The Believer

Honestly, did not care for Common at all until I saw him in the movie "Just Wright" released last year where he played the role of an injured basketball player who ends up getting injured, and eventually falling in love with his therapist on the road to recovery. All I thought at the time was, danggg he's sexy! BUT recently I've been listening to more of his music and reading up on him a lot more and I must say, I like what I see and hear. Rapper/actor Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr. otherwise known as 'Common' is someone who has been in the game for just about two decades already but hadn't released an album since 2008 when he released, Universal Mind Control. This new song titled "The Believer" which will be featured on his new album, The Dreamer/The Believer was released earlier this week. The song features extremely successful artist John Legend and is said to be the only track on the upcoming album that will have any guest singer as well. The song, in my opinion, talks about the faith that Common, as a rapper, has in God himself and the belief that He is always watching over humankind and has great plans for us. He seems to point out bad things/relationships in the world between people but turns the mood into a positive one by telling of how God will see us through it. My favorite part of the song is when he says, 

"I know that God watches, From one Kings dream He was able to Barack us, the Prophets, nothing can stop us, Believe!"

Common is an artist who is always bringing religious meanings to his music so this is no surprise. Anyways...overall, I really like the song. I think the lyrics are just so deep and make you really think about how arrogant human beings are and make me want to change for the better. The Dreamer/The Believer hits stores on December 20th so you should listen to the song and if u like it, go out and buy the album! Pretty sure there'll be some good stuff on there!

Swim Good

"Swim Good" is a song off of Frank Oceans mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra. The song was released back in February of 2011 but it's a song I was just recently introduced to by a friend of mine. From what I can see, the song is a sort of personal thought from Ocean himself, talking about how he is ready to "swim into the ocean" and basically cleanse himself of his past heartbreaks, both those that he has gone through and those he has caused to other people, in order to hopefully find piece of mind and eventually find happiness again. The lyrics and music video to the song make it seem like he is having suicidal thoughts about basically driving himself into the ocean and in doing so, ending his life. However, I think this is just a way of him saying he wants to get rid of his past and start a new life free of all the pain and suffering which is making him feel guilty about things he's done in his past and bad choices he has made. Overall, I'm not too crazy about the song and I definitely don't like the music video made for the song...what's up with the guy with that weird mask eating popcorn at the beginning??? Weirdddddd....

I personally like this version better than the original =)

ASAP Rocky "Peso"

Ever feel like you like a song a lot but yet have no idea what the song is about??? Ya, that's pretty much how I feel about this. Good song, don't get the lyrics, and think all the stuff going on in the video is kinda dumb... "Cause everyday we oughta have 'pesos'..." Boy Please!!!

Grapes On A Vine

 

"Grapes on a vine, don't always make sweet wine..."

 

This song, "Grapes on A Vine" by Betty Wright featuring rapper Lil' Wayne was released just a few days ago. The song will be featured on Wright's upcoming album titled, Betty Wright: The Movie which will be released on November 15th. The song is different from a lot of what we've been hearing from Wayne because it shows him working together with Wright who is a Soul and R&B singer. I love hearing music like this where singers from different genres and completely different ages come together to make music that is sure to appeal to a much larger audience. The song basically talks about relationships that exist between people and how they aren't always perfect at first but we should keep our faith and keep believing that things will get better over time.

Shades-Phlo Finister

Phlo Finister is someone I had never heard of until this past weekend and now this song has been on replay all weekend! The 19 year old from Oakland, California is really making a name for herself these days. In this song, "Shades", released earlier this month Finister blends genres together geniously! Most of her work is done by blending genres together. Pop and Hiss: LA Times Music Blog,  refers to Finister as a "Youthquaker", which is something I had never even heard of so I had to look it up. I don't know how trustworthy this definition is gonna be but here it is...
According to Wikipedia, "Youthquake was a 1960s fashion, musical and cultural movement." They also mention that "London was the center of this movement" and that "The fashion of youthquake was fun, spirited and youthful-miniskirts and jumpsuits".
I guess the reason for refering to her as a Youthquaker is basically to explain her style in clothing. If I had to compare her to an artist I actually know more about it would probably have to be....well no one. She is really something new to me but I know we'll be seeing a lot more from her in the future.

"We Like To Party"

Alright, so as you can see I'm becoming a huge Beyonce fan! I have always loved her when she would since as a part of the group Destiny's Child but was never able to fully appreciate her for the music she began to perform as a solo artist (mostly because I was mad at her for not singing with Destiny's Child anymore). It wasn't until I saw the live performance of her song, 1+1 on American Idol in 2011 that I began to give in to her. I have to say that her latest album titled '4' is my favorite so far. Her voice is just so passionate; strong when it needs to be, and soft and soothing when it needs to be as well. In this new remix of her song, "Party", which is taken off of her latest album '4', and features rapper Andre 3000 from Outcast, the pop diva teams up with flourishing rapper, J. Cole who replaces Andre's verse with his own in the remix. J. Cole, who recently released his own album, 'The Sideline Story' even goes as far as to change up the lyrics to the song a bit, which was an interesting choice. This song is a fun listen for someone looking to pick up the mood for the day but ironically does not make you want to "party". I happen to be someone who loves the soulful feel to music so if you are too then you'd definitely love the song. In a way, Beyonce's part actually makes me reminisce over the kind of music she would make with Destiny's Child because of it's smooth and soothing feel. I love the way that J. Cole decided to change up the song a little bit and add in his 2 cents worth as well. Great work by the two artists if you ask me. The video for "Party" is said to premiere tomorrow, October 25th on BET's "106 & Park".

Pregnant Beyonce showing off her growing tummy!

 

These guys made a cover for the original "Party" which featured Andre 3000

This is one of my favorite songs so I decided to share it!

5 O'Clock

Recently, T-Pain released "5 O'Clock", featuring Wiz Khalifa and Lily Allen title. The song is his first released single which will be featured on his upcoming album, "RevolveR", which does not yet have a set release date. This song first caught my eye when I saw who it was that was singing with him. I found it unusual that someone like T-Pain, an American rapper and R&B singer would team up with Lily Allen, a British pop star, and Wiz Khalifa, another American rapper. You can see in the picture below just how different all these artists are from each other just by their style. I absolutely love all three of these artists though and thought this song was absolute genius! It's something that's a little more chilled out compared to music that currently plays on hip-hop radio stations. The video made for this song is pretty much a story that literally acts out the lyrics to the song. In the video T-Pain recieves a text from a girl, Lily Allen with her asking him to go over to her house/apartment, I don't know what it is. So then the entire video just shows him walking over and singing. Wiz really doesn't take too big of a role in the video. He kind of shows up randomly in the video, sings, and then I guess just to incorporate him into the story, he ends up bumping into T-Pain on the sidewalk. The video isn't really anything too special but the song itself is great. Something mellow and chilled out that you can listen to on a relaxed day at work...as I'm doing now:)

This is just an acoustic cover of the song that I came across and thought was pretty good! 

Snoooooooop!

This week Snoop Dogg released a video for his remix of Rihanna's "California King Bed" which was released in November of last year on her Loud album.. The idea of Snoop Dogg, who is supposed to be one of the original gangstas, collaborating with someone like Rihanna is kinda funny to me. Like reallyyy guy?! You're supposed to be a gangsta! I have to admit though, I kinda like the song. It's a side of Snoop that not we don't get to see very often. The song is way out of his element which I think is upsetting to some people. One thing that he make sure to include in the video though was the use of half naked women and of course, drugs...I guess that's his idea of staying true to himself. In my opinion, this version is better than Rihanna's, but maybe that's cause I really don't care for her too much in general.

Below is the original version of the song performed by Rihanna.

KiD CuDi - The Prayer

In his song, "The Prayer", Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, otherwise known as Kid Cudi, sings about how he would like to be remembered by his audience and tells about what it is that he stands for. What I think is kind of weird about the fact that this is a song by Kid Cudi, is that he really isn't even a very well known rapper yet. He had one really big hit single back in 2008 titled "Day N' Night" but since then has yet to top the charts. The song featured in my blog, is just another song of his I came across as a suggestion from Youtube one day. I believe this song is titled as is because of the chorus and how it is similar to a popular children's prayer titled, "Evening Prayer". I think that just from this alone, we are able to see that the song is a message from the artist telling of how he would want to be remembered once he's gone. In part of the song Cudi states, "...if I die today the last thing you remember won't be about some apple bottom jeans with the boots with the fur", implying that what he sings about is real to him and not something made up just to get a few more fans, like, as suggested by the lyrics, fellow singer, Flo-Rida. He sings about how his lyrics are about things that are close to his heart and assures his audience that it really doesnt matter to him if you like his music or not, as long as he knows that what he sings about is real and relevant to him,then that's all that matters. The song makes me have more respect for him as a person. It's melody is something that gives me a feeling of sadness though. I think this might be just because of the prayer that is incorporated into the songs lyrics and it makes me think of a sad occasion; something that could be seen as a suicide letter almost. Overall though...it's a good song...

"I Was Here"

So today I spent all day at home, mostly in bed watching specials on t.v over the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on America. Since it is the 10th anniversary of the events, a lot of television channels were being blown up with specials and documentaries over that infamous day in American history, along with live footage of a ceremony unveiling to the public, a memorial which now stands in place of where the two towers of the World Trade Center once stood. "I Was Here", is a song which is featured on Beyonce's latest album, '4' which came out this past June. The song was inspired by the events which took place on 9/11 and it's lyrics along with this video which was played together with the song on ABC network earlier today were just so touching and left me completely speechless and teary eyed. The song talks about leaving a legacy behind once we are taken away from this earth and is so inspiring to me. It's not exactly uplifting  but it is the kind of song that leads you to remember those heroes who have died protecting our country but instead of making you want to mourn over their loss, it leads you realize the legacy they left behind and be proud of them for their heroic actions on September 11th and over the past decade and last but not least, extremely proud to be an American.

Lil Wayne Concert December 17, 2009
This concert was amazing!!! Yes, I was this close:)

Bieber got Drake Fever?

So recently Justin Bieber decided to make a remix of Drakes very well liked song, "Trust Issues". The song has had a mix of opinions as to whether or not people liked it, some saying Bieber totally ruined the song by taking out it's cuss words and references to women as "bitches". I for one, liked this about the song. Not that I don't love the original song, because I definitely do but I thought it showed Biebers personality and was more age appropriate for him. I just don't think the world is ready to have baby face Bieber come as out as anything but "Disney" right now. It's a song that girls out there who have already caught that "Bieber Fever" will most definitely be listening to as they spell out "Mrs. Bieber" over and over again in their notebooks as they daydream in class! Justin Bieber has become for teens today, what the Backstreet Boys were in my time.