Drake blesses us with new album 'Views'
Formerly known when first announce as VIEWS from the 6, back in July 2014, Drake has dropped his latest album VIEWS.
Earlier this week Drake announced his 20 song track list from the album also giving a shutout to the producers behind VIEWS. Features on the album include Future, PARTYNEXTDOOR, and Rihanna to name a few. The release of VIEWS came after Drake sat down with Zane Lowe for a special episode of OVO Sound Radio where he talked the work behind the long awaited album.
A follow up from Nothing Was the Same (2013) Drake has dropped two mixtapes since then. The massively successful If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late and his team up mixtape with Future What a Time to Be Alive, respectfully.
Gearing up for the road Drake along with Future will embark for the Summer Sixteen tour that will be including two Chicago stops the same week as Lollapalooza on July 26 and 27.
The 20 song roll out includes previously released songs “Summer Sixteen” and “Hotline Bling”. With added support from many Toronto based producers to Kanye West himself make sure to check back with us for our review.
Drake's fourth studio album Views is now available via. iTunes.
Riot Fest 2015 Lineups Revealed
It's been a busy month for Riot Fest organizers as they went from facing problems with Humboldt Park to being named USA Today's top summer music festival to eventually relocating to Douglas Park for their flagship Chicago festival. Finally, after incessant badgering on Twitter, the first wave of the Riot Fest 2015 lineup has been revealed. Some of the announced headliners are a bit surprising, considering the festival's typical M.O. However, it just further illustrates how large and popular the festival has grown over the past few years.
Riot Fest Chicago highlights include a few bands performing full albums like Rancid playing ...And Out Come the Wolves, Snoop Dogg playing Doggystyle, Ice Cube (and guests) performing NWA's Straight Outta Compton, The Academy Is... performing Almost Here, and The Dwarves performing Blood Guts and Pussy. Other musical highlights include No Doubt, Tenacious D, Modest Mouse, Motorhead, Less Than Jake, Modern Life is War, Lifetime, Cypress Hill, and local acts like Alex Wiley, Into It. Over it., and Psalm One.
Riot Fest Toronto highlights include Alexisonfire, Wu-Tang Clan, Tyler, the Creator, and Coheed and Cambria.
Riot Fest Denver highlights include Modest Mouse, Iggy Pop, Flogging Molly, Alkaline Trio, and Pixies.
Pre-sale tickets are already sold out, but you can still find 3-day passes for Chicago, Denver, and Toronto.
Photographer Duo Turns Annoying Potholes into Art
Photos by Photographer duo Davide Luciano and Claudia Ficca
Potholes are a driver's nightmare and with this Winter's cold wrath, it seems that they have multiplied in cities across the nation. While most of them go unfixed, Photographer duo Davide Luciano and Claudia Ficca managed to turn these annoying city potholes into works of art in their ironic photo series, “My Potholes".
The idea for this series was inspired from their individual experience after hitting a pothole in their own neighborhood in Montreal, an experience we city dwellers can all relate to. Eventually, the idea broadened into creating various imaginative scenes within the backdrops of New York City, Los Angeles, Toronto and Montreal, where street cracks and potholes play a major role in the everyday commute. Each scene directly engages the street and the city, transforming the bad into good, creating surreal scenery while adding perspective on how we are connected and affected by the environment around us. It's definitely an interest concept.
Check out the following photos and find more here.
[Via Demilked, MyPotholes]
[Sunday Coffee Sipper] Deciphering Drake
Drake. His name is everywhere these days and the Toronto native finds himself smack dab in the center of pop culture lexicon-sandwiched somewhere between Miley Cyrus and the Geico "Hump Day" camel. For all the headlines, videos, interviews and general content that has been produced around Drake, it is interesting that we know so little about someone who shares so much. With a barrage of music released over the past five years or so, Drizzy still remains one of the biggest enigmas in music today.
To be sure, Drake's discography read like entries in a diary. So Far Gone showed us Drake before the fame, working out his inner feelings, wondering what would come next and who was really true while looking inwards for answers. He posed a lot of questions that may have been answered by now. On Thank Me Later he contradicted himself often, telling listeners to thank him now and generally reminiscing over the onset of fame. Take Care was his masterpiece to date, the album that it all came together in harmony, garnering him critical praise from those in and out of hip-hop.
With his latest project, Nothing Was The Same Drake keeps with the melodramatic soul searching that has become his calling card, while also pushing things forward. Currently, the album sits one spot behind New Zealand native Lorde’s debut album Pure Heroine on the iTunes charts. The lead singles from the project, "Started From The Bottom" and "Hold On, We're Going Home" are vastly different, demonstrating the rapper/actor/singer's ability to move seamlessly through his Rolodex of titles with ease.
"Hold On, We're Going Home" itself is a bit departure of style for the former Degrassi: Next Generation star. Without any bars on the record, it is one of the few tracks that Drake exclusively sings on, one that is likely to be played at weddings for a long time. The video for the song also plays into the Drizzy "renaissance" man aesthetic, a cinematic, gun-crazy feature of a visual that gave viewers a look at Drake from many angles at once.
He was criticized for "Wu Tang Forever," as "die hard" rap fans condemned the reference to the iconic group. Talking to U-God in an interview awhile back he spoke of Wu-Babies, descendants of theirs that came up on Wu Tang. Drake, at 26, was certainly the product of listening to RZA, GZA and the like, but the song falls short of doing them justice. It is J. Cole's "Let Nas Down" without the understanding and worldview that made Cole's song an instant classic.
Careful features, like that of Sampha, of electronic duo SBTRKT on "Too Much", as well as 2 Chainz, Birdman and Big Sean are paired with lesser-known features such as Jhene Aiko, Majid Jordan and Detail and continue to demonstrate Drake's innate ability to recognize solid work from a variety of avenues. Drake alleges to have "Started From the Bottom" but even at the top, isn't afraid to shine a wide light on exceptional talent.
Aubrey Graham is a complicated guy who makes uncomplicated music. It is easily digestible, readily relatable and consistent enough for listeners to know what to expect in most regards. For this reason, it's almost impossible to turn on the radio or walk into a party without his voice present. Nothing Was The Same is a continuation of the narrative that Drake has developed since emerging on the scene in 2009. The biggest compliment to an album is it's ability to be listened through as an entirety. The latest offering from the Toronto crooner is no Take Care, but shows development and talent that can't be ignored.
http://youtu.be/GxgqpCdOKak
Drake Named Toronto Raptors' Global Ambassador
It's normal to see some of your favorite rappers sitting courtside at any NBA game. If you're a rapper of Jay Z's caliber, you probably have had ownership in a team and started a sports agency. If you're a rapper along the lines of Drake, well then you can become the global brand ambassador for the Toronto Raptors.
"The position serves various roles including franchise host, business partner, and consultant," which makes sense since Toronto is set to host the NBA All-Star Game for the first time ever in 2016. One thing's for sure: it should be one hell of an All-Star weekend when that time rolls around, and it will be interesting to see what Drake has planned. Until then, check out what he has to say about his new position in the video below.
http://youtu.be/JxP7N2cnvZU
[Via HypeTrak]
[Stream] The Weeknd: "Kiss Land"
The Weeknd, quiet since his release of his Trilogy series last year, premiered his latest album, Kiss Land via an album stream on NPR, which is available here. At first listen, the newest offering from the Toronto native isn't much of a departure from his earlier work: introspective-laden lyrics dripping in layers with a lot of large-scale production behind it, albeit a bit more dance-laden. The Weeknd does what he does well, and that sentiment isn't lost on him as he seems to further his brand and personal genre with Kiss Land. The lone feature go to Drake (of course), check it out for yourself.
[via NPR]