The Audacity of Dope

Hmmm.  I love this record…well, like 75% of it (sorry Tim)…but this video doesn’t do much for me.  Seeing Timbaland lip sync Drake’s lines just reiterates the fact that Drizzy completely carries the song.  I believe this is what they call “pulling a Birdman.”  I.e., riding Drake’s coattails for dear life to remain relevant in hip-hop.  Shrug.

If you’d like an alternative, be sure to peep the mix I did including Lupe…

This dude is so ill on the drums.  Ridiculous.  Download link courtesy of the Dopehouse.

Drake ft. Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem – “Forever (Travis Barker Remix)”

Oh, and for the record: after further inspection, Lil Wayne remains thoroughly outclassed on this track.

Since I’m gonna run this on Sound Session tomorrow, I figured I’d post up this quick mix I made combining Timbaland’s “Say Something” featuring Drake with the freestyle that Lupe murdered last week.  Someone’s verse had to go…sorry Tim.

Timbaland ft. Drake & Lupe Fiasco – “Say Something (Hyphen Edit)”
(back up link)

Timbaland ft. Drake & Lupe Fiasco – “Say Something (Hyphen Edit) (Clean)”
(back up link)

Clean included for my fellow DJ’s.

Honestly, this video is a little bit of a hot mess.  Hype’s shots just seem so boring these days, the performances aren’t anything special, and the clips from LeBron’s movie just make it all look odd.  Definitely would have been better served to not appear on the soundtrack and perhaps have a little more creativity with the scenes.  With my day job involving music videos, I see 10 cooler clips than this a day…which is pretty sad when you think about all the major players that were involved with this project.

That said:

“she insists she got more class…WE KNOW“

is one of the hardest lines of the year.  Drizzy!

After weeks of teaser pics, behind the scenes vignettes, sneak previews (and sneak previews of sneak previews), the long awaited follow up to Drake’s “Best I Ever Had” video has finally hit the net.

First off, I prefer the mixtape version of this song from So Far Gone (minus Weezy’s completely unnecessary appearance) rather than this edit with an added verse from Trey Songz.  Plus the hook just doesn’t catch the same without hearing “the hoooooooes.”  Why is “hoes” even edited?  That’s not a bad word at all.  “Hoes.”  See?  No censor.  Thank you Don Imus.

Aside from the [Ludacris] HOErrible [/Luda] censorship, visually, I think the video is pretty much spot on.  If there was one iota of sunshine in this clip, I would have been livid.  The beat, melody, subject matter, etc. all combine for a perfect late night soundtrack.  It’s almost too bad the single couldn’t drop later in the year.  This would be ideal for the cold Pacific Northwest winter.

The video doesn’t do much for me (not really into girls looking like Destro), but the track is dope.  Well, the track is cool…and the verses from Drizzy and ‘Ye are fire.  Anyone who drops an “alt-tab” reference automatically wins, and Kanye’s verse is pretty much spot on.  “Even [his] superficial raps are super official.”  Not sure what’s up with the beat change during his verse for the video, but it’s cool.

And just to show you how far we’ve come in less than a decade of widespread technological assisted hook ups, I present Next’s classically bad computer-related sex track, “Cybersex”:

That’s right ladies…he wants your PC…to sit on his laptop.  “Oh technology, wow”…not one of RL’s finer moments.

As much as I like interviewing my favorite MC’s (most of which are dudes), it’s always a much appreciated change of pace when we bring a talented female into the Sound Session studio.  A while back, the lovely Melanie Fiona came through to chop it up with us and play some records from her upcoming album, The Bridge.

While the album’s release has been delayed until August here in the States, peep the interview to hear her discuss the motivation behind the music, why it’s universal to everyone, and how she’s hoping it helps kill off ringtone singles.  She also talked about her Canadian/West Indian background, the process of crossing over to America’s music industry by signing with Steve Rifkind’s SRC label, touring with Kanye West, and more.

You can watch the interview above or download the audio below.

Melanie Fiona on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?2m4glq2znej
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/62326399c6288270/)

Be on the lookout for The Bridge dropping soon…y’all haven’t heard anything yet, trust me.

(^^reminds me of why we used to go to our high school volleyball games)

The long awaited video for Drake’s “single” (in quotes cause they didn’t really choose it in the traditional sense) dropped tonight, courtesy of OnSmash with the world premiere.  As I mentioned on the Twitter, the combination of hot girls and basketball is pretty much a slam dunk for me, and the Kanye directed clip did not disappoint.  Well, unless you’re a sports bra manufacturer…cause you were not represented well here at all.

The highlight is definitely the 2nd skit break and Drake’s double entendre, but there is a weird Law & Order SVU kind of vibe jumping off here.  Anyone who has played or coached sports (I do both) knows the player/coach bond is definitely familial.  I understand the girls are on “his team” in a different sense, but it’s still stepping into an awkward area.

Shrug.  I’m sure he could recruit the same cast for an appropriate “HoustAtlantaVegas” video though…

The long awaited visuals for Wale’s lead single have finally leaked and I think the clip came out pretty nice.  Definitely crisp and I dig the track, though the blatant M.I.A. swagger jacking from GaGa’s hook still seems a little weird to me.  I’m sure Cool & Dre or someone ran it by M.I.A., but I’d be curious to hear what she feels about the hook.

Anyway, hopefully this single will catch on and Wale can join the ranks of Asher, Cudi, and Drake as the only new cats to actually get a crossover hit.  One of my old workplaces, KIIS in LA, has already added it so that’s a great sign.

Here’s another new video from Wale and Rik Cordero for “Family Affair” while we’re at it:

Seattle folks: Wale will be performing at Bumbershoot this year…don’t miss it…

This dude is freaking killing it.  Nice shot at the folks who took issue with his use of the Blackberry on the Funk Flex freestyle video.  Anyway, whoever brings him to the Northwest first will get major props.  Promoters, festivals, radio stations…hmmm…who will it be?

Courtesy of NahRight.