I guess I am going to hate right now, but has anyone seen the Retro Kidz video? How are these kids getting this kind of shine? They’re trapped in a time warp.
Now you have seen it. Did you like it? Doesn’t it seem odd that these kids think recreating the cast of “A Different World” and barely having any music talent is commerically viable? It seems like they got famous for dressing like their parents did in college and didn’t know how to monetize the fame except trying to make music. I respect your hustle but please guys no more. How do you evolve from this?
Gucci has one of the longest running traditions of being “hot” in Hip Hop fashion. Right now it seems that Gucci is about the most popular thing you can have on. Everywhere I go i see Gucci belts, sneakers, and bags. Thankfully the Gucci bucket craze is not back because those looked stupid. I’ll admit I toyed with getting one back in 2000, but thankfully i was just toying.
One of my gripes with hip-hop fashion is that it’s not about standing out but about keeping up. Just because everyone has a Gucci belt doesn’t mean you have to have one as well. If you were really on it you would find a way to flip the Gucci belt. Get one that nobody else has. Scour Ebay and vintage stores and really murder people when you bring it out. Below are two vintage sweaters that may not show off the green and red stripe or the monogram pattern that screams Gucci but will make people ask you what kind of sweater that is.
First off thoughts and condolences go out to Dr. Dre and his family. Keep you heads up.
The biggest record of the moment seems to be “Swagger Like Us” from TI, Jay, Wayne, and Kanye. Dropping this record at the time that the song it sampled, M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes,” is playing on top 40 radio all over the country is very smart. My question is who’s got the most “swagger” out of all the people in mentioned above? I am going with M.I.A. It is kind of late for people to get up on this girl but she makes dope music and will be a superstar by the time her next album drops.
Also if you like “Swagger Like Us” and “Paper Planes” you should check out the original song they sampled, The Clash’s “Straight To Hell”. Check it out below. The Clash are one of the best bands and their album, London Calling, is amazing.
On another note, did anyone catch Daddy Yankee with John McCain? Huh? If this doesn’t show McCain’s age I don’t know what does. If hip hop is dead then what does that make reggaeton? Daddy Yankee had a hit a couple of years ago and since then his career has been over. You may argue that in Arizona he is huge but the reason a presidential candidate aligns with a contemporary musician is appeal to the youth vote and people stopped finding Daddy Yankee appealing on a mainstream level was 2005. But maybe McCain is kind of smart because Yankee’s last album was the top selling Latin album for that year. The grassroots approach might be McCain’s best move. So who does he align with when he needs to get the backpacker’s support?
Are you aware of this song and video? I was initially lured in by the fact he added DJ Khaled to the lineup. I am sucker for any Khaled visual. (Pause) (Do I really have to write that?) The video starts off with Khaled on a private jet sitting next to Shawty Lo, who is dissing T.I.. Did you know that if you sell 138,986 albums you can fly private? Good for Shawty Lo though. Private is the only way to travel.
Seriously though who is the A&R genius who thought it would be a good idea to have Jim Jones, Rick Ross, and Birdman on the song with an incompetent rapper like Shawty Lo. (Is that Joey IE handing off a duffle bag in the video?) I am not writing to say hip hop is dead or anything but come on guys Ross is the only one on the song who can hardly rap. The best part of this video occurs when we see Birdman, who at this point must be pushing 45, and he is using a vocoder. As he if wasn’t bad enough at rapping already he blesses the track with one of the worst vocoder verses ever. Birdman you are probably old enough to have known Roger Troutman. But in all seriousness if Birdman is using the vocoder then can we all agree that it is time to put it away? Any artistic value this instrument once had is done for the time being Shawty Lo, take all your money and invest it something other than music. At least don’t invest in your own.
