Many artists may think that they are the best. But do they really have the skills to pay the bills? If you think you do and you’re a Latin music artist, then OurStage has the opportunity for you.

That’s right, Tr3s “El Headliner” Competition is back for October and it’s better than ever! The top Latin music act, as chosen by thousands of OurStage users and special celebrity guest judge Sohanny, will be crowned El Headliner. And to the victor go the spoils: October’s El Headliner will receive unparalleled television and online exposure through MTV Tr3s’ Top 20, Music My Güey, Descubre & Download, and Blogamole. That’s a whole lot of new ears and eyes for your music! So what are you waiting for? Enter your song today!

EST 19xx rapper Dub-O has stepped out from Machine Gun Kelly’s shadow to release his own mixtape, Do I Know You. Dropping on LiveMixtapes just a short while ago, the record features twelve new tracks almost zero guest appearances. Click here to download the album.

Still on the fence about Dub-O? That’s okay. Get a taste for a what you can expect on Do I Know You by watching his “Hy For Dayz” video below:

Enjoy Dub-O? Check out OS artist Jitta On The Track.

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White Rappers Making Waves

We love passing new music videos around the OurStage office, and now we’re going to be sharing our finds with you. Here’s this week’s freshest new clips!

Mumford & Sons – “Lover Of The Light”

It’s hard to tell exactly what Idris Elba is thinking in this video, but it sure is nice to look at. The clip shows a blind man (Elba) who is seemingly thrilled by the sunrise, talking to himself at breakfast, and almost running to his death off the cliffs of Wales. Elba co-directed the intimate video, and does a great job telling a somber story backed by an uplifting song.

Kid Cudi – “Just What I Am” (feat. King Chip)

Don’t be fooled by the frame: This video isn’t quite fine art. Cudi claims “all my videos will be in a baroque frame. I create art, so it will be presented as such. ART IN MOTION.” Um, okay. Unfortunately for Cudi, the visual companion to “Just What I Am” is nothing we haven’t seen a million times before – red solo cups, crowded party, toasting to the good life. Oh well, the song’s not bad.

Swizz Beatz – “Everyday Birthday” (feat. Chris Brown & Ludacris)

Chris Brown wakes up in bed with a “crazy” girl, Luda wakes up in a shower, Swizz is chillin’ on a yacht in Cannes. So begins “Everyday Birthday,” a whirlwind visual feast of bottles poppin’, club hoppin’, and some very evil French girls.

More like this:

Mumford & Sons ‘The Road To Red Rocks’ DVD Trailer

Kid Cudi Signs On To Rom–Com “Two Night Stand”

Given that President Barack Obama had the hip-hop vote pretty securely in the bag, it’s only fitting that the day after his re-election is awash in a wave of celebratory tracks from artists big and small. Here are three notable songs paying tribute to Obama’s second term that range from the inspiring to the incomprehensible.

Young Jeezy – “We Done It Again”

The newly minted Senior Vice President of A&R at Atlantic Records manages to cram Trayvon Martin, Hurricane Katrina, and the trillion-dollar deficit into a mere two and a half minutes. In the spiritual successor to his 2008 track “My President Is Black,” Jeezy sends out his message to “every ghetto in the world / Every little boy and little girl.” Though the new track is more cautiously optimistic this time around (“Waiting on a savior, maybe Barack”), it still a clear show of the rapper’s full support of the president.

Continue reading ‘Post-Election Songs: From Hopeful To Head-Scratching’

Artwork is one of the more under appreciated aspects of music as product. It’s unjust. Even in this day and age, when an artist can just take a picture with a smart phone, slap on an Instragram filter, and call it an album cover. IT STILL MATTERS, PEOPLE. The album cover is the forward facing marketing element for your music. If someone has never heard you, an attractive or eyecatching cover may pique their interest. Which makes terrible album artwork all the more worthy of scorn.

Now there’s a ton of examples of bad release artwork floating out in the ether, but today we turn our focus on bad mixtape cover art. Maybe it’s because mixtapes are typically low budget releases. Many on the mixtape circuit don’t have a professional design team to do their art direction. Whatever the reason, there’s just so many terrible mixtape covers. And bear in mind that every one of those artists with a mixtape with a wack cover thought the artwork was COOL AS HELL.

So let’s celebrate the campiest, the corniest, and the most trifling examples of bad mixtape covers after the jump.

Continue reading ‘Twelve Of The Worst Mixtape Covers Of All Time’

Die hard fans who can’t wait to see Lil Wayne consume copious amounts of weed, sizzurp, and luxury goods while recording his critically acclaimed 2008 album Tha Carter III are in luck. Weezy himself isn’t as fortunate, though. According to TMZ, Wayne has lost his lawsuit against Quincy Jones III, the filmmaker responsible for Tha Carter, a documentary chronicling Wayne’s life surrounding the production and release of his sixth studio album. Even though Wayne allowed the filmmaker uninhibited access to his personal life during the filming process, after viewing the documentary, Wayne attempted to legally block its release due to what he deemed an unfavorable portrayal of himself. Now, not only has Wayne lost his case against Jones, but he has been ordered to pay the filmmaker’s production company over $2 million in compensation for profits lost due to the delayed release of the film. It probably didn’t help that Wayne was unable to show up for the last few days of the court case due to his recent health problems, and was instead represented by his hilariously insolent deposition footage. And if the actual movie is anything like Wayne’s deposition clip, it’s definitely going to be worth seeing.

Lil Wayne fans should check out Locco Tha Unforgivin!

More like this:

• Lil Wayne Pushes Back ‘Dedication 4′ Mixtape Out Of Respect For 2 Chainz (And Because It’s Not Finished Yet)
• 2 Chainz Gets Motivational On First “This Is How I Made It” Episode

“Pop That” rapper French Montana has released the official music video for his latest single, “Devil Wants My Soul.” The clip was directed by Eif Rivera and features the recent Fader cover star performing his new material in various cool locales. You can view the clip below:

If you enjoy French Montana, check out OS artist BabyJay.

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• Jitta On The Track Reveals ‘Alphabet Soup’ Release Date

Sixteen-year-old Chicago rapper Chief Keef has been a rocket to superstardom throughout the majority of 2012. It all began with Kanye West sampling his street single, “I Don’t Like,” and recently hit new highs when he released the visuals for his recent single, “Love Sosa,” but all the fandom in the world cannot prepare this young artist for how his world will change when his debut album hits stores December 18. Today, Keef released the artwork for the album, entitled Finally Rich, and you can view the imagery below:

If you enjoy Chief Keef, check out OS artist Jitta on The Track.

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• Mixtape Mondays: Lloyd, Jitta On The Track, And More!

Welcome to the second installment of OurStage’s latest column, Mixtape Mondays! This feature runs 2-3 times a month and highlights the latest mixtape releases from hip hop artists around the world, as well as those here on OurStage. If you’re an aspiring hip hop superstar, send links to your OurStage account, as well as your latest mixtape to jshotwell@ourstage.com with the subject “Mixtape Monday Submission.”

Two weeks have passed since we last spoke and a slew of great new mixtapes have hit the market. We talked about how great the Fall has been for music in my last column, and it seems that streak may continue well into Winter. For this entry of Mixtape Mondays I have two releases to highlight, as well as some big news from an two artists you need to know before 2013 arrives.  Continue reading ‘Mixtape Mondays: LLoyd, Jitta On The Track, And More!’

Parting is such sweet sorrow. Except when it isn’t.

Epic Records is seeking to divest themselves of Death Grips, the noise-rap trio that the major label famously signed back in February.

In a statement released to Pitchfork, Epic Records stated that they were in the process of, “working to dissolve our relationship with Death Grips. We wish them well.”

Like hell they do. Though to be fair, Epic has every reason to be upset.

Continue reading ‘Death Grips, Epic Records Part Ways’