Terrapin Sound » Jay-Z

Midterms Giving You 99 Problems?

Shayna — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 20:04:46 +0000

Heh. The puns are never-ending. Though the next two weeks might be hell in a bucket (see last post), something about old school Jay-Z usually makes me feel better. My prescription for midterm blues: Listen to this once and go back to work. Midterms are almost over, cheer up.

Usher keeps up the hot streak

Shayna — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 04:03:58 +0000

His last album, Raymond vs. Raymond, hit #1 on the charts. Now he’s back with “Hot Tottie”, featuring Jay-Z and, rumor has it, Ciara on the final version, is the hottest track on the airwaves. Stream the song after the jump!

Ever since I caught this on Power105.1, I’ve been hooked. It’s the first single off of Usher’s next EP, Versus. Check it out here or here.

Cover of the Week: Jay-Z, “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”

Shayna — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:01:42 +0000

All Points West planners were faced with a dilemma this summer when headliners The Beastie Boys announced that, because of Adam “MCA” Yauch’s recent cancer diagnosis, they would have to drop out of the festival lineup.

However, within days the festival announced a more than suitable replacement: Jay-Z. To pay tribute to the hip-hop greats whose absence brought him to Liberty State Park, the set’s opening song was a cover of Beastie Boys’ anthem, “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”.

Friday Fuel: Jay-Z (Feat. Eminem) – Renegade

Jake — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:31:50 +0000

In honor of Jay-Z’s 9/11 benefit concert at MSG, this week’s Friday Fuel features the jigga man himself. But instead of a new track, I thought I’d take us back to 2001 and the original Blueprint.

Briefly: Jay-Z announced as replacement for Beasties at All Points West

Shayna — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 04:42:24 +0000

Yeah, that’s pretty much it. Stereogum said it first. It’s going to be the rapper’s first festival appearance, says Consequence of Sound.

See yesterday’s news for why the Beasties can’t make it.

Anyone else going to be there? If you’re going, look out for Matt and me!

All Points West is going down pretty soon; July 31-August 2nd at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey. Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster.com.

Terrapin Sound Live Blogs the Grammys

Joe — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:11:20 +0000

The Grammys are here once again. You’ll be watching… because it’s an award show and America loves award shoes. I’ll be watching… because I’ll DVR the new Sunday night line-up on MTV and watch it later. Since we’ll all be watching, why not watch it together? Tune in here at 8pm and join me while I live blog the 51st Grammy Awards.

7:58 – Welcome readers. Anyone know who’s hosting?

8:02 – U2 opens the show…a treat for some, not for me. Woof.

8:04 – Whitney Houston, lookin’ purdy and flashin’ some leg. Not great at reading though…

8:05 – She might be a robot…

8:07 – J. Hudson’s dress is looks pretty uncomfortable with that bib in the front.

8:08 – I smell what your cookin’ Rocky and I don’t like it one bit… neither does Katie Perry.

8:10 – Okay Rock, get off the stage… you just buttercupped me that Neil Diamond and Weezie would be performing together.

8:12 – The writers of this show are pretty terrible. JT looked in pain reading those lines. Samberg shoulda hooked him up.

8:14 – I’m not feelin’ this performance right now and it’s giving me the time to think about if live blogging the Grammys is sad…

8:15 – It is.

8:21 – Took that last commercial break to reheat some chinese food.

8:22 – Ulgh, I do not like this Coldplay song. I hope they bring Jay-Z out.

8:23 – Boom. Called it. Spit it HOVA.

8:24 – And somewhere Joe Satriani is turning off his television.

8:28 – Not a fan of country music. I will watch Carrie Underwood though. She’s purdier than Whitney.

8:29 - Her drummer needs to pull up those pants a little… or the camera man needs to get a new shot.

8:31 – She’s got the second bedazzled, decorated microphone of the night… I wonder how many there will be?

8:32 – I’m pretty sure Sheryl Crow hates the song “All I Wanna Do”

8:34 – Sugarland wins for some country award I don’t really care about. Sounds like a good song though…

8:37 – Lincoln commercial – Chan Marshall has an awesome voice.

8:40 – What did Duffy win for already? I missed that one…

8:41 – Didn’t like that rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water”

8:42 – Coldplay’s taking this one…

8:42 – Boom. Called it. Somewhere Joe Satriani is opening a bottle of gin.

8:43 – Kid Rock… CUT THE MULLET!

8:45 – Kid Rock incorporates his mug shot into his song. I do not like this song. Not at all. Play “Bawidaba”

8:46 – And I just threw up in my mouth a little. Worst Song Of The Year

8:47 – Who gave Kid Rock this much time to perform?

8:53 – IT’S MILEYYYYYY! And Taylor Swift. And an intriguing looking guitar… I wonder if it’s a Taylor.

8:55 – This is exactly how my high school career went.

8:57 – Pop Collaboration With Vocals: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss

9:00 – One hour in. Welcome back to the stage Jennifer Hudson.

9:03 – Tear jerker.

9:09 – Jason Mraz, lookin’ sharp. He’s about to get upstaged though by the Jo Bros

9:10 – Oh dip, Jo Bros and Stevie Wonder!

9:12 – “Superstitious” niceeeee

9:14 – The Jo Bros have arrived

9:14 – Good thing there’s no host, Ryan Seacrest would probably try and high-five Stevie.

9:15 – Blink is back. Holla! Now let’s hear a new album.

9:16 – How did Travis, with arm in sling, end up as the one who rips the envelope?

9:16 – Best Rock Album: Coldplay – “Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends”

9:22 – Craig Ferguson livens up the show with some of his own writing, which is actually humorous.

9:23 – Katy Perry performs. Odds on her actually kissing a girl?

9:25 – Katy Perry wins award for best impression of the Chiquita Banana lady.

9:27 – Kanyeezy takes the stage! Decorated microphone in hand. Shoulda seen that one coming. That’s 3.

9:28 – How many minutes until ‘Ye takes the spotlight and cues the auto-tuner?

9:30 – Best New Artist: Adele. I’ve never heard a single song by Adele… but she’s got an awesome voice.

9:36 – They are now 6 minutes into The College Humor Show on MTV and I’m missing it. There better be something worthwhile coming up on the Grammys.

9:36 – Like Morgan Freeman. I’d love to get an intro from him.

9:37 – BUTTERCUP! Kenny Chesney performs. I regret not watching The College Humor Show.

9:41 – Just watched four minutes of The College Humor Show. Laughed six times. Awesome.

9:42 – Record Of The Year: Robert Plant and Allison Krauss – “Please Read The Letter”

9:48 – Here we go. Swagger time.

9:49 – Oooo MIA performs… if you can call it a performance

9:50 – Kanye, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and TI perform. Color disappears.

9:51 – Wayne’s not getting enough camera time. Doesn’t matter though, Jay-Z just killed it. Chuch.

9:53 – I think they shut MIA’s mic off…

9:54 – Kate Beckinsale on stage. Stop traffic. Here comes Sir Paul.

9:55 – Paul McCartney performs. Dave Grohl joins him. Ringo wonders why.

9:56 – “I Saw Her Standing There” to open, he’s going to move chronologically through The Beatles/Wings catalog.

9:58 – Or not. One song. Kid Rock performs longer than Paul McCartney. Negative points for the 51st Grammy Awards.

10:01 – New commercial for M&M’s with the talking M’s. They changed the voice of the yellow one to a big dumb idiot, ala Patrick from Sponge Bob. Terrible.

10:03 – Somebody let Jack Black perform.

10:04 – Is he really married?

10:05 – They’re just giving out Lifetime Achievement Awards tonight, aren’t they?

10:06 – Best Male Pop Vocal: John Mayer- “Say”

10:06 – Annnddddd the broadcast drops out.

10:07 – LL is King. And it looks like I’ll finally get to hear an Adele song.

10:09 – This Sugarland song would sound a lot better with strings behind it.

10:13 – I hope Sugarland gets really popular so that Amy Poehler can do an impression of the girl-half when she eventually hosts SNL.

10:18 – Paltrow. Question: Where’s Chris Martin?

10:19 – Answer: taking notes on Radiohead’s performance. “Note to self: Get marching band” -Chris Martin

10:22 – Those tubas are awesome. This is a sick performance.

10:28 – Sam Jackson can really project.

10:29 – Justin Timberlake performs. Ladies swoon. TI is there too. I hope Andy Samberg shows up.

10:30 – TI cussed, 5 second delay saves the day.

10:32 – I wonder if those drummers are the same guys who drummed for Kanye’s “Love Lockdown” debut.

10:34 – Apparently we just heard the theme song to TI’s new reality show.

10:36 – I don’t like politics with my music. Who let this lobbyist in here?

10:40 – Tribute to the Four Tops wit Smokey Robinson, Neo and Jaime Foxx.

10:47 – Neil Diamond performs “Sweet Caroline,” Boston goes nuts except he turned it into a spoken word and it sucks.

10:48 – It’s unclear if the audience doesn’t understand the call and response portion of the chorus or if they are too displeased with this rendition to sing along.

10:54 – Tribute to the late grate Bo Diddley featuring BB King, Buddy Guy, Keith Urban and John Mayer.

11:02 – Here comes Wayne… with Alan Toussaint and Robin Thicke to remember/pay tribute to New Orleans after Katrina.

11:05 – Wayne’s got some fresh kicks. They look like space boots… which is weird because Gary Sinise, who stars in my favorite movie, Apollo 13, introduced him.

11:08 – Wayne just killed it with Alan Toussaint and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Almost as good as Radiohead.

11:09 – will.i.am gets on my nerves. Why couldn’t they just hologram him in from somewhere else?

11:11 – Best Rap Album: Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III. Well done Weezy, well done. You deserve it for that performance alone.

11:18 – Zooey Deschanel – She came to introduce.

11:19 – Robert Plant and Alison Krauss perform. I’d prefer more Wayne at the moment.

11:23 – Green Day on stage to close this baby out and let us know that Rick Rubin is the Producer of the Year. Can’t argue with that.

11:24 – Album Of The Year: Raising Sand by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. I’m definitely not the only one who thought the “r” noise coming out of Billy Joe Armstrong’s mouth was going to be “Radiohead.” It should have been.

11:27 – Stevie Wonder back on stage to sing us out.

11:30 – I can’t help to think that these people would not be leaving during the middle of his performance if he wasn’t blind. No?

11:31 – Well that’s that. Done and done. I liveblogged the hell out of these Grammys. Excuse me while I take the rest of the night to decide whether or not I find that disappointing and sad. Where’s my DVR?

Jay-Z Mash-Ups: Now with 100% More Radiohead!

Joe — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:42:51 +0000

Yep, there’s another one out there. Jaydiohead is what they call it and it’s blowing up around the blogosphere. This one, being more akin to Viva La Hova than the Grey Album, consists of tracks off all different albums from both artists for a total of ten bangers of mash.

Download and hear Jaydiohead here, brought to you by Minty Fresh Beats.

2009 Grammy Award Nominees

Joe — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:30:13 +0000

Last year’s Grammy Awards were, in a word, embarrassing. The 50th Anniversary had nothing to offer to it’s viewing audience. Maybe that was because about this time last year is when we officially entered the recession… I just didn’t know it applied to quality of entertainment. Anyway, the nominees for the 51st Annual Grammy Awards have been announced.

Courtesy of Stereogum.com, here they are:

BEST NEW ARTIST
Adele
Duffy
The Jonas Brothers
Lady Antebellum
Jazmine Sullivan

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Coldplay – Viva La Vida
Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III
Ne-Yo – Year Of The Gentleman
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raising Sand
Radiohead – In Rainbows

POP COLLABORATION WITH VOCALS
Alicia Keys and John Mayer – “Lessons Learned”
Madonna, Justin Timberlake, and Timbaland – “4 Minutes”
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – “Rich Woman”
Rihanna and Maroon 5 – “If I Never See Your Face Again”
Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown – “No Air”

COUNTRY PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP
Brooks & Dunn – “God Must Be Busy”
Lady Antebellum – “Love Don’t Love Here”
Rascal Flatts – “Every Day”
The Steel Drivers – “Blue Side Of The Mountain”
Sugarland – “Stay”

BEST RAP PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP
Big Boi feat. Raekwon & Andre 3000 – “Royal Flush”
T.I. feat. Kanye West & Lil Wayne – “Swagger Like Us”
Lil Wayne feat. Jay-Z – “Mr Carter”
Ludacris feat. T.I. – “Wish You Would”
Young Jeezy feat. Kanye West – “Put On”

RECORD OF THE YEAR
Adele – “Chasing Pavements”
Coldplay – “Viva La Vida”
Leona Lewis – “Bleeding Love”
M.I.A. – “Paper Planes” (“I played the cash register on that song” -John Mayer.)
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – “Please Read The Letter”

Song Of The Year
“American Boy,” William Adams, Keith Harris, Josh Lopez, Caleb Speir, John Stephens, Estelle Swaray & Kanye West, songwriters (Estelle Featuring Kanye West, artist)
“Chasing Pavements,” Adele Adkins & Eg White, songwriters (Adele, artist)
“I’m Yours,” Jason Mraz, songwriter (Jason Mraz, artist)
“Love Song,” Sara Bareilles, songwriter (Sara Bareilles, artist)
“Viva La Vida,” Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion & Chris Martin, songwriters (Coldplay, artist)

Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
“Viva La Vida” by Coldplay
“Waiting In The Weeds” by Eagles
“Going On” by Gnarls Barkley
“Won’t Go Home Without You” by Maroon 5
“Apologize” by OneRepublic

Best Rock Album
Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends by Coldplay
Rock N Roll Jesus by Kid Rock
Only By The Night by Kings Of Leon
Death Magnetic by Metallica
Consolers Of The Lonely by the Raconteurs

Best Rap Album
American Gangster by Jay-Z
Tha Carter III by Lil Wayne
The Cool by Lupe Fiasco
Nas by Nas
Paper Trail by T.I.

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical
Danger Mouse
Nigel Godrich
Johnny Karkazis
Rick Rubin
will.i.am

Thoughts?

I like seeing Lil Wayne get the nod. Maybe they heard him on Tha Carter III bonus track “I’m Me” when he said:

Last year they had the Grammys and left me in Miami
Sleeping on a n*gga like I’m rapping in my jammies
I’m rapping when you sleep, I was rapping when you were in jammies
Mel Gibson flow, Lethal Weapon – book ‘em Danny!

Ouch! Burn!

I’m ready to see The Greatest Rapper Alive (aka Mr. Make It Rain On Them Hoes, aka Weezy F Baby, aka Lil Wayne) take home a Grammy this year. What about you?

Thoughts on the other nominations?

Posted by Joe.

New Music: Jay-Z & Santogold – Brooklyn (We Go Hard)

Joe — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:20:54 +0000

This track comes off the soundtrack to the upcoming Notorious B.I.G. biopic, aptly entitled Notorious. Hova spits about all things Brooklyn – from the Dodgers to his ownership of the New Jersey Nets. The track samples Santogold’s “Shove It” and you can listen to it right after the jump.

What I’d like to point out about this song is how much better of a NY anthem it is than that terrible song by Ja Rule. You know, the one that went “New Yaaawwww, New Yaaawwww.” Woof. Thank you Jay-Z.

Posted by Joe.

Coldplay + Jay-Z = Viva La Hova

Joe — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:55:07 +0000

I believe this week has unofficially become Mixtape/Mash-Up/Remix Week. We’ve already seen some from Yeezy, Weezy (download, review) and Coast 2 Coast. Well now we’ve got one from Mick Boogie & Terry Urban who, with the blessing of both artists, have mashed together an entire album’s worth of Jay-Z and Coldplay tunes into Viva La Hova.

Viva La Hova was inspired by “Lost+” which is a remix to the Coldplay track “Lost” that features Jay-Z spitting some bars. These two buddies, Chris Martin and Sean Carter to be precise, have worked together plentifully in the past. Chris did a track with Jay-Z on his album Kingdom Come a few years back and Jay reciprocated the favor this year with “Lost+”

Anyway, this “Lost+” was the inspiration for this entire mash-up album, Viva La Hova, and you can download it for free below…

Download: Mick Boogie & Terry Urban – Viva La Hova (Coldplay/Jay-Z)

Tracklist:

1. Intro (Various Songs)
2. Public Speeding (High Speed + Public Service Announcement)
3. Know My Place (U Don’t Know + In My Place)
4. Never Changing (Never Change + Never Change)
5. Miss Trouble (Excuse Me Miss + Trouble)
6. Back At My Place (Back Then + In My Place)
7. No Love Coming Home (Homecoming + Ain’t No Love)
8. A Spy’s Prayer (Spies + Pray)
9. Science Is Ignorant (The Scientist + Ignorant Sh*t)
10. The Reverse Fix (The Bounce + The Fix)
11. Hola Blanco (Hola Hovito + White Shadows)
12. Take The Hill (Takeover + Violet Hill)
13. Lost Part 2 (Momma Loves Me + Lost – Import Mix)
14. Cold Success (Success + Lost – Import Mix)
15. What If We Cry? (What If + Song Cry)
16. Falling In Shadows (Fallin’ + White Shadows)
17. Life of Clocks (Clocks + Party Life)
18. X-Y-Z (No Hook + X&Y)

You like it?

Posted by Joe.