Come and have a good time with G.O.O.D.

 
This week I can’t get enough of Cruel Summer.  It’s a melodic masterpiece, hypnotic as it flows.  Ye’ brings together a limitless team most definitely.  Hard melodies from “Higher” giving us a modern take on an a capella mixed with a few of our summer favorites, G.O.O.D Music is just that: good music. Well worth the wait for the end of the summer, allowing them to grab our attention from the earlier summer tracks.  Kanye discussed working on Cruel Summer, stating “I’m not interested in things until they hit me in my heart, like in my gut.”  He said he wanted to “…do something new and exciting in hip hop like minus all the politics.”  Trust our Kanye to keep it deep when it comes to music.

St. John’s own J. Cole is always on top of his game, and one of my absolute favorites.  J. Cole gives us another head bobbin’ track titled “I’m a Fool”, which has been on replay this week. With a hard beat, a smooth break down, and a catchy chorus J. Cole proves once again his intelligence and lyrical talent.  Yet he was mainly in the spot light for something else this week.  He and Diggy’s feud continued when Cole was on set of Kendrick Lamar’s BET Music Matters tour this past weekend, when shots were fired at Diggy.  Just a few days ago Diggy shot back with a song titled “Falls Down” which he released on Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club.  Now we all know rappers expressing their drama on the mic is common for our day and era, it can even be entertaining (let’s not mention Ray J and “The Money Team”), but is this too much?  What does it really say to the Hip-Hop community when two young black artists take a hit each other through their music?  Expressive sure, but with Diggy being so young producing songs that aim at the younger generations, what does it teach them?  Also, is this what we will be hearing every so often in their future tracks?  I hope they end it and get back to the music.
 Leave it to Frank Ocean to paint the perfect picture to any song that you can’t get enough of in his summertime album, Channel Orange.  Frank recently released the video for his single “Pyramids” and I can’t stop watching.  He pieced together a few songs from the album to create the 8 minute video and even re-mixed the song “Pyramids” having the slower part play for most of the video, and ending with a guitar solo by John Mayer.  The video has you feeling sort of intoxicated as it progresses, though judging on the lyrics of the song, viewer discretion is clearly advised.  That video is no short of thought provoking and artistic.
One of the best things about living in this wonderful city of New York is the opportunities to see our favorite artists!  September is a great month to go out and see a concert or two, here are a few upcoming shows happening in New York and the Tri-State Area:

·     Snoop Dogg – The Paramount on Wednesday September 26^th

·      LongLiveA$AP Tour  A$AP Mob, Schoolboy Q & Danny Brown– Roseland Ballroom Thursday September 27^th

·      Jay Z – Barclays Center from September 28^th

·      Waka Flocka and Wooh Da Kid – Starland Ballroom October 5^th

What’s on my replay

Swimming Pools Remix – Lloyd ft August Alsina

I’m a Fool – J. Cole

Cruel Summer - G.O.O.D Music

Pride N’ Joy Remix – Fat Joe ft. Trey Songz, Ashanti and Pusha T  

- Alyssa Jones