Consequence – Whatever U Want video featuring John Legend & Kanye West

Directed by Hype Williams.

Drake – Forever video featuring Kanye West, Lil Wayne & Eminem

Directed by Hype Williams.

In Greek mythology, the muse is a goddess or spirit that inspires the creation of literature or art. Popular culture often refers to the muse as she exists in the world of rock and roll. The Yoko Onos and Patti Boyds of the music world. Women who markedly changed not only the lives but the music of their respective lovers, arguably for better or worse.

Inspired by these mythical creatures, I got to thinking, do emcees have muses? I mean hip hop is art too, no? And it is a genre of music just as wildly expressive as rock and roll. Thusly, I sought to examine the existence of the hip hop muse.

I considered the catalogue of the hip hop ode to a woman. Frequently with a decidedly darker edge, emcees have historically paid homage to women. We have all heard Biggie’s “Me and My Bitch” or the ghetto love anthem “Your All I Need” by Method Man and Mary J. Blige, but I consider these songs more as thug valentines; fleeting displays of love and admiration, but not necessarily inspired works of art.

Undeterred, I was determined to find an emcee that appeared inherently changed by the presence of a female counterpart. Immediately, my mind settled upon Kanye West. Fitting that Kanye would be the only rapper I could think of with a recognizable muse as he fancies himself a true ‘artiste’ in the purest sense.

Since being spotted around town with bald-headed, buxom beauty Amber Rose, Kanye has been blessing tracks with lyrics that seem for lack of a better word, inspired. His delivery, cadence and over all style seem to possess a new-found fervor, that I will go on record to say, I didn’t think he had in him*. Accustom to Kanye’s more sing-songy style, these days, Kanye is sounding hungry!

Observe (Pre Amber Rose):
I got a Jones like Norah for your sorror’
Bring more of them girls I’ve seen in the Aurora
Tammy, Becky, and Laura, or’a Shirley
I’m tryin’ to hit it early, like I’m in a hurry
See, that’s how dude became the young pootie tang tippy tow (”School Spirit”, College Dropout)

Now, I’m sure it’s not the wackest shit you ever heard, but it’s far from the best shit you ever heard either.

Observe Kanye’s lyrics, post Amber Rose:
This the fast life we are on a crash course
what you think i rap for to push a f-cking Rav 4,
but i know that if I stay stunting,
all these girls only gon want one thing,
i can spend my whole life good will hunting (”Run This Town”, Blueprint 3)

Save for his comment poking fun at Rav 4s, currently my dream vehicle, not bad huh? The attempt at wit is decidedly more clever, tongue and cheek rather than nonsensical and corny. Admittedly, it may be a bit early to say that Amber Rose has changed Kanye’s music, a full length album would of course be a better indicator, but a close listen to Kanye’s recent work would prove that Kanye is stepping his game up. It’s debatable whether or not this improvement is due to Amber Rose’s good-good, but if a chick as bad as Amber Rose wont do the trick, I don’t know what will.

*Author’s note – Just my personal opinion. Die hard Kanye fans need not argue.

Jamie Foxx – Digital Girl video (Remix) featuring Drake, The-Dream & Kanye West

The official music video for Jamie Foxx’s remix to his single “Digital Girl” featuring Drake, The-Dream and Kanye West, from the album “Intuition” in stores now!
Shouts to MrWP

Directed by Hype Williams.

Jay-Z – Run This Town video Rihanna & Kanye West from The Blueprint 3

The official music video for Jay-Z’s lead single off his upcoming album “The Blueprint³”, due in stores September 11th 2009. The single features Rihanna and Kanye West, who also produced the song alongside No I.D.. The single is available for purchase on iTunes.

Directed by Anthony Mandler.

MTV TO PREMIERE NEW JAY-Z MUSIC VIDEO,“RUN THIS TOWN,” THURSDAY, AUGUST 20 VIDEO WITH RIHANNA AND KANYE WEST TO AIR EXCLUSIVELY ON 68 MTV CHANNELS ACROSS 161 COUNTRIES

New York, NY/London, England – August 18, 2009: MTV will be the exclusive on-air and online outlet for the global multi-platform premiere of the new JAY-Z music video “Run This Town” with Rihanna and Kanye West. The video will debut on Thursday, August 20th at 8pm EST (international premiere times to be announced locally) across all MTV properties including MTV, MTV2, MTVu, MTV Tr3s, MTV Hits, MTV Jams in the U.S. as well as on MTV’s international network of channels. “Run This Town” is the second video from the multi-award-winning rapper’s highly-anticipated album Blueprint3, which releases on September 11th, 2009.

Following JAY-Z’s ground-breaking performances at the UK Glastonbury Festival in 2008 and U.S. music festival All Points West this month and in anticipation of his upcoming performance at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, “Run This Town” will explode onto the world music scene via MTV’s 68 channels and websites in 161 countries.

The video for “Run This Town” was shot in New York and directed by Anthony Mandler, who also directed JAY-Z’s last music video, “D.O.A.”

“JAY-Z is one of those artists that every time he makes a move, he creates excitement and buzz,” said Amy Doyle, EVP, MTV Music & Talent. “He continues to marry music with cinematic visuals that raise the bar in the video art form, and MTV is excited to be able to bring this video to fans worldwide.”

“MTV’s ability to deliver fresh music content simultaneously across our global network of properties gives music fans exclusive access to their favorite recording artists while providing these artists unprecedented exposure,” said Bruce Gillmer, SVP Talent & Music, MTV Networks International. “JAY-Z is an absolute powerhouse in the music industry, and MTV is thrilled to offer the world a first look at his video ‘Run This Town,’ a stellar collaboration between three of the biggest acts in music today.”

The global premiere of “Run This Town” follows the multi-platform success of Green Day’s “Know Your Enemy” music video premiere worldwide in April and demonstrates MTV’s unique global scale and ability to connect artists to literally millions of fans in every corner of the world.

Since 1995, Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter has dominated the rap industry and set trends for a generation. Now in 2009, he personifies the “American Dream.” Founder and chairman of Rocawear, he is also co-owner of the NJ Nets, 40/40 sports clubs, co-owner of Carol’s Daughter skin line and Translation Advertising. After three successful years as President and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, where he fostered the careers of international stars Rihanna, Ne-Yo and Kanye West, JAY-Z entered into a partnership with Live Nation to form Roc Nation. Through Roc Nation, on September 11, 2009, JAY-Z will release Blueprint 3, the last chapter of the critically acclaimed Blueprint trilogy. JAY-Z became the first non-athlete to enter into a major footwear co-venture with his S. Carter line for Reebok and in addition, continues his philanthropic work through his Water For Life initiative and the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation. Over his career, the multiple Grammy and award winner has sold more than 40 million albums and sold out arenas across the world.

About MTV

MTV is the dynamic, vibrant experiment at the intersection of music, creativity and youth culture. For over 27 years, MTV has evolved, challenged the norm, and detonated boundaries — giving each new generation a creative outlet and voice that entertains, informs and unites on every platform and screen. On-air, MTV is the number one rated full-day ad-supported cable network for P12-24. Online, MTV.com grew a healthy +9% from 1Q09, averaging 23.6M unique visitors for the second quarter of 2009. The site continues to grow video content streams, up significantly from 1Q09 by +15%, generating a whopping 262.2M streams in Q209, a +7% increase from the same time period last year. And MTV’s successful sibling networks MTV2, mtvU and MTV Tr3s each deliver unprecedented customized content, super-serving music fans, college students and young American Latinos like no one else. MTV is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Wanna know more?

About MTV Networks International

MTV Networks International includes the premier multimedia entertainment brands MTV: Music Television, VH1, Nickelodeon, MTVNHD, TMF (The Music Factory), VIVA, Flux, Paramount Comedy, Comedy Central and Game One. MTV Networks’ brands are seen globally in 595 million households in 161 countries and 33 languages via 173 locally programmed and operated TV channels and more than 400 digital media properties. The company’s diverse holdings also include interests in television syndication, digital media, publishing, home video, radio, recorded music, licensing & merchandising and two feature film divisions, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies. MTV Networks is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).

Jay-Z Rihanna Kanye West – “Run This Town” (Making Of Promo) Trailer #2

Mr Hudson Widget feat. “Anyone But Him (feat. Kanye West)”

Mr Hudson has just released a widget featuring brand new track “Anyone But Him (feat. Kanye West)” plus “Everything Is Broken (feat. Kid Cudi).” The widget also includes a bio, video footage and other great content. Check it out here:

Mr Hudson has just hit #2 on the UK chart with “Supernova” which is featured on the widget.

Mr Hudson “Supernova (feat. Kanye West)” Official Video:

First US showcase reactions — press reactions:

“For his first ever New York show at the Canal Room, the Birmingham, England-born Hudson could be forgiven the occasional vocal slip. But there was no need. Working with a sturdy six-piece band that included two percussionists and a fetching backup singer, the newest signee to Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music imprint missed nary a note, carrying his David Bowie-meets-Sting chops off without a hitch.” Rollingstone.com – Sean Fennessey

“In a six-song set, Mr. Hudson carried himself with a confident swagger and stage presence to go along with his orchestra-sized supporting band. He didn’t look like an artist piggy-backing on a hip-hop titan. Rather, he looked like a man taking over. He didn’t do it alone, and his supporting cast was stellar, including a high-energy steel-pans player and backing vocalist.” – MTV Newsroom – Jett Wells

“he nonetheless managed to pull a winning array of au courant influences into a very zeitgeisty package — a bit of humid dub reggae augmented by a steel drummer, some sassy electro-pop, danceteria funk and what I swear was a bluegrass banjo sample in one song.” LA Times – Pop & Hiss – August Brown

“Hudson delivered a powerful set” – NME.com Los Angeles

“The brief set didn’t leave room for any down-tempo songs, but the audience certainly didn’t mind as they sang along. Mr. Hudson fused hip-hop’s attention to beats, textured melodies, and rock vocals into a powerful sort of pop music. The crossover potential is immense.” – Prefixmag.com – Michael Hoven

Kanye West & Maik Yusef present G.O.O.D Morning G.O.O.D Night. Including collaborations with KRS-One, Michelle Williams (Destiny’s Child), Twista, Adam Levine (Maroon 5), Jennifer Hudson, Paul Wall, Mr Hudson, Raheem DeVaughn and Bun B (UGK).

Admittedly himself a backpacker (i.e. Hip Hop purist) and occasional coffee shop poet, it’s not that far-fetched that Kanye West release an experimental project from unique spoken word artist Malik Yusef.

While an exciting and promisingly bold venture at first, the actual amount of projects released through Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music label has been a little scant since launching in 2004. Excluding releases from John Legend, Consequence and Common, in addition to occasional singles and the odd mixtape, Kanye’s progressive label has yet to drop another album, until now. The man is busy conquering the world and seemingly allowing his artists to grow before launching them on the world, so I guess you can give him a pass for that.

The latest album release on G.O.O.D. Music happens to be Malik Yusef’s maiden voyage, a two-disc excursion of words and music (divided into two parts; Dawn and Dusk) titled Kanye West and Malik Yusef Present G.O.O.D. Morning, G.O.O.D. Night. Despite the Kanye West stamp of approval (and one guest verse), G.O.O.D. Morning, G.O.O.D. Night is all Malik Yusef.

Malik Yusef was raised in Chicago’s infamous South Side. Some differences aside, his life story is very much aligned with the likes of hip hop founding father Afrika Bambaataa, who like Yusef spent his formative years involved in street hustler culture, before ultimately turning to creative endeavours to express himself and teach others from his experiences. A member of the Islamic street faction The Blackstone Rangers as a teen, it was during this period that Yusef became friendly with a member of the Four Corner Hustlers group. That man would later become his label-mate and ghetto articulator par excellence, Common.

For a man that suffered from dyslexia in his younger days, Yusef’s mastery of the English language and vocalization of the human condition is what has made him a household name and respected figure. Not simply preaching, the activist and father of three leads by example, having establishing several organizations in his local community, including the For Yourself Foundation (a literacy program), Girl Power (a non-profit designed to empower young females) and the Drop Squad (dedicated to keeping the Chicago streets free of debris and litter).

Malik Yusef’s first break in the entertainment industry came in 1997, when he was enlisted to coach actor Larenz Tate for his starring role as a poet in the film Love Jones. It was in 2002 that Yusef began to firmly cement himself as a spoken word artist, making a memorable appearance on the famed Def Poetry Jam series, performing his poem I Spit? The following year would mark the birth of Malik Yusef the recording artist, as he inked a deal with Universal Records to release The Great Chicago Fire; A Cold Day in Hell.

Now with Chicago established as the hottest music city in the United States outside of Miami, along with the backing of G.O.O.D. Music and a wider acceptance of spoken word poetry in the general public, G.O.O.D. Morning, G.O.O.D. Night is set to bring Yusef’s poetical fervor to the global stage.

At a time when America’s financial future is hanging in the balance and the threat of global warming continues to loom, 2009 feels like the perfect year for Yusef’s thinking-man ballads of religion, materialism, love, hate and racism, delivered over soulful and sophisticated live instrument backdrops.

G.O.O.D. Morning, G.O.O.D. Night is available now through Shock Records/G.O.O.D. Music

Mr Hudson played the iTunes Festival with Kanye West and I thought you’d want to check out some great videos from their performance together.

Supernova video – Mr Hudson ft. Kanye West – iTunes Festival 09

Paranoid video – Kanye West ft. Mr Hudson – iTunes Festival 09

Heartless video – Kanye West with Mr Hudson – iTunes Festival 09