The anticipation for Ne-Yo’s forthcoming studio album, Libra Scale, is pretty much non-existent and that’s possibly due to the bland and boring material that has leaked thus far. A new leak surfaced earlier and whilst it’s still nothing magnificent it surely sounds good.
The Stargate-produced “Everything’s Alright” has a really nice string melody and relies on repetition to make it way too easy for the listener to catch-on and sing those “OH-OH-OH-OHHHHHHHHH’s.” Ne-Yo really is hit-and-miss with this album, mostly miss but this song is doing it for us right now.
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In other Ne-Yo news, he spoke about recently going into the studio with Beyoncé for the her fourth studio album:
“It’s coming along nicely. I can’t speak too much on it, but it’s another direction for her, and she’s carving out her own niche. In a minute nobody will be in Beyonce’s lane. They really can’t get in her lane now, but they really can’t get in her lane after this album.”
Ne-Yo is partially responsible for Beyoncé’s #1 hit, “Irreplaceable,” so maybe they’ll work the magic again. As for Beyoncé being in her own lane, just READ HERE.
So whilst we’ve been “absent” Kanye West is making sure the atmosphere stays saturated with his music, for at least until the end of the year. Here’s how he’s doing this:
Every Friday until Christmas a new song from the G.O.O.D. fam will be released: G.O.O.D. Friday
Kanye West and Jay-Z will release a 5 song EP entitled Watch the Throne
The first song from “G.O.O.D. Friday” is the second track from Watch the Throne. The massive track is simply titled “Monster” and it describes the song perfectly. Kanye West, Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver and Nicki Minaj all hold their own making for a pretty damn solid tune.
Let’s put the spotlight on Nicki Minaj for a little while. West stated earlier that Minaj had the potential to be the second greatest rapper, EVER. Well it is way too early to even think of a statement like that but we cannot help but agree with the popular opinion that Nicki Minaj absolutely took this song to a whole new level. Her rhymes were insane, her voices were entertaining rather than annoying and she turned the hype UP.
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Speaking of Ms. Minaj, a song leaked of hers feat. Will.I.Am entitled “Check It Out.” The song samples the popular late 70’s hit “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles. The song is another “Your Love”; it’s mindless radio fodder but it is still so damn addictive. Listen to “Check It Out” after…
Another leak from Sky Ferreira has surfaced, let’s hope this does not become a trend. The new leak is a song entitled “Whatcha Gonna Do.”
This song is so innocent and sounds like something that could be played on a children’s program. The quirky marching band instruments, teasing lyrics and playful nature displays Ferreira’s less-than mainstream appeal throughout. With her debut album dropping in January of 2011, this will surely be an interesting collection of songs.
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Kanye West is heavily delving into the social network realm this time around. After refusing Twitter for so long he set the rapidly expanding social site on fire after creating an account a few weeks ago. With the premiere of his video painting “Power” he is kicking off the promo for his yet-to-be titled album. The extremely gifted and formerly RUDE rapper took to USTREAM for the first time where he revealed many things. Here’s what he had to say about the album’s second single:
We droppin’ the next single in about twenty days. It’s between these two songs, one is called “Lost In the World” the other one is called “All Of the Lights.”
Kanye then proceeded to let the viewers listen to a 40 second preview of “All Of the Lights.” The songs bleeds epic with the loud instruments and swooping melody. Now turn your volume to its max and listen to the preview of “All Of the Lights” below. Let’s just hope West doesn’t get too carried away with the attention he receives from the social networks and ends up overexposing himself.
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Up-and-comer, Margo, posted a new interview on her Youtube channel. In the interview, we finally get to hear Margo’s speaking voice as well learn a few new things about her album. The artist revealed this about her forthcoming debut album:
“… The name of this album is called “Gunpowder” and I decided to come up with that name because it’s mixed with the masculine and the feminine, y’know that’s me. “Gun” for the hard part and “powder” for soft and I’m an artist that has all this creative energy that’s ready to explode.”
To watch and learn more about Margo watch the entire interview below.
Also, during a set Margo performed a few months back, she performed a little song that instantly became our favorite. The song was placed on her Youtube channelyesterday under the title of “Picture Frame” and turns out she wrote it for Gwen Stefani. Listen to the song after…
Oh how this day is going to make many people open their eyes with surprise. Almost 12 years since the release of her solo debut album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Lauryn Hill has had a long enough hiatus and is ready to return to the music scene. The first newly released material from the talented artist is entitled “Repercussions.”
This midtempo track is so smooth; classic R&B/Soul, sweet and heavenly vocals and some boom boom bap drums. Hill is setting the tone for this upcoming era and she will most definitely fill a void in the industry, one where undiluted R&B/Soul reigns. Overall, the song is not extraordinary but it is multi-spin worthy
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It’s just a little under two months before we have KiD CuDi’s sophomore LP, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, in our hands. The closer it gets to release time, the more we hear from the project. Two snippets from the album, “Mojo” and “Mr. Rager,” have made their way online.
“Mojo”, continues CuDi’s sound of melancholy with a subtle but pronounced bassline. The song is very mellow with some profanity to keep the listener a little hype. It’s a definite thumbs up.
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“Mr. Rager”, produced by Kanye West, shows of what both artists do quite well; KiD CuDi and his lines of sad vibes and West and his tribal inspired beats.
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The über gorgeous and talented Sky Ferreira suffered the dreaded leak this morning as an unfinished track from her forthcoming album made its way onto the net. The song entitled “Sex Rules” is stated to be produced by Billy Steinberg & Greg Kurstin.
The song has a definitive 80’s throwback sound to it with the synths and “elastic” back and forth beats. There’s no telling what will become of Ferreira because you cannot compare her to other pop acts. It’s like she’s singing about provocative topics similar to the way Madonna did but then again Madonna was not 17 years old. Then she is doing Pop like Britney Spears but then again Spears was not so blunt. Finally, you look at Ferreira and besides the few Pop/Dance songs she’s done she looks and sounds like this decade’s Fiona Apple. She’s offering all sort of hues which is great, in the end, because she doesn’t stink of a predictable product. Shouts to Proph…
So by now you Kylie Minogue fans should have heard the megamix and album sampler of Aphrodite. The album is “blippin’” amazing, all uptempos, perfect for the summer and all things fun. Amongst all those gems there is one that shines just a little more than the rest. We’re speaking about “Too Much.”
“Too Much” is the Jake Shears and Calvin Harris contribution of the album. Do you hear how that snippet starts off? The song is nothing but sheer euphoria. It’s funny because quite a few who have listened to this snippet thinks this is the worst song. How odd, some think it’s one of the best if not the best and others think it’s just horrible. *Taps foot uncontrollably until the full version arrives* Listen below!
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Yesterday, Trey Songz announced the title of his fourth studio album to be released on September 14:
“Come see me perform your favorite songs live and hear new music from my upcoming album, Passion, Pain & Pleasure, for the first time. With the help of one of the best R&B female vocalists out today, my sister Monica, we promise you a night to remember”.
Passion, Pain & Pleasure, cool, interesting… Trey Songz’s mixtapes are usually better than his LP’s and it will only be a year and a month since the release of the last album, Ready, so who knows what’s the intention behind it. Here’s a new link that’s said to be a Timbaland production and may appear on the new album.
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