The masterminds over at Yours Truly follow Mikal Cronin and show you how the sausage is made. For the record, I still want to eat it.
Monday, July 8, 2013
PAPA "Young Rut"
Yeah, so it is well documented that the break up of Girls made me cry a little, and I will never say that I'm happy it happened, but uhhhh I FUCK WITH PAPA HARD THO!
PAPA, you are my favorite mistake.
PAPA, you are my favorite mistake.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
The Streets "Let's Push Things Forward"
That ain't a bag it's a shipment
That ain't a track it's a movement
That ain't a track it's a movement
Friday, July 5, 2013
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$AP Rocky (a song entitled Tom Ford) are prevalent on Magna Carta Holy Grail. But by studying new talent and adding his favorite aspects of their approach to his own game, Jay-z has managed to sound fresh with each successive release. This same approach led him to making a gem at a stage in his life where many are on their second or third profession. By being both forward-thinking and decidedly present moment, Jay-z makes Magna Carta Holy Grail a candidate for album of the year in a year replete with deserving selections.
Jay uses the dialectical yin and yang approach to perfectly strike a balance between the thought-provoking and the playful, the sentimental and the gritty, the rear-view recollections and the Gringotts-level of luxury he lives in presently. And it is beautiful. After Yeezus, there was a lot of talk about Kanye surpassing Jay-z in the race to have the best catalog (mostly by me) but with the drop of Magna Carta Holy Grail, Mr. Carter retakes the crown. Long live the King.
Jay-z is always ahead of the curve when it comes to making money, whether it be starting his own label, heading a clothing line, sponsoring a vodka, owning a club or the 360 deal with LiveNation, he simply won't settle for the status quo. It is no surprise, then, that he released this album with Samsung to ensure it had a million copies moved before it even dropped. He is also a man that has never shied awy from picking up on trends in the industry and putting his own spin on them. The influences of Kendrick Lamar (longer tracks with beat changes and different flows) and A$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.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Mount Kimbie "You Took Your Time" (ft. King Krule)
Mount Kimbie and King Krule collaborate to cook up on of the tastiest songs of the year.
Top Releases of 2013 Thus Far
Below is a list of my favorite records, EPs and mixtapes in 2013* at the mid-year point, in alphabetical order by artist.
Action Bronson - Saaab Stories
A$AP Rocky - Long.Live.A$AP
The Babies-Our House on the Hill
Chance the Rapper-Acid Rap
Christopher Owens-Lysandre
Kanye West - Yeezus
Kurt Vile - Wakin on a Pretty Daze
ndeluv-Summer Jamz Vol. 2
Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold
Pusha T - Wrath of Caine
Spook Houses-Trying
Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
Waaves-Afraid of Heights
Wild Nothing - Empty Estate
Waaves-Afraid of Heights
Wild Nothing - Empty Estate
*and late 2012 that I didn't hear until 2013
Talking Heads "Dream Operator"
You wish you were me
I wish I was you
Don't you wake up
This dream will come true
I wish I was you
Don't you wake up
This dream will come true
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