Tag: "Jay Z"

It’s that time of the year where we pretty much feel obligated to make some kind of year-end list that sums up our favorite happenings or people in the music world. But hey, if the world ends in 2012, this could be our last opportunity to make one of these! Anyway, we’re switching it up a little bit—since this is Live Wired, we’re only going to focus on what what went on in arenas and small clubs across the world. Instead of simply making a ‘best of’ list, we’re giving out superlatives to some of the artists and bands who went on tour this year.

Top Grossing & Most Attended: U2 360° Tour

Starting back in 2009, U2 embarked on a worldwide tour and just didn’t stop until the summer of this year. Between all the records they broke and the extravagant set they treated the sold out crowds to each night, this tour was nothing short of amazing. It even grossed about $100 million more than the next best tour this year (Bon Jovi). Total Gross: $293,281,487 / Total Attendance: 2,887,972

Most Hyped: Watch The Throne Tour

Two of the biggest names in the world of music, Kanye West and Jay-Z teamed up and finally released their collaboration album Watch The Throne in August, and pleased fans even more by going on tour in support of the release.

Continue reading ‘Live Wired: 2011 Tour Recap’

It’s been quite a year for T.I. An early prison release followed by a quick return to the slammer followed by another early release and ANOTHER turn around trip to prison before heading home to his beloved family, friends, fans—and film crew.

The self-proclaimed King of The South has had a tumultuous and somewhat ironic journey to the top and the bottom, and may now end up somewhere in the middle. T.I. first headed to prison on gun charges; but only after he filmed a reality special aimed at keeping kids out of trouble.  The next time he wound up in the hot seat, (this time for a parole violation) he conveniently saved a suicidal fan from jumping off a building by literally talking him off the ledge.  Upon his release, Tip wasted no time jumping back into the limelight. He has already filmed another reality show for BET, T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle, which started rolling the moment he stepped off the prison grounds.

He was greeted with open arms just days after his release at the BET Hip Hop Awards, where he kicked off the night’s festivities by hitting the stage for a performance of“I’m Flexin’” alongside Jeezy, spitting lyrics that described his current sentiments. “I been out of sigh been out of mind…another year of prison promise this is it for me trying to make It through the storm should be makin’ history. No feeling sorry keep your pity and your sympathy good or bad take it like a man whatever meant to be.”

Continue reading ‘Soundcheck: Will T.I. Take Back The Top Spot?’

It was a big year in the world of music. The past twelve months were filled with huge collaborations, new releases across every genre and some drama as well. The year also brought us lots of new talent to go crazy over, and the loss of some incredibly influential artists. So, let’s review 2011 and highlight the top stories that affected the world of music—from concerts to television; technology to YouTube sensations.

• Jay-Z and Kanye West teamed up to release their much-anticipated collaboration album, Watch The Throne, in the beginning of August. They’re currently on tour across the United States and Canada promoting the album, which has already been certified Platinum.
• Tragedy struck big music festivals in a couple countries, when severe weather caused stages to collapse. Ottawa Bluesfest and Pukkelpop Festival were two of the events affected.
• Ryan Murphy apparently took it personally when artists such as Slash, Kings of Leon and and Foo Fighters didn’t want their songs to be used on Glee. Dave Grohl was especially pissed, calling out Murphy for thinking every artist would want their songs featured on his show.
• Speaking of drama, some artists learned the hard way that Twitter is not all fun and games. For example, rapper The Game almost got himself in trouble with the authorities, when he tweeted a number for fans to call, which happened to be the phone number of the  Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. Continue reading ‘Most Memorable Music News of 2011′

• Lana Del Rey better watch herself, less she gets a face full of crazy Courtney Love.
• After getting cut from The Muppets, Lady Gaga’s going with her second choice.
• Seeing Adele bide her time with newly fixed vocal chords is actually kind of terrifying.
• Granted she wasn’t even alive at the height of Led Zeppelin’s career, but C’MON.
• More like a high-pitched girly scream, according to Bono, but hey, who are we to judge?
• Glad to see Trent Renzor can go back to being a dark, moody, and misjudged artist again.
• Just announced: we’ve found Jay-Z and Kanye. They’re in this mysterious place called the zone.
• So, iTunes UK is panning out pretty much exactly the same as the rest of the world then.

The 2012 GRAMMY nominations are in and it looks like another big year for hip hop, with the genre’s brightest stars earning the majority of nominations for the music industry’s biggest honor.

Leading the pack with seven nominations is Kanye West. His hit “All Of The Lights” earned nods for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Song of The Year while his joint album with Jay-Z, Watch The Throne, is up against his own My Beautiful, Dark, Twisted Fantasy for Best Rap Album.  The duo is also nominated for Best Rap Performance for their song, “Otis”.

Bruno Mars and Adele are tied with Foo Fighters with six nominations each.  While it may seem a little dated by now, Mars’ debut missed last year’s cut-off.  His debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans is up for Album of The Year while his hit, “Grenade” is vying for Song Of The Year, Record of The Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance.  Lil Wayne isn’t far behind with five nominations including Best Rap Performance for  “Look At Me Now” with Busta Rhymes and Chris Brown. Like West, Weezy will battle himself in the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration category where he’s nominated for “I’m On One” with Rick Ross, Drake, and DJ Khaled and “Motivation” his duet with Kelly Rowland.

Continue reading ‘Soundcheck: GRAMMY Showdown — Nicki vs. Kanye vs. Jay-Z’

Talk That Talk hit stores November 21, making it the sixth studio album we’ve seen from Rihanna in six years.  The busy Barbadian beauty has been touring in support of last year’s platinum-selling album, Loud for the past year, and released Talk while on the second European leg of her Loud tour. The album’s single, “We Found Love” has been No. 1 on the charts since it hit the airwaves and shows no sign of slowing down.  The racy video features a strung out RiRi tearing up the town with a Chris Brown look alike.  Thankfully, that’s about the only reference to her ex we see from this project.  The rest is a welcomed departure from her darker days of Rated R.

The only feature on the project comes from Jay-Z on the album’s title track, where he spits a verse boasting about his bedroom skills and flying to Jamaica to get the best ganja.  It’s a little unexpected from the Forbes cover boy, but it’s nice to be reminded that Hov isn’t always a big wig who’s too important to rap about sex and smoking weed. And while the note from the man who discovered her is a nice touch, it’s evident that Rihanna didn’t need any help making this record a winner.

The eleven-song album is heavy on the sex and love and light on the drama.  She’s found her stride with her unique brand of pop/house/R&B and found songwriters who seem to get where she’s coming from.  She can still throw a reggae vibe on a dance track and create something that works anywhere in the country.  Her naughty lyrics are super sexual, but somehow she manages to deliver the devilish goods in a way that comes off as racy, not raunchy. She worked with an all star line up of song writers and producers including The Dream, Alex Da Kid, Stargate, and Dr. Luke among others to create a truly unique and cohesive product.

It’s hard to pick a stand out from the short list of strong tracks.  “Where Have You Been” is a sure crowd pleaser and “Birthday Cake” is likely to become the new word for the female pleasure zone.  Songs like “You Da One” and “ Drunk On Love” remind us that we’re all just out in the world, looking for someone to love. It’s a simple theme that permeates the album, and offers justification for some of the harder hitting tracks.

So far, critics have applauded the album that went head to head against another highly-anticipate Diva drop, Mary J. Blige’s My Life 2. While one would expect some competition, I think Rihanna’s appeal stretches much further than the realms of the urban crowd.  Her fan base is clearly younger, and her delivery is too fun and fresh to be deterred by heart-wrenching ballads on the same subject. People Magazine called Talk That Talk “one of 2011’s best pop-diva statements,” while others call it her strongest project to date.  In one of the most accurate reviews, Billboard calls the album, “a fleshed-out statement that captures Rihanna’s relentless drive and will likely keep her on top. This album’s not a victory lap; it’s a whole new race.”

Given the ease with which she transitioned from Loud to Talk That Talk,  and the fact that there wasn’t one “skip” song on the album, I couldn’t agree more.  Rihanna is on a whole new level without a rival in sight.  The only question now, is where will she go from here?

Jay-Z is the king of the rap game. Widely regarded as one of, if not the, best living rapper, Hov has the unique ability to make street-hardened music but still sell tons of records and hit singles. Beginning his career in the early ’90s as a protege of childhood friend The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z has since set the record for Number 1 albums on the Billboard 200 (eleven total) by a solo artist. Despite all of his commercial success, no one can accuse him of selling out. Throughout his career he has always focused on making quality hip hop, and he never intentionally tries to pander to the Top 40 audience. Jay-Z is respected by rappers worldwide for his varied flow and complex rhyme schemes. All rappers strive to achieve the success that Jay-Z has had, and OurStage artist Jae Apollo is no exception.

Jay-Z

OurStage's Jae Apollo

Like Jay-Z, Jae Apollo shares a similar attention to detail in his flows. Check out his song “Rule The World Freestyle” and you can hear an emcee at the top of his game. In fact, this song shares some similarities in style to Jay-Z’s debut album Reasonable Doubt, particularly the track “Feelin’ It.” Both songs are based around a dusty piano loop and a basic drum beat. The simple beat in both songs allows each rapper to showcase their complex flows and wordplay without the beat getting in the way. While the Jae Apollo song is slightly faster than Jay-Z’s, both emcees use similar flows and continually change up their rhyming schemes throughout the song. “Sonnet 116″ uses a similar technique with its beat, by looping a piano melody on a simple drum beat. However, this song has a somewhat darker tone with subtle synths used in the background to create an eerie effect. “Warring With The Devil” is another song that shows stylistic similarities to Jay-Z, but this song has more in common with the rapper’s later career output rather than his early work. The beat uses the technique of speeding up samples and looping them that Jay-Z popularized on his album The Blueprint.

Continue reading ‘Jae Apollo Vs. Jay-Z’

With performances from Will.i.am, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Brown, Pitbull and Drake among others, the 2011 American Music Awards provided an eclectic mix of music this year.Andthanks to thenineteen performances sprinkled throughout the show, fans were able to see some of musics brightest stars shine on the big stage.

Nicki Minaj was on top of the world last night after nabbing two of the biggest hip hop honors of the night. She scored Favorite Artist and Favorite Album for Pink Friday, beating out Jay-Z and Kanye Wests Watch The Throne and mentor Lil Waynes The Carter IV. She also delivered a killer show-opening performance of Superbass and Turn Me On alongside David Guetta, and some serious wardrobe that included speakers in her backside. In her acceptance speeches, a truly touched Minaj thanked her Young Money crew, Weezy, and Taylor Swift and wore an unusually classy, green gown, proving this girl really does clean up nice.

50 Cent was on deck to introduce Chris Brown, who he called the main event, noting youve never really seen this performer unless youve seen him live, before Brown and his bleached-blonde hair hit the stage for dance-heavy renditions of All Back and Say It With Me. Although Brown was nominated for two awards, he wasnt a winner, getting beat out by ex, Rihanna for Favorite Album and Usher for Favorite Male Artist.

Since RiRi was in Europe on her Loud tour, she accepted her award via satellite, as did Beyonc, who scored the award for Favorite Female Artist beating out Rihanna and ex-band mate, Kelly Rowland.

Another big winner for the night was Jennifer Lopez. Aside from two show-stopping performances (one with Pittbul and a Fiat, and one with Will.i.am), she also nabbed Favorite Latin Artist, breaking a five-year winning streak for Enrique Iglesias. When she first hit the stage in a jeweled, skin-colored bodysuit (Britney, anyone?) and danced in, around, and through, her perfectly placed Fiat, she proved to the world that shes still got the moves of a fly girl. Later, she gave an amped-up performance alongside Will.i.am, performing his new single, T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever) which also features rock icon, Mick Jagger.

Enrique Iglesias hit the stage later to perform his hit, I Like How It Feels backed by the Crenshaw High School choir, and was later joined by Ludacris, who spit his verse on Tonight (Im Loving You) in a preppy sweater look. British import Adele, racked up three awards including Favorite Artist, Favorite Album, and Favorite Female Artist for her groundbreaking project, 21.

Mary J. Blige hit the stage in an all-white suit to perform Mr. Wrong without Drake, who later took the stage to give his own performance of Headlines in front of a live band. After her performance, MJB gave a heartfelt tribute to fallen friend, Heavy D.

Missing from the audience this year were Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross and a handful of other hip hop heavyweights. In their defense, with only two real hip hop categories, the AMAs are not a major destination for these guys, unless they have an album to promote.

• Axl Rose’s solution: blame the guy who isn’t in the band anymore.
• And who said that political movements couldn’t be lucrative?
• For German dudes, Rammstein sure tan well.
• RHCP: “We aren’t changing for you, you’re changing for us.”
• And a new music superpower was born.
• For anybody who can’t get enough 11 in their lives.
• Noel’s not desperate, unless it’s for cash.
• We’re sad too, Peter. We’re sad too.
• Nadine’s obviously too cool for Girls Aloud.

Beyoncé is having a rough 2011. I don’t know how she felt about turning thirty on September 4, but if she’s as career-obsessed as I suspect she is, it was probably the least of her concerns. Yes, 2011 has not been without a few triumphs: She rocked the Glastonbury Festival in June, and she set a Twitter record for “most tweets per second recorded for a single event” (8,868) when she announced at the August 28 MTV Video Music Awards that she is expecting her first child with husband Jay-Z.

But by October, even that bright spot was mired in controversy when Beyoncé’s baby bump seemed to collapse as she sat down for a couch chat during an Australian TV appearance. A faked pregnancy? Stranger things have happened—like an underperforming Beyoncé album. Despite debuting at No. 1 with 310,000 copies sold its first week in June, Beyoncé’s fourth solo album, 4, has sold below expectations while failing to launch a major hit single.

But collapsing baby bumps and album sales might be small-time woes compared to the accusations of theft and copyright infringement that continue to dog the singer.

In the past, she’s been accused of contributing minimally to the creation of some of the songs for which she receives songwriting credit, and in 2005, she was sued (albeit unsuccessfully) for copyright infringement for her 2003 No. 1 hit “Baby Boy.” Then in 2006, Destiny’s Child‘s “Cater 2 U,” for which Beyoncé and her group mates were listed as co-writers, was at the center of another copyright infringement suit, which was settled out of court.

Continue reading ‘Sound And Vision: Beyoncé’s “Plagiarism” Controversies — Has She Been Caught Stealing, Or Is She Paying Homage (Again)?’