Travie McCoy’s solo success with the Bruno Mars-assisted “Billionaire” does not mean the end of his band, Gym Class Heroes. The band is back with a new album scheduled for release later this summer. The lead single, “Stereo Hearts”, threatens to be an instant summer hat, filled with feel-good (and quite creative) lyrics and a guest shot from a rejuvenated Adam Levine (bouncing back from the border of irrelevance). With the sales of the last Gym Class Heroes album not […]
Posts tagged "Hear Here!"
Hear Here!: “6 A.M.” by Rahsaan Patterson
While 2011 has shaped up to be a decent year so far for music in general, there hasn’t been a whole lot of soul music that’s shaken me up so far. Aside from Marsha Ambrosius and Adele, I can’t think of one album that falls under the R&B umbrella that’s really moved me-and we’re damn near halfway through the year. Fortunately, soul assistance is on the way via albums by Jill Scott (which comes out next week), Van Hunt and […]
Hear Here: “Nasty” by Nas
Yeah, he’s stillmatic. Despite releasing an excellent collaboration album with Damian Marley last year, Nas has been in the headlines more recently for gossip rag-type stuff. The controversy he faced upon titling his last solo album Nigger (later changed to Untitled after allegedly catching flak from his record label…I’d be more inclined to believe it was all a publicity stunt), drama with his now ex-wife Kelis, major financial woes and the typical rapper label woes (remember the open letter to […]
Hear Here: Drake – Marvins Room
I stumbled upon this in my e-mail this morning. After a first listen I can say this is the stuff I enjoy hearing from Young Money’s Drizzy Drake. I honestly have no idea what the song has to do with being in Marvins Room but nonetheless, the song is hot! An official single should be hitting the airwaves in July while the album ‘Take Care’ is slated for an October 24th release. Take Care! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQKOp_qFvI4 Shout Out to OVO
Hear Here: Dice Raw’s “1995”
Dice Raw’s 2011 got off to a rocky start when his car was totaled back in January . Since then, he’s recovered, finished up his first solo album in over 10 years and been all over Twitter . Strangely, he hasn’t gotten the digital Questlove bump. Though, that will likely be changing soon. Born Karl Jenkins, the Philly based rapper and close associate of The Roots spent muchof the last ten years gathering Grammy nods most recently for How I Got Over with TheRoots. Curiously, the new album, […]
Grace Jones Can Still Rock You Like a “Hurricane”
Before there was Rihanna, there was Grace Jones. The Jamaican-born model was a sensation starting in the late Seventies, bringing an exotic island flair to the music industry with funked-up reggae jams like the classics “My Jamaican Guy” and “Pull Up to the Bumper”. She also was wildly adventurous when it came to cover material, tackling music by Roxy Music, The Pretenders and Tom Petty, among others. She was a fashion icon as well as an acclaimed actress, with well-received […]
Hear Here: “Richie & Ruben” By Fountains of Wayne
Mark your calendars for August 2nd. That’s the date that Fountains of Wayne’s new album, Sky Full of Holes, arrives in wrecka’ stows and digital music outlets everywhere. This is not only exciting because FoW is dope as hell, but because it’s been half a decade since the quartet released their last album. They performed songs that (I’m assuming) will make it onto Sky Full of Holes when I saw them in concert last year, and if it wasn’t for […]
Hear Here: “Fatback” by They
Some of you might remember Kevin Michael, who was an upstart in the music game a couple of years ago. With his Jackson-esque Afro and pop/funk sound, he sounded like Lenny Kravitz’s funkier younger brother and looked like he walked off of St. Mark’s Place circa 1993. His self-titled debut album didn’t do incredibly well, but it got him some notice and was a halfway decent record. Well, Kevin is back in the form of THEY. Kevin is also no […]
Hear Here!: Gavin DeGraw’s “Not Over You”
Mildly soulful dudes who play the piano? Check. Video directed by the star of one of my all-time favorite TV shows? Check. So why is it that I don’t like Gavin DeGraw more? I don’t even know if I have a real answer for that. It’s not like the guy’s not talented, he’s just…bland. His debut album, Chariot, got the full-on workout from Clive Davis’s J Records team, eventually going Platinum following the release of three increasingly successful singles, including […]
Johnny Gill Hits the Comeback Trail with “In the Mood”
Guess what? JG still wants to rub you the right way. It’s a shame that someone as vocally gifted as Johnny Gill has such a small discography. His last solo release was 1996’s Let’s Get the Mood Right. Again, Johnny Gill has not released a solo album of new material in FIF. TEEN. YEARS. Granted, there have been two LSG albums and a New Edition album in that time period but, come on. T-Pain can put out an album every […]
“So in Love” with Jill Scott (& Anthony Hamilton)’s New Track
Neither Jill Scott nor Anthony Hamilton impressed me the last time around. For Mr. Hamilton, The Point of it All felt kinda average after I practically wore out his previous two albums. As for Jilly from Philly, The Real Thing just kinda felt “meh” to me, and was compounded by the fact that she was more than a little off-putting the one time I saw her live (Robin Thicke and Chaka Khan both went on before her, and both outclassed […]
Hear Here!: “The Moon & the Sky (remix)” by Sade feat. Jay-Z
(an imagining) Location: Somewhere in England. The phone rings. “Hello, this is Sade”. “Sade, this is Jay-Z” Sade: “Who? Who’s crazy?” Jay-Z “No…Jay-Z. The rapper? Beyonce’s husband? I wanted to talk to you and see if we can make a record together.” Sade: “What are you , mad? I have a long memory, man!” Jay-Z: “What? I don’t understand. What are you talking about?” Sade: (plays a snippet of Timbaland featuring Jay-Z’s “Lobster & Scrimp”, which features the lyrics “Now […]
