By shelz.
Do your pants still fit? Are you tired of all gravy everything yet? Do you have enough sandwich bread to make it through the weekend? I hope you enjoyed yesterday and all the people who are thankful for you. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank anyone and everyone who stops by planet ill dot com, even if it’s to tell us we don’t know what the hell we’re talking about. I mean, we do, but your presence is still appreciated.
There isn’t much going on this week besides the rent. Nicki Minaj has this ménage a trios of bad blood going on with Kim and Fox that is spawning some pretty unremarkable responses from the legends. It’s sad how convenient amnesia has folks forgetting they used to ride with this pair, but the ladies aren’t helping their own cases by dropping these feeble retorts. Odeisel plans on breaking those down so we can see what’s up.
Also, Kanye West kicked out a pretty serious monologue during a show about his place in the industry and the how people are drawn to his star only to siphon off some of his light. I agree with him. However, therein lies the rub of fame. You are no longer a human resource, you’re a commodity and everyone wants some to further their own cause whether you are willing to give it or not. Sad, but true. Anyway, on to the music. First up is Belleruche.
They’re about as underground as you can get, but have a seriously devoted fan base who must make them feel like they can do anything. How else can you explain them taking a crack at Michael Jackson’s “I Can’t Help It?” I think on average Belleruche is pretty good, but I’m not feeling this. They took the fluidity of this song and deaded it. Not cool.
Belleruche – “I Can’t Help It”
belleruche i cant help it cover
T-Pain has stepped out of the shadows this week with quite a few selections. But for beat thieving purposes we’ve selected his contribution to Souljah Boy’s “Speakers Going Hammer.” It’s a dope track. Souljah Boy is too reserved on this song, but T-Pain brings the energy. Is he a great lyricist? Of course not, but this is enjoyable. Bammer. Bammer. Bammer.
Souljah Boy Feat. T-Pain – “Speakers Going Hammer (Remix)”
Soulja Boy Ft T-Pain-Speakers Going Hammer (Remix)
Next up is Vancans’ strange remake of Kanyes “Amazing.” It’s electro. It’s country. He sounds like karaoke Karl after a few shots of tequila, but sometimes odd collections like that work. That’s not the case here, but feel free to listen anyway.
Vancans – “Amazing”
Fashawn is still on his double time grind, just coming off Grizzly City 3, hes looking towards Higher Learning 2. In between there are the freestyles, most recently his work over Kanye’s “Dark Fantasy.” He covers a lot of ground here. Shots at the blogs for not recognizing his greatness sooner. Fast food rappers who don’t challenge the art. Lots of self-big up and plans to move out of the country. I’d say hes dope, but I think I was supposed to know that already. So I won’t.
Fashawn – “Dark Fantasy”
Moving on we have Freedom or Death. This Canadian duo (yes another artist from Canada) has an interesting mix in their music. It’s acoustic. It’s electro. It has retro aspects, but its forward thinking. And this thoughtful pair takes Nas’ “If I Ruled the World,” releases it from its Hip-Hop aesthetic and makes it fully alt rock. They have created a completely different song.
Freedom Or Death – “Rule The World”
Crooked I is still soldiering on with his weekly reloaded series and the most recent addition is “Listen With Your Heart” which swipes the track from Roxette’s 80’s power ballad “Listen To Your Heart.” They added a bit of thump to the song, so it doesn’t come off as strange as I thought it would, but the “okay bye” at the end sounds really awkward.
Crooked I – “Listen With Your Heart”
Crooked_I-Listen_With_Your_Heart-2dope
Cam and Vado’s “Speaking in Tongues” provides the foundation for Jon Connor’s latest freestyle. It’s a grip of self-aggrandizing bars and lots of back-patting. I remember “The Message” from a few months ago, but I’m still not familiar enough with this dude to weigh in. He does have a knack for word play though. Check him out.
Jon Connor – “Speaking In Tongues”
Jon Connor – Speaking In Tongues (Freestyle)
Next is Fab giving Wiz’ “Black and Yellow” a nautical feel changing it to “White and Navy.” Okay, the song is supposed to be more about yanks than boats, but it’s really about the copious amounts of puddy thrown at Fab. I can dig it. This sounds lazy for Fab, but I guess it’s better than releasing nothing. Hip-Hop folks have real fickle memories, ya know.
Fabolous – “White and Navy”
Last up we have Atlanta’s own Aleon Craft over Matt and Kim’s “Cameras.” It’s a cute, quirky track that has a Hip-Hop feel without having to be doctored. It sounds like Mr. Craft is talking about surface folks who have lost their way in all the pretension that surrounds them. There is more Matt than Aleon here, but if you’re a fan of the original I guess that’s good news.
Aleon Craft – “Cameras”
Cameras ft. Aleon Craft (Remix)
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2 thoughts on “And The Beat Goes On: Freedom Or Death Rules The World, Crooked I Listens With His Heart And Fashawn Shares His Fantasy”