In the reasonably notable absence of the classic line-up of North Carolina hip-hop trio Little Brother, we’ve been fortunate enough to hear from the individual parts; frontman Phonte made waves as one half of the critically-acclaimed Foreign Exchange, and producer 9th Wonder’s been nothing short of prolific behind the boards. And, of course, there’s Big Pooh, who’s been… well, Pooh’s been doing something, probably. There were even a couple of 9th-less Little Brother albums that totally don’t count because they’re […]
Posts tagged "Raekwon"
Festival Summer: Rock the Bells & Afro-Punk Announce Lineups
Quiet as kept, the Rock the Bells festival has become THE event for hip-hop fans every summer. The 2011 iteration of the road show just announced it’s lineup for this summer, and Lauryn Hill and Nas are the main attractions. Hill, whose wildly inconsistent performances (not to mention habitual lateness) drew the ire of many fans last year, will be looking to redeem herself on the 2011 jaunt. Hopefully we get more soulful, inspired performances like the one she did […]
Chart Stalker: Shooting “Lasers” at the Top
Who said battling with your record company doesn’t pay off? After numerous delays resulting from stalemates with his label, Lupe Fiasco earns his first #1 album on this week’s Billboard chart with the arrival of his third album, Lasers. The album sells over 204,000 units in it’s first frame, easily outdistancing it’s closest challenger, Adele’s 21. Fear not for the British songstress, however, as her sophomore effort scans another 133,000 copies to hang on to the #2 spot and pad […]
New Release Report: The Floodgates Open
Welcome to the first big release week of 2011. It’s kinda like the lights all of a sudden got turned on in the room, and there will be multiple albums vying for the #1 spot next week-of course, the sensible part of me wonders why these albums couldn’t have been spread out (especially since they’ve obviously all been done for quite some time), but this is the music industry…there’s no room for sense. Anyhow, here’s a look at this week’s […]
Popblerd Presents!: The Top 40 Albums of 2010 (25-21)
Hey folks, I’ll be taking tomorrow off from posting because I intend to stuff myself silly with Christmas-related goodies (many of which will very likely contain alcohol), and I haven’t had the opportunity to build up my usual backlog of posts that I can fall back on when I’m lazy/stuffed/drunk. So to you Popblerd! readers who celebrate Christmas, I wish you a safe and joyous holiday. To those of you who don’t celebrate Christmas, enjoy your Chinese food and Tron: […]
Raekwon, Kanye & Bieber: It Shouldn’t Work, But…
I must admit that I cringed a little when I heard that Kanye West was teaming up with Raekwon and Justin Bieber for a song. Look, I have nothing against the Bieb-he’s a talented kid. I just wasn’t sure how the three were going to mesh, and I was also giving Kanye the side-eye for teaming up with the hot flavor of the moment and sacrificing his artistic integrity. But honestly? I’d rather Kanye do records with JB than do […]
Meth, Ghost & Rae Return with a “Wu-Massacre”
Let’s face it. If there are nine guys in your group, it’s gonna be hard for you to keep people’s attention. Just too much going on. Add in a plethora of solo projects, and you have the way I’ve felt about the Wu-Tang Clan since the mid nineties. After a smokin’ hot 1993 debut and that first salvo of excellent solo albums (“Only Built 4 Cuban Linx”, “Return to the 36 Chambers”, “Ironman”, “Liquid Swords”, “Tical”), it just became way […]
Chartstalker 4/7/10: Usher & The Bieb
That sounds like a sitcom. Or a cartoon. Like “Pinky & the Brain”. Right? Anyway, Usher scores his third consecutive #1 debut. “Raymond vs. Raymond” enters the Billboard 200 Albums chart at the top, with 329,000 copies sold. It’s the third highest debut of the year, behind Sade and Lady Antebellum. However, it’s also about 100,000 copies less than Usher’s last album, “Here I Stand”, started with in 2008. This number was juiced by a number of factors including a […]
Chartstalker 3/31/10: Bieber Fever
Hey, that almost rhymes, right? As expected, teen idol Justin Bieber opens up at the top of the Billboard album charts with “My World 2.0”. The 16 year old Canuck starts with 283,000 copies. He is the youngest male artist to top the Billboard album charts since Stevie Wonder back in 1963. Pretty damn impressive, if you ask me. The top 3 albums this week are all debuts. Former teen idol Monica takes the runner up spot with her fifth […]