Alex Da Kid (aka Alexander Grant) wants U2. He wants Cher. He wants Coldplay.
This is not the list of CDs he would like for Christmas.
These are the stars he's calling up to work with in 2011 and - given his track record over the last 12 months - they would be likely to take his calls.
In one of pop's success stories of 2010, the London-born songwriter and producer has gone from relative anonymity to crafting songs for the biggest names in urban music, including Eminem, Rihanna, B.o.B, Dr Dre, Diddy, TI and Nicki Minaj.
"A year ago, I was looking up to those guys, I wanted to be where they were," he says. "To be working with them is pretty cool.
"2010 has definitely been a good year. I just want to make 2011 a bigger year."
On Alex Da Kid's contribution to Eminem's Recovery album with 'Love the Way You Lie' ft. Rihanna:
(Then) it all came down to Rihanna, who had just one chance to record her vocals in a Dublin studio while on tour in May.
"We still didn't know, literally eight or nine hours before the album had to be given in, whether it [the song] would go on the album," Grant recalls.
"If Rihanna didn't do a great vocal performance, there was no time to re-do it. It just wouldn't have made the album. We couldn't have done it another day, it just wouldn't have gone on the album.
"So, it got pretty intense. We were all sitting around in the studio waiting for Rihanna to give us these vocals, and we were all just praying that they were perfect - which they ended up being.
"If it was a bad day for her and she didn't nail it that particular day, normally you'd just go back and re-record it a couple of days later. But we didn't have that time."
The track has been downloaded four million times in the US alone and its success contributed in no small part to the revival of Eminem's reputation and commercial fortunes.
7:30 P.M.: Jay-Z Bailing Afterward? Word among show personnel is that Jay-Z will be immediately exiting the stadium upon completion of his set -- in other words, no appearance during Eminem's set. He'll be headed to his waiting Gulfstream jet to fly home to New York, then return for the second show. Wife Beyonce is here in Comerica Park.
Jay-Z is waiting for darkness before taking the stage, to accommodate film crews who are chronicling the show. NOTE: Sources later said Jay-Z might have stayed backstage after all.
8:30 P.M.: A Fleet Of Escalades With the Beastie Boys cranked on the stadium PA, there are seven minutes until Jay-Z's set. The rapper and his posse just arrived in a caravan of Escalades behind the right-field wall.
8:37 P.M.: Heavyweights Expected Among the expected guests during Eminem's set: 50 Cent, Dr. Dre and Drake.
8:40 P.M.: The Countdown Curtains have come down, lights are off. An onscreen countdown clock gets fans roaring: 50 seconds 'til Jay-Z hits the stage.
8:45 P.M.: Jay Starts Rocking With a blast of lights and an epic, squalling rock lick, Jay-Z took the stage at 8:40 p.m., alone at center stage delivering lines from the opening of his 2000 album "The Dynasty: Roc La Familia." Upon the song's conclusion, he urged show directors to bring the house lights up. "Just give me two minutes -- I've gotta take this all in," he said, grinning as he took in the crowd of 40,000-plus. "This is hip-hop music and this is how far we've come."
9:40: Frenetic Set Pauses To Honor Fallen Stars Jay-Z, dressed in black and wearing a Yankees cap, has been whipping through a loud, fast-paced set, backed by a tight live band and a massive high-def video screen. This is his stage, but he's been happy to share the spotlight: Young Jeezy and Memphis Bleek have already joined him for onstage collaborations, and Jay devoted a lengthy segment honoring fallen music stars such as Biggie Smalls, Tupac Shakur and Detroiters Proof and Aaliyah. Hot songs like "Big Pimpin'" and swaying numbers like "Forever Young" have been interspersed with abbreviated medleys of tunes such as "Hard Knock Life" and "A Dream." With taupe-tinted Detroit images projected behind him, he delivers a jazzy rendition of "Thank You."
10 P.M.: Entering 'Empire State Of Mind' -- 'I'm Going To Take You Home' Jay-Z heads into the homestretch with an appropriately epic-sized "Empire State of Mind." "I'm going to take you home -- my home," the New York star tells the receptive Detroit crowd. Minutes later, grinning wide, he closes up his set with a jazz-laced performance of "Numb." "I had an incredible time with you," Jay tells the Comerica Park crowd. "This was one of the best experiences of my entire life."
10:05 P.M.: Jay-Z Killed It; Eminem Up Next Jay-Z has left the stage. Everything is about 15 minutes behind -- Eminem is expected to go on at about 10:45 p.m. There's a low buzz around the ballpark as fans take in what they just witnessed: an impressively energetic set that found Jay-Z killing it onstage.
10:35 P.M.: First Eminem Performance In A While Lost in the buildup to this week's shows was an important reality: Eminem hasn't spent much time on a concert stage lately. Until Thursday night, the self-confessed studio hermit had played just four full sets since his Comerica Park show in 2005 -- all festival appearances. This first hometown show in half a decade presented a vastly different sort of challenge.
10:36 P.M.: Eminem Builds Ferocious Energy Eminem, a Detroit Tigers hoodie draped over his ballcap, hits the stage for a fierce performance of his new "Won't Back Down." It's already a different vibe than the one set by Jay-Z : sharper, grittier, darker. He's got the microphone gripped tight as he tensely paces the stage, occasionally glancing out to soak in the sea of bodies in front of him. You can practically feel his heart and adrenaline coursing as he takes in the moment.
10:47 P.M.: Trick Trick Joins For 'Welcome To Detroit' A grinning Trick Trick, clad in white, has bounded onstage to join Em for a bumping version of "Welcome to Detroit," a montage of Motor City imagery rolling on the big screen behind them.
11:10 P.M.: D12 Helps Em Walk Through The Catalog About 30 minutes in, it looks to be an eclectic, career-spanning set, as members of D12 occasionally make their way onstage: Em quickly dips back in time, ripping through 1999’s “Kill You” with slinky backing from the live band behind him. He jumps through the years, placing older tunes (“Cleaning Out My Closet”) next to songs from his new “Recovery.”
11:12 P.M.: An Assured Pace; B.O.B., Drake Come Out Opener B.O.B. has returned to the stage for his Eminem duet "Airplanes II." The songs are rolling one after another now: "Kill You," "The Way I Am," "So Bad," "Stan." Eminem is locking into a confident groove. The early tension is growing into a self-assured command of the stage, as the rapper pumps his fists to exhort the crowd. A clean-cut Drake is the next guest out, joining Eminem for a run through their hit "Forever."
11:25 P.M.: Working Hard With 50 Cent The stars are definitely out on a Thursday night in Detroit : Now it's 50 Cent onstage with Eminem, working through a head-bobbing rendition of 50's "Patiently Waiting." The stage lights drop to reveal 50's illuminated jacket. He continues his cameo with a booming "In Da Club" and the night's latest exhortation that fans put their hands up. Em has certainly put in a shift: It's a gorgeous, mild night in Detroit, but his gray T-shirt is completely drenched in sweat.
11:40 P.M.; No Rihanna, But Lady Gaga Expected Tomorrow Eminem launches into the summer's biggest single, "Love the Way You Lie." Ironically, it might be the first disappointment of the night for some fans: confirmation that studio partner Rihanna is not on the night's guest list. But another female star is expected to be here for Friday night's show: Lady Gaga. The pop star is in Milwaukee tonight, but is headed this way for her Saturday show at the Palace. Folks behind the scenes say she'll spend her Friday night here at Comerica Park, though it's unknown if that's onstage or off.
12:07 P.M.: Encore Ends With Fireworks Having closed his regular set with the anthemic "Not Afraid," Eminem has begun his encore: a pulsing rendition of "Lose Yourself." With the city skyline glowing behind him, the biggest Detroit music act of the past quarter-century rolls through his signature song. It's the biggest moment in a night of big ones. The self-empowerment of "Lose Yourself" couples neatly with the strength-through-humility of "Not Afraid," and with a shot of colorful fireworks, Eminem ends his show on a potent, inspirational note.
In a new, behind the scenes video released on Eminem's official site, the rapper gives fans an exclusive glimpse into the cover art for his album Recovery.
The video shows Em braving the cold and shedding his jacket to take pictures in the 33 degrees weather while making sarcastic jokes to the photographer Nigel Parry, saying "Oh man, listen, take your time, listen, I am enjoying the weather so f---ing much!"
The notoriosly Detroit based rapper goes on to explain what the cover means to him: "It symbolizes, like, what my life is like right now because of the fame, but also kind of how I've had to remove myself from society a little bit, pull back to conquer my demons, my addiction and that whole thing, it also symbolizes me never leaving Detroit, you know? I'm kinda just sitting in the middle of Detroit, watching TV. And it's kind of my living room, where people are just walking by."
The video ends on a light note, first with Em and crew getting ready to shoot the second cover for the dual covered album, as well as a jokingly ranting Eminem keeping the crew from loading into the van, and standing in the cold while spouting off self help mantra's such as "You gotta take it one day at a time,".
Also at the end is the promise for additional behind the footage scenes from Recovery in a second episode.
UsMagazine.com: What was your favorite part of working with Eminem?
Jim Jonsin: It was my first time working with him. What was my favorite part? I guess just creating and coming up with ideas and kind of getting to know him. It's kind of rare to be in a room with a guy like that. So being a fan at first was really cool, you know? It's one of those things where you go 'holy s--- I'm in here working with Eminem.' That is a big deal for someone like me. Just meeting him as a person was probably the coolest part. Working with him in the studio is pretty standard, you write songs, you record them, you put down ideas, make beats. It is all about kicking it with the person. He is a lot more serious than most artists I've worked with. He takes his business and craft and music very seriously. He is very detail-oriented, so it could be something like a mix of drums on a record, and he is going to be really crucial about how it sounds, and crucial about instrumentation, his lyrics, his delivery.
Us: Why does this album differ from Eminem's past ones?
JJ: Because he had me producing records on there. No, first off, that is actually a good point, he had other producers working on this album with him, and not only Dre. That was a huge part of it --different sounds, different ideas. Not taking anything [away] from Dre. because he's a genius, but this was a way for Eminem to grow and learn more from different people. I'm always learning, no matter who I work with I learn different things, and I think the same thing goes for Eminem. If you're working with new producers, you're seeing different angles, and different sounds being used, different motivation and things like that. I think that's what makes this album different. Also, maybe what he is going through in his life right now, [is] different than before.
Us: You said his work ethic was very serious, very detail-oriented...
JJ: He has a strong work ethic. I'm a father, he's a father, [and] he came in at a certain time, early in the afternoon and he planned to leave like [at] a job. He went in, he did his thing, and was out at a certain time to be with his kid and his family, which I admire. It's kind of hard [having a family] in this business, but if you can balance it, it's a really good thing.
Us: So right now you're in the process with working with B.O.B?
JJ: We're going to get started in another 30 days. We are working on ideas, I'm going to get in with him and whoever else is involved and start working on the album. I've been working with him for over three years, producing and writing for him. We're working on some new stuff and I think creatively B.O.B and I have had many firsts together. He's very talented. He is a Jack of all trades -- he plays guitar, keys, writes, raps, sings. I’m sure he'd pick up a saxophone if it called for it and try to play that.
Us: How is T.I.'s album coming along?
JJ: I have done two sessions with him. We've done three songs together now and we are working on other stuff.
Us: How would you sum up your goals for his album?
JJ: I think he is just trying to write some classic records. Some really good, solid songs. (source)
Despite early chart predictions, Rick Ross 'Teflon Don' didn't make the cut for that #1 spot on Billboard's album chart. In this week's Nielsen/Souncscan numbers, Teflon pulled in 176,000, while Em's Recovery sold with a stronger with 187,000. Leave it to Eminem's continued staying power of the 'Recovery' now its 5 consecutive week at #1.
According to Hits Daily Double, Rick Ross 'Teflon Don' is projected to sell 170-180K in first week sales. This could mean an end to Eminem's sizable reign on his four week #1 spot with Recovery. Let's revisit this time next week as the Nielsen SoundScan numbers will be officially confirmed.
Eminem presenting his partner in crime Dr. Dre with the ASCAP Founders Award at last night's ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Awards in Beverly Hills, CA. (video courtesy of Rap-Up)
Besides Dr. Dre's honors, other recipients were on hand to receive their awards including music producer Boi 1 da, Ne-Yo and others.
Detroit rapper Eminem just can't keep himself out of the media these days.
He just announced an ultra high-profile pair of September concerts with fellow hip-hop luminary Jay-Z and "Not Afraid," the fist single off his upcoming album "Recovery," debuted at number one in the Billboard Hot 100 today, becoming the 16th song ever to do so.
So it's no surprise that when Eminem is spotted anywhere, people make a big deal about it.
Such was the case when bystanders came across Em filming the video for "Not Afraid" in Newark, N.J. last week.
Dozens of videos made their way onto YouTube, showing the rapper wearing a black jacket and shooting several scenes around the downtown area of the city.
Eminem was reportedly shooting the video on May 5, but there is no word on when the video will be released or what the theme of it is.
"Recovery," Eminem's seventh studio album, will be released June 22.
In December, Nielsen SoundScan named Eminem the "Artist of the Decade" for selling more than 32 million albums over his career.
The rapper recently headed down to their offices to put up his award.
They sent us this picture of Eminem holding the award with Dr. Dre, Interscope head Jimmy Iovine, his manager Paul Rosenberg and Nielsen heads, Eric Weinberg and Chris Muratore.
Eminem will have a chance to add to his all-time sales number in June when he releases his new album, Recovery, on 22nd.
Just last week, the rapper dropped the first taste of what's to come via a new single called "Not Afraid." He premiered the track on his Shade 45 Sirius/XM station, during Angela Yee's "The Morning After" show.
Em confirmed that he's been working with a variety of producers for the album, including Just Blaze, Mr. Porter, Jim Jonsin, DJ Khalil, Boi-1da, Dr. Dre, and Havoc.
Detroit rapper Royce Da 5'9", a.k.a. Ryan Montgomery, wants you to know his new supergroup Slaughterhouse is the best of the best.
But that doesn't mean he takes criticism lightly.
Some major names in hip-hop will shine at the Edmonton Event Centre tonight (Check The Rhyme concert Friday, April 16), including Del the Funky Homosapien, Pharoahe Monch and, of course, headliners Slaughterhouse -- a group that also includes Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz and Crooked I.
"Right now the message is just basically to convince everybody that we are the best, nobody's better than us," Montgomery says of his new crew's lyrical agenda.
Slaughterhouse formed after Budden featured the other three group members on a track from his Halfway House album, to overwhelmingly positive reactions from online fans.
The praise was too much to ignore, and the four veteran lyricists bring their A-games to the table on Slaughterhouse's self-titled debut album, which was released last year.
Critics have mostly been kind, but when someone knocks their rhymes, it smarts a bit for Montgomery.
"I think I hold what people think to a higher regard than I should. The writers and all of that, they get under my skin," he admits. "I look at all the reviews, I look at all the comments.
"There's a lot of artists that don't even pay attention to the comments because they don't wanna get moved by it, they don't wanna feel a certain way about it.
"It'll bother me, and I know I shouldn't be lettin' it bother me, but I'll let it bother me anyway and it'll push me harder next time."
Few rappers have hotter credentials than Royce. He's ghostwritten for the likes of Dr. Dre and P. Diddy, and has been turning heads since the late '90s when he formed a duo called Bad Meets Evil with fellow Detroit rapper Eminem.
He later had a falling out with Eminem's group D12, which resulted in an ongoing public feud.
But the two have since made up, and though Montgomery isn't quite the celebrity his ex-cohort is, he has no self-pity.
"There's been times when I've been overlooked, or sometimes I feel a bit underrated, but I can only blame myself for that," he says.
He recalls past opportunities with record labels that he simply wasn't prepared for when they rolled around.
"When I signed my first deal, I got a multi-million dollar deal two times in a row. It was set up for me to just take off. I don't think personally that I delivered all of the right records," he says.
"I didn't have the mechanics of writing songs and making complete albums all the way down yet.
"I didn't know how to bring across my natural personality and nail interviews, and everything that comes along with catapulting yourself to the next level."
Now, he insists, he's "so prepared, it's pathetic."
And who better to help catapult Slaughterhouse than Montgomery's old partner in crime?
His quartet is currently primed to sign with Eminem's label, Shady Records, a branch of Universal.
"We've got the deal on the table right now," he says, adding the major label backing could take Slaughterhouse to the status of his most notorious collaborators.
"We conquered the underground already. Now we're ready to show people that we can take it to the next level."
But money and fame pale in importance to what he's really after: sweeping critical acclaim.
"I want to be looked at as the best ever," he says.
SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 14 -- The much-anticipated new album from Eminem, Recovery (Aftermath/Interscope), will be released June 22, 2010, it was announced today by Interscope Records. On Recovery, his seventh major label studio album, Eminem has reached out to an exciting list of first-time collaborators, including DJ Khalil, Just Blaze, Jim Jonsin and Boi-1da, among others.
Eminem releases Recovery just over a year after his last album, 2009's Relapse. Relapse put the cap on an impressive ten years of recorded output, and contributed to Eminem being the biggest selling artist of 2000-2009. In recognition of this, Neilsen SoundScan named him their Artist of the Decade. Relapse entered the charts at #1 and, at nearly double platinum, was the best selling rap album of last year. It also earned Eminem his 11th Grammy award, winning in the Best Rap Album category. Relapse's first single, "Crack A Bottle" from Eminem, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent, soared to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (Eminem's second #1 after 2002's "Lose Yourself") and set a SoundScan record at the time of its release for opening week download sales (418,000). The album also spun off two other hits; the Top 10 "We Made You" and Top 20 "Beautiful."
"I had originally planned for Relapse 2 to come out last year," remarked Eminem. "But as I kept recording and working with new producers, the idea of a sequel to Relapse started to make less and less sense to me, and I wanted to make a completely new album. The music on Recovery came out very different from Relapse, and I think it deserves its own title."
Lil Wayne and Eminem cause a riot on set of their explosive video for “Drop the World,” the newest single from Weezy’s rock album Rebirth. The green screen clip was filmed in Castaic, Calif., by director Chris Robinson.
“We just crushed some stuff, burned some stuff, and had an illmatic performance with Wayne and Eminem,” said Robinson.
Dubcnn: Tell us as much as you can about The Art Of Dying. I know everybody’s been waiting for that for a while.
Cashis: The Art Of Dying is a crazy project man. It was me from like 2007 until like the beginning 2009. That was just my whole life. Production from Riknatti on there, like 7 beats from Eminem on there. Like 3 from Jake One. A gang of other people, Sha Money. It’s a gang of people on there making beats and the songs are exactly what you would expect. The Art of Dying is a crazy project, coming out on Shady. It’s poppin’ man, I can’t tell y’all much more cause I get in trouble every time I give out secrets. They be like, "Man why'd you tell them?". So I can’t tell you all the songs, just knows there’s 5 singles picked already. That’s all I can say.
Dubcnn: Definitely, tell us you what you been working on with Em. Obviously he’s your man, put you on and everything. Did you get to be around that when he was doing Relapse and he’s doing Relapse 2 now...
Cashis: Yes man, we chop it up over the phone. I see him when he comes out to Cali or when they go to like Vegas or something but other than that I been on my grind like doing hella shows. Like he put me on but I made my own name which I’ve done and I kept us poppin’ and Shady Records and that enabled him to come back and be able to come and do the music he is doing right now. He ain’t gotta do no punk check because I ain’t done no punk shit while he was gone. Like he let me boss up and be a capo and start my own brand up underneath the family, which is crazy and I turnt in an album that’s ridiculous and he’s proud of that like he should be. like I’m proud of the work he doing. We talk on the phone and give each other encouragement and stuff but sometimes he may be in Miami or Detroit and I may be in Cali or somewhere overseas. My schedule hasn’t let me be in the studio with him as much as i would have liked to but were gonna change all that up in February. What up Detroit?! I’m coming to y’all in February after the All Star, what up Detroit?!
DJ Khalil seems like the preeminent music producer that Eminem would go to. The LA based Khalil is on a hot streak + he's a in-house Aftermath producer, it only makes sense.
Off the heels of his Grammy performance of “Forever” with Eminem, Lil Wayne, Drake and Travis Barker, XXLMag.com had the chance to chop it up with The Alchemist about Em’s highly anticipated new disc, Relapse 2.
While the disc does not have a release date as of press time, ALC says Em is hard at work in the studio with DJ Khalil. The West Coast beatsmith has had a big year, producing standout joints for Drake (“Fear”), Clipse (“Kinda Like a Big Deal”) and Slaughterhouse (“Cuckoo”).
“Khalil—who I think is like the best producer right now to me—he had been sending records to Em for a while that wasn’t like, they weren’t like clicking in,” Alchemist told XXL. “Em knew he was dope but they haven’t found the right one. And I think they found a couple joints now… the joints they have are crazy. I can’t say 100 percent [that he made the album], but I have heard at least two joints Khalil did and they’re fuckin’ stupid.”
Al, who serves as the Detroit lyricist’s tour DJ, revealed that he has yet to score a beat on Em’s project. “I’m starting to be around Em and the camp more,” he said, “especially finishing these albums. Factor in Em’s sober now, it’s like that’s my man, we chop it up a lot more now…it’s like little by little I’m figuring out what I have to do to create a sound that would be Alchemist/Eminem. I didn’t get it yet.”
One person that Em has been working a lot with is Just Blaze. Al gave XXL insight into their chemistry: “He clicked with Em,” he said. “It was really amazing, too. They really vibed and made some music, beyond like Just just sending him beats, it was nothing like that…I think it’s a perfect meshing of the two…If you could imagine what they could bring to the table at this point, it’s pretty close and maybe a little more.”
In fact, in ALC’s opinion, the whole album is a level above the first Relapse. “He’s doing things lyrically on this album that he hasn’t done before,” he shared. “The punchline game is really back.”
The field at a glance: Three of the last five years, the best rap album went to Kanye West. During the eligibility period for the 2010 awards, West drifted from his hip-hop past, offering up a collection of moody pop with "808s and Heartbreak," and thus opening up the rap album field.
But West isn't the only superstar absent from this category. Due to a one-month advance in the eligibility period from Sept. 31 to Aug. 31, Jay-Z's "The Blueprint 3" missed the window to be considered for the 2010 awards, having been released on Sept. 8. The omission of the 2010 Coachella headliner will be felt, as the album has sold more than 1.5 million copies in just four months, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
What's left, however, is a rather broad snapshot of hip-hop over 2009. Flo Rida maintained his dominance as a singles artist, as his "Right Round" featuring Ke$ha sold more than 4 million downloads throughout 2009. His album "R.O.O.T.S.," however, didn't make the same impact as its individual cuts.
Introspective rapper and perennial nominee Common went the party route with his more lighthearted "Universal Mind Control," and indie-minded artists such as Mos Def and Q-Tip are also represented in the field. Q-Tip's album, "The Renaissance," was released in late 2008 and featured him melding hip-hop and neo-soul, as well as working with an impressive group of collaborators including Norah Jones and Nelly Furtado. It should be the kind of easily approachable album Grammy voters love, but it's far from the biggest success in the category, as Eminem's first album in five years, "Relapse," rounds out the field.
And the Grammy goes to: Book it for Eminem. Though some of the rapper's outrageous attacks at times felt a bit dated or obvious (Jessica Simpson? Hannah Montana?), the album still achieved the kind of sales success that voters won't pass up. To date, the spring release has sold more than 1.75 million copies, and whether making borderline violent videos or lashing out at Mariah Carey, Eminem proved to still be adept at garnering headlines. Q-Tip deserves it, but Eminem will get his fourth best rap album Grammy on Jan. 31. (source)
“Crack a Bottle” – Eminem featuring Dr. Dre and 50 Cent
“So crack a bottle / Let your body waddle / Don’t act like a snobby model / You just hit the Lotto,” Em sing-raps on the chorus of this party track. The operative thinking here conflates sobriety with snootiness and getting wasted with winning a lottery jackpot.
“Blame It” – Jamie Foxx featuring T-Pain
“Blame it on the Goose, got ya feelin’ loose / Blame it on the 'trón, catch me in a zone / Blame it on the a-a-a-a-a-alcohol,” Foxx sings with no small amount of added Auto-tune attitude in this boudoir jam that was all but inescapable on Top 40 radio earlier this year. Yes, he is talking about Grey Goose and Patrón. But later in the song, he lays bare his reasoning: by continuing to fill a potential love interest’s cup, she’s more likely to lose her inhibitions – “Fill another cup up / Feelin’ on your butt what?”
“Crazy Night” – R. Kelly featuring R. City
“This Hennessy got me,” R. Kelly croons on the lead cut from his latest album, “Untitled.” Then he gets to the chorus: “If you’re drinkin’ what I’m drinkin’, put your hands up in the sky / If you’re thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’, you’ll say, 'What a crazy night!' ” But R’s consumption hardly stops there. In the song, he also brags of a “thousand dollar” bar tab, concluding, “I need another shot of that Bacardi” -- recklessly ignoring the inevitability of a hangover such booze mixing will provoke.
“Shots” – LMFAO featuring Lil Jon
Jägerbombs, lemon drops, Jello shots and kamikazes as well as premium liquors such as Ciroc Vodka and the rappers’ de facto favorite (judging by its ubiquity in hip-hop songs since 2006) Patrón tequila all get a shout-out on this Crunk-inflected club-banger. Even if the song’s “we came to party” ethos is hardly groundbreaking, its hook remains unforgettable: Lil Jon hoarsely screaming the word “shots!” 16 times in a row.
“Maldito Alcohol” – Pitbull
Reggaeton was no stranger to hip-hop’s reigning dipsomania. Exhibit A: Boriquan rapper Pitbull spitting lyrics (in Spanish) such as “I don’t want water / I want a drink”. . . “Damn alcohol, sweet torment / Give me a drink on the rocks.”
“One More Drink” – Ludacris
An unapologetic ode to putting on one’s “beer goggles,” “One More Drink’s” narrative drama revolves around the ramifications of Luda having that proverbial one too many. Drunk driving and bedding ugly women ensues: “Surrendered to the woman / And her bringin’ me home / Because she looked better / Every shot of Patrón.”
“I’m So Gone (Patrón)” – Chamillionaire featuring Bobby Valentino
Chamilly and Bobby Valentino go for the obvious couplet here, rhyming “I’m poppin’ bottles of Patrón” with “all night long.” For the rapper, it’s clear that alcohol provides a palliative for his worldly concerns. “I’mma wash my problems away,” Chamillionaire raps. “Tonight I need a drank.” R&B Lothario Valentino, meanwhile, announces that he doesn’t usually drink but admits he’s “gone” -- read: wasted -- from drinking a mixture of tequila and rose wine.
“Wasted” – Gucci Mane
“Party, party, party, let’s all get wasted,” the rapper exhorts on this hit single. “Shake it for me baby girl, do it butt naked / I’m so wasted, she so wasted / Tell the bartender send me 20 more cases.” The discrete charms of this hit single don’t end with the incontrovertible logic of its chorus, however. Mane also presumes the intoxication of certain notorious pop divas, mentioning that the booze has got him “geeking like Whitney and Britney.”
“Patrón Tequila” – the Paradiso Girls featuring Lil Jon
We can all agree that Crunkmeister Lil Jon was the man behind this year’s most unabashedly pro-booze music. On this paean to rap’s preferred tipple, though, the Paradiso Girls make vocal a silken threat: “By the end of the night, I’mma have you drunk and throwin’ up.”
Final Nielsen/Soundscan taley... Susan Boyle 701K Rihanna 181K Lady Gaga 174K
According to the Hits Daily Double, Susan Boyle's debut 'I Dreamed a Dream' is projected to sell 670K first week of release. Also breaking the record for the most sold in first week 2009 sales, Eminem's May release of 'Relapse' which came in at 608K. Rihanna will still pull in a respective number of 180K with plenty of promotion going on prior and during the first week of release, but not enough steam to beat out Boyle's hefty sales.
With Chris Brown's 'Graffiti' coming December 8, this will get interesting as to who will pull in the bigger numbers first week Chris or Rihanna.
On Susan Boyle, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and the other November 23 releases, the Nielsen/Soundscan (the industry standard) numbers will be published tomorrow Wednesday, December 2, as Susan will win the chart race by a landslide.
Eminem's comeback year of 2009 was expected to include the release of two new albums.
That turned out to be only partially true.
"Relapse," the Detroit rapper's first original studio album in more than four years, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart in May and eventually went platinum.
The plan then was to release a follow-up disc, entitled "Relapse 2," in the second half of the year.
Instead, Eminem and Interscope Records announced Thursday that "Relapse 2" will drop in 2010, and a CD called "Relapse: Refill" will come out on Dec. 21.
Following in Usher's street date foot steps, Universal Music Group has decided to stage their key releases to come out the week of Christmas on Monday, December 21.
12/21 new releases are as follows:
December 21, 2009 Usher - Raymond vs. Raymond (Jive/Zomba/Laface) Young Money - We Are Young Money (Universal/Motown/Young Money) Mary J. Blige - Stronger With Each Tear (Geffen/Matriarch) Eminem - Relapse: Refill (Interscope/Shady/Aftermath) Lil Wayne - Rebirth (Cash Money/Universal)
This is a very usual move by the major labels that is not typically seen from previous holiday selling seasons.
Some of these artists/releases don't even have a radio picture built yet which normally goes along with each release's set up for the marketplace.
As this year's economy has taken a toll on the populous pocketbook, the major labels probably figure if anyone is going to spend any of their hard earned cash it would be the week of Christmas.
Do you think the major labels are doing a good thing by releasing their biggest titles the week of Christmas?
