In a turn from my previous acoustic, folk style posts, I thought I’d delve into my Hip Hop genre here. A friend of mine this week told me that I “shouldn’t listen to hip hop, as you can’t relate to this gangsta lifestyle.” This led to a fairly heated debate (mainly down to him disrespecting my gangsta lifestyle) but mainly because I don’t agree with that. That in mind, this gem from Kweli I think can be related to by anybody who gives it a listen.
Here’s a new track from Kanye with Pusha T. After winning a BET Award with Jay-Z (an award ceremony that had everything, including Jay-Z in direct competition with his missus, and Kanye getting interrupted during his speech in a Kanye-like way), Yeezy is on a high. He has every reason to be with awesome tracks like this one.
Back to rap. Oh how I have missed you. Here’s something really cool: Barbadian rapper Haleek Maul is only 16 years old and has just recently released Oxyconteen, an EP that can be described as dark and insightful. He’s 16. That was me two years ago, jeez.
Been a little bit since I updated my rap music. I decided to do a little digging, and up popped Nobodies by Lil Kids, a nice track that wouldn’t feel out of place playing while you’re putting an evil undercover plan. That’s why it now holds a place on my most important iTunes playlist of all. My ‘Music for a heist’ playlist (yes, it exists).
You’ve Got The Love has been has been an undeniable success. However, The XX’s version featuring Theophilus London is a whole other ball game but don’t worry. I’ve got you covered (yes I just made that joke). Have the three-piece band (the fourth member in the picture is Baria Qureshi who left in late 2009) been able to replicate the same emotion that shone through in Florence’s version?
For those of you who have read my posts for a while, you’ll know that I thought Drake absolutely killed it with his latest album Take Care. I went through a love affair with each song separately and for the first time really realised the genius of Drake’s lyrics. For any fans of that album, this post is an absolute must-read. You will fall in love with what you’re about to hear. Continue reading
I had my iPod on shuffle yesterday, and this diamond (see what I did there) started playing. I forgot how awesome a song this was, and Yeezy really tears this track up. His flow and the lyrics are out of this world, so it’s definitely worth rediscovering.
Another album for which there has been an absolutely massive amount of anticipation. Drake’s Take Care is his second full album, and after early releases of Marvin’s Room, Headlines, and Trust Issues, everybody who loves Drake could not be more excited. The official release is set for November 15th, but over here, we got lucky and I managed to get my hands on an early copy.
Really sorry for the lack of posting, but me and the others are just being bombarded with tidal waves of work, and so it’s really tough to find the time some days. I’ll keep it short and sweet today and leave you with a little tune I’ve been enjoying over the past week. Bei Maejor covers Drake with his piano-based cover of I’m On One. Enjoy:
Apologies for how late today’s (or should I say tonight’s) post has arrived. I had to go to the hospital to get a recurring back problem checked on. Better late than never, right? I guess in some ways it was inevitable that one of us had to write something about Jay-Z and Kanye’s collaborative project, Watch The Throne. Two of the biggest names in hip-hop coming together was always going to harness masses of attention, and after listening to the whole album through a couple of times, I can say that I really honestly like it a lot. Take a listen to perhaps my favorite track, Made In America:
You might be able to tell that I’m a little reluctant to say that I really, really love this album. The main reason for this is that I feel like the album is an experiment in some way. Jay-Z and Kanye have absolutely nothing to prove after their colossal success, so they can do what they like as far as I see it. In some parts, the experiments are great, and work well, but I’m just reluctant to fully embrace something that in places, doesn’t sound like it has a clarified style. Don’t get me wrong, I still think the album as a whole is great, and I love the inclusion of Frank Ocean and Mr Hudson on certain tracks. I would still definitely download it because it’s awesome lyrically, and makes for a great listen, and to be honest, in my opinion it’s one of those albums that you really have to hear yourself to judge.
Michael Crewe
Elliot Taylor
Henry Ellenthorpe
Jonah McGowan
Kishen Vora
Can You Hear This 