QUELLE!

Can’t even call R.A.P.P. Quelle 242 anymore, our dude has been making waves throughout various countries in Europe and in the United States as of late. It’s been awhile since since we’ve received a track from him but as always, the aggressor comes through and pleases.

Quelle pulls Mr. Mecca on board for a crazy cover of Jay-Z’s and Kanye West’s “Otis,” entitled “Soul Of Blind Blake.” Hip-Hop covers aren’t our thing but Quelle makes it his own and we’re bumpin’ to this as if it was his track. Lead on Quelle!

Sketch Carey has The Bahamian blogosphere abuzz right now with his cover of Lil Wayne’s “How To Love.” The overall reaction is more than positive and we cannot disagree. However there is a general statement about Sketch’s cover winning over Wayne’s original. The statement is unneccesary because you’re taking a song from someone who is not a singer and giving it to some who can.

“How To Love” really seems to be an early favorite and will most likely be put on Bahamian radio. Sketch is one of the very small handful of Bahamian artists to show signs of making it in the US market. Listen to the already-popular cover below.

Download audio file (SketchCarey-How-To-love-Lil-Wayne-Cover-.mp3)

Extra! Extra! Hot off the press is another R.A.P.P. Quelle track titled “World Without End”. It’s a cover of Kanye West’s “Dark Fantasy” song from his latest album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.”

Download audio file (rapp-quelle-world-without-end.mp3)

You may or may not have heard of Swedish duo JJ but they have created some of the most interesting covers of today’s contemporary urban hits. On December 24, they will release their mixtape entitled Kills.

Their latest cover is of one of our favorite The-Dream songs, “Right Side Of My Brain.” The song is retitled as “No More You.” JJ voices are so haunting, ghostly, and eerie. Wow, we’re getting chills, such a beautiful cover. Listen to the song below.

So a great deal of you have probably been bumping the official remix of Chris Brown’s “Deuces” which features Drake, T.I., Kanye West, Fabolous, Rick Ross & Andre 3000. The #1 R&B song in the US receives major support with this All Star Hip-Hop line-up.

Honestly, we fully understand and support this because let’s face it, the remix is pure heat and some sponsoring by a crop of today’s top-of-the-pack rappers is great for Brown’s popularity. However it’s the original song that won over a mass of people and this remix drowns out Breezy. It’s like “Deuces” by Various Artists instead of Chris Brown featuring… Point is, the remix is deadly on its own song but the simplicity of the original is where it’s at, DEUCES! Listen to Ciara’s cover after…

Download audio file (Chris_Brown-Deuces_Remix_Feat_Drake_T.I._Kanye_West_Fabolous_Rick_Ross_And_Andre_3000.mp3)

Jumping on the success of “Deuces” is Ciara as she puts her spin on the track for her upcoming Basic Instinct mixtape. CiCi’s version is “for the ladies” and it’s not hard to admit that she does a fine job on the track. Her soft vocals and flow fit the production very well.

Download audio file (Ciara-Deuces-Basic-Instinct-Mixtape.mp3)

Canadian singer-songwriter, Colin Munroe, has delved into the past and put his hands on a classic. The singer-songwriter put a modern twist on Prince’s 1984 classic, “I Would Die 4 U.” So how does it sound?

Well to start things off, the song is incomparable to the original. It’s not bad at all it’s just the original will always be on its own level of greatness. Munroe’s updated version slows down the tempo just a little and the beat is more punctual with added bass. It’s a cool cover that will get some more spins in one of our countless playlists.

Download audio file (Colin-Munroe-I-Would-Die-4-U-Prince-Cover.mp3)

Listen to the original after…

Robyn was in the UK a few days ago doing promo for her Body Talk Pt. 1 where she did a Live Lounge Session over at BBC’s Radio 1. She sang two songs, including a cover of my song of 2009, Alicia Keys’ “Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart.” So how did the cover sound?

Robyn pretty much knocked it out of the park. Besides the lackluster backbeat and her forgetting the lyrics briefly, Robyn took the song and made it her own. The original has such a colossal feel and although Robyn’s version didn’t have all the elements (no pun intended) Alicia’s version did she captures emotion in a near flawless manner.

Download audio file (Robyn-Try-Sleeping-With-a-Broken-Heart-thecsperspective.com.mp3)

Our very own Jay Complex is hittin’ y’all with another cover of a current hit. He tackles B.o.B’s “Nothin’ On You” featuring Bruno Mars. This time he brings along up-and-comer, Maradee, to take on Mars’ hook duties.

Just as fly as the original, Complex brings his rhythmic lyrics to the forefront and makes some quality material for us to jam to all night. Complex is really evolving and is def. growing into a more talented rapper. Overall, a great cover and with Maradee’s vocals laced into the rapping, it’s a winner.

Download audio file (Jay-Complex-Nothin-On-You-feat.-Maradee-thecsperspective.com.mp3)

The-Dream takes it back years to cover Aaliyah’s classic “One In a Million.” Anything Aaliyah related is welcomed as long at is decent.

No one will ever take this song from Aaliyah but there is no denying that The-Dream’s tone fits this song so well. It doesn’t hinder the experience of listening to the original in anyway. Isn’t it amazing how this song does not sound dated in the least bit? Long live Aaliyah and her beautiful self.

Download audio file (The-Dream-One-In-A-Million.mp3)

Jay Complex has decided to drop his freestyles on some of the Hip-Hop’s best beats of the moment. Here is his first stab at it, with Young Money’s “Roger That.”

Complex’s flow and style is starting to become his own as time passes. Before, his influences were very apparent, which is not a bad thing but now it’s sounding more like his own.

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Raquel Oliver turns the tempo down as she puts her own twist on the classic Bob Marley “Waiting In Vain” for a single entitled “Love.” The song borrows Marley’s vocals which adds chemistry and makes for a pretty smooth jam. Get this, the song has reached #27 on the singles chart in the UK, not bad at all.

Next up, is Pop/Urban duo NCity adding some verses to the radio hit “Replay,” performed by Iyaz. Both ladies add some great flavor to the song and do not sound out of place in the least bit. In fact, they fit the song well enough that this could be sent out for distribution as the original remix.

Danish pop band, Alphabeat, are set to be the opening act for Lady GaGa’s upcoming The Monster Ball shows. They took it upon themselves to cover the first 2 singles from The Fame Monster: “Bad Romance” and “Telephone.”

The band knocked it out of the park with this “Telephone” cover. They basically sound the same as GaGa with their own little twist. As for “Bad Romance,” it doesn’t nearly pack the punch of the electropop/dance original.

Download audio file (Alphabeat-Telephone-Bad-Romance-thecsperspective.com.mp3)

Alphabeat – Telephone/Bad Romance

In other news, more information has come about pertaining to the “Telephone” video:

• The video will be 12 minutes long but cut to 6 minutes for television.
• The video will be themed after Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: lots of blood.
• It’s not official but the video will premiere February 24,2010

Last night we had our iTunes on shuffle and “I Know” came up which reminded us to check up on what Bluey Robinson’s been doing. He’s been hard at work for one; putting on many gigs in the UK. He’s been in and out of the studio recording some tunes and what not…

We stumbled across this cover of “Run This Town” in which Bluey takes over hook duties from Rihanna and it sounds like they should have hired him instead of… let’s not. He puts a bit more passion and soul into the song that it was lacking before

Download audio file (Bluey-Robinson-Run-This-Town-feat.-Master-Shortie-thecsperspective.com.mp3)

F-Street – Run This Town feat. Master Shortie & Bluey Robinson

The other song is a snippet of “Believe.” This snippet has been lying around on his Myspace page for some time and it stood out to us when we first heard it, so we are just revisiting it. The song is an uptempo number with a bit of a futuristic vibe.

Download audio file (Bluey-Robinson-Believe-thecsperspective.com.mp3)

Bluey Robinson – Believe (Snippet)

Guns ‘n’ Roses’ Slash is readying the release of his solo album, Slash ‘n’ Friends. A b-side from the album has leaked and it’s a cover of the band’s famous song “Paradise City” which features Fergie and Cypress Hill.

Maybe Fergie needs to consider taking a route that leads to something Rock because she has the voice for it. She doesn’t sound out of place or like she’s trying too hard, her voice just works for this kind of music. Also, Cypress Hill sounds very much like Kid Rock. It’s a very good cover but with most covers of classics, it may be be good but they never live up to the original.

Slash seems to be recording with a lot of the younger generation. He’ll definitely be exposed to a great deal of them as he’s the featured guitarist on Rihanna’s “Rockstar 101.”

Slash – Paradise City feat. Fegie & Cypress Hill

Every now and again we will take a trip down memory lane; near or far and let you inside to what we grew up listening to and whatever else we find that gives us a feeling of nostalgia.

First up is “All N My Grill” by Missy Elliott feat. Nicole Wray and Big Boi of Outkast. This single and video was from Missy’s Da Real World which was released back in 1999. Funny because we were no more or less than 10 years old yet we were listening to all the music with Parental Advisory labels. This remains a personal favorite of C’s because of the violins translated into the urban sound of Timbaland just made a perfect production. This Hype Williams directed clip still manages to top videos of the new millennium even before the recession began to take its toll. Watch the video above and download the single below.

Missy Elliott – All N My Grill feat. Nicole Wray & Big Boi of Outkast

The next song or two songs for that matter were inspired by our Girl Talk post. In “Give and Go” Phil Collins “Another Day In Paradise” was mixed into the song about three quarters of the way through. The song was so powerful and when you pay close attention to the meaning it’s saddening and depressing. We then remembered there was a female who sang this very same song and it then clicked that Brandy and her brother Ray-J did a cover of the song for the Urban Renewal album which was released in 2001. Check out the videos and downloads for both singles below.

Phil Collins – Another Day In Paradise

Brandy – Another Day In Paradise feat. Ray-J (Cover)

This was unexpected. You all remember the extremely popular “Are You That Somebody?” performed by Aaliyah for the Dr. Dolittle soundtrack? Well it appears that The Gossip covers it in some of their live sets and the studio version has found its way online. This does justice to the original, hands down. We’re not ones to judge but Beth Ditto and her band are perfect examples where talent speaks for the artist because Beth is so vile and disgusting, and that’s not even mentioning her exterior. She should seriously ease up. Check it out below.

The Gossip – Are U That Somebody? (Aaliyah Cover)

Electro/Hip-Hop artist Kid Sister has recently recorded a cover of the Jungle Brothers’ “I’ll House You” for an upcoming Adidas promo or something of the sort. This song is straight up 90′s club funk. Her hip-hop instincts matches the pop/electro sense of the track to make something that you can definitely bust a move to.

We also added one of her previous leaked tracks entitled “Get Fresh”. This song also has a more of a 80′s retro feel. The hook is is too catchy.

KID SISTER:

I’ll House You (Reebok Classic ’09)

Get Fresh

Kevin Figueiredo:

Heartless (Rock Remix)

Kill the Lights (Rock Remix)

So as one of our readers requested yesterday (we try to deliver as much as we can), we have gathered all of the Mario songs that have leaked post Go! era. An impressive 26 songs, 2 of which we posted yesterday, display Mario looking to make a very strong effort with his forth upcoming studio album And Then There Was Me. There are so many highlights from the heap of songs. “So Good In Bed” better known as “Turn Her On” is one melodious smooth R&B jam with a large ingredient of sensuality. Out of all the songs “Emergency Room” featuring Rihanna is the most well known as it was an accidental leak during the time of the whole fiasco along with all the irony. Mario quickly released a statement claiming whilst the female vocals in the song sound identical to Rihanna’s it was just a demo to be presented to her label, could’ve fooled us. You can get a taste of what Mario has to offer by listening to the 2 songs we just mentioned along with the “radio” friendly “Ooh Baby”.

So Good In Bed

Download audio file (mario-so-good-in-bed.mp3)

Emergency Room feat. Rihanna

Download audio file (mario-emergency-room-feat-rihanna.mp3)

Ooh Baby

Download audio file (mario-ooh-baby.mp3)

C.S. Collectives: The Mario Leaks Part 1:

1. Afraid 2 Cry (Hardest Moment)
2. Average Chick
3. Breakin’ Up feat. Sean Garrett & Gucci Mane
4. Broken Heart
5. Come Back to Me
6. Crazy Kind of Love
7. Dancin’ On Me
8. Emergency Room feat. Rihanna (Demo)
9. Get Out
10. Greatest Performer
11. Late Night
12. Live a Lie

DOWNLOAD

C.S. Collectives: The Mario Leaks Part 2:

1. Lonely Girls’ Club
2. Me and My Girl
3. More Than Friends
4. Ooh Baby
5. Punch Drunk Love
6. Save My Soul
7. So Good In Bed
8. Such a Tease
9. Take Out
10. Things You Do
11. Weather Girl
12. Who Do U Love ? (Clip)

DOWNLOAD

R&B singer Mario is getting ready to release the follow-up to Go! entitled And Then there Was Me this June. Many songs, whether they be demos or actual singles, have been leaking on to the net. The majority of the material is pretty good and today two covers have leaked from him. The first, a cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing”. This has always been my jam and no one’s cover will ever live up to the original but this isn’t bad at all. It’s almost identical to the original. The second song, “Come and Talk to Me”, is a cover of Jodeci’s 1992 hit with him serenading the ladies. Check them out.

Mario:

Sexual Healing

Come and Talk to Me