Thursday, April 29, 2010

Croonin'


Trey Songz is one talented dude. On this song, he signs over Gucci's Mane's Lemonade. The track is produced by Bangladesh. For those of you that don't know, he is the same guy that produced Wayne's A Milli. His unorthodox production seems to shine especially on this track with the pianos hitting hard. Trey goes in for a couple verses before Nicki Minaj comes in at 1:20, and his verses only seem better with the presence of hers. I can't listen to the song after she comes in, and cut the track short on my iTunes, but for those who do like her, you'll enjoy this that much more.

XXL Freshman Highlight: Donnis

The last XXL Freshman I am highlighting is the up and coming Atlanta rapper Donnis. Donnis is to what this years Freshmen class what B.o.B was to 2009's. He is a talented rapper whose wordplay is impressive. His 2009 mixtape, Diary of An Atlanta Brave, met him with a lot of internet attention and jump started his career and exposure. It's a mixtape that I can listen to pretty much all the way through while still enjoying each and every track.

Donnis says "Atlanta raised me. Tokyo made me a man." His story is interesting really. It was when he was stationed over seas that he fell in love with Japanese culture and fashion, like Bape, and it was his experiences that shaped the rapper he is today.




Mike Posner ft. Big Sean, Donnis, Jackie Chain - Smoke & Drive Remix : This isn't a Donnis track, but he tears it up, and the song overall is dope without a doubt.

XXL Freshman Highlight: Jay Rock

It surprised me to see Jay Rock on this list, not because he is not a talented artist who can have a place at the top of the music business, but because he has been around making a buzz for a while now. Similar to Pill in style and substance, but born and raised in Cali, Jay can definitely take the claim as a "New Breed of Hustler." It is rappers like Jay and The Game who are opening the door for West Coast gangster rap to take it's hold on the industry once more. His debut album, Follow Me Home, is set to be released sometime this year.

XXL Freshman Highlight: Pill

It seems like the term "A Breed of New Hustlers" is fitting for some of this years freshmen class more than others. Pill is one of those artists. Hailing from the South's Adamsville, Tennessee, Pill has a very unique sounds as well as a quick delivery. I only recently became familiar with him, but from what I have heard, he is definitely putting in the effort to become successful in the competitive industry that is hip-hop.

To get yourself familiar with Pill, you can check out two of his mixtapes, 4180: The Prescription and 4075: The Refill, as well as his upcoming mixtape 1400: Overdose.




Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The Absolute Truth, Yeah, No Joke

When Young Jeezy first came onto the scene, I just wasn't feelin' his music. But after three albums, and numerous mixtapes, I've had the chance to revisit most of his work and I've now become a pretty big fan. "Trap or Die," "Standing Ovation," "Still On It," and "Circulate" always stay in rotation on my iPod. I'm real excited for him to release his upcoming album, Thug Motivation 103, but until then I'm hoping his new mixtape, Trap or Die 2: By Any Means Necessary (which is hosted by Don Cannon), will be able to hold everyone over. Anyways, here's the first leak off of the new mixtape... the Needlz-produced "Greatest Trapper Alive." Check it out, it's solid.


EDIT: A few people came by trying to download this track, but the link was dead, so I re-upped it.

Monday, April 19, 2010

What you doin...


I wanted to post some more Big Sean. He was featured on the XXL Freshman List and right here he is on some Soulja Boy shit. It's a pretty simple flow but he does take it to another level, and I appreciate that. Enjoy this track off his album, Finally Famous, because this is my jam right now.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

If I Drop Another Album, I Did That For My Dogs

Say what you want about Rick Ross being a C.O. (correction's officer for those who haven't been keeping up), but the dude can make quality music. Armed with yet another soul-sample based song, we now have the first single off of his upcoming album, Teflon Don. The song is produced by DJ Clark Kent, who is a legend in the Hip Hop world. If the name doesn't sound familiar, go back and listen to Jay-Z's first album, Reasonable Doubt. Clark produced "Brooklyn's Finest," "Coming of Age," and "Cashmere Thoughts." This time around, Rick Ross has given us "Super High," which also features Ne-Yo on the hook. Jay-Z's audio engineer, Young Guru, did the mix, and Don Cannon did the scratches. So far, I'd say this gets my vote for song of 2010.

Friday, April 09, 2010

Let Me Tell You The Recipe


Thought I would kick off the weekend with a track that can get any party started. Nothing new, but definitely worth the second listen. In typical Cool Kids fashion, Chuck and Mike rock out on this track. Shout of to The Goose, D$, and the Zap Attack for requesting this dope track.

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Look Out for Detox...


So, the rumors are true... many feared that all the talk surrounding the supposed new single from Dre was just hearsay (especially considering the fact that this news was released around April Fools Day). However, within the next two weeks Dr. Dre is going to release his new Jay-Z featured single titled, "Under Pressure." On a scale of 1-10, 1 being "don't care at all," and 10 being "I think about it every 10 minutes," I'm probably a 9.5. I don't think I've been this excited for one song since... well... maybe ever.


Monday, April 05, 2010

I Need A Dolla


You know when you find one of those songs that you know you can just play on repeat and not get sick of. Well for me, I found that in Aloe Blacc's track I Need A Dollar. I don't know much about this artist, but he hails from California and has actually been in the industry for a while.

What I like most about this song is the old school feel it has. With the music industry today being very single-driven, it is nice to see an artist out there continuing to make soulful music. This specific track was selected to be the theme song for HBO's new series How To Make It In America, which even features KiD CuDi on the cast.

You should take the time to check out the video for the song here, and you can listen and download it below.