Thursday 30 December 2010

Eminem - Syllables featuring Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Ca$his & Stat Quo


Unreleased track from 2007 in which the old Shady Records roster put the music biz under the microscope claiming that all people care about nowadays is a catchy beat and hook rather than what the song is actually about. Just because they're hypocrites, doesn't make them wrong. Listen on YouTube.

Download Eminem and friends - Syllables

Eminem - Cocaine featuring Jazmine Sullivan


Sullivan's soulful tones over a mellow beat compliment the on-form, not-as-angry-sounding Eminem like you never thought they would, and provides another random collaboration for Em that defo works out musically. Listen on YouTube...

Download Eminem featuring Jazmine Sullivan - Cocaine

Sunday 26 December 2010

Joe Budden - No Ordinary Love (Part 1)


The world's moodiest rapper Joe Budden goes all pensive over Sade's No Ordinary Love, and doesn't put a single bar to waste. Big track you can check on YouTube or download below.

Download Joe Budden - No Ordinary Love (Part 1)

Tuesday 21 December 2010

Wiz Khalifa - Black and Yellow (G-Mix) Featuring Snoop Dogg, T-Pain & Juicy J

Wiz Khalifa's Pittsburgh anthem has had the remix treatment from just about everyone, keen to replace 'black and yellow' with whatever colours represent their post codes. The G-mix is an official remix from the man himself, featuring one of his Taylor gang lackeys, and both welcome and unwelcome contributions from Snoop Dogg and T-Pain, in that order. It doesn't really matter who jumps on the track however, cos all the real credit goes to Norwegian production team Stargate (Ne-Yo's "Closer", Rihanna's "What's my Name")  who crafted the haunting synths atop an anthemic, club friendly beat and in doing so give young Wiz his biggest song to date. Check out the offical video to the ORIGINAL or download the featured remix below.

Download WIz Khalifa - Black and Yellow G-Mix Featuring Snoop Dogg, T-Pain & Juicy J

Thursday 16 December 2010

Deadmau5 - Raise Your Weapon featuring Greta Svabo Bech


Beautiful cut from deadmau5’s 4 x 4 = 12 LP crafted by the masterful Canadian and featuring vocals from the elusive Greta Svabo Bech, who according to research is from Liverpool, the Faroe Islands and New York. Well her voice is delightful and the ambient dubstep turn this takes at the halfway mark proves there really are no limits for deadmau5 as a producer. Amazing tune you can hear on YouTube or download below.

Download Deadmau5 - Raise Your Weapon

Lil' Wayne - 6' 7" featuring Cory Gunz


Lil' Wayne enlists bass-addict producer Bangladesh to come up with what is effectively 'A Milli' pt. 2, sampling Harry Belafonte's Day-O to super schizo effect with similarly mental lyricism; Life is a bitch and death is her sister/ sleep is the cousin what a f*cking family picture/ you know Father Time, we all know Mother Nature/ it's all in the family but I am no relation. It's good! Carter IV is out in February 2011.

Download Lil' Wayne feauring Cory Gunz - 6'7"

Tuesday 14 December 2010

Akala - I Don't Need


One of the more socially-conscious rappers from the UK has an important memo for the ladies, in the form of poetry rap over slow, lagging drums which demand you pay attention. You really should as well; it's an inspiring and powerful message about the misconceptions women have over their own self-worth and quality of character over all the other bullsh*t.

Listen to the track on YouTube and pick up Doublethink on itunes.

Willow Smith vs Ed Solo and Deekline - Whip My Hair (CJ Milli Remix)


CJ Milli is a Florida DJ who likes to take tracks and make them sound all mental and electro. Here she applies said technique to that ineludible song by Will Smith's brat child, mixing in a Dawn Penn classic to balance out the fact you're enjoying music from a 9 year old.

Download Willow Smith - Whip My Hair (CJ Milli Remix)

Monday 13 December 2010

Wretch 32 featuring L. - Traktor


Here is the official visual to underrated Tottenham emcee Wretch 32's single 'Traktor'. The song samples Dick Dale & The Del Tones' "Misirlou", like hundreds of songs before it, and throws it over a dancehallish beat. Best lyric: "My lifestyle's terribly wild/but you won't catch me on the Jeremy Kyle Show"...

Just the video for now!

5OH - Home Alone (Christmas Dubstep Remix) + Mr. Virgo - Home Alone


There's nothing Christmassy about dubstep music, unless you listen to UK producer 5OH's creative reworking of this eerie winter classic. Hear it without feeling like you're ruining the holiday vibe.

The Mr. Virgo version is even better!

Download 5OH - Home Alone (Christmas Dubstep Remix)

Download Virgo - Home Alone

Sunday 12 December 2010

Jamie Foxx featuring Drake - Fall For Your Type


The official video has come online for this irresistibly broody R&B jam which sees Jamie Foxx and Drake lament their foolish taste in women. Foxx's sultry crooning fits the beat like a glove, so it's no wonder Drake wrote the whole thing especially for him.

Download Jamie Foxx featuring Drake - Fall For Your Type

Nicki Minaj - Catch Me


There was some bad and some good on Nicki's debut LP Pink Friday, but enough good to safely say she shits on most female emcees who have been and gone. 'Catch Me' is a mellow and moody jam set in some future musical dimension. Swizz Beats chops up the bridge and throws in some aimless lazers providing the backdrop for Nikki to half rap half sing about her man's headfuckerie. Super smooth, but left off the final album track list.

Download Nicki Minaj - Catch Me

Saturday 11 December 2010

The Cataracs featuring Dev - Bass Down Low


Dev is the girl that was on Far East Movement's 'Like a G6' , and here she is again doing her Ke$ha impression but sounding loads more badass on this downright filthy bassline pop smash. The video suits it perfectly.

Download The Cataracs featuring Dev - Bass Down Low

Ellie Goulding - Only Girl In The World (Rihanna Cover)

Ellie Goulding takes Rihanna's defiant and demanding euro-pop banger and turns it into a broken down, needy little mess. In a good way! Watch it on Live Lounge.

Download Ellie Goulding - Only Girl In The World (Rihanna Cover)

Friday 10 December 2010

T.I. featuring Drake - Poppin' Bottles


T.I.'s new album No Mercy had a superstar crew (Kanye, Eminem, Swizz Beats), but still turned out distinctively average. One of the better tracks is actually your standard club fare, featuring another perfect cameo from cameo king Drake and the immortal line "see him on the furniture doing his thing/tell the club owner fuck yo couch, Rick James". Good hype tune before you go out.

Download T.I. featuring Drake - Poppin' Bottles

Daft Punk - Derezzed


What's this new movie TRON: Legacy all about? Who cares? It has a pretty cool theme tune though, thanks to those musically gifted French robots Daft Punk. The music video is also pretty cool, featuring some kind of futuristic spaced-out computer game duel with Daft Punk and stars from the film.

Download Daft Punk - Derezzed

Thursday 9 December 2010

R Kelly - You Are Not Alone (Michael Jackson cover)


That little rascal R. Kelly actually wrote and produced "You Are Not Alone" in 1995 for Michael Jackson. So is this so much a cover as it is a sneaky songwriter taking back what is rightfully his? It doesn't matter really, because it's not a patch on the MJ version. What could have actually been a great cover has a great vocal but lacks the raw emotion of Michael because of its painfully modernized production.

Listen or Download R. Kelly - You Are Not Alone (Michael Jackson cover)

Cinnamon Chasers - Luv Deluxe


Soft disco melodies and light electronic sounds are just what we need to keep smiling through these gloomy winter days. The brainchild of Londoner Russ Davies has been making the rounds online but hasn't really got the hype it deserves in the real world, which is a travesty because not only is the song itself fucking great but the video is what we call a work of genius. There are plenty super remixes flying around, but for now enjoy the irresistibly serene tones of the original, and definitely check out the video.

Download Cinnamon Chasers - Luv Deluxe

Tuesday 7 December 2010

Soulja Boy featuring Lil' B - Swag O.D


Sick of hearing people bang on about 'swagger'? The term has been popular and the concept very important for hip hop in the past few years, but some would say that swag can only take you so far. This video is so funny that it just had to be posted. I'm not sure how seriously these two expect to be taken, I think they are calling/texting each other while driving around in the same car, but have a watch anyway and see how loud and long you can listen to it before you swag O.D.

Download Soulja Boy & Lil' B - Swag O.D.

Lloyd Banks & Co. - Start It Up (UK Remix)


With 50 Cent busy doing features, Tony Yayo never really having any talent to begin with and Young Buck wallowing in a gutter somewhere, Lloyd Banks has done well to sustain the G Unit badassery of back in the day all on his lonesome. It took surprise summer anthem Beamer, Benz or Bentley to really put him back on the map and now Banks is back to travelling across it, stopping off in the UK to enlist Giggs and Sway for the Start It Up remix. The beat remains the same as the original, a clattery and turbulent Swizz Beats synth-attack perfect for bumping in the whip, and we're left with the same verses from the Yanks (minus one from Fabolous). Sway and Giggs represent, and while the latter wouldn't exactly be my first pick to show off UK talent, Sway at least shows that British rappers can hold their own on these brash American possee cuts. No question though; Kanye's shamelessly cocky verse still reigns supreme. 

Monday 6 December 2010

Adele - Someone Like You


As performed on Jools Holland the other week is a track off Adele's upcoming second album 21, titled "Someone Like You". It's a beautifully simple piano number, and Adele sounds amazing on it. Flawless and affective.

Sunday 5 December 2010

Chipmunk featuring Chris Brown - Champion


The cause of mad upset for known manic-depressive and pretty boy London MC Chipmunk is the early leak of “Champion”, a surprise collaboration with ostracized American R&B stalwart Chris Brown. I must say despite not being the biggest fan of Chipmunk’s delivery, his inspiring ode to realising your dreams goes faultlessly with Chris Brown’s perfectly pained vocal about being “born a champion”. Check it out, it’s pretty damn good.

Download Chipmunk featuring Chris Brown - Champion

Friday 3 December 2010

N Dubz - Love. Live. Life Album Review



It’s always a shame when innate musical talent is overlooked for the fact that the talent in question behave like a trio of asbo-hungry hyenas in tracksuits, but it is for this very reason I have always been supportive of this North London born and bred threesome – they are as real as it gets and understand their target market to the point where they settle for nothing less than doing it one hundred per cent the N Dubz way.

It’s a shame then that third studio album titled Love.Live.Life has the blatant fingerprints of string-tugging record execs all over it, with an annoying insistence on having fun obviously playing on the album’s title and an increasingly prominent role for what the new bosses have clearly deemed to be the key to N Dubz growing success outside of the UK – Tulisa Contostavlos. The latter point is not really a problem; Tulisa’s vocals are stronger than ever before and she still has that raspy conviction that makes every 'bad girl' wish they could be her, but what always complimented her performances so well were the blisteringly raw raps from cousin Dappy (definitely overlooked for the Game Over original – and remix!) and the perfectly crafted and suited production from best buddy Fazer (he only produces three or four songs). That means the boys’ contributions are noticeably constricted on an album where the boy vs. girl theme has been abandoned, and at times it feels as though they’re merely the set-up for Tulisa to swoon and swagger about. Dappy does at points gets his own time to shine and shine he does, and although Fazer has always been dynamite behind the boards he is not so much in the booth, and where he does rap on Love.Live.Life still leaves something to be desired, apart from the bit about “going to the Gucci store dressed in rags/security think that I ain’t gonna buy shit/ then I pull out my card and swipe it/ bowl out with 20 bags”. Pure G-enius. Production is instead handled by Salaam Remi, Jean Baptiste Kouame, Jim Jonsin (Amy Winehouse, Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce) who provide boisterous club beats for N Dubz’s brash and shouty third charm.

The Bone Thugs-esque intro is soothing to the point you wish it was its own track, but instead preludes the entirely stellar first single “Best Behaviour”, in which the boys and girl croon and rap about the idea of settling down with a significant other, having had enough of their crazy touring lifestyle. Dappy proves as he has done before that his unorthodox singing voice can work well alongside his cousin’s divaish tones and the boy deserves respect for applying himself in that way when he could easily get away with just the fire flows we have come to expect from him. “Took It All Away” has a somewhat infectious bridge and hook, and the hard guitar riffs are a pleasant addition to a good production. “Living For The Moment” is good, but includes the annoying lyric “life’s a bitch and then you die, if you don’t care then why should I”, which just sounds stupid. The album’s title track is a different attempt from the trio at a club track, all about loving life, and it works well in its own repetitious way. “Scream My Name” is about the band’s self-perceived omnipresence amongst its legions of fans, catchy enough but annoyingly citing YouTube, Ustream and Twitter in its chorus. “Love Sick” sees Tulisa in solo mode, and she is very good indeed. "Toot It And Boot It" is the most Americanized track on the album, featuring southern rapper YG and Dappy. It feels like something a frantic A&R man organized at the last minute when the real guest appearance fell through. I mean really, they had Mr. Hudson on their last album, that’s one away from Kanye West. The next track "Skit" is a scorching attack on an anonymous rival from Dappy and frequent collaborator Fearless, who shone on the similarly fast-paced, aggressive ‘Duku Man skit’ on the last album. The two trade fast and ferocious disses on some poor chap and there a few quotables you’ll have to listen out for. "So Alive" features fellow north Londoner and underground favourite Skepta and is one of the stronger tracks on the album, a dark and bouncy number with haunting echoes complimenting the boys’ quick fire raps. The second single "Girls" is pretty much your standard ‘beautiful girls’ fare, ready made for Americans, and which probably sounds better with the accompanying music video. "Cold Shoulder" is the album’s same old formula, and "Morning Star" is the same but to far better effect, with Dappy doing his singing thing and Tulisa knocking it out of the park. To wrap it up, suitably, we get the "Outro", not dissimilar from the "Intro", in fact pretty much the exact same thing; a nice soothing bit of harmonizing and speedy uppy bars. Again, should’ve been an actual track.

It’s good to see Dappy, Fazer and Tulisa relishing in their hard-earned success and I accept that artists and their music must evolve. However one has to wonder whether this commercial crusade into America has changed the attitudes of a band hellbent on integrity and sticking true to their roots. It’s fair to note that despite the absence of phrases such as “you get me blud” and “you seerio for foreeli tho”, and the telling references to Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Elvis and Lil’ Wayne, the Britishness is still there, as are Dappy's "Na-Na-Niiiiis", and there is sufficient enthusiasm and flashes of the old N Dubz magic scattered around the album for the their massive fan base to still enjoy.

Lloyd Banks - Stuntin'


Left off the final cut of Banks-tastic fan boy bonanza Hunger For More Part 2 is this raucous banger with bass battering the track and sirens warning all shitty rappers that Curtis Jackson’s closest and Kanye West’s favourite is about to finish it off with his usual infectious and braggadocios drawl.

Download Lloyd Banks - Stuntin'

Jay Z & Kanye West featuring La Roux - That's My Bitch


If you can part yourself from the genious sounds of Kanye West's Dark Twisted Fantasy for long enough, may I suggest you check out what is apparently the first leak from the Jay Z & Kanye West collaborative album Watch The Thrown (Kanye's spelling, not mine), in which they partner up with La Roux's Elly Jackson over an old-school boom rap production crafted by Q-Tip and sampling James Brown and the Incredible Bongo Band. The resulting beat is somewhat frenzied, in a good way, and Kanye and his big bro are on top form as usual.

Download Jay-Z & Kanye West featuring Elly Jackson - That's My Bitch