Pusha T announces the date for his upcoming release and John Mayer returns to the stage, all in today’s First Dibs.
Cruel Winter Is Not Happening, Folks, And We’re Quite Ok With That
We’re not over how disappointing Cruel Summer was. Imagine our relief when Common squashed all the rumors of a G.O.O.D. Music Cruel Winter album in the works. In theory a collective project of G.O.O.D. Music’s finest–Big Sean, Pusha T, Teyana Taylor and 2 Chainz–sounded marvelous. And it bares mentioning Kanye West has yet to create a less than stellar album in the nine years since his first debut. Unfortunately Cruel Summer was mostly forgettable. You played it over and over hoping it’d get better. It never did. Read more…
Must Listen: 8 of 2012′s Most Underrated Singles
Contrary to popular belief, the music most celebrated on the charts isn’t always the best. Okay, that was sarcasm. But even artists with hits on the charts have a slew of singles that fall by the wayside. Not every album is a Katy Perry string of #1s. Thus, here is a list of artists whose albums were certainly recognized, but had singles that didn’t quite get the attention they deserved.
1. Rye Rye, “Boom, Boom”
Rye Rye’s delayed and delayed album Go! Pop! Bang! finally came out in May of this year–and is really fantastic. An upbeat, eletro-pop banger that not only samples the Vengaboys‘ “Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom”, but also elevates Rye Rye’s signature sound. Unfortunately, it didn’t do so well on the charts, only hitting #9 on Dance Songs.
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Get Excited With These Cruel Summer Previews And Official Tracklist
One of the fall season’s most anticipated releases, G.O.O.D. Music’s Cruel Summer is just a few days away, ready to drop on September 18. Already, the all-star compilation’s lead singles, “Mercy,” “New God Flow,” “Cold” and “Clique”, have our G.O.O.D. music fever burning hot. The star-studded tracklist suggests that we’ve only known the beginning of it, because Kanye West is readying to drop another monster of an album on us. In the mix are G.O.O.D. Music men Big Sean, Pusha T, 2 Chainz, D’Banj, Cyhi the Prynce, Kid Cudi and John Legend, G.O.O.D. Music’s first lady Teyana Taylor, as well as a handful of unexpected others summonsed from Kanye’s thick rolodex, like Jay-Z, Ghostface Killah, The-Dream and Ma$e. No big deal, you know?
Can’t wait until Tuesday to hear all that new G.O.O.D. Music? Check out a preview now below or via iTunes. First up? The biggest R. Kelly hook calling on you to put your middle finger up. Okay! Until Tuesday, we leave you with that typically climactic, middle finger-flicking R.Kelly hook on the opening track, “To the World.” Read more…
Music Industry Manager Chris Lighty Found Dead From Alleged Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound
It’s a sad day in music, particularly hip-hop. Chris Lighty, 44, was found dead in his Bronx apartment this morning from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to the Daily News. Lighty was influential in hip-hop as an executive and longtime manager of 50 Cent, Diddy, Ja Rule and Mariah Carey. Details surrounding his death haven’t been confirmed, but police sources told the Daily News the self-inflicted gunshot wound occurred during an argument with his ex-wife. It’s suspected that Lighty was having financial troubles and could have owed up to 5 million dollars to the IRS. Hip-hop artists and industry insiders have expressed their condolences on Twitter. Read more…
What Will Kanye West Rap About On “White Dress” For RZA’s Iron Fists Soundtrack
The clock is winding down for the RZA directed flick The Man with the Iron Fists. The Wu-Tang Clan‘s master producer embraced his obsession with kung-fu, which led to the Quentin Tarantino approved upcoming film that RZA also stars in. For the soundtrack dropping October 23, RZA called on hip-hop vets for the first album that will be released through his new label, Soul Temple Records. All Hip Hop reports acts like Ghostface Killah,Talib Kweli, Method Man, Pusha T and Kanye West have songs on the 16-track soundtrack. And for a touch of soul Corrine Bailey Rae and Res lend their vocals to the male squad. Read more…
Big Sean Thinks “Mercy” Should Be The Song Of The Summer Because…It’s Music You Can Literally Do Everything To
If there’s one place to see fresh faced young talent it’s the annual Teen Choice Awards. Always filled with fun surprises and performances, this year the five cutest moments, which was pretty hard to narrow down, and the worst dressed celebs who get an A for effort, were some of the highlights. But on the red carpet is where the special magic happened when we chatted with Carly Rae Jepsen and Big Sean about their picks for VH1‘s Song of the Summer. Read more…
Kanye West Says, ‘I Make Perfect Music’ At Revel Concert
He has a big ego. Such a huge ego. And we kind of love it. At Atlantic City’s Revel Hotel and Casino this weekend, Kanye West performed his first solo show since Coachella in 2011. During his set he told the crowd, “I make perfect music.” At least he followed it up by recognizing he’s a flawed human being. Performing for two nights, both sold-out (he talks like this ’cause he can back it up!), West performed “Way Too Cold,” “Mercy” with no guest appearances, “Runaway” joined by Pusha T, “New God Flow,” “All of the Lights,” and “In The Air” cover by Phil Collins. Yes, you heard that right. Yeezy showed off his novice vocal skills. Read more…
Kanye West Tries On His “New God Flow”
Just a day after he debuted his verse a capella at the BET awards, Kanye has graced us with the full “New God Flow” track. The song builds a sample of Ghostface Killah‘s “Mighty Healthy” to a piano-driven beat that is about as spare as the one Ye banged out on the BET stage with his foot. It’s patient, too, providing plenty enough space within for West and his guest Pusha T to stack their boasts high while dreaming of piles higher. For these two, G.O.O.D.’s not enough — they want that new god flow. The track is available for full stream or download on West’s website. Read more…
The Top 3 Performances At The 2012 BET Awards
Yes, the royal couple of hip-hop and R&B were at last night’s BET Awards, front and center. Beyonce and Jay-Z were the second and third most nominated artists (respectively) of the night, only behind their play brother Kanye West. Although the Carters didn’t perform it was a great night for both hip-hop and R&B. Usher, Chris Brown, Melanie Fiona, Maybach Music Group crew, Nicki Minaj and countless others brought their A game. As hard as it was to choose only three, here are our top three performances from BET Awards 2012.
3. G.O.O.D. Music swerved on everybody.
Nothing gets a crowd hype like dropping the beat to one of the hottest songs of the summer. Big Sean emerges on top of a neon lit Lamborghini to the beat of “Mercy.” Pusha T delivers his verse followed by 2 Chainz. The crowd explodes when 2 Chainz hits the stage. It’s safe to say 2 Chainz is the latest rap phenomenon. Being Kanye he skips his “Mercy” verse and appears as the beat changes to “Way Too Cold.” When he finishes his first verse, he raps an acapella freestyle before dropping the mic. It doesn’t get much better than that for an opener. Read more…
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