It's finally here!! As promised, Kanye West graced these Internets with the "Power" remix. Don't be surprised when you rewind to play Ye's verse over and over. Oh, and, you know Jay and Swizzy do their thing as usual. Listen here!
Wait, 50! Did you hear that? "Men lie, women lie, but numbers Don't." - HOVA. Thanks for all the inspiration, Jay -- and for sticking it 50 Cent just one more time. ::Jigga Giggle::
Yankee's second favorite Alex Rodriguez introduced Jay-Z and Alicia Keys to the AMA stage for their performance of "Empire State of Mind." This sing never gets old and making all that LA audience sing along shoots New York to the number one slot! Hov looked fine an a young Sinatra, while the always-beautiful Alicia Keys gave it her all. Mad props to Lil Mama for not ruining this one.
New Music Cartel presents a good one for you before the work week grind starts up again. Here's Robin Thicke and Jay-Z on "Meiplé." Happy Sunday Funday listening!
New York's definitely in an Empire State of Mind. From the five boroughs to Yonkers to the Mayor's office, Yankees fans stormed downtown Manhattan and took over City Hall for a celebration of heroes. It's been nine years since this city has experiences a Yankee World Series win and it sure feels great. Hov, of course, joined in on the festivities sharing a float with A-Rod (or was A-Rod sharing Jigga's float?), and performing "Empire State of Mind" with fellow Brooklynite Burdgett Kelly.
As the Yankees stand 27 outs away from winning their 27th World Series Championship, the Empire can't help but feel electric right now. Sure, our boys are two hours away on foreign Philly soil feeling absolutely no brotherly love when they take their places on that field tonight, but New Yorkers can feel the success. Here's the new video from Jay-Z and Alicia Keys for "Empire State of Mind" -- precisely released around the World Series. Hey, an anthem's an anthem!
And just for the record... the Philadelphia version doesn't even compare to the original. Couldn't even come up with your own chorus -- Philly, you are NOT a concrete jungle and, sorry, your streets don't make me feel brand new. They make me feel dirty. Very dirty.
Jay and Alicia couldn't kick off the World Series with New York's anthem, but they got it together and just right for Game 2. Welcome to the concrete jungles, bitches... Jay made the Yankees cap more famous than the Yankees can... Ahh, that's right, kids! SING IT!
New track "Rumors" from Timbaland featuring Miss Keri Hilson and Jay-Z is well somewhat boring. Timbo does his usual voiceovers while Keri tries to Diva it up for the mic. Hov jumps on for his verse, earns his pay and calls it a day. Listen. Discuss.
Aww, Jay's so adorable on Oprah. He's a kid who grew up without a dad, hustled with drugs, and now fans flock to him. Jigga's got the world wrapped around his pinky. He sits down with O and talks about everything from their stroll through the Marcy Projects, RocaWear, the wifey and Oprah attempts rapping...
...and more
In all reality, Jay definitely wanted to Fight Lil Mama for jumping on stage during his performance. Hell! Alicia Keys probably would have take her as well. Hova was definitely annoyed at the stunt, but you know what, he sure as hell isn't gonna force his way into headlines -- no one wants to upstage Kanye. VH1 Hip Hop Honors is celebrating the years of Df Jam without Jigga and what's he gotta say...."There's a lot of people at Def Jam; they'll cover for me." EXACTLY! And my people are covering for me right now while I skip the show...
Well, looks like everyone want some Oprah these days. Thank the Heavens for all these rappers/R&B artists for being so newsworthy and reviving Oprah's relevancy on TV. Seriously, when was the last time people ran home to make sure they caught O's next guest on her talk show. Been a long ass minute. Well, she's kicked off the season with Whitney Houston, re-aired her old Michael Jackson interview, has strong opinions on Chris Brown and now, Hova's stopping by for an afternoon on Oprah's comfy plush chairs. Here's the sneak peak:
I Pledge Allegiance to the Diamonds in the Sky of the Roc Nation, and to the Hip-Hop for which it shines, one Culture under His Hoviness, unconquerable, with rhymes and swagger for all! The King is HOME!
Jay-Z took over New York City tonight, celebrating life and the ones this country lost in the tragic events of 9/11. Eight years later, we still stand strong as a country trying to find its way and deal with the turmoil and politics that have divided a nation. Jigga not only represents everything original about Hip-Hop, but his don't-give-a-fuck attitude is the voice of rebellion. He kicked off the night with "Empire State Of Mind" for his first love, New York City. Alicia Keys was missing, but newly signed to Roc Nation Bridget Kelly held her own harmonizing along with Jay. The sold-out crowd at MSG roared along with every verse and every hook; cheering the champion on as Jay brought on a few of his best friends. Santi rocked it on "Brooklyn Goes Hard," Kid Cudi and his skinny jeans (apparently he figured out how to make his knots fit) took over center stage on "Already Home," and just as Hov had the Blueprint laid out for the night he took us back to '90s with "Jigga What, Jigga Who," "Big Pimpin'," and "Hard Knock Life."
Always the Rocker, John Mayer surprisingly stole the show with a few guitar solos for Jigga's most popular hits. Wowing the crowd, Mayer ripped chords while Jay single handedly pronounced the Death of Autotune gearing the waves of fans to start a "Fuck T-Pain" chant. Not everyone in Hovi's Kingdom is as forgiving as He. And guess what? With all black everything: tee, jeans and sunnies -- the Power Trio: Jay, Kanye and Rihanna absolutely "Run This Town." Kanye, as expected, stole his 15-minutes with the permission of His Highness on "Can't Tell Me Nothing" and "Good Life." But it was wifey's four-minute performance of "Diva" that left the crowd wanting more of Queen Beyonce.
The producers' convention of Pharrell, Swizzy, Ye and even Diddy had their moments -- mostly awkward ones as Pharrell serenaded Jay and Diddy brought his locker room banter to the stage as he slapped Jay's booty. Hova's probably got a few words for the boys after the show... only imagine what the punishment is for disobeying the King in front of his obedient servants. Awkward moments aside, it was Jay and Mary J. Blige who brought the crowd back to '96 and then MJB killed it with "The One" leaving everyone wanting an "Encore" or two.
Through the heavy reefer smoke and bouncing crowd, there was a nationalistic unity among the audience. USA chants synced and faded to silence throughout the night. Moments of silence and never ending screaming were shared. Jay's a sarcastic hero and no one messes with his city or his country, so his final words for those "hiding in caves" and terrorizing his people, "If you're having girl problems son, I feel bad for you. I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one!"
Siiiiighhhhh,
Dear Jigga,
Sorry, I don't LOVE the whole Blueprint 3 album, but DAMNIT I do LOVE you in concert. Well, I'd like to think I would be effing amazed. As I contemplate calling the scalper back and buying a $300 ticket to the 9/11 show, I can't help to admire the stage presence. Not only does the Jigga-man walk on stage like he's the Don of Rap. Full band backing his Blender/MySpace show -- can it get any better?! Who am I kidding, give me a nice spot in front of the stage and I'll not only be throwing diamonds in the sky, but I'll even let strangers push up on me to get closer. Seriously. I'd let that happen and not blink twice.
Jealous-Of-Everyone-With-Tickets FAN
Rappers are still backing liquors... Not just Diddy and his Ciroc. Sure everyone's got to have a backer when it comes to making straight pay these days, but the alcohol industry remained indebted to Hip-Hop for the constant flows of their brand. We poor and poor these bottles and major artists are still dropping names left and right to complete a verse. At some point when Jay-Z said he was done with Cristal, the movement started to lose it's impact. Apparently, that's not the case. Alcohol remains to be a pivotal part to the rap game -- defining status, providing swagger, and making everything simply "cool." Beyond the status factor, artists have always been products supporting and feeding off of other products. Clothes, shoes, jewelry and technology are not the only products that have mutually survived off the popularity of Hip-Hop artists -- the trend transcends these typical supporters and merges celebrity with commercial products that define lifestyles. It's not only about the products you drape yourself with; it means more to have a complete package of coolness emanating from a celebrity's persona. Rap artists are the epitomy of every great about being a male or female. From the liquor they sip to the kush they burn, alcohol and drugs are not only temptations but they define a bad-ass image that sells a rapper and pushes products to the forefront of their main audience. Hip-Hop is a delinquent's culture and that makes it easy for liquor companies to feed off its many personas. Being bad has never felt so good.
The Blueprint 3 leaked. Shocked. I know. Now ya'll need to understand the golden years of Jay, his rhymes, beats and vociferous swagger are in the past. From now on, we will only receive "Jay-Z presents..." type of albums from the great rapper. Not to say The Blueprint 3 isn't full of amazing verses because it certainly is. But in this economic disaster, it's only right of Jay to bring along his friends for the ride and share some of the spotlight. Rappers gotta eat, too. Fueling the buzz, Jay cosigns Drake (who hasn't), brings lil' bro Kanye along, babygirl RiRi kills with looks and vocals and Kid Cudi gives the Hipsters some love as he gets creative. The only one missing from this compilation is TIP, sure he's in the clink, but really, Jay, you couldn't arrange for a jailhouse session.?! Back to the point, best track on The Blueprint 3 are "Real As It Gets" featuring Young Jeezy -- shit is pure fire. And let it be know, Swizzy may recycle himself to every rapper out there, but at least he twists it up enough to make it credible, especially on "On To The Next One" -- clearly superior or Timbo's "Ain't I" which is just boo-boo. "Run This Town," "D.O.A.," "Brooklyn Goes Hard," "My President Is Black," "Blow The Whistle" and "Jockin' Jay-Z" -- the tracks are what they are. It should be a general rule that if tracks leaks way before the album drops, said artist should add two new tracks to the album for each leaked. Let's hear some more NEW Jay...make it worth my while. PS - Jay, can you get over your Oasis hate, those bros have enough problems...
Pretty much what we all expected from Jay-Z.... here's the official tracklist. All his best buddies and names that hope to be riding off his status. Kid Cudi, Drake, Mr. Hudson... they all have Jay's permission to be heard. Really wished Jigga would release a Jay-only album, this compilation crap is so mixtape-ish.
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