Author: jeffwbaird
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Cover, RnB | Spenz — Do Me Now (Cover)
Posted by jeffwbaird on May 30, 2013
We hardly ever post covers—so I guarantee this one is something special. My aversion partly has to do with the fact that I place so much value in songwriting, but also because it’s extremely rare to find one in which an artist actually adds something to the original. For most upstarts, covers essentially become replications—just a means of highlighting that they can also fill the space of an overproduced pop instrumental. But, on that rare occasion, I hear one that improves something that was missing on the original, or gives life to it in a unique way. Such is the case here, as Jamaican R&B artist Spenz reinterprets K. Roosevelt’s “Do Me Now”, which—even though it’s taking over radio right now—is underwhelming, given the quality of the Hit-Boy beat he received. Spenz provides that missing energy, smoothes out K. Roosevelt’s more staccato delivery, and adds some soul. You can expect to hear a lot more from this talented new artist in the coming months. In the meantime, keep up with him here.
Hip-Hop | Mac Miller — Objects in the Mirror [Live]
Posted by jeffwbaird on May 30, 2013
In anticipation of his upcoming tour and sophomore album, Watching Movies With the Sound Off, due out June 18 (along with Kanye West’s Yeezus and J. Cole’s Born Sinner), Mac lets go of a video in which he performs a new Pharrell-produced cut from the album. While I haven’t always been a fan, he began to show a lot of growth on Macadelic after his disappointing debut, and this song shows that he’s likely headed in the same direction. It’s easy to forget when you watch “Donald Trump” that this 21-year-old is actually a multi-instrumentalist and a pretty gifted songwriter, too. Can’t wait for June 18.
Hip-Hop | Maxxx Flair — Wake Up [EP]
Posted by jeffwbaird on May 19, 2013
After premiering two impressive leaks from this lyrically-gifted Yonkers emcee, his new EP Wake Up is here in full. While his past releases have highlighted his rapidly-growing skill as a writer and technical rapper, Wake Up is by far his most consistent record to date, and with a decidedly more reflective sound, Maxxx’s personality begins to shine on the record as we hear more of his story. In conjunction with the EP release, we also have the music video to his lead single, “Feels Right”, featuring Sunny Jones, who also produced the majority of the record. Enjoy the tape, and keep up with Maxxx Flair as I know he has some great work ahead of him.
Hip-Hop | This Week in Hip-Hop and My Head…
Posted by jeffwbaird on May 19, 2013
It’s been a very exciting week for hip-hop. As A stated earlier, Yeezy is back, and out to prove a point with his lyrics, which has historically always made for the best hip-hop. I was talking with a friend yesterday about my deep love for Kanye, and I think it stems from his ability to simultaneously appease all aspects of the consumer in me. The College Dropout, and, really every album of his, features a lot of the glossy rap that constitutes most of my weekend playlists, yet is consistently rich in introspection and social observation throughout. That alone seems to be a major recipe for success in modern-day hip-hop — it’s the line that promoted Drake to major wealth and superstar status (the fact that he was capable of separately creating albums like So Far Gone and Thank Me Later is still bafflingly impressive), and has allowed rappers like Macklemore and Logic to find popular success — they smartly release radio-friendly songs, but disperse them throughout projects that please their loyal fans and are otherwise heavy and meaningful projects.
Since Yeezy’s been covered, I’ll skip over to a few others songs that highlight how well some newcomers are able to tread this line — and put out songs that can be equally enjoyed by a frat boy on Saturday night who is already a dozen Pong beers deep, or the hip-hop fanatic who spends their Sunday afternoon analyzing lyrics on RapGenius with the track on repeat. I’m not here to judge — hip-hop should be loved by all.
Hoodie Allen — Make It Home (feat. Kina Grannis)
It’s been really exciting and interesting to follow Hoodie’s path over the past four years or so as he’s developed his sound, taken chances, inevitably made mistakes, and ultimately found himself here. After his success skyrocketed last year behind All American, he released a new mixtape, Crew Cuts, three months ago for free. Both of the aforementioned projects have been decidedly pop-heavy, an intentional move to generate support through his capacity for making pop-friendly songs. While somehow it feels so, it isn’t really a departure from his original sound, just a continued acknowledgement that he values that aspect of his talent as much as any other. Recently, however, he was called into the studio at Fuse with fellow indie-success Kina Grannis, who has earned a large following on YouTube through her covers and, sparsely, originals. Faced with the challenge of writing alongside a talented songwriter, Hoodie turned inward a little more, and the result is one of my favorite Hoodie tracks I’ve heard in years. Like “Cake Boy”, “No Interruption”, and some of his other widely-loved yet hollower releases, it’s catchy, melodic, and sharp — but it’s also reflective, and thus relatable and compelling and all of these other things we love to experience when listening to music. Here’s the live footage from their performance at Fuse.
Mike Stud — Bad Habits (feat. Kinetics & One Love)
Last week Mr. Stud released his new full-length, Relief, which surrounds this terrific song. One Love’s production on it is so unlike anything else on the project, and has his trademark sense of melody that puts me in a state of captivation for hours anytime I hear something new. As for the writing — there’s a reason that anytime Kinetics gets a verse on someone’s track he also does the hook. He has this innate sense of how to both employ the pop potential of any given track, and also capture an emotion or sentiment that is easily accesible with a dash of more depth than the standard radio-destined track. This song just has a great feel, and is a standout from Relief that everyone needs to check out, whether Mike Stud is your cup of tea or not.
Electro | Phoenix — Trying To Be Cool (One Love Mix)
Posted by jeffwbaird on April 29, 2013
Last week one of my favorite bands, Phoenix, dropped their long-anticipated new album, Bankrupt! — their most recent project in almost four years. Needless to say, anything they release has been very meticulously crafted and revised, and unlike most artists’ work that I get sent these days, there weren’t any songs which I imagined could be improved or made better than they already were. Thus, when One Love sent me his remix to a favorite of the album that we shared, “Trying To Be Cool”, I was skeptical. Not only am I not generally a huge fan of remixes, but this was Phoenix. The changes here are relatively subtle, but One Love has a tremendous ear for melody, and manages to really enliven the track’s feel into more of a dance hit without losing its foundational strengths. For those looking for some higher quality music for their parties, this edit is a wonderful link between Phoenix’s terrific sound and One Love’s energetic production. Enjoy!
Hip-Hop | Terence Ryan — See About A Dream [EP]
Posted by jeffwbaird on April 6, 2013
For a genre in which so much music is produced daily, there are far, far too few innovators involved. Far too few artists who still use it as a means of expressing genuine emotion and ideas, like the way it was conceived. As Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine once put it (I know, odd reference), “there’s a corner of the human experience neglected in pop music,” and I see this becoming more consistently true as hip-hop and pop integrate. I first was introduced to Terence Ryan’s music through his last EP, Skeleton, which drew my attention primarily because of the absorbing, downtempo production, but also because there was something so authentic and distinctive about his rapping on songs like “Alan’s Right” that I was immediately hooked. It’s almost unfair to his talent, though, to just list him here as just a rapper. On this new record he produces every track (which encapsulates his ability to play the drums, piano, and guitar), sings, raps, and even serves as the engineer. What I find most captivating about listening to the project, though, is hearing the array of moods and styles that all contribute to his polished sound. He’s extremely well versed in different genres, which allows him to simply set out to make songs, and the influences arise organically. This is one of my favorite releases of the year thus far, and even though it’s only 8 songs, they are each so powerful and unique that it bears the weight and depth of an album. Take a listen below and get lost in his sound like I have been for the past few days. “Disappearing” is one of the best songs I’ve heard from any unsigned artist in recent memory.
[soundcloud params=”auto_play=false&show_comments=true”]https://soundcloud.com/3qtr/sets/seeaboutadreamep[/soundcloud]
Hip-Hop | Hi-Rez — Never Enough (feat. Kinetics) [Music Video]
Posted by jeffwbaird on March 28, 2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=84lQ_rvF5t8
I’ve been aware of Hi-Rez’s growing stardom for awhile now, but it wasn’t until I really delved into his work that I realized how deserving he is. Rez is a talented rapper in his own right, who cares about the kind of hip-hop he represents, and thus works diligently on his lyricism. Joining him on this gripping, melodic Cherne beat is Kinetics, an absolute lyrical warrior, who is becoming one of the blog-world’s most consistent songwriters and emcees. Neither disappoints here, and Kinetics’ enthralling hook is what gives it its true lasting appeal. Be sure to stay updated on these two as their popularity continues to grow — we can only imagine that they are destined for long careers given their talent.