Koop - Production team of Oscar Simonsson & Magnus Zingmark. All the music is sampled by these too very patient and creative guys. The vocals are from various talented artists. Thought it was a beautiful sound and even more interesting way of producing what seems to be a type of instantly classic/vintage music. 

New Kreayshawn, cant wait to see her with Nikki Minaj  - and for some reason I can see her fitting in with Wiz or the Odd Future.  Her early works were very poppy and experimental. I am glad she did a track with Strange Customs, keep her on the Rap side of things. She is way more appealing there. 

Album Reviews Coming Soon

Adele: 21 and Big Krit: Return of 4eva

Wiz Khalifa: Rolling Papers

Wiz Khalifa | Rolling Papers : 4.0 out of 10 

Background and Anticipation.

I have to say I am a huge Wiz Khalifa fan. I have been down with the Taylor Gang since Prince of the City II and Say Yea! . I remember playing “popping rubber bands” at a small party I was having in the summer of 2009. Soon as the beat dropped everyone was saying, “This is dope, who is this?!”.  Before the night ended, I made sure that everyone left the party with a Wiz mix in their hand.

If you dont know about Wiz Khalifa beyond his hit single “Black and Yellow” produced by Stargate, please go get a feel for his work.  If you are overwhelmed with how behind you are or dont know about his abundance of tattoos and marijuana influenced lifestyle/music take a sec to read up on the artist here.  Wiz Khalifa is in the same position Chamillionaire was in 2002. Great mix-tape presence and fan base. Like Chamillionaire with Houston, Wiz is coming out of a town (Pittsburgh, Pa.) with an emerging rap scene and has a huge following after a great debut single. Here is the latest mixtape he has dropped before the album: Cabin Fever . Unfortunately I think these are a few of the tracks that didnt make the cut. Of course I like them the most. I just hope he can stay true with the first album. cant wait till it drops tomorrow. Release Date 3/29/2011.

Album Review

Wiz Khalifa’s: Rolling Papers. Im giving it a 4 out of 10.

Borrow it from a friend if you are so inclined.  I was very disappointed in the production and how uncomfortable Wiz sounded on a majority of the tracks. Wiz Khalifa lives and dies by his production, and in his case, thats not a bad thing. Through the years he has been surrounded by great producers. His famous Kush and OJ mixtape featured producers like Big Jerm,  Cardo, E. Dan, Johnny Juliano, Kajmir Royale, Sermstyle, Sledgren and The Allstarz. Not huge names but they definitely fit his style. Unfortunately only  I.D. Labs got the call forRolling Papers. Weird right? My momma always told me, “You dance with who brought you to the party”.  I feel sorry for Johnny Juliano. He is the producer that really fit the Taylor Gang style and I guess Wiz asked him to, “go get some punch” while he partied with other producers. Check out the song they did together, Goodbye its one of my favorites by Wiz. 

Album art is beautiful and consistant with the brand language he has established for himself online. The “green” color and photo of him within a haze of smoke is appropriate and needs no explanation. Point of purchase was ideal too, placed on the “New Releases” stand at Target and Best Buy. 

I have a suspicion on how Wiz Khalifa tackled this project and how Rolling Papers was essentially made. His recording process is very unique and mimics the style of an R&B artists where he mostly picks/makes his tracks off of “feel”. Unlike an R&B artist though he doesn’t write his lyrics down before recording, firm salute to Lil Wayne. I have watched him make an entire mix-tape via his U-Stream. It usually consists of him walking into the studio and thumbing through tracks. Finds one he likes and heads to the booth. The next part is what I find  incredible, he “hums”. Yea, like “hmmm mmmmm mmmmm” . He goes into the booth, “hmms” a melody that he likes and later attaches words to the sounds he is making, much like an R&B artist. It works for him and the process makes the music very unique and versatile. Easily he could slip into a catchy hook with harmonies and that lends to attract people who are outside of the rap world. In hiphop and the greater music scene, versatility always equals more cash. 

Unfortunately, Atlantic probably didn’t let Wiz create the way he is used to, putting him in somewhat of a bind. I would bet my left big toe that the studio wouldn’t let Wiz walk in without a plan or an idea of what he was going to say. The sad truth is that the creative process is expendable when so much money is involved, and that goes across all types of expression. On the other hand, perhaps they catered to him, and Wiz changed his process himself, being conscious of how things are done traditionally with the backing of a major label. Either way, it’s a shame.

Listening to Rolling Paprs could be a sad departure for a die-hard Wiz Khalifa fan, I am definitely on the the verge of exiting stage left. Its cleaner, more commercialized feel may just be a way to tap into a larger market. At times, I felt like I couldn’t identify with some of the songs and their subject matter, which is a new and unfamiliar feeling. On one hand, you have successful artists like Curren$y, who is featured on the album, who publicly refuses to be commercialized. Consequently Curren$y does not have, nor desire, the name recognition Drake and T-Pain has. That recognition could be what Wiz Khalifa aspires to obtain. On the other hand, Chamillionare who has been accused of being commercialized, has a new album coming out later this April. No single has hit the radio stations yet, and this is his first legitimate studio release in 6 years since the smash hit “Ridin Dirty.” (over 9 million youtube views? wow!) 

Wiz Khalifa has a fine line to walk. There are advantages to casting out a wider net, pulling in a broader market. Often times though, the bigger the net, the wider the wholes. 

Audio Shuffle

I will be posting my views on music here. Thanks for visiting.