TRACKLIST: Future – “Future”

Future has just revealed the 17-song tracklist for his upcoming self-titled album, Future.

Peep it below!

FUTURE TRACKLISTING

1) ‘Rent Money’
2) ‘Good Dope’
3) ‘Zoom’
4) ‘Draco’
5) ‘Super Trapper’
6) ‘POA’
7) ‘Mask Off’
8) ‘High Demand’
9) ‘Outta Time’
10) ‘Scrape’
11) ‘I’m So Groovy’
12) ‘Might As Well’
13) ‘Poppin Tags’
14) ‘Massage In My Room’
15) ‘Flip’
16) ‘When I Was Broke’
17) ‘Feds Did A Sweep’

via HHNM

The album will be dropping this Friday.

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Happy Valentine’s Ye!

So obviously it’s Valentine’s Day, but can we talk about the real celebratory moment that is today?  The one year anniversary of Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo.  This seventh studio album of the Chicago native is one of my favorite albums and has been in rotation monthly since it dropped a year ago.

And what’s even cooler is that he premiered it during his Yeezy Season 3 fashion show at Madison Square Garden.  He SOLD OUT MSG all for a fashion show.  How amazing!  I remember watching it at work at my last job during my free month subscription to Tidal (only subscribed for that reason) and was just in awe the entire time.  Seeing how happy Kanye was dropping new music for his fans, family, and friends… seeing the audience go wild… watching the models in his fashion show stand as still as a statue yet shed tears.  Like what were they thinking?!  So incredible.  And I think it’s amazing Kanye gave those involved with his show that once in a lifetime opportunity.

But yeah, this was very far from your standard album release.  It was an EXPERIENCE which more and more artists are doing when it comes to music drops.  I think I need to write a post on that.

Okay, back to the album.  Or do we call it an art piece?  A work of art?  Some people were (and still might be) annoyed by the fact that Ye continued to change the album once it officially dropped, but I’m not mad about it.  Kanye is known to be quite the perfectionist so it’s not surprising that he wanted to alter the album once it released.  Yes, he could have made sure it was all up to par before officially releasing it, but I think his approach to TLOP created a more personal connection to his fans.  Almost like you were part of the process – watching it happen and anticipating what more could he do.

It gave the album life in a way.  That it was still growing… transforming.  This is a bit dramatic, I know, but think about it.  Something is born and it grows and changes.  This is what TLOP did.  Any who.

From the opening sounds of the little girl in “Ultralight Beam” to Kanye straight up rapping bars and truth on the last track, “Saint Pablo,” so much greatness and emotion took place.  The beginning of the album started with gospel vibes and uplifting tones and yet ended in an almost angry, sad, frustrated Kanye.  We sort of heard that transition in “I Love Kanye.”  He’s acknowledging the ups and downs that is Kanye West, and I think that’s refreshing.

Having Chance the Rapper start on his first track is a major key.  No, really.  Now look at Chance.  He just won three Grammy Awards.  Not saying Kanye had anything to do with it, Chance is extremely talented, but the motivation and inspiration from Kanye probably had a slight influence on him as an artist.

I met Kanye West, I’m never going to fail
He said let’s do a good ass job with Chance three
I hear you gotta sell it to snatch the Grammy

-Chance the Rapper, “Ultralight Beam”

This is the album that introduced us to Desiigner who we all thought was Future at first.  And now look at Timmy Turner.  He’s dropping mixtapes, going on his own tours, and being seen at exclusive events with a large fanbase.  The “Famous” music video?  So full of controversy, yet you remember the song and the video.  Even cooler, he premiered the video in movie theaters at a few cities, one being Los Angeles.  And for LA, Kanye was there!  How epic is that?  The truest of the true fans watching a music video in a movie theatre and the artist who released the video is behind you vibing out with you.  Kanye does it for the kids, bro.  And have you heard “Waves” featuring Chris Brown?  That song is fy-er.  I get the chills every time I hear it.

To top it all off, he tacked on a pretty epic tour to sum up The Life of Pablo.  And what’s sort of crazy, now that I think about it is the kickoff to his tour began quite uplifting and full of energy.  Towards the end, he was canceling shows and acting a little off.  Sort of like the album.  Maybe it was to mirror the life of Pablo.  Regardless, TLOP was for sure one of the best albums of 2016 and continues to be one of my favorites.

I’m looking forward to Yeezy Season 5 tomorrow and am very curious to see what the following means.  It’s been circulating on Twitter for a few hours now.  There’s talks that Kanye and Drake have a joint project, so I would be pretty pumped to at least hear one track from that.  Maybe a song from Drake’s More Life will drop?  I do not know.  All I need to do now is sign up for Tidal again for a hot minute to watch and see.

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Alright, yinz.  Valentine’s Ye is almost over so want to publish this post before the day’s end.  Talk soon!

OH!  And we can absolutely not forget that today, February 14, is also the 11 year anniversary of Drake’s very first mixtape, Room for Improvement.  Definitely check that out if you haven’t.  You can hear what all the Drake fuss is about and where it began 🙂

In short, Drake and Kanye both share the same project anniversary day for two monumental pieces of work they’ve created, so I would be very excited for them to drop a collab project tomorrow.  And then next year on February 15, I can write a one year anni post on that.

Okay – night, fam!

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MUSIC: Nav ft. The Weeknd – “Some Way”

You guys!!  Have you heard of Nav?  Have you ever listened to Nav?  Okay, well you are missing out if you’ve answered “no” to either or both of those questions.

He’s affiliated with The Weeknd so you know he’s about to put out some fire music.  He has those chill vibes that in a weird way remind me of a super mellow Travi$ Scott.

Anyways, check out his new track now featuring The Weeknd.  I’m also pretty sure Nav is working on a project of his own.  Could this be from it?

Track artwork below –

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Listen here!  Guarantee your listen by subscribing to Apple Music.  Duh.

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“I Decided” to post about my #CruzShowVIP Experience…

On Monday, I was given the opportunity to attend a VIP Big Sean experience at the one and only Power 106 FM radio station – the most poppin’ hip-hop radio station in LA might I add.  No more than 50 fans were in attendance, keeping the experience very intimate.  Love those types of scenarios.  Anxiously awaiting the arrival of Big Sean, I mingled with some of the Power crew. Dope people.  Okay, love you guys but back to the main attraction…

*enter big sean*

The Cruz Show team asked Sean various questions about his new album “I Decided” (go out and cop that / stream it if you haven’t already – fire) and about him as an artist and person.  Fans were also given the chance to ask questions.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again and not knowing him personally, Big Sean seems to be one of the most humble and real people out there.  Especially as a rapper, that is very refreshing to witness and makes me like and appreciate him that much more.  He also seems very respectful, level-headed, and seems to be all about positivity.  I mean, read my Tweet in my header image.  When he said that, my heart and mind were instantly full.

One fan in particular asked about the competition / comparing himself to other artists. Snippets of his answer below.  And what’s even better is this advice can translate to your life. Take it in!

“Once you feel good on the inside, you’ll feel good on the outside.”

“In the race of life, you’re only going to slow down when you look at them.”  [“them” referring to everyone else]

“Don’t compare yourself.  They’re not you.”

Much respect for Sean Don.

Shout out again to Power 106 and specifically Ashley for the invite.  She’s funny AF so follow her.  And if you live in LA, you best keep your ears open because this isn’t the first VIP Experience they’ve hosted.  Listen to Power for your chance to win and go to the next one.  I mean, it can get you a picture like this…

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Teaser: SZA – “CTRL”

Okay, I’m going to need SZA to drop her debut album CTRL right now.  It was supposed to drop on February 3, but it either got pushed back or that was never the confirmed release date.

Well, until we get a for real date, you have to check out this website she launched that includes a vlog with new music.

Check it here:  https://szactrl.com

[my thoughts]

  • The music sounds dope.
  • Loving the creativity and authenticity behind this.
  • It’s interactive – love!
  • Not knowing too much about SZA, from the video, she seems cool AF, and I need new music from her now.

If you aren’t familiar with her, she was featured on the first track off of Rihanna’s last album, ANTI.

Listen below.

Hope yinz are having a great Tuesday!  The sun is finally starting to come back out over here on the West Coast.  I didn’t sign up for this constant rain!!

serge out!

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*header image credit kanyetothe.com

OVO Sound Radio – Episode 37

This week’s episode of OVO Sound Radio is brought to you by Oliver El-Khatib, Drake’s manager and OVO founder, and a guest mix courtesy of  DJ Maximum.  So far so good!

Thus far we’ve heard songs from P Reign, PND ft. Nicki Minaj, Migos, Baka, and more.  “Hush Up The Silence” (WizKid featuring Drake) was premiered as well!

DJ Maximum jumped on at 4PM – an hour into the mix.  This radio show is a total of two hours long – a pretty solid playing time!  And per Oliver, it’s only right they have DJ Maximum take over since the OVO camp is currently in London for Drake’s Boy Meets World Tour and that’s where this DJ resides.

I really dig these regularly scheduled radio shows Apple Music has rolled out.  A few reasons why below –

  1. It gives fans like me something to look forward to.  I’m a big fan of .WAV Radio and OVO Sound Radio as well as the Live from LA show.
  2. You never know what new music you’re going to get!  “New” referring to tracks being debuted by the artist hosting the show and just music that is new to your ears – music you’re being introduced to on the episode that’s already been released but you’re just hearing it for the first time.
  3. For two hours, you get music, interviews, and NO commercials, nor do you have to think of what song to play next.  The radio show takes care of it for you.  Love it!

Okay, back to this episode.  Oliver noted that Drake is in the studio every night working on “More Life.”  Still no release date!  It was supposed to drop near the end of 2016, then it got pushed back to the beginning of 2017, and here we are in February…  really looking forward to it though regardless of when it drops.  PS – The Tweet in my header image for this post is referring to “More Life.”

With Drake currently touring in London, snippets of new music have been dropping, but I refuse to listen to anything until it’s formally released.  #FanLove

Okay, did yinz tune into Episode 37?  What did you think?

Hope everyone is having an epic Saturday!

serge out!

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Review: Big Sean – “I Decided”

Yassss!  So excited for Big Sean’s 4th studio album.  I had the opportunity to preview the album last night at his listening party in LA (thanks to Beats by Dre and DefJam).  And dang was it good.  We were encouraged to not post anything until the album officially came out, so thank goodness dropped the following day.  Everyone needs to hear this!

Okay, the review –

Intro | Nice little one minute intro to get this thing started.  It definitely sets the mood and gets the fans ready for what’s about to come.  The speaking also makes you question what this album will be about.

Light ft. Jeremih | And a beautiful transition right into the second track featuring the talented Jeremih.  Since we’re at the very beginning of the album, I’m a fan how this track focuses on Big Sean’s lyrics and voice.  There’s no music overpowering the two.  I like this approach for the album kickoff… you have to lead up to the bigger moments!  This track is almost like the Intro, Pt. 2.  I dig it.

Bounce Back | This song is fire!  Love that it’s at the top of the tracklist.  I woke up in beast mooooode.  You and I already know this song is amazing.  This is the Big Sean we all know and love.  You can bounce to it and rap along to it.  The ending of this song might be my favorite.  “Is you a real one?”  And the ending beat.  Dope.

No Favors ft. Eminem | The music on this.  Ultimate.  You can tell it’s leading up to something epic or someone epic aka Eminem.  The rap master himself.  In 8th grade I wrote a poem that I wanted to see Eminem in concert – have yet to do that.  Eminem’s voice has this boss sound to it.  Empowerment.  You can do anything.  Strong.  I’m typing this literally as I listen to the music.  And the creepy piano sounds make it that much more EPIC.  Yeah, we’ve all been waiting for this one.

Jump Out the Window | Wowwww.  This beat!!!  And the quick pause right before he goes into the lyrics.  “Your time was the only thing I wished was mine.”  What a lyric.  Definitely one of my favorites on this album.

Moves | I LOVE THIS SONG.  THE BEAT IS ULTIMATE.  While it’s one of the shorter tracks on the album coming in at 2:22min, it’s two minutes and 22 seconds of pure vibes.  Could I ask for anything more?  And if you haven’t seen the music video, watch it here.

Same Time, Pt. 1 (ft. TWENTY88) |  Another short track.  But I feel this is so because it’s listed as Pt. 1.  I don’t like assuming things, but I feel as if Pt. 2 may appear on either a Jhene Aiko project or on a second TWENTY88 project.  Wherever it appears next, I’m ready for it.  Their voices go together so well.  Magic.

Owe Me | “The smile on your face the only thing I can’t read.”  WOW.  This song keeps the vibe of the album going.  And Big Sean tells it like it is on this one.  I’m here for it.  And knowing that the next track is “Halfway Off the Balcony,” which we’ve already been blessed with, “Owe Me” is a great lead into it.  It’s a good transition, sound wise.

Halfway Off the Balcony | Out of “Bounce Back,” “Moves,” and this track – all songs he dropped before the album – this one is always stuck in my head.  So catchy.  In a good way!  “Chemistry means way more than anatomy.”  Hello.  Where are all these boys who think this way?  DM me if you know.

Voices In My Head / Stick To the Plan | I remember this song from the listening party.  Everyone was VIBING to it.  I love the switch up – the fact Metro Boomin produced this makes it even better.  And I like how “Metro Boomin want some more” doesn’t happen until the switch up.  And you’ll notice the tempo of the song picks up in “Stick To the Plan.”  Fire.  This song for me is motivation.  For what?  I don’t really know, but it just sounds like it.  And the ending… I hear you, Big Sean!

Sunday Morning Jetpack ft. The-Dream | Okay, this song is beautiful.  I first heard this when he premiered it on SNL a few Saturdays ago.  I’m glad he dropped this particular track by performing it live.  While all the songs are meaningful to Big Sean, I feel like this track is one of the more special ones, and you could tell that by watching him perform.  A rap song with real meaning – yes, please.

Inspire Me | This song was inspired by his mom.  During his listening party, she was not only there, but she was front and center when this track played.  She sat right next to her son with the biggest smile on her face.  It was really heartwarming to witness.  You definitely had a few “aww” moments in the crowd.

Sacrifices ft. Migos | Banger alert.  It’s pretty safe to say that any track with Migos featured on it is probably going to get you pumped up.  I’m sort of surprised this track is in between “Inspire Me” and “Bigger Than Me” – two songs that are more mellow and have a more serious meaning.  Not mad about it, but I feel like after hearing “Sacrifices,” I want the album to keep going with the fire.  On to the last track!

Bigger Than Me ft. The Flint Chozen Choir & Starrah | Okay, can we please acknowledge that Big Sean is always showing love and support for his home state that is Michigan?  I love it.  As an avid supporter of my hometown, I can relate to this and respect those who show constant love for and SUPPORT of where they came from.  What a beautiful way to end an album.  And a rap album of all things!

Overall Big Sean has grown so much as an artist over the past few years, and that is especially apparent on this album.  While I was selfishly hoping for an 18-track album, the above 14 songs satisfy my hunger for new music from the Detroit native.

So big props to Sean and his team on this one.  Go and support, yinz!  You can download on iTunes or stream on Apple Music.

Want to watch my review?  Check that here.

serge out!

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VIDEO: Big Sean – “Moves”

Directed by Mike Carson, peep the visuals for Big Sean’s hot track “Moves” below.  It’s seriously one of my favorites off the album.  And his dance moves are giving me life.  A little Drake inspired, yeah?

Check it below!  What do you think?

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