11 February 2010
By Lyov
In R&B, Soul
Ollusion
Omarion’s first two solo albums topped the R&B and Billboard 200 charts, so it is a little surprising that he took over three years to release his third. The singer wasn’t twiddling his thumbs, though. He recorded 2007’s Face Off with Bow Wow — promoted by a BET special titled The Road to Platinum, it went gold — and continued his side career in films and on television. After a brief association with Lil Wayne’s Young Money label, Omarion linked with EMI and established his StarWorld label for Ollusion, an album that thrives on sparse, tickling productions that are more about atmosphere than anything else. Clusters of synthetic handclaps, snares, and other slivers of percussion, along with impressionist-like use of keyboards and piano, are more prominent than busy and slick, heavily layered arrangements anchored by heavy kick drums and blasting bass. Almost all of these beats would be classified as snapping, slapping, or smacking before banging, flecked with details yet simultaneously somewhat half-assed-sounding. ...
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Hip-Hop, Ollusion, omarion, Pop, rnb
08 February 2010
By Lyov
In R&B, Soul
Revolution
Usher Raymond IV (born October 14, 1978 in Dallas, Texas), known simply as Usher, is a Grammy Award winning American R&B singer-songwriter, producer and actor. He rose to fame in the late 90s, releasing the multi-platinum albums My Way and 8701. His success continued with the release of his 2004 album, Confessions, which has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, and earned Usher four American Music Awards and eight Grammy nominations. His latest album Here I Stand, released in May 2008, reached #1 on the Billboard 200 and has currently sold over 2 million copies worldwide....
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Hip-Hop, Pop, rap, Revolution, rnb, Soul, Usher
31 January 2010
By Lyov
In Soul
Kings Ballad
“King’s Ballad is a celebration of creativity and uniqueness, things that are necessary to a meaningful life expression. It’s about being yourself,” Georgia Anne Muldrow.Slicing pop n’lock-friendly funk with gospel and gracious soul Georgia Anne Muldrow is shining as a true West Coast original. The seeds of early experimental releases are now blossoming as her trademark scattershot beats and adventurous deep jazz melodies have grown to become the backbone for fully crafted songs....
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Funk, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Hip-Hop, Kings Ballad, Soul, stones throw, underground hip-hop
21 January 2010
By Lyov
In Lounge, Rap & Hip-Hop
U Can’t Lurn Imaginashun
Hip-hop’s influence spread far and wide during the ’80s, as witnessed by the growth of the international scene during the following decade. Standing beside brilliant DJs from Japan (Krush) and France (Cam), Russia’s DJ Vadim has proved to be the most popular advocate of hip-hop to come out of the former Soviet bloc, triggered mostly by the fact that he moved to Britain early in life. Upon arrival, he set up his own Jazz Fudge Records later that year to issue a demo he called Derelicts of Conformity (by Son of Seth). He finally released the recordings early in 1995, as DJ Vadim’s Abstract Hallucinating Gases EP. Britain’s top hip-hop and acid jazz DJs began playing the record and, after being scouted by several labels, Vadim signed a contract with Ninja Tune. Several EPs released during 1995-1996 showed him to be quite an experimentalist, working heavily with static and noise, never content to let his ideas meander past the two- or three-minute point. His first LP, U.S.S.R. Repertoire (The Theory of Verticality), was released in late 1996....
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DJ Vadim, Electronic, Hip-Hop, ninja tune, trip-hop, turntablism, U Can't Lurn Imaginashun
10 January 2010
By Lyov
In Jazz
Louis Armstrong Remixed
Picking right up where he left off with his Miles Remixed project, The Apple Juice Kid tackles another legend with Beautiful Warriors 2: Louis Armstrong Remixed. The project is a collaboration between AJK and Battalion Armour. Battalion Armour put together a series of six holiday videos featuring six women from six ethnic backgrounds posing to Louis Armstrong, remixed by Apple Juice Kid. The vids are semi-nude and a little racy (check them here). Says Battalion Armour of the project: “I chose Louis Armstrong to provide the soundtrack to the Beautiful Warriors for the whimsical nature of his music and its ability to bridge cultural boundaries with expressions of love. It takes a special type of sound to create the right mood for this ethnically diverse cast of women. The only producer who could give Louis’ music a new twist while respecting the perfection was Apple Juice Kid, who I first met while creating a video for his critically acclaimed Miles Davis Remix album.” For AJK’s jazz meets hip-hop soundtrack in full, follow me after the jump....
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Apple Juice Kid, Hip-Hop, hiphop, Jazz, Louis Armstrong Remixed, Miles Davis, turntablism
22 December 2009
By Lyov
In R&B, Soul
Stronger WithEach Tear
The album was initially titled Stronger after the song, “Stronger” which Blige recorded and released as the lead single from the soundtrack Music Inspired by More Than a Game from the LeBron James’ documentary More Than a Game. However Rap-Up later revealed that the album had been retitled Stronger with Each Tear.The reason for the renaming of the album is suspected that the lead single “Stronger” failing to make an impact on the charts. According to HMV Group’s listing for the album, the song will not be included on the album. The song “Each Tear” replaced “Stronger” and the album was retitled Stronger with Each Tear....
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female vocalists, Hip-Hop, Mary J. Blige, rnb, Soul, Stronger WithEach Tear, Urban
21 December 2009
By Lyov
In Rap & Hip-Hop
Merry Go Round
From the moment the polished Merry Go Round kicks in, it’s DJ O.G. Styles dominating the proceedings with his squiggly sounding scratches, Spanish guitar loops, and tinkling piano samples, which overshadow rappers Ives and Kimo’s decent but undistinguished rhyming. The album’s other rising star is Michelle, a Latin siren who appears on three songs singing mostly in Spanish. There are no shortage of strictly West Coast, cruising-with-the-top-down-passing-a-fatty-type tunes like “Boulevard Star” and “Return of the Tres.” Thankfully, Delinquent Habits don’t overdo it with the pot references, which is about as tired a subject in Latin rap as shootin’ and killin’ folks is in mainstream rap. The Habits’ lyrics are also extremely laid-back and free of any reference to gangs and violence, except when they occasionally dis that whole scene. In fact, the majority of Merry Go Round sounds very phat indeed. Perhaps there is a radio programmer out there willing to take a chance and reach out to rap radio’s huge Latino audience, but, regardless, Delinquent Habits have fashioned the finest melding of hip-hop and Latin grooves to date....
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Delinquent Habits, Hip-Hop, latin, latin hip hop, Merry Go Round, rap
Jaune Toujours Kolektiv
Gipsy Kings
Alesha Dixon
Jason Mraz
My Blueberry Nights
