[Video] Jordan Bratton: "Stranger"
Jordan Bratton, an 18-year-old 'alternative R&B' singer from Long Island, New York dropped a hell of a debut project in December of last year called The Grey Area. Endlessly compared to Justin Bieber because of his age and talent, Bratton possess an edge and brevity to his voice that is lost on his 19-year-old Canadian peer. The project, which left room to grow, also established Bratton on a larger scene as a vocalist to take note of. Similar to the way Frank Ocean's 2011 project, Nostalgia/Ultra got insiders and music aficionados talking, The Grey Area may be the vessel Bratton needs to break out of his hometown in New York. The video for one of the standout tracks on the project, "Stranger" got a visual today, premiering on The Guardian. Thus far, Bratton has kept his face and identity somewhat out of the public sphere, allowing for the tracks to be the focus of listeners. In the video for "Stranger", directed by Ronald Reid, the camera follows Bratton on his journey to the studio via BMX bike. As the story goes, Bratton, who lives in Long Island, travels across the boroughs to make his music. Check out the full video for "Stranger" below, with the full stream/DL of The Grey Area.
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[Contest] Win a Pair of Tickets for Mic Terror's Fresh Prince of Darkness Release Party
On March 7th, Ruby Hornet is co-sponsoring Mic Terror's Fresh Prince of Darkness release party at the Hard Rock Cafe alongside our friends at Jugrnaut, Closed Sessions, Iridium, and OTG Management. Also on the bill are The Cool Kids, Saint Millie, Taylor Bennett, and Treated Crew, with DJ sets from MattBoyWhite, Manny Muscles, VIP J, RTC, and Million $ Mano. Advance tickets are currently on sale for $20 both online and at Jugrnaut, while tickets at the door will be $25 ($20 if you purchase a copy of Fresh Prince of Darkness). The show begins at 10pm and will be 18+.
With all of that said, I know this is gonna be one of next week's best shows to attend for all you rap fanatics, and a perfect send-off before the start of SXSW. We have a pair of tickets for one lucky Twitter follower to attend this extra stacked show. All you have to do is follow us on Twitter (@RubyHornet) and tweet us with #RHFPoD. Winners will be announced next week. You can tweet us as many times as you like, so go crazy!
Good luck.
Chicago Acts to Look Out For in 2014
Photo by Bobby Reys
Chicago has been on lately. The Second City has always been known as a musical city and the current rate at which it has produced talent as of late is only adding to that legacy. As festival lineups roll out as we transition into Spring, it has become common to find a Chicago act, if not several, on the list. For this reason, we decided to put together a list of up and coming artists from Chicago that we expect to fully blossom throughout 2014. We added numbers, but there's no real order as far as rankings, just a collection of musical acts from the city that deserve a spotlight. Last year, Chance The Rapper, Chief Keef and a host of hip-hop artists dominated music headlines as a pipeline was established in the Midwest. There is plenty in the city that isn't rap music too though, and we made sure to highlight everyone. Take some time to flip through the next batch of stars to rise out of Chicago.
[Album Stream] Schoolboy Q: "Oxymoron"
All the hype has finally led to this: the highly-anticipated and talked about major debut for Schoolboy Q. With the release of his album, Oxymoron, tomorrow, Q follows a tough act from fellow TDE-signee Kendrick Lamar who set the bar with 2012's Good Kid, m.A.A.d City. It's also the first substantial release we've had from him since 2011's lauded Habits & Contradictions. In the lead-up to the release, the L.A. native also dropped a visual for he song "Break The Bank" which features his four-year-old daughter Joy, who also helped him announce the release dates late last year. The soulful, piano-infused track sets the tone for that should prove to be one of the better hip-hop releases to reach the public in recent memory. Kendrick Lamar took over the rap game with his proper debut, it will be interesting to see if the public connects with Schoolboy Q the same way. Pick up the full project and listen to it streaming via iTunes
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[Songs of the Day] 2/21/14 (Feat. Young Thug, LIZ, James Blake & More)
Another day, another batch of songs, here's today's songs of the day for the 21st of February. Paper Diamond continued a steady stream of jams by releasing "Wylin" with LOUDPVCK to celebrate his Pro Partnership with Soundcloud. Chief Keef kept the tracks coming with "Save Me", newcomer LIZ showed up with "Say U Will", Young Thug gave us "Geek'd Up", while Milwaukee product Klassik offered up a remix of Thug's song "Danny Glover". Norwegian Maya Vik continued to produce beautiful music with her latest song, "Totally Right" and Chicago MC Highlife released "True Lies". Rounding out the day was Ty Dolla $igns star-studded remix of "Or Nah" produced by The Weeknd and featuring Wiz Khalifa and James Blake, operating under his DJ name Harmonimix, remixed Kendrick Lamar's anthem, "m.A.A.d City". Check out all of the track, streaming below.
Track of the Day: Paper Diamond & LOUDPVCK: “Wylin”
Paper Diamond & LOUDPVCK: “Wylin”
Chief Keef: “Save Me”
LIZ: “Say U Would”
Young Thug: “Geek’d Up”
Highlife: “True Lies”
Maya Vik: “Totally Right”
Young Thug: “Danny Glover Remix” (Feat. Klassik)
Ty Dolla $igns: “Or Nah” (Feat. Wiz Khalifa & The Weeknd)
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Kendrick Lamar: “m.A.A.d City” (James Blake Remix)
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50 Cent Leaves Shady/Interscope, Releases "Funeral"
It doesn't seem like a big thing, a major artist leaving his record deal after more than a decade relationship. People grow, things change and circumstances often dictate changing where one does business. This is not the case for 50 Cent and his departure from Jimmy Iovine's behemoth Interscope Records. To be sure, 50 Cent is a dinosaur of sorts navigating a new, somewhat unfamiliar landscape. His 2003 album Get Rich or Die Tryin' broke sales records and firmly placed him amongst rap's elite. I may be wrong on this, but, at least for my adolescent self, Get Rich or Die Tryin' seemed to be the last major, MTV-fueled hip-hop album to really make a mark. Obviously, The College Dropout followed a year later, eventually pitting 'Ye and 50 against each other in a sales battle upon the releases of Graduation and Curtis in 2007, which 50 was beaten.
50 exiting the major label industry is a big deal. It leaves Eminem honestly as one of the last holdovers for the major label format that existed a decade ago, and that only because of his individual label, Shady, which 50 Cent was a part of. Back in 1999, with the advent of Napster, we saw the inklings of what the music industry would become, a business that is just now manifesting itself with Grammy award-winning acts not signed to a major and acts putting out free projects that reach the charts. 50's decision to release his next project, Animal Ambition through Caroline, a distributorship owned by Universal. Similar to the deal Macklemore & Ryan Lewis employed with The Heist, albeit with a lot more of a budget thanks to smart business moves by Fiddy over the years. “I have had great success to date with Shady/Aftermath/Interscope, and I’d like to thank Eminem and Dr. Dre for giving me an incredible opportunity,” 50 Cent said in a statement. “I’ve learned so much from them through the years. I am excited to enter this new era where I can carry out my creative vision.”
50 Cent's independent debut will begin on June 3 with Animal Ambition, an unexpected turn for fans who expected the long-teased project Street King Immortal. “I recorded so many album-quality songs that I’m going to put the Animal project out as my viral marketing plan and then [Street King] will come out after,” he explained at a recent press conference. “[Animal Ambition] is about prosperity ... ambition and prosperity.”
Check out the video for 50's new song "The Funeral," released today, below.
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[Mixtape] Justin Rose: "RoseWaVve Vol. 1"
Late last year we profiled New York City product Justin Rose as part of our First Look series. At the time, the 23-year-old producer was hard at work on his debut, while also finishing work on frequent collaborator Kris Kasanova's project. Today, we finally get the product of that hard work as Rose's follow up to last year's release, 22kt: The Instrumental Tape, RoseWaVve Vol. 1 hit the net today with a premier on his own website, Rsgldthewrld.com. The latest features Rose both producing on the back end of the tracks and gracing the songs with his own flow. Tearing down the wall between producer and rapper can be a tightrope job, but Rose does it admirably here. On "Fear and Loathing" Rose transitions between rhyming in a variety of cadences while also helping on the hook. Here he sounds like what I believe Chief Keef might have been had the lean and bad decisions not gotten to him, with a wavy feel to it. Kasanova links up with him on "On It (How 2 Make It In America)" for what is a kick back in itself. The production alone is something to take note of as well. "Moving Tho" is an airy alternative r&b beat that floats off with a dreamy guitar line. The waves are certainly present here and Rose's latest is not to be missed. "Party4Me" is a potential club banger with huge drums paired with a clever hook and interesting inverted guitar riffs, showing the project can straddle several situations.
As artists across the country are coming up with more talents at their disposal, Rose's latest project proves he can hang with the best of them in this stepping out from the boards. Hit the link below to get the free download for the project and keep an eye out for much more to come from Justin Rose.
[Video] Scoolboy Q, Vic Mensa & Vado on 'RapFix Live'
Wednesday might as well have been "Come Up Day" over at the MTV RapFix studios in New York City. I say that because Sway, wearing a SaveMoney sweatshirt nonetheless, found himself flanked by two of the most aggressively progressive artists in hip-hop today in Vic Mensa and Schoolboy Q who were also joined by Cam'ron protege, Vado. The four men chopped it up between the couches with Sway, touching on what's come, what's gone and what's on the horizon. Schoolboy Q, whose album, Oxymoron is about ready to explode from anticipation leading up to the February 25 release date, showed up looking like he stole a page out of Pharrell's style book with a full brimmed hat capping off an ensemble that included a full-length grey trench coat and pink 'TDE' sweatshirt. Anything goes I guess when you're the 'Hood Pope'. Vic joined Schoolboy on the couch, rocking a matching sweatshirt to Sway's and giving the pink 'TDE' piece a run for its...money? Anyway, check out the full episode, streaming below courtesy of MTV.
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