Author Archives: Geoffrey

[Hip/Hop] B.o.B Feat. Wiz Khalifa – Fuck The Money

Posted by Geoffrey - November 30, 2010

Bobby Ray teams up with underdog hero Wiz Khalifa in a track that seeks to expand his current audience beyond the K-12 students that ate up his pop-hop singles with Bruno Mars and Hayley Williams. Fuck The Money this sample-driven homage to a rap world before your mother knew who Drake was. It surprises me how much he’s grown as an MC even since The Adventures of Bobby Ray came out. This is great track with a great feel that gives us a glimpse of B.o.B. working out his rap muscle in his downtime before his next sugar-coated platinum seller. Fuck The Money is a reminder that artists that perform pop music have mastered the art of holding back and having a simple, digestible message. It’s nice to see a capable artist like B.o.B. let loose on a track like this.

B.o.B. ft. Wiz Khalifa – Fuck The Money

’01 Fuck The Money.mp3′

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Hip/Hop

[Hip/Hop] Atmosphere – The Best Day

Posted by Geoffrey - November 16, 2010

This is one of the most positive hip-hop songs I’ve heard in awhile. The amazing thing about that is that the majority of verses recount the worst things that can happen in a day . If there was ever a musical based on Office Space, I can see this track being a big number. MC Slug takes the “day in a life” lyric approach and reminds us that “everyday can’t be the best day”. This song isn’t about beef or money, cash, and hoes. And yet it’s still a good hip-hop song. Interesting.

The Minneapolis duo, Atmosphere, have been around forever, once having been signed to the famed Epitaph Records (Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion’s label). The Best Day is off of “To All My Friends, Blood Makes The Blade Holy” on Rhymesayers Entertainment. From looks of this single, it will be worth picking up.

Atmosphere – The Best Day

’The Best Day’

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Bonus Throwback (released on October 28, 2003):
Atmosphere – Trying To Find A Balance

’Atmosphere – Trying To Find A Balance.mp3′

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Hip/Hop

[Hip/Hop] Blame One – It’s A Stick Up

Posted by Geoffrey - November 2, 2010

I love this song.

Rihanna doesn’t sing the hook. In fact there isn’t a hook at all. There are very few variations on the initial beat and the sample (an amazing Disney-esque aria) just loops the entire song. The result is astounding. I’ve listened to other Blame One tracks before this one, and they don’t quite nail it like “It’s A Stick-Up” does. This track lives entirely on its great flow and stellar sample by producer Tranformerz.

The track pays tribute to a lot of hip hop icons without trivializing them. It is a grimy, un-quantized track that is made even more perfect by it’s imperfections… did I say I liked the song?

Blame One’s album “Endurance” came out on October 19th and is available on iTunes.

Blame One – It’s A Stick Up

’Blame One – Its A Stick Up’

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Hip/Hop

[Hip/Hop] KiD CuDi – Maniac Feat. Cage

Posted by Geoffrey - October 15, 2010

The perpetually moody Kid Cudi has partnered with Weatherman frontman Cage to release a track where Cudder croons “I am the maniac, I am the ghoul, I’m in the shadows in the corner of my room”.

The track (that conveniently appears soon before the release of Cudi’s newest album) features a strong verse from Cage and Kid Cudi drops some sly lines as well. The potency of the track comes from a sample of hipster-rockers St. Vincent mixed with ethereal pads and guitars.

It’s a good track that further states Kid Cudi’s intention of landing somewhere in between Pink Floyd and The Roots.

The Man on the Moon 2: The Legend of Mr Rager drops November 9th on GOOD Music/Universal Motown.

KiD CuDi – Maniac Feat. Cage :

Sampled song: St. Vincent – The Strangers

’stvincent_thestrangers.mp3′

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[Hip/Hop] Chiddy Bang – The Fuck You (Remix) + The Good Life (Monsieur Adi Remix)

Posted by Geoffrey - September 27, 2010

The MC in this song is right. A remix of the popular ear-worm, “Fuck You” was inevitable.

Chiddy Bang has made their name choosing unconventional samples like MGMT on their first single “Opposite of Adults”. The verses are pretty good on this track, and it’s a good way to listen to Cee-Lo‘s smash single without playing the original for the umpteenth time. It’s pretty obvious they rushed this out to capitalize on the popularity of “Fuck You”, but it doesn’t dampen the song.

This won’t be winning any Grammys for Chiddy Bang, but it’s a good track for now.

Chiddy Bang – The Fuck You (Remix)

’1284010926chiddybangthefuckyouremix.mp3′

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Fresh out of the oven. A brand new remix from Monsieur Adi taking Chiddy Bang’s laidback The Good Life into a whole new direction. He tell us, “The original has such a nice laid back flow and rhythm, but I wanted to give it a different feel and make it ready for dancing. I added some synths, robotics, and strings over a breakbeat and played a little with the rhythm of Chiddy’s vocals”.

Chiddy Bang – The Good Life (Monsieur Adi Remix)

’Chiddy Bang – The Good Life (Monsieur Adi Remix).mp3′

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Bonus:
Chiddy Bang – Pass Out (Chiddy Bang Freestyle)

’Pass
Out.mp3′

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[Hip/Hop] Kanye West feat. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver & Nicki Minaj – Monster

Posted by Geoffrey - September 2, 2010

Monster is a lot to take in at once. Jam packed with an indie-folk singer and four rappers competing for your attention; it can come off as a little unfocused. It isn’t a bad track. West has been making beats for more than a decade and his production is ever improving. The problem is that Kanye is his own stiffest competition and Monster doesn’t rank among his best. It’s a great beat, and it’s cool to see Kanye reach outside of the box and get Bon Iver on a track.

Monster works out great as a mixtape banger to satisfy the blogosphere while the rest of us wait on Kanye to release his new album, as well as his confirmed EP with Jay-Z.

Kanye West feat. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver & Nicki Minaj – Monster

’Kanye
West

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Hip/Hop

[Hip/Hop] AudioDax – Thoughts (Crystal Castles Remix)

Posted by Geoffrey - August 31, 2010

Thoughts by Crystal Castles is essentially a rejigging of Empathy (a Crystal Castles song) by Audiodax, a relatively small production duo.

The bad news is the sample is essentially four lifted bars from Empathy slowed down with very little added. The good news is the rap on top of the beat doesn’t hold anything back. It takes a track meant for hipsters (sorry New York Times, I’ve got to use that word), gives it some weight and reinvents it as a hip hop track.

Sampling a relatively well-known band is a great way to get attention and I look forward to hearing some more original Audiodax, where they can shine on their own.

AudioDax – Thoughts (Crystal Castles Remix)

’audiodax
thoughts

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Hip/Hop