It’s Episode 2, cotdammit!!! This time around, LeRon and I talk about the American Music Awards, Rihanna (Hi, Rihanna!), and we review Drake’s new album, Take Care. And if you’re a DC/Virginia listener, we’ve got some concert announcements for you to check out.
If you’re a J’Davey fan, or you just like get stuff on the cheap, you should head over to J’Davey’s website, and download their new album, New Designer Drug (click on “Get Your Fix” at the homepage), for $2.99.
(NEW YORK, NY – Nov. 15th, 2011) – Breakout electro inspired hip-hop duo Chiddy Bang, comprised of rapper Chidera “Chiddy” Anamege and producer Noah “Xaphoon Jones” Bersin whose addicting breakthrough hit “Opposite of Adults” put them on the map, is proud to announce that their highly anticipated debut full length album, Breakfast (Virgin Records), will be released on February 28th, 2012. The much buzzed about album, which venerable music magazine Spin declared as “one of the most anticipated debuts” was written over the course of the last year while extensively touring throughout the US, Europe and as far as Australia. Their maturing interests and influences while traveling coupled with their infectious party spirit resulted in a body of work that will undoubtedly expand their fanbase on a global level.
“We have spent the past two years going from performances in frat house rec rooms to the mainstage of festivals like Glastonbury and Bamboozle” says Noah “Xaphoon Jones” Beresin. “We have spent a lot of time honing our sound and creating the best beats and rhymes. To be able to release a proper album for our fans is the greatest feeling.”
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”, says frontman Chiddy “Chidera” Anamege.
“Our Breakfast is going to be the breakfast of champions. Who wouldn’t want that?”
Chiddy Bang’s first official single off Breakfast, “Ray Charles” is available commercially today and will impact radio on Jan 9th. “Ray Charles” is a soulful but fun track with a playful party vibe, featuring a Gospel choir, bluesy piano and a smattering of drum breaks. The full song can be heard on rollingstone.com at http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-stream-chiddy-bangs-soul-homage-ray-charles-20111114, where it premiered last night. Produced by Noah “Xaphoon Jones” Beresin and Grammy nominee Sam Hollander (Train, Cobra Starship and Kelly Rowland), the track was recorded in New York City. Keeping with the spontaneous nature of the track, Chiddy Bang performed an early version of “Ray Charles” to the delight of fans during their recent set at Austin City Limits. The album which also includes production by John Hill (M.I.A., Shakira) will feature the buzz track “Mind Your Manners” featuring Icona Pop. “Mind Your Manners” was released in June along with the viral video that featured pro skater Billy Marks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4wCxTQFHmk. Chiddy is also featured on V V Brown’s new song “Children”, which is the first single from her upcoming Lollipops & Politics that is due out early next year.
2011 has been an incredible year for Chiddy Bang, leading up to the release of “Breakfast.” Their breakout single “Opposite of Adults” surpassed sales of 500,000 downloads and was certified gold by the R.I.A.A in August. “Opposite of Adults”, an infectious dance anthem garnered Chiddy Bang their first round of glowing press from publications such as Blackbook, Billboard and Nylon amongst many others and was quickly added into rotation by influential radio stations around the country, including KAMP in Los Angeles, KYLD in San Francisco, KISS in Chicago, WJMN in Boston, KUUU in Salt Lake city and more. In March, Chiddy Bang won the Best Video Woodie Award for “Opposites Of Adults” at the 2011 MTVU Woodie Awards. The video has over 16 million youtube views.
Additionally, Chiddy Bang had reason to celebrate in April as they solidified their place as an act to wreckon with by breaking not one but two Guinness Book of World Records. On April 29th, while live streamed during MTV’s inaugural Online Music Awards, Chiddy set the Guinness World Records title for the Longest Freestyle Rap while also simultaneously breaking the Longest Marathon Rapping record. After rapping continuously for 9 hours, 18 minutes and 22 seconds, never breaking for more than three seconds, Chiddy concluded the impressive feat by joining Xaphoon on stage in front of a crowd of several thousand for the blistering debut performance of “Mind Your Manners.”
The band’s growth over the past year is also due in part to the appeal of Chiddy Bang’s music with both brands and video game companies. Chiddy’s music was an integral part of major national campaigns for both Taco Bell and Jeep – and their songs were featured in multiple video game releases in 2011, including “Madden 12, ”Need For Speed,” and “Fight Night.”
The duo spent the majority of the year on the road and played festivals around the globe including Glastonbury, Bonnaroo, Bamboozle, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits.
Recently, I got a chance to hang with DC-based hip-hop group, Gods’Illa, on the set of their latest video for their track, “You Don’t Have To Be A Star”. Made up of three actual brothers, Powerful, Truth, and Acem, talked about their music, their motivation, and being part of the growing music scene in Washington, DC.
Check out more from Gods’Illa on Facebook, and download their music on Bandcamp.com
I only have a casual knowledge of Glitch Mob, but I’m more than willing to give Kraddy a shot after checking out the video for his latest single, “Black Box”. All this electronic, dubstep, dancehall music used to hold me down back in my younger days, so I try to get back into it from time to time. And you can’t go wrong with a house party video that explodes into an all out catfight when the grunge-lookin’ blond shows up, clearly uninvited.
Duran Duran is back and their latest video for the single Girl Panic! is 100% Duran Duran.
The video (which is a short film) features 90′s supermodels Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Yasmin LeBon, Helena Christensen and Eva Herzigova portraying members of the band and, to quote a runway term, these ladies are FIERCE! Pioneering the concept of using models in videos as far back as the 80′s, Duran Duran shows that style is still relative.
R&B singer, Mateo, prepares for his major label debut, releasing the video for his first single, “Say It’s So”. There’s definitely some talent here, which is always appreciated, and I’m looking forward to what else Mateo has to offer.
Latin pop start Gloria Estefan graces the cover of this month’s Venue Magazine, in support of her latest album, Miss Little Havana.Produced by Pharrell Willams and co-produced by Estefan, the album represents the artist’s return to dance music. Known as the “Queen of Latin Pop,” Estefan’s release celebrates her musical roots and embraces a new pop sound that translates into music full of life, love and energy.
For Behind-the-scenes video on the making of Miss Little Havana, head over to venuemagazine.com.
