Wednesday, February 16, 2011
New Mixtape...Fashawn 'Higher Learning'
peep a track from the mixtape titled 'not for the radio' featuring j. cole
Ms. Jamz...
LUPE FIASCO VS ATLANTIC RECORDS
Lupe Fiasco is by far one of my favorite artists to date. His lyrics, his style, his beats and stories are all refreshing in today’s hip-hop game. From all his mixtapes to his actual albums he is just amazing to me. He could very well be the resurrection of Hip Hop…and I dare you to challenge me…
But what really has me excited is his new album Lasers set to come out March 8 2011… Why? Plain and simple, his first 2 singles off the album are FIRE point blank! “Show Goes On” is reminiscent of “Superstar” ft Matthew Santos, both lyrically and rhythmically. And “Words I Never Said” is really similar lyrically to many of the songs on The Cool (his second album). The Cool was an album chock full of disdain at the status quo and I loved it. If Lasers is going to be similar to his second album, or even his Enemy of the State: A Love Story mixtape… I’m sure to be bumping this album for a straight month.
Not to mention this album is surrounded with controversy. He originally wanted to drop a third album and retire but Atlantic Records wouldn’t let him contractually. Honestly I’m glad! Normally I’m not all about record labels trying to control artists and keep them in boxes but this time I gotta hand it to Atlantic. They made a good move. Yea I may be biased but I like to hear good music and I would be let down as both a fan and supporter if Lupe ended his career after just 3 albums. With the amount of creativity he has, there’s no way in hell he should be done after 3 albums. That would be like Jay Z or Nas only putting out 3 albums and fading off. NOT GONNA HAPPEN. What if Jay Z stopped after Hard Knock Life… we would have never seen a Blue Print, Black Album or Blue Print 3…
So although I’m all for the decisions Lupe makes, I’d be hard pressed to find a fan of his that would be ok with him bowing out after 3 albums. That being said, I’ll be copping 2 copies of Lasers just because!
-Jams
Lupe Fiasco is by far one of my favorite artists to date. His lyrics, his style, his beats and stories are all refreshing in today’s hip-hop game. From all his mixtapes to his actual albums he is just amazing to me. He could very well be the resurrection of Hip Hop…and I dare you to challenge me…
But what really has me excited is his new album Lasers set to come out March 8 2011… Why? Plain and simple, his first 2 singles off the album are FIRE point blank! “Show Goes On” is reminiscent of “Superstar” ft Matthew Santos, both lyrically and rhythmically. And “Words I Never Said” is really similar lyrically to many of the songs on The Cool (his second album). The Cool was an album chock full of disdain at the status quo and I loved it. If Lasers is going to be similar to his second album, or even his Enemy of the State: A Love Story mixtape… I’m sure to be bumping this album for a straight month.
Not to mention this album is surrounded with controversy. He originally wanted to drop a third album and retire but Atlantic Records wouldn’t let him contractually. Honestly I’m glad! Normally I’m not all about record labels trying to control artists and keep them in boxes but this time I gotta hand it to Atlantic. They made a good move. Yea I may be biased but I like to hear good music and I would be let down as both a fan and supporter if Lupe ended his career after just 3 albums. With the amount of creativity he has, there’s no way in hell he should be done after 3 albums. That would be like Jay Z or Nas only putting out 3 albums and fading off. NOT GONNA HAPPEN. What if Jay Z stopped after Hard Knock Life… we would have never seen a Blue Print, Black Album or Blue Print 3…
So although I’m all for the decisions Lupe makes, I’d be hard pressed to find a fan of his that would be ok with him bowing out after 3 albums. That being said, I’ll be copping 2 copies of Lasers just because!
-Jams
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Check em out...
BOSTON’S OWN UP AND COMING GROUP: NOTORIETY
Who would have thought that the same dudes I sat next to in Brockton High would be Boston’s next big hip hop group. Vital Silveira and Charles Monfort are the two main Emcees in a refreshing group called Notoriety. With the help of another close friend Jon Glasser they are slowly but surely becoming a group to be recognized in the New England area. They have even started a movement through Twitter and Facebook called #Gainerz – defined as individuals using their ambitions as chaffeurs. #Gainerz is ambition and grinding personified. With daily motivational quotes, it’s easy to see why it’s become such a movement. It’s more than just a gimmick, it’s a way of life and it’s the only way to succeed.
Currently Notoriety has 2 mixtapes out; The Toast and JAM. For the third mixtape the group worked closely with Boston’s own DJ Statik Selektah and it was released Valentines Day 2011. I gotta say their second mixtape the JAM is my favorite. It’s more raw and gritty and it also shares my name. The first mixtape is always the one with the most heart though, it always feels like “this has to be it, I’m going all in” and you can feel it through the lyrics and beats on The Toast. The JAM is just as gritty but I will let you all form your own opinions. Visit their blog and download all their mixtapes at: http://notorietymusic.blogspot.com/
#Gainerz get with it or get left behind!
-Jams
Who would have thought that the same dudes I sat next to in Brockton High would be Boston’s next big hip hop group. Vital Silveira and Charles Monfort are the two main Emcees in a refreshing group called Notoriety. With the help of another close friend Jon Glasser they are slowly but surely becoming a group to be recognized in the New England area. They have even started a movement through Twitter and Facebook called #Gainerz – defined as individuals using their ambitions as chaffeurs. #Gainerz is ambition and grinding personified. With daily motivational quotes, it’s easy to see why it’s become such a movement. It’s more than just a gimmick, it’s a way of life and it’s the only way to succeed.
Currently Notoriety has 2 mixtapes out; The Toast and JAM. For the third mixtape the group worked closely with Boston’s own DJ Statik Selektah and it was released Valentines Day 2011. I gotta say their second mixtape the JAM is my favorite. It’s more raw and gritty and it also shares my name. The first mixtape is always the one with the most heart though, it always feels like “this has to be it, I’m going all in” and you can feel it through the lyrics and beats on The Toast. The JAM is just as gritty but I will let you all form your own opinions. Visit their blog and download all their mixtapes at: http://notorietymusic.blogspot.com/
#Gainerz get with it or get left behind!
-Jams
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
HIP HOP: Past vs Present
There has been a disturbing change in the world of hip hop within the last few years. With the constant influence of technology, it seems as though anyone with a couple hot lines, and a quick two-step can put out a hit album. But when do we draw the line? Hip Hop used to be beautiful. It used to be so rich with heritage and our struggle. It used to be an escape for many. But somewhere between technology and the times we shifted to a hip hop that isn’t the same.
Artists of the past had to actually work to get their name out there. They used foot soldiers in the street peddling their mixtapes and demos to anyone who will listen. They stood outside of radio stations and offices just waiting for a chance to get their foot in the door. They spent countless hours in the studio rhyming and re-rhyming to get the perfect sound. Just to get signed by a label who would exploit them and strip them of the same originality that got them there in the first place.
Artists of the past had to actually work to get their name out there. They used foot soldiers in the street peddling their mixtapes and demos to anyone who will listen. They stood outside of radio stations and offices just waiting for a chance to get their foot in the door. They spent countless hours in the studio rhyming and re-rhyming to get the perfect sound. Just to get signed by a label who would exploit them and strip them of the same originality that got them there in the first place.
Nowadays all you need is Pro-Tools and some other software from Best Buy and you can become Americas Next Big Star. No longer do we put as much emphasis on buying a mixtape or selling them from out the back of your car, now you can just upload it on DatPiff or any other site and BOOM, instant plays. Want to meet with a label exec? Just send them an email with your demo on it. Becoming a star has become dependent on how many Facebook Fans you have or how many followers on Twitter.
Don’t get me wrong, there are some great artists who have gotten their start the same way; Lupe Fiasco, Kid Cudi, Wale… but there are so many more artists who don’t deserve to even be one-hit-wonders in the industry. I feel like the hard work that artists of the past did is what gave them more worldly experience to bring to the industry. It is the struggle that made their music interesting. For most old school artists it was either make it as a rapper or die. Artists of today make albums because they’re bored. They have nothing better to do, no real struggle to speak of, but enough money to buy the technology needed to make it. So at what point do we draw the line? Do we let any Tom, Dick or Harry come out with an album and destroy our beautiful heritage? And what are we supposed to do to protect it??
-Jams
Don’t get me wrong, there are some great artists who have gotten their start the same way; Lupe Fiasco, Kid Cudi, Wale… but there are so many more artists who don’t deserve to even be one-hit-wonders in the industry. I feel like the hard work that artists of the past did is what gave them more worldly experience to bring to the industry. It is the struggle that made their music interesting. For most old school artists it was either make it as a rapper or die. Artists of today make albums because they’re bored. They have nothing better to do, no real struggle to speak of, but enough money to buy the technology needed to make it. So at what point do we draw the line? Do we let any Tom, Dick or Harry come out with an album and destroy our beautiful heritage? And what are we supposed to do to protect it??
-Jams
Monday, February 7, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
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