![B.o.B. - Nothing on You [Official Video]](http://theurbanian.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Picture-1-310x150.png)
What Damon Albarn Needs to Do Now
With Plastic Beach now officially out there, drones of people are now swimming in some of the most well-crafted, creative, and unique music ever compiled.
With the third installment in the Gorillaz franchise, Damon Albarn has really shown his worth to the development and creative possibilities in music. From his alt-rock beginnings with Blur, to his work under the Gorillaz name, Albarn’s impact on music has been made. It’s surprising that Albarn’s name still appears in the shadows of Radiohead’s frontman, Thom Yorke.
What’s really interesting about Albarn and his music, is he’s far from the “mainstream” tag. Even with that, he’s still managed to produce a song that managed to fall into that category. With Blur, Song 2 managed to blow up due to the “woo hoo” chorus, and its beaming popularity at sporting events. The first Gorillaz album saw Clint Eastwood get major play, and the second saw Feel Good Inc get major play.
Plastic Beach is essentially a whole different kind of sound when compared to the previous Gorillaz albums. It’s the farthest from the mainstream and radio-friendly sound of all three albums. The new album is the most experimental out of the trilogy, as it seems Albarn strayed from anything close to a song like Clint Eastwood or Feel Good Inc that could get radio play. There’s still those catchy pop tunes present, just not radio-catchy pop tunes. What’s really interesting is that Beach brings in the most mainstream guest spots out of all three albums.
Albarn enlisted the help of people like Mos Def, Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, and De La Soul for this new album. All of those names are very familiar names to the general music listener. The fact this far-from mainstream album enlists the help of mainstream acts makes the album even better.
With this ridiculously good album now done, there’s recent news that Albarn will now begin work on a solo album under the name Prince Berry. That’s fine, but there’s something Albarn could do that could be a “game-changer.”
Imagine a Gorillaz album with guest spots from some of the biggest names in the industry. Just the thought of a Gorillaz song with Kanye West makes me all tingly inside. There are a lot of artists I’d like to see Albarn work with. I think Brandon Flowers from The Killers would be a good match. Others I’d like to see are: Kid Cudi, MGMT, K-Os, Lupe Fiasco, Thom Yorke, Pharrell, Jay Electronica, and The Black Keys.
An album chock-full of names everyone is familiar with would make for one of the most epic albums of all time. Everything behind is the Gorillaz is so intriguing, I’m sure a lot of these artists would love to do something Albarn. Mos Def even said himself that Albarn played him all sorts of beats and Mos wanted them all. Albarn really wouldn’t have a problem recruiting people like the ones I listed to work together.
I need to end this post now because I’m getting too excited thinking about this possibility.
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You can contact Brad at brad@theurbanian.com or follow him on Twitter.
B.o.B. – Nothing on You [Official Video]
Well, he’s finally made it, and rightfully so. Urbanian favorite and double personality’d Bobby Ray a.k.a. B.o.B. has penetrated the mainstream with his hit single ‘Nothing on You’. So what better way to celebrate it than throw down a superb video for it soon following. Side note, big props to Bruno Mars on the hook in Nothing on You he came from virtually no where and made his big debut count. Enjoy.
Our Oscar Wrap-Up
The most famous never-ending award show, The Oscars, was held last night, and of course it left the world with many things to talk about.
A surprise visit by Neil Patrick Harris to kick things off was pretty awesome. Once he left though, it went rather dismal. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin failed to live up to the hype and were just not funny. Most of their opening monologue was more awkward than funny. And it wasn’t the funny kind of awkward.
Finally those two disappeared and we were hit with the first award of the night. Christoph Waltz took home Best Supporting Actor. He was the most deserving winner of any category and definitely put out the best performance of 2009 out of anybody.
Then, the show went into a whirlwind of awards nobody cares about. However, something happened during the Best Short Documentary award presentation, which is being referred to as the “Oscars Kanye Moment.” When Music By Prudence was named the winner, Director Roger Ross Williams hurried to the stage to start his acceptance speech. A few sentences in, a lady comes out of nowhere and starts talking. Williams just stood there trying to hide his anger while everyone in the audience had WTF expressions on their faces. Salon.com has interviews with both people, where they each give their side of the story. Turns out they each had different creative direction for the film.
Another well-deserved win came for Michael Giacchino when he took home Best Original Score for Up. Those who watch Lost are well-familiar with Giacchino and his mastery of beautifully simplistic scores.
Sandra Bullock took home Best Female in a Lead Role. This win for her seemed more like a “you’ve-paid-your-dues” victory. It’d would have made for a better story if Gabourey Sidibe won.
Coming into the ceremony a lot of people saw it as a race between The Hurt Locker and Avatar. The competition was even more highlighted due to the fact the two directors, James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow, used to be married (and boy has Cameron downgraded since then). Whoever won, it would just be a big “fuck you” to the other.
Avatar’s lack of a story seemed to end up being a problem as the momentum of The Hurt Locker’s strong plot seemed to carry it through the awards. The movie ended up winning six of the nine nominations it had. This of course, gave Bigelow the last laugh.
Bigelow’s win in Best Director made her the first woman to win the award. Although it’s kind of crazy a woman has yet to win the award, you can’t help but wonder if it was a “political win” for Bigelow.
Personally, I felt like Inglourious Basterds was the best film of the year, but I knew it would have been snubbed from everything except Supporting Actor. The film is so historically incorrect, it’s a stretch that voters would have cast their vote for it. I previously said Bigelow’s win might have been a political move because Quentin Taratino may have truly deserved it. But with one of the strongest directed films by a woman in a long time, the Academy may have felt they better finally give the award to a woman.
Overall, the show was extremely boring. The attempts to better draw young crowd by having the likes of Miley Cyrus and Kristen Stewart present totally failed. Cyrus messed up her lines and Stewart looked as cracked out as ever. Then during the horror film tribute they showed a shot from Twilight. Uh…
The show was exceeding airtime so did manage to end in hilarity. Tom Hanks basically sprinted out on stage, yelled that Hurt Locker won Best Picture, and then the credits rolled. It was extremely awkward, therefore providing more laughs than Baldwin and Martin provided all night.
One final note: Sacha Baron Cohen was a candidate to host the ceremony the Academy decided against it in fear of Cohen being too wild and out of control. Cohen was also set as a presenter and they decided against his presentation plan at the last minute and Cohen removed himself from the show. If the Academy really wants to bring in viewers, it’d be by letting Cohen host. It would be phenomenal.
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You can contact Brad at brad@theurbanian.com or follow him on Twitter.
Mateo is R&B Redefined, Remarkably
Amidst the crowded cloud that is R&B music, floats Mateo, gracefully above most with an avante-garde approach to the genre that lately, we’ve all struggled to love. As the paradigm for great R&B is continually spiraling into relative obscurity, Mateo has been knocking out covers of everyday favorites and force-feeding them some soul treatment. Brace your iTunes for some goodness.
After graduating with a double major in finance and music, the Morehouse College grad was faced with the oft post-grad dilemma of sustainability verses passion. After applying for an internship at a Boston Consulting group he was interviewed by none other than rhythm and blues sensation John Legend, we couldn’t make that up. Oh and and by interviewed, we mean that John Legend was also working as a consultant prior to his music career. One hell of a coincidence? Definitely.
So after closing the door on the orthodox desk-job lifestyle, Mateo dove head first into a budding music career without looking back. What started in a modest Brooklyn studio, turned into a cross-country move to L.A., and blossomed into a word-of-mouth music sensation. Having already released a slew of mix tapes, and partnered with the likes of mixmaster Mick Boogie, the proverbial wheels were in motion.
“Man, What if I suck?”, that was Mateo’s first response when asked when he’d start performing live shows. However, after a steller first performance in Hollywood, the lingering doubt was gone, and in was a fledgling phenomenal live artist. Unknowing listeners latched on to Mateo’s crisp sound, not to mention his clever approach to production. Mixing piano, acoustics, and a dab of pop Mateo has covered the likes of GaGa’s infamous Bad Romance, the heavily disputed mainstream hit Forever, and even Kings of Leon.
With covers spanning the gamut of a veritable who’s who list of mainstream hits, you’ll be hard up not finding a Mateo track you’ll love. Listen and love. So pick up his latest single Complicated from iTunes, Fan him on Facebook, and add some unheard goodness to your music archive.
Mateo – Bad Romance (GaGa Cover)
Mateo – Empire State of Mind (Jay Z / Keys cover)
Mateo – Forever
Mateo – Get to Know Me
Mateo – Complicated single [iTunes]
Mateo – Get to Know Me (Live at Swing House) [iTunes]
Mateo – Underneath the Sky Ch. 3 [FULL DOWNLOAD]
Mateo – Making My Space [FULL DOWNLOAD]
Contact Kenneth, the author of this post, at k@theurbanian.com or @kennygw on Twitter.
Quality vs. Quantity in Hip-Hop Music
Despite a couple delays in sentencing, Lil’ Wayne is destined for jail time. With this inevitability, Lil’ Wayne has been cramming in as much music production as possible. A plethora of songs and videos have been made within a tiny span of time. He’s definitely putting in a lot of work, but is it necessary? Or better yet, is it smart?
It was highly publicized that Wayne would be shooting seven videos in one night. And who knows how many songs he has recorded for the time he is away. Expected jail time is one year, so it’s no surprise someone who would be disappearing for a year, would want to pump out as much material as possible so people wouldn’t forget them. However, Wayne is one of the most popular juggernauts in all of music. Even if there was no music of his to leak while he’s gone, people are not going to forget him.
What Wayne should have done is not rush through the music-making process at all. He could have used prison as a great way to explore creativity and as a time for self-reflection. One could even argue that more hype would have surrounded Tha Carter IV if he did in fact wait until after prison to begin work on it. But, I can’t blame him. Artists like Wayne who pump out music as quickly as possible are the result of the listener. For every good song Wayne has, he has three horrible ones. And the listener could be to blame for this.
“Drop albums non-stop once a year for my fans’ sake” – Ludacris
Ludacris managed to throw down one of the truest statements ever in his song, Number One Spot. Ludacris was easily a fan favorite in the first half of the previous decade as he was dropping an album once a year. Between 2000 and 2006, Ludacris dropped an album every year. He had four solo albums and two collaborative albums. Ludacris eyed that number one spot because he knew what the fans wanted and needed: the constant dropping of music. Ludacris now drops albums every couple years, and has seen a decline in popularity because of it.
Most hip-hop fans now appear to be impatient and needy. We’ve seen a rise in mixtape popularity due to this. A rapper’s career now lives and dies with how much music they are able to release. Even sometimes that’s not even enough. As fans grow weary as they wait for an album, they’ll need a couple CDQ album leaks to tide them over and keep their interest. This problem is not only affecting rappers, but the blogs as well.
Hip-hop blogs, such as 2dopeboyz, almost seem to throw anything and everything on their sites. Do hip-hop fans really need 10 B.o.B interviews a day? There’s no possible way everyone’s favorite two dope boyz listen to and watch everything they post. They even admit to it sometimes on the post. What makes it worst is that the good things they actually do post becomes buried so quickly. The idea of a good blog has simply become a copy-and-paste world where you don’t even have to listen to the product you are promoting. The listener needs a never-ending supply of music, so the more you post, the more popular you are.
The best commentary to deal with issue is on the new Gorillaz album, Plastic Beach. It’s been a whole five years since Damon Albarn and his cartoon band’s last album, Demon Days. During the span, Albarn did spend some time on other projects, but also spent a considerable amount of time crafting the third Gorillaz album. Now, one can argue how Albarn has been heavily involved in the evolution of hip-hop music, despite not being a hip-hop artist himself.
The song, Superfast Jellyfish, is the perfect atonement to the problem that is lack of quality in hip-hop and music in general. The song plays out as a catchy jingle for an instant breakfast. Like we’ve always been told, breakfast is the most important and essential meal of the day, much like how music is important and essential for the majority of us. As much as we believe that the idea of an instant meal is the most beneficial for us in today’s fast-paced society, it’s just not as good as a well-thought out and planned breakfast. Even the name of the album can play into the theory of hurried music being played off as quality. A beach is a paradise, however a plastic beach is just fake and a letdown of what could have been.
Sure, one could bring up the fact that the Beatles were releasing an album or two every year back in the 1960s. What you have to keep in mind is a lot of what they were putting out were covers, and a lot of the songs were just around two minutes in length. And just like any band that produces a lot of songs, they have a lot of throwaway songs. Imagine how a couple of their albums could have been even stronger if they were merged together with selected tracks. And, keep in mind their most notorious albums do have at least year apart from one another.
Quantity versus quality will forever be a battle in the music industry. With the moving-in-light-speed society we have today it seems we may be forever doomed in an overabundance of music released while we pretend what we’re hearing is actually good. Hip hop has become a plastic beach.
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You can contact Brad at brad@theurbanian.com or follow him on Twitter
Mayer Hawthorne – Thin Moon
Fresh off the Stones Throw presses comes a cover of James’ Pants ‘Thin Moon’ from Michigan’s hometown hero Mayer Hawthorne. Both artists are Stones Throw natives, and played the you-cover-me, I-cover-you game with James doing Hawthorne’s classic Green Eyed Love and Hawthorne now glossing over Pants’ Thin Moon.
That said, I’ll be honest when I say Hawthorne’s rendition of Thin Moon takes the original and steps it up a notch. Mayer is perfecting his pillowy falsetto that many have grown to know and love. Not that James’ take was bad, but I’ll pass on the pseudo-electric groove for Mayer’s, which is daubed with buttery smooth nostalgia and begging to be played on a vinyl.
Good thing, because Stones Throw is giving away a slew of limited edition of 45’s pressed with the track solely for their March 17th event, 45 Live at SXSW. Be there.
Mayer Hawthorne – Thin Moon
James Pants – Thin Moon (original)
Contact Kenneth, the author of this post, at k@theurbanian.com or @kennygw on Twitter.
Listen Before You Hate
One day I was trolling around some music forums when I came across a thread title reading somewhere along the lines of: “Surprisingly Good Song.” This of course immediately struck my curiosity and I went ahead and clicked on the thread. When I opened it, I found a YouTube video embedded with the still picture of former American Idol runner-up, Adam Lambert. The picture was the cover of his debut album, For Your Entertainment. In case you didn’t know, the cover looks like something straight out of the 1980s and it’s overly flamboyant. He might have went with the ridiculousness in the cover due to a lot of people questioning his sexual orientation and he wanted to further throw it in everyone’s face. But hey, that’s a whole other story subject.
Upon seeing the song, Whataya Want From Me, I was ready to enter full music snobbery mode. I was thinking, this guy was on American Idol, it can’t be good. And even if he wasn’t on American Idol, just look at that cover. There’s no way I can take this seriously. However, before tearing the thread starter apart, I decided to have a listen. Just like that, I agreed with the thread title.
I was immediately hooked to guitar riff in the song. As the song moved along, I liked it more and more. You win, Lambert. The truth is, this is a great pop record. I’m not the biggest pop fan in the world, but damn, great tune. Lambert didn’t write or produce it, but his voice does carry the song fairly well. The song was originally supposed to be on Pink’s Funhouse, but didn’t make the final cut. Interesting how someone’s throwaway song can become another’s smash radio hit.
The surprise of me liking this song after giving it a fair listen got me thinking about music in general. Songs these days become more notorious for being hated on than actually liked. The reasoning behind this is sometimes not because of the song itself, but by who’s behind it. A lot of songs just get tossed to the side by a listener just because they already have a negative association with the artist.
For example, Despite him being wildly popular, lots of people in the hip-hop community dislike Gucci Mane and everything he does. I can’t blame them, because I feel the same way. Whenever I see a new Gucci Mane song out on some blog, I just skip right over the option of checking it out, and deem it pure crap. When Lemonade dropped I didn’t even bother listening to it. I was completely ignorant of the song all together until Big Sean jumped on the beat. I remember listening to Supa Dupa Lemonade and thoroughly enjoying the beat. I went back and listened to Gucci Mane’s version. I still didn’t quite like it, but I think I enjoyed the beat enough to the point where I would have copped it for my iTunes. That’s the closest I’ll ever get to admitting I like a Gucci Mane song.
That whole scenario made me think about if a rapper I like, such as Jay Electronica, was the original artist behind the song. If he wrote the original lyrics would more of us embrace the song? Could a more poetic rapper make Gucci Mane’s uninspiring lyrics more bearable? Just imagine if Mike Posner instead of Lambert sang Whataya Want From Me. I’m sure a lot more of you would like the song then.
There’s a tricky gray area when bringing up “what ifs” like these: The fact that it’s just a what if. Sure, you can ponder what if Jay Electronica was the man actually behind Lemonade. But, the bottom line is, he isn’t.
The thing to take out of all this is that listener’s need a more open mind when it comes to music. To just toss a song to the side without giving it a listen is just stupid. Part of the fun of music in the world today is you can easily listen to new music without throwing out any pennies. You can find music streaming for free all over the internet now. There’s just no excuse for not listening to something anymore. Take a step down from your high horse of music snobbery and have fun exploring all types of music. I sure learned my lesson, maybe you can too.
Everyone says never judge a book by its cover. Well, we can apply that to music as well. Just listen before you hate.
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You can contact Brad at brad@theurbanian.com or follow him on Twitter.
An Urbanian Exclusive with DJ Benny Ben
DJ Benny Ben. He’s your favorite DJ’s favorite DJ. I remember hearing him say that as I – then, a high schooler – used to listen to his mix show on ‘The Cultural Vibe’ every Saturday night on Impact 89FM. And the more I think about that statement, it’s invariably true. He’s the quiet guy with the sly smile behind the turntables, bobbing his head in the background, switching records in and out, keeping the beat alive. He’s always been one to let the music do the talking. As a fixture in the Detroit/Mid-Michigan music scene over the past 10+ years, we were happy to get the chance to catch up with him after hearing about his guest spot on The All Out Show with Rude Jude & Lord Sear on Shade 45 (Sirius/ XM) this past fall. This time, he was doing the talking – sans actual music.
SH: I used to faithfully listen to your mix show, ‘The Cultural Vibe’ every Saturday night on WDBM in East Lansing. That was at least 9 or 10 years ago. How long have you actually been DJing?
BB: I’ve been DJing since ‘97, copping wax since ‘95.
SH: I heard through the grapevine (the world wide web, that is) about your guest spot on The All Out Show with Rude Jude & Lord Sear? What’s the story behind that?
BB: As far as the guest spot on Shade 45, when I was out in LA, I connected with my man Rude Jude, who I hadn’t seen in years. He heard me play at the Roxy with Mayer Hawthorne, so we chopped it up for a minute. The next day he hit up my man Jax, and wanted to bring me on The All Out Show, which was an awesome opportunity… I went to my man Hugh Whitaker’s spot, recorded it and sent it out. He played it and the response was great from the callers. I’d love to do it again.
SH: I remember when I used to see you lugging around your big crates of records…still at it? What are your tools these days?
BB: My tools include 2 Technics 1200 turntables, Shure M447 needles, 1 Vestax 07 Pro mixer, and about 14,000 records. For this mix, I used a mix of vinyl, a MacBook with the Rane Sertato software (this was only my 3rd time using that though). Shout to Hubert Sawyers III for lending the MacBook, and my man DJ Graffiti who hooked me up with a gang of digital music to help me with the transition to Serato.
SH: This was obviously a bright spot in your music career. What other things have you been into over the past few years? What would you say are some other highlights?
BB: Highlights…there are so many. 6 1/2 years on the radio at WDBM… a childhood dream. 4 years doing Elevation at the Firefly w/ Graffiti & Buff 1. My homie Mayer Hawthorne bringing me out to LA this past year to open at the Roxy & play the Do-Over party at Crane’s. Just being out there with My Sky Children/ A-Side Worldwide family, Buff 1, Now On, AML, 14 KT and all those guys. I’m so proud of all the success they’re having right now, and really just honored to be a part of the crew. The highlights are really just the relationships I’ve built with people like them, Hubert, my man SelfSays, Stoopz-N-Breeze, BLAKE Eerie, the list goes on. I’ve been blessed to meet a lot of good people.
SH: Any notable projects or gigs coming up that we should pencil in?
BB: Next up I’m working on a recording a podcast for A-Side Worldwide (http://www.asideworldwide.com/), that should be done later this month. I might finally release the 2 year old mix CD I’ve been sitting on called “Money Twelves”… Not sure about club gigs but folks can hit me up on Twitter (@DJBennyBen) if they want to book me. I think the last one I did was Oslo. I’ve also got some weddings coming up too. My homie Hubert & I have some things in the works as far as a DJ service as well, so be on the lookout.
SH: Are there any other places online to keep tabs on you/hear your work?
BB: Online besides Twitter, we’re building www.djbennyben.com up right now, and it’s up in its infancy. I’ve got an old mix up there for folks to chew on until I get my ishhh together. I have a Myspace (myspace.com/djbennybenmixes), and that is also under re-construction right now.
SH: There are a lot of people trying to make it in this business. From a veteran, what’s your advice?
BB: Youngin’s and even old timers getting into the biz… just be true to yourself and study those who inspire you. Oh, and if you’re not happy already, you’re not going to find happiness in some music scene… not in the long term anyways. You’ll realize what life’s about when you have a baby (I love you Ellery!).
SH: Congrats on your new baby girl, as I’m sure she’s been a huge inspiration as of late! Musically, I’ve got to know, who else inspires you? Who’s my favorite DJ’s favorite DJ’s favorite DJ?
BB: My favorite DJ ever.. my man Reggie Hotmix. He’s the reason I do what I do musically. I listened to him every Saturday night in high school on the radio.
SH: What’s on heavy rotation in your life right now? What are the constants?
BB: On the way home tonight I listened to Cat Power, Dead Prez, and Bell Biv Devoe. As far as new stuff… Danny Brown, Marv Won, Raekwon, Slaughterhouse. And next on my list, I gotta hear that new Freeway & Jake One. Old records… I’ve been listening to some old joints by Bernard Wright, Norman Connors, Soul Mann and Rasa.
SH: And lastly, at the end of the day, what’s your main goal as far as what you’re doing, and how it’s leading to where you’re going?
BB: My whole life is based on music; everything I do, everywhere I go, even in my 9 to 5, I always have music in my head. That being said, my main goal is to balance business, being a good husband and father, and maintaining a solid creative outlet to be heard and get the dopest music out to the people I love and respect.
James Wade’s “Popular Stranger” Mixtape Review
This is the big one for Urbanian favorite, James Wade. He’s been continuously on his grind to get his music further out to the public, and this DJ IllWill and DJ Rockstar sponsored mixtape will do just that.
Popular Stranger can be seen as Wade’s hello-to-the-rap-world party, and this one was well-planned. It’s a surprise party for those who find Wade as a stranger, and the expected bash of a lifetime for those who live in the area where Wade is popular. Hence why Popular Stranger is the perfect title for this mixtape. Wade definitely has niches in tiny pockets around the country where he can be deemed popular. He has a lot of support in certain areas that are full of people respecting his grind and whom want to watch him grow as a rapper. Despite his talents, Wade has seemed to slip through the cracks when it comes to major hip-hop blogs, making him a stranger to most.
Having DJ IllWill and DJ Rockstar’s names on the mixtape is his ticket to those major hip-hop blogs. These guys have been behind mixtapes of rappers such as Wiz Khalifa. If a rap blog receives something associated with those two guys, they’ll post it, no questions asked.
With the pressure of having those two host the mixtape, Wade handles it well. From sampling choices, lyricism, flow, and even tracklisting, Wade excels in all aspects. The mixtape starts off with Far Away. The song contains a super dope and mellow sample with a great message for introductory purposes. In the song, Wade simply tells the haters to just go far away. Rap has become a genre with more haters than lovers. It seems most people have forgotten to just enjoy the music. Those new to Wade will be able to instantly tell Wade is just having fun with his music. If you don’t enjoy it, then so be it. Just go far away and let the rest of us enjoy the music. There’s no need for negativity here.
As the mixtape progresses, we come across one of Wade’s most poignant tracks, Weatherman. Those familiar with Wade will know this song well. Wade has been carrying around this song with him for awhile. This time around it’s a bit revamped, and he also drops the features from the previous version. It’s a good move dropping the features. Being one of his better tracks and putting it on this mixtape that is guaranteed to gain more exposure, Wade needs to show everyone he can handle it on his own. And, of course he does. This is a jam that everyone is going to need on their summer playlists.
As the mixtape listening experience continues, so does the enjoyment. Longtime fans of Wade will notice he inserted a good handful of tracks from The Common Ground. Brilliant idea. With the opportunity to get some better mastered tracks from DJ IllWill and DJ Rockstar, nabbing some extremely solid tracks from The Common Ground that went unheard by many is a good move. Wade is able to get a wider audience to already outstanding pieces of work. Some of the tracks carried over are On My Way, Man in My City, Smile, and I Can Make You Famous. Giving these tracks the chance to be properly mastered is a beautiful thing.
The mixtape ends just like it began, perfect. Choosing On My Way as the closer was a good choice. Like the song’s title states, Wade is on his way. Backing that claim are all the tracks you just listened to.
Once this mixtape gets distributed to a wider audience the arrow while shift more toward “Popular” in the “Popular Stranger” junction.
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You can contact Brad at brad@theurbanian.com or follow him on Twitter.
XV Goes in Over “Drop The World”
An Urbanian favorite, XV, is preparing for the release of a lot of music this year. With a couple expected mixtapes and the long-awaited Kid With The Green Backpack on its way, be ready to see a lot of XV material posted on the site.
The first project to release from XV this year will be 30-Minute Layover, dropping Feb. 26. XV just leaked out the first song from the mixtape, Lift The Game. Using the incredible Lil Wayne and Eminem Drop The World beat, XV does what he does best. Enjoy.
Listen and download.
