What's New(s)?

No it won't feature Blanka, Chun-Li, or Zangief, but Young Money/Cash Money's latest tour will feature two of its biggest acts battling each other for label supremacy. Following last month's stellar comeback "Believe Me", Drake and Lil Wayne are linking back up for a 31 date summer tour that kicks off on August 8 in Buffalo, NY.

The Street Fighter themed tour comes in support of Tha Carter V, which still doesn't have a release date, but is being touted as Wayne's final LP. Tickets for "Drake vs. Lil Wayne" go on sale June 21 and maybe by then we'll have more info on Tha Carter V. Given the relative silence though, any news is unlikely at this point.

Check out the tour dates below, along with recent tracks from both Drake and Wayne.

Tour Dates: 
8/8 Darien Center, NY- Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
8/9 Noblesville, Indiana- Klipsch Music Center
8/10 Tinley Park, IL- First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
8/12 Saratoga Springs, NY- Saratoga Performing Arts Center
8/13 Hartford, CT- Xfinity Theatre
8/15 Cincinnati, OH- Riverbend Music Center
8/16 Clarkston, MI- DTE Energy Music Theatre
8/17 Burgettstown, PA- First Niagara Pavilion
8/19 Forest Hills, NY- Forest Hills Tennis Stadium
8/21 Camden, NJ- Susquehanna Bank Center
8/25 Mansfield, MA- Xfinity Center
8/26 Holmdel, NJ- PNC Bank Arts Center
8/27 Virginia Beach, VA- Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach
8/29 Bristow, VA- Jiffy Lube Live
8/30 Charlotte, NC- PNC Music Pavilion
8/31 Atlanta, GA- Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood
9/3 West Palm Beach, FL- Cruzan Amphitheatre
9/4 Tampa, FL- MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre
9/6 Austin, TX- Austin360 Amphitheater
9/7 Dallas, TX- Gexa Energy Pavilion
9/10 Morrison, CO- Red Rocks Ampitheatre
9/11 West Valley City, UT- USANA Amphitheatre
9/13 Ridgefield, WA- Sleep Country Amphitheatre
9/14 Auburn, WA- White River Amphitheatre
9/16 Mountain View, CA- Shoreline Amphitheatre
9/17 Wheatland, CA- Sleep Train Amphitheatre
9/19 Irvine, CA- Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
9/20 Chula Vista, CA- Sleep Train Amphitheatre
9/22 Los Angeles, CA- Hollywood Bowl
9/25 Phoenix, AZ- Ak-Chin Pavilion 
9/27 Woodlands, TX- The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

Lil Boosie releases new single "She Want Some"

 
Since wrapping up his five year prison stint in March, Baton Rouge rapper Lil Boosie's stayed busy with recording. He's dropped his own reflective tracks with frequent partner Webbie and stomped all over other people's tracks like 2 Chainz's lurching "Could Woulda Shoulda".

Amidst all of that recording, Boosie's planning to issue his comeback album Touchdown 2 Cause Hell some time this summer. As a first taste he's delivered "She Want Some", a gloriously chintzy piece of strip club rap bound to have you dancing by the time the chorus hits. If half of Touchdown 2 Cause Hell is as infectious as "She Want Some" is, Boosie's post prison adjustment will go just fine.





Death Grips, Gonjasufi appear on new tracks from The Bug

Experimental dubstep artist The Bug (aka Kevin Martin) hasn't had a studio LP since 2008's London Zoo, but that will soon change with the August 26 release of Angels and Devils. 

Divided into two distinct halves, Angels and Devils will feature a psychedelic, "dubbed out" first half ("Angels") and a screeching second half under the banner of "Devils". On either side of the record there will be appearances from: Liz Harris of Grouper, Jesu's Justin Broadrick, Hype Williams' Inga Copland, hip hop mystic Gonjasufi, and perpetual agitators Death Grips. 

The Bug's collabos with the latter two are both available now through Soundcloud and are well worth a listen. Gonjasufi effort "Save Me" rests on a subtle, atmospheric production bed; while "F*** A B****" with Death Grips explodes out of a burbling futuristic cannon. In other words, The Bug's already established how disparate the two halves of Angels and Devils will be long before it drops.

Tracklist:
1. "Void" ft. Liz Harris
2. "Fall" ft. Copeland
3. "Ascension"
4. "Mi Lost" ft. Miss Red
5. "Pandi"
6. "Save Me" ft. Gonjasufi
7. "The One" ft. Flowdan
8. "Function" ft. Manga
9. "F*** A B****" ft. Death Grips
10. "Fat Mac" ft. Flowdan 
11. "F*** You" ft. Warrior Queen
12. "Dirty" ft. Flowdan

Check back tomorrow for more of the newest in new(s) and follow AllFreshSounds on Twitter for updates throughout the day.

"Believe Me" ft. Drake- Lil Wayne

Depending on who you talk to, Lil Wayne saw his high-water mark come and go at one of at least five points in his 15-year career. There's Tha Carter II camp that argues the '05-effort placed Wayne at his "unequivocal high point." Others take Wayne's claim of "I'm the best rapper alive" on the DJ Drama-mixtape Dedication 2 as gospel. A fervent congregation (that I personally attend) continues to worship at the pill-popping, Harry and the Henderson's watching altar of Da Drought 3. Outfits like Rolling Stone posit that when Wayne was "phoning home" on the commercial smash Tha Carter III he had conquered the rap landscape and it was time for him to head back to Mars. Finally there's a loyal fan base for the decade-ending No Ceilings, which several of my friends hold membership in. Having no idea about Wayne "flying with the fishes," they were firmly convinced the beat-jacking tape was Weezy F. Baby at his most dazzlingly brilliant.

If you notice, none of those supposed pinnacles have occurred in this decade. While the 10's haven't been commercially disappointing for Wayne, they've been critically dismal. As Tha Carter IV broke iTunes download records, writer's like the Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot wrote the LP was held back by "repetitive subject matter." I Am Not A Human Being II was even more divisive; debuting at number 2 on the Billboard charts and receiving the worst Metacritic marks for a Weezy album since the abysmal Rebirth.

Though the eerily minimalist Boi-1da/Vinylz production "Believe Me" doesn't hit any of those previous high points, it's far from the valleys of Rebirth and engenders conversation about Wayne being "back." Mr. Carter and Drake tend to sound terrific together and "Believe Me" isn't any different. Tiptoeing over a beat ostensibly culled from The Conjuring's music box, Drizzy proclaims he's doing "One Direction numbers" and promises to put you "down quick" if you dare step to his big brother. Emboldened by his protégé’s support, Wayne's free to walk away with enough Dead Presidents to "leave a coffin vacant." Free-associating has long been his calling card, but he keeps it surprisingly restrained here. When he speaks of a "cold day in hell" the nightmare continues long after the track’s electronic twinkles die off. "Gone," he announces at the end. If Tha Carter V really is his final release, songs like "Believe Me" will make fans of any-era Wayne miss him all the more.

"Lookin Ass N****"- Nicki Minaj

Bring as many "whoas" as you want to this one, it won't be enough. "Lookin Ass N****" from the forthcoming Young Money comp Rise of an Empire is dynasty-building on its own accord. There's no cornball appearance courtesy of  Lil Wayne or heart-on-the-sleeve confessional from Drake to prop it up. 2 Chainz doesn't show and there's no infectious hook beamed in from outer-space. It's just Nicki Minaj rapping, unspooling from a tight coil one line at a time.

And rap she does. Detail's airy beat which constitutes a hiccuping vocal and trilling guitar gives Minaj plenty of room to stomp through in spiked heels. "Bunch of non-Mogul ass n****s" she chirps over a faded drum sound. No one can avoid her ire on this one. Rocking a borrowed gold chain? You have no game. Spending just to show off? You're gonna leave solo for the night. "Fake dope dealers be warned." If you pretend to be Scarface, when you can't afford a couch, you're going to get found out. Stop and stare at her butt; it'll be the last thing you do. Some of Minaj's "punchlines" here don't even rise above schoolyard taunting. That said they don't have to. They're delivered with such hyper-focus that they hit just as hard. Pretenders to the crown be warned, the queen is back.

"Lookin Ass N****" is slated to appear on the aforementioned Rise of an Empire, the sort of sequel to 2009's We Are Young Money. But it may also be appearing on Minaj's third LP The Pink Print, due out some time in 2014. And if you haven't seen the "male-gaze annihilating" video, right that wrong immediately.