Kanye West and his entire squad took the stage at the 2015 BRIT Awards to debut a new single the long awaited "All Day". The performance matches the song's intensity, as Ye's crew is bopping around to the banging base French Montana and Velous produced while literally shooting fire into the air. Meanwhile, Theophilus London injects hype with his melodious vocals and Canadian rapper Allan Kingdom adds his own verse. It is for sure "turnt" (if you don't believe me look at Taylor Swift at the 2:47 mark). During his stay in the UK Kanye will stop by BBC Radio One tomorrow around 7pm London time for another interview with Zane Lowe, expect a noteworthy conversation. Enjoy "All Day" live from the 2015 BRIT Awards below.
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Iamsu! - Eyes On Me (Mixtape) /
Beginning on March 26, Bay Area native Iamsu! will embark on his "Eyez On Me" tour with rappers Rome Fortune and Dave Steezy. To prepare for the event Suzy has released his latest mixtape, "Eyes On Me" with production from DJ Mustard and P-Lo, and verses from Tyga and Jay Ant. The project is consistent with Iamsu!'s West Coast vibes and will certainly inject hype around the tour as it gives him new material to perform live. "Eyez On Me" tour begins March 26th in Los Angeles, get tickets here, and stream the "Eyes On Me" mixtape below.
Ed Sheeran - CoCo (Cover) /
Ed Sheeran, thank you. Thank you for having the courage and free spirit to cover such a song like O.T. Genasis' "CoCo". The UK crooner took to BBC Live Lounge to put on an acoustic rendition of the hit rap song, showing his talent and willingness to push boundaries. But, should his intrigue with rap music come as a surprise? Not to some, as last year MTV reported Ed and Game were in the studio working on a joint album they hoped to release at the top of 2015. Whether said project is still in the works or sitting in Limbo, Ed Sheeran's cover of "CoCo" is impressive; enjoy below.
VibeRotation 13 by Yung Squire /
The music industry as a whole, and even the hip hop genre itself, is so rapidly progressing that it is difficult to be aware of every single project that drops. Luckily though, having connections to enterprising DJ's and influencers in the industry has certainly expanded our scope.
Today, we highlight one of those individuals with a curated VibeRotation by Chris Gellein, also known as Yung Squire, a Seattle-based DJ. His foray into production first started when he was thirteen years old while dabbling with the drums. During his junior year of high school, his hobby became a bit more serious as the Abelton computer program expanded the enterprising DJ's capabilities. Having drawn inspiration from Waka Flocka and Lex Luger, Yung Squire's production is noticeably trap; however, don't be surprised by the implementation of EDM nuances. You can check out some of Yung Squire's vibes now on his SoundCloud, and be sure to keep up with his Instagram and Twitter for his latest developments.
For VibeRotation 13, the theme is largely hip hop. Squire has included several new tracks such as A$AP Rocky's "Indie," "Six Degrees," the BADBADNOTGOOD and Ghostface Killah collaboration, and of course "All Your Fault" by Big Sean featuring Kanye West. The foreign track by Kaaris, "Comme Guccie Mane," is a welcomed surprise with the French verses sounding particularly hard against the trap beat. Listeners are offered a nice change of pace towards the end of the playlist with Southern Hospitality's chilled out iteration of "Party Girls." For a complete listen, check out this week's Rotation on our SoundCloud.
Ta-ku x Jaden Smith - Beast Mode /
At the age of 15 Jaden Smith could clearly see the host of non-believers in his rap talent quickly coming to devalue and under appreciate his work. Their doubt has remained constant throughout Smith's short career, but with every one of his new releases he changes the critics' minds. A new song with self-proclaimed "Genre Killer", Ta-ku, has appeared today that Jaden actually recorded at 15 years-old, and should put all negative commentary to rest. In the 9-minute track, "Beast Mode", the budding star proclaims, "Let me introduce you to rap, you jokers are bleeding on my adidas," going rhyme after rhyme explaining why he is not to be messed with. It is time to listen. Enjoy "Beast Mode" from Ta-ku x Jaden Smith below.