Kanye. SNL. Last Night. New songs. Watch.
Yeezus. June 18.
Black Skinhead
New Slaves
charliedigital is a guest contributor to MusicandModeling.com. Find his random tweets and re-tweets on hip-hop, black culture, and technology @charliedigital
Dec 072012
I pull up to the Grammys with my ceiling missing…
Two nights ago, a young Taylor Swift and a weirdly even younger LL Cool J announced this year’s Grammy nominees. Let’s take a look at the rap categories, there are some surprises.
Best Rap Performance
“HYFR (Hell Ya F***ing Right)” – Drake featuring Lil Wayne
“Ni**as in Paris” – Jay-Z & Kanye West
“Daughters” – Nas
“Mercy” – Kanye West featuring Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz
“I Do” – Young Jeezy featuring Jay-Z & André 3000
Surprisingly all very good choices, though I think “HYFR” is one of the weaker choices on Take Care. I suspect “Ni**as in Paris” will take it.
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
“Wild Ones” – Flo Rida featuring Sia
“No Church in the Wild” – Jay-Z and Kanye West featuring Frank Ocean & The-Dream
“Tonight (Best You Ever Had)” – John Legend featuring Ludacris
“Cherry Wine” – Nas featuring Amy Winehouse
“Talk That Talk” – Rihanna featuring Jay-Z
I wasn’t familiar with the Flo-Rida song, I checked it out and it sounds like every other Flo-Rida song ever. This award will likely be between “No Church..” and “Cherry Wine.” I really didn’t dig “No Church…”, but after a months of those Dodge TV commercials, I’ve been brainwashed a bit. And I may be a little biased on “Cherry Wine”, because I really, really, love the late Ms. Winehouse. I think it is a beautiful song though.
Best Rap Song
“Daughters” – Nas
“Lotus Flower Bomb” – Wale feat. Miguel
“Mercy” – Kanye West feat. Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz
“The Motto” – Drake feat. Lil Wayne
“Ni**as In Paris” – Jay-Z and Kanye West
“Young, Wild & Free” – Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa
Tough one. Maybe with the exception of “Daughters,” all of these were monster radio hits, almost to the point of nausea. Can’t call it…Well, since this category is about songwriting, I would love to see Nas get this one.
Best Rap Album
Take Care – Drake
Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album. Pt. 1 – Lupe Fiasco
Life Is Good – Nas
Undun – The Roots
God Forgives, I Don’t – Rick Ross
Based on a T.R.U. Story – 2 Chainz
Lupe, 2 Chainz and Ross made good albums. Nas and The Roots made awesome albums. But Take Care is musically something special, kind of a game changer. It’ll be hard to deny that impact. You better listen to me Grammys! *shakes fist violently*
We’ll see if my predictions are right when the Grammys air on February 10. Check back with us! In the meantime, I’m gonna try to get used to saying, “grammy-nominated 2 Chainz.”
charliedigital is a guest contributor to MusicandModeling.com. Find his random tweets and re-tweets on hip-hop, black culture, and technology @charliedigital
Legendary rapper/producer Q-Tip has signed a deal with Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music imprint(Def Jam). The former A Tribe Called Quest frontman released a statement:
“I’m excited to be a part of the great iconic Def Jam label. I’m humbled to be a part of such a storied history. To reconnect with Barry Weiss(Universal CEO) is a great thing. As far as G.O.O.D. Music, I’m excited to solidify my working relationship with Kanye, and I look forward to all the opportunities that lie ahead in our partnership. I will do my best to present the most cutting edge music I can.”
Q-Tip’s fourth album, The Last Zulu, is also part of the deal. This solo album is due to drop sometime 2013.
Kanye is building quite the team over there. Q-Tip joins Pusha T, Big Sean, Yasiin Bey/Mos Def, John Legend, and Kid Cudi. Just saying, those guys can benefit from some Abstract production. So here’s hoping that Tip’s talents will be spread across the roster, including the upcoming G.O.O.D. Music compilation.
Still listening to “Theraflu”? That’s sooo yesterday. A tagged version of the first single for the upcoming G.O.O.D. Music album has made its way onto the internets. Kanye is joined by G.O.O.D. comrades Big Sean and Pusha T, along with 2 Chainz, who appears to be everywhere right now. He more than holds his own with Pusha and Big Sean, but you know Kanye steals the show, if only slightly. It’s pretty much typical (but above-average) swag-rap fare, but if you’re like me and just finished digesting Roman Reloaded, this is gonna sound AMAZING.
Check out the stream below, and look out for the official drop on itunes at midnight on Good Friday.
charliedigital is guest contributor to MusicandModeling.com. Find his random tweets and re-tweets on hip-hop, black culture, and technology @charliedigital
Along with every hip-hop blog-comment section on the planet, I’ve decided to drop my own opinions on MTV Hottest MCs list for this year. Now, for those that know me, indeed I like to flow, probably expect me to come in here and defecate all over this list and b!tch about how all my favorite indie and underground MCs aren’t on the list. (Kendrick Lamar?)
Well, I’m not gonna do that…much.
I’ve loosened up my backpack straps a little. I mean this IS MTV. We can’t expect them have rap nerd-type tastes, so I kinda accept it for what it is. Kinda. Their criteria of hotness is basically an amalgamation of buzz/impact, sales, and lyrics. Based on their criteria, I can accept most of the list, but I still have issues.
10. Wale
Ehhh, okay, he’s constantly on the radio. I mean constantly. Like right now. I bet ‘Lotus Flower Bomb’ is on at least one station in every urban market right NOW. He’s had a big year, I’ll give you that. But I gotta say, no J.Cole? No Lupe Fiasco? Both had a big 2011: strong sales, some big singles w/ radio play, and grammy nods. I think they’ve had bigger years than Wale and next three in line. Not to mention much stronger lyricists.
9. Wiz Khalifa
Black & Yellow was huge and received a grammy nod. The album, Rolling Papers, was really disappointing in my (and some of the MTV panelists) opinions. Wiz tours like crazy and has a strong, dedicated fan base for some reason. But I dunno about this one.
8. Big Sean
I’m with this one, he had a solid album, and few strong radio hits. I feel he’s a stronger lyricist than many people give him credit for.
7. Meek Mill
This was my first WTF. “I’ma Boss” was big. I get it. And he goes strong on the mixtapes, but I don’t think he’s that strong of an MC, even for this list. He’s hungry and has crazy energy, but that’s not enough for me. Funny, the MTV panel was nearly universally on-board with this one. They made good arguments to support their decision, but I think there are a handful of emcees that have had a “hotter” 2011.
6. Jay-Z
Wow. The judges felt Watch the Throne was more Kanye-driven, which may be true, stylistically. But did Kanye write Jay’s verses? Nope. “Murder to Excellence” > most of these cats careers. And he still makes an impact, he’s still hated, he’s still copied, and generates hype and headlines with anything he does. BUT, judging by the rest of the list, I can see why Jay’s in this spot. Personally, I would swap Jay’s position with…
5. Lil Wayne
How dare I? It was the most anticipated AND biggest selling rap album of the year? It sold a mil in the first week? So, what, it was mostly phoned in and you know it. Nobody was talking about C4 after a few weeks. He was not in top form. Even guest appearances on big songs, he seemed to “swag his way through,” relying on charisma.
4. Nicki Minaj
Where am I? I’m sorry, I was just thinking about Big Sean’s “Dance(remix)” video. And the “Super Bass” video when Nicki is on the ice motorcycle. Seriously, I can’t doubt Nicki. Like her or not, she’s a movement.
3. Kanye
2. Drake
1. Ross
Any one of these 3 could justifiably take the top spot. They gave it to Ross, I would have given it to Drake. He was everywhere, like Ross, but Take Care was such a game changing album. It blended genres, or maybe created its own. Some counted that as a negative. I do not see hip-hop as having rigid boundaries, I say push it as far as you can and you may be rewarded. There’s room for everyone and everything.
All in all, given MTV’s mainstream focus, it’s not a horrible list. Best of all, if you watched the show, they made compelling arguments to support their decisions/opinions. You really can’t ask for too much more than that.
charliedigital is guest contributor to MusicandModeling.com. Find his random tweets and re-tweets on hip-hop, black culture, and technology @charliedigital
