Interview: Roscoe Dash Talks About How “Marvin Gaye & Chardonnay” Was Intended For ‘The Throne’
by J.Waves
I saw this on UHTN earlier and I always think it’s interesting to see the back story on songs. Here Roscoe Dash talks tell us the origins of Big Sean’s hit “Marvin Gaye & Chardonnay”
“The way it happened was, I got the record a couple months before Sean got it. I tackled the hook but I didn’t really know how to tackle the verses because the beat was so crazy. That’s why I’m glad it actually got to their hands…..I don’t think anyone could have done it any justice. But Ye had hit me up to come participate on the Watch The Throne album and that was one of the first records I played for him to show the style I was on and what I was really doing at that point in time. He fell in love with it immediately, man. He grabbed the jump drive, threw it in my lap and said “I gotta do that right now.” He recorded his verse, two weeks later Sean was on it and it was out of here. At first it was intend for Watch The The Throne but I guess he felt Sean would make better use of it.”
Behind The Scenes: Kanye West & Jay-Z – The Watch The Throne Tour (Episode 1)
by DG
Yo! F*ck every last piece of the September/October version of myself for not getting tickets to this show. Throughout this episode, Kanye speaks on his road to the throne and what he would like to be remembered for.
Video: Wale – No Days Off Vlog (Album Release Week)
by DG
I’ll take this time out to salute Wale one time. I’ve been a fan since I heard “Nike Boots” and I’m one of the few that believe Attention Deficit was a really good body of work. This past week, Ambition debuted at #2 with 162,000 copies sold, second only to the Bieb’s. Hat’s off good brother, you deserve it. Behind the scenes of Cory Gunz and Meek Mill’s upcoming video below.
Behind The Scenes: YMCMB In Hawaii + Drake Interview w/Billboard
by DG
“We wuz out der in Hawaii pleboi spending all kindz of $$$$$. My son Weezy ripped his konkert and got us more$$$. Then we went and saw the dolphin$ and $hit. YMCMB fla$hy life$style. We da bizne$$ plehboi. 100 hunnid.” -Birdman
Derrick G (who is one of the hardest working videographers in the game) liberates us with some footage of YMCMB on the island of Hawaii. Studio. Shows. Beaches. Stuntin. Money. YMCMB$$ str8 cash homie 100 life. Drizzy.TakeCare.#dont Lie.OVO.YMCMBusine$$… Drake interview below.
Billboard: J. Cole’s album “Cole World: A Sideline Story” leaked a week early and then came in at No. 1. There’s been talk that positive reception to his leak spurred sales.
Drake: I agree. I think that giving people the opportunity to judge before they go and buy, I think that can only help. There’s a loyal fan base that’s gonna go and support you just based off the fact that they want to own a copy of your material, and they know what it means to give you that one sale, and they hope that there’s another hundred, two hundred, three hundred, four hundred, five hundred thousand people that are gonna do the same thing. And then there’s genuinely the people who heard it that night and were like, “Yo, I need to support this, I need to go buy it, I need to own this.” His leak was like 10 days before, seven days before. I think those leaks are very beneficial to artists who have the product, who can reel people in with their music as opposed to turning people off.
Billboard: Do you anticipate leaks? Is that something you factor in and assume is going to happen?
Drake: Yeah, always. I look forward to leaks-knock on wood. I shouldn’t probably, but I do. Like I said, if it’s a reasonable leak, I look forward to it. We’re all sitting here in the studio like, “Oh man the night this leaks, it’s gonna be so crazy!” People talk about, “Are you gonna go on the Internet? Are you gonna stay off the Internet? What are you gonna do?” And [producer Noah "40" Shebib] has his own views of what he wants to do, and I have my own idea of what that night’s gonna be like for me. The thing about 40, as well as being a great producer and great musician, he’s also an incredible, incredible engineer and protector of our music. He set us up a system for this album that I think worked very well. We’ve suffered no leaks. I’ve heard rumor of a couple records floating around out there that people are just listening to for their own personal enjoyment, like early demos and sh– like that. But most of the records that they’re talking about are features, so you know, usually when you start sending to other camps, stuff gets a little messy. 40 protects the music really well, and I think God willing I get like the same thing I’m talking about, like a 10 day leak. And that’s something I’d be extremely excited about because I feel like if people get the opportunity to live with the music for a week before they go buy it, it’s only gonna help me, not hurt me. So I’m looking forward to hearing the feedback from everyone-that’s gonna be an exciting night when it comes out.
The RE:Generation Project ft. DJ Premier, Nas & The Berklee Symphony Orchestra
by DG
Lil Wayne should go get his “I AM MUSIC” tattoo removed immediately. This is one of the dopest fusions of sound I’ve ever heard. I do tend to get ahead of myself, but trust me on this one. “If you don’t like it then fine. Pay me no mind.”
DJ Premier ft. Nas & The Berklee Symphony Orchestra – Regeneration
Follow DJ Premier, Mark Ronson, Skrillex, Pretty Lights and The Crystal Method as they remix, recreate and re-imagine five traditional styles of music. From the classical perfection of the Berklee Symphony Orchestra to the bayou jams of New Orleans jazz, our five distinctive DJs collaborate with some of today’s biggest musicians to discover how our musical past is influencing the future.
DJ Premier was given Classical and began his immersion into the genre with Bruce Adolphe, a former classical music professor at Juilliard. They met at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music not far from DJ Premier’s home in NY. After learning about classical music theory, the inspirations of some of the genre’s most profound composers and how traditional pieces are structured, DJ Premier went out and bought tons of classical symphonies on vinyl to mash up his own creation. We then took that mash-up and orchestrated it for sheet music. In the first step of the actual recording process, DJ Premier partnered with Stephen Webber, a professor and conductor at the Berklee College of Music. Steven taught Premier how to conduct and helped him in studio with the 58-piece Berklee Symphony Orchestra you hear on the track. Of all the takes, the one you hear is the “wild” version (which means they recorded it without the metronome in their headphones) DJ Premier conducted himself. Then DJ Premier brought that instrumental track back home to NY and Nas laid down his rhyme on top of it.
Help Is On The Way Webisode #1: DJ Toomp & Don Trip
by DG
Producer, DJ Toomp speaks on Don Trip and his Memphis, Ten-a-key roots. After seeing what Toomp did to TI’s career, I’m excited to see what’s on the horizon for Trip.
Episode 1: DJ Toomp and Mr. Don Trip hammer out classics in Miami while Toomp discusses is rising admiration and respect for the rising star out of Memphis. Stay Tuned for EPISODE 2 Coming NEXT TUESDAY!!!
Video: A Day In The Life Of J.Cole (Album Release Day)
by DG
Jermaine takes us through the city with 8 million stories to promote his debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story… in stores and my itunes playlist now.
Behind the Scenes: Wale ft. Rick Ross – Tats On My Arms
by DG
And this is exactly why Wale & MMG will continue to succeed. There hasn’t been a week in the past year that we didn’t get a song, vlog, video or some type of promo from Rozay’s camp. Below is a teaser (I know… it’s old) to a cut from the MMG album. Ambition | 11.1.11