The Zeitgeist of Hip-Hop: Migos’ Culture
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The Zeitgeist of Hip-Hop: Migos’ Culture

Donald Glover, a.k.a. Childish Gambino, set social media ablaze with all things Migos on January 8th when he shouted out the Atlanta hip-hop trio and their single “Bad and Boujee” during his first Golden Globes acceptance speech. The big ups to Migos increased Spotify streams of the single by a staggering 243 percent and it didn’t stop there—Glover confirmed an upcoming collaboration with the group and proclaimed Migos “the Beatles of this generation.” Currently, “Bad and Boujee” is the number one song on the Billboard 100.

Migos, no strangers to the charts, have ruled the past few years with singles such as “Versace” with a feature by Drake, “Look at my Dab,” and “Fight Night,” but would the string of successes continue for the trap trio upon the release of their latest musical effort?

With much hype and anticipation, Migos released their sophomore full-length album, Culture, on January 27th with features from heavy-hitters like Gucci Mane, Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert and 2 Chainz. Upon listening to the album through, I could not help but notice the vocal seamlessness of Qauvo, Offset, and Takeoff—a melodic and literal representation of their growth since their 2013 mixtape, Y.R.N. (Young Rich N****s). Migos’ growth spurt did not leave their signature catchy hooks and undeniable chemistry in the dust, but played on these strengths and set the bar for the future of hip-hop.

Most of the 13 songs on the album feature a heavy bass line without sounding indistinguishable from one another as unique songs. Being said, Migos has gone from mastering the art of the single to mastering the art of the album.

The Migos, without hesitation, have launched beyond notoriety into superstar status.

 

If you’re bad and boujee, you will (probably) like these tracks from Culture:

  • “Get Right Witcha”
  • “Slippery (feat. Gucci Mane)”
  • “Deadz (feat. 2 Chainz)”
  • “Out Yo Way”
The Rap Up: All Eyes On Kanye
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The Rap Up: All Eyes On Kanye

Kanye Makes Moves

Yeezy seems to making major moves in the music industry as of lately. Kanye’s wife, Kim Kardashian, announced that the enigmatic rapper would be dropping a new song every Friday and so far he has done exactly that with the releases of “No More Parties in LA” and “Real Friends”. Another huge revelation was the release of Kanye’s highly anticipated album, SWISH. West announced on January 8, 2016 that the album was bound to drop on February 11. Some of the songs which are already released but will be included on the album include “Only One”, “Real Friends”, “No More Parties in LA”, “FourFiveSeconds” and more hits that’ll leave us wondering “Damn! How did ‘Ye do it again?” On top of his new album, Yeezy has had some mixed feelings from individuals all over the world as he announced he might be doing a cover album to honour the late, great David Bowie (Rest in Peace). With Kanye focusing mainly on music for the near future, it’ll be interesting (as it always is) to see what exactly Mr. West does throughout the coming weeks.

 

Meek Vs. 50

To say that the past 6-7 months have not been the best for Meek Mill, would be an understatement. After getting blasted by Drake during this past summer, the Philly rapper has taken multiple IG hits from 50 Cent. Meek released his EP entitled 4/4 just four days ago and on it, he fires shots at Drake and 50 Cent. On his version of “I’m the Plug”, Meek raps “Jumpman, Jumpman, Jumpman/Jumpman, Jumpman, Jumpman/Ain’t Nobody Tell ‘Em This Ain’t What They Want Man/You Ain’t Really Write It, I’m Like Who’s Your Stuntman”. This verse ties in with the accusations the Meek made during the summer when he tweeted that Drizzy has ghostwriters. But then Drizzy came out with “Charged Up” and “Back to Back” and we all know how the rest of the summer played out. Unfortunately for Meek, Drake isn’t the only one he took an L from. Back in November, 50 Cent acknowledge the beef between Drizzy and Meek , describing it as if “‘it’s like you was picking on someone in the schoolyard, and then the motherf—er,’ he added, before imitating a violent slap, to imitate Drizzy smacking Meek for even trying to diss him.” Meek seemed to take shots at 50 in the track entitled “Gave Em Hope”. As a result, 50 went on Instagram and completely obliterated Meek with a series of hilarious memes and videos. Now, it’s believed that the reason Meek took issue with 50 is because of the beef 50 has with Meek’s close friend, Rick Ross. It seems as though Meek doesn’t know when or where to stop and whether or not Drizzy drops another diss track (still speculation on him dropping 3 peat), another L seems inevitable for Meek.

(Written by Manny Rao)

 

Songs Played This Week:

REAL FRIENDS – Kanye West Ft. Ty Dolla $ign

No More Parties In LA – Kanye West Ft. Kendrick Lamar

Whole Lotta Lovin – Travis Scott x DJ Mustard

What a Year – Big Sean Ft. Pharrell & Detail

Pray For Em – Meek Mill

Gave em hope – Meek Mill

Wicked – Future

Al Sharpton – Future

$n$ – Tyler $weet

No Rece$$ – Tyler $weet Ft. $hiv

Animaniacs – Childhood Ft. QUAMi

The Rap Up: 2nd Semester Pull Up!
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The Rap Up: 2nd Semester Pull Up!

Meek Mill Do Not Pass Go

It seems no matter how Meek Mill rolls the dice this year, he’s taking L’s. Unfortunately for him he might have just picked up the worst Chance card possible, and if the Philadelphia Courts decide so, Meek will be going directly to jail. Stemming from charges over nine years ago, Meek has officially violated his probation again, which if you remember, was the reason for his absence this time last year. After providing a suspicious drug test which he failed, and leaving the city of Philadelphia without legal permission to attend the 2015 AMA’s with girlfriend Nicki Minaj, Meek will face sentencing in February. Amidst a historically bad year for the Dreams & Nightmares rapper, fans can at least breathe a little easier knowing Dream Chasers 4 is on its way.

 

Can Young Money & Cash Money hug it out?

Looking back on 2015, it’s difficult to ignore the the blatant stain that the Cash Money x Young Money feud has imprinted on Hip-Hop. Tour Bus shootings, disrespect from Young Thug, throwing bottles in the club, lawsuits, diss tracks, AND the fact we still don’t have our hands on Lil Wayne’s final album, The Carter 6, is just the tip of the iceberg. Despite the fact that Birdman and Wayne are legally father and son, The Young Money x Cash Money empire has seemingly all but crumbled in the last year. This is pretty disheartening considering years ago they were one of the tightest knit collectives, and one the most popular labels in the game. While the situation is about as ridiculous and convoluted as they come, Mack Maine president of Young Money, has made some much needed progress. Reportedly only hours before Drakes NYE party this year, Mack Maine held a conference call between Lil Wayne and Birdman (Baby) in which they agreed to keep it civil, however, Wayne is nowhere near dropping his lawsuit against Birdman. While any progress is good at this point, fans are still hoping for progress in the form of a new album.

 

Cole & Kdot

According to the Chinese zodiac, 2015 was the year of the sheep. However for Hip-Hop fans everywhere, 2015 was also the year of the ‘joint-album/mixtape’. Migos, Young Thug, Metro-Boomin, London On Da Track, Fetty Wap, French Montana, Drake and Future seemed to have renewed everyone’s interest in the possibility of a joint album this year. However, after dropping remixes on a track from each of their most recent albums this past Thanksgiving, J. Cole & Kendrick Lamar look to possibly steal the spotlight in February with their own joint project. After Kdot’s sister of all people let slip there was something arriving in February, the internet has been ablaze with speculation. Kendrick has even gone on record recently saying Drake & Future produced some of his favourite music this year. Could that mean “challenge accepted”? Fingers crossed.

 

The Rap Up Welcomes its Newest Co-Host Manny Rao!

Stay tuned for next weeks show as we get to know Manny on a personal level. Because after all, “there’s levels to this shit”.

 

 

Songs played this week:

Intro – Pusha T

FACTS – Kanye West

I Wanna Benz – YG Ft. Nipsey Hustle & 50 Cent

This Me, Fuck It – Timbaland Ft. 2 Chainz

Random – G Eazy

Calm Down – G Eazy

Folgers Crystals – J. Cole

Caged Bird – J. Cole

D.O.P.E. – Rick Ross Ft. Future

Wrist – Chris Brown Ft. Solo Lucci

All I Want – Rockie Fresh

Promise – Kid Ink Ft. Fetty Wap

Move On – Wiz Khalifa

Gangster 101 – Wiz Khalifa

NYC restore the feeling – Troy Ave

Givers Takers – Troy Ave

The Rap Up: Final Show of the Fall Semester
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The Rap Up: Final Show of the Fall Semester

Adele & Drake Sitting in a Tree

R-E-M-I-X-I-N-G?… After going double platinum in three days, Adele is looking to have some fun and remix the song everyone just can’t seem to get enough of “Hotline Bling”. However we know someone of you hate everything about it, and to that we advise stay patient, it’ll all be over soon… let’s just all be thankful UpTown Funk has pretty much disappeared. During Drake Night at the Air Canada Center while the raptors hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers, Drake revealed he wants to anything he possibly can with Adele, even as far as doing her laundry.

 

Projects All Around

American Thanksgiving has always been a fantastic holiday to receive and acquire gifts. This is no different for those who love Hip-Hop as it seems, every year around this time the digital streets are fed. American Thanksgiving 2015 however, was no different. Fabolous, Trey Songz, Lil Wayne, Lil Bibby, and Rick Ross came through in excellent fashion and all dropped off projects last weekend. Of course we apologize for the increase in your bandwidth usage for this month but who can resist a line-up like that?

 

Your friendly neighborhood MC

A few months ago Marvel, the superhero empire, started releasing what looked like comic book covers, however upon closer inspection, it’s obvious that Marvel has a huge appreciation of Hip-Hop. Marvel has been consistently remixing famous and controversial Hip-Hop cover art and putting a superhero spin on it. Nas’ illmatic, Lil Waynes The Carter 4, Futures Dirty Sprite 2, and Drakes Nothing Was The Same, have all seen the spotlight so far. Currently Marvel has re-done over fifty cover art’s and plans on releasing a 32 page comic book showcasing 14 of the best remixes, that is set to be sold in participating stores on January 6th.

 

Songs Played This Week:

Waiting On My Moment – Childish Gambino Ft. Jhene Aiko & Vince Staples

One of Us – Rick Ross Ft. Nas

Colors & Commas – P Reign Ft. Troy Ave

Too Rich – 50 Cent

The Plug – Fabolous

Started Something – Fabolous

Walls – Trey Songz

Prayers – Trey Songz Ft. Chisanity & J.R.

Finessin – Lil Wayne Ft. Baby E

B2B – Lil Wayne

Black Friday – J. Cole

Tale of 2 citiez – Kendrick Lamar

*THE SLOWBURN*

FAN (Freak At Night) – Chris Brown

Self-Righteous – Bryson Tiller

Phone Down – Erykah Badu

Traffic Jam (Easy Bake Remix) – Jay Rock Ft. Kendrick Lamar & SZA

The Rap Up: Calm Before the Storm
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The Rap Up: Calm Before the Storm

 

Wu-Tang’s Mystery Album

Wu-tang has a new album but unfortunately you can’t hear it, not for 88 years at least. Unless of course you’re the private art collector who purchased the album package for a reported “millions” of dollars. The actual number hasn’t been released however the contents of the album package have. Along with a hand carved nickel-silver case, a leather bound book containing the albums lyrics and a set of speakers worth $55k. What Wu-Tang is trying to do here is historic, no other artist has attempted this before, and the rarity of this album makes it priceless. This will no doubt be a fantastic story in 88 years when the project is finally able to be distributed. Who knows, maybe the best album of all time is out there right now in one lucky man’s hands.

 

Preach, Jadakiss, Preach

Jadakiss is one the realest rappers in the game, theres no questioning that and fresh of the release of his most recent album Top 5 Dead or Alive he gives us his top 5 rules to live by:

  1. Take care of your family – and I agree with this one, keep the ones who love you most comfortable, after all its because of them that you might be in the position you are.
  2. Put God First – I’m not a religious person at all, but whatever helps you get through the day and be a decent human being, all the more power to you.
  3. Save Money – I think this one is self explanatory, stay in your lane.
  4. Educate yourself – This is my favourite, the reality you experience everyday is founded on your knowledge of it. The more you know the more happy you may be.
  5. Pray – we all need a little hope now and again just be careful what you pray for.

 

Thanksgiving game-plan

There’s a lot of new material about to overwhelm you this weekend so let us try and help. The headline of this weekend looks to be Rihanna’s 8th studio album, ANTI, which should be not only be the best project of the weekend, but has the potential to surpass anything released this year. The next project that should be in your download cue is Ape Shit. This of course dependent on its release this weekend which hasn’t been confirmed but fans are gearing up regardless. The Hip-Hop community can’t get enough of Future and seeing as he might have one of the best producers in the industry working the boards on this mixtape, there is a huge upside. As your bandwidth limit for the month seemingly vanishes before your eyes don’t forget to cop Lil Wayne’s, No Ceilings 2, which will arrive tomorrow. Lil Wayne’s tendency to simply remix popular songs instead of creating his own is the biggest reason why we’re not downloading this first, however we’re thrilled for some new Wheezy regardless. Finally, 50 Cent’s The Kanan Tape should be the last thing you anxiously try to squeeze into the remaining space on your music device. From what we’ve heard of the singles leading up to its release, we’re expecting this project to be surprisingly strong.

 

 

Songs Played Tonight:

Untouchable – Pusha T

Body Bags – 50 Cent

Crocodile Python – Rick Ross

Drifting – G-Eazy Ft. Chris Brown & Tory Lanez

Saved – Ty Dolla $ign

God (remix) – Jeezy Ft. Nas

Workin – Diddy Ft. Travis Scott & Big Sean

Crip or Die – Snoop Dogg

Last Breath – Future

Waiting For My Moment – Childish Gambino, Jhene Aiko & Vince Staples

Dead on – Rich Homie Quan & Young Thug

Hercules – Young Thug

Winnin – Sauce twinz & Meek Mill

Kill – Jadakiss Ft. lil wayne

Phone down – Problem & Wale

Jabroni – Mac Miller Ft. Migos

The Rap Up: Weekly Check-In
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The Rap Up: Weekly Check-In

Kendrick Lamar Came to My wedding

Is something most people would pay unreasonable amounts of money to have happen however for one couple Californian couple, that wish came true. However, yeah theres a big HOWEVER… not only did they not recognize the superstar or know who he is but were pretty offened that him and his friends decided to crash the venue. Apparently things got pretty obvious once Kdot started “dabbing” (a dance move btw) around the dance floor and when they couldn’t give the names of who actually got married they were asked less than politely to leave. With a camera in hand, it’s possible the group was simply trying to make a music video but thanks the “happy couple” we’ll never know.

 

Albums all around

Well if you were looking to strengthen your playlist game this week, you’re in luck. On November 13th Jeezy came with his 6th studio album, Church In These Streets, and Ty Dolla $ign finally gave us his debut album, Free TC. We’re not yet though, throw in a very solid album courtesy of Logic who’s been producing great music recently, add Skeme’s newest project, and of course Justin Bieber’s Purpose. While JB probably won’t see life in our show sets we know some of yall be downloading the deluxe version low key, and theres no judgements here. Also, we’re sorry if we indirectly increase your bandwidth download for this month.

 

Drake, the love is mutal

Think about it… who really loves Toronto more than Drizzy Drake? He’s not only the Toronto Raptors Global Ambassador, but brings the biggest names in music to the Molson amphitheatre every year for his OVO Fest which has become such a big money maker, its now receiving funding from the government. While we still don’t forgive Octobers Very Own for the whole “Yolo” thing, it’s difficult to find someone below the age of 30 not referring to the GTA as ‘The 6’? Apparently Toronto has finally taken notice of the enormous swing the young man has in the city and have appropriately named him as the most influential person in Toronto. Drake has claimed this as the most important magazine cover of his career and seeing as it’s a Toronto Newspaper, that doesn’t surprise us.

 

Songs Played tonight:

Body Bags – 50 Cent

36 Oz – Skeme Ft. Chris Brown

Untouchable – Pusha T

Naked – Dr. Dre Ft. Marsha Ambrosius & Sly Piper

Street Poets – GK Nesso

All in a text – GK Nesso

Away we go (remix) – The Runaway x Brett Klassen

Spit Hot Fire – The Runaway x Brett Klassen

Saved – Ty Dolla $ign Ft. E-40

Bring it out of me – Ty Dolla $ign

God (Remix) – Jeezy Ft. Nas

Scared of the dark – Jeezy

Amazing Grace – Rick Ross

Last Breath – Future

Hercules – Young thug

Lord Knows – G Herbo Ft. Joey badass