After the hype behind his debut release, his signing to Def Jam Records, and the recent brave confession about his bisexuality, the tables have indeed turned from Frank Ocean...
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For pop-sensation Rihanna, 2011 has definitely been a promising year. With a bunch of her songs constantly topping the charts the anticipation for her sixth studio release was ridiculously high. Talk That Talk was released on November 18, via Def Jam Recordings.
Opening the record is “You Da One” which is the albums second single to date. Similar in structure and style to likes of “Man Down” which featured on her last album Loud, “You Da One” sticks to a steady, Caribbean like beat equipped with easy sing-along lyrics.
Mac Miller is a nineteen year old rapper from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Miller is a self-taught musician; he can play piano, guitar, bass, and drums. In July 2010, he was signed to Rostrum Records. Since then, he has released K.I.D.S. and Best Day Ever.
Miller took the world (particularly the internet) by storm in 2011 leading up to his first official album, Blue Slide Park. Pre-orders alone got this album to number 3 overall on iTunes. This highly anticipated album dropped on November 8, 2011.
There’s no debate who the big four of hip hop has been for the past five years: Eminem (Shady/Aftermath), Kanye West (GOOD Music), Lil Wayne (Young Money), and Jay-Z (Roc Nation). These four have built pseudo-empires within the rap game, establishing themselves as mentors for up and coming talents. Think about working with any of those: Eminem may be the best lyricist in the game, but he’s also the most anal retentive and intimidating. Marshall Mathers does not exude warmness. Kanye is the best overall artist: producer, lyricist, and rapper. Ye’s mentorship offers the most room for growth and he is firm supporter (see Big Sean), but Kanye would be the hardest to surpass. You would never be meant to eclipse him, the highest goal being his equal.
Anybody would be happy with either, but now imagine rapping for Young Money, under the privileged tutelage of Weezy F (Baby). He would probably invite you to smoke pot with him multiple times a day, invite you to club visits, and shower you with beats.
Jack’s Mannequin is back with a new album, People and Things. The band has matured musically since their last album, The Glass Passenger, which was released in 2008. SingerAndrew McMahon has definitely seen highs and lows in the past seven years. The band’s wild success in 2004 with Everything in Transit made it seem like Jack’s Mannequin was unstoppable. Unfortunately, in June of 2005, Andrew was diagnosed with leukemia, which forced him to cancel upcoming shows. Through his music and live shows, Andrew fought hard against cancer and won his battle. This album release clearly shows all of Andrew’s inner thoughts and struggles. People and Things is an inspirational album that you should definitely pick up.
The Bigger Lights have come quite a long way within the course of the last year. With strength at hand, the band took off quite a gap of time from their intensive touring spree in order to seriously get down to business in writing and recording a new record. This new record, titled Battle Hymn, drops tomorrow on iTunes but has been streaming exclusively through Property of Zack for a few days now in order to give fans an opportunity to grasp its intentions ahead of time. Since the release of their debut self-titled album last year, The Bigger Lights have proved to the world that they have the power to change music and that is exactly what they did with this new album. Give it a listen at Property of Zack and make sure you pick it up tomorrow on iTunes!