Trackstar pulled my coat to this pretty tough mix by NYC’s DJ Synapse.

“The influence of Uncle Charlie Wilson on R&B & Hip-Hop is extraordinary. From being the main force in the legendary Gap Band, who’s classic songs “Yearnin For Your Love”, “Outstanding” and “Dropped A Bomb On Me” have been sampled in countless Hip-Hop, R&B and Pop songs, Read the rest of this entry »

Just when it seemed safe to bet that Kanye was done for 2010, the Internet gods have granted the world with the “Monster” video. Albeit, this is an rough cut akin to watching a bootleg movie but we know that won’t stop most from clicking play just to see what Kanye and friends did with one of the most charged tracks from Fantasy…. Read the rest of this entry »

Am I the only one who forgot about this song? Looked over after G.O.O.D. Friday became a weekly holiday and actual album hype started snowballing, “See Me Now” was once a rumored single for something called G.O.O.D. Ass Job and has now been repackaged as an iTunes bonus track featuring B-I-G Sean. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’ve got the tools at your disposal, why not use them? Gaudy in line-up alone, Kanye West may have just delivered the song of the year. Triumphant, well-packaged and commanding more attention than any publicity stunt or concert appearance, “All Of The Lights” is a conduit of empowerment from the uninhibited uber-celebrity into listeners who both love and loathe him. Read the rest of this entry »

Terrace Martin is one smart cookie. He knew that his musical expertise associated with any project would make it respected. He knew that by paying homage to Marvin’s classic baby-maker would garner some interest. And he also knew that throwing Houston’s newest angel, Devi Dev into the fray would just sexify the entire thing up 10x. Seriously, have you seen the smile on that woman? Yeah, Snoop, Wiz Khalifa, U-N-I and few other notables are present but Devi’s personality puts this project in a whole ‘nother perspective. Read the rest of this entry »

Truth of the matter is that there’s no way that anything G.O.O.D. released on Friday was going to trump their number one space cadet’s Complex tirade. Still, Kanye has a commitment to live up to with G.O.O.D. Music Fridays and dropped “Lord, Lord, Lord” in the night’s waning hours. Read the rest of this entry »

Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Music Fridays have been nothing short of entertaining and Week 4′s entry, “Good Friday,” keeps the momentum. Over a riveting drumline and piano, a resurrected Lonnie Lynn delivers a quick appearance followed by Kanye’s verse, which seems to announce his arrival for NY’s Fashion Week complete with brand mentions and enthusiasm we’ve come to expect from ‘Ye right now. However, the track’s star? Read the rest of this entry »

Diamond The Show Stopper

50 Cent Says To Blame It All On Tiny [WWTDD]

Caron “The Businessman” Butler [Slam]

Clark Atlanta University LudaDay Block Party [Ozone]

The 50 Greatest Air Max 90s of All Time [Complex]

Charlie Wilson Talks Working On Kanye’s ‘See Me Now’ & ‘Monster’ [Vibe] Read the rest of this entry »

Just when you thought you Kanye was on some BS with G.O.O.D. Friday, he terrorizes the blogosphere like a horror flick with this joint right here. Yeezy. Jay. Nicki. Scary combination indeed. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m gonna let you finish but I got Beyoncé on the track…”

Kanye stopped by Hot 97 and sat down with Angie Martinez for an interview. Read the rest of this entry »

The ringer on my phone is Gap Band’s “Outstanding” for the same reason “Computer Love” will be in steady rotation for the rest of my life. Charlie Wilson is the friggin’ man. Read the rest of this entry »

Out of left field, here’s Tank, who drops this new, DJ Khaled-esque R&B mega-mix, “If You Dream” featuring half the R&B world. Three things comes to mind.

1) Where’s K-Ci? Read the rest of this entry »

…or an extremely wishful thinker.

As “the music man,” you already know one of my aunties hit me with an mp3 player when I got to my parents house yesterday. 2GBs with the only instructions “I want the Beyonce ‘Put A Ring On It’ video (anybody got an .avi version or know how to convert .mkv’s to .avi?) and that song by whatshisname…you know…that one man.”

“Who? John Legend (my mom’s favorite so I just figured)? D’Angelo? Anthony Hamilton?”

“No, that one man…with that one song…*breaks into a light alto* ‘Theeereee goooeess…”

“…Myy baaayyyy-baaayyyyyy”

I’ve been meaning to mention this song anyways but that really gave me a frame of reference from which to work. Charlie makes good music even if it’s not remarkably Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday I was bouncing to Roger and Zapp’s Greatest Hits in the whip, wishing Charlie Wilson’s classical voice had graced more of the late, great Mr.Troutman’s work than just “Computer Love.” Today, I stumbled across DJ Envy’s reworked version of that very song, called “Download,” featuring Lil Kim, Teddy RuksPain and the man himself, Uncle Charlie. Read the rest of this entry »