[Songs Of The Day] 2/3/14 (Feat. Young Thug, Ellie Goulding, Big Boi & More)

And we're back for week two of our new daily feature on the site, "Songs of the Day". Starting February off on the right foot, we have a banger from Atlanta's Young Thug who demonstrates why he has the like of Kanye West raving about him, teaming up with Future and Rich Homie Quan for "Out My Face". We get a healthy dose of remixes once again, with re-workings of James Blake's "Life Round Here" from Ellie Goulding and Angel HazeRico Love showed off a packed lineup on his "They Don't Know" remix which features the likes of Ludacris, Trey Songz, Tiara Thomas, T.I. and Emjay. Robbie Brundell also tacks on his own rendition of Drake and Jhene Aiko's hit, "From Time". Australian EDM artist Will Sparks also delivers the first single off his upcoming, debut album in "Catch".

Hottest track of the day: Yasiin Bey, better known to the larger world as Mos Def, teamed up with a posthumous Marvin Gaye for what he calls "Yasiin Gaye" on this mash-up remix of Bey's 1997 track "Travelin' Man" and Gaye's 1971 hit "Inner City Blues" by producer Amerigo Gazaway. The track is infectiously soulful from beginning to end, making it our hottest track of the day.

Young Thug: “Out My Face" (Feat. Future & Rich Homie Quan)

Ellie Goulding: “Life Round Here Remix” (Feat. Angel Haze)

Ciara: “Anytime” (Feat. Future)

Yasiin Bey x Marvin Gaye (Yasiin Gaye): “Inner City Travellin’ Man” (Amerigo Gazaway’s Soul Mates Remix)

Rico Love: “They Don’t Know Remix" (Feat. Ludacris, Trey Songz, Tiara Thomas, T.I. and Emjay)

Drake & Jhené Aiko: “From Time" (Ruben Brundell Remix)

Big Boi: "Gossipzilla" (Feat. Big K.R.I.T., Blue Oyster Cult & UGK)

Will Sparks: "Catch"


Songs Of The Day 1/29/14 (Feat. Mac Miller, Paper Diamond, Cam'ron and more)

 

. . . And we're back with the latest wave of released tracks to hit the web today. Starting things off, Pittsburgh native Mac Miller, who recently announced his departure from longtime label Rostrum Records, dropped his single, "Tequila" today under the moniker Larry Fisherman. Cam'ron & A-Trak got together  on "Humphrey" and a bit of generational hand-off happened as Freddie Gibbs and  Madlib show the youngin's  what's what on "Robes" which features OFWGKTA members Earl Sweatshirt and Domo Genesis who kill over the soulful Madlib-produced joint. Paper Diamond proves he's a machine by pumping out yet another track in what seems like a constant assembly line of bass-heavy jams and Future does his own rendition of Beyonce & Jay-Z's recent single, "Drunk In Love", but without Ciara. Check out all of the songs of the day, streaming below!

 

Mac Miller "Tequila"

 

Cam'ron & A-Trak "Humphrey"

 

Paper Diamond “Black Rose”

 

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib "Robes" (Feat. Earl Sweatshirt & Domo Genesis)

 

Future "Drunk In Love" (Remix)


[Sunday Coffee Sipper] Reflecting on the BET Hip Hop Awards

On October 16 in Los Angeles, California Rap music's elite showed out for the annual BET Hip Hop Awards, commemorating the best of all things hip-hop in the past year. Kendrick Lamar cleaned up, hauling in five awards including best album and lyricist of the year while Jay-Z, Big Sean and the rest of hip-hop's governing body took turns patting each other on the back. For today's Sunday Coffee Sipper I break down the list of winners from several of the categories and decide who I would have picked from the very small group of nominees that were available for the awards, enjoy!

Best Hip-Hop Video: Drake "Started From The Bottom": I literally thought this was the most bogus video I had seen until Chief Keef's "Love No Thotties" premiered this week. Seriously though, you're not making it any easier to legitimize the "Started From The Bottom" mantra with the opening scene of a Toronto youth soccer game played in a bubble, or perhaps it's the perfect metaphor. The fake snow, all white everything convertible dance scene is just downright goofy, as is the Wal-Mart confetti-strewn dance party. Drake had a lot of dance parties at the bottom. Where is 'here' anyway? Could be anywhere. Ah, Drake, they'll love whatever you do.

Who Should Have Won: Kendrick Lamar – ‘Don’t Kill My Vibe’

Reese’s Perfect Combo Award (Best Collabo, Duo or Group): A$AP Rocky f/ 2 Chainz, Drake & Kendrick Lamar "Problems": Of the nominations, this was an easy favorite for the best collaboration of the year. Featuring the top names in hip-hop today and a blistering verse from K Dot it stood head and shoulders above even Ace Hood and Future's summer banger "Bugatti" and J. Cole and Miguel's "Power Trip".

Best Live Performer: Jay-Z: Not sure about the nomination or the win on this one. Jay-Z is certainly a pillar of hip-hop, but there are plenty of better live acts around the country that could have vied for the title, even outside of the nominees. Granted, Jay-Z proved to be a step ahead of the competition in the crafting of a different live set idea with his "Picasso Baby" art installation, a wholly different take on hip-hop as an accepted artform. Regardless, I can't help but feel there was a better choice to be had.

Who Should Have Won: J. Cole/2 Chainz

Lyricist of the Year: Kendrick Lamar: They probably didn't need to announce this one. Between good kid, m.A.A.d. city, the much-talked about verse on Big Sean's "Control" and a host of outstanding features throughout the year, Kendrick cemented himself as the lyricist to match in 2013. The "Control" verse in general, in which he called out the other top names in the game, nestled Kendrick firmly in the upper echelon of hip-hop artists today.

Album of the Year: Kendrick Lamar, Good Kid m.a.a.d. City: Again, a fairly easy choice as the top rap album of 2013. Kendrick finally emerged from Section 80 to the big leagues with his chart-topping album that, as stated earlier, vaulted him from one of the new guys to the forefront of everything happening from here on out.

Producer of the Year: Mike Will Made It: It's hard to be too upset with this decision, Mike Will Made it had some of the year's biggest songs, using his enormous drum ensembles to shake the walls of clubs from coast to coast with songs like"No Lie" by 2 Chainz, "Bandz a Make Her Dance" by Juicy J, "Pour It Up" by Rihanna and "We Can't Stop" by Miley Cyrus. They weren't the best songs of the year, but they topped the charts. I can't forgive him for allowing Cyrus to don a Michael Jordan jersey while twerking in their "23" collaboration, though. In comparison, Pharrell did songs with Jay-z, Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke and Daft Punk.

Who Should Have Won: Pharrell Williams

Track of the Year: "Started From The Bottom," produced by Mike Zombie and Noah "40" Shebib: Can't even lie about it, this song was not the best track of the year, by any means. Drake's attempt at convincing listeners that watched him as Jimmy on Degrassi that he, "started from the bottom" was ill-conceived and uninteresting. Sure, the beat and hook get stuck in your head, but is that all it takes to have a hot track? Of course, you catch more fish with a larger net and most of the nominees for each category were held to roughly the same six characters. That makes for a small net.

Who Should Have Won: ‘Don’t Kill My Vibe’ – Produced by Sounwave (Kendrick Lamar)

Best Mixtape: Big Sean, Detroit: This one just didn't make sense. In a category that included a host of independent artists including Chance The Rapper and Travi$ Scott, this would have been the perfect opportunity for BET to sway towards the up and coming, essentially the heart of hip-hop today. Instead, the crown for best mixtape was given to Big Sean's Detroit, making for an un-inspirational win for the G.O.O.D. Music star.

Who Should Have Won: Chance The Rapper: Acid Rap

Who New? Rookie of the Year: A$AP Ferg: This is deserved. Trap Lord  was easily one of the hottest releases of a packed summer of new music and Ferg showed that the buzz surrounding him and his major debut release was no fluke. With co-signs from just about everyone in the game right now, the award was fitting. Tough competition here, too, with Earl Sweatshirt, Action Bronson and Joey Bada$$ rounding out the nominees.

MVP of the Year: Kendrick Lamar: Honestly, he could have taken most of the awards with the competition BET stacked up against Kendrick. More than anyone else, Lamar and his TDE crew have brought about a sound and a mentality that had been lacking in hip hop as of late. As he made it known on that fateful "Control" verse, this is now Kendrick's game, and everyone has to step up.

 


Future back on tour with Drake

Well, that was quick. Apparently Drake and Future, two single-named overtly-emotional artists got into a bit of a tiff earlier this week when Drake found out that Future had told Billboard he didn't particularly like Drake's latest album Nothing Was The Same. The Toronto native responded by allegedly having Future removed from his Would You Like a Tour? tour. Future allegedly was prepared to respond with a $1.5 million lawsuit, which now appears to have fallen by the wayside, and the two are apparently moving forward with original plans to travel North America singing their songs. Official Future tweet below.

Screen Shot 2013-10-17 at 2.59.34 PM


Drake kicks Future off of tour

Maybe it was just too many emotions for one bus. Pitchfork is reporting today that Drake kicked Atlanta-rapper/crooner Future off of his Would You Like a Tour? tour. The issue allegedly stems from comments Future made to Billboard about not being a big fan of Drake's Nothing Was The Same album. The comments, which Future apparently made "off the record" have been omitted from the original story, although writer Erika Ramirez tweeted what he said as well: "They're not possessive; they don't make you feel the way I do." Upon hearing the comments, Drake allegedly ordered a manager to kick Future off the tour or be fired. Future is allegedly suing for $1.5 million in lost wages. Whew! Here's a video teaser for the tour below.

[via Pitchfork]


[Video] Future: "Honest"

Future has yet another monster radio-hit in his hands with the latest latest single "Honest". The track is extremely catchy and will surely garner spins by every DJ in America, while its raw honesty will most likely have critics placing it in their best-of lists at the end of the year. Future Hendrix just dropped the official video for the track and you can watch it below.

http://youtu.be/FAeAp9MzPtk


Rick Ross: "No Games" (feat. Future) (prod. by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League)

Rick Ross

Rick Ross has been keeping himself busy working with MMG's third Self Made installment and also his forthcoming solo album Mastermind. "No Games", featuring Future and production by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, is the latest official single from the latter. Rozay and Future Hendrix are two of the most polarizing mainstream rappers in the game and this song will surely impact your local radio's playlist sooner than later.