Rap Rundown- Wayne keeps busy, Jay kills Auto-Tune, Drake comes of age.

NB- Apologies- slow site and very little content over the last week. Working out the server-side problems, and should have some cool site improvements coming your way in the next few weeks. Thanks. W

Does the guy ever sleep? I’d appreciate any inside info on his work arrangements, as Lil’ Wayne must be spending the majority of his waking hours in the recording booth. See above for a collated list of his achievments. In 2009 alone, we can look forward to ‘Rebirth’, a huge pile of mixtapes and ‘Tha Carter IV’- apparently near completion. That doesn’t even include a number of demos (’Yes’, ‘Red Rum’ etc) and the musical crime that will be T-Wayne. He’s also studying for a degree, has 2 kids, a record label and a number of other endeavours. The guy is just incredibly busy! Whilst it’s essentially impossible to keep up, enjoy some of the best new material with Wayne attached:

Lil’ Wayne- Kobe Bryant (Link 2) (Link 3)

I’m late on this one, but it’s hard to resist the allure of this tribute to Kobe Bryant. It’s really great that Wayne was willing to step in- it’s obvious that Kobe needed an ego boost right now- I mean, professional basketball players must really struggle with confidence, what with all the millions they earn and the fans’ adulation. Someone should explore the possibility of this being a joint venture- if Wayne starts appearing in executive boxes at Lakers games, a deal has been done!

Still, this is a well thought out dedication, and Kobe must be beaming. The production is deceptively simple, a hi-hat, basic synth line and not much else. The real genius is in the recordings “He’s the best player in the game… he will shoot from the perimeter, he will get all in your mug, he will do whatever it takes. He is the most complete basketball player in the game today, ball or not… he has an assassin’s mentality.”

Drake ft. Lil’ Wayne & Young Jeezy- I’m Goin In (Link 2) (Link 3)

This track has been flying around for months, with numerous tags. A lot of material is leaking early, with incorrect tags and DJ call-outs. See- ‘Revolver’ and ‘The Leak’. This is said to be the final version that will appear on the now formalised collaborative album between Wayne and a number of different artists on Young Money, his record label.

It’s really, really impressive. Drake has been taking tips from Wayne (Rolling Stone interview), and his lyricism has come an incredibly long way since the early mixtapes. Another collaboration is expected for his album ‘Thank Me Later’, out in late 2009 as well as unconfirmed releases with Jay-Z and Mary Jay Blige. 2009 is a huge year for this guy.

Young Money Feat. Lil Wayne, Drake, Jae Millz, Gutta & Mack Maine- Every Girl (Link 2) (Link 3)

Wayne is still able to mix it with anyone- in ‘Every Girl’ we are treated to a traditional rap ballad. He still loves the old Auto-Tune, and it definitely gives this a 90’s vibe. Summer tune, all the way, although I wonder how he will react to Jay’s first cut from ‘The Blueprint III’? It’s a fairly by-numbers affair called ‘D.O.A. (Death Of Autotune)’, but a nice teaser for the highly anticipated album:

Jay-Z – D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-Tune) (Link 2) (Link 3)

That concludes this very brief rap rundown- time has been really short this week, service will be back to normal from the weekend.



2 Responses to “Rap Rundown- Wayne keeps busy, Jay kills Auto-Tune, Drake comes of age.”

1. four stars » Boston Celtics says:

   June 16, 2009 at 6:18 am

   [...] Rap Rundown- Wayne keeps busy, Jay kills Auto-Tune, Drake comes of … [...]
2. Dizzy D says:

   July 22, 2009 at 11:55 am

   DRAKE is on TOTAL CLUB HITS 3 with I’m Still Fly. IN STORES NOW!