Fresh From The Editing Suite...

***UPDATED***

This post is dedicated to my little Sister - Happy Birthday!

I've gotta admit I'm quite pleased with myself with this edition of 'Fresh From The Editing Suite'.
It's like playing 6 degrees of seperation, the only artist who's missing from this is Beyonce.

Rihanna - Cheers

Although I do believe these are the laziest type of videos an artists can make I love them. Nothing beats seeing behind the scenes footage of all that goes on when these stars are on the road, especially when you're actually interested in what they get up to. 'Cheers' is yet another release from Rihanna's Loud album, and the video documents all she's been up to in the last few months. The video also shows her sporting her new hairstyle and colour which I'm really feeling; finally the red is dead and buried.



Nicki Minaj - Fly (feat. Rihanna)

Once upon a time I was a massive Nicki Minaj fan but since her "fashion" sense upgraded to crazy I've switched off. In this video she does well to rock a couple crazy looks, none of which help to put across the potentially inspiring story behind this song. The video isn't really anything special, and I'm really struggling to understand the bit when she goes all ninja on some dudes. And am I the only one who thinks the video was located on the exact same set as Chris Brown's video 'Next To You'; very coincidental.


Lil' Wayne - How To Love

So Tha Carter 4  is here. Anyway. Yeah the hype around Weezy is pretty much gone, and 'How To Love' isn't exactly the best song to use to try to resuscitate the hype. I know it's meant to be one of those deep tracks that make you think but I want a song I can dance to man. The story in the video good but it's been done before, that's not to say that any video treatments nowadays are unique but it could've been done in a refreshing way.


Jay Z & Kanye West - Otis

Ok, my hands are up, I was not excited about Jay & Kanye getting together to make an album because their bromance is a tad bit annoying. But it'd be rude not to appreciate the great music that they make when they hit the studio. 'Otis' unlike 'H.A.M.' is very enticing to the ear and also typical Kanye, and the added element of Jay Z makes it that much better. The video's fun to watch, like who doesn't want to see rappers "discreetly" show off how much money they have by making a video that doesn't have a lot to it.


J. Cole - Work Out

'Work Out' is definitely my favourite song in this bunch, what should I say about the brilliance that is J. Cole? Maybe I'll just start by saying he has smacked it, this is the feel good song of the summer (even though it's more or less over), this track makes going back to the office that bit more bearable, and it 100% gets you ready for the weekend. The video to accompany the track is pretty standard for Cole, not too much going on but you still wanna watch it to see what goes down. Looking forward to the album, which I shall be pre-ordering...COLE WORLD!!

And just in case you missed my six degrees of separation let me break it down for you:

Rihanna obviously features on Nicki Minaj's track, Nicki's part of Young Money which is Lil' Wayne's clique, Wayne and Jay Z have collaborated on tracks together and are the Mr. Carters, and then finally J. Cole was the first artist to be signed to Jay Z's label Roc Nation #SICK

Fresh From The Editing Suite...

Frank Ocean -Novacane

If you don't know about Frank Ocean by now then I really have to ask where have you been?
This guy dropped one of 2011's sickest mixtapes a little while back, and he has managed to keep a pretty low profile which has kept us all wanting more. This song 'Novacane' is definitely one of my favourites from 'Nostaglia/ULTRA', and I'm so happy he decided to put some visuals to the words.
The video is nothing less than odd, but hey he is part of OFWGKTA, so what did we expect. I like that the video pushes the feeling of the high he experiencing in the song. The video also has a pretty cool ending too. I'm hoping a video for 'Nature Feels' surfaces soon, because that's my jam.



Kanye West - Monster ft. Rick Ross, Jay Z, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver

So footage for this single dropped about four months ago but it just didn't seem finished. Turns out I was right, the video wasn't complete. Above is the official video for Mr. West's biggest banger to date 'Monster'. This track is in itself a monster; it features too many heavy hitters, who each grace this track with some wicked verses. The video is classic Kanye - genius. I've probably said this before but he hands down has the best videography out there. The only criticism I have for this video is Nicki Minaj's lace wig - girl!

Nicola Roberts - Beat Of My Drum

There's no doubt that I prefer this debut single to those of Cheryl's and Nadine's. I like that Nicola is embracing her own style and her sound (unlike the other two it isn't outdated or fake). Now to get stuck in...There are three things I dislike a lot about this song and video (1) Diplo bumped her because certain beats in this song sound way too similar to those from Beyonce's latest single 'Run The World (Girls)'. (2) Nicola doesn't yet seem like she's all that comfortable making a video without four other girls. (3) Finally Nicola needs to leave some of the dance moves she attempts alone - bye girl, fly girl!

Be sure to leave comments and let me know what you think of this song, laters xx

Video Of The Week

I saw this video on WorldStarHipHop and I was amazed. The duo in the video, Karmin, did a wicked job of covering Chris Brown's song 'Look At Me Now'. They definitely owned it; the lady smacked all the verses, they can both sing and  they switched it up to suit their style, her voice, and even her gender. As I know you're going to like this video, I highly recommend you check out Karmin's website, to see more covers and original music from the duo - KARMIN MUSIC

But for now enjoy:

30 Minutes Later...

 

 

So I was so taken back by Karmin's cover of 'Look At Me Now', that I became obsessed and watch loads of their videos, and here are my favorite covers from the duo. Be sure to check out their website and watch their videos and let me know what your favourites were. Enjoy:

Karmin - All Of The Lights (Cover) ft. Orlando Dixon

Karmin - What's My Name (Cover)

Karmin - Firework (Cover)

Still In Hibernation...

Ok, I know I said that I was in hibernation but I can't leave my blog without gracing it with the video below.

So you've probably grasped that I'm a big fan of music, and every so often a song will come along that is just amazing. On average I spend about  12 hours in a week on my laptop updating my iPod - this is not a fact, it's simply for emphasis, meaning that I have an decent collection of music which varies across different genres.


I've known about J. Cole for a while now. I liked his song 'Who Dat', his verse on Miguel's track 'All I Want Is You' was banging and I thought his mixtapes were alright. I remember getting his mixtape, 'Friday Night Lights' around about the same time I got Kanye West's album, 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' and so naturally I just skimmed through Cole's mixtape, whilst I banged out Mr. West's album. Therefore, the only times I listened to J. Cole's tracks was when my iPod was on shuffle and I couldn't be asked to change the track - hey, I've gotta be honest but I still liked him.

His first two mixtape's (The Come Up & The Warm Up) were decent and he kind of reminded me of Nas a little bit, which is of course a good thing, but there was something about them that just didn't have me hooked. Difference is now I've listened to his mixtape properly and in my opinion it could've been an album. Since Tuesday 15th February, the only song that I have been listening to is the video below, and it's because I can not get enough of the way this song has been put together. Each note and each word is perfectly in sync; I salute J. Cole (and Drake - even though I do not appreciate the fact he has failed to go to the gym or get a haircut or visit his stylist) because I thought good music was dying out but he's proved me wrong and the video's not too bad either; actually tell a lie, I really like the video.


I'm officially a J. Cole fan, so enjoy.




J. Cole - In The Morning ft. Drake

Something I Think You Should Hear...

Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

I'm going be honest - after '808s and Heartbreak', I was like, "Ok, obviously Kanye's going through some s**t so I'll allow him." I found that album very dissapointing and I did think Mr. West had lost it but then he reminded me why I have all his albums when he released 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'.

This is album will go down as one of my favourite hip-hop albums of all time because Kanye West displayed some crazy talent. Song after song is perfect but moreso than achieving perfection, I feel like this album marks the return of real music. What excites me even more about this album is seeing what visuals Kanye will put to the words when he releases his singles, and if the 'Power' video is anything to go by then Mr. West should be recieveing numerous VMAs.

Favourites from this album have to be (1) All Of The Lights ft. Rihanna, Kid Cudi & many more, (2) Monster ft. Rick Ross, Jay Z & Nicki Minaj, and (3) So Appaulled ft. Jay Z, Pusha T, Prynce Cy Hi, Swizz Beatz & The RZA.

Here's the video for one of my favourite tracks off the album:

 

Kanye West - All Of The Lights ft. Rihanna & Kid Cudi

NOTE: This album review should've appeared much earlier as I did get the album hot on its release in November 2010 but I was busy and everything I've said about the album still applies to this very date.

Put That Song On Replay

Hey, hey, hey!
For this month's 'Put That Song On Replay' I want to pay some due respect to one of the World's brightest stars that has repeatedly created banger after banger since his debut.
I'm talking about none other than the Louis Vuitton Don Kanye West (also known as Yeezy).
He is definitely one of my favourite musicians and he is perhaps one of the only musicians who always has a visually stunning music video to accompany all his releases.
So from Late Registration to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy I'm going present you with my favourite video from each album, it's Yeezy Time...

All Falls Down ft. Syleena Johnson
Apart from the fact that I love this song - this video has made into my list of Kanye's best videos because we only get to see Mr. West in very cleverly arranged shots such as his reflection in the mirror or the reflection in his love interest's glasses (Stacey Dash) and the part where he has to go through the scanning machine is hilarious.

Gold Digger ft. Jamie Foxx
This song made all us ladies really step back and think, "Do I have gold digger tendencies?"
I like this video because of the magazine cover concept, it's just quite funny and that little head dance thing is very contagious and I have to say all the video vixens are gorgeous.

 

# Version One - Flashing Lights ft. Dwele

# Version Two - Flashing Lights ft. Dwele

# Version Three - Flashing Lights ft. Dwele

Though Kanye is adamant that he only released one video for the single 'Flashing Lights' (version one), I'm not sure which video I like the best - I'm torn between version one and version three. So simply for viewing pleasure I've posted all three to my blog, so you (my fellow ice cream eaters) can decide what your favourite version is - I think version one might be my favorite.

Welcome To Heartbreak ft. Kid Cudi
I adore Kanye West for this video! I think it's brilliant, it's so creative and it just demands your attention because with every movement there is something new happening - definitely one of my favourite music videos ever!

Power
As Yeezy tweeted: “ITS NOT A VIDEO, ITS A MOVING PAINTING”, he really wasn't lying. The 'Power' video is truly a piece of art and although I'm sure all those "Illuminati" obsessed people probably had a field day analysing all the hidden messages behind each shot; this video is genius.

Hmmm...

Fellow Ice Cream Eaters,
I'm adding a new monthly (hopefully it'll become weekly) addition to this blog which will be called, "Hmmm...". This new addition will basically be random posts about things in the news, on websites, on the telly or even things that have happened to me in uni that I feel the need to share with you.


Kicking off my first "Hmmm..." is the love of my life and if you know me well you'll know I'm talking about none other than - that's right, you guessed it - OMARION!
Now, so as of recent his music hasn't been any good, (that's to say it was ever good to start off with) but boy oh boy is the brother fine. But to the point so it's Friday night and to avoid making a start to my essay I've been on WorldStarHipHop.com and as I was scrolling down this video caught my attention:

Now I get it, times are hard but really Omarion? Are you seriously considering becoming a Bollywood superstar? I think not, so as a huge fan please, please, please, take what you have left of your dignity and leave it out. In other news relating to Omarion, his former band mate and "friend" Raz B is currently acting a fool and has ended up getting slapped with a restraining order from Marques Houston (which if you ask me was well deserved - good on you Marques).

Next is my love to hate buddy and trust me she'll be making frequent appearances in future "Hmmm..." posts, it's the good girl gone bad, Rihanna. So I'm in the process of listening to her brand new album 'Loud' and on the first listen I'm not feeling it but I know sooner or later she'll have me saying along but I'm not here to talk about the music, I'm here to cuss discuss her hair. In the past it's seemed like our girl Ri-Ri couldn't go wrong on the styling but that is no longer the case, so I'm going to present you with three looks that she's recently rocked and explain why they just aren't cutting it.


                           
                     Look 1                                                       Look 2                                                       Look 3 
When I first saw Look 1 I was like, "Oooh no honey!" Seriously what was up with that hairdo and to add insult to injury the girl kept putting accessories in it.
Then Look 2 happened which just undid all the work her stylists' who thought, "Hey, we need to do something about the forehead" and re-exposed it, so that failed.
Which brings us to Look 3, now, I don't like it but I think it's much, much better than the other two looks.

1. It's darker which makes her look less dead vampire-ish
2. Her forehead is partly covered
3. It's shorter which is such a good look for Rihanna.

I'm guessing this new hairstyle is an attempt to show that Ri-Ri is turning into a women, although I think she suits the edgier cuts and I hope she starts rocking the short hair again/soon/now would be nice.  


To round up my "Hmmm..." for this evening is Mr. West! His new album 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' is a masterpiece and that is all I've really got to say about that.
Kanye West has managed to put together another outstanding album and I take my hat off to him because the dude is never lost for words but definitely backs up all that talk with his music - genius! To pay homage to Yeezy (if you haven't watched it already) here's his Runaway video and don't worry if you don't understand it, I didn't get it either.

Until I sign in again eat as much ice cream as possible.