Childish Gambino- Fire Fly (Music Video)

One of my favourite songs of last year gets the visual treatment, High 5 Collective behind the lens this time, finally teaming up with an artist for an official video. If you haven't heard of H5C they've made mock videos for Tyler the Creator, The Weeknd and Frank Ocean.

You may recognise the lyrics from a certain somewhere aswell...

Skrillex vs Childish Gambino- Kyoto Fire! (DYNU Mix) (feat. Sirah)

 

Another cut off Do You, Not Us: Vol 2 (Mixtape), the full-length project drops AUGUST 10! 

Stay tuned.

Nas- Life Is Good (Album Feature)

Short and sweet- Nas has delivered another classic. Album number ten for The Don will compete for top spot this year.

There aren't many rappers that are able to rap over beats that Nas raps over. Songs produced by Salaam Remi, No I.D. etc always require a rapper with 'something meaningful to say', you cannot mumble your way through their production. This is why Nas is so engaging and captivating, he is such a storyteller, you vicariously live his experiences and carry his baggage through the 18 tracks (4 bonus tracks on Deluxe Version). There are plenty of rappers with creative lyrics, but Nas delivers in a way that is so easy to comprehend/follow.

Tracks like 'Daughters', 'Stay', 'Bye Baby' are all very personal, ... about his divorce with Kelis, Nas' ex-wife and fellow-musician, by whom he has a son. But you also feel his transition from old to new life, and it seems times have definitely changed since Illmatic- child support, fending off predatory players- much like himself, from his teenage daughter...

"they say the coolest players and the foulest heartbreakers in the world/God gets us back, he makes us have little girls"

"When he date, he straight, chip off his own papa
When she date, we wait behind the door with the sawed off
Cuz we think no one is good enough for our daughters"

...unpaid taxes, ageing- Nas now "20 years in this game lookin 17" like he raps in 'The Don'.

"I'm pushing 40, she only 21/Don't applaud me, I'm exhausted, G."

Bit of trivia- the green dress in the album cover was the only thing left in Nas' house after their divorce- a part of her wedding dress. Cool concept (can't wait to explain to you 2 Chainz's album cover...).

What Nas had to say:

"I found [the dress] in my house and thought, 'It's going somewhere'. Either on the cover of my album, or burning in a garbage can. I was angry when I first found it. Hurt and angry - but I don't think she left it deliberately to hurt me. It's just part of the dress, so I don't know where the rest of it is. But it made all the sense in the world for me to hold on to that. I guess that's just my personality."

Anyway, this album is one for a lazy weekend morning, preferably with a clear head to take in his literary imagery. It's awesome that rappers like Nas, Jay-Z etc at their age still remain and are willing to continue sharing their veteran lifestyle in the rap game. Listen, and try and tell me rap isn't poetry at its finest.

STANDOUTS:

Daughters (prod. by No I.D.)





Summer On Smash (feat. Miguel and Swizz Beatz) (prod. by Swizz Beatz)

`

World's An Addiction (feat. Anthony Hamilton) (prod. by Salaam Remi)



Stay (prod. by No I.D.)



Cherry Wine (feat. Amy Winehouse) (prod. by Salaam Remi)

Frank Ocean- Channel Orange (Album Feature)

Its taken a couple days for Channel Orange to marinate, at first listen I didn't really get it- i couldn't really get a grip on what was going down, then again I listened to it at midday with plenty of distractions. Not until I listened to its entirety on my own with full attention did it begin to unravel.

Channel Orange is a masterpiece that has so many damn layers its not funny. The concept is really, really cool aswell. Ocean suffers from coloured synesthesia, a neurological condition which in lame terms means two senses, e.g. sight and sound get their wires crossed (i.e. seeing colours in sound). If you could 'paint' what Frank saw and heard when he fell in love for the first time one particular summer, you'd have an orange tinge over everything, he said. Hence, Channel Orange.

Production was handled by himself and Malay, who has previously done work with John Legend. There isn't another artist like Frank Ocean in the RnB game, his imagination and storytelling techniques paint the most vivid pictures, you are taken on a journey from beginning to end throughout the album. Especially in 'Bad Religion'- such a stripped-back, raw number. Ocean has extreme control over his voice, he has these really abstract harmonies that I imagine most cannot replicate. It's hard to believe he is apart of Odd Future...

It will take a few listens, so chuck a copy of Channel Orange in your car and keep it on loop for a couple weeks. I guarantee you'll find yourself baffled at the little things you pick up on a quiet night's drive. 9.5/10

EVERY SONG IS A STANDOUT!! Its hard to pick because the album is very conceptual, like an entire body of work. You miss out on all the intricacies and skits if you dont cop the entire LP!

Super Rich Kids (feat. Earl Sweatshirt)



Bad Religion



Pink Matter (feat. Andre 3000)



Forrest Gump


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Sir Michael Rocks – Now You Do

Looks like Mikey has some new music to give us come August 2nd. It will be called LAP OF LUX.



1. Now You Do (prod. Flosstradamus)
2. GED f. Tris J (prod. J. Hill)
3. They Hate It (prod. Papi Beats)
4. Take It To The Floor (prod. Papi Beats)
5. Reservations (prod. Cardo)
6. NWO (prod. Flosstradamus)
7. Great f. Casey Veggies & Mac Miller (prod. Cardo)
8. Good Sushi (prod. Chuck Inglish)
9. In The Loop (prod. Polyester)
10. The Best f. Tris J & Shorty K (prod. Mano)
11. Connect f. Mano (prod. Cardo)
12. Can’t Hide It f. Rockie Fresh (prod. J. Hill & iamLpeezy)
13. If It Ain’t Foreign (prod. Tye Hill)
14. You Know What (prod. Hit-Boy)
15. The Clique f. Casey Veggies & Tris J (prod. The Freshman)

VERY EXCITED!

Theophilus London- Rose Island Vol. 1 (Mixtape Feature)

If you are looking for that alternate hiphop, look no further. It's as hipster as it gets around Theophilus on this fresh-to-death full-length mixtape. That 80's melodic vibe is still prominent, mixed with a dab of dirty dubstep, some raunchy RnB, trill hop, pretty much everything... think of it as... snazzy.

It's the safest hiphop mixtape you'll find to show a hiphop-hesitant friend- they're gonna like at least one song out of the 18 bangers. Genre-bending music left, right, and centre.

Due to the sounds being so eclectic, there isn't alot of direction upon first listening. I seemed to just zone out for alot of it, especially the beginning, only to be rewoken by that chopped-up Peggy Lee sample in 'Big Spender'. The home stretch is outstanding- each song is crazy, weird, different, full of substance.

Mixtapes are great as they encourage creativity, things that may not be album-worthy in the opinion of record labels still get to see the light of day. However these days free music expectations are growing; anything an artist brings out needs to be on point. Theo succeeds this time round simply by confidently exhibiting his art with a general disregard of current hiphop music trends.

DOWNLOAD MIXTAPE

ALTERNATE LINK

STANDOUT SONGS

Dancing (feat. Marvin Gaye) Reminiscent of 'All Around The World' on his last album

Big Spender (feat. A$AP Rocky) Doesn't need any introductions.

Love Is More Red (feat. SADE) Ridiculous. I wanted to mix an artist over this a few months ago and he does it himself!!

I Wanna Kiss You (feat. Lunice) Minimalistic trap music sound

Tour de Roses Anthem (feat. Bryan Holder)

Dance Hall Days (TL Cover) STANDOUT