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”
Blogging 101 (Reference Guide)
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Blogging 101 (Reference Guide)

(EXAMPLE OF IN-DEPTH BLOG)

Summer Sixteen Tour

Drake and Future finished off their second Summer Sixteen show in Atlanta last night, by bringing out hometown favorites Gucci Mane, Young Thug and Usher.

While there may not be a flying stage, Drake and Futures Summer Sixteen tour has been shaping up to be a “can’t miss” showcase of special guests. In Chicago, the pair brought out Kanye West; in Detroit, they brought out Eminem; and in Ohio, the one and only Lebron James. Considering that Atlanta is Future’s home town, its no surprise the city was blessed with two tour dates, and a chance to see four of the cities most popular artists join the stage.

During the first night in Atlanta, Drake and Future started things off with a bang by bringing out Gucci Mane, and 2 Chainz. With the bar set high, fans expected another big night from the What a Time to Be Alive rappers, and they did not disappoint. During the second night of their stop in Atlanta, Drake and Future welcomed Gucci Mane back to the stage, but this time accompanied by Young Thug, and Usher who performed their new single “No Limit”. With some of the cities biggest names all sharing one stage, the crowd could barely keep it together. Check out some of the reactions and videos below.

WOP @laflare1017

A photo posted by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Aug 26, 2016 at 10:14pm PDT

 

GUWOP HOME! Concert was LIT!

A video posted by Justin Floyd (@justinfloyd) on Aug 27, 2016 at 6:57am PDT

No limit baby! Usher!! Young Thug!! #allsummer16 #summer16tour #summer16 #ATLSHAWTY

A video posted by Jodie (@itsmrsjodie) on Aug 26, 2016 at 7:56pm PDT

 

URIV got the #summersixteentour🔥 lit on @bryanmichaelcox @jermainedupri jam “Confessions”…

A video posted by Shawn Stovall (@shawn713vip) on Aug 26, 2016 at 8:02pm PDT

With Miami next in the Summer Sixteen schedule, all focus shifts to the sunshine state. Considering Rick Ross’s most recent comments regarding Drake and Meek Mill’s beef, its likely Drake and Future won’t be bringing the big man out, however that shouldn’t effect what’s sure to be another memorable two nights in Miami. 

 

Songs Played This Week: 

“Jumpman” – Drake & Future

“Big Rings” – Drake & Future

“Live From the Gutter” – Drake & Future

“Scholarships” – Drake & Future

“Don’t” – Bryson Tiller

“Let Me Explain” – Bryson Tiller

“Goosebumps” – Travis Scott Ft. Kendrick Lamar

“Nikes” – Frank Ocean

 

Suggested Articles:

 

The Rap Up: Episode No. 10

After Class: Week 10

 

(Original article written for RESPECT. Magazine by TJ Mroz – August, 28, 2016)

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BLOG REQUIREMENTS:

Your role reaches beyond the studio as a member of the Radio Laurier DJ team. You have the opportunity to contribute to our web content as a blogger. There are a few rules to follow, but at the same time, remember to have fun with it! Treat life good, and it’ll treat you good back.

Things you MUST do:

  • Sort show into correct category (every show now has one) (only 1 category)
  • Set featured image + add image into post (can be the same)
  • Include track list (helpful for those who missed, required by music assistants for charting)
  • Insert show title + something consistent (e.g. Week 09 or Episode 09)
  • PROOFREAD before publishing
  • Add proper tags (only names)
  • Say correct/full name before using nicknames (Meek Mill > Meeky Mouse or Drake > 6God)
  • Post within 24 hours after show airs (website, Facebook, Twitter, etc).

 

Things you SHOULD do:

  • Bold artist names on first mention
  • Album/mixtape names bold and italicized on first mention; just italicized following
  • Tour names capitalized (Legend of the Fall, HIHORSE’d, Summer Sixteen Tour)
  • Insert links, embed tracks & videos (YouTube, Soundcloud, Apple Music, etc).
  • Add “Suggested Article” section at bottom of post (link fellow RL blog posts)
  • Share your blog on personal social media and tag Radio Laurier

 

Things you NEVER do:

  • Curse – if you’re quoting inappropriate language from an artist use *** for rest of word (i.e. s***, f***)
  • Slander (if it’s a personal opinion, make that clear)
  • Post inappropriate material or photos
  • Remove credit (i.e. if you cite an article or quote, insert the link)

 

(Written by Khadijah Plummer & TJ Mroz )

The Rap Up: GK Nesso in The Building!
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The Rap Up: GK Nesso in The Building!

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GK Nesso Interview & Freestyle

The Rap Up was blessed to have GK Nesso stop by and chop it up with us on our first episode of the year! We spent some time getting to know the man behind the mic, and among his influences (50 Cent & The Game), Top 5, upcoming projects and move, and his opinion on current industry trends, we also dived into what it takes for an amateur artist to really take it to the next level. GK Nesso also came through with an incredible freestyle, exchanging a few bars with host TJ Mroz! For the full interview and freestyle, head over to GK Nesso’s website (video to be uploaded soon).

 

For All My Wax Figurines That Know Me Best

If controversy and broken barriers are your thing, there’s solid chance your aware of the music video that sent the internet and those most opinionated, into a frenzy of ‘hate it’ or ‘love it’. The music video for “Famous”, a track off Kanye West’s most recent album The Life Of Pablo, was both highly criticized and praised for its avant-garde commentary on pop-culture. For those unaware, the video itself is simply the wax depiction of 12 famous celebrities lying next one another in bed, naked. In order of those depicted, the wax figures represent; George Bush, Anna Wintour (editor in chief at Vogue), Donald Trump, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Taylor Swift, Kanye West himself, Kim Kardashian, Ray J, Amber Rose, Caitlyn Jenner, and finally Bill Cosby. For obvious reasons, the choice of who was used and in what position was immensely controversial and uncomfortable to gaze upon. However, in another perspective it appears one of the greatest samplers in music, has this time around, sampled visuals from a famous work of art by Vincent Desiderios, titled “Sleep” which simultaneously functions as performative art due to the extra dimension in which this music video evokes. As a New York Times article points out, West can easily be compared to Andy Warhol as both artists heavily mirror the times through performative art and social commentary. 

 

Gucci’s Home

Gucci Mane was a highly requested artist of the summer of ‘16 upon his release on May 26, 2016. While incarcerated, Gucci Mane released a few mixtapes with various artists, like Young Thug, Migos, Peewee Longway and Chief Keef. Was the buzz of Gucci Mane’s release all it was supposed to be; I mean everyone was happy he was home. But did Gucci put out any bangers for as long as he’s been out? “Back on Road” featuring Drake sounds like an average Drake record. Hopefully he continues to stay on his grind and stay in the studio. As far as the music goes Gucci has not put out anything “special”. With the appearance of Gucci Mane, you would think guys in prison eat well, Gucci Mane went to prison looking like a slob and came out looking like one of those Instagram fitness guys. Good to see he’s taking care of his body and hopefully he’s getting his mind right.

 

Back-to-Back Summers

It’s back-to-back for Drake, as he had another summer beef in 2016. However, this time the beef was with a much more accomplished rapper than Meek Mill. Drake got the attention of Joe Budden. It all began when 6 God dropped “4PM in Calabasas” which seemed like a song that directed shots towards P. Diddy (Puff Daddy/Diddy). However, Budden went on to state how the song had lyrics that were directed at himself instead. Budden proceeded to release “Making A Murderer”, “Wake”, “Afraid” and “Just Because” all diss tracks meant for Drake. While Drizzy had no response for this, there seemed to be a subtle shot on his track with French Montana, “No Shopping”. Following these events, some kids decided to run up on Joe Budden’s house, but he chased them away. Drake had then followed these kids on Instagram which might be viewed as a questionable move. Budden went on to reveal some DM’s Drake had sent him recent to the time. While Joe Budden has constantly egged Drizzy on to respond with some hardcore rap bars, Drake hasn’t come through and I find it hard to believe Budden to continue his efforts, instead of focusing on making money.

(Written by TJ Mroz, Manny Rao & Garrick Gray)

 

List of Rotations Played This Week:

No Shopping – French Montana Ft. Drake

Campaign – Ty Dolla $ign Ft. Future

Grateful – Lil Wayne

Don’t Mind – Kent Jones

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Breaking Bread – GK Nesso

Eastside – GK Nesso

Summer Days – GK Nesso

Curry Season – GK Nesso

 

Suggested Articles:

After Class Week 01: September 13, 2016

Kanye West: The Saint Pablo Tour

Got Bars?
The RapUp/The RapUp
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Got Bars?

Wuddduuupp friends? I hope yall are still running on some of that O-Week adrenaline because we are fist deep into Fall semester and things are getting real. Lord knows we haven’t been doing too many of our readings (same with yall) buuuut we’ve been in these streets like yellow paint. Does that get more gangsta the more I say it? Thought so.

We kicked things off with some headlines starting with the God Yeezus himself. Last week at Pusha T’s listening party, Kanye went on another classic rant about how Pusha is one of the hottest in the game and totally represents black culture. Maybe a little much but Yeezy should be less focused on King Push and his recent assault charge that could put him behind bars for 10 years. I don’t think Jordans and jump suits go together.

We also had a little urban album debut debacle. Last week we told yall that The Weeknd and 2 Chainz both dropped an LP. Well the results are in and the kid from Toronto brought it home. Abel out sold Tity Boy by a few thousands copies. Big ups to both these duuuudes. Feel it Keith Urban.

ALSO! I gotta get my battle rap 2 cents in here. At King of the Dot`s World Domination 4, Dizaster didn`t quite get to finish off his third round against Arsonal. Sooooo, he went backstage and rapped the rest as it should have been heard. Check out the BARS here. Trust me… you won`t be let down. ps: skip to 44:58

Okay soooo we are in full swing with our new segments. REAL or RATCHET this week was fun. I read Kamo some questionable quotes from some of our fave rappers. These are things rappers have said in passing or in interviews that are a tad outrageous. Surprisingly, we deemed a lot of them real. Take a look for yourselves are let us know your thoughts. Quotesonquotesonquotesonquotes. 

Keeping the reeaaaalness flowing we brought in our best segment to date. (I think) This week`s REALNESS was about rappers being good people. I think toooo many times we bring you the most ig`nant parts of the culture and we decided to show our humanitarian side. Word to the WWF. This past week, Drake and The Game donated a total of $32,000 to help an Ohio woman rebuild her burned down house. We also touched on some other rappers that have done good in their communities. Check out the full list here. You may be able to disregard Juicy J`s so called donation.

Talking about Mr. Trippy. Juicy J provided us with this week`s Glaysh`s Guilty Pleasure. The song is called Show Out and it features Big Sean and Young Jeezy. Check out the video here and tuuuuurrrrn up!

Our UNDERGROUND KING is UK rhyme slinger and battler Shotty Horroh. Shotty has been on the battling circuit for a minute now. He`s recently been killing the UK rap scene and deserves some shine over here in the KW. Check out his newest album Xombie Xoo right here. The interview is on the way just waaaaiiittt on it…

Now time for everyone`s favorite segment…. VERSE OF THE WEEK. This week we decided to pick The Most Underrrated Verse. Now we aint talking about a dope verse form a no name rapper, we are talking about a no name verse from a dope rapper. Kamo went with Kendrick`s verse on DJ Khaled`s They Ready. I went with Lil Wayne`s verse on Jim Jones`Weatherman. With our big homie Ryan Little judging, it`s safe to say Kamo took the win. Hes currently 2-1 this semester. I gotta step up. Heavy!

Well, that`s it from us this week. Check us out next week same time, same place. Oh yeahhhhh, we got DJ Dub coming thru to do the Brantford Takeover. Just call it campus synergy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peace, Love & Kanye`s Court Outfit.

 

 

Is Anyone Safe?!
The RapUp/The RapUp
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Is Anyone Safe?!

Wuddduuppp friends?! Hopefully yall have settled in a little bit are a getting back into the hang of going to class (or not). Well, we are feeling comfortable over here and keeping them hits coming. Batter up!

Just as a little tid bit of fun info… icey rapper Gucci Mane recent spazzed on Twitter in which he called out everyone’s girl claiming he fornicated with them. Everyone from Tyga to T.I. got the business from Gucc. His Twitter has recently been deleted (for good reason) buuuut I just thought I would shed some light on the latest rapper getting gassed. Brrrrrrrrrr!

We kicked things off with some new music from Audio Push. They are a duo from Cali who get major production help from super producer Hit-Boy. Normally I wouldn’t spend too much time on this tape, entitled ‘Come As You Are’, but it was actually super dope. Check it out right here and remember to always come as you are…

Next we rolled out some new XO. Not hugs and kisses. Some of that smooth TDot sound. Our good friend The Weeknd dropped his first official label debut. The album is called Kiss Land and its pretty tight. The album is a polished, lateral step with an accompanying barcode for The Weeknd’s fans with little appeal for fans of traditional, testosterone-driven R&B. Check out a few of our faves here and here. XO til we OD…

Next on deck was Mr. Dos Chainz and his sophomore album which dropped this past week. It’s called Based On A Tru Story 2: Me Time. Loyal 2 Chainz supporters and casual fans may enjoy the album as functional, “turn up” music, but the album brings nothing new to the table. However, we definitely spun the album’s best track with Drake and Lil Wayne called ‘I Do It’. Check it out right here. Truuuuuuuu

Glaysh’s Guilty Pleasure was the first ever multiple week repeat. We just had to bring that Rich Homie Quan back due to the level of guiltiness the song exudes. BUT! Before yall freak out, I also played something off Dedication 5 to segway into my full mixtape review. If you haven’t been living under a rock for the last decade, then you would know Weezy’s Dedication mixtape series is a classic. This time around, he brought some quality guest rappers to assist the lyrical onslaught. On this particular track he brought Chi-Town native Chance The Rapper. Safe to say Kamo was buzzin’ about this one. The song is called ‘You Song’ and you can check it out here.

#NewSegmentFlow. That’s right folks, us over here at The RapUp are getting creative juices flowing again and rolling out some new segments. First up is ‘REAL OR RATCHET’. This is wherewe will pick a theme or something funny in hip-hop and deem it either real or ratchet. This week Kamo listed off some pretty strange rapper names and I was given the gavel to decide which ones were yay or nay. Stay tuned for more fun.

The second new segment we have this year is called ‘UNDERGROUND KING’. This segment will highlight a different independent rapper each week. Whether their from the apartments of Waterloo or the mean streets of Brooklyn, we will feature their music, their story and where to get more of their stuff. This would be a good segment to do interviews, eh? Hint Hint. This week’s UGK was a rapper outta Memphis named Jon Waltz. He’s got a few projects out and has even collab’d with the RapUp’s good friend Ramsay Almighty. Check him out right here. Do it for the city…

Okay, back to the regular scheduled programming. The Realness this week was a little bit of a personal rant. You know King Of The Dot? No? Well that sucks because it’s hip-hop at its purist. It’s Toronto’s rap battle league and this past August they hosted the “Olympics of Battle Rap”. Nova Scotia’s gargantuan leader Pat Stay took home the title match and was officially crowned King Of The Dot. What’s real about his? He’s the right rapper for the throne and it is going to be a difficult task to take him off it. Check out his dominance right here vs. Caustic Arcane.

Last but certainly not least, Verse of the Week. This week we chose to touch on something that clogged everyone’s Twitter timeline back in August. Yes, we are talking about Kendrick Laaaammmaaaaa and his famous Control verse. Unsure what we mean? Well, back in August as Big Sean was gearing up to drop Hall Of Fame, he released a bonus track entitled Control which feature KDot and Jay Electronica. Not only did he lyrically murder the beat, there were some rapper-friend casualties. He called out everyone from Drake to A$AP Rocky, from Mac Miller to Meek Mill and everyone in between. he essentially told them to step their game up and he’s coming for all of ’em. This sparked a slew of “Kendrick Responses” that nearly broke the internet. What does all of this have to do with Verse of the Week? Well, this week’s theme is ‘Best Kendrick Response’. I brought back a personal favorite with this one. Mr. Lupe Fiasco spazzed on his response. Kamo  brought Joey Bada$$’ response entitled Killuminati. This time we had a panel of judges to help decide. Did Kamo go 2-0? NOPE! Lupe Fiasco took me to the promise land and brought me the big W. Check out Kendrick’s verse here and Lupe’s response right here. Can you Pro-Line next week’s VOTW?

Well, that’s it from us this week. Catch us next week at the same time and same place. Got a problem with something you heard/read? Let us know on Twitter @RLRapUp. ALSO! Don’t forget to request your favorite rap and hip-hop because we do it all for yall… fo real.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peace, Love & Gucci Mane’s Lawyer’s Ulcer.