I didn’t go shopping today, but that’s okay because J.Cole and Kendrick Lamar gave me the best gifts of all – two remixes to one another’s songs.
First, J.Cole rapped over Kendrick’s “Alright” and then K.Dot blessed us with some bars over J.Cole’s “Tale of 2 Citiez.”
Again, I’m not home right now so the SoundCloud embedding is sort of annoying on a phone, so you’ll just have to click below to listen. 🙂
Hope you enjoy as much as I did!
J.Cole – “Black Friday”
Kendrick Lamar – “Black Friday”
TWITTER FEUDS
While yes, these online fights are quite ridiculous, especially when it’s between two grown men, I find them fascinating. I was literally watching Meek Mill Tweet live calling out Drake and the same with Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift. Now that is reality TV.
The first Twitter feud of the week was between Nicki Minaj and my favorite (jokes) Taylor Swift. The feud started when music video nominations were announced for the MTV Video Music Awards and Nicki wasn’t nominated for anything. She began ranting on the social media platform but never directed a Tweet toward anyone in particular. Cut to Taylor Swift. Catching wind of Nicki’s Tweets, Taylor responded. More confusion took place. Well, we can all sleep now because Taylor issued an apology of misunderstanding to Nicki via Twitter.
Nicki thanked Taylor and shared her appreciation. All is right in the Twitterspehere.
False.
Nicki’s beau Meek Mill decided to take shots at my boy Drake. You know I got defensive about this. He called out Drake for not writing his own raps. I chuckled at this.
And today we received confirmation from Drake’s supposed “ghostwriter” Quentin Miller saying that he is not and never will be a ghostwriter for Drake. The two have definitely collaborated but Q said he would never take credit for anything other than that. Drake’s producer, Noah Shebib, known as 40, also took to Twitter to defend the rapper. Drake stayed silent on the platform.
Do I think he has a ghostwriter? No. And I’m not just saying that because I have a healthy obsession with him. Someone who raps and sings with such emotion and passion can’t do that through someone else’s words. Yes, I believe he has probably had help or inspiration from others, as most artists do, but that’s part of the creativity and creation process. At the end of the day, Drake will continue making music the people love, and I will continue figuring out ways of how I can meet him.
THE WEEKND DEBUTS NEW SONG
Earlier this week the Toronto native teased a brand new song during a performance on a private island near London. Like most Weeknd songs, it was a melodic and moody cut.
His sophomore LP, Beauty Behind the Madness, drops on August 28, and I cannot freakin’ wait.
Listen to the untitled track below.
J.COLE ON REMIX TO JANET JACKSON’S ‘NO SLEEEP’
A few weeks ago Janet Jackson made a musical comeback with her song ‘No Sleeep.’ And no I’m not spelling ‘sleep’ wrong. The song’s title uses three e’s. I love the addition of having Cole on the remix – his voice contributes to the cool vibe of the song in a chill way. While this seems like a random pairing of artists to collaborate on a track, they clearly support each other. Janet was seen at J.Cole’s LA show on Sunday, July 19 at Staples Center. Love it! The visuals for the song are out too.
Watch and enjoy below!
Oh, and happy birthday to the girl, J. Lo! I mean… she’s a smoke show at 46!
Happy National Tequila Day – have a great weekend, yinz. Hopefully my next post will be about the release of Frank Ocean’s new album…
Okay, so so many things to talk to yinz about! I’m going to (try and) make it quick though since I know most of our attention spans are quite small these days.
#6615
The graduation party of the year was a great success due to my mom’s very hard party planning work (starting over a year ago) and the help of her wonderful friends! From the fancy foods to the delicious donuts to my fun-loving family and friends, it was the perfect way to celebrate Anth’s accomplishments and wish him well on his next journey… college! #wishicouldgoback There was LOTS of dancing, shots of Limoncello, and laughter. It was also great seeing so many people who I haven’t seen in forever and probably won’t know the next time I’ll see them – lots of fun! Proud of ya, Anth!
#SMWLA (Social Media Week Los Angeles)
On June 4, I entered a Twitter contest (go figure) for the chance to win a free pass to attend SMWLA – you should really check it out to see if they’ll be stopping in your city if you’re passionate or want to learn more about social media trends and technologies. Passes normally range from $250-$350 for the whole week, allowing you to attend a multitude of panels featuring many different social media topics. After a simple retweet and positive vibes, I was notified by the PRSA-LA (Public Relations Society of America – LA Chapter) that I, among others, won – thank you, PRSA-LA! I want to say this was my first Twitter contest I won that wasn’t tickets for a rap/hip-hop concert. Being very fortunate in my current job position, I was allowed to attend as many panels as I wanted that would be of interest to me and also benefit my current role. I met some great people, learned a lot, and could envision myself being in a true social media work environment. Hope to attend next year!
MUSIC NEWS – Too many tours!
In honor of the fifth year anniversary of his Friday Night Lights mixtape, J.Cole announced his third annual ‘Dollar & A Dream Tour.’ The concert actually costs ONE DOLLAR to attend but is on a first-come, first-served basis. I can only imagine the line! He will perform the mixtape in its entirety, which is dope. Cole is only stopping in four cities, one being Los Angeles. Unfortunately, I cannot attend since I already have tickets to see Nicki Minaj perform at the BET Experience that evening – #concertgoerprobz.
Earlier this week, Miguel announced his North American summer tour. THIS I plan on going to. Stopping at over 25 cities, he will be wrapping up the tour in LA on Friday, September 4 at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Yes, it is an actual cemetery. I saw The Weeknd perform at this venue in May 2011, and it was epic! Not to mention he brought out Drake as a surprise guest for ‘Crew Love,’ and I nearly fell over. Tickets are general admission, and you are free to pillows, blankets, and picnics. It’s a really cool venue, so I recommend you check it out if you ever get the chance! They also host movie nights there, I want to say in the fall around Halloween time. Get it…. spooky setting for spooky movies.
Holy heck, and how could I forget. The BET Awards! That is like the ultimate concert on steroids, next to the GRAMMYs, that is. On Sunday, June 28, I will be attending the award show in my usual spot – the mosh pit. Unfortunately, I cannot bring in my cell phone, so 1. I will make sure I’m getting some camera time and 2. You will just have to tune in to see if I made it on TV. Sorry mom and other family members that will be watching this – you’ll probably completely disapprove of the music I’m listening to on the reg.
I do have more music news to write about, but I will save that for the ‘Weekly Wrap-Up.’ Lots of things I love happening in the music world this week!
Stay tuned…
Californyinz 