The relationship between Bay area native Lil’ B (aka the Based God) and rapper Soulja Boy is one that is well-documented and one that is seemingly mutually beneficial. The two hip-hop artists write and produce complementary styles of popular rap; that is to say, a brand that caters to many and finds much adverseness with some. What’s clear about the two artists, however, is that they exhibit a work ethic that is uncommon of many in the current state of the rap game. The rousing success of Lil B, of course, being the stand-out example of this phenomena; with his massive influence on social networking behemoth Twitter and consistent releases of self-produced and directed freestyle videos on YouTube. Both artists, (though perhaps not of the tastes of many purveyors of today’s hip-hop and EOLA’s readership), the ethic and, somewhat ironically, the artists’ uniqueness in their strategies demonstrate why they worthy of discussion (at least in my eyes). Peep their recent collaboration “Swag OD” here:
Never one to lose the momentum of hype prior to the release of his new records, Chi-town’s rap megastar Kanye West has dropped two new joints to satiate the public’s hunger for his curious as-of-now titled project Dark Twisted Fantasy. The aptly titled “Monster” features a star-studded feature heavy line-up including Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj and, oddly enough, indie crooners Bon Iver (according to the band’s leading man Justin Vernon, the two had collaborated heavily during three recording sessions in Hawaii). As for the remix of “Runaway Love,” the combination of artists featured on the track is the result of none other than West’s new internet obsession, Twitter. The track features teen sensation Justin Bieber on the hook with Wu Tang associate Raekwon holding it down with a verse.
The young G.O.O.D. Music backed Detroit-based rapper Big Sean presents the third installment of his Finally Famous mixtape series; a precursor to the release of his debut album of the same moniker (slated to drop in September).
Following his Ode To Illmatic mixtape (which paid homage to New York rapper Nas), the young emcee Fashawn teams up with DJ Skee for the third installment of his Grizzly City series. The 18-track tape features guests such as Lil’ Wayne and even current Lakers small forward, Ron Artest.
Speaking of Ratatat, the Brooklyn electronic duo have dropped a new music video for the track “Drugs” off of their latest CD, LP4. The video which was directed by Carl Burgess, is not unlike their past video accompaniments, this time weirding viewers out with shots of awkwardly posited people.
Nowonder is the alias of aspiring Los Angeles-based electronic-pop recording artist, Danny Choi. With an extensive background in music, including a stint working with the music production staff of the hit television program “Yo Gabba Gabba,” Choi has long since honed his craft and geared it towards developing his own burgeoning production career. Stylistically, the highly infectious hooks and atmospheric electronic bits in the Nowonder tunes delineate the young musician’s diverse tastes and songwriting precision. Like many independent musicians today, Choi utilizes a ‘one-man operation’ approach in the skillful writing, production and mixing processes in his work (the quality of such, however, sets him apart from the rest).
The track “Manic” is one of Nowonder’s first public offerings and a great one at that. Influences like French dance duo Justice and Brooklyn electro favorites Ratatat are definitely felt in this chaotic dance song. More importantly, however, is the fact that it sounds as if Choi’s been at it just as long as the aforementioned artists.
Listen to “Manic” here:
The track, along with two others (”Fall” and “Dream”) available for download on Bandcamp.
The Dead Weather is a super-group based out of Nashville, Tennessee comprised of Alison Mosshart of The Kills, Jack White of The White Stripes and The Raconteurs, Dean Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age, and Jack Lawrence of The Raconteurs. If you didn’t already know all of that, now you know (and you probably now understand that they make damn good rock and roll, which they do). The band performed the fuzzed-out single “Blue Blood Blues” off of their latest record, Sea of Cowards, on The Letterman Show last night and, quite frankly, it demonstrates why the state of the rock genre needs Jack White back center stage.
The D.C.-based emcee Wale, whom released his major label debut album Attention:Deficit just last year, returns with a follow-up to his 2008 Seinfeld-themed mixtape in-hand, the More About Nothing mixtape. Aside from maintaining the first’s overall vibe (with samples from the show and decently produced instrumentals), the tape moves the rapper a bit forward with the times by incorporating features from Wiz Khalifa and Waka Flocka Flame. Overall, another somewhat solid offering, though it’s nothing we haven’t already heard from him.
More About Nothing Cover Art & Tracklisting:
01 The Problem
02 The MC
03 The Soup
04 The Breeze (Cool) [ft. Wiz Khalifa & Tré of UCB]
05 The Friends N Strangers [ft. Tré of UCB]
06 The Number Won (Competition)
07 The Eyes of the Tiger
08 The War [ft. Daniel Merriweather]
09 The Break Up Song
10 The Work (Workin)
11 The Black N Gold [ft. Sam Sparro]
12 The Manipulation Pt. 2
13 KD Interlude
14 The Posse Cut (Who Don’t) [ft. Fat Trel & Black Cobain]
15 Waka Flocka Flame [ft. Wale & Roscoe Dash]: “The Guilty Pleasure (No Hands)”
16 The Trip (Downtown)
17 The Ambitious Girl
18 The Motivation (Be Right) [ft. Dre from Cool & Dre]
19 The Cloud [ft. Tiara Thomas]
20 The Power [ft. Avery Storm]
21 The Get Away (Fly Away) [ft. Northeast Groovers]
The Canadian indie supergroup, Broken Social Scene, have long since been on a roll following the release of their 5th full-length album, Forgiveness Rock Record in May of this year. The collective consists of an ever-changing roster of musicians including Leslie Feist, Stars, Apostle of Hustle, amongst a slew of others. The music video for their second single off of the aforementioned album, “Forced To Love” features holographic type visuals of the band.
Check out the video, directed by Makapoon here:
Forgiveness Rock Record is in stores via Arts & Crafts now.
Soulja Boy & Lil’ B - Swag OD (Music Video)
The relationship between Bay area native Lil’ B (aka the Based God) and rapper Soulja Boy is one that is well-documented and one that is seemingly mutually beneficial. The two hip-hop artists write and produce complementary styles of popular rap; that is to say, a brand that caters to many and finds much adverseness with some. What’s clear about the two artists, however, is that they exhibit a work ethic that is uncommon of many in the current state of the rap game. The rousing success of Lil B, of course, being the stand-out example of this phenomena; with his massive influence on social networking behemoth Twitter and consistent releases of self-produced and directed freestyle videos on YouTube. Both artists, (though perhaps not of the tastes of many purveyors of today’s hip-hop and EOLA’s readership), the ethic and, somewhat ironically, the artists’ uniqueness in their strategies demonstrate why they worthy of discussion (at least in my eyes). Peep their recent collaboration “Swag OD” here:
