14 Sep

Posted at 03:52h in Music
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Mariah Carey dropped the video for “GTFO” at midnight as promised and it is exactly what I thought it would be.

First, the good: Mariah looks AMAZING. She has never looked better.

Now, the bad: She has become totally and completely unimaginative when it comes to music videos, and at a time where video streams count towards chart success, she is doing herself a disservice by putting out dry visuals like this. She has essentially been making the same video for the last five years or so, where she bats her eyelids at the camera and does half-ass twirls all while lipping the words to the song off-sync. In slow motion, no less.

But I keep hanging on. Because I love Mariah and because I think she has gotten a bad rap throughout her career. She is one of the biggest victims of rockism, and one day, I will dedicate a blog post to the matter. In the meantime, watch the “GTFO” video below.

14 Sep

Posted at 03:26h in Music
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Gucci Mane, Bruno Mars and Kodak Black have come together to give us one of the more random collabos you will come across, and oddly enough, it actually kinda works. Bruno Mars had posted pics of himself and Bill K. Kapri in the studio, so I knew they had something cooking, but I didn’t know we’d hear it this soon nor was I expecting Guwop to be on the track.

“Wake up in the Sky” is what I’d call a trap slow jam. I’m not crazy about it, but I’m definitely partial to all three artists on the track and can already tell that it will grown on me because it got better with each listen. I’m hoping we get a video for this one. Listen to the track below.

13 Sep

Posted at 13:31h in Music, Throwback
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Today in 1996, we lost one of the greatest rappers the world we ever know. 2Pac had a short life and career, but he made every year count and left an indelible impact. Today is Thursday, so you already know what type of time I’m on.

“Dear Mama” has always been one of my favorite songs. It takes me back to simpler times — I was only 8 when this song was released — and, generally speaking, I just love an ode to mama. 2pac’s “Dear Mama” is particularly special because unlike most songs like this, he touches on his mother’s shortcomings, showing that she — like all mothers — is imperfect.

The song, which sample’s the Spinners’ “Sadie” and Joe Sample’s “In All My Wildest Dreams,” was Pac’s biggest hit at the time, peaking at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Join me in celebrating the memory of the legendary Tupac Shakur.

13 Sep

Posted at 07:27h in Music
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Mariah Carey is asking an ex-lover to get the fuck out on her new song, aptly titled “GTFO.” The track, which dropped just under 30 minutes ago, has Mimi singing in a whisper for the most part, but it actually works. She sings in full voice in certain parts, but nothing too extravagant. Overall, the track definitely sounds fresher than anything she’s released in a long time, so I think she might have a hit on her hands.

Production-wise, “GTFO” will remind you of Drake’s “Passionfruit” — it was actually produced by frequent Drake collaborator Nineteen85, but both songs don’t have any credited composers in common. The song is the first single from Mariah’s upcoming album (her 15th studio LP), which is expected to drop before the year’s over. Check it out below.

10 Sep

Posted at 22:54h in Music
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Nicki Minaj just dropped a video for “Barbie Dreams.” The song is one of the best on Queen, and while I generally don’t expect to be blown away by music videos, I had high hopes for this one because the lyrics are so clever. Not to mention, it was directed by Hype Williams.

Conceptually, I think they got it right; some of the rappers that Nicki mentions — including Lil Wayne, 6ix9ine and DJ Khaled — appear as muppets while Nicki spits bars in a variety of outfits. Khaled isn’t a rapper, but you get my point.

With Nicki sporting a variety of colorful wigs, the video gives me slight “Crush on You” vibes, especially in the frames where she’s rocking fur coats. But that’s not where the Lil’ Kim similarities end — Nicki is starting to look more plastic than ever before and I’m not sure why. Her implants look like they hurt when she moves. Peep the clip below.

10 Sep

Posted at 21:22h in Music
1 Like

The 6 God has done it again. With “In My Feelings” spending a ninth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Drake has now accrued 28 weeks at No. 1 this year, which ties Usher’s record for the most weeks at No. 1 in a calendar year. And with a career total of 48 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, Drizzy pushes past Usher as the leader among all male solo acts — only Mariah Carey (79), Rihanna (60), the Beatles (59) and Boyz II Men (50) have spent more weeks at No. 1. That being said, it is worth noting that all 47 weeks of Usher’s Hot 100 reigns were as a leading artist, while Drake has only spent 38 weeks as a leading artist.

Bonus factoid: This week marks the 33rd consecutive week of the Billboard Hot 100 being ruled by a rap song.

07 Sep

Posted at 16:45h in Celebrity, Music, Television
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UPDATE: Les Moonves has been fired from CBS and his severance package will be held until the investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct is concluded. The company’s current COO, Joseph Ianniello, will act as CEO until the board of directors finds a replacement. Also, $20 million will be deducted from Mooves’ severance pay and donated to organizations that support the #MeToo movement.

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He won’t, but one can dream. The soon-to-be-ousted CEO and Chairman of CBS, who has been accused of sexual harassment, is rumored to have a $100 million golden parachute, so he’ll be fine no matter what. But why does Les Moonves deserve to lose everything, you ask? Well…he essentially ended Janet Jackson’s career.

According to a report by the Huffington Post, Les Moonves was so mad after Nipplegate that he became obsessed with destroying Janet. He wasn’t as mad at Justin Timberlake, who did the ripping of the bustier, because JT made a tearful apology directly to him. Janet’s public apology was apparently insufficient for the King of CBS, so he decided to make it his business to undermine her.

From Huffington Post:

Moonves ordered Viacom properties VH1 and MTV, and all Viacom-owned radio stations, to stop playing Jackson’s songs and music videos. The move had a huge impact on sales of her album “Damita Jo,” which was released in March 2004, just a month after the Super Bowl.


(Sidebar: CBS was owned by Viacom at the time)

And that’s not all. Seven whole years after the incident, Moonves was mad when he found out that CBS-owned publishing house, Simon & Schuster, gave Janet a book deal (for True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself).

More from Huffington Post:

“How the fuck did she slip through?” Moonves asked while recounting the story to a source who spoke to me. He told another source that heads were going to roll as a result of the deal.

It’s not clear whether Moonves ever actually took action against anyone who gave Jackson the book deal, but his tone when he spoke about Jackson was so aggressive, one source said they couldn’t speak to me on the record because “I’m not interested in having that man following me to the grave and trying to screw me over the whole time.”


Basically, Les Moonves is the worst type of enemy to have, but this is especially weird because it’s not like the Superbowl incident was a personal affront to him. Was a direct apology really all it took? Because, if so, he’s an egomaniac and a fucking tyrant. If not, then what was the real reason? Is it because Janet Jackson is black? Is it because she’s a woman? Or both? Why go so far out of your way to destroy a person who technically hasn’t done anything to you?

The good thing about this news — if we can call it that — is that we now have confirmation of what we all already knew. Janet didn’t fizzle out; she was forced out of the industry by one of the most powerful men in show business. And, unfortunately, this all took place in a pre-social-media world where it was far easier to stymie people.

At this point, there’s no way of telling if there’s any truth to the allegations of sexual harassment against Les Moonves, but if they are, I hope he gets sued for millions. Karma, do your thing.

07 Sep

Posted at 09:18h in Music
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This wasn’t supposed to happen. Kanye West is supposed to be canceled, but I will blame my leniency on that weak apology he issued last week. That and on the fact that I accidentally heard his new track with Lil Pump and absolutely loved it on the first listen.

This is what pains me about Kanye. He is a talented musician and was actually one of my favorite rappers of all time until he started working with the devil (i.e. Donald Trump). In any case, “I Love It” debuted last night at the Pornhub Awards (where Kanye served as creative director) and it features a punchline from Adele Givens (who also appears in the video). Check it out below.