I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. Earlier this morning, Chris Brown posted a video on his IG that hinted he’d be dropping a mixtape. Well, I didn’t think it was going to drop TODAY. But I am not mad about that! The tape also features OHB (Only Hood Bosses) and U.K.’s Section Boyz.
I’m currently streaming it now for the first time, so I don’t have any immediate reviews so why don’t yinz listen with me and let me know what ya think?
Stream on DatPiff here!
Heyyyy, fam. Lots going on this week in the hip-hop world.
First we have a Mr. Chris Brown making an appearance in Hermosa and Manhattan Beach. Why does that area sound so familiar? Well, I live there. Technically in Redondo Beach, but I’m legit a mile from Hermosa and when I do venture out in the South Bay, that’s typically where I go. He was there filming a music video for what is sure to be everyone’s new summer dance anthem called ‘Paradise.’ Chris Brown is a feature on this song, as Benny Benassi is the lead.
This song follows the duos 2011 collaboration ‘Beautiful People’ off of CB’s album F.A.M.E.
Now let’s talk about this HOT 97 Summer Jam lineup. I’ve actually been seeing a little negativity about the lineup on Twitter but to me I think it’s pretty lit. If I was in New York, I would definitely look into purchasing tickets. I really need LA to host something like this! Yes, you have Power 106 and Real 92.3 doing their yearly big concerts, but I’m talking a MAJOR concert lineup held at like the Rose Bowl. Who knows, maybe one of these stations will host something at the new Rams stadium once built. That would be dope. Lineup below. What do yinz think?
This remix though. If you watched me premiere it to myself on Snapchat last night, you already know how I feel about it. The song features August Alsina, Miguel, and Trey Songz. Do you think Chris Brown will get some other R&B artists for a third remix? I say keep them coming!
And finally, start your weekend off with some ‘Trap Vibes.’ Meek Mill hops on to do a freestyle of Drake’s ‘Summer Sixteen’ and Desiigner’s ‘Panda.’ The song dropped just a few hours after Drake dropped ‘Pop Style’ and ‘One Dance.’ Coincidence?
That’s all for today! Have a good one, yinz. I’m off to the LA Beer Fest tomorrow – drink up!
I actually live for videos like this. He sings along to the debuted R&B jam before making the recording studio his stage.
We got another bangerrrr! There is talk that he could be working on another mixtape called After the Party, which would be the follow-up to his mixtape Before the Party. Makes sense.
Watch C. Breezy break it down in the studio below!
In today’s favorites, you can simply listen to the playlist below! While I probably didn’t capture all of my favorite songs, these are the majority of them. You’ll see lots of Drake (obviously), Future, Chris Brown, Ty Dolla $ign, and The Weeknd to name a few.
Happy listening – especially if you’re at work and need something to get lit to while mentally preparing yourself for your New Year’s celebrations. And while I normally give yinz a playlist curated on Soundcloud, that streaming service doesn’t always have the originals of songs. So this time, you’ll have to listen via my YouTube channel. 🙂 Perk: Some tracks include the music video. I’ll be adding throughout the day should I think of any other bangers that dropped this year. Enjoy!
Got the blog going up… on the (last) Tuesday (of 2015).
Happy Monday, yinz! With it being the last full week of 2015, I’m going to do something a little different. Obviously this blog focuses on music, my life, celebrities, and all things digital so I’ll be compiling my top lists of all those topics. I look forward to sharing my favorites with yinz and welcome your faves, as well!
Today’s Serge’s Selections: 2015 Edition are my favorite albums that dropped this year. These are in no specific order because that would take me until December 2016 to do that. Check out my list below, and let me know what you think. Am I missing any of your favorites? Did I include an album you don’t like?
If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late – Drake
I remember exactly where I was when this surprise project dropped. It’s actually the same place I am right now – Agatay’s couch. It was right around Valentine’s Day, and I promise you I stopped what I was doing and just listened to the songs on repeat. Typical. As mentioned before, this was a complete surprise. After Beyonce dropped her surprise self-titled album, Beyonce last year, more and more artists have begun to take that approach. While I do like a good surprise, I do sort of like having a release date as that is something to look forward to. Anywho. IYRTITL put out some bangers and crowd pleasers for sure. Drake nailed it per usual.
What A Time To Be Alive – Drake & Future
Again, I remember where I was when this premiered, as well – in Agatay’s kitchen. The squad, Nick and Parker were over, and we sat around listening to the premiere on OVO Sound Radio and casually sipped some Coors Light. It was lit in the most chill way. Want to talk about bangers though? Listen to WATTBA. ‘Jumpman,’ ‘Big Rings,’ ‘The Plug’… are you kidding me? ‘Big Rings’ is my alarm in the morning because my team needs some really nice things. This project also made me like Future a lot more. Solid.
T R A P S O U L – Bryson Tiller
If you don’t know, now you know. Born in Kentucky and at the young age of only 22, Bryson Tiller is extremely talented, and T R A P S O U L is definitely one of my absolute favorite albums that came out this year. From the intro to the last song, the whole album flows perfectly. It truly lives up to its name – trap beats with a soul sound and flow. I highly suggest you get on the Tiller train.
Dark Sky Paradise – Big Sean
What can I say about this one? While I don’t post often about Big Sean, he is one of my favorite artists. He is a hardworker, gives a lot back to his hometown of Detroit, and can spit some legit rhymes and verses. Not to mention, he’s easy on the eye and has a beautiful smile – see below.
Dark Sky Paradise is another one that has so many hits. From ‘Blessings’ featuring Drake and Kanye to ‘I Don’t F*ck With You’, this is an album I have listened to on repeat multiple times. And we can’t forget about ‘One Man Can Change The World’ featuring John Legend and Kanye West. So so good and motivational – a very special song to Big Sean – it was written in memory of his late grandmother who he was quite close with.
Beauty Behind the Madness – The Weeknd
Cheers to the freaking Weeknd. He has grown so much as an artist and from the numerous articles I’ve read as a person, as well. I mean he used to never even do interviews, and now he’s selling out arenas and going on major city tours. It’s epic. I was lucky enough to see his BBTM tour this month actually with Parker. It was so incredible. Truly a show. This album has given us the very popular hits ‘The Hills’ and ‘Can’t Feel My Face,’ as well as the Fifty Shades of Grey theme song, ‘Earned It,’ which I actually can’t listen to anymore becuase every radio station overplayed it. Like most project of Abel’s, they are dark and filled with lyrics about drugs and sex. The songs on BBTM have more radio hits than his previous work. I love that this album has given him the recognition he deserves.
Rodeo – Travi$ Scott
Holy smokes. I’m listening to this album now actually! Current track: ‘90210.’ I was late to start listening to Travi$, but I am pretty freaking glad I do now. He has such a unique sound but also one that reminds me of Kanye. That could be because Kanye was one of the producers of Rodeo. I was looking forward to seeing Travi$ open for The Weeknd at the Madness Tour but unfortunately missed his performance – he was the opening act and only performed for about 20 minutes. #lame Oh well, I’m sure I’ll be attending another function where he’ll be performing! But yes, you should 100% listen to La Flame ( a nickname of his). It’s lit!
Royalty – Chris Brown
Yes, yes, and yes. Only released a couple weeks ago, I’ve been listening to Chris Brown’s seventh studio album on repeat. ‘Make Love,’ ‘Back to Sleep,’ and ‘Liquor’ are probably my top tracks. Yet again, C. Breezy puts out another legit project. The album is named after his daughter and even has a song dedicated to her. The music video for that is here. She is so cute and seeing them together in this music video is even cuter! I suggest you watch it and listen to the album. 🙂
For those Kendrick fans, yes I realize I didn’t include To Pimp a Butterfly. I just wasn’t able to get into that one. There are songs I love from that project, but not the album from beginning to end. And there are a few more days left in 2015, so if Drake happens to drop Views From the 6, you already know that would be added to this list.
That’s all for today’s Serge’s Selections: 2015 Edition. New list, new topics tomorrow!
Hey-ooo! Happy week of Christmas! Can’t believe it’s on Friday. I’m back in Pittsburgh for the holidays. 🙂
Below are some new album selections of mine you should definitely listen to.
CHRIS BROWN – Royalty
I have truly been waiting for this album for a long time. Bummed I missed out on Chris Brown’s show at the Hollywood Palladium on Friday night, but from the Instagram videos I saw, it looked bangin’, and the tracks he performed from Royalty, no doubt, make this one of his better pieces of work. I truly believe C. Breezy did a 180 with this album and what, or should I say who is most important in his life. That important person being his daughter Royalty, who the album is named after.
PUSHA T – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude
The new G.O.O.D. Music president gives us a ten-track album that is packed with features and solid rhymes. I had the chance of listening to parts of the album thanks to Power 106 and their always exclusive world premieres and first listens. This album serves as the prelude to King Push’s third album, King Push, which is scheduled to drop in April of next year.
Hope you’re all having a great Monday, yinz!
Finally! A dance-heavy video where the dancing is actually legit! I’m not trying to bash Drake in ‘Hotline Bling’ by any means, but just saying I love and appreciate real dancing.
The video for Tinashe’s recent hit ‘Player,’ featuring the dance master himself, Chris Brown, is here! ‘Player’ is the first single off of Tinashe’s upcoming sophomore album Joyride. I’ve seen Tinashe perform before, and she can definitely bust a move. So on that note, watch the video below.
Enjoy!
Chris Brown has released the artwork for his upcoming album titled Royalty, named after his adorable baby girl. Even you CB haters out there have to admit the photo is pretty darn cute. Chris has truly been channeling his inner-father with most of his social media posts being dedicated to Royalty. I’m anxious to hear the album because one, it’s a Chris Brown album, but mainly because I think the overall tone to the album will be different than past pieces of work put out by him.
Royalty arrives November 27, which also happens to be Black Friday, and will feature his most recent singles ‘Liquor’ and ‘Zero.’
Ty Dolla $ign has finally given us the tracklisting for his debut album, Free TC. He announced the
16-tracks during a phone call to his brother who is in jail and is who the album is named after. He also just graced us with a surprise mixtape, Airplane Mode, which I must admit I haven’t listened to yet, but my little bro, Anthony, said it was decent. I’ll be sure to check that out this weekend. I have always liked Ty’s music from the beat to the sound of his voice. Peep the tracklisting below – lots of features! The album drops on November 13.
FREE TC TRACKLISTING
1. “L.A.” feat. Kendrick Lamar, Brandy, and James Fauntleroy
2. “Saved” feat. E-40
3. “Straight Up” feat. Jagged Edge
4. “Solid” feat. Babyface
5. “Horses in the Stable”
6. “Know Ya” feat. Trey Songz (prod. Metro Boomin and DJ Spinz)
7. “Credit” feat. Sevyn Streeter
8. “Miracle/Wherever” feat. Big TC and D-Loc
9. “Guard Down” feat. Kanye West and Diddy (prod. by Hit-Boy)
10. “Sitting Pretty” feat. Wiz Khalifa (prod. by Benny Blanco)
11. “When I See Ya” feat. Fetty Wap (prod. by Cardo)
12. “Blasé” feat. Future and Rae Sremmurd
13. “Only Right” feat. YG, Joe Moses, and TeeCee4800
14. “Bring It Out of Me” (prod. by Stargate)
15. “Actress” feat. R. Kelly
16. “Finale” feat. SA-RA and PJ
Mr. Justin Bieber will also be dropping his next album on the same day, titled Purpose. While the official track titles have yet to be released, the album includes contributions from Nas, Travi$ Scott and Ed Sheeran, with production credits given to Skrillex and Diplo. More special guests will be announced soon.
The next single, ‘Sorry,’ will be released on October 23, so keep your eyes and ears open for that one. The album is currently available on iTunes for pre-ordering.
That’s all for this week. My friends and I will be giving my roommate Kylie a proper send-off back to the East Coast, seeing as this is her last weekend in LA! #Sad, but #sergesselfiestick will be in full effect, so stay tuned for a post.
Have a great one, and happy Friday!
It’s been a minute since I wrote a ‘Wrap-Up,’ but I’m back! And this post isn’t actually a wrap-up but really just about my excitement for Chris Brown’s One Hell of a Nite Tour tonight!
CB will be stopping in Anaheim this evening at the Honda Center, and I’ll be going with my two frans Sydney and Jimmy – can’t wait!
From reviews of the tour I’ve read, Chris puts on a two-hour set (!!!), which to me is completely worth the money. Also on this tour is Fetty Wap, French Montana, Omarion, Kid Ink, and Teyana Taylor. Pretty pumped about it all!
So now I’ll leave you with a Chris Brown playlist. It’s what I’ve been listening to all week – enjoy, and happy Friday! And make sure you follow me on Instagram (@serge19) to see posts from the night and Snapchat (@ergense) for live updates!
Oh, and do know I’ll find a way to post about the Drake-Future mixtape should that drop tonight during the concert.
“HAVE AN OPEN MIND AND AN OPEN HEART”*
With my love of and fascination with the Kardashian krew, you didn’t think I’d pass up Brucey, now would ya? I tuned into his interview last Friday, along with the 16 million other viewers. Some think it was a money stunt. Others think this may not be a real struggle or problem. Others also say, “I don’t care. Why should I care? It doesn’t relate to me.” Those are your opinions, and that’s great.
But these are mine:
1. If you actually watched it, he chuckled quite hard at the fact people think this is being done for money. The Kardashians didn’t even appear on the interview. I feel that if he wasn’t associated with the Kardashians, this ‘money stunt’ accusation wouldn’t be so intense.
2. I could never imagine being an Olympic athlete (or an athlete at all) or a person in general internally struggling with gender identity. Especially a male athlete and such a public figure, truly feeling like they don’t belong in their own skin. So yes, I’d say that was a struggle and difficult to tell the world.
3. You’re right, it is really none of our business – it’s his personal life. But just because you cannot relate to this issue, I cannot either, it doesn’t mean you should dismiss it. There are lots of situations and issues I cannot relate to, but I can still have empathy for that person.
4. His interview educated me on the transgender community and other terms/phrases associated with gender identity.
Ultimately, if Bruce’s interview had even the slightest impact on someone else going through the same thing, then that’s what truly matters. Saving a life, preventing a teenage suicide, or any age suicide for that matter, struggling internally with how to tell people. If all it did was save or help one person, then talk away, Bruce!
And if you really don’t care about what he has to say, the transgender community, Bruce, or the Kardashians, then you shouldn’t be wasting your precious time by posting negative statuses on Facebook. 🙂 Also, if you’re reading this and don’t care, keep all negative and nasty thoughts to yourself. Please and thank you.
*Said by Bruce Jenner at the end of his interview
VIDEO: DEORRO FT. CHRIS BROWN – ‘FIVE MORE HOURS’
For those of you who didn’t make it to Coachella this year, Chris Brown will make you feel like you were there in his newest music video. The video is basically a giant rage cage on a school bus. My favorite part is obviously during the dance break when CB shows off his epic dance moves. Love or hate him, he can dance. When he arrives at his final destination, he joins Deorro and Travi$ Scott on stage while spraying champagne at the Coachella crowd. It’s a pretty dope video. Check it!
CAN’T FORGET THE BOY!
And shoutout to Drake for winning ‘Crossover Artist Of The Year’ at the 2015 Billboard Latin American Music Awards. He beat out Pharrell and Jason Derulo in this category. He also took home ‘Tropical Song Of The Year’ for Romeo Santos’ song ‘Odio,’ where Drake is a feature. To read more, you can visit his ultimate (and my favorite) fansite, wordonroad.net.
Congrats! 
Californyinz 