Category Archives: Audio

G.O.O.D. Friday: Kanye West – “Good Friday” (Featuring Common, Pusha T, Kid Cudi, Big Sean & Charlie Wilson)

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You know the drill.  Another Friday comes along, ‘Ye publishes a new track.  The appropriately titled “Good Friday” features vocal stylings from fellow G.O.O.D. Music artists Common, Kid Cudi, and Big Sean.  Pusha T is expected to be inducted into Kanye’s music label any day now (update: it’s official), and famed soul artist Charlie Wilson is just coming for the ride.  (Uncle Charlie reprises his role from the terrific “See Me Now” track.)  Preview and download below.  Note: Kanye’s blog is currently “under construction.”  In its place is a new portal that provides you with cover art and download links for all G.O.O.D. Friday songs dropped to date.  And speaking of cover art, this week’s is too much NFSW to post on the homepage, so click after the break to see it in full.

Download: Kanye West – “Good Friday” (Featuring Common, Pusha T, Kid Cudi, Big Sean & Charlie Wilson)

[audio: Kanye West – Good Friday.mp3]

[Via KWBlog] Continue reading G.O.O.D. Friday: Kanye West — “Good Friday” (Featuring Common, Pusha T, Kid Cudi, Big Sean & Charlie Wilson) →

G.O.O.D. Friday: Kanye West – “Devil in a New Dress” (Update: he also addresses an apology to Taylor Swift)

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Early this morning (right past midnight eastern time) Kanye West dropped a new track off his upcoming yet-to-be-titled album.  “Devil in a New Dress” features a background tune that is very reminicent of his old work (think The College Dropout and Late Registration).  Though ‘Ye’s blood pressure doesn’t spike here (the song takes a detour from “Power“, the “Power” remix, and last week’s G.O.O.D. Friday track “Monster“), the Bink production grows on you after multiple listenings so give it a preview (and then download it) below.  In a tweet Kanye described the track like this: “classic… instantly gave me a feel I’ve missed in music for so long.”  At only 2 minutes and 52 seconds in length (plus there’s that abrupt ending) I have a feeling this is not the final version of the song.

Predictions for next week: Kanye still has “All of the Lights” up his sleeve (but I’m hearing that he’s waiting to perform it at the VMAs on September 12) and then there’s the Jay-Z collab EP waiting in the wings.  Will the EP drop soon, or will we be handed individual tracks before it releases?  Time will tell.

Download: Kanye West – “Devil in a New Dress”

[audio: Kanye West – Devil in a New Dress.mp3]

Update: Kanye hinted at what’s to come next week.  My predictions were a bit off this time.  “We might drop 2 new Good joints next week!!!” he tweeted.  “I got new joint with Pusha T and Big Sean… The Summer has to have this one …. I might drop it Tuesday if I finish my verse.”

Update 2: After releasing “Devil in a New Dress” Kanye West jumped onto Twitter to express all these thoughts that have clearly been bottled upside him for some time.  Nearly one year after the Taylor Swift incident at the 2009 MTV VMAs, Kanye addresses a second apology to the country singer.  Here are some choice quotes (erm, tweets) from his “stream of consciousness”:

“How deep is the scar… I bled hard.. cancelled tour with the number one pop star in the world [Lady Gaga] … closed the doors of my clothing office.”  “Remember in Anchor Man when Ron Burgandy cursed on air and the entire city turned on him? But this wasn’t a joke. This was & is my real life.”  “I wrote a song for Taylor Swift that’s so beautiful and I want her to have it. If she won’t take it then I’ll perform it for her.”  (Possibly at the VMAs?)  “She had nothing to do with my issues with award shows. She had no idea what hit her. She’s justa lil girl with dreams like the rest of us.”  “She deserves the apology more than anyone. Thank you Biz Stone [Twitter creator] and Evan Williams [Twitter CEO] for creating a platform where we can communicate directly.”  “I’m ready to get out of my own way. The ego is overdone… it’s like hoodies.”  “With new found humility … who am I to run on stage? I would never ever again in a million years do that. Sorry to let you down.”  “It is distasteful to cut people off as a general rule. What’s the point of dressing tastefully if I’m going to act the complete opposite?”  “Yes I was that guy. A 32 year old child.”  “When I woke up from the crazy nightmare I looked in the mirror and said GROW UP KANYE … I take the responsibility for my actions.”  “Why was it made into such a race issue. Taylor loves rap music… I love country music.”

After all this Kanye speaks directly to his haters: “I’ve hurt, I’ve bled, I’ve learned. I only want to do good. I am passionate I am human I am real. I wish I could meet every hater.  I wish I could talk to every hater face to face and change there a opinion of me one conversation at a time.  I wish they all knew how much I really cared about music and pop culture and art and peoples feelings.  I wish they could accept that I’ve grown and only want to do good for the world. I want to help as many people as I can.  I want to help starting with the music and ending with the smile.  I want to win there hearts back so I can continue to bring my take on culture to the masses with a clean opinion.  It starts with this…  [Drumroll, please] I’m sorry Taylor.”

Take what you will from this apology of sorts, but it looks to me that ‘Ye is finally turning the corner here.  He’s not holding back the music and he’s publically expressing himself like never before.  I welcome the “new” Kanye with open arms.  And I am really looking forward to this year’s VMAs.

[Via KWBlog]

Kanye West announces Jay-Z collab EP, drops “Monster” (Featuring Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver & Nicki Minaj) & “Runaway Love” (Remix) (Featuring Justin Bieber & Raekwon)

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Kanye West promised new music every “G.O.O.D. Friday” and so far he has not broken that promise.  On Friday August 27 Kanye released “Monster” and it features an all-star cast including Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, and Justin Vernon of indie folk band Bon Iver.  All in all the track is tight, but you want to know who really kills it?  Nicki Minaj, that’s who.  She raps, “You could be the king, but watch the queen conquer.”  She’s quick and has tons of spunk.  Female rappers that go hard like this aren’t in abundance these days; I’m excited to see what she’s going to do next.  In fact, all of a sudden I’m anticipating her debut album to drop.  (Its expected release date is November 23, one week after Kanye’s yet-to-be-titled album hits stores.)  Kanye made sure to mention how much he appreciated Nicki’s contribution to the track.  He tweeted, “MONSTER… can we just talk about Nicki’s verse???????!!!!!!!!! I toooooooooooooooold yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallll!!!!!!!!!!!!”  Preview and download “Monster” below.

Download: Kanye West – “Monster” (Featuring Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver & Nicki Minaj)

[audio: Kanye West – Monster.mp3]

Speaking of Twitter… Nearly three hours before he posted the download link for “Monster” he shared this exciting news: “Me and jay bout to drop a 5 song album called ‘Watch the Throne'”.  I guess we can consider this upcoming 5 track EP a mini-prequel to his studio album.  Along with the download link he tweeted, “[This is] the second song off of me and Jay album!”  It would not be too drastic to think that the first song off the EP is the “Power” remix since that song does feature Jay-Z, but ‘Ye left this up in the air for now.

Fast forward to today and now there’s another new song from Camp Kanye.  Yeah I know, it’s not Friday just yet, so I guess we can consider this next song a special bonus.  About two weeks ago Kanye tweeted that he was listening to Justin Bieber’s “Runaway Love” song from My World 2.0.  The Bieb responded with gratitude.  Next Kanye blurted out this: “Maybe we can do something together. Me, You and Raekwon.”  Bieber’s reply?  “Me, u, and the chef 2gether on a song = EPIC. haha.”  Yeah, this collaboration actually happened.  Kanye West, Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan, and teen sensation Justin Bieber (who happens to be signed to Def Jam Records with Kanye) are featured on a remix of “Runaway Love”.  After listening to the track it appears that The Bieb might not have had a hand in making the mix.  Basically Kanye laid Beiber’s vocals on top of the Wu-Tang Clan’s “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing Ta F’ Wit” (1993) beat.  The remix includes one rather short verse from Kanye and two surprisingly explicative-free verses from Raekwon.  And you want to know what?  The song catchy, what with Bieber’s young Michael Jackson-esque sound, the Chef’s old school rhymes, and ‘Ye’s producing.  It’s a nice treat for fans of so many different generations.  Feel free to preview and download the track below.

Download: Kanye West – “Runaway Love” (Featuring Justin Bieber & Raekwon)

[audio: Kanye West – Runaway Love (Featuring Justin Bieber & Raekwon).mp3]

[Via KanyeBlog, here & here; Twitter]

Music video: Caspa & Mr Hudson – “Love Never Dies” (+ new Hudson track “Angel Eyes”)

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Look what we’ve got here.  Two new tracks from UK phenom Mr Hudson.  If you haven’t listened to his debut solo album go ahead and download Straight No Chaser right now.  Got it?  Good.  Moving on… Not too long ago Hudson was approached by Caspa, a well known Dubstep producer from London, who asked Hudson to invent lyrics for his electronic dance track “Back For The First Time”.  After listening to the instrumental beat Hudson immediately agreed to make a hook for the track and, well, take a listen to it in the video above.  After listening to both versions, Hudson’s easily takes the cake; his words perfectly match up with Caspa’s building tempo and make for a great song that can now receive ample radio time.  And apparently “the track has been lighting up dancefloors & airwaves globally”.  The music video was directed by Mo Ali; make sure to peek after the break to watch a making-of video that accompanies the music video.  You can download the track at iTunes; it’s available on a 5-track EP.

Next up is a brand spankin’ new track from Mr Hudson.  “Angel Eyes” carries a unique, dark, gritty sound that we are not used to hearing from Hudson’s repitoire.  The slow vocals and flow are very laid back and Hudson manages to maintain his edge quite effortlessly.  It really sounds like a song fellow G.O.O.D. Music artist Kid Cudi would come up with (it’s not as dark as “Solo Dolo” but that strange, eerie vibe remains).  There’s no word on whether or not this track comes from his next yet-to-be-titled album.  Preview and download it below.

Download: Mr Hudson – “Angel Eyes”

[audio: Mr Hudson – Angel Eyes.mp3]

[Via KanyeBlog, here & here] Continue reading Music video: Caspa & Mr Hudson — “Love Never Dies” (+ new Hudson track “Angel Eyes”) →

Single: Diggy – “Oh Yeah!” (Featuring Lupe Fiasco & Pharrell)

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One mixtape (The First Flight, 2009), two freestyles (“Made You Look“, “Over“), and a prelude music video later, Diggy Simmons is readying his next mixtape Airborne by dropping the first track off it.  It’s called “Oh Yeah!” and features verses from Lupe Fiasco and Pharrell Williams.  I’ve said it from the start–this kid is bringing a fresh sound to the rap community and his style of rap at such a young age (he’s only 15) is really impressive.  Enjoy this track as we anticipate the sequel to his first mixtape due out sometime this year.

Download: Diggy – “Oh Yeah!” (Featuring Lupe Fiasco & Pharrell)

[audio: Diggy – Oh Yeah! (Featuring Lupe Fiasco & Pharrell).mp3]

[Via KanyeBlog]

Single: Sara Bareilles – “Uncharted”

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The second single off Sara Bareilles’ sophomore studio record Kaleidoscope Heart has leaked onto the ‘Net.  “Uncharted” shares a similar vibe to the first single “King of Anything” and her 2007 smash hit “Love Song”  with a piano-infused, pop-tastic rhythm.  Preview and download the new single below, and get ready for Kaleidoscope Heart; it hits physical and digital stores September 7.

Download: Sara Bareilles – “Uncharted”

[audio: Sara Bareilles – Uncharted.mp3]

Kanye West debuts “Power” remix, promises new songs every weekend until X-mas

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Kanye West dropped the official remix to his super single “Power” over the weekend.  The track features a verse from Kanye’s long-time collaborator Jay-Z and production by Swizz Beatz.  Jay-Z opens the remix strong; he raps about living in the 31st century, makes a Norman Mailer reference, and says this: “In search of the truth, even if it goes through Taylor Swift/Tell her this.”  Yes, this marks the first time a Kanye track alludes to the harsh “imma let you finish” Swift incident from last year’s VMAs.  After Jay-Z does his thing, Kanye hops onto the record with two brand new verses.  In them be brings up topics like social commentary (“Now we’re not all gonna be American idols/but you can at least grab a camera, shoot a viral”) and politics and war (Bring our troops back from Iraq, keep our troops out of Iran/So the next couple bars, I’ma drop them in Islam/They say as-salaam alaikum, say wa alaikum as-salaam/That’s no Oscar Mayer bacon, you should run and tell your mom/Now the question is, how we gon’ stop the next Vietnam/Keep Flex out of Korea, ’cause you know we drop bombs”).  With about 2 minutes left, a Swizz Beatz produced sample of “The Power” by Snap! consumes the track and Kanye goes in for one more verse.  He raps, “Don’t even think you can allude to the rumors/I’m immune to the booze, I’m a prude to you losers.”  When the five minute 15 second track is about to end, Swizzy pops on to kill it: “Chill, ‘Ye, chill/Sh-t’s burnt up already/It’s over.”

Overall the remix is really great.  It does away with the “21st Century Schizoid Man” sample and introduces a different but familiar flow for the chorus.  In many ways the remix is bigger than the original track (Kanye opens up about more topics in the former), but they both hold their own weight.  Be sure to preview the remix below; there’s also a download link for keeps.

Download: Kanye West – Power (Remix) (Featuring Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz)

[audio: Kanye West – Power (Remix) (Featuring Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz).mp3]

Late last night Kanye shared some very exciting news.  He promises to release new music every weekend until Christmas.  On G.O.O.D. Fridays (G.O.O.D. Music is the name of his record label) new songs will be released; he specifies that they may come from him, Jay-Z, and other rappers.  He released “See Me Now” (Featuring Beyonce & Charlie Wilson) last week for the fans, and he realized that the fans deserve new content on a regular basis.  He tweeted: “I know yall need the music so I’m dropping 1 new song every weekend until Xmas. It may be my song it may be a new Jay song etc… I’m calling it good Fridays. Yall know every Friday yall gone have a new joint from our family. We look at the game completely different now. It’s about the fans. No more holding back. That’s why I dropped see me now… It wasn’t about me it was about the Summer the BBQs etc…“  Though Kanye has not mentioned what’s on deck for next weekend, many speculate that “All of the Lights”, the planned second single off his upcoming album that he previewed during his UStream chat, might be it.  Kanye is also finalizing a remix to Justin Bieber’s “Runaway Love” with Raekwon, so that’s in the pipeline, too.

Currently Kanye is in Prague working Dark Twisted Fantasy, an artistic film that will accompany the untitled album when it releases November 16.

[Via KWBlog; Twitter; EW-MusicMix; WSJ; Rap-Up]

Kanye West pops into Hot 97 radio show, plays new song “See Me Now” (Featuring Beyoncé & Charlie Wilson), reveals November 16 album drop date

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The Kanye West headlines just won’t stop.  But I’m not complaining.  Today Mr. West stopped by Hot 97’s Angie Martinez Show to play a brand new track that may or may not be off his next yet-to-be-titled album.  It’s called “See Me Now” and features beautiful vocals from the talented Beyoncé and R&B/soul singer “Uncle” Charlie Wilson.  Unknowingly we had heard a preview of this track when Kanye paid a visit to Facebook HQ two weeks ago; he rapped “I’mma need you to kill all the hypocrisy / This is an aristocracy / I’m Socrates, but my skin more chocolatey.”  The track literally is brand new; it was completed this morning at 5am!  Though Wilson’s vocals were recorded about two weeks ago, Kanye met with Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and Consequence this morning and rushed to write Beyonce’s part so that it could be recorded and played for us today on the radio.  The final package is nothing short of excellent.  Big shout-out to Lex Lugar and No I.D. for helping Kanye produce the light-hearted track.  “See Me Now” falls on the other side of the spectrum when compared to “Power.”  It’s got the stylistic drums and synths banging in the background, but it is not nearly as dark and brooding.  It’s more uplifting, very reminiscent of “Through the Wire” and other The College Dropout tracks.  It’s good to see Kanye having some fun in the studio again.  Preview and download the song below.

During his four part interview with Angie Martinez, Kanye mistakingly let loose an expected album release date of November 16.  So mark your calendars and let the anticipation begin continue.  Click here to stream the entire interview.  Kanye is surprisingly candid at the mic.

Update: Kanye just used Twitter to point out that this version of “See Me Now” is not the final mix.  When the mastered version is available I’ll post it here.  Also, a “Power” remix is on the way.

Download: “See Me Now” (Featuring Beyoncé & Charlie Wilson)

[audio: Kanye West – See Me Now (Featuring Beyonce & Charlie Wilson).mp3]

[Via KWBlog; AngieMartinez]

Single: Lil Wayne – “Right Above It” (Featuring Drake)

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Rapper Lil Wayne might be in jail but that’s not stopping him from releasing new music.  A track from his upcoming EP I’m Not A Human Being hit the ‘Net the other day and I’ve got it streaming down below along with a download link.  Wayne doesn’t pull any surprises in “Right Above It”, but it proves he’s ready to bring his music back into the spotlight.  The crazy cool beat and the feature by fellow Young Money pard’ner Drake really make the track shine.  The EP drops on Weezy’s birthday September 27 in digital form only.  He’s expected to leave jail in October, and you can anticipate production on Tha Carter IV to ramp up thereafter.

Download: “Right Above It” (Featuring Drake)

[audio: Lil Wayne – Right Above It (Featuring Drake).mp3]

[Via RapRadar]

Kid Cudi performs at BAPE, drops new single, delays album to October?

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Kid Cudi recently performed his first single “REVOFEV” off his upcoming sophomore album Man on the Moon: The Legend of Mr. Rager at the BAPE clothing store in NYC.  He teamed up with YouTube to have a VEVO crew follow his journey to the store.  The best part of the collaboration is that the video is in HD and the audio is perfectly audible.  Don’t have much time?  Scrub to timestamp 1:37, that’s when the song actually starts.  Remember you can download the track here.

Moving on to some important news regarding the release of MOTM II… According to Rap-Up, Cudder’s new album has been delayed twice in the same week.  Last Thursday it broke that the album would not drop on September 14 (aka G.O.O.D. Music Day) but instead be pushed back two weeks to September 28, the same date T.I. and Young Jeezy are expected to drop King Uncaged and TM 103, respectively.  Then two days ago it was reported that his label Universal Motown decided to delay the record by nearly another month.  Though this is all up for speculation, sources say that MOTM II is now expected to drop October 26.  Bum-mer.

In the meantime, you have “REVOFEV”, “Erase Me”, and now “Mojo So Dope” to enjoy.  “Mojo” found its way onto the ‘Net a few weeks ago in snippet form, but early this morning the full, tagless version was let loose into the wild and it’s hella good.  Its got this hazy, retro, dream-like vibe to it–Cudi’s signature stamp if you ask me.  Take a listen below and click the download link for keeps.  The wait is worth it, the wait is worth it.  You gotta keep saying that to yourself..

Download: Kid Cudi – “Mojo So Dope”

[audio: Kid Cudi – Mojo So Dope.mp3]

[Via KWBlog]

Jed Whedon previews upcoming debut “History of Forgotten Things”

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Jed Whedon is ready to go solo.  After teaming up with brothers Joss (Buffy, The Avengers) and Zack (Fringe) to create the amazingness that is Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and composing last year’s Guild smash “(Do You Wanna Date My) Avatar“, the youngest Whedon is prepping his solo debut album titled History of Forgotten Things.  He posted three tracks from it onto his SoundCloud profile page, and they’re embedded above for your convenience.  Since he had a significant hand in the making of Horrible and its catchy, high production value hits, I have little doubt his foray into the music biz will go unseen.  Frustrated, angry, or having a bad day?  After previewing Jed’s soothing tracks you will feel much better.  Side effects include the sudden anticipation of his album which drops on August 10.

[Via Whedonesque]

Singles: Kid Cudi – “REVOFEV” & “Erase Me” (Featuring Kanye West)

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Ahh yes. Rapper Kid Cudi has brought the goods.  Check out the first two singles off his sophomore album Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager.  The first is “REVOFEV” (pronounced Rev Of Ev, short for Revolution of Evolution) which is produced by Plain Pat with strings by Larry Gold.  Cudder officially released the mastered track on his blog.  The second is titled “Erase Me” and it features vocals by Kanye West.  The version that’s been let loose into the wild is only a radio rip, but it sounds great for a recording.

In “REVOFEV” Cudi asks, “Where will you be for the revolution?”  Yeah, because this album is going to be that good.  The track has a slow tempo and reminds me of many songs from MOTM, especially “Solo Dolo”.  It’s not nearly as dark but I definitely hear similarities in sound and style.  “Erase Me”, on the other hand, is starkly different from anything I’ve heard Cudi produce lately.  It’s a very cheery, upbeat song that uses drums, guitars, and echoing vocals that results in an extremely catchy pop-rock vibe.  And the fact that Mr. West makes an appearence is just icing on the cake.

MOTMII is expected to drop on G.O.O.D. Music Day, September 14 that is.  But for now, take a listen and download the tracks at the links below.

Kid Cudi – “REVOFEV”

[audio: Kid Cudi – REVOFEV.mp3]

Kid Cudi – “Erase Me” (Featuring Kanye West) (Radio Rip)

[audio: Kid Cudi – Erase Me (Featuring Kanye West) (Radio Rip).mp3]

Update: The dirty CDQ version of “Erase Me” is out now.  Download it here.

[Via KidCudiBlog; 5starhiphop]