Labor Pains

Lil Wayne’s long anticipated album, The Rebirth, has had its release date pushed back yet again. The follow up to last year’s wildly successful The Carter 3, was originally slated to release back in April and has since then had its release date pushed back several times. On this upcoming album, Weezy plans on shifting his style to more of a rock vibe. This is evidenced by some of his most recent singles such as “Prom Queen” and “Hot Revolver”.

The new release date for the album is December 15th. Just in time for Christmas. Hopefully the album will actually be released by then. Be on the lookout for new singles from The Rebirth.

Artist On The Rise: Melanie Fiona

By now you’ve likely heard of up and coming songstress, Melanie Fiona. Fiona, whose real name is Melanie Hallim, is an R&B singer and songwriter who hails from Toronto, Canada. Apparently, Melanie got off to an early start musically as she comes from a musically inclined family and began singing and playing instruments when she was young.

Fiona has recently gained popularity for her single “Give It To Me Right” which is featured on her forthcoming debut album The Bridge. With her soulful, rhythmic vibe it’s going to be interesting to see what this young artist has in store for us in the future. Be sure to check out Melanie Fiona’s debut album when it hits shelves later this fall.

Artists On The Rise: RichGirl

Up-and-coming R&B girl group RichGirl (no relation to “Throw Some D’s” emcee, Rich Boy) has been slowly working their way onto the scene for the past several months. The group, comprised of members Audra, Brave, Lyndriette and Seven, on the surface resembles the likes of Destiny’s Child back in their early days. Not quite sure if the music is as comparable to the afore mentioned quartet yet, though.

Thus far, the group has releases a few singles; most notably: “He Ain’t With Me Now Though”, which is their lead single, and “Smile And Wave”, featuring Chris Brown. Both tracks are pretty solid. At the moment they are in the process of finalizing their self-titled debut album which is slated to release later in 2009.

The way I feel about this group is similar to the way I feel about Day 26; they’re nice, but it’s hard to tell how good they actually are since there’s no real competition for them in terms of other girl groups (unless, of course, you count the Pussy Cat Dolls…yea, me neither). With that said, I wish RichGirl the best of luck.

…And if their group’s career doesn’t pan out, I hope the most popular member (who will undoubtedly break away from the group) has a great solo career!

Maroon 5 Covers Frank Sinatra Hit

Recently, rock band Maroon 5 recorded their rendition of crooning legend Frank Sinatra’s hit song “The Way You Look Tonight”. This project is a part of Apple’s album “His Way, Our Way” which is an album commemorating the career of Sinatra by having artists of today perform some of his greatest hits. The whole idea is that this album is going to able to introduce the work of Frank Sinatra to the younger generation while simultaneously introducing some of today’s artists to an older crowd─a brilliant idea if I do say so.

Apparently when presented the opportunity to be a part of this project, Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine jumped at it. "He's definitely one of my all-time favorites" said Levine of Sinatra. Personally, I’m a huge fan of both Frank Sinatra and Maroon 5 so this one was right up my alley.

Check out the single here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go-qXfwR6jM&feature=related

Artist on the Rise: Colin Monroe

If you haven’t heard the name yet, chances are you will soon. Colin Monroe is a singer/songwriter who hails from Ontario, Canada. He first gained mainstream notoriety back in January of 2008 when he covered Kanye West’s single "Flashing Lights". Since then, Monroe has worked with several members of the Hip Hop world such as Drake, Jim Jones and Bun B, while still maintaining his indie rock roots.

The reason I consider Monroe to be a special artist is his versatility. Not only can he play several instruments but he has proven to be able to delve into different genres of music successfully, earning him respect among a wide variety of underground fans.

Monroe is currently working on his next album, Don’t Think Less of Me which slated to release sometime later this year. Keep an eye out for it and his other musical endeavors.

"Nation"-al Treasure

By now, I imagine many of you have heard about North Carolina rapping prodigy, J. Cole. He is a talented young rhymer who is being ushered into the game under a pretty large wing. Jay-Z has taken a particular interest in the abilities of J. Cole. So much so that he has decided to make him the first new artist signed to Jay’s newfound record label, Roc Nation.

The story is a familiar one. One day, J. Cole was summoned to Jay-Z’s office in Ney York where he fought threw the angst and nerves to put his talents on display before one of Hip Hop’s greatest. Jay was so impressed that he had to scoop him up.

J. Cole is riding into the game as yet another member of Rap’s vaunted “freshman class”. He is similar to many of his classmates in the sense that he’s a hybrid; he both raps and sings on many of his tracks. In doing so, he manages to bring back the soulful vibes of 90’s Hip Hop and R&B.

Be sure to listen to J. Cole’s latest mixtape, “The Warm Up” as well as keep an eye out for his upcoming music.

Artist on the Rise: Mike Posner

Here comes another up and coming artist to look out for. Chances are you haven’t heard of Mike Posner yet but it’s likely you’ve heard of a few of his cohorts like Wale, Kid Cudi and Big Sean. Posner is a 21 year old singer, songwriter and producer from Southfield, Michigan. He is part of a group called Mike Posner and the Braintrust which released its first mixtape “A Matter of Time” this past February.

The jury’s still out on this one but he certainly is gaining popularity among underground fans. We should be hearing a lot more from Posner as he is set to release his second mixtape later this fall and his debut album in 2010. So be sure to keep an eye out for him.

Nas & Damian Marley Set to Release Collaborative Album

Queen’s bridge emcee, Nas and Jamaican reggae artist, Damian Marley are currently in the studio working on a collaborative album entitled “Distant Relatives” which is scheduled to release later on this year. If this tandem seems completely random─it’s not. Actually these artists first worked together on a track entitled Road to Zion which was featured on Marley’s 2005 LP, “Welcome to Jamrock” and have built a solid rapport ever since.

Apparently the album will have a strong focus on the continent of Africa. Both artists can trace their ancestry back to Africa and are conscious of the struggles that many African nations are currently undergoing.

In general, recent history has shown that collaborative albums (even when featuring two popular artists) don’t really work out. With that said, I wish these guys the best of luck and I’m looking forward to this project.

Top Albums from the Rest of 2009

So far, the music released in 2009 has been nothing to write home about. Quite frankly, there haven’t been very many high profile rap albums released at all. And the highly anticipated albums that have hit shelves have, more often than not, fallen short of expectations. So here’s to hoping that the back nine of 2009 will produce more high-quality music than the front nine did. Here are a few Rap albums set to release in the second half of ’09 that (I’m hoping) will not let us down…

1. “We Are Lasers” / Lupe Fiasco - Needless to say, this particular project is high up on my wish list. It feels like it’s been an eternity since we’ve gotten new music from Lupe and, if the tracks that have leaked so far are any indication, it will have been well worth the wait. “We Are Lasers” is set to release in December. Keep an eye out for it.

2. “The Blueprint 3” / Jay-Z - I mean, really, need I say more? The man is back and he looks to revamp his Blueprint series with yet another installment. “The Blueprint 3” is slated to release on September 11th (Exactly 8 years from the day he released the original “The Blueprint” album). Honestly, the man could release a Country record at this point and we’d still eat it up. With that said, I’m definitely looking forward to this project.

3. “Thank Me Later” / Drake - Well it’s time to see what all the hype is about. Personally, I haven’t been partaking in any Drake bashing as I consider his mixtape, “So Far Gone” to be a solid project and better than a lot of artists’ albums. Hopefully he can prove the doubters wrong with a solid debut album. Either way, we’ll find out in “late 2009”.

4. “Loso’s Way” / Fabolous - In case you ain’t know so, Brooklyn emcee Fabolous will be dropping his next project on us quite shortly. “Loso’s Way” (a title which pays homage to the 1993 Al Pacino film, “Carlito’s Way”) will be hitting shelves on July 28th, and looks to be very promising. The album features a veritable who’s who of today’s Hip-hop and R&B elite, including artists such as Ryan Leslie, The Dream, Lil Wayne and Jay-Z. It seems as though Fabo is back with a vengeance this time. Yall’ can’t deny it.

5. “Attention Deficit” / Wale - Last, but most certainly not least, is a DC brother with a whole lotta soul. Up and coming emcee, Wale, came busting through the door this past year with his hit single, “Nike Boots”. And, between you and me, the man’s got some real talent. So far his mixtapes haven’t disappointed and I’m excited to see what he has in store for us with his debut project. “Attention Deficit” is scheduled to be released on September 22nd.

Well there you have it, folks. It appears as though 2009 is saving the best for last, as far as Hip-hop is concerned. Nevertheless, we should have some high-quality music to listen to by Christmas. So be sure to keep an eye out for these albums because they just might be raking in the accolades at next year’s award shows.

Artist on the Rise: Big Sean

A rising star that you should all be looking out for is Detroit rapper, Big Sean. This 21 year old lyricist is one of the newest members of Kanye West’s record label, G.O.O.D. Music. As the story goes, Sean met up with Kanye at a Detroit radio station, spit him a few rhymes and gave him his mixtape. Apparently, West was very impressed by what he’d heard and the rest, as they say, is history.

Customary of Kanye’s artists, Sean is well versed in the realm of fashion. He prides himself in rocking only the most exclusive gear and even makes his style the focus of many of his rhymes. However, this fashionista’s not all talk, as he was asked to model the S/S ’09 collection for the clothing line Society.

Personally, I’ve been a fan of Sean’s music for quite some time now. I got the opportunity to chill with him backstage at one of his shows earlier this year and he was hella cool. It’s clear that none of the success has gone to his head and he’s still very much a humble, patient young artist. Be sure to be on the lookout for Big Sean’s upcoming musical endeavors. Support good/G.O.O.D. music!