My Champion hoodie is on in memory of Trayvon…
It was a week of new music, non-stop shows on 6th Street, impromptu show starts and all the biggest names in music crammed into one city not named New York or LA. Basically, Austin’s 2012 SXSW Music Showcase was a huge success. Next up for all you connoisseurs of fine music festivals and dope artists is Coachella. Stay tuned!
Sex isn’t better than love according to Trey Songz. Well I guess Trey never met Super Head or Kat Stacks. He’s feeling heartbreak in his new jam titled “Heart Attack.” Trey enlists the super creative talents of producer Benny Blanco of Spank Rock fame for this first single off of his new album. The last time around, Trey told ladies to open their mouth and “say aah.” For this new album, Chapter V, Trey is adding more soulful sounds and touching on the seriousness of relationship issues. Good thing, too. With incredible new singers like Frank Ocean and Austin Brown entering the marketplace, the R&B game promises to get more interesting.
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Erick Sermon of EPMD once rapped: “The employees of the year, yeah we’re back to work…” That phrase can be used to describe the musical exploits and work ethic of DJ Khaled. After hits like “All I Do is Win” and “I’m On One,” Khaled returns with a new posse cut, “Take It To The Head.” As always, the “We The Best” front man roles out the red-carpet-all-star-roster of hip-hop spitters, including Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj and, of course, Rick Ross. It seems like Chris Brown has replaced Drake as the go-to-artist for a platinum hook. “Take It To The Head” isn’t anthem level like “All I Do is Win,” but it’s still a hit!
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Meek Mill is getting nicer and fresher than most of you MCs, and his sneakers got blood on em. Did I just confuse you like Geraldo Rivera’s “hoodie” statement? Listen to Meek’s new track “I’m Rollin,” and you will get it. It’s another spitfire, swaged-out 32-bar rap over a quick hit 808 drum and a trunk-rattling baseline. Just like Drake’s “The Motto,” the beat on “I’m Rollin” is that new, fresh Cali sound that has kids “jerkin” and doing multiple other dances from The Bay to LA. Meek Mill’s rhyme style is so Philly. Like the legendary fighter Joe Frazier, Meek’s tough wordplay and verbal dexterity slap-boxes any track he chooses to spar — raps backward! — into submission.
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Iggy Azealia is the latest white, female rapper to cause controversy because of her choice of words. If that wasn’t enough, she mixed it up with another popular Interscope female rapper, Azealia Banks. Add to that the she landed on the cover of XXL’s annual Freshman Class cover. Whether it’s because of her skin tone, her Australian roots or her brash style, Iggy has been fighting to get respect in hip-hop. So T.I. co-signed her, and then he signed her to his Grand Hustle imprint. When the smoke clears, the first single appears (featuring T.I., of course) in the form of “Murda Bizness.” Take a peep!
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Speaking of Azealia Banks, Harlem’s own leaked her new single “F*ck Up The Fun.” Producer Diplo has always been on some super next sh*t, but on this track he samples a drum line’s cadence to coincide with Bank’s rapid, witty delivery. This track will be featured on her upcoming EP, 1991. Azealia has been a superstar from her first records “Gimme A Chance” and “Seventeen.” Word is that on her highly anticipated debut album she is working with Paul Epworth, the producer of Adele’s 21 album.
Stay tuned…until we read again.
Brandon ‘TNT’ West
Music Exec / Industry Insider/ The Andy Rooney of Hip Hop Culture
Holla at him @tnt718
