Summer Leather Vest – Unison (video)

Posted in Artists, Music Videos on November 25th, 2011 by Hyphen

I remember watching some of the Joe Budden TV episodes (side note: Joey is one of the most entertaining cats in the industry, hands down) when Drake put out So Far Gone and I always thought it was interesting how open Joe was in praising Drizzy’s work.  Take this one, for example, where Joe spazzes over “A Night Off”…and rightly so, it’s a phenomenal record.  A year or so later, he had the same reaction for Frank Ocean’s “Novacane,” which later led to this (Internet) classic.

Another year later, and it’s not surprising to see Joe release music with that same vibe, though he’s doing it fairly coyly as part of a side project with Emanny, jokingly called Summer Leather Vest (you’ll see the inspiration in the video hahaha).  It’s a shrewd, smart move, because it allows Joe to try something new without fully committing to it.  I’d expect to see some of this sound permeate his upcoming solo releases, but I doubt he’ll bring much of it to the Slaughterhouse project so fans of the rappity rapp rap shouldn’t fear.  I’m glad to see him diversifying his sound though, especially because joking or not, “Unison” came out fresh.

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Drake talks “The Calm”

Posted in Artists, Other Peoples' Interviews on January 15th, 2011 by Hyphen

5 mic personal classic mixtape, no question about it.  I’m a firm believer that if a particular album provides the soundtrack for your life at a certain important point, you’ll always hold it in a special regard.  And a refresher for the song in question, if you need it:

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Drake at KUBE 93’s Summer Jam (Seattle, WA – 6/18/10)

Posted in Artists, Live Performances, Sound Session, Videos on August 28th, 2010 by Hyphen

Much like that De La Soul footage I posted recently, I’ve been meaning to get some of this footage out for months.  Here’s a quick montage of Drake’s performance at our Summer Jam from June.  If you missed out, he’ll be back in Seattle next Monday with J. Cole and Mary J. Blige for Bumbershoot.  Holler @ a Hyphey when you see me there.

Shout to mind of i on the editing.

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Drake ft. Lil Wayne – Miss Me (video)

Posted in Artists, Music Videos on August 20th, 2010 by Hyphen

I love that Drizzy took a straight “9th Wonder from 2005” inspired beat and made it a radio record.  Underground wins.

Side note, Wayne’s verse on this joint is up there with hilariously half-wack-half-dope verses from So Far Gone.  “Uggggggggggh dat’s nasty…”

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Drake ft. Trey Songz – Successful (video)

Posted in Artists, Music Videos on September 1st, 2009 by Hyphen

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.

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Drake – Best I Ever Had (video)

Posted in Artists, Music Videos on July 1st, 2009 by Hyphen

(^^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…

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Drake – November 18th (live in Houston)

Posted in Artists, Live Performances, Videos on May 9th, 2009 by Hyphen

Ok, granted that he’s performing his H-Town anthem in H-Town (one of my former residences by the way), but it’s crazy how Drake doesn’t even need to rap/sing any of his lyrics already.  These fans know every single word and just like the last time, this same phenomenon plays out every single night he performs.  Every time I play this joint on SNSS we get immediate calls on it and folks even email later asking what it was.  It’ll be crazy to see how big (pause) Drizzy is by the end of the year.

Swiped from H.E.R.

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Drake – Best I Ever Had (live)

Posted in Artists, Live Performances, Videos on April 20th, 2009 by Hyphen

I mentioned this at the end of last night’s SNSS (which I’ll post up late tonight), so I thought I’d toss up the video for y’all.  Drake took NYC by storm at the end of last week and closed it out with a live show at SUNY Purchase.  If you weren’t convinced that this dude is going to be a huge star, watch how the audience is singing/rapping every word to “Best I Ever Had” like it’s the biggest song out right now.  Oh…and it was girls too…so you know Drizzy is gonna blow the hell up this summer.

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Drake ft. Lloyd – “A Night Off” (or two…)

Posted in Artists, Joints on April 17th, 2009 by Hyphen

“spending every moment in the studiooooo”

I’ve been way too busy recently, which can be a good thing, but sometimes you need to take a night off…or in this case, two.  Back on Sunday in time for Sound Session, but first, heading up north with wifey…

Drake ft. Lloyd – “A Night Off”

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Drake – Lust For Life x HoustAtlantaVegas (fan video)

Posted in Artists, Music Videos, Videos on April 9th, 2009 by Hyphen

Seeing as how I’m currently infatuated with Drake’s So Far Gone mixtape, I was excited to see this dope fan made project for the first 2 tracks off that project.  Lyle at 5846 Films mashed up “Lust For Life” and “HoustAtlantaVegas” with footage from Wong Kar-Wai’s 2046.  I’ve never seen that movie, but the visuals alone look fly.  Combining them with Drake’s melancholy intro and ode to the ladies in the club turned out to be a great fit.

Rock to this and if you haven’t downloaded the mixtape yet, I don’t know what you’re waiting for…

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