Can we talk about the songs I’ve been feeling? K good.
With ‘Damn Daniel’ references and mentions of his ‘gorgeous’ paper trail mixed with some King Push, how can you not like ‘Drug Dealers Anonymous’? The song is the first single off of Pusha T’s upcoming album King Push. And if Jay is featured on one more song and we don’t get a new Hov project, I’m gonna lose it.
Yassss. I am so down for a RiRi remix, especially when it’s a song from her last album (and one of my favorites) ANTI. With a dance floor beat (again, my fave), KAYTRANADA gives Rihanna’s ‘Kiss It Better’ a makeover. Why I like this? Well, one it’s Rihanna and two because it puts a more upbeat spin on the song.
Now for this selection, I probably wouldn’t normally highlight a Wale track, but any man who can hit a falsetto (aka Eric Bellinger), I’m down for the get down. The ‘Spare Time (Remix)’ is one I definitely bump in my car. While a rare pairing for a remix, I think it works well – it’s good in an unexpected way!
And for the grand finale, no it’s not an entire Travi$ Scott project which we thought we were going to get, we do have a new song featuring Young Thug and Quavo. It’s lit! Thank you to the plug for sending this my way. I just can’t get enough of Travy. Pick up the phone here.
UPDATE 10:49PM PST: Webster Hall just tweeted, “There is no late show at Webster Hall tonight. Please get home safely.” Nooooooo! Aka the spot where Ye was supposed to have a concert. Will he have a block party instead? Hmm…
UPDATE 10:23PM PST: And we’re done, yinz! Unfortunately, Future was turned away from the radio station (I can’t wait to read more about this tomorrow), so DJ Khaled closed out the show. His night pretty much full circle – what and who he opened with at Beyonce’s Formation Tour earlier in the night in Philly, he brought them out again to close out Summer Jam. #movie. And Kanye pop-up show update – that sold out in MINUTES. A 2AM show.
UPDATE 10:18PM PST: Ty Dolla $ign! Thank you, Khaled! And we also have a tweet from Future that says “Radio station told me to leave…major pump fake.” Come again?
UPDATE 10:07PM PST: Khaled brought out Yo Gotti and now O.T. Genasis. It’s a movie right now!! And Bustaaaaa Rhymes!!!
UPDATE 10:02PM PST: Khaled brings out Rick Ross to do some throw backs plus one of my favorites ‘Pop That.’ And a Kanye concert update – SOLD OUT. Hate him all you want, but he makes move and knows what his fans want.
UPDATE 9:38PM PST: We back! A$AP Rocky has taken the stage and said he doesn’t care about ‘no lights or no fights,’ so it’s poppin!
UPDATE 9:17PM PST: Now people are saying there was no shooting. Regardless, a brawl over I’m sure NOTHING is uncalled for. Is Summer Jam over or nah? I thought Future was supposed to perform!
Okay – scary update. A brawl started on the main floor and Twitter is updating with a potential shooting. I don’t even like mentioning this type of stuff on my blog. Ugh. Hopefully that second part isn’t true!! Some people are the worst. The live stream tapped out…
Impromptu concert alert! Supposedly Kanye will be performing The Life of Pablo at 2AM EST in Manhattan.. can someone fly me in though?! But seriously. Keep checking californyinz for updates!
What I’ve seen so far thanks to live streaming. Praise technology. I’m currently sitting in my room, sipping on wine, painting my nails, and watching the show. Props to Kylie and Christian for being there – FOMO!
Main | That performance was awful. And I’m not one to completely be turned off from a set, especially a rap one. But for this I actually muted it. Next.
GOOD Music | Desiigner was on one, Ye messed up most of his own words (he admitted it and lol’ed). Respeck. And Desiigner brought out all the dance moves. I mean, how cool is it for him, this up-and-coming rapper, to be performing with I’m sure who are all of his idols?! 2 Chainz, Kanye, Pusha T, Big Sean… I can’t!
Bryson Tiller | I could watch and listen to him perform all the time. He opened his set with “502 Come Up,” which is one of my favorites. You just get the most chill vibe from him but all 60,000 people in attendance were vibing out so hard to him. And that dude who I didn’t recognize at first – that would be Fabolous. Epic. Then Tiller took a moment to talk about how amazed he is he’s performing at Summer Jam in front of 60,000 people, and that the advice he was given was that it would take one song to get him to this point. That one song being “Don’t.” The motivation is too real!
Okay, Fat Joe and Remy Ma just took the stage. More updates as this ish continues on…
We don’t have the mastered version yet, but pleaseeeee listen to this right now. It features Quavo, Travis Scott, Desiigner, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, Yo Gotti, and Gucci Mane.
I promise you I tweeted the other day that Ye was working on new music for Cruel Winter, and I’m so excited.
Listen below. PS I love Big Sean’s verse, per usual.
…is LIT right now. I don’t have personal access to any video content, but definitely follow me on Twitter (@ergense) to see all the RTs and just Tweets in general about this epic night.
The lineup of artists who have performed thus far are Jay Z, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Ty Dolla $ign, French Montana, Rick Ross, a Notorious tribute, and way more!
This is incredible, and I salute Puff for his commitment and hard work throughout all these years. His music takes me back to when I was younger and first started listening to hip-hop and R&B!
Amazing.
Okay, enough with me rambling. Tune in to my Snaps and Tweets as I’ll be reporting live from the couch.
Oh MAY gawwwd. How is it the middle of May already?!
This week’s Serge’s Selections include lots of tours:
dvsn Announces ‘Debut Tour 2016’
Okay, why am I JUST finding out this Canadian duo is opening for Drake and Future on their ‘Summer Sixteen Tour’? Any who. They are if you weren’t aware either. Needless to say I’m pretty excited they’re going on a solo tour. I will more than likely look into tickets. dvsn will be stopping in LA June 13. Not sure where yet or how much tickets are, but they will go on sale this Friday.
Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour
Okay, talk about a MOVIE. Days away from Diddy’s 20th Bad Boy Reunion Anniversary this Friday in Brooklyn, Puff announced this morning the first-ever ‘Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour,’ and I have to be there. French Montana, Lil’ Kim, Ma$e, Faith Evans, 112, and more will be joining Diddy on the tour, and it will basically be reliving my hip-hop youth. I actually had the privilege of seeing this reunion come together last year at the BET Awards, and wow, it was honestly amazing.
Tickets go on sale this Friday the 20, again the same day as the reunion anniversary. The camp will be stopping in LA on October 4 at The Forum. Lit.
Sia Announces ‘Nostalgic for the Present Tour’ with Miguel
Another, majorrr tour alert. Sia, who I’ve never seen and probably someone you wouldn’t peg me to see, is going on her first tour in five years and the talented Miguel will be opening. What’s even more epic about this tour is that they will be performing at the Hollywood Bowl. But joke’s on me because I won’t even be in LA for this. I’ll be in New York with Mr. Chaddy! Yayyyy. But anyways, for those who plan on seeing her, tickets go on sale this Friday at 10am.
Okay well what new music did I miss this week besides everything? Honest even.
Let’s do a quick recap:
Chance the Rapper | Coloring Book The Chi-Town native released his highly-anticipated album Coloring Book with features from Future, 2 Chainz, the Biebs, Jeremih, Lil Yachty, and more. I listened to it last night, just a few hours after it dropped, and I really liked it. I have to admit that I couldn’t even tell you the name of Chance’s last album title but with the hype surrounding Coloring Book, I had to give it a listen. I was not disappointed. That first track with the Ye feature. Chi-Town repping! Amaze.
It debuted on Apple Music – yinz should really invest in that streaming service – and I once again attempted to embed the code into WP for you to listen, but the music isn’t showing when I hit ‘preview’! It shows in this current draft version. What good does that do? Anyway, head on over to Rap-Up to stream Coloring Book.
Post Malone | August 26 Okay, now this is another project I personally wasn’t anticipating that much but gave it a listen on my way to work this morning, and I REALLY enjoyed it. The tape includes features from 2 Chainz, Lil Yachty, Jeremih, and more. Pause. These freaking people were on Chance’s album. Were they all in the same city at the same time recording both projects? Was this just by chance (the rapper)? This and Coloring Book also dropped the same night. Mind. Blown.
He still hasn’t released his debut album or even a date yet, although many speculate the title of this mixtape is the drop date, we don’t have any confirmed details just yet! But anyways definitely stream Post Malone’s mixtape on datpiff.com here.
Now just going to throw some heat your way:
ScHoolboy Q ft. Kanye West – ‘That Part’
Listen here! Just a heads-up, Kanye’s verse is a bit over the top, per usual.
Wiz Khalifa x Juicy J – All Night
We back with that #californyinz sound. This is a NSFW song so please don’t listen at work or around your parents. It bangs though!
Alright, I’m a few glasses of wine deep on this Friday night, so let me wrap this up, publish, and probably go to bed.
I feel like I haven’t posted anything in EONS. The last time was what, RiRi’s concert review? Unacceptable! But I’m back now and definitely off of a good note because…
THE PENS WON…
…and are advancing to the next round of the Stanley Cup playoffs! Major #californyinz moment. What does this have to do with California? Well, I’m here, duh. Anyways. Super pumped we beat the Capitals!
Now back to the culture and hip-hop. What have I missed?
Most recently, we were gifted with the (weird) music video for Desiigner’s banger ‘Panda’ with a cameo from Mr. Kanye West himself. Watch the loopy video below and you’ll catch Kanye towards the end. Since it’s a TIDAL exclusive, I unfortunately cannot embed the video into this post, so you’ll just have to watch here on Rap-Up.
Can’t forget about Drizzy Drake!
His hit ‘One Dance’ TOPS (aka No.1) Billboard Hot 100. That’s major! This is his first as a lead artist. Props, props. What was a close one last time? ‘Hotline Bling’ came in at No. 2. Big moves for the boy.
Drake is set to appear on ‘The Tonight Show’ Thursday, SNL (serve as the host and musical guest) this Saturday, and then to return to ‘Ellen’ on May 18. *sets DVR* Watch the hilarious and creative promo vid for the Ellen show appearance below!
And I want to share this just because Kendrick is not only one of my favorites but his content more times than not gives off good vibes only. The 30-second spot was shot in a California mansion and features Kendrick sporting his Reebok Classics. Watch and listen to his words in the newest Reebok commercial below.
I must say that as I’m writing this and yes I had a great time at her show on Tuesday, I’m a little upset because Drake appeared at her Wednesday show. Both shows in LA. Both shows at The Forum. Why Universe why. It’s okay – moving on.
All feelings aside, Rihanna put on an AMAZING show. I have never been to one of her tours and have never really seen her perform more than one or two songs other than at awards shows, so this was a dang treat. From lights to backup dancers (hello, they were amazing) to stage setup to RiRi’s dancing and overall stage presence, she did not disappoint.
But before we lead into her set, we absolutely cannot forget about Mr. Travis Scott. I have actually never seen him perform EVER, so I was probably more excited at the start to see him.
His set list included:
A-Team
Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1 (TLOP)
90210
Pray 4 Love (which he dedicated to Tupac’s mom who passed away on 5/3)
Bake Sale
Wonderful Life
Whole Lotta Lovin’
Antidote*
*As if this song isn’t popular and lit enough, he took things to the next level. Literally. Travis exited the stage and freaking scaled The Forum stairs to THE NOSEBLEEDS (where I was sitting) but alas to the opposite side. #thxUniverse He then handed the microphone to a fan who proceeded to rap the remainder of the song. You’ll see in my Snap compilation below that Travis was quite impressed. So dope. Trav lives for the fans for real. Example: fans in the front row were rolling up trying to smoke, security threatened to kick them out, but Travis stood up for them and told security to not kick them out because this is the ANTI Tour. More specifically, “This is the ANTI World Tour, so we might be anti security.” HA. But all in all, great performance by him. I really hope he goes on a solo tour. I’ll be buying tickets for sure.
Back to RiRi.
I think she has become the Queen of Cool. Honest even. Everything she did. From her entrance to the stage to walking back and forth to the microphone… EVERYTHING WAS COOL. She is also one for the fans, and that’s another reason why I like her so much. And she can sing! Many think she can’t, but the girl can hold a note. Listen to ‘Love on the Brain’ off of ANTI, and your mind will be blown.
Her setlist included:
Stay
Love the Way You Lie
Woo
Sex With Me
Birthday
Pour It Up
Numb
Bitch Better Have My Money
Consideration
Live Your Life
Run This Town
All of the Lights
Desperado
Man Down
Rude Boy
Work
Take Care
We Found Love
Where Have You Been
Needed Me
Same Ol’ Mistakes
Diamonds
She then took the time to thank every helping hand involved with the show – much appreciated.
FourFiveSeconds
Love on the Brain
Kiss It Better
I had high expectations for a Rihanna concert, and she delivered. No, she didn’t deliver, she SERVED. It’s safe to say I will be attending more RiRi tours in the future.
For those of you who just scrolled to the bottom because this post is long AF, watch my Snap Story below!
Hey yinz! So yesterday, I finally listened to Drake’s new album, Views, and let’s just say I thoroughly enjoyed it. While reading my review, keep in mind that I was typing this as I listened, so it may not be proper grammar and may read a little choppy. My thoughts truly go in order of not only the album but even more specifically from the start of one song to its end.
And if you want more of a visual review, check out my YouTube video compiled from Snapchat yesterday! Follow meeeee (@ergense).
‘Keep the Family Close’ Starting off with singing, nice. Voice sounds refreshing. And a very interesting and somewhat different overall sound – I dig it. ‘Out here in la, i don’t know what’s going on.’ Half the time I don’t know either. JK, JK. It’s a slower start to the album – sort of like ‘Over My Dead Body’ in the start of Take Care. And I love the drum addition.
‘9’ There’s that Drake-40 sound we all know – that distinct drum sound and beat in the background. ‘And I turn the 6 upside down, that’s a 9 now.’ I can definitely vibe out to this track.
‘U With Me?’ Nice transition from ‘9’. DMX sample – yes. I for real used to listen to ‘X Gon’ Give It To Ya’ ALL the time when I was younger. This song has some Take Care-NWTS vibes for sure. The background drum reminds me of a slower version of ‘Wu-Tang Forever’ from NWTS.
‘Feel No Ways’ Sounds like a Majid Jordan track – that underwater-vibey sound. I like this A LOT. Love the ending with those beat skips and the fade out.
‘Hype’ Any song that is called ‘hype,’ I’m probably going to like it. ‘You cannot be here right next to me, don’t you see RiRi right next to me.’ Definitely has a ‘Worst Behavior’ vibe to it. Then slows down around 1:30… 1:37 then we’re back to being ‘hype.’ Seriously, all of Drake’s songs have such a distinct sound, and I love it.
‘Weston Road Flows’ Another smooth transition into this track. Vibe HARD on this one. ’40 the only who know how I deal with the pressure.’ ‘Your best day is my worst day.’ ‘I’m happiest when I can buy what I want. Me too, dude.
‘Redemption’ Some ‘Marvin’s Room’ ish right here. This is the emotional Drake for sure. I probably wouldn’t listen to this song on the reg, but definitely when I’m feeling somber or on a rainy day. Okay, here we go – the last two minutes have provided redemption for this song. ‘Since Take Care, I been care takin’.’
‘With You ft. PARTYNEXTDOOR’ Loving this opening beat. If I just heard this not from Views, I don’t think I’d pin it as a Drake song and even more so that PND opens it. Listening to this makes me want to listen to PND way more. So talented and great vibes. I also realize I say ‘vibes’ A LOT. This track is like a pre-game before the pre-game song.
‘Faithful ft. Pimp C & dvsn’ Got that Pimp C sample on this one and the very talented Canadian duo that is dvsn. Starts out hard, not like Drizzy. Dig the rhythm – much more Drake sounding. ‘Let’s do the things that we say on text.’ I see you, Drizzy. I feel like this track sounds a bit like another one I previously heard on Views. I can’t think of which one since it’s my first listen but it sounds familiar. dvsn though – if you don’t listen to them, you should. Very good addition to this song and album in general. Okay, I hear YOU, dvsn. Yassss.
‘Still Here’ Okay, this is the song I needed. ‘I don’t need no pill to speak my mind.’ Me either. ‘You not from the city I can tell.’ ‘Did it, did it by myself.’ This song 100% speaks to me. And again with that 40 sound.
‘Controlla’ We’ve all heard this song before, and I think it fits the overall sound of the album pretty well. I actually forgot about ‘Controlla,’ and it is more of a crowd pleaser so I’m glad it’s on here. The last minute is probably my favorite, besides the main chorus. From his lyrics to the ending sound – good work.
‘One Dance ft. Wizkid & Kyla’ Now we allllllllll know this track. For some reason I didn’t think this would be on the album. But it fits nicely right after ‘Controlla.’ We can put this song with ‘Hotline Bling’ in terms of many people liking it – not just Drake or hip-hop fans. ‘Strength and guidance, all that I’m wishing for my friends.’ Favorite line of the song because I wish all the best for my friends as well! Duh.
‘Grammys ft. Future’ Yes, yes, and yes. This has to be performed at the Summer Sixteen Tour. It’s not the most complex song, but Future and Drake on a track together is bound to be a banger of some sort. And the beat is a bit futuristic sounding – play on words.
‘Childs Play’ Dancing to this one for sure. For anyone who knows me, I love dancing and watching myself dance in the mirror. I mean I’ve danced my entire life… in a studio… surrounded by mirrors. Can you blame me? So this song will be used for that purpose. Again, the end of this song is on point. That real deep Drake voice is my jam.
‘Pop Style’ Another track that we have all heard and in my case, loved. This version though doesn’t include Jay or Ye like the first one we heard. I like both versions! Super glad this is on the album.
‘Too Good ft. Rihanna’ Not sure how I feel about the very beginning, but it does have that RiRi-Drake collab vibe to it. Almost reminds me of their song ‘Take Care,’ which is one of my favorites. Yep, definitely sounds a little like ‘Take Care’ with that fast paced drum/symbol sound. I think I can hear this song on the radio. If so, I won’t be listening because you know that ish will be overplayed. No thanks. While it does remind me of ‘Take Care,’ it’s definitely not as good.
‘Summers Over Interlude’ Okay that real slow, sexy sound. But not sure if this is something I’m digging. Is this dvsn? Majid? #confused I know it’s the end of the album, but I think it completely slowed down the album and not sure if in the best way.
‘Fire & Desire’ Yesssss, loving this sped up voice. It’s quite Drake of him to add it. While this is definitely slower, I’m feeling it. I don’t know what it is, but I’m here for this. Definitely like this song. 100%. I needed this. It has that end-of-the-album-Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2 sound (the beginning of that track).
‘Views’ Okay, thank you for ending with this vibe. In typical Drake fashion he ends with a non-stop flow song that’s on the lengthier side. Approved. This reminds me of ‘The Ride ft. The Weekend’ from Take Care, which happens to be the last track of that album and this song the last track of Views. Well, ‘Hotline Bling’ is the last track, but I feel like that was an added bonus for the fans. Anyways.
‘Hotline Bling’ It’s like a concert… he ends on a slower more album-based song then ends the show but comes back on for an encore doing the song ‘Hotline Bling,’ which you know will get the crowd hype af. I’m indifferent about this track being on here. While I like the concert vibe it gives, I think the album could have ended with ‘Views.’ I mean, it is the name of the album.
All in all, I’m a fan of Views. It’s nothing like his last album, IYRTITL. And if you absolutely love that album, you may not like this one. Views relates more to Take Care and Nothing Was the Same – opinions my friend Parker actually told me, and he couldn’t be more correct. It’s also not an album you’d listen to at the gym to get hype to but rather on a road trip.
With Drake’s hometown being the inspiration for this album and the passion he has behind the music, it makes me like the album even more. I see the album as something bigger than just a compilation of rap songs. So props to Drake for putting together a solid project that portrays his passion, talents, and that Drake sound we all know. Happy listening!
Yesssss, what better way to start off your Friday than with a new collab and banger from Calvin Harris and Rihanna. This will definitely be a summer jam for most. Good vibes all the way through.
Listen below!
And no, I still haven’t listened to Views. While it may seem shocking, I really want to give it a good listen and not be swayed by others’ opinions that I’m reading on social. Don’t you worry though, I’ll be writing a reVIEW of it!
Californyinz 