It comes as no surprise the hottest record to leak this week was Lil Wayne’s “If I Die Today” which features Rick Ross. Nothing special or different about this Weezy/Rozay collaboration, although Polow The Don is the chef cooking up this southern fried beat. Wayne’s “Carter IV” is one of the most anticipated albums that is due to drop this spring.
Remember how dope the song “Luxury Tax” was? We’ve come to expect a sort of lyrical terrorism when these 2 heavyweights get together on a track, which is why this song may disappoint some. Although you want it love it, because it’s some new hot shit from your favorite rappers, it’s really nothing we haven’t heard before. Interestingly enough, both MC’s reference 2 of pop culture’s most famous icons in John Lennon and Basquiat in a twisted way only hip hop could do. Needless to say, with spring setting in, you will hear “If I Die Today” coming down your block rattling windows and setting off car alarms in a hood near you.
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B.O.B. has become one of pop music’s coolest dudes. From the Adidas commercials to the Grammy performance; from his colorful music videos to his live shows (if you’re lucky to get in), Bobby Ray or B.O.B can be defined with 1 word: entertainer. It was literally 5 summers ago when I bumped into this hungry, talented, soon to be superstar at a DJ conference. Nuff respect to my man TJ Chapman for seeing the vision when the rest of us were blinded by groups like Franchise Boys and their ‘White Tee’s’. TJ really saw the future with B.O.B. A new song featuring Polly Scattergood and B.O.B., “NY NY,” leaked out almost 3 weeks ago.
When I first heard it, I thought “Oh ok cool. B.O.B. redid Frank Sinatra’s famous NY joint…Hmm. Do we need another NY anthem after Jay and Alicia so soon?” But then I listened and heard the magic of a new and improved record that would have made even “Old Blue Eyes” himself proud. The coolest thing is “NY NY” is actually the lead song to the new video game Crysis 2, which is based in a 2023 NYC taken over by aliens. As usual, B.O.B’s wordplay on this record is nothing short of fantastic. Even though he raps futuristic, you can still parallel his lyrics with the world’s events of today.
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Chris Brown has been on fiyyyahh these last 6 months. At his album release party this week in NY, it was refreshing to see the kid back on that stage that made him famous. Chris Breezy deserves his comeback like anybody else who has been through the pain of ‘learning experiences’. Instead of Chris Brown, people have treated my man like Linus’s homie Charlie Brown.
Breeze has weathered the storm though and he’s back with a banger “She Ain’t You.” Everybody loved SWV and Nas for their records that sampled Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature.” Chris updates that formula with this smooth flip produced by none other then Free School. When I heard it, I knew it was gonna start any party AND start the speculation as to whom he’s referring to. But Chris sounds like he’s really back and with a point to prove. I think commercial radio agrees with this sentiment as “She Ain’t You” was the most added record (newly played) this week in the urban and rhythm formats.
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Famous Boston Celtic Bill Russell once said “you can be anything you want to be if you want it bad enough.” Another famous Boston resident, Clinton Sparks, is living proof of this. I watched this dude go from being a DJ in Boston to being an artist on top of the world. I watched him break into the production game using his DJ fame as fuel toward that success. Sparks went from doing remixes with local legends, to doing smash hits with Diddy and Akon. Now he’s a major artist whose records should be in your iPod’s daily music rotation.
This week though, Sparks is a savior providing a much needed remix to Jim Jones’s “Perfect Day.” Don’t get me wrong, “Perfect Day” was already a great record, but Jim caught flack for it because it was different from what were used to hearing from him. Leave it to Clinton Sparks to step in with a solid remix that will bump from his clubs in Vegas to his clubs in Beantown. Some of you radio programmers have no excuse now as the “Perfect Day” remix fits in ‘perfect’ with any record currently in the mix. Fans of Jim Jones and Clinton Sparks already know this will be a club classic.
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The Far East Movement returns for a second week with yet another futuristic mind-blowing booty shakin’ anthem that will have club walls dripping with sweat. “If I Was You” features the original Big Homie, Big Snoop Dogg. DJ Virman and his trendy Far East Four Man Fam are probably the first group to ever to have The Doggfather get on a record and do nothing but sing.
That’s right. Snoop auto tune’s his verses around a heavy pulsating club track provided by The Stereotypes. He doesn’t sound wack though. Snoop’s singing actually blends effortlessly with the lyrics of Kev Nish; sort of like how ketchup really makes french fries taste better. FM is so necessary for music right now and I believe, they along with their fans, realize this. “If I Was You” is yet another funky chapter from the same book that brought us “G-6.” Their international tour will be one of the summer’s hottest tickets.
-Producer, A&R, Promoter
-Holla at him @tnt718
