http://versesfromtheabstract.wordpress.com

defintely a demo, seeing as there is no dre verse on this and this is apparently gonna be on detox...pretty sure t.i.'s verse is gonna be dre's...dre famously doesnt write all his own lyrics, so maybe t.i. wrote the first verse for him?seems a bit of a strange decision when the best lyricist in rap is right there on the 2nd verse (nas btw). Love the beat anyway...tbh i wouldnt be surprised if detox wasnt out til 2010 :(
Dr Dre.-Topless feat. T.I. and Nas



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An oldie but a goody. Saw this on some random westwood countdown on the hits a while ago haha. Swizz Beatz production and sampling of "What More Can I say" is genius. 2 x mp3s below


T.I.-Bring 'em out
and the song it samples, what more can i say
Jay-Z-What more can I say

"im supposed to be no.1 on everybody's list, we see what happens when i no longer exist...fuck this"

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All the talk was about Chris Brown/Rihanna's absence but there were some great performances...vids and mp3 below...

Estelle & Kanye-American Boy, the crowd are so placid, but still good!

Al Green, Timberlake, Boyz II Men and Keith Urban-Lets Stay Together

JT is surprisingly awesome on this! although Al Green's voice outshines him
Radiohead-15 Step

Gwyneth is on it! Brilliant.
Coldplay & Jay-Z-Lost?/viva la vida.

So good! Always preferred the acoustic version and the Jay-Z version to the album version!
And saving the best 'til last...
M.I.A., Jay-Z, Lil' Wayne, Kanye West, T.I.-Paper Planes, Swagger Like Us

M.I.A. is such a legend, apparently her baby was due on the night! Such a wicked performance. Jay does best! Anyone else think T.I. looks a bit out of place? His verse is my favourite on the song, but he was worst on the night.

And here is the album version of the brilliant 15 step.
Radiohead-15 Step

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Obama won!
reposted after removal

1. Kanye West-808s and Heartbreaks
I wont write alot here, because it will end up turning into a rant ( a postive one), so if your interested, here are my initial thoughts on Kanyes 4th.
I now admit this isnt a hip-hop album, it is almost undefinable. Its a pop album i suppose, but nothing like any pop albums before it.
Best track: Kanye West-Welcome to Heartbreak feat. Kid cudi (no link im afraid)
Bonus: Young Jeezy-Put On (feat. Kanye West) his verse on this is ridiculous, and a brilliant set up for 808s...
2. Q-Tip-The Renaissance
2008 was a year of hip-hop discovery for me, a year of A Tribe Called Quest discovery and in turn Q-Tip's awesomeness. This album is fantastic. Its such a positive record, both lyrically and musically. Gettin Up (one of the 2 Dilla productions) is so chilled and upbeat its brilliant. Other highlights include Move (the other Dilla production, Jackson 5 sampling), and Believe (my favourite) and a classic chillout hip-hop song. It was so lovely to have an uplifting hip-hop album this month after being depressed by 808s darkness haha! After 9 years away from releasing his own music, Q-Tip is firmly back on top of hip-hop.
Best track: Q-Tip-Believe (feat. D'Angelo)
Bonus: A Tribe Called Quest-Luck of Lucien
Aparently he will be on one of the 3 new Prince albums this year!
Metacritic (81)
3. The Killers-Day and Age
Another disappointing album, and now my overexcitement has died down probably their worst so far. I was so excited for this album, but its a dud. The first 3 tracks are awesome, electronic classic Killers, but after that the album falls flat. With the excpetion of I Cant Stay, the remainding tracks blend into obscurity. Bloody hell that was negative.
Best track: The Killers-Losing Touch
4. Beyonce-I Am...Sasha Fierce
Beyonce also released her worst album to date, with a double album to represent herself (I Am...with big ballads a la If I were A Boy but much worse and boring!) and her alter ego (Sasha Fierce, upbeat tunes a la Single Ladies). The first half of the album may as well be chucked away, Beyonce has made much better slow songs (Irreplaceable for one), but it has always been her upbeat tunes that I have liked. Sasha Fierce provides 2 awesome examples of this in Single Ladies and Diva. Although im not quite sure of the lyrical gist of single ladies, its a big tune. And Diva I probably just like because the beat is as close to A Milli you can get without actually sampling it. Bangladesh produced A Milli and Diva surprisingly enough. Her vocals are actually brilliant on it. Anyway, it has nothing on her first 2 albums in terms of consistency, and it is lacking a BIG guest appearance from Jay-Z! I am hoping for a Diva remix with him sparring with her about being a hustler or some shit.
Best track: Beyonce-Diva
Metacritic (62)
5. T.I.-Paper Trail (UK release)
Not listened to this enough yet to make a full judgement, but not a huge fan on first couple of listens. Live your life is a ridiculously good song though, and Whatever You Like although badly written and generally silly is also great. Not quite sure of the moral message of Live your life, but its so infectiously good I cant complain.
Best track: Live your life feat. Rihanna
Metacritic (73)

Ludacris also released a feature saturated album this month. T.I, T-Pain, The Game, Rick Ross, Chris Rock, Chris Brown, Jamie Foxx, Lil Wayne, Nas, Jay-Z and common are just a few of the artists on the album. Its still pretty rubbish. The Nas/Jay-Z featured track is by far the best song, the Nas verse is brilliant.
Ludacris-I Do It For Hip-Hop (co-starring Nas and Jay-Z)
"They say I’m so low key, I’m socially awkward
Only those that really know me are the ones that I talk with
They smile in the light, hate in the dark,
you call it beef, to me its's just a fuckin’ walk in the park
Because you are who you are when nobody is looking
That's who you are so when the cash and cars is gone, the day after tomorrow
Don’t be askin’ to borrow, ski maskin’ it hard, like the way you rap in your bars
I could ride on you and whoever, devise new endeavors
I’m as live as hive full of predators
Twenty thousands different species of bees
Some half poisonous sting, some just pollinating their leafs
It's just like rap, some will buzz some will attack, compromising their own life in fact
Sixteen years since my first sixteen, pardon the rest of my niggas
But I’m the best whoever did it" Nas
I bought Illmatic for £3.60 from zavvi yesterday, good times.


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This is fast becoming a brilliant song, the new version is top quality. Read Kanye's thoughts on making the new version here
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The Blueprint 3
Jocking Jay-Z/Dope Boy Fresh has already made its way onto the internet, and now Swagger Like Us has been announced as the first single from his 11th studio album! This is remarkable, considering American Gangster was released only 10 months ago! Swagger Like Us features Kanye, Lil' Wayne and T.I. Kanye's production on this, and sampling of M.I.A.'s Paper Planes are perfect. What a brilliant song. Blueprint 3 is supposedly coming before the end of 2008, very exciting stuff.
Jay-Z-Swagger Like Us feat. Kanye West, T.I. and Lil'Wayne

Kanye's 4th studio album

Who would have thought it? I imagined Kanye would only begin work on a new album in 2009, after concluding his Glow In The Dark Tour of Europe, which is essentially still the Graduation tour, but he is releasing a new album, December 2008! New single Love Lockdown will be available for download from Monday! Kanye is also expected to feature on the first single from the new Beyonce record, coming out this year. Exciting times ahead. I am so excited to see him in the o2 in Lonon in November. It's going to be ridiculously good!
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