March 5th, 2010 §
Now that the Needle’s tunes have been given ample time to garner votes, its now time for my tracks to get their day in the first round spotlight. To vote, just leave a comment or contact us to let us know who your picks are. Vote early, vote often…and as always, feel free to share.
(1) “Empire State of Mind” – Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys
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Tabbed as my favorite track from Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 upon first listen, “Empire State of Mind” has since blown up on the radio and heard worldwide. The perfect balance of quality music with commercial success – the only thing working against the track is the fact that it might be played out to many at this point.
(8) “I’ll Be in the Sky” – B.o.B a.k.a. Bobby Ray
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One of my favorite surprises of the summer was the mixtape release of B.o.B vs. Bobby Ray. As someone who has little respect for most southern artists, I expected this to be no different. Instead, B.o.B delivered a refreshing, alternative hip-hop track. Despite its quality, I doubt it can pull of the upset against one of the most successful albums of the year.
(4) “Grown Simba” – J. Cole
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In the 4-6 Matchup, we have the two newest artists to the scene. J. Cole blew me away when I first heard him at Cat’s Cradle in April. I have never seen an unknown opening act get as much crowd support as he did…instantly got the respect of the room. This track – Grown Simba, is definitely one of my favorites from his second mixtape – The Warm Up.
(6) “The Opposite of Adults (Kids Remix)” – Chiddy Bang
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Chiddy debuted on the scene at the beginning of the summer with this MGMT Remix. In the successful dance/electronica/hip-hop cross-over genre, this is definitely a track that sticks out to me, and its apparent it stuck out to others as Chiddy signed with EMI Music this week.
(3) “Alive” – Kid Cudi featuring Ratatat
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This matchup features two songs I never wrote about on here, but both are clearly deserving of their spot here in the bracket. Cudi’s debut album was incredibly unique, and definitely toed the line between alternative and hip-hop. This track, featuring Ratatat, is easily my favorite on the album – though I know it is not for many. I find the hook amazing and the Ratatat added instrumentation is instantly recognizable.
(5) “Watch My Shoes” – Lil Wayne
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Though I don’t put Lil Wayne in my upper echelon of rappers, his work on No Ceilings can’t go unrecognized. Returning to his critically acclaimed form, Wayne goes in on a number of tracks – “Watch My Shoes” being one of them.
(2) “New Soul” – Wale
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Easily my favorite tune of the year. I recognize my stannery, and couldn’t bring myself to make it the one seed. Though Wale’s Attention Deficit was a disappointment to me, this track reaffirms all my positive feelings for Wale’s future.
(7) “Casa Bey” – Mos Def
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Mos Def released his Ecstatic this summer. Though I am a big Mos fan the album didn’t completely do it for me. This track, however, stuck out to me as an ultimate display of Mos’ talent – both lyrically and in flow. Awesome track all around.
Posted by the Groove
November 30th, 2009 §
Such a sick cover...
Well, it’s that time of year again when everybody gets swamped with work, and inevitably develops a case of ADD, ADHD, or Senioritis. So what better activity to occupy my time than review Wale’s Attention Deficit? I’ll admit it, I desperately wanted this album to be an instant classic that I spun on repeat, but unfortunately, it was a bit of a disappointment. Don’t get me wrong, the album is very good, but it didn’t quite appeal to me, someone who has followed his career upwards of 2 years now. I think its biggest fault is that it is not on the same level as A Mixtape About Nothing which concept, production and content-wise trumps his debut effort. I don’t mean this to come off overly negative, it really is a quality album – but I just don’t think it could meet my year of expectations.
Wale – “Mirrors” featuring Bun B
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Content and production wise Attention Deficit very much reflects its title. As Wale frequently stated, he attempted to have one of ‘every type of song’. The album intersperses radio/mainstream type tracks – “Chillin”, “Pretty Girls”, “Let It Loose” – with tracks that take on a more serious note – “90210″ discusses eating disorders, 9th Wonder produced “Shades” tackles black-on-black racism, and “Diary” tells a story about a girl that has been in bad relationships and takes it out on her current love.
Wale – “Diary” featuring Marsha Ambrosius
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I believe by starting off this review in a negative light might have been unfair, in that, I really don’t dislike any song on the record. Wale was substantially criticized for featuring Gucci Maine on “Pretty Girls,” but that didn’t really bother me considering the intent and market intended for the record. After the original was released sans Gucci, I definitely felt like the track needed another traditional hip-hop verse to make the change up at the end of the track more powerful – and Gucci’s verse definitely aided that.
Wale – “TV in the Radio” featuring K’Naan (production by Dave Sitek)
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That being said, there is no track that really stands out among the rest – and when it comes down to it, I’d rather listen to A Mixtape About Nothing if given the choice. I really wished the album had included more skits or Wale talking or something that would have allowed his personality to shine through a little bit more. On all of his mixtape efforts, the listener came away not only impressed by his skills – but genuinely liking Wale and thinking he’s a pretty funny guy, regardless of music talent. On his debut effort, I feel like the buyer was deprived of that – and it could potentially hurt Wale’s likability down the road. I’ve interspersed some of my favorites (they are all very good) from the album, that try to highlight his tremendous range of flow, content, and production on the record. If you have liked any of Wale’s 5+ mixtapes in the past (and got them for free), I highly encourage you to go out and buy the album – its worth your 9.99 on iTunes. Again, I’m critical simply because my bar was set so high, it still trumps the other debut efforts from other XXL Freshman this year, and is definitely one of my favorites of 2009.
Wale – “Beautiful Bliss” featuring J. Cole & Melanie Fiona
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You know it gets no better than this,
Its like sunshine on a rainy day,
Its like a high could you take me a way…
When you feel like this, When you spill out hits,
When you ridin’ with tints, and you ain’t bothered a bit…
Posted by the Groove
September 8th, 2009 §
N****s want my old shit,
Buy my old albums
-Jay-Z – “On to the Next One”
Blueprint 3 was supposed to come out September 11th, so naturally it was leaked over a week ago – and the release date has been pushed up to today. I seriously think the leaks almost ruined this album for me. This is a great Jay-Z album. Is it Blueprint? No. Is it Reasonable Doubt? No. But it is a damn good cd, probably Jay’s best since the Black Album…and I almost missed that because of the early leaks. All the Timbaland tracks leaked first and gave me a super distorted view of the album, and it took a couple of spins through the whole disc before I really appreciated the value in it. There is a really good balance between the upbeat, club like production from Timbo and Swizz Beats and the more serious production from Kanye and No I.D.
Jay-Z – “Empire State of Mind” featuring Alicia Keys
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A song fitting with the Needle’s “I Love New York” posts and is probably my favorite track off the cd. An ode to New York, highlighting the highs and lows of one of the greatest cities in the world. Great track for reminiscing (whether from New York or not) and some great lyrics. The opening to the third verse is Jay at his best (to me at least):
Lights is blinding,
Girls need blinders,
Or they can step out of bounds quick,
The sidelines is lined with casualties,
Who sipping life casually, then gradually become worse,
Don’t bite the apple Eve,
Caught up in the in crowd,
Now your in-style,
End of the winter gets cold, en vogue with your skin out,
The city of sin is a pity on a whim,
Good girls gone bad, the cities filled with them
-Jay-Z – “Empire State of Mind”
Jay-Z – “A Star Is Born” featuring J. Cole
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Up there with “Empire State of Mind” for my favorite tracks on the cd – Jay goes through all the other stars who have risen (and in some cases fell) while he has been at the top. Fittingly, Jay throws J. Cole on the song – J. Cole being the first to sign with RocNation – and J. Cole probably has the best feature on the cd (excluding Ye murdering Jay on “Run This Town”). Cole’s verse is full of quotable lines and his flow is perfect too.
Blueprint 3 is out today, so go buy it.
Posted by the Groove
August 30th, 2009 §
June 18th, 2009 §
Thought I’d get a deal and head straight to the dealership,
But looking at my deal, I probably can’t afford benefits,
Medical, dental shit…
J. Cole – “Water Break (Interlude)”
Though J. Cole might be Jay-Z’s first signee to RocNation, he certainly isn’t resting on his laurels. J. Cole’s “The Warm Up” was released to the internet Monday, and after giving it a couple spins, I can affirm that the skill I saw at the Cradle was not a fluke. J. Cole’s lyrics are hard, meaningful, and raw, all of which reveal how hungry Cole is to show everyone he is deserving of Jay’s co-sign. I’ve put up streams of some of my favorite tracks (so far) off the mixtape; I’m sure these favorites will change up as I get more to time to digest the album on the whole. As a North Carolina native, I love that in a genre so territorial, North Carolina has a new representative that has the potential to get nationwide popularity.
J. Cole – “Grown Simba”
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J. Cole – “Lights Please”
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J. Cole – “Water Break (Interlude)”
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J. Cole – “Losing My Balance”
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To download the full mixtape hit up JColeMusic.com.
Posted by The Groove
