That sophomore album keeps getting delayed or re-titled. Set to be the lead single from Is This Too Orange?, despite various other ‘lead singles’ being released, and hopefully we’re finally getting Asher’s second LP.
An energetic one with a dance-influenced beat, blended with a sampled hook of Eddie Murphy’s Party All The Time, and I’m not entirely sold on this one. The sample is annoying, and the thudding electro-style bass in the verses feels like an unnecessary addition, whilst the mainstream vibe of the track causes Asher to take his clever raps down a peg to match the production, and hence what brings are somewhat diluted raps by his standards. The Meek Mill feature doesn’t quite come off either, with his style not a great match for this style of production both from a flow and vocal perspective, which leads to an awkward-sounding verse. I’ve always supported Asher, but this isn’t a good release by his standards and strikes me as a label-enforced single.
The undisputed highlight of Wale’s Ambition album, this motivational number is an excellent choice to restart the Wale/MMG buzz.
As one of Wale’s better tracks to date, there’s pressure on the clip to deliver, and thankfully it does. The video opens with, and is mostly anchored around, a nightime cityscape, capturing the dark and moody elements of the audio very well, ensuring the true essence of the track is visualised appropriately. The verses contain some excellent semi-biographical sections too, with Meek Mill reflecting on his time back in his neighbourhood and Ross offering a rare glimpse of his personal life with some brief clips of life as a young upcomer. Wale closes things off with a mix of isolated and studio scenes, and it becomes apparent that his verse is incredibly thin subject-wise, in comparison to the more personal styles Meek and Ross go with, with his arrogant bars not quite fitting in with the general introspection of the song/video.
An enjoyable watch nonetheless, and a real standout track in Wale’s back catalogue. Grab it on iTunes now.
This all star cast ensemble to bring us visuals for their recent remix of Tyga’s Rack City. Nothing really special to see, fairly basic hip hop video, but for a song like this, that’s all it needs. It’s just good to see such names get together and do something like this; as you all know, I love my collabos.
Originally I said my favourite verse of mine on this strangely addictive track is T.I.’s, but I’ve really warmed to Wale’s opening verse.
The remix to the massive hit that was Rack City sees Tyga, Wale, Fabolous, Meek Mill, Young Jeezy and T.I. all team up; what a lineup. Along with this official remix a video has been shot too. Best verse? For me it goes to T.I. who is really starting to come back into form after his latest jail stint. Download below.
Nothing to really recap on in the world of R&B this past week, it’s been a rather slow one.
Wait, what? Why is Indi in charge of this week’s R&B Friday and where the hell is Ajay? Well folks, he went overboard on his pump level this weekend and he’s been locked up for everyone’s safety (don’t worry though, with his legally entitled one phone call, he hand-picked this week’s tracks for me to review anyway).
Click on below to get hold of this week’s holy trinity of R&B goodness.
My opinion on B.o.B. spans both extremes. Sometimes he will blow my socks off, then he releases something which frustrates the hell out of me because of his unrealised potential. This, it has to be said, falls somewhere in between. The beat itself takes inspiration from numerous directions, ranging from that dramatic crunk music to 1980′s video gaming. I’m not ashamed to claim I am unfamiliar with either of the features, but all involved here seem to do a reasonable job. It’ll get lost in my shuffle but it’s more one for the B.o.B. fans out there. Get below.
“In celebration of our 4th annual Freshman issue, we linked up with DJ Whoo Kid for the 2nd year in a row to release a mixtape showcasing the up-and-comers’ talents. XXL’s 2011 Freshman Class: The Mixtape features brand new music from Kendrick Lamar, Yelawolf, Lil B, Meek Mill, Mac Miller, Lil Twist, Fred the Godson, YG, Cyhi the Prynce and Big K.R.I.T. as well as some welcomed, surprise collaborations.”
Can’t say I agreed with some of this list when it was released, but we’ll see if my mind is changed by what those I doubt put forward on this tape. Aside from that, it’s always good to grab new material from the likes of Yelawolf and Kendrick Lamar, so this should definitely be one to add to the collection.
Wale’s been spouting about this track all day on Twitter, and it seems to all but confirm his association with Rick Ross’ Maybach Music label.
Ross’ work ethic has to be commended, as he never seems to be out of the limelight, and continues delivering mainstream-friendly hip-hop with this effort. Despite being a solid production, this goes to the well one too many times (as Indi stated earlier), as he goes with a beat and lyrical style that sounds identical to everything else he does. Having said that, Meek Mill and Wale’s raps make for nice listening on this production, and if his intention was to showcase these guys he’s done the job well. In particular, Wale comes with much more passion and aggression than he usually does, which is a refreshing twist on his regular laidback delivery.
Meek Mill is T.I.’s latest signing to his Grand Hustle label, and has enlisted some big features for his first song (in my world anyway) in the form of T.I. himself, Camron’s best buddy Vado and a man who looks like he smells like a sweaty bear, Rick Ross. Could be either good or bad, but T.I. does have good taste (having signed B.o.B) so I’m willing to give this guy a go.
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