What's New(s)?

Jay-Z Sells Out

The tallies aren't official yet, but it looks like Jay-Z has another Billboard #1 album on his hands with Magna Carta...Holy Grail. According to HitsDailyDouble, Hov's album moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and that's without even counting the million-plus sales for the Samsung app deal (which Billboard decided not to factor into first week sales). If these numbers hold, Jay-Z will nab his 13th number one album, placing him just six behind The Beatles for the all-time mark. Check out an interview Jay did with BBC radio's Zane Lowe about the album and help yourself to a live-cut of "Holy Grail" featuring JT.

Zane Lowe/Jay-Z Interview

"Holy Grail" ft. Justin Timberlake (Live)

RiFF RAFF takes aim at Spring Breakers

Houston artist and all-around rap-weirdo RiFF RAFF in a video posted on TMZ let it be known he's planning on suing the makers of Spring Breakers for between $8 and $10 million. RiFF RAFF was hesitant to say he's going after James Franco, clarifying "Not necessarily James Franco, but there's a lump sum that's made per movie. James Franco is cool, he drops four or five movies a year, he has the money-- it's not about him. I just need my money." RiFF RAFF has previously claimed (in a roundabout way on the soap opera "One Life to Live) that Franco's otherworldly Alien character was appropriated from his on rap persona. Below is the booming "Dolce & Gabana" from the recently released NEON iCON.

Nas honored by Harvard

This morning, the W.E.B. Du Bois institute announced the formation of the Nasir Jones Hip-Hop fellowship, aimed to "fund and enrich artists and scholars with connections to hip-hop," hoping to show that "education is real power." Upon receiving the honor, Nas said:

“In my rollercoaster of a life I’ve endured good and bad for sure, and I’ve truly been blessed to have achieved so much thru art in my short life thus far. But I am immensely over-the-top excited about the Nasir Jones HIP-HOP Fellowship at Harvard. From Queens, NY to true cultural academia. My hopes are that greed for knowledge, art, self-determination and expression go a long way. It is a true honor to have my name attached to so much hard work, alongside great names like Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and W.E.B. Du Bois and to such a prestigious and historical institution, and all in the name of the music I grew to be a part of.”

Nas previously name-checked Ivy institutes Harvard and Yale in his 2002 track "Book of Rhymes," so take a stroll down memory lane with the song.

Mazzy Star debut new song

California dream-pop royalty haven't released an album since 1996's stripped-down Among My Swan, but that's about to change. Today, the band released the mostly acoustic and winsome "California" in anticipation of new album Season of Your Day; slated for a September 24th release via Rhymes Of An Hour. Lead-singer Hope Sandoval's voice is as haunting as ever on the song, floating back to "somewhere distant," and hovering over the ocean. You can find the track here and an official tracklist for the record below.

1. “In the Kingdom”
2. “California”
3. “I’ve Gotta Stop”
4. “Does Someone Have Your Baby Now”
5. “Common Burn”
6. “Seasons of Your Day”
7. “Flying Low”
8. “Sparrow”
9. “Spoon”
10. “Lay Myself Down”

Check back in again tomorrow for more of the newest in new(s). 

In Revue- "Magna Carta...Holy Grail"

For anyone that's cared to listen, my only problem with the otherwise excellent Netflix exclusive House of Cards series is that the Kevin Spacey portrayed Francis J. Underwood’s quest for, and consolidation of power is far too easy. Dominoes tend to topple over, but Underwood's opponents step-aside like well-trained matadors. It's easy to root for the underdog and even the boss (if they’re amiable enough). But the one who breezes through everything (without ever hinting at all the work put in) could never be confused for the "everyman." We cheer for Michael Jordan, but sympathize for the player riding the bench. I feel the same way when I listen to Magna Carta...Holy Grail.

Not to say that Jay-Z should go back to rapping from the perspective of the scrappy hustler, "back to the wall ashy knuckles," that spun golden yards of the crack game on Reasonable Doubt. It's a ridiculous request and were Jay to readopt that persona it would be as roundly dismissed as Rick Ross following the outing of his false "gangsterism." That's not where Jay-Z is in his career; he's signing Kevin Durant to his new sports agency, going all in on what Bomani Jones pointedly called "the greatest cell phone promotion ever," and vacationing in Cuba. He's got infinite album budgets and a Rolodex of five-star producers that would make entire labels blush. Wealth talk in hip-hop has never been what's driven people away, Big Bank Hank on "Rapper's Delight" bragged of having a "Lincoln Continental and a sunroof Cadillac" (oh how the times have changed). Jay-Z's longing for a "Picasso in his casa," on the booming "Picasso Baby" is an extension of a material longing that only years of struggle could create. But the hunger was satiated somewhere between the turkey bacon for breakfast and the bottles of champagne for a nightcap. 

Jay's hunger has always been at its greatest when he's had something to play off of. Watch the Throne was cut from the same fine cloth he’s now stitched in every time he leaves the crib, but he had Kanye West around to light the proverbial fire under his ass. Excepting the Murder's Row production list, The Black Album succeeded so wildly because Jay was rapping on the door of retirement. Jay only crafted the all-time diss track "Takeover" for The Blueprint because vocal critics like Nas, Prodigy, and Jadakiss were closing in on all sides. The higher the flames under Jay-Z's feet get, the higher he ascends. MCHG then is unmistakably frigid at points. 

By all accounts Mr. & Mrs. Carter have a perfectly happy and healthy marriage, but you'd never know it from the lack of chemistry displayed on the tepid "Part II (On the Run)." The song, which rides a quasi-late-80s/early 90s R&B groove and hasn't been officially confirmed as a sequel to the explosive "03 Bonnie & Clyde," is a further down trending of what began on the cloying "Lift Off," where the two last me. Surrounded by "No Church in the Wild," and "N****s in Paris," that track felt entirely unnecessary and coming in at nearly 6 minutes, so does "Part II (On the Run). 

Even with all the namechecking of Basquiat paintings, Tom Ford clothing tags, and surprise trips to Marrakesh to smoke hashish, the most opulent thing about the album is its length. The run time of 59 minutes is deceptive; with late-album tracks like the Timbaland beach-house groove "La Familia," contributing to the feeling that MCHG is much longer. Despite putting a Gonjasufi sample to provoking use on closer "Nickels & Dimes," Hov flatly ignores the Neil Young advice that "it's better to burn out than fade away." Likewise, the suit and tie s*** of "Holy Grail" could've been hemmed to get it under 5 minutes.

That being said, there are clear highlights to be found on MCHG. Like an eyeball grabbing summer-blockbuster, "Holy Grail" is decadent and overblown in the best way. Justin Timberlake creates a grand scale from the get-go, howling over a piano "I still don't know why I love you so much." Jay continues the "papa paranoia" of Watch the Throne's "New Day," surrounded by "haters in the papers, photo shoots with paparazzi," to the point where a walk with his daughter becomes next to impossible. And despite what's been said of the reworking of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" the moment flies by so fast over the sprightly beat it's hard to take stock of. "Oceans" is another moment of pure brilliance, returning to the imbalances between wealth and race that WTT delivered a treatise on. OF-crooner Frank Ocean conveys the mood, "this water drowned my family, this water mixed my blood, this water tells my story, this water knows it all," making the confined quarters of a yacht sound like paradise when considering the slave ships that came before. 

Elsewhere, the brash Timbaland beat of "Heaven" is one-step from launching into "Dream On," and again employs Timberlake, this time to soulfully question just who makes it into heaven. Jay rips through round 1 on the song, effortlessly rolling off the 12 jewels of Islam (knowledge, wisdom, understanding, freedom, justice, equality, food, shelter, love, peace, and happiness) giving credence to the line "can't believe this much skill in the human body."

For any overabundance that "Nickels & Dimes" has, Jay-Z's lyrical dexterity is on full-display here. He moves from talk of Mac-11's to soft-drinks and Johnny Cash without batting an eye and later evokes Kubrick's nightmarish Eyes Wide Shut. Kubrick the dictionary definition of "perfectionist" is an idle auteur for Jay to compare himself to at this point in his career. Jay-Z albums now are meticulously crafted things, not a note out of place, everything from the guest-list to the packaging and promotion obsessively micromanaged. But the curtains are never pulled back for us to see all the sweat and sacrifice that goes into the finished product. The house of cards is set up, but never in danger of falling down.

"Oceans" ft. Frank Ocean

   

In Revue- "God Forgives, I Don't"

If honesty was the best policy Rick Ross would've been flat broke years ago. The man's meteoric rise to the top of the rap game has been fueled by fabrication. In 2008 the coffin on Ross' career began to lower as it surfaced that he was a former Corrections Officer, a far cry from the drug-pushing character he had crafted on previous records Port of Miami and Trilla. On record, Ross was pushing Scarface levels of cocaine and buying up entire car dealerships with the money; in reality he was essentially keeping those same dealers down. You could almost hear the final flecks of dirt pouring over Ross' body as 50 Cent in a YouTube video promised to "f**k his life up, for fun." But instead of running from the falsehood and pressing reset on his career, he lovingly embraced it and 2009's Deeper Than Rap became his third consecutive #1 album, leaving 50 and most other haters six-feet deep. The man had a Lazarus-like comeback, one that is in full bloom on this his fifth album.

The first thing you can't help but notice when listening to the ominously titled God Forgives, I Don't is the beat selection. Even the album's bangers have a richness to them you'd be unlikely to find on a Waka record. "So Sophisticated" features a ferocious verse from Maybach Music cohort Meek Mill who rides a synth line and clattering keyboards as Ross equates MMG to rap's mafia. Rozay re-ups on "Hold Me Back," which plays like the sequel to 2010's "B.M.F." but noticeably lacks Lex Luger on the boards. While Ross is engaging, snarling like never before, producer G5Kid can't replicate the blueprint Luger authored. 

As great as the bangers are, the record would be void without the soulful samples brought by Jake One and Cool & Dre. "Ashamed" re-purposes Wilson Pickett's "Shameless" to great reward with Ross wondering if the d-boy life style is really worth it. Jake One mans the ship on "3 Kings," with a gripping guitar line and stormy chorus. In a rare appearance, Dr. Dre drops in and thoroughly outclasses Ross and Jay-Z,  shamelessly plugging his headphones along the way. Admittedly the track is a bit of a disappointment for Hov' who can't rise above C-status, noticeably leaving the end of a line in suspended animation.  

Production team J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League easily captures M.V.P. status for the album, tailoring songs with a silky lining that would make Armani proud. The stalwart "Maybach Music" series is brought back with Pt. IV, a cut that plays like the love child of Kenny G and early 2000s Cam'ron with a dash of South Beach sheen. Ross even manages to comment on his highly publicized seizure with a grin-inducing "B.J." joke. "Sixteen" is the triumph of the record, starting with a blaring sax solo and settling into a tremulous beat-blast. Ross is in rare form here, recalling his verse from "Lord Knows," and reflecting on how his life has gone from "ten-speeds to Trump Tower." Guest Andre 3000 slips free from the shackles of the sixteen-bar structure and delivers a grandiose verse that zigzags from dolphins to the dope game to desperately trying to court his neighbor. Dampened only by an ill-advised guitar solo near the song's end, the verse is the sort of awe-inspiring moment that grabs your attention and refuses let go of the reins.

The truest mark of this album's success is that often even its weak moments feel like wins. While Drake is curiously underutilized on "Diced Pineapples," he still croons a chorus that's equally despondent and resilient. "Call me crazy, s**t at least you callin'," is the sort of late-night rationalizing anyone in a rocky relationship has ever engaged in. "Touch 'n You," is the sort of "paltry" pop-rap tune that shouldn't succeed, but coasts on Ross' lover-man personae. Ultimately that's what it takes to be the boss, to make the most out of every opportunity. To come up with gold in every undertaking, and right now no one in rap has the Midas touch quite like Rick Ross.

"Sixteen"

      

"I Do" ft. Jay-Z, Andre 3000, & Drake

Upping the ante on the original, we now have a remix on the "International Player's Anthem,"-aping "I Do." If Jeezy, Hova, and Andre weren't enough, we now have Drizzy along for the ride. Hearing Drake rap over a track this soulful isn't something we hear everyday, but it's as blissful as the sample that buoys the track. It's four disparate voices getting together to talk commitment, warmly embracing their hip-hop brides.

"I'm Definitely in My Zone"

If you have a problem with ballin' too hard, you might want to avoid the video for The Throne's "Ni**as in Paris" at all costs. The impossibly-infectious stuttering synth track finally has an accompanying video and it's pretty much amazing. It's Jay & Ye' spitting live at their most raucous, armed with plenty of split screening. WARNING, if you are adverse to flashing lights this video is definitely not for you. Enjoy and remember, this s**t "cray."

"Ni**as in Paris"- Watch the Throne

 

The Kid's A Star

Not even a week-old and Blue Ivy Carter, the first child of Jay-Z and Beyonce is making history. B.I.C. as she's credited in the soulful boom-bap of "Glory," currently sees herself sitting at #74 on the Billboard chart. This easily makes her the youngest person to chart and fulfills the chorus of Jay's "Star is Born." Major props Blue, with backing by the Neptunes there wasn't any doubt in my mind you would succeed.

"Glory"

Top 30 Albums of 2011 (The Runner-Up)

Before we can get to the #1 Album of 2011, we need to see who the runner-up is. But before that, we need yet another recap.

30. 4- Beyonce

29. The Dreamer, The Believer- Common

28. Just Once EP- How to Dress Well

27. Alien Observer- Grouper

26. Step Brothers- Don Trip & Starlito

25. Cole World: Sideline Story- J. Cole

24. Weekend at Burnies- Curren$y

23. Suck It and See- Arctic Monkeys

22. Celestial Lineage- Wolves in the Throne Room

21. The Whole Love- Wilco

20. Bad As Me- Tom Waits

19. Live, Love, A$AP­- A$AP Rocky

18. Helplessness Blues- Fleet Foxes

17. 21- Adele

16. Wounded Rhymes- Lykke Li

15. Hilarious- Louis C.K.

14. Cults- Cults

13. Goblin- Tyler, the Creator

12. Tomboy- Panda Bear

11. Strange Mercy- St. Vincent

10. Parallax- Atlas Sound  

9.  Nostalgia, Ultra- Frank Ocean

8. House of Balloons- The Weeknd

7. Take Care- Drake

6. undun-The Roots

5. Father, Son, Holy Ghost- Girls

4. Dedication- Zomby

3. James Blake- James Blake

#2 Watch the Throne- The Throne

“It was all good just a week ago, then Watch the Throne dropped.” The hype for this album was fevered months before with the release of “HAM,” the Lex Luger track that served as the first taste of this collaborative-effort from Jay-Z & Kanye West. Many scoffed at the track, convinced the two had grown too egotistical for their own good. The song lacked the ambition of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Ye’s 2010 magnum opus, but it’s operatic second-half still told us something. It warned us that The Throne was here, and it wouldn’t be long before the kingdom was theirs again.

“Human being to the mob, what’s a mob to a king? What’s a king to a god? What’s a god to a non-believer who don’t believe in anything?” begs Frank Ocean on the initial lines of “No Church in the Wild.” From this world-weary line of thinking enters Jay-Z over a reeling guitar track with kingly visions, “tears on the mausoleum floor, blood stains the Coliseum doors.” Jay spends the remainder of his verse wondering if heaven pays attention to thugs, but Kanye has no such concerns, focusing on “forming a new religion,” where deception is “the only felony.” ‘Ye is back to the hedonism of “Hell of a Life,” loving every minute of it.

The balancing act of the moral and material is one that furiously teeters at every turn on this album, with the world paradise of “N****s in Paris,” darkened by the brooding “Welcome to the Jungle.” This blend is beautiful for the two, who have never sounded better together. On the pricey Otis Redding-sampling “Otis,” the duo plays lyrical ping-pong with one another. It’s an album that sees them turn in career performances, Kanye referencing his troubled relationship with Amber Rose on “New Day.” “I’ll never let him ever hit a strip club, I learned the wrong way that ain’t the place to get love,” he raps about the hard-earned life lessons he’ll deal to his eventual son. Here Kanye is fully aware of his ostracizing-ego, praying his son becomes a better person. 

"New Day"

  

Hova’s high-watermark comes on “Welcome to the Jungle,” dedicating his second verse to fallen rappers. Referencing 2Pac, Notorious B.I.G., and Pimp C, he comes to the sobering realization he’s the only one left. The man once scoffed at for declaring himself the King of NYC, is alone in his room, the reflection in the mirror his “only opponent.” “I’m f***ing depressed,” he decries. Nearly everyone Jay came-up with is either in the ground or turned their backs on him, as he spitefully recalls on “Why I Love You.” Even with all his millions, ‘Hov knows he can’t buy back what he’s lost.

Much has been made of the wealth-talk on this album. The point is bizarre when accounting for wealth-talk being rap’s lifeblood since Big Bank Hank bragged about his Lincoln Continental on “Rapper’s Delight,” in 1979. To criticize the two for something that’s been going on for years, is to miss the point. Where others wantonly spend, they spend to distance themselves from where they once were. Jay marking himself a scrambler on “Made It in America.” As he is quick to point out in “Dirt Off Your Shoulder,” he went from “grams to Grammys,” so why is it now fashionable to deny him what he has earned? The African-inflection of “Murder to Excellence,” impeccably answers that question. After furiously examining black-on-black crime, ‘Ye labeling it genocide, the two describe “black excellence, opulence, decadence.” The point here is potent, “black excellence” is ready for all those willing to pursue it.

Other critics have adamantly attacked the pair for having a noticeable barrier between them. The duo’s dexterity on “Otis,” frantically pushes this notion aside. In reality, Watch the Throne represents the two biggest stars in rap getting together and reinvigorating their “sibling rivalry.” The album is the counterpoint to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Where Kanye was once “lost in the world,” he has now found his place and “surviving in America,” is no longer a concern of his, the witch-hunt long since passed. For Jay-Z, this record is redemption after the bumpy ride of Blueprint 3. No record this entire year had more hype. It would have been easy for them to jog in-place, but they chose to run the rap-race with dogged determination, lapping their competitors in the process. Watch the Throne’s win is one more jewel for Jay, his kingly crown gleaming like never before. He can’t help but laugh, as he sits with Kanye atop the rap world. The “throne,” is safe.  

"Otis"

          

Still Watching the Throne

In an interview with MTV, Jay-Z hinted at a possible follow-up to this year's Watch the Throne. Jay-Z added that we can also look for possible solo efforts from him and Kanye in 2012. "We really found our zone," says Jay-Z. Someone didn't get the memo to not let them "get in their zone."

If any one of these things comes true, it'll be another great year for hip-hop. Considering the creative streak Kanye and Jay-Z have been on, anything of theirs is worth looking out for.

"Otis"- Watch the Trone

 

This is Your Moment

J. Cole

So it's now official, J. Cole has the number one album in the country. According to Billboard, the still-rising rapper's first release Cole World: The Sideline Story debuted at the top spot with more than 200,000 copies sold. When Cole found out the news, he took to his Twitter account to thank his fans, specifically for supporting all of his mixtapes which he views as the hard-work that got him to his point. "So many people to stunt on, fighting the urge to be spiteful. This moment is too important for that. Just want to say THANK YOU," said Cole.

Jay-Z reacting to the news of Cole's Billboard success.
Jay-Z is the head of Roc Nation, which is Cole's label.

Jay-Z, the man who signed Cole to his label has often seemed at odds with Cole, but none of that was on display once he received the news. In fact, he had nothing but love for the Fayetteville rapper and had this to say, "J. Cole’s success is testament to amazing artist development and Cole’s hard work. I want to congratulate him on a #1 album and more importantly a great body of work.”

For now Cole isn't resting on his laurels, he's working touring the country with upcoming stops in Detroit, Milwaukee and Chicago.

"In the Morning" ft. Drake- Cole World: The Sideline Story

NSFW