G.O.O.D. Music member Pusha T has released the visuals to his Kanye West produced single, “Numbers On The Board.”
Backed by one of the most discussed beats of the year, Pusha T goes in on “Numbers On The Board.” His cockiness is nothing new, nor his incredible lyrical skills, but starting with the unique production there is something about this track that sticks to you. Even if you find the music element grating in some way, Pusha’s bars stick to you like glue. Click below to see (and hear) what I mean.
Hip hop is a universal language, but the limitless amount of slang used therein is often far more regional. Often what makes a new artist so intriguing is their ability to tell a familiar story in a unique way, and when Pusha T and Clipse were still new in the genre there was no other duo telling stories quite like them. On their Sophomore release, Hell Hath No Fury, the brothers from Virginia delivered the single “Keys Open Doors” to deafening fanfare, but it wasn’t until now that the story behind the track has been revealed. In a new video feature with Decoded, Pusha T strips down the verses of “Keys Open Doors” to reveal the turbulent journey he and Malice went through to make it with great detail. You can view the clip and stream the song below. Continue reading ‘Pusha T Decodes “Keys Open Doors”’
G.O.O.D. Music artist Pusha T is a busy man. After performing at SXSW last week, Pusha is gearing up for a series of US dates while continuing to work away his days in the studio.
Speaking with MTV Hive recently, Pusha discussed his desired collaborations if money and time were not an issue. The first person on his mind? None other than “Skyfall” Oscar winner Adele.
“I feel like I could get Kanye to do the track of all tracks and I could get Adele to sing the soul of all soul on one of my most introspective records ever, that would be it.”
We have to agree with Pusha on this one. After building a career on his own story of struggle and perserverence, the only thing that could take Pusha’s emotional depth any further would be the angelic-yet-heartbreaking voice of Adele. Whether or not it will happen is anyone’s guess, but it’s not like a superstar guest appearance would be the most insane thing someone working with Kanye West has ever done, right?
With an album on the way for release later this year, Pusha-T has given us all something to hold us over until then. He has released an 11-track mixtape titled Wrath of Caine, which features contributions and support by Rick Ross, Wale, and French Montana. The mixtape also features production from Young Chop, The Neptunes, and Kanye West. Check out the entire mixtape here!
The stance hasn’t really hurt his career thus far. In fact, some are saying that West is having the best hot streak in rap history. But it seems that Kanye was also compelled to give some insight into the recording process and sound of his upcoming album/G.O.O.D. Music coming out party Cruel Summer. That’s why he felt compelled to put out a video talking about the album. But who better to ask questions of West, to probe the mind of the gifted producer/rapper, then himself?
Today’s new albums are an eclectic batch in the world of pop! Looks like female vocalists are taking over this week.
The Killers - Battle Born (9/17) The band’s fourth LP after their year-and-a-half hiatus.
Carly Rae Jepsen - Kiss (9/18)
The Canadian popstar’s sophomore album after skyrocketing to fame earlier this year with her smash hit of the summer “Call Me Maybe.”
Guerilla Union kicked off their 9th Annual ‘Rock The Bells’ Festival in San Bernardino, Calif. The two-day event attracted thousands of hip-hop fans to three stages featuring an eclectic mix of headliners, up-and-comers, and old-school favorites. The blistering heat was no match for the scorching set-list that included Kendrick Lamar, Tyga, Nas, Ice Cube, and Common among others.
Photo by: Ashton Bowles
The first day of the festival was a real scorcher, with temperatures reaching 101 degrees, leaving fans clamoring for shade between sets. Still, 2Chainz’ mid-day performance on the 36 Chambers stage was packed. Fresh off his No. 1 album debut last week, he treated the crowd to dance lessons during his high-energy set; where he performed hits like “Mercy, “Beez In The Trap”, and “No Lie”.
Yelawolf was the next emcee to grace the stage and was backed up by Psycho White collaborator, Travis Barker on the drums. The Detroit-based rapper rocked an American flag under his hat and waved middle fingers to the crowd throughout his 30-minute set.
Tyga rocked his noticeably young crowd with a medley of radio hits; showing off his tattoo collection to throngs of screaming girls. Across the lot, Common delivered a power-packed performance of classic hits including, “I Used To Love Her,” “Testify,” and “Be”. Dressed casually in shorts and a T-shirt, his subdued set was a welcomed relief from the more eccentric offerings of the day.
The 2012 BET Awards were held Sunday night in Los Angeles, setting the tone for a sizzling summer of new music from some of hip-hop’s biggest names. Beyoncé took home the trophy for Best Female R&B Artist while Nicki Minaj nabbed Best Female Hip Hop Artist for the third year in a row.
Whitney Houston was given one final farewell from a group of very talented loved ones including her mother, Cissy Houston, who sang “Bridge Over Troubled Water” to a sobbing crowd. Mariah Carey and Angela Bassett, along with the rest of Houston’s Waiting To Exhale cast mates, also delivered heartfelt tributes.
Performances from Chris Brown, D’Angelo, and Kanye West provided previews for some of this season’s most anticipated releases. Brown’s album, Fortune, was just released on July 3. Last weekend, Brown was honored at the 2012 BET Awards winning Best Male R&B Artist after he gave a power-packed performance of “Turn Up The Music” and “Don’t Wake Me Up” to a turned up crowd who can’t help but be mesmerized by his unrivaled dance moves and brightly painted bare chest. His newest singles dropped last week and included one Drake diss and two crazy collaborations; “ Mirage” featuring Nas and “Get Down” featuring B.o.B., as well as one stellar solo offering, “Trumpet Lights”. Continue reading ‘Soundcheck: Hot Summer Hip-Hop’
Young Money Cash Money Baby. Getting Out Our Dreams Music. Two of the biggest labels/collectives in hip-hop right now. And they both have beef with one another.
Fight fight fight!
The problem seemingly started with the release of “Exodus 21:3,” the diss track from G.O.O.D. stable member and one half of the Clipse Pusha T. We covered the track and the subsequent reaction from YMCMB head honcho Lil Wayne. With one strongly worded tweet, the fight was on. But who, exactly, is fighting?
There’s been bad blood brewing between Wayne and Pusha T for years. The first sign of beef between the two rappers seems to extend all the way back to 2006 when the Clipse was still a going concern. MissInfo.tv has a great rundown of how the beef developed; Pusha takes some subliminal (read: perceived) jabs at Wayne in the video and in the verses for the track “Mr. Me Too.”
From there, Wayne and Pusha exchange shots through radio interviews and in soundbites. This round of the squabble came to a head with a contentious interview from Lil Wayne in Complex Magazine. Fortunately, things had become relatively calm since then. In 2011, Pusha T actually congratulated Wayne on his recent release from incarceration on his Fear Of God mixtape:
So all word of drama between the two rappers was squashed… until “Exodus 23:1″ dropped.
There’s definitely something going on between Wayne and Pusha, but whether they’ll be able to work through this most recent animus is anyone’s guess. So how have the rest of G.O.O.D. Music and YMCMB reacted? Are guns being drawn? Well, not really.
Drake, arguably the most popular and public face of the YMCMB brand has been relatively quiet compared to his mentor Wayne. Drake and Pusha have also traded barbs in the past few months—Pusha may have been going after Drake when he went over the beat from “Dreams Money Can Buy” for his track “Don’t Fuck With Me”—but the Canadian MC has only commented on the war of words once at an appearance in Washington, D.C. Other members of YMCMB haven’t really chimed in, with the exception of Young Money Entertainment President Mack Maine, who compared Pusha T to a gnat in an interview with MTV. Said Maine, “(s)ometimes you swat it and the gnat dies; sometimes it just go away.”
So, is there really a beef between the two labels? In that same interview, Maine denied any discord between the two groups. Indeed, G.O.O.D. Music member Big Sean is featured on Lil Wayne’s most recent single “My Homies Still.” Sean himself dismissed perceptions of contention between G.O.O.D. and YMCMB. G.O.O.D. boss Kanye West has made mention of the beef (he’s too busy playing “N***as in Paris” 11 times in a row at Watch The Throne shows). In fact, the only other G.O.O.D. music member to make reference to the beef was Kid Cudi. And his tweet in response to the growing rabble around Pusha T didn’t really cast any aspersions. The Cudder just wanted to know that he has his homie’s back.
What’s the deal then with the YMCMB/G.O.O.D. Music fight? In hindsight, it seems that brewing battle between G.O.O.D. Music and YMCMB is little more than media-generated hoopla. As for Pusha T and Lil Wayne’s continued bickering, Andy Milonakis put it best.
G.O.O.D. Music. YMCMB. What do they have in common? Well, they’re both high profile hip-hop collectives, their names are both comprised of acronyms, and, as of a few days ago, they’ve got beef with each other.
The catalyst for the antagonism between the two camps is “Exodus 23:1,” a new track released by rapper Pusha T. “Exodus” is reportedly a taste of Pusha’s upcoming solo record set for release later this year. The track is certainly a diss track – the song opens up with talk of beef “best served like steak/well done” – though it fails to call out any potential target(s) by name. Whoever the object of Pusha’s anger might be, Lil Wayne took offense. The YMCMB rapper voiced his opinion about Pusha T in a tweet shortly after the song appeared online.
G.O.O.D. Music member Pusha T has released the visuals to his Kanye West produced single, “Numbers On The Board.”
