World Premiere: “Sponsor” – Teairra Mari (Feat. Gucci Mane & Soulja Boy Tell’Em)
Remember that hooch named Teairra Mari? She was signed to Roc-A-Fella (when it was still in existence), hailed as “the princess of the Roc”, only to release a slutty little one-hit entitled “Make Her Feel Good.” Yeah – well, she’s back, under new management, and making hilarious R&B worthy of Smoke & Mirrors sponsorship. You’ve got to give her credit for convincing her AA sponsor to pour liquor and throw dollars. The video’s just as much a joke as the song is. From the start, you can tell she’s still an amateur as she swivels around in a toe-up gold bustier jumpsuit mouthing the words to Gucci’s opening bars (and failing miserably). Then she’s seen dancing (again in a jumpsuit) in the backyard of what looks like a McMansion from TheReal Housewives of Atlanta. Her operatic flow is what puts her back on the map (ba-ba-ba-buy), but the video is what guarantees her place right back in the dollar bin. You’ve gotta love it. Ri-ri sure do.
Thank me later… Drake channels his inner Wayne (minus the hoarseness) on the Boi-1da produced first single to his eagerly-anticipated debut LP. “Over” isn’t what I was expecting, but, I can more than bet it’ll do. Just listen to the symphonic styling.Wish I could say it’s Drake at his best or even most triumphant, yet the track plays as if he were made to carry Weezy’s torch whilst under lock and key. Come on Drizzy… we want your So Far steez back! But, hey – everything’s kosher… I know it’s far from over.
Remember Harriet the Spy?
It was because of her that I carried around a marble composition notebook filled with secrets for an entire year of elementary school. 2010: Watch her lay things down Smoke & Mirrors style in the passenger seat of a van with Dawson’s Creek. (Yeah. You heard me right.)
With Sade sitting atop the album charts this week, it seems R&B may be creeping back to its prime (last time it was at its full peak was in the mid 90’s when Brandy and Monica’s “The Boy Is Mine” ruled the charts). Smoke & Mirrors favorite The-Dream continues the winning streak (perfecting his hit formula), releasing his latest single “Love King” today, off of his supposed last LP of the same title. He’s even declared four singles and four videos ready for release between now and the album’s street date (May 17). Sounds like the man’s been working ovetime since his Grammy snub. Get psyched!
Tribute: “It’s So Hard” – Big Pun (Feat. Donell Jones)
It was ten years ago today that rap superstar/family man/street prophecy/fashion icon, Christopher “Big Pun” Rios (a.k.a. Big Punisher), lost his battle against McDonald’s. He may have been the cat that just happened to pass away once B.I.G. and ‘Pac made it trendy, but alas, he did have some primo product of his own during TRL’s peak relevance (see: “Still Not A Player” and “How We Roll“). It was after his death, though, that his work helped put a face on South Bronx’s hip-hop scene (see: Terror Squad, Fat Joe, & Remy Ma) and ultimately helped it thrive into the mid-00’s (see: “What’s Love?” and “Lean Back“). His tribute video for “It’s So Hard” pretty much revolutionized the votive-holding vigil platform for the rest of hip-hop’s fallen to follow. I hope to have my own street mural in the Bronx when I die (only mine will be with a Swedish flag motif) solely because of Pun. Rest in peace, papi.
“I Am The Man” – B.o.B (Feat. OJ Da Juiceman & Bun B)
Atlanta native, Bobby Ray, has been generating buzz since signing with T.I.’s Grand Hustle Entertainment (of Warner Music Group) and releasing numerous mixtapes under the name ‘B.o.B.‘ in 2008. Now, he’s on the heels of wrapping up sessions for his debut album, B.o.B. presents The Adventures of Bobby Ray, due out May 25, 2010, and is getting the streets ready by leaking countless underground gems worth a listen… or ten. Especially “I Am The Man,” which samples Clooney’s twang wail from O Brother, Where Art Thou? and verses by OJ Da Juiceman and Bun B. With mentions of Tonka trucks and jumbo sized gumbos, it’s like a country boy’s dream come true (minus Taylor Swift).
The ever-popular prison tat goes high brow (literally) for Rihanna.
Luckily hers has a pull-away tab for when she realizes she looks foolish before 10pm. Wish the same could be said for Weezy’s.
World Premiere: “Up Out My Face (Remix)” -
Mariah Carey & Nicki Minaj
One of the best songs of last year (#18 to be exact) finally gets its remix and video treatment. With fellow Barbie girl (Nicki Minaj) in tow, Mariah lets all her skeptics know she’s smarter than them. The use of cascading words may be broke and campy, but she’s smart enough to use humor instead of cash in this recession. I guess you could say Mariah ultimately wins here, especially since she skimped on paying a director (she just asked her hubby) and, in turn, probably saved a bundle. Only question: about the color scheme…did Target sponsor?
I love that Riccardo Tisci’s new get-it-girlis Ciara. I mean, how Smoke & Mirrors is that?? Tisci debuted his spanking new Givenchy muse last night at a private cocktail party for the R&B star celebrating Couture Week in Paris. It’s just one of the many reasons I keep the line so close to my heart. WORK!
World Premiere: Enter The Magical Mystery Chambers –
Tom Caruana presents… Wu-Tang Clan vs. The Beatles
The Grey Album was so 00’s. DJ/Producer, Tom Caruana, took gritty 90’s Wu-capellas and macerated them skankily (or rather unrecognizably) with Liverpool’s own interviews, samples, and back-tracks to create a Blakroc-sounding 27 song mixtape. (Highlights include: “Run” and “Got Your Money”) The finished product is a start-to-finish listen that’ll rob your innocent eardrums of anything you’ve heard in the last month or so. Do you like it raw? Download the full mixtape or stream individual tracks here.
Song of the Day: “I Love You” – Chris Brown (Feat. Ester Dean)
Don’t get mad at me… I’m posting this unreleased bonus track (produced by Smoke & Mirrors fave Polow Da Don) from Chris Breezy’s latest LP ’cause the beat’s so good it’ll have you volunteering your time to fulfill his remaining community service hours. You heard me right. (And you’re correct, ’tis an accordion in the background.)
World Premiere: “Get Ya Money Up (Remix)” – Keri Hilson
(Feat. Nicki Minaj & Keyshia Cole)
Second up is Keri Hilson’s remix to the lackluster “Get Ya Money Up” off her disappointingly dull debut album, featuring production by Polow and meager verses by Keyshia and Trina. This time around she got smart and replaced Trina with Nicki, let Polow work his magic synths, and put Keyshia on a heavy vocoder. The result: a zig-zag femme anthem even the guys can fist pump to.
I just did a blog post on the Fatman …and a week later, he and DJ Class release their ‘10 version of Auld Lang Syne. I like to think it was due to this post that he decided to wish me a happy, healthy new year. Thanks Scoop!
World Premiere: “On To The Next One” – Jay-Z
(Feat. Swizz Beats)
If there’s one thing Lady Gaga’s done (well), it’s the way she’s brought high fashion to mainstream music’s forefront. It’s most evident in Hova’s latest video for the rambunctious “On To The Next One” in which whitewashed backdrops and crystal-encrusted skulls are lacquered in monochromatic paints, a Dazed-mag-ready model vogues atop a steep pile of blocks, and Swizzy swivels in a Keith Haring x Jeremy Scott moto-jacket. Here’s to hoping the Hov-endorsed spectacle will do more than Wintour’s Fashion’s Night Out in getting luxury back in gear. On to the next year!
My freshman year roommate, “Jimi James”, brought these babies to my attention. They’re Air Jordan heels! The second I saw them I couldn’t help but two-step to some old school Montell. They’re not official in any way, but, hell are they fly. Fly in a tacky-campy-Mariah Carey-uglier-than-sin kind of way. Speaking of MC, the diva commissioned a pair of Jordan heels for an NBA All-Star Game back in ‘03. I’d like to see a Pump or LA Gear version at some point. Calling Pierre Hardy! This is how you do it.
photos courtesy of the shoe game, nike-dealers, & freddyo
…Fatman Scoop that is. If you’ve ever heard an obnoxious call to action in the club, it’s probably him. He’s like hip-hop’s human alarm clock. The screaming radio DJ’s been filling floors since appearing on the scene in the late 1990’s (most notably working beside Crooklyn Clan, The Beatnuts, and Timbaland & Magoo) and hasn’t disappeared yet. His rough, loudcore persona has graced the Save The Last Dance (“Be Faithful”) and You Got Served soundtracks (“Drop”), a Mariah remix or two, and of course, Missy Elliott and Ciara’s hit, “Lose Control.” When Scoop asks you (or rather yells) to drop – you drop. ‘Cause we wouldn’t want to see the outcome had you not. Not with that voice.
His latest collaboration pits Baltimore’s favorite, DJ Class, against the Fatman’s hollers. Talk about a club banger. Below are a collection of his greatest hits.
World Premiere: “Skip To Ma Luu” – Serani (Feat. Ding Dong)
Wherever you are, wherever you’re from – this’ll getcha skippin’. If you’re going somewhere tropical for Xmas, this here track should be packed inside your carry-on for easy access. The joint’s been topping the charts in Kingston since it was released this past year. It has a 4 dollar video and stupid (amazing) dance to go with it. Surely, while it may sound like a novel little diddy here, it’s a national pastime there.
In this recession, the king of all excess has been very clear about his re-branding of sorts. He’s no longer a solo artist, is selling his fragrances via HSN, and has an avant-grade spread in the latest V Man on newsstands now. No longer is the shiny suit man churning out hits like he used to. He’s toned down his steez with the help of stylist Jay Massacret and photographer Chad Pittman. Love him or hate him, the hip-hop impresario’s changed the game in more ways than one (peep Shaun Boothe’s Diddy “Biography” freestyle below for a crash course). Will 2010 see Puff’s reemergence? Last Train To Paris drops this March.
I honestly didn’t favor T-Pain until I viewed this here video. (Alright, he’s always been alluring.) Petey Pablo’s “Raise Up” takes on a new meaning entirely when Mr. Autotune suggests his white frat friends take their shirts off for a step-off supporting Christian Charities. Bringing North Carolina to Tallahassee, FL, Teddy Pinder outdoes himself. How ridiculous can one get? Pack George Clinton, Rick Ross, an orange hearse, one BIG ASS CHAIN, and some Girls Gone Wild into one room and then give me a straight answer. J’adore MOB
Please, no.
Rumor is Kanye West’s doing a line for Fendi.
Is this what the recession has done to the luxury market? No me endorse.
(Word to Mr. West: Do what you do best and leave our jobs alone.)
The 2009 Grammy nominations have been released to the world. The worst awards show in the biz (second to the ESPY’s) announced their nods yesterday…and as always, they’re appalling. Best Rap Album – Flo Rida? (Really?) Best record – “I Gotta Feeling”? (Really?) And where’s The-Dream at? He wrote a third of the songs nominated, but Radio Killa’s got no nods of his own. Fukkouttahere!
My sophomore year of high school, I arrived to my place of work at the time (I only worked retail once – go figure) with cornrows. I was told to cover them up with a Von Dutch hat, that I was “scaring customers” or to leave work early. Sounds like discrimination now, but, at the time I was just afraid of getting my ‘rows ruffled. I had them done for homecoming so I wasn’t about to destroy them with a trucker hat. I concluded that my boss was a tool, didn’t take his advice, and was “relieved” of the position a week later. Reflecting back, it was one of the most defining moments of my teens.
The tanks are out. Vengeance is in motion. The little white boy that could is in control now. I’d like to go back today and see how things run now that Obama’s in charge. Have things changed? The Blog Made Me Do It, Vol. 1 is dedicated to all those who have doubted difference. Those who think one couldn’t live beyond his/her stereotypes. Those who halt potential with their tunnel visions. This one’s for you…and you…and you…
I’ve compiled a collection of the hardest-hitting tracks never before featured on the blog straight from hip-hop’s underground. Spanning the globe, from Prague to New Orleans, New York to Alabama, the mixtape boasts 24 cuts above the rest. A hood mentality fluxed by rock, pop, soul, techno, and punk: the set is bonafied bonkers. Call it that bullet through your chest music. Featuring artists you’ve heard of and unknowns soon to break, the mix is concocted to blow all the non-believers to the street. Get ready to detonate your subwoofers. Remember where you heard it first & njoi. (Click the link below to download the .zip file)
The Blog Made Me Do It, Vol. 1 – an MH mixtape
–stream (below) & download here–
A collection of tracks selected from across the globe never before featured on Smoke & Mirrors. There’s something from Prague (DJ Wich), Philly (Freeway), New York (B.I.G., Big Pun), N’Orleans (Juvenile), Alabama (G-Side, Rich Boy) and one from the Arkansas’ Forrest City Federal Prison (T.I.). If you have an imeem account you can sample some tracks (by clicking here) before the mix drops tomorrow.
Guaranteed the funkiest shit out.
Real rap. No filler.
The hottest posse in the game is back with the hottest cut of the year. “Microphone” is a lyrical gutting: Michael Myers, Freddie Krueger-type-shit.
Say hello to the hearses!
World Premiere: “I’mma Do It” – Fabolous (featuring Kobe)
One of the best rap songs of the year gets the video treatment. Fab’s “I’mma Do It” has a beat that sounds like an epileptic organ and a hook sung by a crazy person. The rapper’s laissez faire flow has never sounded so ferocious. Even the feds are after him. Be sure to check out F-A-B-O at The Fillmore at Irving Plaza on December 12th. Remember when…
Janet is back, this time breaking it down in the hottest of 2010 fashions for her latest video “Make Me.” The dancing is flawless, the set is futuristic (the sister ship to Scream perhaps?), and the song’s one of her freshest yet. Todd Lynn must be a very happy man. I’m sure smiling.
This is too cool. I’ve seen this done in the U.K. for Beyonce, but…Janet? It seems in honor of this week’s Number Ones album release, Flash Mob America took over The Grove in Los Angeles for an unexpected afternoon shopping dance break to induce some shock. P.S. The results for all-time favorite Janet song are in. You chose the 2001 smash “All For You.”
Got to support my people! Cheers to primo pop music! The Swedes have been popping off real hard lately – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and now O’Spada.The only condonable hipster music around comes from the homeland. No pun intended.Skål!
World Premiere: “Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart” – Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys is unarguably one of the few hitmakers of our generation. Even my mommy knows that. She hasn’t sounded her best since her debut album and hasn’t found her peak since (in my opinion) “You Don’t Know My Name.” But, that could all change. Her latest single release, “Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart,” finds Keys giving in to the years of inevitable Stevie Wonder comparisons with melodic 80’s sounding synths and love-letter lyrics. Glad she lost the braids, or…
World Premiere: “I Go Off” – Beanie Sigel (Featuring 50 Cent)
The wack rap ringtone killa, Beanie Sigel, is currently in a between-label limbo involving two of rap’s heaviest hitters: 50 Cent and Jay-Z. On the new street single, “I Go Off,” 50 does hook duty while Beanie shows Jay what he’s missing by dropping the Roc alum from his new venture. 50 takes on Hova at the track’s close claiming he’s forgotten his Marcy upbringing to become a pass the Grey Poupon elitist. The battle begins…
World Premiere: “Pat Your Weave” – UCB
(Featuring Wale)
You’d think I just got back from (visiting the O’s in) the capitol, the way I’ve been on a D.C. roll lately. With all the representation on the blog recently you’d think I knew the mayor. Having posted Amerie and U.S. Royalty, today premiering Wale and UCB’s video for go-go anthem, “Pat Your Weave” – I can’t say it’s political. Wale’s debut drops tomorrow.
World Premiere: “Shakin’ It For Daddy” – Robin Thicke
(Featuring Nicki Minaj & Ester Dean)
There’s been a bit of a blue-eyed soul shortage on the airwaves as of late. Justin Bieber just ain’t cuttin’ it! Thank god Thicke’s back with the Polow-produced whisper-popper, “Shakin’ It For Daddy,” featuring rapper of the moment Nicki Minaj. Cowabunga!
Amerie’s never had the best voice. But, she’s got the production to help you forget. The fact that she’s a softy vocally can make her either sound organic or pitchy. Rich Harrison took her strained soprano and placed it above big band D.C. drumkicks to make “1 Thing” her biggest hit to date. On her latest effort [In Love and War], the underrated songstress scraps the ballads to build bulk with what put her on the map in the first place – that big bang. Fueled in part by live guitar backgrounds and heavy percussion, “Dangerous” and “Higher” are unquestionably two of the best R&B tracks of the year. Amerie’s lacking vocals just make them feel that much more real.
In anticipation of Janet’s follow-up to greatest hits compilation, Design of a Decade, entitled Number Ones (featuring the new single “Make Me”, hitting stores and the web November 17th); Smoke & Mirrors wants to know your favorite Janet hit. Take the poll below. Results will be posted the day of the album release.
World Premiere: “Empire State of Mind” – Jay-Z (Feat. Alicia Keys)
It would be wrong as a New Yorker and a hip-hop fan not to post this vid. I must admit, watching Hov and Keys open game 2 of the World Series made me reconsider hating BP3…and baseball.
Producers Cool & Dre have concocted Game’s latest beat out of what sounds like a growling old modem and a couple of handclaps. Sounding like something out of a Michael Mann movie, it more than works. It’s funny that while Game is on his ill-received Hova diss campaign, he hops atop a bigger beat than anything on BP3. While you wait for Detox, let this mothafucka bump. The R.E.D. Album drops December 8, 2009.
World Premiere: “Echo” – R.Kelly
Kells takes on Jewel and Julie Andrews in his latest tune “Echo” off the upcoming Untitled album. Don’t think the von Trapp family will be taking this on their next tour of Austria. But perhaps the von Trapstarz will.
photo courtesy of colette
Miss Janet in Todd Lynn
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