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.
We hate to say we told you so, but when we tipped Nicki Minaj for the top back in 2009 we weren’t wrong. Since then she has consolidated herself as the most exciting hip-hop artist of her generation, forging an instantly recognisable identity and dropping one of the decade’s most mind blowing verses on Kanye West’s ‘Monster’.
However, even though her debut album delivered plenty of hit singles ‘Pink Friday’ still felt like a bit of a disappointment. Tracks like the Will.i.am produced ‘Check It Out’ felt brazenly commercial and lacked a spark of originality. More underground efforts such as ‘Did It On ‘Em’ saw Minaj deliver her most exciting rhymes, but were short of the hooks to gain support of radio. ‘Super Bass’ looks like it’s ready to right these wrongs. Originally included as a bonus track on the deluxe version of ‘Pink Friday’, ‘Super Bass’ is clearly aimed at the pop charts but also sees Minaj in top lyrical form. Featuring a catchy top line from Ester Dean, noted for collabs with Chris Brown and Katy Perry, the track is sugary enough for the masses but respectable enough to become a guilty pleasure for hardcore hip hoppers. The quick tempo and rumbling bottom end give a nod to 80’s Miami-Bass, not surprising given the track’s title and Minaj’s propensity for ultra fast vocal flows.
You can check out the video for ‘Super Bass’ here.
In a recent interview with Shazam David Guetta said he was hoping his new single would get to number one in our charts. Well, his wish as come true as ‘Where Them Girls At’ takes the top spot in our Shazam New Release Chart USA this week.
TW
Artist
Title
Release Date
1
David Guetta Feat Flo Rida & Nicki Minaj
Where Them Girls At
02 May 2011
2
Britney Spears Feat. Nicki Minaj & Ke$ha
Till The World Ends
22 May 2011
3
Kelly Rowland Feat. Lil Wayne
Motivation
12 April 2011
4
Beyonce
Run The World
21 April 2011
5
Lady Gaga
Judas
15 April 2011
6
Luke Bryan
Country Girl
15 April 2011
7
Don Omar Feat Busta Rhymes & Reek da Villian & J-Doe
With sales of 15 million plus David Guetta’s undoubtedly the world’s most sought after producer. The driving force behind the current swathe of chart topping electro influenced R&B, Guetta’s music has helped a huge array of artists to the top of the charts. With a list of collaborators that includes The Black Eyed Peas, Flo Rida, Kelly Rowland, Rihanna, Akon, Madonna – Guetta’s productions credits read like a who’s who of pop. Guetta’s also a huge star in his own right. One of the planet’s most successful DJ’s, his own records have been some of the most pop records of the last decade with tracks like ‘When Love Takes Over’ and ‘Who’s That Chick?’ just two of his many platinum singles. We caught up with Guetta to talk about his forthcoming album, his next single with Nicki Minaj and why his relationship with Will.i.am is purely platonic.
Your new album is on the way, what can we expect?
Well the album is really far from being finished so I can’t really speak about it yet. The album is due in September. But I have my new record, ‘Where Them Girls At’, hopefully that’ll be number one on Shazam. That’s coming out on the radio on Monday and on iTunes at the end of the month (in the UK – a little before in some other countries). That’s really exciting. Nicki Minaj is one of my favorite artists on the planet right now so that’s really exciting: Flo Rida, of course, we had a number one record before.
The only artist to claim two tracks in our countdown of the year, ‘Monster’ is another highlight from KanYe West’s staggering ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’. On this track Yeezy enlists the help of some of hip hop’s most powerful illuminate, with Jay-Z, Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj all contributing verses. Surprisingly Bon Iver also lends his vocal to the track; the unlikely pair became friends after West was introduced to the folk troubadour’s track ‘Woods’ by Ed Banger boss Pedro Winter. Despite the plethora of talent on display, the tracks finest moment belongs to Nicki Minaj. The fast rising female rapper’s schizophrenic bars completely steal the show; giving us enough reason to see past her lacklustre debut album ‘Pink Friday’ - let’s just hope KanYe is free to produce her follow up LP.
After West’s infamous stage invasion at the VMA’s, where he interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech, there was only one way KanYe could win back his credibility. Despite inspiring one of the most amusing blogs of the year, West simply had to deliver the goods in order to put the episode behind him. Thankfully his fifth album stands up as one of the strongest of 2010, topping polls from such tastemakers as Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Spin, Stereogum and MTV. The video for the track is set to debut on Christmas day and certainly looks likely to live up to the ‘Monster’ title. Check out the ghoul filled preview above.
Nicki Minaj claims her first solo number one in the Shazam New Release Chart USA after guest starring on just about every big urban hit of the last 6 months.
TW
Artist
Title
Release Date
1
Nicki Minaj
Right Through Me
24 September 2010
2
Willow Smith
Whip My Hair
21 September 2010
3
KanYe West Feat. Rick Ro$$ & Jay-Z & Bon Iver & Nicki Minaj
Gyptian’s ‘Hold You’ is perhaps the most unexpected cross over hit of 2010. Following in the steps of Wayne Wonder’s ‘No Letting Go’, ‘Hold You’ is a genuine reggae anthem that’s been naturally gaining momentum over the past year. It’s probably one of the most potent sleeper hits of the year and has even started to register on the mainstream charts; peaking at number 77 in the Billboard Hot 100. The track has the ultimate seal of urban approval: a remix featuring Nicki Minaj, an artist who seems to have thrust her way on to almost every successful R&B Hip Hop song of the last eight months.
Gyptian’s commercial success has not come over night. Much like Wayne Wonder, Shaggy or even Shabba Ranks, Gyptian worked for years on Jamaica’s competitive dee jay scene before coming to the attention of American radio – notching up local hits and two relatively successful roots reggae albums.
Much like in the US, ‘Hold You’ has been bubbling under in Britain for some time gaining almost constant rotation on specialist urban shows and BBC 1Xtra. The track now looks to be getting a huge shove into the charts thanks to certified hit makers of Ministry Of Sound. With a full British release penned in for next month, Gyptian is sure to be shimming up the UK charts at a rate of knots.
While there’s no denying being the offspring of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith has given her a slight lift over other performers her age, Willow Smith is proving to be fully deserving of the praise she’s receiving. It appears young Willow is following in her parent’s footsteps with aplomb. After making her acting debut in ‘I Am Legend’ back in 2007, Willow appeared in a number of onscreen roles before announcing she would be embarking on a recording career. While the road of actors turned singers is littered with unfortunate causalities – as anyone who’s braved a listen of Steve Seagal’s recorded output would attest – it seems Willow has inherited her Father’s versatility to turn her hand to both worlds successfully.
‘Whip My Hair’ is an all out R&B swagger anthem that could easily have come from Rihanna or Nicki Minaj – in fact Minaj appears on a blog friendly remix of the track. With a cheeky nod to Devo’s ‘Whip It’, ‘Whip My Hair’ may prove to be one of the most surprising tracks of the year. It’s certainly made an impression on Hip-Hop’s biggest star Jay-Z - who has signed Smith to his label, Roc-Nation. The track is currently streaming from her website: head here to check it out.
