Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Video: A Father/Daughter Wedding Dance On Another Level

Monday, May 30, 2011

Review: Saigon - Greatest Story Never Told

Don't call it a comeback.  Saigon and Hip Hop have been living in parallel the last couple of years.  Save a few chart-toppers, Hip Hop has been in a state of suspended animation for a minute.  So it seems has Saigon, whose label woes have kept him quiet for longer than he would have anticipated.

Coming off the buzz of his role in Entourage (where he played a version of himself), Saigon was looking like gold, but the industry had other ideas.  With all that behind him, Saigon has teamed up with Legendary producer Just Blaze (Jay-Z) to craft a beast of an album, one that is lush and grimy in equal amounts.

Blaze laces each track with his trademark orchestral flourishes, ornamenting Saigon's street-level everyman rhymes with a decadent backdrop.  They don't try to re-invent the wheel here, instead they just pimp it out with new Sprewell rims and a nice cut and polish.

The album bursts out the gates with bravado on 'The Invitation', and follows up with the Jay-Z/Swizz Beatz collab Come On Baby, a club ready banger thats still sounds good, even if it is a year old.  Besides the amazing production, the key to making these songs work is Saigon's ability to find the sincerity in each topic he broaches, and he broaches a few.

'Preacher' admonishes our church leaders who live high off the congregation, and the back-to-back 'Enemies' and 'Friends' takes two different perspectives on a similar theme, being led astray by your so-called mates.  Braggadocio is the rapper staple, and Saigon has it in spades, but where his contemporaries roll out tried and trite drug manifesto's, Saigon tells it through the eyes of those who live it, whether that be young drug runner deciding between school or the corner, or as the angry son, berating absent fathers and imploring mothers to raise their kids right.

18 strong tracks is tough to pull off, but Saigon does it with ease.  One of the best of the year, one of the best of the new decade.


Video: Justice - Civilization

Justice are back.  The French duo have been gone for longer than Lady Gaga's been around, and their legend has both grown and diminished in equal amounts.  The epic video, which depict a world devoid of life except for a herd bison, is the second visual accompaniment for this song, following the Adidas 'All in' Ad campaign.  It's no 'D.A.NC.E.', but comparison to one of the best songs (and clips) of the 00's is unfair and this track makes a good fist of trying to bring their much-imitated sound into the new decade.



Thursday, May 26, 2011

Friday, May 20, 2011

Stream: BeyoncĂ© – Til The End Of Time

 Any new Beyonce track is a welcome addition to my day, especially when it's her new single.  Like the last one, it's leaked early.  B's got to get Jay-Z to track down whoever's releasing her stuff early.  Not that I'm complaining, awesome job internet!
Listen: BeyoncĂ© – Til The End Of Time
 

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Video: Young Sam - Tool Time

Young Sam is one of the host of young dance rappers that refuses to believe that 'Jerkin' is dead.  Usually these guys don't make it to a second mixtape.  However, I really can't fault Young Sam here, as the energy and fun in this tape are pretty evident throughout, and it gives me a reason to post the video for 'Tool Time'.

Video: Beyonce - Girls (Run the World) Official Video


There are things on which you can always rely - death, taxes and an awesome Beyonce video at least once a year.  This one is no exception, as it blasts out the gate with Beyonce leading an army of acolytes through an aggressive stomping routine set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.  If this is the apocalypse, count me in!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Video: Beyonce - Girls (Run the World) on Last Oprah episode

Beyonce hit up Oprah's final episode to perform Girls (Run the World).  Here's some amateur footage, with some fan singing terribly over the top of Beyonce.  You can't have everything.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Video MEGAPOST: Lady Gaga @ Radio 1's Big Weekend LIVE!

On the same weekend that she became the first person to amass 10 million followers, the unstoppable Gaga took over UK's Weekend Festival with an amazing performance. Check it out below!








Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Video: Beyonce surprises middle school dance group

Beyonce helped launch Michelle Obama's 'Lets Move' body workout campaign last week, and already the kids are getting into it.  A group of Harlem schoolgirls got the shock of their life when halfway through their routine Beyonce joined in.  Check out the looks on the girls faces, priceless!



Download: Jim Jones feat. Girl Talk & Lloyd - I Believe in Magic

Erstwhile Dipset member Jim Jones was paired up with Mashup magician Girl Talk as part of Pitchfork's selector series, and the ensuing track was so good that Jones called in R&B Crooner Lloyd to jump on the hook.  The result is below, and Jones was so impressed he has plans to release it as a single.

Download: Believe in Magic

Girl Talk's amazing Mashup Album All Day is still available for FREE download over at Illegal Arts, and you can download HERE.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Video: Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo and AfroJack - Give me Everything


Is it gonna shock you find out this one is set in... wait for it... a club.  No, I'm serious.  Between name-dropping Kodak and Lindsey Lohan and multiple shots of Voli Vodka, Pit promises the ultimate good time.  



Video: Lonely Island featuring Michael Bolton - Jack Sparrow

The Lonely Island boys team with much-maligned crooner Bolton for a tribute to... Jack Sparrow?

Friday, May 6, 2011

Video: Vin Deisel Breakdancing as a kid

Don't know how I missed this, but with Fast Five blowing up in cinema's I thought it was a good time to bring it back.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Video: Lady Gaga - Judas

I'm surprised that video's can still 'leak' on to the internet, but that's the way it goes when your as big as Gaga.  Apparently the religious imagery has been causing controversy, but I'm not feeling that.  It's a pretty straightforward clip.  It's not very cinematic, in the way that say 'Videophone' was, so the religious allegory and 'story' aspects of the clip get lost.  However, there is a hell of a lot of dancing, which is basically what you want out of a good pop song anyway, so the clip definitely holds your interest.  That said, I'm not really feeling the song either.  Anyway, here it is for you in all its glory!



Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Video: Usher performs with his sons!


Usher has two kids, and presented them the other night in Orlando, and I gotta say, one of them is pretty ugly.


Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Video: Dance Viral Video's of the week!

I'm about a week behind with these vids, so apologies if all y'all have them.  We've got some doozies.  First, Hulk Hogan is doing the Chicken Dance, then some US Marines get down to Britney's Hold it against me and to top it off, Heather Morris from Glee shows off some pretty sweet dance moves.





Monday, May 2, 2011

Stream: Jai Paul - BTSTU (Edit)

Jai Paul is a kid from Rayners Lane in London, and it takes the detached world view of a town built around a train station to convince someone to mess about with R&B like this.  The beats are bulletproof and sturdy, with Paul's falsetto weaving through them, but there's more at play here than hot beats and vocals.  Lots of engaging flourishes are added to mix to keep you interested, and the resulting concoction is pretty hypnotic.  This is an edit of a demo he put out last year, and it definitely raises his soon-to-be-released album into 'eagerly awaited' status.

Jai Paul - BTSTU (Edit) by Jai Paul

You can download the original version HERE