Kanye West Reveals New Song at His Fashion Show

The yeezy.supply link was a countdown to Kanye West's fashion show unveiling during New York Fashion Week. While Yeezy showed off a variety of new clothes, the star of the show was the new adidas Yeezy 750 Boosts (pictured above). They can be preordered on the adidas app, and will reportedly cost $350. And while a new fashion line from Kanye is cool enough, we additionally got to here the very first track of his new album. Entitled "Wolves", the opener features Sia and Vic Mensa. I'm ecstatic that Mensa is on a track with Yeezy, since he is one of my favorite current artists and will go far with this Kanye West co-sign. The audio is a recording of what was going on at the show, so it isn't the best quality, but you can still hear the new track. There is no rapping in the song, and sounds like there is a lot of auto-tuned vocals. It somewhat sounds like a cross between Yeezus and 808's & Heartbreak. It's a slow, bass-heavy industrial pop song. Kanye, Vic and Sia warn others to not love them, saying that they are "bad for you". Hopefully, we'll get the official version soon, but for now enjoy the recording and preorder the Yeezy 750 Boosts.

An Analysis of the 2015 Grammy Awards

The 57th annual Grammy Awards are currently underway. As I'm writing this, AC/DC is giving an awkward opening show that shows how old they are. I'll be explaining, reviewing, and attempting to understand this year's Grammys, with a focus on hip-hop and R&B winners.

First, we should go over how exactly the Grammys work. There are nearly 80 awards given, from basically all music genres. From rap and country, to gospel and urban contemporary (the most recently added category), the Grammys cover basically all contemporary music. Besides the genre-specific awards, there are four general categories: Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year. The winners are decided by a panel of music experts, who are about 150 people who are either musicians, producers, composers, or anyone who has worked on at least 6 commercially released songs. The judges, as well as record labels can submit recordings for consideration. Each judge can vote for any of the four general awards, and nine of the genre-specific awards. Five finalists are chosen for each category, and then the judges again vote for the four general categories, and eight genre-specific categories. The judges are asked to vote in their own genres, but don't have to. Music released between September 30, 2013 and October 1, 2014 are eligible for awards this year. Historically, the awards usually go to artists who are the most popular and sell the most records. Pop music usually wins the big awards, and smaller genres (especially hip-hop) usually gets snubbed. Often, the Grammys are more of a popularity contest than a showcase of true talent.

Unsurprisingly, Sam Smith is winning big. Less than 40 minutes into the awards, and he's already won Best Pop Vocal Album and Best New Artist. Pharrell is also pulling ahead, with Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Urban Contemporary Album. This is a bit of a shock, since Beyonce and Sail Out were both nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album, and Taylor Swift, John Legend, and Sam Smith were all also nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance. Last year's Forecastle headliner Beck won Best Rock Album, and Beyonce wins Best R&B Performance for "Drunk In Love". In general, the live performances have been pretty toned down. Adam Levine and Gwen Stefani, Ariana Grande, Kanye West, and Ed Sheeran all sung fairly slow songs. I'm about to go to bed, but keep watching for performances by Common & John Legend, Kanye West, Rihanna, & Paul McCartney, and Sam Smith.

There is a double-edged sword concerning hip-hop at the Grammy's today. Last year was pretty pitiful for major rap releases, and many people were concerned that Iggy Azalea would win the Best Rap Album award. But Eminem took home the award instead for The Marshall Mathers LP 2. This was the best selling rap album of all the nominees, and while I think Oxymoron, Nobody's Smiling, and Because the Internet were superior albums, I can easily see why the didn't win, and at least Wiz and Azalea didn't win. Also, Kendrick Lamar finally took home a Grammy, two in fact. He won both Rap Record of the Year and Best Rap Song of the Year for "i". The judges agreed with me on that one. But, none of these awards are televised. All of the hip-hop winners were announced before the ceremony, and as of 10:00 EST, there have been no rap awards given in on live television. This is an even bigger snub than last year, when Macklemore took home the Best Rap Album award over Kanye, Kendrick, Drake, and Jay-Z. Rap is a huge part of contemporary music, and it's ridiculous that they won't even mention the rap awards on television. Rap is one of the newer categories in the Grammys, but it's still been recognized for almost 20 years. I am about to go to sleep, so they may show the rap awards later on, and I'll look like an absolute fool, but I don't think that will happen. Yet again, the Grammys have snubbed an entire genre of music, a genre that is expanding and refining itself every day. It's truly a shame that after almost 20 years this is still happening.    

What is Kanye West Up To?

Undoubtedly, Kanye West's new album is the most anticipated album of the year. We've been teased with tidbits of news from the album, and two new songs. And yesterday, a low quality version of the possible first single off of the album, called "All Day" leaked. An even lesser quality version was leaked last year, but it was very short. This version is longer, and has an ending verse from Travi$ Scott on it. The song is hellish and booming, with loud bass and what sounds somewhat like a looped chainsaw in the background. Kanye flexes and swags out all over this song. It's like a darker updated version of "N*ggas in Paris". Hopefully a better quality version will be released soon.

And it may be released within a week. Just a few moments ago, Kanye tweeted (which is very rare) a link to yeezy.supply. The link was to a countdown, currently at 6 days and 19 hours away until...something. In the background is a short clip of what looks like a conveyor belt, with people talking nearby. There is little to be taken from it, since the video shows very little, and there are loud pauses throughout. This tactic looks a lot like what A$AP Rocky did for "Multiply". If I were to guess, I'd say the official version of  "All Day" will be released, since it was just leaked, or maybe a new clothing line/sneaker line, judging by the conveyor belt. Check back in a week from now to find out.

Things I Missed: "Black Messiah"- D'Angelo

It would be a bit untrue to say that I missed Black Messiah. The night before it dropped, the Internet was buzzing with the return of D'Angelo after a fifteen year absence. I listened to the album when it dropped, but due to poor timing I didn't give it thorough, repetitive listens. But within the last month I have, and I absolutely love this album.

What is most noticeable about the album is the production. It is entirely live instrumentation, with practically no synthetic elements that I can detect. While if done poorly, this method can sound repetitive, but due to the layered, build-up approach that D'Angelo and The Vanguard take on this LP, it is anything but. Each track sounds lush and different, from slow and laid-back, to explosive and full of energy, and all very funky. The album sounds like a nostalgic throw-back to something I've never heard before. D'Angelo's nasally, unique voice doesn't overpower the production, but instead acts as a compliment to it. My favorite tracks are "Betray My Heart" and "Really Love" both of which are love songs which build up to gorgeous crescendos. Black Messiah is both sentimental and rare, over-flowing with beautiful production and insightful lyrics. Don't do what I did, and listen to this incredible album as soon as possible.      

Listen to New Cuts From Kanye West & Rihanna, Vic Mensa, and Travi$ Scott

Both Kanye West and Rihanna are gearing up to release their respective album this year. Last Sunday, they released a collaborative song featuring Paul McCartney entitled "Four Five Seconds". McCartney supplies an acoustic guitar that both West and Rihanna croon over. It's stripped down, simple, and quite frankly, lovely. While Kanye's so far untitled album has been said to sound "hellish", but this new single, and "Only One" also featuring McCartney couldn't be more different.

Vic Mensa has been grinding over the last year, working on this next project and touring heavily. He just recently dropped a new track with past collaborator Kaytranada called "Drive Me Crazy". Kaytranada is a Canadian producer, who creates hip-hop/electric beats, and produced Mensa's "Wimme Nah". This new track, which is technically Kaytranada featuring Mensa, is much less hype than "Wimme Nah", and sounds very spacey. It's a slick track that'll appear on Kaytranada's debut LP, and Mensa will also be dropping a new project entitled Street Lights soon.

Three days ago, Travi$ Scott announced a tour with Metro Boomin and Young Thug (sadly no stops in Louisville). This is for his debut album Rodeo, and he also dropped two new tracks, which will probably appear on this album "Nothing But Net" featuring PARTYNEXTDOOR and Young Thug, and "High Fashion" featuring Future. I like these songs, but I don't love them. Scott is a master at combining lush trap beats with explosive vocals. But "Nothing But Net" has this weird auto-tune throughout it, a grimy over-all sound, and PARTYNEXTDOOR's feature is wasted on a half-hook. And the production on "High Fashion" sounds pretty stagnant, which is very unlike Scott. Nevertheless, I can't wait for Rodeo, which supposedly may be dropping this March.

Review: B4.Da.$$ is Joey Bada$$'s Illmatic

On January 20th, Joey Bada$$ released his debut album B4.Da.$$ was dropped on the same day as heavy-weights Lupe Fiasco and Lil Wayne dropped projects. But, the Pro Era's album shone, and will probably be a contender for album of the year.

Bada$$ is well known for his classic, East Coast hip-hop sound. You'll find plenty of it on B4.Da.$$, as well as a variety of other complex sounds. The album is chock-full of boom-bap drum lines, and smooth jazz instrumentations but sounds takes the 90's sound much further. Bada$$ and his producers (which range from big names like DJ Premier, Hit-Boy and J Dilla to Pro Era affiliates Chuck Strangers, Kirk Knight, and Statik Selektah)  created a rich, gorgeous twist on Joey's classic sound, and even ventured into completely new beats for Bada$$. "Black Beetle" sounds somewhat like a G.O.O.D. Music beat, and there is a lot of fast paced of production, like on songs "Teach Me" and "Escape 120". Production-wise, this is without the strongest Bada$$ project.

This album was released on Bada$$'s 20th birthday. The word-play and themes on B4.Da.$$ makes Bada$$ sound wise beyond his age. Every single track, usually very subtly, showcases Bada$$'s view on life, crime, society, money, self-esteem and the government. There are obvious parallels between B4.Da.$$ and Illmatic, but while on Illmatic each songs has a specific story, B4.Da.$$. weaves together Bada$$'s thoughts, experiences and stories throughout the whole album. This allows his listeners to just chill back and enjoy the music, or bump it at a party, or actually feel his messages.

There are a moderate amount of features, and they all work well. On "Like Me", BJ The Chicago Kid harmonizes perfectly with Bada$$. Chronixx adds a slick, yet dark verse to the gloomy production of "Belly of the Beast". Keisza, who made "Hideaway", is a great addition to the bouncy "Teach Me". The oddest feature is Raury. He lends an ending verse on "Escape 120", and while his verse is great, there isn't a ton of chemistry between the two artists, and it sounds like a surprise every time I hear the track.

I have very few negative things to say about the album. A bit more insight on Joey's life would be nice, and some of Joey's sing-songy flows don't work too well. My main complaint is that there isn't a ton of consistency throughout the album. The ending track, "Curry Chicken", doesn't do a great job wrapping up this album, but it is a nice ode to his family. There isn't a single song on this album that I don't like. It's a wonderful project, and I recommend it to anyone who likes old-school hip-hop, or hip-hop in general.

Lyrical Skill- 4

Technical Skill-4.5

Production-4

Listenability-5

Features-4

Consistency/Theme-3

Notable Tracks- "On & On", "Save the Children", "Christ Conscious", "Like Me", "Belly of the Beast"

Overall Rating- 4

Review: "No One is SaFe" is a Fun Follow-Up From Trinidad Jame$

Trinidad Jame$ has had a rough couple of years. After his multi-platinum single "All Gold Everything", he completely failed to capitalize on his success. Last year, Def Jam dropped him, due to his inability to release an album. I honestly enjoy Jame$'s music, his mixtape 10 PC Mild from 2013 was filled with straight bangers. Three days ago, Jame$ dropped another mixtape No One is Safe, and while it isn't there is very little lyrical finesse, the mixtape is still very enjoyable.

NOiS is the follow-up to 2012's Don't Be S.A.F.E. (Sensitive as F-ck Everywhere), which spawned "All Gold Everything". This sequel is heavily rooted in ATL rap music, with features from OG Maco to Scotty ATL to Peewee Longway. There are a variety of sounds on this mixtape, but there is a very strong EDM and synth influence in the productions. I do enjoy the features, but many of the songs sound like they are skewed to the featured artist instead of Jame$. For instance, "Only N Atlanta" with Peewee Longway and Offset has the hype, bass-heavy sound that both artists are known for, while "ALLAU" with OG Maco sounds stripped down and has a lot of screaming rap in it. That being said, I think Jame$ is starting to find his sound. On his solo tracks like "Talk That Sh-t Trinidad" and "Jerome N The House" showcase repetitive, slower verses from Jame$, and a combination of blaring instrumentation and tints of synth elements. They sound like Trinidad Jame$ signature bangers, which is great. Jame$ is not a lyrical rapper, and probably will be. His lyrics are stupid-fun, like from "T James Express" where he says "All aboard the p-ssy train, I choo choo in that thang".  I think he'll always need features and good production to keep his sound alive, but I do enjoy his sound. Hopefully 2015 will be better for Jame$.

Lyrical Skill- 2

Technical Skill- 2.5

Production- 3.5

Listenability- 3.5

Features- 3

Consistency- 3

Notable Tracks- "Only N Atlanta", "ALLAU", "Jerome N The House"

Overall Score- 3