Two weeks ago, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre's closing performance at Coachella set Twitter and other social media sites ablaze. Those watching the show live in California or streaming it online saw not only the raps of Snoop and Dre, but also an array of surprise guests including Kendrick Lamar, Wiz Khalifa, 50 Cent, Eminem, and, believe it or not, Tupac.
Bass comes naturally to Lorin Ashton, the 34-year-old dreadlocked DJ and electronic dance music (EDM) producer. Bassnectar, as he is internationally known, has stood out for his unique experimental approach to the genre and has done so without resorting to cheap gimmicks. In fact, Bassnectar has been producing electronic music since the 1990s, but it is only in the last few years that his music seems to have really clicked with the masses.
Anyone who has been a fan of Chiddy Bang since their first mixtape—"The Swelly Express"—will be disappointed by the hip-hop duo's lack of passion in their latest release. Their first release was brimming with a heartfelt desire to stay young—"I ain't ever growing up!" Chiddy says in "The Opposite of Adults"—as well as a hope to make it big in the rap world.
When DJ Dave Nada arrived at his cousin's homecoming party in Washington, D.C. to begin his electro-house DJ set, he discovered that the partygoers were already jamming out to reggaeton beats. Nada quickly realized that he had to adjust his set list in order to accommodate this reggae vibe. By slowing down Afrojack's remix of Chuckie's song, "Moombah," to 108 beats per minute (bpm), Nada managed to maintain the reggae tempo without sacrificing the original electronic house sound.
While surfing YouTube this past week, I came across a video called "Angst" by New York rapper T.Shirt. I was immediately enticed by the old-school boom-bap drumbeat and the meandering horn section, but was soon assaulted by an aggressive onslaught of profanity.
Welcome back! I return for the spring semester energized and refueled because this break was exceptionally fruitful in terms of awesome releases of electronic dance music (EDM).
Although many have considered Donald Glover's forays into the rap game to be something of a side project for the actor, his latest release as Childish Gambino has solidified his place in the contemporary music scene.
Celebrated for having built his fanbase with social networking sites and music blogs, 19-year-old Mac Miller has been gaining steam as of late and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Though he's been making music since 2007, it wasn't until the 2010 release of "K.I.D.S. (Kickin' Incredibly Dope S--t)" that Mac gained widespread attention.
Over the course of the past decade, Coldplay has become one of the most famous alternative rock sensations in the world, producing four multi-platinum albums and selling over 50 million copies. At the same time, the group has garnered critical acclaim, including an astounding seven Grammys and six Brit Awards. It is against this impressive backdrop that Coldplay released their fifth studio album, "Mylo Xyloto," on October 24.
Since his entrance into the rap game in 2007, J. Cole has gone from up-and-comer to success story. He's released three mixtapes, amassed a dedicated fan base, and caught the attention of Jay-Z, who signed him to Roc-Nation in 2009.
This week, I am switching gears to discuss a genre of electronic dance music—dubstep—that has reached unprecedented levels of popularity over the last few years. For those new to the scene, dubstep songs are set at around 140 beats per minute, are usually dominated by a powerful bass line, and typically incorporate heavily manipulated sound waves to produce a unique style of electronic music that is bound to set any listener's head bobbing.
Welcome back to another school year! Since my primary objective is to share awesome music with my readers, I have decided to widen the scope of this column beyond hip-hop releases to better achieve this goal. While hip-hop is certainly a big part of my life, it is by no means the only genre of music that excites me—I look forward to sharing other genres as well. Of course, you can still expect hip-hop reviews and recommendations about hip-hop, starting today with my discussion of the August 29 release, "Tha Carter IV."
As I ponder an appropriate farewell, I reflect on what my intentions were when I began this musical column. One goal was to provide readers with comprehensive and thoughtful reviews of recent albums from hip-hop moguls and veterans. I also hoped to suggest new music from up-and-comers that were less well known.
After listening to CunninLynguists' newest album, "Oneirology," I was struck by two things: how very similar and yet how very different it was from CunninLynguists' previous work.
Lupe's "Lasers" By 2007, Lupe Fiasco had laid the foundation for a long and flourishing rap career. His 2006 hit album "Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor" was tremendously successful, and his only slightly less impressive 2007 release "The Cool" left fans wanting more.
Slaughterhouse's EP Although hip-hop fans may not be familiar with the group called Slaughterhouse, they will likely recognize the four rappers behind the name. Royce da 5'9", Crooked I, Joe Budden and Joell Ortiz formed Slaughterhouse back in 2008 and recently released their second album entitled "The Slaughterhouse EP."
Saigon's album "The Greatest Story Never Told" has been delayed for about five years due to one disadvantage of being signed to a major label—album release dates are subject to the whims of the label. This has been a familiar pattern for other veterans like Talib Kweli and Lupe Fiasco, who have complained publicly of similar issues; it is likely the same for many lesser-known artists controlled by the so-called "Big Four" labels.
If you are still waiting for Game's (formerly of G-Unit) highly anticipated "The R.E.D Album," don't hold your breath. Apparently the album is 95 percent finished but who knows what that means—the album was already given a firm release date back in June and has been delayed ever since.
"I Am Not A Human Being" First on today's playlist is Lil Wayne's recent album "I Am Not a Human Being," which was released in physical copy in Oc tober. The album itself is clearly not Wayne's best work; it does not flow as well as some of his other albums and feels scattered. However, my aim is to highlight the greater significance of this slightly disappointing album.
My high school experience is probably relatable to many: I had a few teachers that were role models, many more that were completely average and a few that I hated. As students, our reasons for disliking teachers vary greatly. Perhaps it is because a teacher is notorious for harsh grading, appears to favor girls, or cannot lecture comprehensively without rambling on about her cat.
