The Chuckness

People love lists. Particularly “best of the year” lists. There’s something about putting a quantitative ranking next to a collection of the year’s entertainment — the people need to know how things match up against each other. To be honest, I was dreading the creation of these rankings. It’s borderline impossible for me to take two albums of completely different genres and try to justify how one is better than the other. In the process though, you re-discover albums from earlier in the year that you loved, but didn’t quite give enough time to. This is the summation of that … Continue reading →

Lately, at every stop on their tour, Kanye & Jay-Z have been performing “N*ggas In Paris” an obnoxious amount of times. We’re talking 5 times in Miami, 6 times in Boston, and 7 times in Detroit. For no particular reason. Tonight they stopped by the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show to do…one rendition. Semi-hysterical to see models and fashion big-wigs go gorillas to this. Watch The Cradle. Tweet

We’re all into Xaphoon Jones’ production, that’s not really out there for a debate. Recently, he linked up with DJ Mo Beatz on the official remix album of Big Sean’s Finally Famous. Xaphoon handles the  ”Marvin Gaye & Chardonnay” remix, and completely changes the complexion of the song. He injects the original with some more bass and build-up, giving the song more longevity then it initially did. Go ahead and form your own opinion below, and pick up the entire remix album here. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] Download: Big Sean (feat. Kanye West) – Marvin Gaye & Chardonnay … Continue reading →

Back in 2008, Kanye West and Chicago rapper Rhymefest worked with Jimmy Kimmel’s production company to put together a current, urban puppet show a la Crankyankers. Called Alligator Boots, the Comedy Central show never made it past the pilot stage. The director of the show just recently compiled the 10-minute bit above highlighting some of the pilot’s footage. After watching it, it’s entirely understandable why this never made it; but there are hints of greatness hidden underneath the complete lack of direction. Maybe this video will cause a public outcry demanding that they make a season. Probably not. [via Hypetrak] Tweet

So I get the below e-mail randomly today and was absolutely dying, I had no choice but to post it. Read on. ——————————————————————————————————————————– Look, I know this is a little unorthodox, but I just needed to rant about something and I knew that you might share the same issue. My issue is with a lyric in “Niggas in Paris.” Now I know that I am no lyricist, and I am never one to question Kanye West’s abilities, but this one has me baffled. “Prince Williams ain’t do it right if you ask me, cause I was him I would have … Continue reading →

Been a bit since I’ve heard a legitimate mash-up worth posting…so leave it up to The White Panda to end that drought. They take M83′s infectious beat to “Midnight City” and sprinkle Kanye’s verses from “Good Life” on top in order to fulfill your mash-up needs. Worth the download. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] Download: The White Panda – Midnight Life (Kanye West/M83) Tweet

Get More: 2011 VMA, Music, JAY Z and Kanye West “The Throne” made a surprise performance tonight at the VMA’s, and put on an explosive, literally, performance of “Otis”. Shout out to the now pregnant Beyonce. That child will be an absolute musical prodigy. Tweet

Watch The Throne, the highly anticipated collaborative effort between Kanye West and Jay-Z , was released last night exclusively via iTunes. I shacked up the $15 for the deluxe version, added it to my iPod, and awaited my flight from Chicago to Boston before pressing play. After listening to the album four times front to back, I felt the need to put the initial reaction into words. Before we get too far into this, let’s get one thing straight: Kanye West and Sean Carter are just two human beings who make music for a profession. With the immense, over-the-top hype behind … Continue reading →

Jay-Z and Kanye West not only have the most anticipated album of the year in Watch The Throne, but now they have the most anticipated national tour as well. When the album goes on sale on August 8th through iTunes (pushed back a week), tickets will go on sale for the Watch The Throne tour, covering the biggest venues across 24 U.S. cities. Starting July 28th, their LiveNation site will unleash a pre-sale for tickets, which includes a copy of the album. The tour kicks off on Sept. 22 in Detroit, and ends Nov. 3 in Boston. Oh, and according to … Continue reading →

The second taste we have from the highly anticipated Jay-Z and Kanye collaboration Watch The Throne comes in the form of “Otis”, featuring a soulful Kanye sample a la The College Dropout. There’s no question that this album is going to be huge, and arguably the biggest release of the year –the question is whether or not it will live up to the hype. I have high hopes. Pre-order the album here, due out online August 1st. Shout out to Life & Times for the CDQ. [Audio clip: view full post to listen] Tweet