August 5, 2011

Chris Brown Drops New Mixtape, Showcases Controversial Rap Skills

Drake does it. Trey does it. Why can’t Breezy do it too? After releasing his “Real Hip Hop Sh*t” viral video series, it seems Chris Brown is continuing his crusade to head in a more-rapping, less-singing direction on his new mixtape, Boy in Detention. When the R&B singer first tried his hand at the skill that is a very distant cousin of his native genre, the track was met with mixed reviews. Then, in June, he came with a second installment of the series, spitting verses about his appreciation of female affection.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, and Brown released “#3″ and “#4″ of the series’ clips, respectively and consecutively, this time backed by beats from well-respected hip hop producer 9th Wonder. After his hugely successful Today Show performance, you’d think Brown would be in good spirits, but content-wise, those two tracks were a bit more aggro than the first two. Addressing his many critics, both old and new, “Real Hip Hop Sh*t #3″ specifically called out TMZ, and many people speculated that both songs were also cross-examining negative comments from Fox News’ O’Reilly Factorcoverage from NBC’s concert.

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Tags: , , David Banner, Big K.R.I.T., 9th Wonder, Wiz Khalifa, Drake, Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Kanye West

July 27, 2011

Like An Interpreter, Tinie Tempah Drops Gems on UK Hip Hop and Lists His Stateside Favorites

On Tuesday, we shared some of Tinie Tempah’s thoughts on mentally transitioning from the UK to the US as an up-and-coming artist in the hectic world of hip-hop. Because the London native goes back and forth across the pond so frequently, we also asked Tinie to give us a cheat sheet of sorts, helping to get us looped-in to the who’s who of British rap. Check out his list of personal favorites below, because after all, you never know if one of these guys might be next.

GIGGS (IF YOU LIKE: Gucci Mane)
“Definitely be on the lookout for Giggs, he’s doing his thing,” preached Tinie. After collaborating with B.o.B and a slew of other big-name British rappers, Giggs continues spitting coke-rap bars for days. Style-wise, Tinie compared him to both Young Jeezy and Gucci; embodying the hustler image, Giggs served a two-year bid for a gun charge back in 2003, but inked with XL Recordings (see: M.I.A., Tyler, The Creator, Dizzee Rascal) to distribute his third solo LP next year off of self-made label, SN1 Entertainment.

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Tags: , Diddy - Dirty Money, Tyler, The Creator, Waka Flocka Flame, Plan B, J. Cole, Big Sean, Tinie Tempah, Rick Ross, Wiz Khalifa, B.o.B, Drake, Gucci Mane, Nicki Minaj, Dizzee Rascal, Chris Brown, M.I.A., Lupe Fiasco, Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, Kanye West, Fabolous

June 12, 2011

Bonnaroo 2011: Eminem, Heat, Dust And Hippies

At Bonnaroo‘s tenth anniversary, three things stood out: triple digit heat, a permeating dust, and an eclectic mix of music topped by hip-hop. If you wondered the 700-acre campground, you were bound to run into all kinds of music — even Mongolian folk. We saw, for instance, a pretty-as-expected set by Americana star Justin Townes Earles, hip-hop by Big Boi that unfortunately came off like it had Attention Deficit Disorder (why not play some full songs instead of 30-second samples of Outkast and Sir Luscious?), a promising set by indie/country newcomers Futureheads, the metal of The Sword, and the reggae of Black Uhuru. See Bonnaroo photos and video, then continue reading after the jump.

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Tags: , , Black Uhuru, The Sword, Futurebirds, Justin Townes Earle, Loretta Lynn, Man Man, Buffalo Springfield, Wiz Khalifa, Arcade Fire, Mumford & Sons, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, My Morning Jacket, Big Boi, Lil Wayne, Eminem

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June 9, 2011

Helping You Make The Tough Decisions At Bonnaroo 2011

Festival season continues this weekend with Bonnaroo‘s 10th anniversary in Manchester, Tennessee, so we’re here again to help guide the 80,000 wristband holders through the tough choices of the weekend’s lineup. (Don’t have a ticket? You’re in luck! Some of the big-tent performances will be webcast at VEVO.) As always, we recommend checking out at least one band you haven’t heard before; might we recommend country-rocker Hayes Carll, (who plays one set each today and tomorrow)?

Jam-band and bluegrass aficionados have a plethora of options all weekend—perhaps too many tough choices. For the more pop-minded among us, here are five big intersection points to break down for you:

FRIDAY AFTERNOON
Choices: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (3:15 p.m., What Stage) and Matt & Kim (3:15 p.m., This Tent)
Decision: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Both groups are embarking on summer tours in midsize venues with reasonable ticket prices, but Matt & Kim, though they showed at the OMAs that they can play bigger, do have a certain energy that’s amplified when it’s contained in a club full of kids that are ridiculously hyped up. You Oughta Know artists Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, on the other hand, don’t lose any of their power from midday open-air big-tent staging.
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Tags: , , , , Dr. John, Dan Auerbach, Explosions In The Sky, Beirut, Band of Joy, Bootsy Collins, Loretta Lynn, Wiz Khalifa, Ray LaMontagne, Mumford & Sons, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Florence and the Machine, Matt and Kim, The Strokes, Robert Plant, Big Boi, Lil Wayne

June 8, 2011

At Bonnaroo, Hip-Hop Acts Crush The (Social Media) Competition

It may seem surprising that hip-hop would dominate anything at Bonnaroo, the giant music festival (and party) that began in Tennessee a decade ago with hippie-ish jam bands and roots rock. But this is what we discovered when using Next Big Sound to gather social media stats on all 150 or so acts on the lineup. For our inaugural “Bonnaroo By the Numbers” feature, we’ve compared the top 20 acts on the lineup versus their total number of social media fans (Facebook, Twitter, LastFM, MySpace, YouTube, etc.).

While the top acts on the lineup are a solid mix of roots rock, hip-hop and indie rock, the hip-hop artists tear it up in the social space. Eminem, Lil Wayne and Wiz Khalifa would be the top three acts if Bonnaroo were to order its lineup based on which artists have the most social media fans. While Eminem tops both the bill and social media (nearly 50 million followers!), Lil Wayne is #7 on the lineup and Wiz is down at #44. Atmosphere would also be #10 on the lineup, not #39.

After the top three hip-hop acts, the next three would be a trio of indie luminaries: The Strokes, Arcade Fire and The Decemberists. It’s not too surprising that the roots rock or jam band contingents don’t register very high. To be fair, we didn’t break out the individual musicians of the reunited Buffalo Springfield — and Neil Young has more than a million Facebook followers alone. Then again, we can’t really imagine him sharing his knack for poetry on Twitter.

Tags: , , Buffalo Springfield, The Decemberists, Wiz Khalifa, Arcade Fire, The Strokes, Lil Wayne, Neil Young, Eminem

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June 6, 2011

Jim Jones Brings Out Love & Hip Hop‘s Olivia at Hot 97′s Summer Jam 2011

It’s a guessing game, but each year, concert-goers fantasize about what special-guest performers will join artists already on Hot 97′s Summer Jam bill with surprise on-stage appearances. Last night, in front of a crowd of 50,000 fans, some of hip hop’s biggest names performed in East Rutherford, New Jersey’s New Meadowlands Stadium, and while there may not have been that jaw-dropping “big moment,” (read: no Kanye or Jay-Z, no never-before-heard songs, and no beefs), the crowd was kept thoroughly entertained by the oodles of rappers that poured onto the stage.

Repping the South, Lil Wayne, Drake, and Rick Ross brought fans to their feet during a DJ Khaled-led performance of new Song of the Summer contender “I’m On One” and, to keep things balanced, Love & Hip Hop‘s own Jim Jones performed with his entourage-heavy posse of Dipset pals. The Harlem rapper even brought out co-star and friend Olivia Longott during his set to sing her new ballad, “December.” But VH1 show talent are certainly not strangers to this pandemonium-filled hip hop Woodstock; it was just last year that we caught Basketball Wives’ Jennifer Williams backstage enjoying the perks of VIP.

Other highlights from last night’s event included a dancing Chris Brown bringing out Busta Rhymes to perform “Look At Me Now” (sans Weezy), Lloyd Banks welcoming Swizz Beatz, Ryan Leslie, and Mobb Deep to the stage with him, and Diddy joining his Bugatti brother, Ross, to help close the show. You can find the full set list here, and check out the gallery below for photos from the performances to see what you may have missed!

Tags: , , Dipset, Ryan Leslie, Rick Ross, Mobb Deep, Wiz Khalifa, Jim Jones, Lloyd Banks, Diddy (2), Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes, Swizz Beatz, Kanye West, Jay-Z, DJ Khaled, Cam'ron

May 27, 2011

Music’s Top Ten Most Powerful Couples

Death Cab For Cutie’s VH1 Storytellers is airing at 11 p.m. tonight on VH1, and since lead singer Ben Gibbard is now married to his indie beloved Zooey Deschanel, we got to thinking about music’s most powerful couples of the moment. Because these lists are often tricky to compile and put into an order that everyone can agree on, we took to the streets and polled over 5,000 people. JK! We actually did something smarter and more efficient, combining stats from Billboard charts, YouTube clicks, and social media followings, and mixed it with our interpretation of je ne sais quoi cool-factor buzz. Confident in our rankings, we hereby give you VH1’s list of the most powerful couples in music today.

Who did we miss? Care to offer up any suggestions of your own? Hit us up in the comments section below!

Tags: , , , Storytellers, Wavves, She and Him, The Postal Service, Blake Shelton, Best Coast, Wiz Khalifa, Arcade Fire, Justin Bieber, Death Cab For Cutie, Miranda Lambert, Selena Gomez, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Swizz Beatz, Nick Cannon, Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Beyonce

April 20, 2011

On 4/20, Saluting Five Musicians Who Carry a Torch for Pot

Two weeks ago, our sister site, The Fab Life, counted down the Top 25 Fictional Stoners in Cinematic History. Of course, it’s a lot easier to be famous for using an illegal substance if you’re not real. So we thought for 4/20 we’d honor (or at least acknowledge) some of today’s most vocal pro-marijuana musicians.

Wiz Khalifa
Khalifa’s big hit may be “Black and Yellow,” but he’s been pretty busy using much of the money, attention, and goodwill he gained from that song to rap about weed (though not, surprisingly, on his newest single “Roll Up”). His newest album is even called Rolling Papers. When even “The Lonely Stoner,” Kid Cudi, has given up marijuana, Wiz is holding fast, even writing a sidebar for Rolling Stone‘s Best of Rock 2011 issue, feting OG Kush as “Best Weed.”

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Tags: , , Best Coast, Wiz Khalifa, Willie Nelson, Kid Cudi, Jason Mraz, Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg