Aloe Black Interview

Aloe has been playing some shows gearing up for the release of his next album, Good Things which will drop September 28th. September is looking to be a huge month with John Legend and The Roots and Aloe Blacc both dropping new LPs. Good Things is going to be a pure soul album.

Aloe also eludes to a new Emanon album, Bird's Eye View which will be coming out very soon. The new album will be very political in nature. Check out the first track after the interview

Aloe talking with LA Stereo TV

New Emanon track Death is Fair

More Wake Up News

The new John Legend/The Roots collabo will drop on September 21st. They just released the album art and track listing. Just makes me more pumped to hear the whole LP.

1. “Compared to What”
2. “Hard Times”
3. “Little Ghetto Boy”
4. “Wake Up Everybody” feat. Common and Melanie Fiona
5. “Our Generation”
6. “Love the Way It Should Be”
7. “Hang On in There”
8. “I Can’t Write Left Handed”
9. “Wholy Holy”
10. “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free”
11. “Shine”

Big Boi--Follow Us and Behind the Scenes Vid

Big Boi Album Review

It's insanely good. There's no other way around it. This album is everything Ludacris tries to do on a record but can't pull off. Outkast has always defined the dirty south sound as far I'm concerned. You can pick up Aquemini and it sounds like it was produced a year ago. Their beats and rhymes have a timeless quality. You forget how good they are until one of their tracks hits your iTunes shuffle and you end up listening to ATLiens, Aquemini and Stankonia for a week.

Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty hits you like a brick with the first listen. You can't help but bob your head and smile, and soon enough your body is moving in way that is both unsightly and unnatural. The beats hit so hard you can feel it in your spine, and that's just the intro. Big Boi still has a flow that is unparalleled in the rap game, let alone the dirty south sub-genre. He can spit so fast you can hardly keep up then slow it down and get you in a state of excitement trying to anticipate his every word.

The album is just plain fun. It's the perfect summer album to blast through your car stereo or play at a club. The beats are tight, and the rhymes are even tighter.

As if Big Boi wasn't enough on his own the album contains guest appearances that would appear on the individual's best of compilation. Jamie Foxx delivers a verse and hook on the Lil' Jon produced 'Hustle Blood' that would make Kanye wet his panties and T.I. has never been better on 'Tangerine'.

Outkast's downfall has always been skits and unfortunately this album suffers from the inclusion a few seconds worth of useless talking. Usually artist grow up and leave the skits off the albums, I can only hope that the next Outkast record (fingers crossed) will be skit free and half as fun as this.

The album will be released on July 6th. You can stream it here

http://www.billboard.com/#/features/release-of-the-week-big-boi-1004101148.story

Phonte on HIGO

One of my favorite cats, Phonte, gushes about getting to work with the Roots. I love seeing a dude that's so excited about making music. Check it out!

Top 10 Albums of the Year...so far

1. The Roots - How I Got Over

The ninth studio album and their first since joining Late Night is an ode to the recession. Full of songs about struggle and trying to make it through the tough economic times with your head still on your shoulders, the album is dark enough to get the message across but not so drab that Black Thought's gruff rhymes lull you into a sense of helplessness. There's no room for filler here, it's all about the music and the stream of consciousness that flows brilliantly from track to track, taking you from the prayers of 'Dear God 2.0' to the uplifting "The Fire". All told, HIGO is a great Hip-hop record and just another solid outing for the Roots.



2. Broken Social Scene -
Forgiveness Rock Record

BSS albums are not background music. They require your devoted attention in order to grasps the complexity of each song. Each track evolving and building on itself, layer by layer until it reaches an epic scale. Forgiveness Rock Record is no different. It's a full slate offering of the best that Canadian rock has to offer.





3. Black Keys - Brothers


Brothers picks up right where Attack and Release left off, with a hard bass kick and a distorted guitar. The two man group has released another great record that's solid from start to finish. The bluesy-rock group has never sounded better!








4. Stars - The Five Ghosts

I fully believe the members of Stars have had the worst string of relationships ever. They are constantly wagging war on their past relationships, but putting out great music in the meantime. The Five Ghosts is classic Stars, with tracks like "I died so I could haunt you" and "Dead Hearts", they're all about the happy fun times at the Stars camp.








5. Drake - Thank me Later


Despite Drake's whining about having too much fame at money at such a young age, there's no arguing the young man can spit it. Straight Outta Scarborough? You bet your ass! The Degrassi alum's first studio album is a good pairing of a young hot MC and some of the slickest production in the game.




6. Broken Bells - Broken Bells

7. Reflection Eternal - Revolutions per Minute

8. B.O.B. - The Adventures of Bobby Ray

9. Rhymefest - El Che

10. Tie

Sade - Soldier of Love

Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part 2: Return of the Ankh

New-ish Aloe Blacc

Aloe appeared on the french program Le Grand Journal to perform 'Lovin' you is Killing Me" with a full band.