As young Jeezy prepares to (finally) drop Thug Motivation 103: Hustlerz Ambition on December 20, he brings us the album's latest single, which features two of the genre's greatest. Definitely a feel-good track where Jeezy tries out a different topic lyrically. However, the story here is Andre 3000. This beat was made for him, and he delivers only as he can. His verse starts at 3:30. Click the link below for download
Young Jeezy Jay Z Andre 3000 - I doTwo legends at work: a beautiful sight and sound. This track will be featured on Blige's latest album, My Life II...The Journey Continues (Act 1), which drops tomorrow, November 21st. Skip to 1:30 for the song's commencement and click the link below for the download.
Mary J. Blige ft. Nas - Feel Inside
The arrival of Childish Gambino in hip hop fortifies the contemporary adage: everyone can rap now-a-days. We’re currently going through an age in music where everyone thinks they can produce a beat, spit a lyric, and make it big. Technology has made a capable artist out of all of us; making it easier for aspiring talent to actualize an entire career from the comfort of their bedrooms. We know Donald Glover, 28, as the quirky, nerdy, overly-sensitive Troy from the successful NBC comedy series Community. He’s one of the many characters in a character-driven show to take over television entertainment. The young man also raps. Is he good? As Childish Gambino, Glover brings us Camp, his first major label release (Glassnote records) following three independent mixtape/EP releases. If you’re not familiar with his sound, here’s an overview to fill you in. Imagine throwing Lil Wayne, Drake, and Kanye West into a man-sized blender, mixing in some Evian water, a red bull, hitting blend, and then pouring the contents down the throat of an NYU grad turned comedian, turned rapper with anxiety issues. What you have on your hands is an emcee that appeals to the majority of hip hop’s current demographic: one where kids lacking attention spans type rap lyrics in the comment sections under Youtube videos. On Camp, Gambino asks us to laugh along with him, take him seriously, accept his unguarded bravado, and listen to him sing over soft, melodic instrumentals. Quite the requisition coming from a hip hop freshman better known for wearing ballet tights and hunching his eyebrows every Thursday night on NBC.
Camp begins with Outside, a track featuring a female chorus inviting us to “go outside,” while Gambino translates his upbringing over a beat that’s at times dark and dramatic, and others soft and upright. Everything works here, as Gambino delivers on the ever-important opening track. Fire Fly sees Gambino dipping into his southern roots for a laid back, grapevine of a song, where he escorts us through his transition into fame. Again, enter female vocals for the chorus. Bonfire, one of the tracks fans are clamoring over, is Gambino’s “A Mili.” Straight lyrics and raspy flow carry us for three minutes over a beat that’s merely there for background noise. All similes and word play here, but in the end it’s just a swirling display of rap-about-nothing: all talk, no conviction. Gambino regains his sincerity with All the Shine, where he slows down his flow, controls his voice, and delivers another storyline. Gambino finds his comfort zone on Heartbeat, where he sounds safe behind a synthed-out beat rapping lyrics of love gained, love lost. Backpackers reintroduces the unapologetic, fuck-your-opinion, side of the child. This time the approach works better, only he manages to squeeze in a few humorous lines, reminding us of his comedic mind. Unfortunately all this does is provide a hiccup and detract the listener from what the rest of the song attempts.
L.E.S. will bore you to death until the 2:42 mark, where Gambino rips off a double-time rap for ten seconds, and then calmly retreats into the mush that is this song. Hold You Down does what L.E.S. couldn’t do. Kids (keep up) will make you feel like you’re sitting in the front row at your daughter’s ballet recital with a camcorder in your hand, which is kind of the feeling Gambino was aiming for; proceed with caution. Re-enter the fire-breathing, braggadocios, larger-than-life-lyrically Gambino for You See Me. He finally pieces this style together correctly here. Imagine creeping through Jurassic Park after nightfall and you’ve got the inspiration for this beat: Gambino rips through the landscape fearlessly, only stumbling ever-so-often. Sunrise culminates/reiterates everything Gambino attempts on the album. Give it a chance, but no promises here. It all ends with That Power, which merely serves as an extension of Sunrise, until Gambino stops rapping three minutes into the nearly eight minute track to begin telling us a story about his summer camp experience at the age of thirteen. The story drips on for four long minutes, but chances are you‘ll only make it through two before you decide the album is over.
Our Word: There’s just so much going on here. Gambino is clearly still finding his voice, perfecting his style, and settling upon a creative direction. He stuffs funny, witty, quirky, emotional, hipster, southern, R&B, and gangster into his music, barely leaving himself time to breathe. Overall, Gambino is more than a novelty act, but he’s not quite a permanent force yet either. Hip Hop would be fine without him, but the fact that he’s here, he’s popular, and he’s got some talent, indicates how the genre molds its future talent. He’s currently balancing his music between two polarizing conclusions: too interesting to ignore, too annoying to listen to. At times, the way he changes his style emanates eclecticism and versatility, at others it’s simply sporadic and unfocused. Camp requires one’s full embrace; otherwise it will lose itself in the ephemeral conscious of hip hop’s continually expanding backdrop (see Asher Roth). Gambino is a product of our times, and he’s here to stay. For now, we’re ok with that, but the young MC won’t get away with being hip hop’s young stepchild forever.
3.75/5
Check out the video for Bonfire below. It's, it's, well....
What a pleasant surprise from the DC Emcee. Wale brings us visuals for the popular spoken word joint off of his 2010 mixtape More About Nothing. Predating the ominous hour where Wale sold his soul to the devil and signed with Rick Ross, Ambitious Girl reminds us of the lyrical, poetic promise young Folarin once displayed.
Someone has tamed The Creator. Well, that someone would be Tyler himself, as he revealed in a recent interview with Spin that he will no longer rap about rape, murder, kidnapping, etc. Although these topics are what gained the young artist fame and fans, and positioned him under the limelight, Tyler admits that he must evolve creatively on his upcoming album, Wolf, due out May 2012:
"What interests me is making weird hippie music for people to get high to. With Wolf, I'll brag a little bit more, talk about money and buying sh-t. But not like any other rapper, I'll be a smart-a-- about it. Now it's just girls throwing themselves at me and sh-t, but I got a girl back home. People who want the first album again, I can't do that. I was 18, broke as f-ck. On my third album, I have money and I'm hanging out with my idols. I can't rap about the same sh-t.”
This is an encouraging sign of creative progress and maturity from the Odd Future front-man. Tyler has taken the young, rebellious, fuck-the-world/fuck your girl approach about as far as it can go. In order to remain relevant and respected in the industry, Tyler must make these stylistic adjustments/advancements, and the fact that he’s acknowledging it now has us excited for the 20 year-olds future.
Source: MTV News
Curren$y teams up with his newest signee, Sir Michael Rock, to lay down some bars over Ghostface/Jadakiss' Run. This track serves as a teaser for Jet Life's upcoming release Jet World Order. Download link below.
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Curren$y ft. Sir Michael Rock - Luxury Sport
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