The RapUp – Page 2 – Radio Laurier

November 29, 20160 Comments

The Rap Up: Episode No. 11

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Young Money < No Money

Tyga celebrated his 24th birthday last week, including appearances from friends, family and a subpoena. Thats right. While its not clear if the subpoena he received is 100% related, Tyga has incurred yet another lawsuit for missed payments on his red Ferrari. The same red Ferrari that has already been repo’d twice. Either way you slice it, thats not a great look for Tyga. However, despite the numerous (almost regular) lawsuits involving Tyga’s missed payments with landlords and car dealers, he’s managed to escape them all without serious legal penalty. This leaves us with two questions; is Tyga making the lives of his landlords/car dealers hell because why not-lifestyle of the rich and famous-I’ll pay you only when i have to? Or has Tyga found himself a sugar mama in Kylie Jenner? After all, she did recently buy him a brand new Bentley truck. Perhaps he’s making quiet and smart investments, but at the very least we know all of this mulah didn’t come from Birdman during his time with Young Money (Hip-Hop zing).

Get Well Soon

We all have a type of love for Kanye West, whether it’s that we love to hate him, or just simply love him. Kanye West is arguably one of the greatest artists of this generation. Kanye recently had a mental break down and was admitted to a Los Angeles Hospital. Kanye is currently under watch and is battling mental health issues. Kanye West has been going on rants, cancelling tours, and leaving in the middle of shows. At some point we have to stop and ask ourselves, what’s going on? Dealing with mental issue can be a difficult thing on an individual, because in most cases it’s a life and death situations. We sometimes forge that some of these entertainers are actually human beings with real feelings and emotions. We haven’t seen that with no other artist, like we have with Kanye West. Keep Kanye in your prayers as he battles his demons and hopefully overcome it and come out a better individual and stronger mentally.

What You Should be Listening to This Week

It has been a crazy week so far in the Hip Hop world. We received great music from YG, and The Weeknd. The west coast gangsta dropped an 8 track mixtape (that should have been an EP) with nothing but bangers called Red Friday, on Black Friday. He starts off the tape with an intro of a female saying that the trilogy to his “Just Re’d Up” series is coming soon. The tape includes a part 2 track to his and Meek Mill’s “I’m a Thug”. It had features from the verse king 21 Savage, Mr. LA aka RJ and an up and coming artist named Mitch. The Weeknds album Starboy was more than we all expected. It is a soft, soulful yet edgy sound. This catchy sound track included features from Kendrick Lamar, Daft Punk and Lana Del Rey. In other album news, Lil Wayne announced a new project titled Funeral which he assures us is on the way, and Mos Def also announced his final album titled December 99th coming our way December 9th. November has been a warm month from all this heat we’re getting. We hope we get even more in December until then go check out these new albums.

(Written by TJ Mroz, Garrick Gray & Yafet Berhane)

Songs Played This Week:

Ain’t Tryna – Future

St. Brick – Gucci Mane (E)

Bone Marrow – G-Eazy Ft. Danny Seth

Patient – Post Malone

Six Feet Under – The Weeknd

Sidewalks – The Weeknd Ft. Kendrick Lamar

I Be On – YG Ft. 21 Savage

I Know – YG Ft. Mitch

Still – G-Eazy

Famous – Ray J & Chris Brown

Let’s Ride – 2 Chainz Ft. Ty Dolla $ign

Fresh – Lil Uzi Vert & Gucci Mane (E)

U Were Always – Wiley Ft. Skepta & Bellz (E)

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The RapUp/The RapUp

November 22, 20161 Comment

The Rap Up: Episode No. 10

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Kanye… What’s Going on Buddy?

Kanye West has had quite the week. Fans in attendance at his two most recent concerts in California, were left confused and frustrated. After only performing a couple songs, Kanye began ranting at length over his support for; Donald Trump, frustration with Jay Z and Beyonce, distain for Drake and DJ Khaled unfairly promoting their hit “For Free” on the radio, and his opinion that African-American individuals should stop talking about racism. It didn’t get better from there either. The next day Kanye cancelled the remaining three stops in his St. Pablo Tour for exhaustion. Last night, it was reported by CNN that Kanye had in fact been admitted at a Los Angeles medical center where he was kept under observation regarding his health and safety. CNN reports this decision was influenced by his personal doctor after evaluating West for extreme sleep deprivation.

Lil Wayne Vs. Birdman

Recently Lil Wayne performed at a concert that Tyler the Creator puts on and he denounced Cash Money and shouted out Roc-a-fella. Of course Birdman had a little hissy fit about it and squashed all negotiations that were in placed for Lil Wayne to leave Cash Money. Birdman and Lil Wayne are basically like father and son, or they once were. Coming up in the rap game as a young artist there’s no denying that Birdman helped with the success of Lil Wayne. Break ups happen, we all go through it, have seen people go through it, it’s a natural part of life. In this situation Birdman is appearing to be that crazy ex wife that does not want to let go of a love and relationship that’s no longer there by being petty and dragging the divorce settlement. In this situation Birdman, who’s the CEO of Cash Money Records is holding on to The Carter 5, and wants Lil Wayne to release it under Cash Money so he can profit from it as well. Birdman is known in the industry for not paying artists and taking advantage of them. He’s even been compared to the notorious Suge Knight, except Suge would actually put Birdman to shame. For someone who he’s referred to as his son in interviews, Birdman sure do have a way of showing us how to treat your children.

Views Pays Off

Over this past weekend Drake has received 4 AMA awards for his hard work on the album Views. He received the awards for Favourite Rap Hip Hop album, favourite artist, and 2 for favourite songs Hip Hop and R&B for “Work” and “Hotline Bling”. While on stage accepting his award Drake throws some shade on who we believed to be is Kanye West. Due to the inappropriate 16 minute rant Kanye went on this past weekend in Sacramento. Kanye called out Drake saying him and DJ Khaled had some type of agreement with the radio to always be playing the song “For Free”. Drake while accepting his speech says “Careful how you speak my name” then later on in the evening ABC gave a congratulations post on Instagram to Drake on his wins for the night and Khaled comments ” congratulations”. Then Drake replied by saying ” stop running your mouth and make a hit”. We all assume Kanye was the guy he was talking about because it was the most recent event but it could also any other rapper Drake is beefing with. Who do you guys think he was talking about?

(written by TJ Mroz, Garrick Gray & Yafet Berhane)

Songs Played This Week:

In My Foreign – The Americanos Ft. ty dolla sign, lil yachty, nicky jam, & French Montana

Patient – Post Malone

Infinite – Eminem

Wednesday Morning – Macklemore

Party Monster – The Weeknd

I Feel It Coming – The Weeknd Ft. Daft Punk

Ain’t tryin – Future

Poppin Tags – Future

The Sing Along – Nick Grant

Luxury Vintage Rap – Nick GrantThe Space Program – A Tribe Called Quest

Buy Back The Block – Rick Ross Ft. 2 Chainz & Gucci Mane

The space program – A Tribe Called Quest

Ballerina (remix) – Belly ft. Ty Dolla $ign

The RapUp/The RapUp

November 15, 20160 Comments

The Rap Up: Episode No. 9

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FDT

Americans are trying to figure out what’s happening to their country because last week the worst of the worst happened. If you’ve been living under a rock for the past week, you will be surprised that Donald Trump is the new President Of the United States Of America. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? we’ll tell you why. Last Tuesday on Election Day, it was a stressful day for everyone watching but mostly Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. After hours of waiting to see who would win, Hillary Clinton calls Donald Trump to congratulate him on his win. This had America going crazy. Instantly after being elected riots started everywhere in the states. Hate crimes were worse than they have ever been. Schools were spray painting Muslims don’t belong, deport immigrants & one school in specific got a black doll and hung it. Trying to imply black people should die. Hip Hop especially was furious about the decision. Rapper YG right after Donald Trump won tweets “FDT TOUR IS BACK IN DENVER” Denver being a mostly white state who knew what could have happened, but the show went smoothly everything was good. All that we can do now is pray he does a good job running this country and pray that everyone is going to be okay.

Lil Wayne & the Roc?

No not Dwayne Johnson. Now, we’re not saying that collab wouldn’t be amazing, but this week we discussed the possibility of Lil Wayne signing to Roc Nation. As some of you may already know, the last couple years have not been pleasant to Lil Wayne, and it doesn’t appear to be getting better anytime soon. With the lawsuit concerning his highly anticipated album Tha Carter 5, in an almost frozen state, and his relationship with Birdman melting away, its not surprising to see Lil Wayne testing his options. Recently at Camp Flog Gnaw, Wayne performed “I’m Me” to which he changed the lyrics from “I’m a MF Cash Money Millionaire” to ” I’m a MF Roc-a-fella Millionaire”, which understandably sparked rumors of Wayne possibly seeking a new deal with Jay Z’s Roc Nation. While this would be quite the transition for all involved, the potential for new Lil Wayne material, mentored by Jay Z, is a tantalizing prospect.

Belly of the Beast

Rapper Belly recently released Inzombia, the mixtape. The Ottawa native has been making waves in the Canadian music industry since 2008. For many Canadian rappers crossing the boarder is a final accomplishment in their career. The Juno Award winner recently moved to Los Angeles to reach a larger audience and push his music in a way he could have never done while living in Ottawa. Belly is one of the newest members of Jay Z’s Roc Nation label. Being signed to Jay has opened a lot of doors for the Ottawa native, he’s been blessed with features on his tape from various artists like Jadakiss, Ashanti, Future, Young Thug, etc. Hopefully there’s a lot more good news in store for Belly on the music side of things, he’s been active in the rap game for almost a decade now and he’s finally getting the respect as a rapper that he deserves.

(Written by Yafet Berhane, TJ Mroz & Garrick Gray)

Songs Played This Week:

Me and Your Mama – Childish Gambino

Money Showers – Fat Joe, Remy Ma, Ty Dolla Sign

Congratulations – Post Malone ft. Quavo

Used To This – Future Ft. Drake

Mark My Words – Nipsey Hustle Ft. Rick Ross

Consuela – Belly Ft. Young Thug, Zack

The Space Program – Tribe Called Quest

Mobius – Tribe Called Quest

The Sing Along – Nick Grant Ft. Ricco Barrino

Talk to Me – Run The Jewels

Girlfriend (REMIX) – Kap G Ft. Ty Dolla $ign & Quavo

Crazy Brazy – ASAP Rocky, ASAP Twelvyy & Key!

Shows/The RapUp

November 8, 20160 Comments

The Rap Up: Episode No. 8

Drake, Kanye… do something.

Yesterday Drake successfully reignited the collaboration rumors surrounding himself and Kanye West. During the summer, both artists promised a joint project, however since then, the only thing that has been released is a billboard (see above). The billboard in question only had one line of text which reads “Calabasas is the new Abu Dhabi”. This is interesting as it seems Drake has further referenced the billboard, as the picture uploaded is one of Drake and Ye with the caption “There goes the neighborhood”. It wasn’t until Scooter Braun, manager of Kanye and Justin Bieber, commented on Drakes pic with “it begins…”, that gave this update a serious amount of legitimacy. Braun has never been one for personal publicity stunts, which begs the question; why would he comment what he did if something wasn’t about to begin. Could we be days, perhaps hours from a surprise release?

Black America Again

Black America Again’was released on November 4, 2016. Black America Again is Common’s eleventh studio album. The album is a politically charged album that focuses on the current issues that’s taking place in the United States. Common has always been for the people and about the people since the beginning of his career. Common is very active in the African American community, he has used his voice to speak to the people and influence the youth in a positive way. The Chicago native has worked closely with President Obama who is also from Chicago on a number of programs designed to keep young African American men out of trouble and steer them in a positive direction. The release of the album couldn’t have been at a better time. The album speaks for the people without a voice, cries out for the oppress. Black America Again is for justice, a new light, a chance to start over and a better America for all.

Lil Wayne, Big Controversey

This weekend Atlanta rapper T.I. goes off on Lil’ Wayne over his interview on nightlife. In the interview Lil Wayne stated that he did not have any involvement in the “Black Lives Matters” movement. Wayne said that he doesn’t care about what doesn’t involve him. This pissed off T.I. which led to a rant later on Instagram. He told Lil Wayne that he is a disgrace to his family and that he needs to stop whatever BS he’s on and to open his eyes and see what’s going on around him. Later that night Wayne tweets “Fk ya”. Directed to whom? We don’t know. Many say that was a fire at Tip. Was T.I.’s Instagram post too much? If he is claiming that they are like brothers and that their families are family then why would he go out and throw Wayne under the bus? He could have simply called him and shared his knowledge but he decided to get angry over social media.

(Written by TJ Mroz, Garrick Gray & Yafet Berhane)

Songs We Played This Week:

Everytime – French Montana Ft. Jeezy

Bounce Back – Big Sean

Congratulations – Post Malone ft. Quavo

Used To This – Future Ft. Drake

On The Regular – Meek Mill

Outro – Meek Mill Ft. Lil Snupe & French Montana

Telephone Calls – ASAP Rocky Ft. Tyler The Creator, Playboi Carti Yung Gleesh

Put That On My Set – ASAP Rocky Ft. Skepta

Wanna Know – Drake & Dave

Fake Love – Drake

Sneakin – Drake Ft. 21 Savage

One Time Comin’ – YG

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November 1, 20160 Comments

The Rap Up: Episode No. 7

Bryson Tiller SZN

Its been just over a year since Bryson Tiller released his debut album, TRAPSOUL, to the world. The album not only reached platinum status earlier this year, but propelled Tiller’s career into the spotlight. While, Tiller may not be a household name just yet, his popularity is undeniable and although being shy in the public eye, its obvious the right people have taken notice. On our last episode of The Rap Up, host TJ Mroz, predicted his shyness this year, and recent decision to release a new single “Let Me Explain”, pointed to a completed sophomore album. The next day, Tiller took to Instagram to confirm just that. While details of the album are not in abundance, expect this project before the year is over. It would make sense for Tiller to have new material to perform while performing with The Weeknd during their recently announced European tour.

DC4

The highly anticipated DC4 (Dreamchasers 4) mixtape was released on October 27, 2016. For as long as it took for the release of this album, it was not as good as it could’ve been for as long as it took. The project was extremely repetitive and followed the exact format of the previous Dreamchaser projects. Meek Mill has been in the media regarding a lot of negative press over the past year, the release of this project has been a positive for him. There’s no doubt that Meek is sticking to the core “street rap” that he does, his cult fans definitely do appreciate him sticking to what he does best. For someone who’s a harsh critic Meek seems very complacent and uninspired. Dropping this project was supposed to be a comeback for Meek and to some fans it may seem like he made a good enough come back but to the masses it wasn’t impressive. Has Meek plateaued? Will he get better? Or is all we’re ever going to get from Meek is him rapping about his rollies and his cars, and bikes? Only the future can tell.

(Written by TJ Mroz & Garrick Gray)

Songs Played This Week:

Telephone Calls – ASAP Rocky Ft. Tyler The Creator, Playboi Carti Yung Gleesh

One Time Comin’ – YG

Goldmine – Jeezy

Front & Center – Joey Badass

Litty – Meek Mill Ft. Tory Lanez

Offended – Meek Mill Ft. Young Thug & 21 Savage

Sneakin – Drake Ft. 21 Savage

Two Birds One Stone – Drake

Wanna Know – Drake & Dave

Fake Love – Drake

4 Lit – B.o.B Ft. T.I. & Ty Dolla Sign

Lil Baby – 2 Chainz Ft. Ty Dolla Sign

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Joe Budden

Shows/The RapUp

October 25, 20161 Comment

The Rap Up: Episode 6ix

Joe Budden

Great… Its Kanye.

For some time now, the typical narrative that has followed Jay Z and Kanye West, is one of brotherly love, admiration and creative genius. However, it appears now that their friendship and working relationship is not quite the paradise we think it is. Recently, Kanye’s wife Kim Kardashian-West, was robbed at gun point in her hotel room during Paris Fashion week last month. This unfortunate turn of events has understandably been traumatic for both Kanye and Kim, and even pushed Kim to leave Keeping Up With The Kardashians. At a recent stop on his Saint Pablo tour, Kanye expressed his frustration with the fact he only received a phone call from Jay after the situation and felt he was owed more, like perhaps a home visit. Without diving into how inconvenient it would be for Jay to realistically fly to L.A. just to say “whaddup, you good?”, a source close to Jay Z has revealed that he does not actually care for Kanye all that much. The source goes on state that Jay can only handle Kanye in very small doses, and only agreed to the 2011 Watch The Throne Tour because of the exuberant amounts of money they were set to rake in. While its disappointing to find out a follow up to the collaborative album is most likely never going to happen, we understand Jay. Everyone has that work friend that is better left as a work friend.

Pump, Pump, Pump It Up.

To the average Rap fan when they hear the name Joe Budden, they either think of the song “Pump It Up” that was on the soundtrack for 2 Fast 2 Furious or his widely publicized relationships via YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Joe Budden has been in the Rap game for nearly 15 years and released a total of 21 projects including albums, mixtapes and group projects with Slaughterhouse. Joe Budden recently released Rage and The Machine on October 21, 2016, that was entirely produced by Arab Muzik and pulled the Beyoncé move and went on tour the next day starting at BB Kings in New York City. The New Jersey native has been the top of the lyrical game in hip hop for his entire career, you will not hear Joe Budden auto-toning a record or a snap record. Joe has been in the media lately with Rap feuds with Drake and Meek Mill. Joe can be compared to your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper.

What Is Beef?

Kid Cudi recently had a Twitter rant and called out a few of your favourite rappers, Drake and Kanye West. Kid Cudi made claims that Drake and Kanye didn’t write their own lyrics. Now we all know Drake is not a fan of beefing with rappers on Twitter, Meek Mill have victimized by Drake’s bars after going on a Twitter rant himself. Now, Kid Cudi has been having some problems with his mental health and checked himself into rehab to get some help shortly after his rant on Twitter. Drake responded to Cudi on the song “Two Birds, One Stone” where he also took some jabs at Pusha T. Drake talked about Cudi being crazy and high off of xannys and the fans did not like that. Some of them were “disappointed” with Drake for taking those “low” blows at Cudi. What is beef? Cudi initiated a problem and Drake retaliated. You cannot predict how someone is going to react to you disrespecting them. Was Drake wrong? Not at all. This new generation of rap fans are fickle and over sensitive. The history of beef in hip hop has not been pleasant. I feel like most people on social media just need something to complain about weekly and this week it was Drake dissing Cudi, which he wasn’t wrong for in my opinion. It’s just the nature of rap, if you don’t want to get disrespected stay in your lane and don’t provoke the next man.

(Written by TJ Mroz & Garrick Gray)

Songs Played This Week:

Big Baby D.R.A.M feat. Lil Yatchy – Brocoli

Sunday Candy – Chance The Rapper

Sneakin – Drake Ft. 21 Savage

Campaign speech – Eminem

Two birds one stone – Drake

Joe Budden – I Gotta Ask

Joe Budden – Idols

Raw Raw – Travis Scott Ft. Lil Uzi Vert

Swang (Remix) – Travis Scott Ft. Rae Sremmurd

Let Me Explain – Bryson Tiller

Fake Love – Drake

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