Jay-z - Magna Carta Holy Grail

Sean Carter is 42 and is unequivocally still the champion of the rap game . He has released a must-hear record in three different decades. He has more #1 records than Elvis. He is 1/2 of the  most powerful couple in America not in the White House. So it was with a high-octance cocktail of hesitation and nervous excitement that I listened to Magna Carta Holy Grail yesterday. I wanted it to be great but I also knew that  it was made by a man with every reason to slack off. This acknowledgement, coupled with an ad campaign that set expectations at Empire State Building-level heights, SHOULD have made this record a disappointment; but it didn't. Aside from immaculate production and the dexterous flow that are prerequisites for a Jay-z record, Hova impressively employs new approaches on his twelfth album, leaving you with the feeling that you are talking to an old friend who just returned from a trip abroad--it's the same guy, but he has a slightly new outlook on the world.

Jay-z is always ahead of the curve when it comes to making money, whether it be starting his own label, heading a clothing line, sponsoring a vodka, owning a club or the 360 deal with LiveNation, he simply won't settle for the status quo. It is no surprise, then, that he released this album with Samsung to ensure it had a million copies moved before it even dropped. He is also a man that has never shied awy from picking up on trends in the industry and putting his own spin on them. The influences of Kendrick Lamar (longer tracks with beat changes and different flows) and A$AP Rocky (a song entitled Tom Ford) are prevalent on Magna Carta Holy Grail. But by studying new talent and adding his favorite aspects of their approach to his own game, Jay-z  has managed to sound fresh with each successive release. This same approach led him to making a gem at a stage in his life where many are on their second or third profession. By being both forward-thinking and decidedly present moment, Jay-z makes Magna Carta Holy Grail a candidate for album of the year in a year replete with deserving selections.

Jay uses the dialectical yin and yang approach to perfectly strike a balance between the thought-provoking and the playful, the sentimental and the gritty, the rear-view recollections and the Gringotts-level of luxury he lives in presently. And it is beautiful. After Yeezus, there was a lot of talk about Kanye surpassing Jay-z in the race to have the best catalog (mostly by me) but with the drop of  Magna Carta Holy Grail, Mr. Carter retakes the crown. Long live the King.

YelaWolf "Gangster" ft. A$AP Rocky and Big Henry

Another dope track from the mixtape Trap Muzik Returns.




This is what got me into Yelawolf a few years back and still stands as one of my favorite videos on the internet. If you don't know Yourstu.ly, get familiar.

Antwon and Friendzone "Automatic"

Fresh off of their production of A$AP Rocky's "Fashion Killa", Friendzone team up with Greedhead's newest signee (and official Drunken Uncle co-signed emcee) Antwon.

Y'all may remember Antwon from his dope mixtape last year, featuring the banger "Sittin' in Hell". If you were at a party with me last year, then you were getting drunk to it and listening to me explain why it was so great. If you never found yourself in that situation, then you missed out on my keen insights and adroit observations that are only enhanced with the influx of alcohol.

Bladdow:

A$AP Rocky - LONGLIVEA$AP

Some thoughts on Live.Love.A$AP:

• I have listened this record a few times but I am having a hard time putting a grade on it--I feel like it could be a solid A- record (if it were to remove a few tracks and add a few of the "bonus" tracks in their place) but I gotta go with a B/B+
• Idealist Tracklist: 
• Long Live A$AP
• Goldie
• Ghetto Symphony
• LVL
• Fuckin' Problems
• Wild for the Night
• 1train
• Fashion killa
• Jodye
• Phoenix
• Suddenly
• Angels
• Rocky's best verse is in "Ghetto Symphony" 
• HOLY SHIT the song with Skrillex is hot. Who woulda thought? 
• Where is the Pretty Flacko remix? 
• Rocky's best gift is his dexterity--he seems comfortable on any beat. This is not to say he is a great wordsmith (I feel like "bitch" "shit" and "rich" were rhymed 100 times during this album..and really, philosophy/socrates? come on, maaaan) but he does have a way of getting the most out of his abilities by having his words couple perfectly with the beat and having his presence amplify the emotion of the track.
• This album is forever going to be judged against the Live.Love.A$AP mixtape, but this is slightly unfair as Clams Casino burned through all of his best instrumentals on the mixtape. A$AP is as good as the production allows, and "Bass" and "Wassup" were two of my favorite beats of all time. This isn't to say that this album's production is slouchy---Friendzone, HitBoy and Skrillex all throw in great beats, and Clams' "LVL" is nice, too. It just isn't "Bass". 

A$AP Rocky "LONG LIVE A$AP"

Hands down the best track ever released on doomsday.

A$AP Rocky's "Long Live A$AP"

A$AP Rocky "1train" ft. Fucking Every Relevant Rapper

OHHHH SHIIIT. The posse cut of 2012.

A$AP Rocky's (Alleged) Track List

After reviewing the menu--and hours of painstaking deliberation-- I'll have one of everything twice, please. This album looks pretty tasty.

One concern though--the "Pretty Flacko" remix has Gucci (excellent choice), Waka (fantastic decision), and... Pharrell?!? I had such a music boner after the first two, now it's like I'm reliving my high school prom the way that I have a halfy and depression due to shattered dreams. 

What, you couldn't get Pusha T on that track, Rock? He was just too busy?! The god damn album has been pushed back 8 months--Pusha couldn't just jump in for one verse in that time period? Just one "Yuachhk"? 

I think we all remember the CRS "Us Placers" incident a few years back. Do we really wanna give Pharrell another go? For his own well being, do we want to see him be the worst rapper on a track again? It's setting him up for failure--we gotta pull some Little Miss Sunshine shit right. now. 

Honest question--is there like an AARP discount I don't know about that A$AP gets for including his old ass on this album? Because that would be understandable. Otherwise...no.

What's your angle, Pharrell? Do you plan to just falsetto your way through this shit? Is this part of your plan to just phase yourself out completely from my good graces? What gives? I hope you surprise me, sir. I hope you got that Dylan Hot Fire. Please, Pharrell, give me some of that hot fire.

LONGLIVEA$AP Track List:

01 Long Live A$AP
02 Goldie
03 PMW (All I Really Need) [ft. Schoolboy Q]
04 LVL
05 Hell [ft. Santigold]
06 Pain [ft. OverDoz]
07 F**kin' Problems [ft. Drake, 2 Chainz & Kendrick Lamar]
08 Wild for the Night
09 1 Train [ft. Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson & Big K.R.I.T.]
10 Fashion Killa
11 Phoenix
12 Suddenly
13 Pretty Flacco (remix) [ft. Gucci Mane, Waka Flocka Flame & Pharrell]
14 Ghetto Symphony [ft. Gunplay & A$AP Ferg]
15 Ticket
16 Like I’m Apart [ft. Florence Welch]
17 Purple Swag (remix)

(Via Pitchfork)

Big Boi ft. A$AP Rocky and Phantogram "Lines"

If the headline doesn't get you excited, you're in the wrong place.  So fucking hot.

A$AP Rocky Pushes Back Release Date

The title says it all: That Pretty Motherfucker will be releasing his album not on September 11 but on Halloween. Trick or Treat.

A$AP Rocky to Tour with Danny Brown, Schoolboy Q, A$AP Mob

A$AP Rocky will not let a little thing like being arrested arrest his development as an artist. (I...I apologize for that attempt.)

Pitchfork dropped the news that our boy Pretty Flacko will be hitting up a laundry list of venues with fellow blog darlings Danny Brown and Schoolboy Q starting in September. Expect lots of songs about sex and drugs and a hell of a raucous evening--A$AP's show in January is still the best I've seen this year. I highly recommend buying tickets.

Also, LONGLIVEA$AP will be out September 11. I will have no money by the end of September, I swear it; I cannot remember when a month has been this stacked with CD's I will buy/concerts I will attend. 

P.S.-- don't throw shit at the stage or the mob will come at you, bro.

A$AP Rocky Arrested

Pretty Flacko got booked for allegedly punching some photographers. Siiiiiiiiiiiiigh. I hate the paparazzi.

If someone followed me around all day and night, taking pictures I don't want them to take as they attempt to catch me in my worst possible moments, I would end up throwing punches at some point, too. 

FREE ROCKY!