Danny! – “Long Time Comin’”

Danny!, a producer rapper, who is one of Jay-Z’s favorites in the game, released “Long Time Comin’” today. This track is such a feel good song, and it is perfect that today is a hot, sunny day in SoCal. This is an extremely impressive song, that includes fun pokes at J Cole and Kreayshawn, all on top of an extremely funky beat. It is hard to pinpoint the best part of this song because there is no down side to “Long Time Comin’”. The lyrics are clever and thought out, the beat (made by Danny!) is fresh and soulful, the random interspersings of him talking in between verses (“time to take ‘em to church!” right before the breakdown being one of the best) and his random giggles right before he says something ridiculous creates “Long Time Comin’”. And, as cliched as it might be, a song that brings this sort of joy and spunk back into the game is a long time comin’ and I am looking forward to hearing the rest of Payback once it drops.

Crooked I – “Nikki”

Crooked I

Crooked I is back! As a member of Slaughterhouse, it should come as no surprise that I goes hard in the paint on this release. Sampling Prince’s “Darling Nikki” and having Tito Ali (the producer for this track) throw in some mechanical sounds, “Nikki” was born. Crooked I does not disappoint and throws down in this track, which leaves me very excited for Psalms 83:6, which will be dropping around the same time as Slaughterhouse’s full length.

Stream “Nikki” below and let me know what you think!

Kanye West – “Theraflu” feat. DJ Khaled

Theraflu - Kanye West

Ya’ll knew this was coming.

I was actually in school when I glanced at my Twitter feed in my French class, and all I saw “Kanye West releases a new song.” Needless to say, I paid little to no attention to the rest of my class and did as much research on this song as I could.

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FKi + Iggy Azalea + Diplo – “I Think She Ready”

I Think She Ready

Before we get started, it is important to note that this song was created to sell things, not to be a fun song that everyone listens to. SSENCE, a clothing brand, collaborated with FKi, Iggy Azalea and Dilpo to create a song to go along with the first ever interactive shopping music video. As a huge fan of social media and all of the new ways to sell things through interactive ways, I am extremely excited about this idea so I would have watched this video regardless of the song underneath it. SSENSE paired up with wireWAX, and used their cool, new technology to make it possible for the viewer to click on an article of clothing and be taken to the online store and buy it. It is a fun thing to play with if you want to waste some time, or look at pretty clothes that I will never be able to wear because of my desire to go into the music industry where I will make little to no money (but at least I will be doing what I love…! Right guys? Right?)

But anyway, back to the track.

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Planet Asia – “Furniture” Video

Planet Asia

“Furniture”, Planet Asia’s newest single off of Black Belt Theater takes me back to the younger days of hip-hop with its chill and R&B beats paired with King Medallion’s methodical flow and relaxed voice. “Furniture” almost plays more as a slow jam than a rap song, but the content of the song (weed and sex, what else?) makes sure that it still maintains the rap genre.

The video for the single is equally reminiscent of slow jams from the 90s and features a bunch of silhouettes, smoke and black and white matte effects. Even though you will probably just listen to the song with the youtube link open in another tab while you work, the video is worth the 3:24 of your time. C’mon, those spreadsheets can wait. Check it out below.

Beats TV Interviews Black Hippy

Black Hippy

Black Hippy, aka Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul, was one of the featured performers at SXSW this year, and after the out-of-nowhere success of Kendrick Lamar, it was pretty much inevitable that they would be an instant hit in the rap community. Therefore, it was no surprise when, a day after their performance, my twitter timeline started blowing up with news about Black Hippy and about how smooth and creative their flows are.

Even though SXSW happened a while ago (well…a few weeks, but in music life, that is a lifetime), Beats TV just posted their interview with Black Hippy today. Check out what the LA based group has to say about how they are able to jell together despite their different personalities (and sounds for that matter), about how each individual draws different crowds, about how Schoolboy Q was not featured on the XXL Freshmen Cover, and about their live shows.

Also, in case you have never heard of Black Hippy but you are down with some chill rap, check out my favorite song of theirs, “Rolling Stone“.

Azealia Banks – “Fuck Up The Fun”

Fuck Up The Fun

Azealia Banks has been on my radar since December when I first heard her song “Liqourice” and ever since then I have not been disappointed with her releases. She has an 80s hip-hop feel, but with 10s rebellion which shows through her lyrics. Her latest release “Fuck Up The Fun” which was produced by Diplo showcases Azealia’s quick flow over top a bunch of tribal drums. A clash between good ol’ hip-hop and shiny, new electronica, “Fuck Up the Fun” is something you’ll be bobbing your head along with for plays on plays on plays.

Kendrick Lamar – “The Recipe” (feat. Dr. Dre)

Kendrick

Kendrick Lamar, member of Black Hippy and recently signed to Interscope by Dr. Dre, is getting ready to release Good Kid in a Mad City, which will be his follow up to Section.80 (which was released last summer, and was amazing). The just dropped the first single for the album, entitled “The Recipe”. In an interview on Big Boy’s Power 106 radio show, Dr. Dre said that the song was first supposed to be called “Women, Weed + Weather” but then it was changed the “The Recipe” because the mix of women, weed and weather is the recipe for happiness (see what they did there? oh Dre, you’re so clever).

The combination of these two very West-Coast rappers creates a quality song that is easy to jam to, but I cannot help but feel that Kendrick toned down his Black Hippy-ness on this track. Hopefully he will still go hard on the album and just felt like he had to lower the intensity to have Dre feature. Check out the track below and let me know what you think of it!

The Recipe from TopDawg Ent on Vimeo.

Childish Gambino – “Eat Your Vegetables”

Childish Gambino

Donald Glover, better known in the rap community as Childish Gambino, dropped a new track today called “Eat Your Vegetables”. The track is over a Big Sean like beat (who is, in my opinion, pretty hit or miss) and has a much more laxidasical feel than Camp, his feature length album which dropped in Fall 2011. Stream “Eat Your Vegetables” below and lemme know how you’re feeling this track.

 

Childish Gambino – Eat Your Vegetables by brainbandits

Dez Yusuf – “Tongues and Cheeks (Fuck it Up)”

Accompanied with a description of “dance your ass off to this”, you might be too busy laughing to get up from your seat. Dez is onto something here. If you think you’ve heard clever lyricism, you need to think again. It is your challenge to keep up with this track. Written and produced by Dez, this is a promising track for his future musically by establishing himself and songwriting via his tongue-in-cheek humor and rough persona to back-hand it. Keep up with Dez via Tumblr

Tongues and Cheeks (Fuck It Up) by Dez Yusuf

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