After sending the Twitter-verse into a storm last year over their supposed ‘marriage’ Drake and Nicki Minaj team up for something that is undoubtedly real. A certifiable club banger, ‘Make Me Proud’ motors along with a propulsive bass shudder precision-tooled to get booties shaking across the land. Things really kick off when Nicki Minaj drops in for a typically awesome verse that demonstrates why she’s just about the hottest thing in hip-hop right now.
‘Make Me Proud’ is taken from Drake’s forthcoming album ‘Take Care’, which will be released 15 November. It’s going to have some pretty big shoes to fill if it’s going to top his previous record, the platinum-selling, Billboard-topping ‘Thank Me Later’, but it looks as though he may be on the right track. While he’s dialling back on the collaborations that defined his last LP, Drake has managed to bring in none other than Stevie Wonder to give a major boost to his R&B credentials
“With Stevie it’s hard for me to explain. It’s an incredible thing I witnessed that night,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “He heard a song that he saw some potential in and he added some key pieces that made it come to life. I’ve never played a song for people and they’ve cried and gone into their own private zone in their mind where they’re really thinking about some situations that hit home. And this song has done that for me.”
With just a few weeks to go until ‘Take Care’ hits, Drake seems quietly confident that he’s got another smash on his hands. If the record can maintain the levels on show in ‘Make Me Proud’, there’s every chance he’s right.
Listen to ‘Make Me Proud’ here.
Huw Thomas Tag Of The Day drake, Nicki Minaj
Two of hip-hop’s most committed blunt enthusiasts team up on this laid-back celebration of smoked-out good times, packing more weed references into three minutes than you might think possible. This is a serious joint, in every sense of the word.
At first glance it might seem odd that Snoop, a man who recently celebrated his 40th birthday, would put his name to a song called ‘Young, Wild & Free’. However, once you give the track a spin, it’s clear that age has not dimmed his timelessly liquid flow. Upstart Wiz Khalifa matches his idol with some impressively smooth verses of his own, while Bruno Mars’ contribution provides the cherry on an already pretty sweet cake.
‘Young, Wild & Free’ is taster for the soundtrack to the movie ‘Mac and Devin Go to High School’, in which the duo also star. In addition to the single, Snoop and Wiz provide the bulk of the music for the Dylan Brown-directed stoner comedy. Joining Bruno Mars on collaboration duties are artists like Curren$y and Mike Posner
The younger MC is clearly excited about his team up with one of the legends of hip-hop. “It’s a real big deal because nobody’s done it like that as far as a veteran in the game, an OG, a pioneer and then the newest, youngest, most exciting dude in rap coming through and really just giving people a complete project,” Wiz told MTV. “I’m a fan of it, separate myself from making it, [I'm] a huge fan of it. Can’t wait.”
Check out the track here.
Huw Thomas Tag Of The Day Bruno Mars, Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa
If there’s one band from the baggy / Britpop era that surely no-one thought would reform, it’s Manchester’s Stone Roses. The group – who originally formed in 1983 – pioneered the baggy sound that came to be the backbone of British indie throughout the 1990’s with their debut eponymous album, which was released in 1989. The album contained gems that have continued to play on rotation on indie discos around the world since then: ‘I Wanna Be Adored’, ‘She Bangs the Drums’, ‘Waterfall’, ‘Made of Stone’ and ‘I Am The Resurrection’.
Despite their rapid rise to success, in the wake of their first album, the band was beset with bad luck: chiefly a four year legal battle against their label, Silvertone. They eventually managed to shake Silvertone and signed to Geffen, but the legal woes meant an extra year delay before they released their sophomore album, the epically titled ‘Second Coming’. Despite the album being a right stonker, it failed to meet the excessive music industry hype, and in 1995 drummer Reni left the band. In 1996, John Squire followed suite – and as he was songwriter for the band, many imagined this would be the end of the Roses. After a disastrous performance at the Reading Festival in 1996, the remaining Roses decided enough was enough, and split – all vociferous that the divorce would be for good.
But some 20-odd years after the band first formed, and somehow, everything has been forgotten and forgiven. The Stone Roses have reformed, and have a worldwide tour and album in the works. Some cynical journalists were on the receiving end of a tongue-lashing from singer Ian Brown at the press conference held by the band last week, but Brown had the last word, in typical poetic style: “Love is deeper than the hurt,” he said. “Love conquers all.”
Amen brothers. Enjoy this – ‘Love Spreads’ – the lead single from ‘Second Coming’.
Helia Tag Of The Day Stone Roses
Marlon Roudette has been one of the biggest European success stories of 2011. His breakthrough song, ‘New Age’, has held out at number one in the German singles charts for an incredible seven weeks, and also gone top in Switzerland and Austria. The record’s also camped out of the top of the Shazam charts, becoming one of the most tagged tracks in Europe and sneaking into the UK Shazam charts with only plays on TV adverts to support tagging.
Previously of the band Mattafix, Marlon has always enjoyed something of an international flavour. Born in London, Marlon grew up in on the tiny Caribbean island of St Vincent before spending time touring the globe with his band. He notched up several European hits with a brand of soul and reggae influenced pop music before Mattafix split in 2010. He now looks set to return to his country of birth to launch his new album in the UK.
The album has some serious pop credentials with Guy Chamber’s (Robbie Williams’ former right hand man) and Finley Quaye both contributing to Marlon’s recent work. His latest single ‘Riding Home’ sets him up to launch an assault on the UK charts – something that’s been a long time coming considering he’s probably been the most successful British acts on The Continent over the past few months.
Marlon Roudette EP ‘Riding Home’ will be available in the UK on October 24th
Stephen Titmus Tag Of The Day Marlon Roudette
Even if you’ve never heard of Dev, you’ve almost certainly heard her. Her song ‘Booty Bounce’ was sampled by Far East Movement on their bazillion-selling mega-smash ‘Like a G6’, a track that was just about impossible to avoid last year. The track that was sampled was pretty big in its own right too, with its inventive video clocking up millions of YouTube hits.
She’s also found time to collaborate with Tinie Tempah, Timbaland and the mighty JLS, as well as put together her debut album. Working with her usual production team The Cataracts, who discovered her through her MySpace page in 2009, ‘The Night the Sun Came Up’ is due out in November. Dev is already promising big things.
“I think the environment that The Cataracs grew up in Los Angeles plays a distinct role in the different sound in production,” she told Digital Spy. “I also think my voice is very interesting and different – it’s weird as hell! So when we put our two quirkiness’s together, the result is quite nice. We’ll see how it does, but I’d like to think it differs from what else is out there. Our personalities in general – I don’t think you can compare that to anyone else out there and that comes across on the album.”
As for ‘In The Dark’ itself, the track is a typically steamy ode to the joys of a little bit of bump ‘n’ grind and has the potential to be another omnipresent feature in the clubs and on the airwaves.
Huw Thomas Tag Of The Day Dev
It’s been a busy year or so for Avicii. Already an in demand remixer who has taken on tracks by people like Tiësto and David Guetta, his first single (release under his Tim Berg pseudonym) ‘Seek Bromance’ announced him as an artist in his own right. Since then, he’s released more singles and undertaken a world tour, playing to massive crowds across Europe and the US. Along the way he also found time to be voted 2009’s Breakthrough DJ/Producer of the Year by French magazine OnlyForDJs. Not bad for a guy from Sweden who has only just passed his 22nd birthday
Listening to ‘Levels’, it’s fairly easy to see why Avicii has proved to be such a big live hit. It is unashamedly large, with acid-tinged squiggles gradually giving way to a euphoric house riff precision-tooled to get hands in the air. But this isn’t dance music by numbers, as evidenced by the quite unexpected vocal sample of Etta James’s ‘Something’s Got a Hold On Me’ that pops up around the three minute mark.
The love of classic samples is no accident. “I’ve always been into music and, growing up with older siblings, I’ve also had loads of different influences when it comes to my music taste,” he told Maxumi. “There are loads of other people that have influenced me but I think the biggest inspirations I’ve had aside from my manager has been the Swedish House Mafia guys and Eric Prydz, they were the ones who first got me into house!”
With his hectic touring schedule, it may be a little while until a full-length Avicii album emerges. Good job there’s enough meat on ‘Levels’ to tide you over till then.
Huw Thomas Tag Of The Day Avicii
On the first single from his forthcoming ‘Bigga Than Life’ album Birdman is bringing some big guns in as back up. ‘Y.U Mad’ sees adoptive son Lil’ Wayne and his Young Money signing Nicki Minaj step up to give their label boss some support, bringing some of their trademark lunacy with them.
To be fair, Birdman could be forgiven for resting on his laurels. Forbes recently named him in its list of the five wealthiest hip-hop artists, alongside Jay-Z and Diddy. As co-founder of Cash Money records, he’s been behind records as massive as Juvenile’s quadruple platinum ‘400 Degreez’, while as a performer his ‘Like Father, Like Son’ album with Lil’ Wayne topped the R&B and rap charts.
But you get the feeling that, no matter how much money he made, Birdman is always going to want more. “I was a young-un when I got my first million,” he told GQ. “Then I realized if I got one, I could get two. If I could get two, I could get ten. If I could get ten, I could get a hundred.”
The release of ‘Bigga Than Life’ on 22 November should help Birdman in his pursuit of ever larger profits. A packed list of guests including T-Pain, Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, Drake and even Lady Gaga will attract plenty of attention. In the meantime, the shuffling rhythms and insistent hooks of ‘Y.U. Mad’ should tide us over. Listen to ‘Y.U. Mad’ here.
Huw Thomas Tag Of The Day Birdman
Whatever your opinion of Auto-Tune, the robot voice technology that has spread through the pop world like a particularly aggressive virus, you can’t argue that it’s worked out pretty well for T-Pain. He’s topped the charts, bagged a stack of awards and had more guest appearances than The Tonight Show. Now the king of Auto-Tune is back, and this time he’s brought some friends.
As a chronicler of the mundane realities of British life, Lily Allen doesn’t seem like the most obvious collaborator, but her faintly deadpan vocals actually work pretty well with T-Pain’s electronic voicebox. In truth, it’s not a real collaboration, T-Pain sampling Lily’s verses from her song ‘Who’d Have Known’, but I can’t see that being a problem for many people. Chuck in a typically entertaining verse from Wiz Khalifa and you’ve got a pretty solid slice of Pain.
‘5 O’ Clock’ is a taster for upcoming fourth album ‘rEVOLVEr’, which also features a collaboration with singer Chris Brown. According to T-Pain the record has been in the can for a while and he’s merely waiting for the right moment to drop it. In 2010, he spoke to MTV saying, “I got the mastered version of my album in my car right now. But I’m not bringing my album out until these artists start selling records again, ’cause ain’t nobody selling records unless you Susan Boyle.”
Now that Susan Boyle’s chart dominance has abated, we can hopefully look forward to ‘rEVOLVEr’s release. However, a definitive date has yet to emerge with T-Pain stating on Twitter that the album would come out once he had accrued one million followers. A quick check reveals he’s currently at 590,818, so we may have a little while longer to wait.
Huw Thomas Tag Of The Day T-Pain
It’s hard to know what to make of Lana del Ray. In a reality, she’s 24-year old New Yorker called Lizzie Grant, a fan of hip-hop and a user of Facebook. But on ‘Video Games’ she sounds like an alternate reality Nancy Sinatra, broadcasting through time from decades in the past.
There’s a risk that this kind of thing can end up feeling too mannered, like someone playing dress up rather than expressing something genuine. In the wake of Winehouse, too many artists seem to think slapping a 60’s horn section onto a song suddenly makes it into a soul masterpiece. That’s not the case here.
With its dustily retro arrangements – all sonorous piano and plucked harps – and Lana’s remarkable voice hovering at the edge of heartbreak, it feels remarkably real. If this is an act, then it’s a convincing one.
Lana is currently working on an as yet untitled album, which promises more of the same. “The concept of almost every song on the record is a dark love story seen through hopeful eyes,” she told Flush The Fashion. “Lyrically its also about the way my life’s been for the past few years – from making my first record with famed producer David while living in a trailer park in New Jersey. It’s also about my troubled love affairs. Sonically, the record is a perfect mix of Old Hollywood Glamour and Pop production. Most songs are laced with lush Sinatra string sections.”
It seems inevitable that Lana del Ray is going to be massive very soon. Whether or not she can keep making songs as strange and affecting as ‘Video Games’ remains to be seen, but it’s going to be fun finding out.
Huw Thomas Tag Of The Day Lana del Ray
As unlikely comebacks go, Mazzy Star’s ‘Gears of War’ inspired burst into the limelight is pretty striking. That interest in the band’s beautifully sparse melodies would be prompted by a video game about steroid-enhanced soldiers messily eviscerating aliens with chainsaws is a development that genuinely beggars belief. But never mind the reasons, it’s great to have Mazzy Star back. Taken from the band’s 1993 album ‘So Tonight That I Might See’, ‘Into Dust’ is a pretty good introduction to the sound of Mazzy Star. Built around Hope Sandoval’s hushed vocals and the minimal, cyclical guitar of David Roback, it conjures up a genuinely otherworldly atmosphere, though one that is more ‘enchanted forest’ than ‘extraterrestrial bloodbath’.
Mazzy Star’s brand of gently shimmering, psychedelic Americana saw them become cult favourites during the 1990’s, their three albums even spawning the odd Hot 100 hit. However, following a tour to promote third record ‘Among My Swan’, the band quietly dropped from view.
“It seemed record companies wanted bands to be creative because they didn’t know how to manufacture underground music,” Sandoval later explained in a rare interview. “We could do our own thing and go at our own pace. But that changed when major labels started wanting bands that would sell seven million records. They had a formula. And suddenly all these people wanted to come to the studio to keep track of what we were doing and make sure we were following that formula. So we got out.”
Sandoval has since gone on to release music with her new band the Warm Inventions while Roback has written music for films. But there is good news for anyone who has had their interest in the band piqued by their recent exposure. Mazzy Star never officially split up and according to Sandoval ‘still exist’. Though no one has seen or heard it yet, a new record is rumoured to be on the way. It’s probably best not to hold your breath, but it’s nice to know we still have hope.
Huw Thomas Tag Of The Day Mazzy Star
