Posts tagged as Common
Mary J. Blige Featuring Drake, "Mr. Wrong"
It's rare to hear a R&B/rap duet wherein the singing part serves as the hard side of the hard/soft dynamic. Usually it's the other way around. But this is Drake and Mary J. Blige we're talking about, so here we are. Now, I strongly dislike Drake. (That could be a Morrissey song, "Drake, I Dislike You.") Even though I think he is an interesting writer and he raps well. And that makes me like this song even more. READ MORE
Maya Angelou Doesn't Want It With Common Like That
"I had no idea that Common was using the piece we had done together on [a track] in which he also used the ‘N’ word numerous times. I’m surprised and disappointed. I don’t know why he chose to do that. I had never heard him use that [word] before. I admired him so because he wasn’t singing the line of least resistance.” READ MORE
Talib Kweli, "In The Red"
Here is a new song from Brooklyn MC Talib Kweli, produced by his long-time partner DJ Hi-Tek. (The two often record as a duo called Reflection Eternal.) It's really good. And so is the video, which was directed by Nim the Dream and looks a bit like one of those old "Cube" print ads painter Mike Thompson did for Marc Ecko. And it makes a nice addition to the list of rap songs that can serve as music history lessons. READ MORE
Jay Electronica, "@FatBellyBella"
I don't know if it'll go down with Outkast's "Ms. Jackson" or Common's "The Light," but you can count this new song by New-Orleans-born rapper Jay Electronica as another good one inspired by the woman who must stand, at this point, as hip-hop's all-time greatest muse, Erykah Badu. (Who else would it be? Janet? Sade? Roxanne? Jane?) You'll remember that Jay-the excellent and fast-rising rapper who Jon Caramanica wrote so nicely about last week in the Times-posted live reports on his Twitter page as Erykah gave birth to their daughter, Mars Merkaba, a year-and-a-half ago. He is an open book.
Do Rappers Only Get Better With Age?
"2009 is shaping up to be the year of the Grown-Ass Man, says New York's Josh Eels, discussing the notion of the middle-aged rap star. With a host of still-viable MCs approaching 40 (and, considering the showbiz tradition of shaving years off bios, it's safe to assume that some of them are already past the mark), the piece looks at the different tactics they employ to try to remain relevant. Jay-Z, of course, gets top billing. But as is so often the case, Ghostface Killah steals the show. "I wanted to take it to a more mature level," says the 37-year-old Wu-Tang Clansman, who's forthcoming album, The Wizard of Poetry, leans heavily toward love-song R&B stylings. "It's like having the same piece of pussy for twenty years. Sometimes you just need to change it up." READ MORE
