Lil Wayne is finally giving fans what they’ve been waiting for, the release date of the Carter V. The album will be released October 28th and the album artwork is a picture of him and his mother.
“This album means a lot to me. People been waiting on this album and I’m just at the point in my life and stuff to have my mom on there. It’s more than an accomplishment, it’s an achievement.”
The album will feature ‘Believe Me’, ‘Krazy’, and ‘Grindin”
Canadian duo, Majid Al Maskati and Jordan Ulllman, and OVO artist better known as Majid Jordan have released their EP, A Place Like This. This is not the first EP the duo have released as a pair, but it is the first under Majid Jordan. Their first EP, Afterhours, was released on Soundcloud under the name Good People.
I love the feel of this EP. It starts off on this high note an then it gets slower and slower. ‘Forever’ and ‘All I Do’ are the two upbeat tracks and then it gradually gets slower with ‘Her’, ‘U’, and ‘A Place Like This’. I compare this EP to like running a race. You start off fast and then you slow down once you lose momentum. You don’t stop running everything around you is just like a blur. That’s what this EP reminds me off. When you’re off in a trance and you’re stuck and everything is moving, but you. ‘A Place Like This’ reminds me of elevator music. Actually if you take out the lyrics, instrumentally this whole EP could be elevator music. I really like it and I’m interested in hearing a full length album from this duo. With Drake working on his new album I wonder if there will be another Majid Jordan feature.
Out of the five tracks my top picks are ‘Forever’ and ‘A Place Like This’.
Check out the video for ‘A Place Like This’ below:
Stream the EP below (via Spotify):
Drake has a lot on his plate, yet physically he’s been low on the radar. He has his smash hits ‘Believe Me’ and ‘Trophies’ all over the airwaves along with his other hits moving in and out of rotation daily. He hosts the ESPYs tonight (7.16) and he’s ready to take OVO to the next level and make it more than a catchphrase: OVO that’s major shit.
Although he’s still #TeamYMCMB, Drake has a label of his own, OVO, under Warner Bros. and there’s two projects ready to be released: Majid Jordan and PARTYNEXTDOOR; both Canadian artists. Majid Jordan was featured on ‘Hold On We’re Going Home’ and his debut EP, Place Like This drops July 29th. Also on that date PARTYNEXTDOOR will be releasing his second project, PARTYNEXTDOOR TWO. Take a listen to his latest Drake collab, ‘Recognize’.
Drake is putting Canada int he forefront, so the question is, what’s with a new album? Well, Drake has announced that his fourth studio album will be titled, View From The 6. It’s in the very early stages of production, but based off the radio hits it’s going to be yet another one in the books for Drake.
If his heat in mid-July is any sign of what he has in store for August, then it’s going to be OVO everywhere. The 5th annual OVOFest takes place August 3rd & 4th in Toronto with Drake and Outkast headlining. Of course there will be tons of surprises. Not even a week later he hits the road for a 31 city tour with Lil Wayne for the collaborative tour, Drake v. Lil Wayne. I mentioned before that these two will be battling on stage going back and forth, hit for hit. That should be interesting for sure. Who knows, maybe Drake and Weezy will both drop something new. A better competition, pull a 50 v. Kanye and drop View From The 6 and Carter V on the same day.
Nicki Minaj is back with her latest fragrance and this time around she took a different route and went over to HSN for a limited edition special of her new fragrance, Minajesty Exotic. The special aired four times yesterday (7.11) from midnight-2am, 6am-7am, 12pm-2pm, and 9pm-11pm. In a press release for HSN, she stated:
“I am so excited to debut my new fragrance on HSN for the first time. I adore my fans and want to share this experience in a unique way – live, on TV. I hope this fragrance inspires my Barbz to feel positive and fearless. Every girl loves the thrill of adventure. Exotic to me, represents that crazy feeling you get from taking a risk and getting out of your comfort zone.”
The special which was on sale for $59.50 includes the Nicki Minaj perfume along with a rollerball of her fragrance set to launch in September, Onika. In addition to that it the exclusive set includes a wardrobe freshener in the scent Onika. You can still purchase the set for 71.00 (flex pay, 3 payments: $23.67; 2 payments: $35.50) on HSN, but once it’s gone, it’s gone.
Check out the special below:
The 2014 BET Awards aired this past Sunday (6.29) and I’ve been waiting to give my take on the show for this edition of This Week In Music. Now I did NOT watch the entire show and I kept up with what was going on via Instagram but we will get into the winners that I chose in a previous post and my take on the performances. My initial post pre-BET awards were My Picks. To make it easier and to save from typing, I compared my pick to the actual winner. I didn’t do too shabby:
Continue reading “This Week In Music (V.15) – BET Awards 2014 [Review]”
T-Pain has cut the dreads and is back with another track which in my opinion does not match the caliber of ‘Up Down’. He’s back with more of a ballad titled, ‘Love Suicide’. The song discusses how he’s with this girl and then all of a sudden she changes and he assumes she’s cheating which is revealed int he video that she is instead it’s not with a man, it’s with a woman. He’s standing on top of a building outside of her apartment window contemplating on committing suicide as ‘people’ look on and try to catch photos/videos on their phones. The song isn’t horrible, but the video is. Everything about the video is fake. It’s not believable and T-Pain keeps dancing to the beat. Acting is CLEARLY not his forte. Then he gets this rapper to come in near the end of the song and he’s dancing outside of her window to the beat, yet again. It’s just not believable. The cuts in and out from him on top of the building is just sloppy. The concept could’ve gone somewhere, but it didn’t. The video gets a thumbs down from me, but the song is pretty cool. Not a radio hit, but it’s good.
Check out the video below:
In the latest edition of ‘Weezy Wednesdays’, Lil Wayne spotlights his daughter and her latest single ‘Mind Goin Crazy’. After reading comments on blogs and YouTube, people are going a bit too hard on the 15-year-old. I know, I know. Her father is Lil Wayne, she’s surrounded by greats, BUT at the end of the day it’s her music and her sound. Now this is not a hit like Willow Smith’s ‘Whip My Hair’ which is one I’ve seen her compared to musically with this single. I think it’s great that she’s experimenting even though her singing is infused with auto-tune. I think it’s great that she has a platform to do so and yes there are youngsters with better vocals, better rhymes that do not have a father by the name of Lil Wayne, but this girl seems to have her head on straight. To me she seems like a very bubbly person from what she shows on Instagram and at the age she is she has every right to be care free.
Now the video and song is what I can see high schoolers bumping to as in they all seem to be ‘Reginaetors’. I wouldn’t say it’s horrible, but at certain points I am trying to piece together what she is saying because not all of it makes sense. I guess she got that from her daddy. I’m not counting her out just yet as this is just her first single. Who knows what’s to come next.
Overall, it’s nice to see that her project is coming to the light and not just talk that she’s signed to Young Money. There’s actually a product now. She’s teamed with Hairfinity and her album is set to be called Being Reginae. Check out her video and Hairfinity webisode below:
Drake and Lil Wayne have announced that they will be at war with each other come _ as they prepare for their joint tour titled, Drake VS Lil Wayne. Let me just FIRST say that I absolutely love the title. Might seem simple, but these two on tour is going to be amazing.
The tour will hit 31 cities (so far) starting in New York (Darien Center) August 8th and finishing in Texas (The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Foundation) on September 27th. For those in the tri-state area I would personally recommend the PNC Banks Arts Centre (Holmdell, NJ) show on August 26th. No these venues are not Met Life, Barclay, Staples, or any of that. I’m still interested in this tour. Tickets go on sale NEXT FRIDAY (6.20) on LiveNation.
Check out the full list of dates below (via Rap-Up):
Aug. 8 – Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
Aug. 9 – Noblesville, IN – Klipsch Music Center
Aug. 10 – Tinley Park, IL – First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Aug. 12 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Aug. 13 – Hartford, CT – XFINITY Theatre
Aug. 15 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
Aug. 16 – Clarkston, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
Aug. 17 – Burgettstown, PA – First Niagara Pavilion
Aug. 19 – Forest Hills, NY – Forest Hills Tennis Stadium
Aug. 21 – Camden, NJ – Susquehanna Bank Center
Aug. 25 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
Aug. 26 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
Aug. 27 – Virginia Beach, VA – Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach
Aug. 29 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
Aug. 30 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
Aug. 31 – Atlanta, GA – Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood
Sept. 3 – West Palm Beach, FL – Cruzan Amphitheatre
Sept. 4 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Sept. 6 – Austin, TX – Austin360 Amphitheater
Sept. 7 – Dallas, TX – Gexa Energy Pavilion
Sept. 10 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Sept. 11 – West Valley City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre
Sept. 13 – Ridgefield, WA – Sleep Country Amphitheatre
Sept. 14 – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
Sept. 16 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
Sept. 17 – Wheatland, CA – Sleep Train Amphitheatre
Sept. 19 – Irvine, CA – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Sept. 20 – Chula Vista, CA – Sleep Train Amphitheatre
Sept. 22 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
Sept. 25 – Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion
Sept. 27 – Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
These two have a LOT of hits between them and together. Check out their latest collab ‘Believe Me’ below:
Welcome to another edition of This Week In Music. This is a weekly series that I have incorporated on my blog to highlight the music news of the week. Here are links to the other 3 volumes. Be sure to check them out:
Now for this week. There have been a ton of new music videos released this week so let’s get right into it. I blogged recently about the collab between Alicia Keys and Kendrick Lamar titled ‘It’s On Again’ for The Amazing Spiderman 2 soundtrack. I won’t go too much in depth with my thoughts on the track. Check my review here. As for the video it’s pretty basic. City lights and an edgy A. Keys. The song has a great vibe. Check out the video below:
Next up the Young Money collab (Tyga f/ Nicki Minaj & Lil Wayne), ‘Senile.’ I will say that I’m not really a fan of the whole Young Money project, Rise of an Empire, in general. I haven’t really liked anything released from the project aside from the popular ‘Trophies’ and ‘Lookin Ass’. As for the video, it’s like walking into different vortexes and what not. Tyga is dancing with the Jabawockeez then getting his Zen on with a couple hippies. Nicki is a thug, no surprise, and does her thing in Moschino attire with a Barbie stomach tatttoo. Then for Mr. Young Money himself, Lil Wayne, he’s rapping while having dinner with a family of hillbillies.Not really sure of video concepts anymore. Not surprised as far as concepts because Young Money videos never make sense to me. Check out the video below:
Next up we have Estelle with her video for her raunchy track, ‘Make Her Say (Beat It Up)‘. Although the song is very different for Estelle I do like the concept she had with the video. It was more documentary style by showing different couples and zoning in a little bit on their sex life and highlighting them in the video than herself. I guess that makes it more real and personal. I was expected Estelle to be getting down & dirty with this one, but this concept works for TV. Watch the video below:
August Alsina released his debut album, Testimony, this week and in last week’s This Week In Music I posted about his collab with Fab. After listening to the album I have my favs and will be doing a My Top 5 soon. As for the video I will say it’s a pretty basic strip club video. I mean he’s a singer with a rapper talking about money. I’m so not surprised. Take a look below:
I have been hearing this ANNOYING song on the radio for weeks and when I saw that there was a video released I was surprised to know that it was Mack Wilds. I absolutely love ‘Own It‘ and his album (New York: A Love Story) was decent for it being his debut. He teams with French Montana, Mobb Deep, and Busta Rhymes for this video that seemed to be inspired by the Craig Mack Flava In Ya Ear video. Looks pretty basic & boring to me. I guess I see where it was going, it just didn’t work. Check out the video ‘Henny (Remix)’ below:
Boy oh boy is this an interesting collab. Major Lazer teams up with Pharrell for the track ‘Aerosol Can.’ Let me just say that there’s no genre Pharrell can’t do. As for the video Major Lazer is no stranger to bringing out the creativity. This is more so of a lyric video with certain words being animated and there’s an artist drawing everything out. I love the simplicity of the video being that it doesn’t take away from the song. Check out the vid below:
Be sure to tune in next week for another edition of This Week In Music. Until next time…
Another week has passed and it’s OFFICIALLY APRIL! Let’s get into the music recap of the week.
Drake dropped TWO tracks ‘Draft Day’ and ‘Days In The East.’ ‘Draft Day’ samples Lauryn Hill’s ‘Doo-Wop (That Thing)’ and ‘Days in The East’ has that ‘Take Care’ vibe. Both tracks for me are bleh for me. I do prefer ‘Draft Day’ over the other track. I don’t know how to feel about the music Drake releases. Although I’ have all 3 albums, I’ve never been the biggest fan. I respect him as an artist, but I’m not sure how to feel about the direction of his new project. I love what’s on the radios then I get the album and it’s like, ok for me. This time it’s reversed. I did like ‘Trophies’ and his ‘We Made It’ freestyle. These two tracks are just bleh for me. Maybe they’ll grow on me, maybe not. Only time will tell. Take a listen below:
In other new music news, the remake of Diana Ross’, ‘I’m Coming Out’ came by way of Iggy Azalea and Keyshia Cole. The sound will not be featured on Cole’s new album or Iggy’s debut, but is in the forefront for the soundtrack to the new movie, The Other Woman. My thought? I HATE IT! I do not like the remake of all. Not a fan. Keyshia’s vocals sound strained and Iggy oh Iggy how I love her, it’s just her bars did NOTHING for me on this. You be the judge below:
https://soundcloud.com/mixtaperepublic/keyshia-cole-im-coming-out
Lastly and my favorite music release of the week is Marsha Ambrosius’, ‘Run.’ I absolutely love her voice and this song vocally and lyrically is AMAZING. It will be featured on her upcoming LP. Take a listen below:
Now let’s briefly talk about the AMAZING week that NYCs Hot 97 is having. The new series on VH1, “This Is Hot 97,” premiered on VH1 this past Monday (March 31) and the lineup for their annual Summer Jam was released.
If you guys are not aware of what Summer Jam is, in a short version, it’s a mega hip hop concert which takes place at Met Life Stadium. I went to Summer Jam in 2011 and the experience, well I blogged about it so click here to read on that. I’m 50/50 on whether I want to go this year. The lineup is ok for me. Check out the lineups below for both the festival & stadium stages.
When it comes to the Billboard charts there have been MANY albums to top the charts and set records and this week another milestone came for the Frozen Soundtrack. The album became the first to spend the most weeks at #1 since Adele’s 21. It becomes the 20th album, since the creation of Nielsen SoundScan in 1991, to spend at least 8 weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200. I personally did not understand the hype of the movie until I watched it and let me be the first to say it is the best animated movie I’ve seen in a long time from the message to the animation itself. Well deserving of the Oscar wins it received. Take a listen to the Oscar winning track for Best Original Song, ‘Let It Go.’
https://soundcloud.com/hollywoodrecpromo/idina-menzel-let-it-go-from
Lastly in music news for the week
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