While Mixvibes didn’t have an actual stand at Musikmesse this year (the prices were truly astronomical), they did have a suite in a nearby hotel. And this is where I finally got to see their video rocking VFX package in action – and highly impressed I was as well.
Video-SL always seems to be an underplayed card to me. I know there’s some really cool stuff being done but it just doesn’t get the coverage it deserves (Woody Madera post coming). So it was really good to see DJ Eskei83 using the Rane Sixty Eight with Video-SL on 3 decks – all 18 minutes of it.
Drake’s debut album, Thank Me Later, has an official released date : May 25 on Young Money, under a joint-venture with Cash Money and distribution by Interscope.
Here are the confirmed tracks : “Fireworks” (Produced by Crada & Noah “40″ Shebib) “Shut It Down” (feat. The-Dream) (Produced by Noah “40″ Shebib & Omen) ? 4:10 “Over” (Produced by Boi-1da & Al Khaaliq) ? 3:54 “Light Up” (feat. Jay-Z) (Produced by Tone Mason & Noah “40″ Shebib) “Afrika…
Just last week, Pioneer brought out the DJM-2000, and with it dragged the laptop back into the booth. So now the new species of CDJs are quite happy to play nice with rekordbox created USB devices as well as talking directly to your laptop of choice. But there is a third way, and one that will welcome DVS users into the Pioneer dominate booth too – HID. And the DJ software that owns all others – Traktor – is now all HID’d up and also playing nice with the CDJs too. Say hi to v1.2.5 of Traktor.
A friend of mine, who has come to develop a strong dislike for Diddy’s experimental ensemble Dirty Money, has begun to lovingly refer to the trio’s upcoming album as “The Last Train Wreck to Paris.” Just a few hours ago I probably would have laughed along with him, but I’m sad to say that my friend may find himself laughing alone after the group’s latest single, Hello Good Morning hits the airwaves. With an undeniably strong guest verse from T.I., the current Nelson Mandela of hip-hop, along with some smooth bass and futuristic samples from Danja, Diddy and the group’s two songstresses, Dawn and Kalenna, form a sound that’s not just bearable, but actually… pretty good. So good, in fact, that I had a hard time trying to figure out why the group’s previous singles Angels and Love Come Down were released as singles ahead of this record. Who knows – maybe they were waiting for Tip Harris to be freed (finally!). I’ll now be on the look out for Last Train to Paris, due to drop June 22. How about you?
Download Hello Good Morning at RefinedHype.com!
I know what you’re thinking; what the hell is a Zoosk Girl? I’ll be honest, I’ve listened to Flo-Rida’s new single for the last twenty minutes straight and I still have no idea. Even more confusingly, I can’t 100 percent figure out if Flo and guest artist T-Pain think being a Zoosk girl is a good thing or not (although it seems like they do…right?). Still, a track like this isn’t made to be analyzed. Like most of Flo’s work, it’s meant to stick in your head for hours, and by that measure it succeeds. The light, bouncing beat comes to us courtesy of J Rock, while Pain delivers yet another catchy hook and Flo, well, flows capably over the quickly moving beat. My advice? Don’t worry about what it means; just shut off your brain and enjoy. For more potentially mystifying hip-pop be sure to keep an eye out for Flo-Rida’s upcoming third studio album The Only One, which has yet to be granted a solid release date.
Willing to do whatever it took to help his team achieve victory, all while rocking the stylish combo of bushy mustache and horn-rimmed glasses, Kurt Rambis, aka “the hardest-working white boy ever” is a fitting role model for the always grinding Question?. On this mixtape outro track (making its world premiere right here in the Booth!), the San Antonio native compares his towering ambition and unceasing hustle to that of the Lakers legend and current Timberwolves coach, flowing over The Innovators’ choral vocal samples (I can’t decide whether this is more or less epic than the similarly melodramatic beat he flowed over on Is It Cuz I’m White – thoughts?). As always, Question? shows an uncanny knack for pop-referential braggadocio, managing to namedrop Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Godzilla, Dr. Dre and the Party Boyz – and that’s just verse one. If Rambis leaves you craving more, well, this is only the beginning – notwithstanding the fact that it’s actually the end of the project (a bonus track). However you want to look at it, though, you’ll want to grab a copy of Xanax 3 when it drops in late April.
Other than Drake’s Thank Me Later, no other album in 2010 will be as highly (and insanely) anticipated as Nicki Minaj’s debut effort. So it’s no wonder that the internet has been all atwitter (pun intended) after the world’s most mentally unstable Barbie finally dropped the official version of the album’s lead single, Massive Attack, today. What are people talking about? Well, they’re certainly talking about the production and hook work of Sean Garrett, who here crafts an appropriately skittering, post-apocalyptic beat, but predictably most of the debate surrounds Nicki’s verses, which in typically schizophrenic Nicki style fluctuate wildly from smooth punchlines to intensely aggressive threats. In other words, it’s exactly what people love, or hate, or love to hate about Nicki’s rhyme style. So, does Massive Attack point in the direction of a hit – or a flop – for Nicki when she finally drops her untitled debut album this summer? I’ll leave it up to the Booth to decide. Have at it people.
Download Massive Attack at RefinedHype.com!
After the ‘09 ubiquity of Jay-Z‘s Empire State of Mind, I have a feeling that most of us would be in favor of a moratorium on NYC tribute tracks. With that said, don’t let the title of Harlem emcee ESSO‘s latest feature fool you – inaugural mixtape leak New York, New York contains nary a sweeping soul sample or soaring chorus. The overall mood of this cut is more ambivalent than anthemic, with producer Rena1ssance serving up a left-of-center mix of acoustic guitar and queasy synths as ESSO shares his feelings on his hometown, acknowledging the Big Apple as a key influence on his character (“No matter where I go in the world, they immediately know as soon as I touch down where I’m from…”) but refusing to force his music into the Northeastern mold. Fans will undoubtedly appreciate the emcee’s commitment to nonconformity, but does the unconventional approach he takes here pay off? I’ll leave that for you to decide. In any case, fans will be able to hear more fresh new material from the man who brought us exclusive freestyle Thinkin’ Out Loud Again on April 26, when The Anti-Socialite hits the ‘net for free download.
If you were old enough to comprehend cop dramas in the 1980s, you may have fond memories of Hill Street Blues. I wasn’t alive during its run, so I couldn’t tell you whether STS’ latest feature, Ill Street Blues has more in common with the series than 14/15ths of a title, but I can tell you that this newly-leaked mixtape cut has one dope ensemble cast. Over Trackmasters’ swingin’ jazz samples (not the show’s theme song, if you were wondering), the dual ATL/Philly representative is joined by fellow Philly natives Black Thought (of The Roots), Truck North and Dice Raw, together known as the Money Making Jam Boys. There’s too much talent on display here for me to pick a favorite verse, so I’ll just quote the headliner’s contribution: “Every verse immaculate, and that’s from the conception…” Those digging this all-star collaborative track straight outta the City of Brotherly Love can find Ill Street Blues, as well as previously-featured tracks F*ck a Hook and Parachute, on STS’ Demand More 2 mixtape, out tomorrow (March 31).