Alicia Keys returns, a mother, a wife, and a “Girl on Fire.” Too bad her new album only sparks an intermittent flame.
Spin Cycle: The XX, Coexist
Does The XX’s “Coexist” successfully scale Mt. Sophomore Jinx? Gonzo reviews the “moody” outfit’s second album.
The Viewfinder: Drake’s “Take Care” (feat. Rihanna)
You’ve got to admit: Drake & Rihanna have quite a bit of chemistry together. The video for “Take Care,” the title track of Drake’s second album, tries a bit too hard to be artsy-fartsy, what with the weird animals and stuff-but the truly engrossing visuals come from watching Rih-Rih and Drizzy interact. The song is also pretty dope-although I’m gonna have to keep referring you back to the Jamie XX/Gil Scott-Heron collaboration album We’re New Here, which contains the song […]
bLISTerd Presents: Big Money’s Top 11 Albums of 2011
2011 was a weird year for me musically. There was certainly a wealth of good music released this year. I can remember as recently as 2007 or 2008, struggling to find 20 albums to fill a list. This year, not so much of a problem. An interesting cast of old reliables and young bucks stepped up to the plate and delivered this year, and there were also a couple of noteworthy comebacks and collaborations. Initially, I had these albums ranked, […]
Spin Cycle: Drake’s “Take Care”
Does Drake successfully avoid the sophomore slump with his new album “Take Care”? Andrew Ratliff reviews the new work by the Canadian singer/rapper/actor.
R.I.P. Gil Scott-Heron
Poet, singer, activist and proto-rapper Gil Scott-Heron passed away yesterday in New York City. He was 62. Best known for the track “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”, Scott-Heron’s booming, authoritative voice often decried the struggles of black people as we advanced through the Civil Rights movement in the Seventies and Eighties. His recitative style has been imitated by everyone from (name your person at a poetry slam here) to Kool Moe Dee, Chuck D and 2Pac. Also blessed with […]