21 Apr 2009, Posted by Andrew Hibbard in Playground, 0 Comments
Two bits of news we are a day late in posting. Bad news first, then good.
- After the announcement of a contract on the band’s MySpace less than a month ago, Neckbeard Record’s has terminated their contract with I Was Totally Destroying It “Citing irreconcilable differences” according to a press release from the label. IWTDI was scheduled to release The Beached Margin/Done Waiting double EP in May alongside former labelmate Lemming Malloy, who are still signed and will release their album in May. Lemming Malloy is having a record release party May 22 at Local 506. IWTDI was schedule to play but we’re betting they are off the bill now. No news as to what said “irreconcilable differences” are, but it’s an interesting storyline for sure. IWTDI’s Done Waiting EP can be download at Reverb Nation for free, here.
- After a successful first go last May, Trekky Records has scheduled its second (now) annual TRKFest for Saturday, June 13, again at the Piedmont Biofuels plant in Pittsboro, NC. In addition to the regular slate of Trekky bands, the day-long festival will include favorites Hammer No More the Fingers, Ivan Rosebud (that’s the Rosebud’s Ivan Howard), Midtown Dickens and Megafaun. Read more about the even (including the other events like the Pants-off Dance-off) over at Trekky’s blog.
Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music label (the acronym stands for Getting Out Our Dreams) is gathering a pretty impressive stable of artists. A glance at the roster shows long-established names like Common and John Legend alongside up-and-comers like Kid Cudi and Fonzworth Bentley. And right at the top (alphabetically) of these names is Big Sean, known for having featured on two songs from Mike Posner and the Brain Trust’s mixtape A Matter of Time. Well, at least at Duke he is.
Sean’s making his way back to campus this Wednesday for an LDOC performance with Mike Posner, hot off the heels of his April 16 mixtape U Know Big Sean—Finally Famous Vol. 2. The mixtape clocks in at a bloated 30 tracks, nine of which are either skits or shoutouts that clock in at under 1:30, generally focused on establishing the legitimacy of Big Sean. They are unnecessary. While the songs themselves don’t quite leave the listener begging for more, they do point to a not inconsiderable amount of talent and potential.
Being a free mixtape, Sean can lean on the crutch that he won’t have on his upcoming full-length debut, Finally Famous, which is due sometime in ‘09: dynamite, battle-hardened beats. Granted, some of his originals are strong as well, “Getcha Some” and “Desire, Want, Need” especially. But what these mixtapes are really about is the rapper, and by the end of the hour-plus one gets a pretty good idea of what Sean’s about: clothes, self-promotion and being fresh. Kanye doesn’t stray too far when he’s picking these guys, apparently.
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He also has a song called "Just Lose It." Courtesy music-video.com
During my sophomore season of high school basketball (where I was the only player whose GPA matched his points per game average), our team experienced a lot of change. We went through two coaches. All but one player from last year’s starting lineup had left. We even got new uniforms.
However, even amidst all of this uncertainty, there was one undeniable constant. In every gym we went to, we were bound to hear “Lose Yourself” during pregame warm-ups. No matter what team we were playing, we all knew that we would inevitably be asked if we had one shot, one opportunity, to get anything we ever wanted, whether we would capture said opportunity or just let it slip.
This is all just one long-winded way of saying that “Lose Yourself” was everywhere, and rightfully so. I don’t particularly like Eminem, but this track has to be in the conversation for most influential rap song of the decade. “Lose Yourself” is Eminem’s most commercially successful song, and judging by this, I doubt Eminem will ever recapture his 2002 glory.
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Robert Redford will be awarded the first Lifetime Environmental Achievement in the Fine Arts (LEAF) Award today on Duke’s campus. The ceremony begins at 2:30 p.m. and you can follow the live stream here. For more on the award, check out Nicholas School Dean Bill Chameides’ blog.
