KID CUDI
Arriving late Thursday night to a long line outside of Lavo, hand picking attendees to join in on the festivities. Making my way inside to the dance floor was a feat in itself, as the club was packed to the rims with the hottest hipsters New York City has to offer. One more trendier than the next, I slithered through the already toasty crowd, all donning a mixed drink in hand. All dressed to impress, party goers were dancing so wild there was barely an inch to move anywhere in the club.
Almost as if it were a cult following, all eyes turned to the DJ booth around 1am when the 1997 DMC World DJ Championship winner, A-Trak opened his set. Never disappointing, the turn-table genius gave the crowd an energetic and diverse tracklist that kept Lavo's walls pulsating until the wee hours of Friday morning. Playing remixes of songs by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Kid Cudi, along with a nod to mega DJ Avicii playing his 2011 club anthem Levels layering vocals by hip hop artists Rick Ross and Lil' Wayne kept the crowd guessing all night long. It didn't matter which track A-Trak decided to throw into the mix, the crowd jumped and sang along to every one.
The internationally known turn-table genius, label owner, and disc jockey A-Trak has been at the top of his game since the age of 15 where he won the 1997 DMC World DJ Championship. That was only the beginning for the beat scratching artist who most currently was hand selected by none other than Kanye West to be his exclusive tour DJ. From stadium performances to intimate nightclub DJ sets, A-Trak is considered an electronic music icon who's record label Fool's Gold can be held responsible for launching careers for artists such as Kid Cudi and Kid Sister.
The numbers are in for Wale's new album Ambition, and it's officially taken the #1 spot on Billboard’s Hip-Hop/R&B list with over 164,062 copies sold. He's also ranking in at #2 on the overall Top 200. Additionally, Ambition held the #1 spot at iTunes beating out Miranda Lambert, Florence + The Machine, and even Justin Bieber! The album features appearances from heavy hitters such as Kid Cudi, Big Sean, Ne-Yo, Jeremih, Miguel and Lloyd. Diplo and Lex Luger also lend their signature sound to tracks.
Kid Cudi hasn’t been cutting loose many new tunes lately because he made a slight detour from the music road and headed down the big screen track to the set of How to Make it in America. But now, the music extraordinaire returns to what he does best with this video premiere of “No One Believes Me.”
This song is exclusively from the newly released Fright Night Original Motion Picture soundtrack. According to Cudi in a recent interview, the concept is primarily influenced by the original Fright Night movie. The characters and storyline are true to the format of the film, with Cudi portraying a Charlie-like identity.
Listen below to Consequence’s newest cut, “On My Own,” featuring Kid Cudi. The song was originally recorded over a year ago and was initially slated to appear on Consequence’s “Con’s TV” project. A snippet of this joint was leaked a while back, and now it’s entirety is available for everyone’s listening pleasure. “On My Own” features Kid Cudi on the hook along with Kanye West on the production.
Kanye West's independent record label, G.O.O.D. Music, has officially been signed to an exclusive long-term worldwide label agreement with the Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG). The announcement was made today by West and Barry Weiss, Chairman and COO of Universal Motown Republic Group and IDJMG. This contract marks the beginning of a new era of really GOOD music. "G.O.O.D. Music is an exciting new chapter in the long and successful association of Kanye West and Island Def Jam," said Weiss. "As a recording artist and a producer over the past eight years, there is no one who has made a greater impression on the game than Kanye. We look forward to working closely with the new and established artists that he will be bringing to G.O.O.D. Music, which is already off to an impressive start with Big Sean."
Lollapalooza:: August 5-7, Chicago, IL
This year marks Lollapalooza’s 20th anniversary on August 5-7 at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois. This music festival will be the granddaddy of all festivals this summer and the most extravagant birthday celebration to date. To help commemorate this phenomenal affair, acts such as Coldplay, Eminem, Damian Marley & Nas, The Foo Fighters, My Morning Jacket, and Deadmau5 top the Lolla lineup. Other top-tier artists include the Cars, Girl Talk, Kid Cudi, Crystal Castles, Ratatat, Collie Buddz, Deftones, and Pretty Lights. With over 130 performers, this is one birthday you won’t want to miss. Check out the full lineup here.
There are so many conflicting public and private personas that culminate in the egotistical, frustrating and yet undeniably creative and brilliant man that is Kanye West. After all, West consistently invites criticism and speculation with each successive exasperating public stunt and diatribe. He may be an exhausting media fixture, but West has never shied away from confronting his own demons. It's this unnerving introspection that makes Kanye West's music electric, enjoyable and undeniably important.
With My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, the superstar has returned with an album that speaks not only to tabloid sensation Kanye, he of the Taylor Swift debacle, the Amber Rose over-sharing, the Twitter rants and media posteuring, but also to the private emotional depths of a man at a crossroads in his life. The album blends the dark, haunted self-analysis of 808s and Heartbreak with the slick, hip-hop-faithful production techniques of The College Dropout and inspired samples of Late Registration; it's the climax of everything West has been working up to until this point.
A galaxy of multi-colored dots swooshed back and forth on the stage's backdrop, splashing towards the right side, and flowing back left, illuminating a wall of keyboards and electronic equipment at the front, two floor drums, a guitar and a bass, and the crowd began to clap and chant in unison as blue smoke poured from the rear of the stage and two shadowy figures emerged from the fog: "RAT-A-TAT! RAT-A-TAT! RAT-A-TAT!"
"I've wanted to see them for years!" a young fan shouted as the crowd pressed her harder against the steel, black baracade separating the crowd from the stage. "This is the most important moment of my life!" she squealed.
CuDi (right) and Kanye West current.com Kid CuDi shot to superstar status after a mixtape (Plain Pat and Emile Present: A Kid Named CuDi) and an album (Man on the Moon: The End of the Day), thanks to help from his mentor/collaborator/producer Kanye West. In preparation for his new album, Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, G.O.O.D. Music has released two tracks to drum up some buzz: “REVOFEV” and “Erase Me (feat. Kanye West).”
“REVOFEV” is classic CuDi. It features a dark, mysterious beat behind CuDi’s gravelly croon. A catchy but uninspired chorus of “woah, oh, oh” draws attention away from the thick, melancholy lyrics, for better or worse. The second single, “Erase Me,” sounds like what Jimmy Eat World would have played had they been signed by G.O.O.D. Music. Ringing electric guitars circle around a tried and true chord progression in this sing-song anthem that sounds like it could have been on Lil' Wayne’s “Rebirth” album. If you hoped Kanye would ditch the auto-tune, you’re out of luck. Still, he’s nice enough to rap through the bridge reminding us of why we first fell in love with Ye.
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