit of 3 (!) brand new comedy specials coming exclusively to Netflix towards the end of the year, and not seeing them drop before the close of 2016 almost made my heart sink. Why was he toying with our emotions?  Does he not know what he means to us, and comedy as a whole?!  Oh he definitely does.

Regardless on if he knows or not, I wanted to use this platform as a way of thanking Dave for coming back and giving me, and a very large number of other people, life again. Thank you for (partly) introducing me to this beautiful mess we call hip hop, and thank you for being the most brilliant, hilarious, and thought provoking mind I've ever seen. In a world where everything seems to be a mess and there's never an end to the negativity, you make fun of how ridiculous everyone acts and it makes me smile almost more than anything else can. Even though I've made that little message clear in writing before on here, I couldn't say it enough times. Now while I'm off to go cry laughing at Dave's Netflix specials again, you can enjoy a recent interview (March 21st) Dave had with Jimmy Kimmel below.


      
(*I do not own any of these videos, or the rights to them*)










 

             

Joey Bada$$ Says He Raps Better Than Tupac, People Flip Shit As Usual

In an interview yesterday (February 28th) with Genius, Joey Bada$$ offended some more sensitive Tupac fans.

The Brooklyn rapper discussed his beliefs and influences of past political figures (mentioning names like Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr., Langston Hughes and more) and how they have influenced his music, but the quote that is pushing headlines everywhere is what he said about Tupac near the last half of the video; "Like, I already know I'm a better rapper than Tupac. That's just facts. One on one battle, I'll flame Pac."  And here's my beliefs (brace yourselves, Pac fans); Joey's absolutely right.

In pure rapping and lyrical ability, Joey Bada$$ would best Tupac. But in all of the different aspects discussed in what makes the "greatest rapper of all time", I don't even think other rappers know what it takes to hold the title anymore. Sure, there's lyrical talent and abilities, but there's also influence, there's flow, there's hit making (which doesn't qualify for pure abilities, but still), and too many more aspects to count. So yes, from a lyrical standpoint, Joey Bada$$ has Pac's number. But from an influential standpoint, Joey Bada$$ - just like pretty much every other rapper on the planet, dead or alive - has a way to go to get to Tupac's level. Check out the short interview below. No release date has been given on Joey's upcoming album, AABA, only that it will release in 2017.



                       (*I do not own this video, or the rights to it*)


*Update*

In the 24 hours since posting, Joey has revealed the cover art, release date (set for an April 7th release), and track list for AABA, which we've learned stands for All-Amerikkkan Bad-Ass. Check out the cover art below, and check out Joey's promo video for the album here.