Kanye West, Beyonce, Ludacris, Guns N' Roses and The Killers.
the music press
tue 12/2/2008
- Kanye West follows last year's chart-topping Graduation with his fourth album, 808s & Heartbreak. The album is a "meditation on realness as it's been defined by materialism and machismo in the hip-hop world, and by love and sorrow in the larger one," according to the Los Angeles Times. The Guardian UK compares it to Radiohead's Kid A and applauds Kanye for "finishing the work begun by producers Timbaland and Pharrell Williams in drawing on areas of black music thought sissy by rap's still macho core audience."
- R&B diva Beyonce drops I Am... Sasha Fierce, featuring Beyonce on the first disc and her alter-ego, Sasha Fierce, on the second CD. Entertainment Weekly thinks the move "ultimately seems like a marketing gimmick." Beyonce's alter-ego leaves Vibe magazine puzzled: "It’s unclear when multi-faceted became multiple personality disorder … but this double CD raises some interesting questions. For instance, how can a sexy singer who makes sexy up-tempo tracks have an alter ego that also makes sexy, up-tempo tracks?"
- Ludacris is back with his seventh release, Theater Of The Mind. "Though he's acting more than rapping, Luda wants to prove Hollywood hasn't softened his skills," writes Rolling Stone, which gives Ludacris three and a half stars for being a "fine horn-dog comedian." Prefix mag has nothing but good things to say: "Ludacris has never recorded a verse that could legitimately be called 'wack' and Theater of the Mind keeps that record intact."
- After 15 years without a new album, L.A. metal rockers Guns N' Roses release the long-awaited Chinese Democracy. Is it worth the wait? "The answer has to be no, of course not, how could it be? That said, it's an exhilarating album," writes The Boston Globe. Webzine Popmatters sums it up with one question: "[W]hen you’re standing in front of that drinking hole jukebox a decade from now and you’re deciding whether to spend your last quarter on Appetite for Destruction's 'Sweet Child O’ Mine' or Democracy's 'Madagascar,' which one are you inevitably going to choose?"
- Las Vegas rock band The Killers return to the fray with Day & Age. Paste magazine says although it "may occasionally miss the mark," the group's third studio release is "the sophomore album they should’ve made two years ago." Spin magazine agrees: "[B]y becoming more comfortable with their glitzy roots, they've actually found the pulse of something more authentic. After all, you can't take the Vegas out of the showmen."
or go home
daily dos
mon 12/1/2008

(image by richt/tlobf via flickr)
Listen to "Brooklyn Go Hard" a new track from Jay-Z, featuring Santogold and produced by Kanye West.
all in together now
daily dos
tue 11/18/2008
Listen to streaming audio of Sky High, the official Kanye West remix project.
all in together now
daily dos
tue 11/18/2008
Former Roc-A-Fella records CEO Damon "Dame" Dash says Kanye West "hates Jay-Z" because Jigga refused to welcome 'Yeezy to his crew with a diamond-encrusted Roc-A-Fella chain in 2003. A spokesperson for West called the claim "totally false."
angels and demons
daily dos
thu 11/13/2008
Kanye West claims his place in music history has already been cemented: "I will go down as the voice of this generation, of this decade."
application error
daily dos
tue 11/11/2008

(image by c h e e s e roc via flickr)
Kanye West is milking the very last drops from Auto-Tune on two leaked tracks, Tell Everybody You Know featuring Lil Wayne and Amazing featuring Young Jeezy, from his forthcoming album, 808s and Heartbreak.
tap the bottle
daily dos
sun 11/2/2008
Listen to T-Pain's new single, "Therapy," featuring Kanye West.
wait, problem
daily dos
wed 9/24/2008

(image by marcn via flickr)
Check out a preview of Kanye West's TV variety show, "Alligator Boots," starring puppets rapping about pregnant girls at the club.
nice 2 beat u
daily dos
sun 9/21/2008
Kanye and 50 Cent will jump back in the ring with albums released a week apart in December.

