The Force is strong with J. Cole. I first witnessed this during a performance in a small auditorium at New York University’s Kimmel Center in August of ’09, when tangible sincerity radiated off of Jay-Z’s first Roc Nation signee and alleged protégé. I’d become familiar with his mixtapes prior to the show and, like the NYU students, curious industry onlookers, and countless others who weren’t present, had started to believe in the young Jedi’s potential to herd hip-hop into the next golden era.
Fast forward to last night at Roc The Mic Studios in Manhattan where a tiny group of music writers gathered in the very same room where Cole recorded his “A Star Is Born” verse for Hov’s Blueprint 3, where Beyoncé and her husband (no pressure!) stood by watching. It was the second of two intimate listening sessions for the North Carolina-bred rapper/producer’s first full-length album, Cole World: The Sideline Story, and (Jermaine) Cole was present to walk us through the sixteen tracks and single skit on his highly-anticipated September 27th release. Less nervous than he was for the first group of critics because the ice had now been broken, he made the disclaimer that he wouldn’t play songs we’d already heard (including Drake-featured “In The Morning,” the album’s first single “Workout,” or the song that got him signed, “Lights Please”), but we’d get to hear everything else. While song titles and the track order may still change before Cole turns-in the final product, Jay-Z has already dubbed Cole World a “classic.”
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As we parallel park into July and officially hit the curb of this year’s halfway point, it’s time to take a quick look back at what the past six months have taught us. Not conventional life lessons, however; we’re talking about stuff that’s a little bit less intense and also involves YOU! That’s right, in the first installment of our Top 100 Videos of 2011… So Far, we’re spilling the beans on the #100-51 most clicked-and-viewed videos on VH1.com. You’ll see that this piñata-like list of content contains tasty treats and slippery surprises alike! We’ve got brand-new videos that just recently launched, some VH1 Classic leaning clips (hey there, Megadeth), repeat offenders, and of course, effervescent, essential vids from the music video cannon. So take a look at the first fifty videos below and don’t forget to come back later this week as we continue on our quest to discover what artist snags the #1 spot!
100. Jack Johnson, “From The Clouds”
99. Chris Brown, “Deuces”
98. Ke$ha, “Tik Tok”
97. Bruno Mars, “The Other Side”
96. Beyoncé, “Video Phone (Extended Remix)”
95. Usher, “OMG”
94. B.o.B, “Airplanes”
93. Taylor Swift, “Mine”
92. Sara Bareilles, “King Of Anything”
91. John Legend & The Roots, “Wake Up Everybody”
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Tags: Lists, Music, VH1's Top 100 Videos of 2011 ... So Far, You Oughta Know, Megadeath, Super Stereo, Augustana, Pitbull, Raphael Saadiq, Weird Al Yankovic, Arcade Fire, Mumford & Sons, John Legend & The Roots, Duran Duran, B.o.B, Willow Smith, Mike Posner, Lissie, Christina Perri, Trey Songz, Fantasia, Bruno Mars, Jack Johnson, Train, Ke$ha, Katy Perry, Adam Lambert, Death Cab For Cutie, Adele, David Cook, Chris Brown, a-ha, Josh Groban, Sara Bareilles, Taylor Swift, Shakira, Foo Fighters, Steven Tyler, Usher, Linkin Park, Kings of Leon, James Blunt, Dr. Dre, Britney Spears, Beyonce
The highlights of last night’s MTV Movie Awards may largely have been Robert Pattinson-related, but there were a couple of great musical performances, too—like the Foo Fighters, above, who played their new single “Walk,” which incidentally has a movie-themed music video. (The band has played the show before, closing out 2005′s musical performances with “Best of You.”)
Later in the show Lupe Fiasco and Trey Songz performed a two-song medley: performing not only their collaboration “Out of My Head” (Lupe’s latest single) together live for the first time, but also the earlier Lupe single “The Show Goes On,” with Trey Songz handily supplying JR Get Money‘s “Float On” chorus.
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While it may not be as catchy of a nickname as “The Situation,” there’s no denying that Trey Songz’s self-given moniker, Mr. Steal Your Girl, informs his work on wax. After bragging that he “invented sex” just a little over a year ago, Trey is back on the scene with a whole set of sexually driven material on his fourth studio album, Passion, Pain & Pleasure. Right out of the gate, his collaboration with Nicki Minaj, “Bottoms Up,” blew up on the club circuit — Rest in peace, Anna Nicole Smith! — and now his second single, “Can’t Be Friends,” is also starting to climb the charts. We caught up with Trey here in NYC a few days ago and asked him 5 Questions; take a look at the video above to find out what songs are in heavy rotation on his iPod and who his dream collaborator would be.
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