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Kid Cudi ft. Kanye West “Erase Me”

Bradley Kevin MacDonald — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 20:58:44 +0000

It was only a couple days ago when we were delivered the news via Big Sean’s Twitter that September 14 would be G.O.O.D Music Day, as he, Kid Cudi and Kanye West will all be releasing an album.

If that wasn’t exciting enough, Erase Me, a song that will be featured on Cudi’s album and also features West, dropped today.

In short, it’s a great pop song. If you click play expecting hip-hop music you will be disappointed.

Between this song and REVOFEV, Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, appears like it will be a great album despite its horrendous title.

Listen to Erase Me

Rapper P.O.S Channels His Inner Luther Vandross

Bradley Kevin MacDonald — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 19:17:04 +0000

There’s a lot of reasons to love the recently-released Gayngs album. Not only are Bon Iver, P.O.S and Dessa involved, but P.O.S sings, yes sings, on his track on the album, No Sweat.

However, he doesn’t get his Kanye West on, and auto-tunes us to death – he sings with his own voice, and it’s damn good. It’s so good in fact, I hope he sings a lil’ more on his next album.

Listen to No Sweat

Epic Week for Hip Hop Comes to an End

Bradley Kevin MacDonald — Sun, 02 May 2010 17:52:47 +0000

The week of April 25 through May 1 saw many expected musical delights in the hip-hop realm, along with some major surprises.

The week started off with the release of B.o.B’s debut album, The Adventures of Bobby Ray. He captured our attention with an album full of great collaborations, pop melodies, and summertime-feel music. It was a great stamp into music for the Atlanta-based artist.

We also got a couple solid mixtapes from a couple up-and-comers. Theophilus London dropped the soulful I Want You and the trio of Pac Div gave us Don’t Mention It. Like B.o.B, it’s hard to classify him as just a rapper, as he explores the notion of a hip hop-meets-soul blend, and he definitely does it well. Then we have Pac Div, where they are one of the most exciting hip-hop groups to be excited about it quite some time. Finding a refreshing hip-hop group is rare, so these guys are an act to start listening to now rather than later.

The week also saw the release of a new Drake song, which I’m sure got a lot of people excited. The track, Find Your Love, is produced by Kanye West and sounds like an 808s & Heartbreak B-side. It’s definitely an unoriginal and boring track but I understand the hype around it. Drake has shown glimpses of genius in some of his songs, but lately he’s been more miss than hit. The reason a lot of people will check out his debut, Thank Me Later, is to see if the Fear Drake or Young Money Drake will show up.

Jay Electronica, a definite talent, but someone who hardly ever releases music, gave us something of a tribute song to Notorious B.I.G which featured Diddy. The Ghost of Christopher Wallace isn’t the greatest song he’s ever done, but it’s still a solid track.

Then to top it all off, we got something we’ve all been waiting for: The return of Eminem. Sure he’s been lingering around for awhile now, but Relapse Eminem isn’t the slim shady we all know and love (and he even admitted it). First he dropped a freestyle, Despicable, sending the internet into a frenzy, then just like that we got the new single off his upcoming album, Recovery. Not Afraid showcases a positive Eminem, rapping about change and hope.

This was quite a week to remember. Other notable releases were Big Sean’s Made (unfinished track) which features Drake and Game’s Ain’t No Doubt About It, which features Justin Timberlake.

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You can contact Brad at brad@theurbanian.com or @bkmacdonald

Asher Roth: Forever Doomed or Inevitable to Rise Again?

Bradley Kevin MacDonald — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 16:04:32 +0000

Asher Roth’s debut album Asleep in the Bread Aisle is coming up on its one-year anniversary of release. Roth’s hype was enormous leading up to the release. His mixtape, The Greenhouse Effect Vol. 1, was beloved by many, he was on XXL’s Freshman 10 list for 2009, and his song I Love College was everywhere. Finally the day came for his anticipated album, and just like that, the buzz died.

Not only was his album a disappointment to many, it should be an embarrassment to Roth. He may have even set a precedent for the fastest killing of a buzz.

A major factor that could have actually been a predictor to a doomed album from the beginning was the fact that MTV seemed to latch onto Roth and just wouldn’t let him go. Once MTV got a hold of him it was almost like Roth just decided to start catering to them. He became a frat-boy rapper. Just like that, the quick-witted Roth was a watered-down MTV artist.

Now almost a year later, Roth is releasing his new mixtape, Seared Foie Gras with Quince and Cranberry. That title alone shows signs that Roth is aiming to shake off the frat-boy following as that title is sure to go over many people’s heads.

His selection of beats for the tape are rather nice. He decides to flow over beats produced by the likes of J. Dilla, Kanye West, Pharrell, RZA, and Ryan Leslie. Do his verses and punchlines live up to the beats he used? And more importantly does his flow? The simple answer is a mere no. Roth gets by on almost every beat by being average. There are a few standouts, but as a whole, the tape falls flat.

Roth does have his comical moments on the mixtape. However, his entire shtick is getting old and has really become something like a one-hit wonder YouTube sensation. His style, persona, flow, and lyrics are easy to emulate. Just look at Spose and his ever-growing in popularity, I’m Awesome. Sure the song is funny at some parts when you first listen to it, but it’s not a good song by any means. It has little-to-no replay value and adds nothing to hip-hop as a genre. It’s kind of like a funny movie. Just because a movie makes you laugh doesn’t mean it’s good. Just look at the upcoming Hot Tub Time Machine. That movie looks ridiculously stupid, but I’m sure if I go see it, I’ll laugh.

It’s becoming more evident, especially after this release, that Roth may be doomed to just be a flash-in-the-pan, who once showed tremendous potential. It’s quite sad really because Roth could be good it seems if he just found his own way and not try to make people like him with mindless rhymes and song topics.

The only way for Roth to win back some love from the hip-hop heads is for his sophomore to be less poppy and for him to not be so mindless. Can he do it? I really hope so.

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You can contact Brad at brad@theurbanian.com or follow him on Twitter.

What Damon Albarn Needs to Do Now

Bradley Kevin MacDonald — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:39:25 +0000

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 the Gorillaz is so intriguing, I’m sure a lot of these artists would love to do something with 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.

Aziz Ansari Gives Us Some Hip-Hop Humor

Bradley Kevin MacDonald — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:19:02 +0000

The worlds of comedy and hip hop further merge together in this mixtape track from comedian Aziz Ansari.

It appears Ansari is using his alter-ego, Raaaaaaaandy, to drop a mixtape with Dave Sitek. Randy with eight A’s is the cruder version of Ansari and is undeniably funny.

In this track, Ansari manages to poke fun of rappers such as Kid Cudi, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Wu-Tang Clan, Drake, Eminem, and a ton more, while complaining about them being late sending their verses in for the mixtape. Ansari is spot on with every joke. To prevent ruining the jokes, I’m not going to write any of them out in this post. Seriously, just listen.

The entire mixtape was supposed to drop this month, but Ansari mentioned on Twitter that they are running behind and the release may be a bit delayed.

Kanye West – Coldest Winter [VIDEO]

Kenny — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:11:39 +0000

Visceral. That pretty much sums it up, Kanye’s latest video for Coldest Winter that is. The video is Directed by acclaimed producer Nabil Elderkin, whom has partnered with the likes of John Legend, Mos Def, (sigh) Black Eyed Peas, and even done a fashion promotion for the esoteric Jeremy Scott.

When asked how he was going to approach producing the video Elderkin said,

“It’s pretty minimalistic. It’s slow and very visual. I just wanted to catch the vibe of the song and not get too literal. Because the lyrics are very close to Kanye and go much deeper than the video goes, obviously hearing the song you know it’s very emotional.”

The video saturated with this ominous Lord of the Rings vibe and features copious amounts of slow-motion running, oiled up cleavage, and quintessential ‘Ye deepness. See for yourself.

Breaking Down the Debacle that is “We Are The World: For Haiti”

Bradley Kevin MacDonald — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 03:54:13 +0000

It was 25 years ago when artists came together to sing We Are the World. Written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, the song was done for charity for Africa. Musical superstars such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Cyndi Lauper, Billy Joel, and Ray Charles joined Richie and Jackson for the recording. The end result was pretty well-received and went on to raise a lot of money while winning awards as well.

Flash forward to present day, Haiti was struck with one of the worst earthquakes of all time with hundreds of thousands of casualties. When announced that stars would be gathering once again after The Grammys, it seemed like a good idea. The key word there being seemed.

Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones came together once again for a remake of the classic charity single. This time around, they would add producer RedOne and Wyclef Jean to the production side of things. When it came to the vocals, artists such as Justin Bieber, Pink, Celine Dion, Jamie Foxx, and many, seriously, many, many more came to the call. With a final count around 80 people involved, We Are The World: For Haiti was underway.

The hype surrounding the song was enormous. The media was all over it, with each station trying to get the inside look. The song and video was to be released and aired during the Opening Ceremonies for the Winter Olympics. It was a good idea, and great marketing. When it was finally all out in the open to the public, it was all one big mehhhhhh.

There are several things wrong with the song and video. Despite having an extremely good cause behind it, the song is just horrible and almost unbearable to listen to. It comes off as a disgrace when compared to the original.

First off, Justin Bieber opening the song up pales in comparison to Richie in the original. Bieber’s prepubescent voice makes you await Muppet and Sesame Street characters to join in. Also, is Bieber’s memory that bad where he needs to read the one line he’s supposed to sing off a piece of paper? Then again, he’s probably used to just reading off what people write for him to sing.

The song then transitions into Jennifer Hudson and Josh Groban. These are the kind of artists a song like this needs. Singers with powerful and emotional voices who can make you feel something. And right after these two powerful voices chime in, the song keeps this idea going by having the powerful voice of…..Tony Bennett. Bennett nabbing a solo on this song is about as mind-blowing as Paris Hilton being famous. All Bennett’s presence on the song does is remind you he’s still alive.

The next “what the hell moment” comes when Michael Jackson’s stored footage comes up. The idea to retain Jackson’s part is a great idea. However, then Janet Jackson’s face appears on the screen and she mouths the part along with Michael. Huhhhh?

The biggest blunder of them all comes when Lil’ Wayne gets his solo that was done originally by Bob Dylan. Not only does it not make sense having a rapper do a singing part, it doesn’t make sense to use auto-tune. Hearing auto-tune on this song is atrocious. To make it worse, Lil’ Wayne wasn’t the only one with it. We’re also graced by some more auto-tune with Akon and T-Pain.

You’re not even given enough time to get over the auto-tune blunders when Jamie Foxx returns with a ridiculous Ray Charles impression. It’s so ridiculous, if you look closely, Jennifer Hudson turns to Foxx with a “what the hell” facial expression when he’s done with it.

And, it only makes sense to follow the worst impression ever with a rap breakdown that seems like it belongs in a horrible 90s sitcom. Yes, LL Cool J, Will.I.Am, Snoop Dogg and others serve up a completely out-of-place rap, while everyone else claps along and stares at them with confused faces.

The whole thing is just a mess. It was too overdone. There was too many people. There were so many unrecognizable faces along with why-are-they-even-there people. Vince Vaughn can be seen in the back singing along in the chorus. Was he really needed? Actor, Dan Aykroyd was in the original, but at least he did Blues Brothers. It kind of made sense for him to be in the song, but you can’t say the same for Vaughn. Nicole Richie was also in it. Seeing her makes you get the image of her begging Lionel to get in on the action and Lionel only obliging to make her shut up.

Jay-Z recently came out on the record saying he didn’t like the remake as well. He felt like it shouldn’t have been made at all, stating the original was “untouchable.” Instead he would have liked to see a whole new song done.

Here’s the two videos below that you can watch and compare. Tell us what you think of the new one.

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You can contact Brad at brad@theurbanian.com

3 Artists for Michigan to Unite Around

Bradley Kevin MacDonald — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 01:48:42 +0000

There’s not much to be proud of and unite around in the state of Michigan these days. At the end of 2009, Michigan had the highest unemployment rate of all the states, coming in at 14.6 percent.

On top of that, its largest city, Detroit, has become a nationwide joke. A city that once was the nation’s fourth most-populated city has dwindled down to less than one million people. More and more people are not only fleeting the city, but the state as well. Every 12 minutes, Michigan loses a family. No one wants to stay, especially the young and educated.

It’s been a miserable time for Michiganders. Both Flint and Detroit are at the top of “Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities” lists, the automobile industry is in shambles, people are continuously losing jobs, the incompetence of Detroit’s former mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, still lingers, and the sports teams (Pistons and Red Wings mostly) that used to take their mind off all these problems are now struggling. Heck, there’s still even a bitter taste leftover from when Berry Gordy moved Motown Records to Los Angeles in the early 1970s.

The music scene in Michigan contains an impressive list of names. Madonna, Jack White, Eminem, and Kid Rock are just a few of the major artists today who reign from the mitt. However, these are people who’ve been around for awhile now, and Michigan is in need of new representation. The underground scene is just as good as well. The state has a plethora of solid rappers in Black Milk, Slum Village, One Be Lo, Marv Won and Ro Spit. They are a few of the talented rappers repping the underground scene but fall short of gaining wide recognition across the country in the mainstream spotlight. Well, in the past year, there’s been three emerging artists out of the mitt to get excited about and are starting to really burst into the mainstream in the United States.

31-year-old Andrew Cohen, better known as Mayer Hawthorne, has emerged basically out of nowhere. He was born and raised in Ann Arbor, located just a bit outside of Detroit, but now resides in Los Angeles after signing to Stones Throw Records. Just because he moved doesn’t mean he doesn’t have love for Michigan. He actually gets the stage name, Mayer Hawthorne, from his middle name, Mayer, and the street he grew up on, Hawthorne.

Originally known for his background in hip-hop music under the name DJ Haircut, Cohen is now growing in popularity with his retro-soul sound. He draws influence from artists such as Issac Hayes, Smokey Robinson, and Curtis Mayfield. Even though the music he makes is brand new, it sounds straight out of the late 1960s and early 1970s. It brings the listener the opportunity to zone out to retro-soul style of music with the innovative and progressive music styling of today’s world. Hawthorne’s falsetto manages to bring you into the music instantly and ponder how this white boy from Ann Arbor isn’t a formally trained singer at all. Add the fact Hawthorne is multi-instrumentalist and often plays all the instruments heard on his records, and you are truly blown away. He’s a true talent and someone everyone from Michigan should keep their eyes on.

Then there’s Big Sean. A few years ago he was a typical Michigander. He attended Cass Tech in Detroit while working a telemarketing job, and once in awhile appeared on a local radio station and rapped. One day Big Sean got a call from one of his best friends while cashing a check at the bank. His friend told him Kanye West was down at the radio station and he should head over there to rap for West. Sean made his way over there, and when he first asked West if he could rap for him, West told him no and that he’s too busy. Sean asked one more time and West told him he’s got to rap while they’re walking out the station. Eventually, West stopped walking and started to bob his head. West heard what he liked, but at the time he wasn’t looking for any new artists to sign. He exchanged information with Sean. After lots of persistence, recording, and time, West was ready to sign Sean.

Sean has now traveled all over the world with West. He’s been able to learn how to better his own music through West, whom is one of hip hop’s all-time greats. It was only a few years ago he was just a normal kid, making a little over 100 dollars a week and getting ready to go to college. Now he’s referred to as one of hip hop’s rising stars. Sean is a living example of dreams coming true, which is why a lot of his songs probably deal with that subject matter.

The missing corner of this inspirational triangle is Mike Posner. Posner is one of the hardest working, dedicated, and loyal musicians around. After attending high school in Birmingham, he attended Duke University where he continued to make music while taking classes. After a couple years at Duke he slowly starting to catch attention with his song, Cooler Than Me. During his Junior year he dropped his first mixtape, A Matter of Time. That mixtape caught even more attention. He started attending classes during the week and toured around the county during the weekend. He was constantly working. During finals week, one of the most stressful times for a student, he was also busy negotiating record deals. He went on to sign with Sony’s J Records. Even with the deal, he decided to return to Duke to finish college to fulfill a promise he made to his mom. He continued to tour even more, released another mixtape, all the while completing his degree. It took a few years while attending one of the most prestigious universities in the nation to get wide recognition and that was the award to all his hard work.

Posner finds a lot of success thanks to his musical influences. These influences are on a wide range across the musical spectrum. He credits this toward the city he grew up in Southfield, which is very diverse.

Even though all three mostly reside out of state in order to further push their music, all three always speak great things when it comes to Michigan. They even give a lot of credit to the state for making them who they are. These three guys embody what Michigan, and especially Detroit, need to do in order to get back on its feet.

Hawthorne shows us that we can still be progressive and innovative while going retro. We can look to our past and see how the city used to strive. We can find what made the city so great back then and apply it towards the future as we try to rebuild.

Posner shows us that blue-collar work attitude that we loved so much in 2004 when the Detroit Pistons won the NBA Championship. In order to better ourselves we must constantly work hard. If we want something great to happen we have to earn it.

And finally Big Sean shows us dreams really can come true with persistence and will. If we stay at it, we can overcome and just like that, be good again.

It’s time for Michigan to unite around these three guys as they represent the state in the mainstream music world. While doing that, we must also apply their traits to our own selves and get Michigan back on track.

Kanye’s Absence From Grammys: Good for Him, Bad for Us

Bradley Kevin MacDonald — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:51:02 +0000

A noticeable bottle of Hennessy was absent from the red carpet for the Grammys this year. That’s right, Kanye West decided to be absent from the biggest musical award show. Award shows have become synonymous with West so it was confusing to us all that he wasn’t there.

Leading up to the award show, it was announced that Lil’ Wayne, Eminem, and Drake would be performing together. Naturally we all knew they would more than likely be performing “Forever,” but why no West?

The rumors started spreading and it became apparent West was not going to be attendance, but instead in Hawaii as he continues his work on his upcoming album.

That’s good news West is hard at work on his album as it’s one of the most-anticipated albums to drop this year. However, the worriment that Grammys won’t be as exciting without him started to grow.

As the show trudged on, it was very bland. The Grammys seemed to be aware of this problem. The focus of the award show has really steered away from the award presentation and towards the performances. In fact, a lot of the winners were even announced before the show even started since they wouldn’t be aired. The show was packed full of performances. Some were good, some were bad. But on everyone’s mind was West. Even without being there, West’s name still appeared on Twitter’s trending topics alongside all the artists who were actually at the show.

West’s decision to forgo the Grammys this year was a good one on his part. He stays true to his word about staying out of the limelight and gets to focus on his album without the distraction of an award show. He wasn’t there to walk the red carpet and have people look at him and speculate how drunk he was or what crazy antic he’d pull this time. By not going to the Grammys he also adds more buzz to his album. People will get more excited for his album since it was important enough to West to ditch the Grammys in order to work on it some more. But, most importantly, it allows him to simply lay low. He is free from distraction, controversy, and the paparazzi.

As much as we should be happy West is making good decisions for his image, a lot of disappointment lingers for us. West in attendance could have fixed a rather dull show and the “Forever” performance would have been even more epic. West does have the second best verse on that song after all.

Imagine the awesome camera cuts that could have been. Imagine the hilarity of the possible camera cut to West after Taylor Swift won album of the year. It would have made for some great jokes. Even without him being there, chances are a lot of us imagined West making some extravagant entrance, like propelling down from the rafters of the auditorium, kicking down Swift and proclaiming that Beyonce had one of the best albums of all time.

Whether you hate or love West, he’s a spark that can ignite something dull, into grand fireworks.

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Bradley Kevin MacDonald can be contacted at brad@theurbanian.com