07 May

Posted at 22:47h in Music, Throwback
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If you had 24 hours to live, just think, where would you go? What would you do? Who would you screw?

Mase tapped the LOX, Black Rob, DMX, and an uncredited Diddy for this track that will have you thinking about how you’d spend your final hours if you knew death was imminent. The bars on “24 Hrs. to Live” range from comical to poignant, with each rapper putting their very best foot forward.

Even though the song was technically an album cut, it was so popular on the radio that Mase did the needful and shot us a video. At the time, there were talks about Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, Queen Pen and Missy Elliott coming together to make an all-female version of the song — discussions progressed to the point where Queen Pen even recorded her verse. However, according to Mase, plans fell through because Foxy wasn’t rocking with Kim nor Pen. Industry beef robs us of good music yet again.

As we continue to imagine the track that could have been, let’s take solace in the track that was. Click play.

01 May

Posted at 00:47h in Music
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Ladies and gentlemen, it has been a good week for remixes.

First, we had the H-Town linkup on the “Savage” remix, and now we have Doja Cat on the same track with the woman many consider to be her biggest influence: Nicki Minaj.

The “Say So” remix improves on the original, with Nicki joining Doja on both singing and rapping duties. As signaled on “Yikes,” Nicki appears to be in a good creative space and is rapping like it’s 2010 again.

In classic Nicki fashion, she didn’t miss an opportunity to take down an enemy, ending the song with what sounds like a dig at Wendy Williams, who she has called “demonic” in the past.

30 Apr

Posted at 21:45h in Music, Throwback
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Today is Lloyd Banks’ birthday and Monday was Avant’s birthday, so it’s only right that this week’s TBT pick is their 2004 collabo, “Karma.”

“Karma” is the third single from Lloyd Banks’ debut album, The Hunger for More, and one of the rapper’s biggest hits. The hook of the song is arguably problematic, but chances are that most people were too distracted by its tuneful melody — courtesy of Natalie Cole’s “Inseparable.” Check it out below.

29 Apr

Posted at 18:07h in Music
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Most of the time, remixes are not good as their originals. Every now and then, however, a remix might be just as good as its original, and in those cases, that’s usually because the song remained largely unchanged.

And then there’s the rare occasion where a remix is decidedly better than its original.

Today, we are blessed to be able to experience one of those rare occasions. Megan Thee Stallion tapped elder Houston statewswoman Beyoncé for the “Savage” remix, and Bey did what the fuck she had to do, outrapping Meg and adding all the right ad libs in all the right places.

The song runs about a minute too long, but I’m sure Meg couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get a third verse from Bey Thee Yoncé. Check it out below.


PS: All the proceeds from the “Savage” remix will go toward COVID-19 relief in Houston.

29 Apr

Posted at 12:35h in Music
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JoJo is giving us big social distancing energy in her new video, which is for “Lonely Hearts,” the appropriately titled second single from her upcoming album, Good to Know. The video was shot while quarantining and is inspired by Kathy Ireland’s 1993 Sports Illustrated cover.

The track, which sounds like a Missy production circa ’02, is about self-love in the face of self-doubt and a lover that keeps sending mixed messages. Explaining the song’s message, JoJo says, “Choosing self-preservation over toxic relationships is this vibe right now.” Who could be mad at that?

Check “Lonely Hearts” out below.

25 Apr

Posted at 18:25h in Music
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Earlier this week, Wale dropped a visual for “Sue Me” (featuring Kelly Price), the fifth single from his sixth album, Wow… That’s Crazy. As far as videos with “a message” are concerned, this is one of the good ones.

The “Sue Me” video re-imagines the world as one where black people and white people switch realities. It follows a young white walking through New York City at the mercy of the powers and prejudices of black, who are — in this reality — the ones with all the privilege. In his path, he sees a billboard advertising Mayor Mike Blackberg’s stop-and-frisk program and another for a product that will help white woman make their hair kinkier. There’s also one for WhitePeopleMeet.com.

The video is as funny as it is poignant, and hopefully, the right people get the right message from watching it.

The video makes reference to the headline-making racist incident at a Starbucks in Philadelphia, and ends with a video message from what appears to be a current inmate lamenting about prison conditions in the midst of the global pandemic.

Watch the “Sue Me” video below.

23 Apr

Posted at 23:00h in Music, Throwback
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As promised, we’re honoring both titans who participated in the Instagram-breaking battle this past Monday.

For all of his extraness and inability to read a room, Teddy Riley is redeemed by having one of the strongest pens in the history of popular music.

In the early-to-mid ’90s, he was to club bangers what Babyface was to ballads. Seldom a miss.

In 1996, Uncle Ted wrote a little song for his group, Guy, which was attempting to reunite after disbanding in 1992. By ’96, Teddy had already moved on to a new group, Blackstreet, and was already writing for the group’s sophomore album, Another Level.

The song in question, “No Diggity,” was turned down by Guy, and even when offered to its lead singer, Aaron Hall, for a solo performance, he still wasn’t into it. As the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, but even this treasure was a tough sell to its eventual owner.

According to Teddy Riley, none of the members of Blackstreet liked “No Diggity,” which is why he ends up singing the first verse on the track. The song would go on to become the group’s biggest hit, ruling the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks.

The track features Dr. Dre and Queen Pen, the former of which was fresh out of Death Row Records at the time of the song’s release. According to singer and former Death Row signee Danny Boy, the song that would be known as “Toss It Up” — a diss track aimed at Dr. Dre — was originally rapped over the “No Diggity” beat. That version of the song never saw the light of day due to a cease-and-desist letter from Blackstreet’s lawyers.

“No Diggity” contains a sample of “Grandma’s Hands” by Bill Withers, who passed away a little over three weeks ago.

23 Apr

Posted at 21:32h in Music, Throwback
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This past Monday, after weeks of promo, postponement and mishaps, we finally got the Babyface vs. Teddy Riley IG Live battle we were promised. The battle is the latest in the series of songwriter and producer battles curated by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, and the biggest one yet, with over 500,000 viewers tuning in and hundreds of thousands more watching from “overflow” rooms (i.e., other accounts streaming the live stream).

According to Instagram, nearly four million accounts attempted to watch the battle, causing the app to crash.

The Face/Riley battle was a beautiful rose that grew out of the concrete that is the ongoing global pandemic. As depressing as these times are, this is a moment that simply wouldn’t happen if we weren’t all forced to remain indoors.

The battle was also a celebration of R&B — and more specifically, late-’80s-to-mid-’90s R&B — in a time when the genre seems to have largely abandoned strong vocals and tuneful melodies — the very things that made the classics classic.

In honor of this cultural moment, it is only right that we have two TBT picks — one from Babyface, one from Teddy Riley.

For Babyface, we’re going to go with “Everytime I Close My Eyes,” which features Mariah Carey and Kenny G. The song was the second single from Babyface’s fourth LP, The Day, and peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the Grammys and is considered a signature hit for Babyface. If there ever was a song made for a first dance, it’s this one.

17 Apr

Posted at 08:55h in Music
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“Coffee and sex in the morning” is the opening line of Kelly Rowland’s new song, so you already know what time it is.

Everything about “Coffee” — the beat, the melody, Kelly’s vocals — oozes with sex appeal. At the risk of being hyperbolic, I’d venture to say it is arguably her best song yet. And if the song isn’t her best, then its video definitely is.

The “Coffee” visual gives us lots of brown skin and beautiful hair, and captures the precise mood of the song. With the exception of one shot, the video is Kelly from wall-to-wall, on the beach in a variety of sexy swimwear (including a see-through number).

Co-written by Marcos “Kosine” Palacios, Syd (from the Internet), Marcus Green and Kelly herself, “Coffee” is expected to appear on the singer’s upcoming album. Watch the video below.

16 Apr

Posted at 21:59h in Music
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As it becomes apparent that much of America will be on lockdown for at least the next month, there isn’t a better soundtrack for this moment. They won’t let us out.

Written and produced by Akon, “Locked Up” was the lead single from the Senegalese singer’s debut album, Trouble, and a top 10 hit in the summer of 2004. Styles P contributes a verse to the version of the song used in the music video.

This week’s TBT pick is not only appropriate because of its hook — today also happens to be Akon’s 47th birthday.