Author: dshaq
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Events, Featured, Review | RECAP: Alesso @ The Aragon Ballroom 11/23
Posted by dshaq on November 25, 2013
A brisk Chicago night seemed very fitting for the show that Swedish sensation and top DJ Alesso would soon play. A sold out show awaited us as we arrived to the beautiful Aragon Ballroom venue, with an array of personalities passing by. The line for admission went back a good couple hundred people deep and even curled around the alley next to the venue. Everyone stood freezing in line, anxiously awaiting to step into the warm building.
By the time we got situated at the venue, the opener, Luminox, began his set. We all remember him for the huge remix to Bingo Players’ “Rattle”. Showing a wide variety of sounds and styles, Luminox threw one hell of an opening set, even dropping in some Cashmere Cat “No Lie” a personal favorite… With the crowd getting into it, Luminox created a great atmosphere going into Alesso’s set.
Finally it was time for Alesso to perform and the crowd went nuts. Beginning with one of his notable singles, Years, he started it off with a lot of energy that really got the crowd engaged. Everything about the set was phenomenal. The drops never disappointed any of the great build-ups he created, and all the transitions were smooth and clean. He also made sure to highlight his brand new single with Calvin Harris, “Under Control”, by playing it as appreciation to the crowd for such a great show. With a relatively longer set at around an hour and forty-five minutes, Alesso never once lost his audience’s focus. A big round of applause to the Swede for putting on a fantastic show and set, and really look forward to his new songs.
Also, I would like to send a huge thank you to React Presents, who ran the show. I can’t say enough good things about how the concert was run so efficiently and smoothly. Make sure to hit them up on Facebook and Twitter as well because they have some pretty sweet upcoming shows in Chicago during December.
Hip-Hop | Childish Gambino – 3005 (Official Video)
Posted by dshaq on November 14, 2013
Childish Gambino releases a brand new track off his upcoming album, Because The Internet. While his rhymes bring on a sense of pop culture and randomness, Childish Gambino is just smarter than most other rappers. His wordplay is unique with a tight flow all the while with him telling a story throughout the song. I’m very excited for the album to come out, which releases on December 10. Look back for more Gambino in the mean time.
RnB | The Weeknd – Devil May Cry
Posted by dshaq on November 13, 2013
Ooooh Abel why you have to do em like that? No matter what you do, it just sounds so sensual and beautiful. Also, joining forces with the Hunger Games for their soundtrack and linking up with Rick Rubin for the production of this track, brilliant. This man can do no wrong. As usual, another phenomenal track by The Weeknd that you should definitely check out. Make sure to peep the rest of the new Hunger Games soundtrack as well, it usually doesn’t lack either.
Hip-Hop | Lucki Eck$ – Want More (Prod. Plu2o Nash)
Posted by dshaq on October 23, 2013
It’s been a little bit since we’ve heard from Chicago up and comer Lucki Eck$. His newest offering brings back the sound we heard him craft so well on his Alternative Trap mixtape. The laid back beat with the distortions really sets the mood and his verses have an eerie sound to them that I love. Very interested to see what’s in store for Lucki in the near future.
Hip-Hop, Review | Drake – Nothing Was The Same (Review)
Posted by dshaq on September 23, 2013
Drake told us on his Versace remix that his album would come out in September, “just wait on it”. We have and on Tuesday it will finally be released to the public. Now we all know that it is available to the public, why else would I be writing a review on this album right now then? To be perfectly honest, I have not been a huge Drake fan these past couple years. However, I think at this point we can pretty much call him the Lebron James of the Rap Game. An egregious comment? Maybe, but what we cannot deny is that love him or hate him. Drake has a talent unmatched by nearly everyone else. Drake has implanted his name in the rap game for the last handful of years, with his previous mixtapes and of course his last album, Take Care.
“Nothing Was The Same” is quite simply put, a masterpiece. Its’ blending of so many different sounds and samples, matched with the many different vocal ranges that Drake provides really displays the true talent he possesses. What I think makes NWTS so amazing, is a perfect mix of both Drake’s singing and his rapping. Everyone loves hating on Drake for this, however with the rest of the album, it’s pretty difficult to say that he doesn’t go hard. (Song that best describes this: Furthest Thing) Songs like “Worst Behavior”, “Poundcake”, which has a phenomenal verse from HOV, and “Too Much” all pack heat. I easily think that this is the best LP from a rapper this year. Yes, I’m aware that Kendrick, Kanye, and Jay-Z all had albums come out this year. I highly encourage a deep listen to this album. Although a quick skim will suffice to a listener’s ear, Drake’s true genius is shown throughout the flow of the whole album. Make sure to buy the album tomorrow when it releases.
Dshaq’s top tracks:
Furthest Thing
The Language
Poundcake/Paris Morton Music
Too Much
Electro | HIs Majesty Andre – Hymn (Tim Gunter remix)
Posted by dshaq on September 19, 2013
The only thing missing from this brand new jam by Tim Gunter, is a “damn son, where’d you find this one” tag in the beginning of the song. Taking a song with a lot of groove and rythmn, Tim decided to go a little slap-happy with the bass and boy does it sound good. Tim had a little something to say about this song:
I recently came across His Majesty Andre’s stuff via Pandora and his track “Hymn” really caught my ear. Hymn is a Daft Punk-esque (think One More Time) jam that uses a sampled orchestra, chopped vocals samples, and a driving bassline to get the listener moving. I come from a hip-hop background so I decided to speed the track up and give it a dirty south hip hop feel with 808 drums, chopped samples and lots of bass. I even added a sweet guitar solo at the end, just for kicks.
Make sure to download this and all of Tim’s other tracks, they’re meant for your weekends.
Events, Review | North Coast Music Festival Recap
Posted by dshaq on September 19, 2013
Summer’s last stand, North Coast Music Festival’s motto, could not have been more accurate depiction of this past Labor Day weekend. With a lineup up to par with Lollapalooza, Coachella, and other big festivals, North Coast brought the house down beginning with Friday, where the festival had to be evacuated due to severe weather. While it dampened the mood for a little, the festival resumed and big names such as Mac Miller and Passion Pit killed their performances.
Saturday brought out some pretty good performers for the afternoon, such as Flatbush Zombies, who were probably my favorite performance of the whole festival, but also DVBBS, Futurerock, Gramatik, and Nas. Gramatik put on a killer set, straight shredding on the guitar. Nas also killed it as well, performing most of Genesis. I’m pretty sure my life has been completed from seeing that live. Finally by the end of the night, it was a tough decision: Afrojack or Big Gigantic? Torn between the two, I chose Afrojack. Although I did end up going to Big Gigantic for a little bit, Afrojack was definitely the right choice. It was one of the best sets I’ve heard in a while, incorporating a wide variety track list but he always kept the crowd jumping and engaged. That was one of the things that I noticed at Big Gigantic: although they played a great live show and sounded fantastic, the crowd was nowhere near to as upbeat as the people at Afrojack.
While the first two days were a lot of fun, they had nothing on Sunday. By far the best day of the festival packed with names such as Danny Brown, A-Trak, Madeon, Cherub, Datsik, Rebelution, Wu-Tang Clan, Purity Ring, and Lotus, it was easy to understand why Sunday reigned supreme. I began my day at Danny Brown. The Detroit native put on a fabulous performance incorporating old stuff from XXX and The Hybrid but also some of his newer stuff. He even brought out GBE member, SD, and the crowd went absolutely nuts for it.
After Danny, we darted over to A-Trak and the next two hours of A-Trak and Madeon, back-to-back, was amazing. A-Trak just knew how to get the crowd into it, dropping a New Slaves trap remix then going straight into Bugatti then straight to Aint worried bout nothin. Breath taking. Madeon was next and had some big shoes to fill after what A-Trak just did, but the French wonder kid put on a show nothing short of spectacular. After those two were finished, we made our way over to Cherub and watched them perform. I’ve seen Cherub before, but they were just as good as I remembered. Hold You and Doses and Mimosas got the crowd going wild and they had some jam sessions during the middle of their songs. Finally it was time for Wu-Tang clan. The best part about that was that they were performing all of 36 Chambers. All the while showing love to ODB, Wu-Tang did their thing up there. I almost shed a tear of joy when CREAM was played. Then straight out of left field, like Friday, they stopped the show and evacuated the festival due to severe weather warnings.
Although it was a bit anti-climatic, the festival was a surreal experience that will definitely have me coming back in the next coming years. A nice closed environment makes it easy to navigate while being close enough to see and hear all the artists perfectly. A big thanks to North Coast for their hospitality and see you at Union Park next year!