#MusicMonday 18/01/10

Music Monday is a Trending Topic on twitter were you say what songs you've been feeling or what songs people shud get invvolved in, normally new new songs but they can be old songs too so yeh, here is my top 10 #MM songs for all my TKP supporters.... Get INVOLVED :-)

1. Plies Ft Keri Hilson - Medicine..... This song is my hit right now, Keri Hilson is jus toooooooo bad, lyk Plies shudnt even be on here, he is jus wastin tym till the hook comes, I hate that I have to lyk a Plies song but Miss Keri Baby and the person that produced the beat left me no choice :-(


2. Usher Ft Nicki Minaj - Little Freak...... Usher is seriously GOING INNNNNN on his latest album Raymond Vs Raymond.... This song is jus 10Bad, its jus so damn sexy n ofcos Nicki Minaj had to be on it, noone else could have been on this besides Miss Minaj :-) "Im plottin on how I can take Cassie away from Diddy" :-)WoW!!!!!!.... The ONLY thing im mad at is he dint put a double/triple hook at the end coz it was VERY necessary :-)


3. Trina Ft Diddy & Keri Hilson - Million Dollar Girl...... Looks lyk the bad bytch Trina is tryna make a come back n wit this song she def gon do it... as always Miss Keri BayB smashes the hook, lyk she is jus so damn dope, good singer and fine as f*** too, wher they make them lyk her?!?!?! Ofcos Papa Diddy Pap had to add his touch to ensure this was def a hit :-).. "Can't Stop Won't Stop" :-)


4. Kevin Rudolf Ft Lil Wayne, Birdman & Jay Sean - I Made It...... Cash Money/Young Money is the baddest group/label right now not including the bigger labels lyk Interscope & Def Jam, This Kevin Rudolf jug maybe white and rocky but he def slides in my books.... the beat is dooooooooooope but more importantly the hook is jus so damn catchy and as always Weezy's lyrics will have u lyk WoW!!! "Ball We Gettin Money Lyk We Jus Found Oil" WaaaaaaaaaoooooooW!!!! Who SAYS That :-)


5. Diddy Ft Dawn Richards - Hair Down..... I dunno why people insist on hatin on Papa Diddy Pap e.g. (http://bigheadcozigotalotonmymind.blogspot.com/ & http://dzuesspace.blogspot.com/) in the coporate world he is a Lege n when it comes to makin hits he is a Lege too, this song is so dope.... I mean the beat is okay but the lyrics n the hook!!! GOSH!!!! I mean he made a hit talkin about hair!! (Bvudzi) Com'on Son *Clap For Him*


6. Timbaland Ft Bran Nu - Meet In The Middle..... One of the best songs on Timbo's new album and it features brandy who aint singing #canyouimagine :-)..... The lyrical content touches on a lot of relationships of today so enjooooooy :-)


7. Usher - Stay Down..... This song is jus *sigh's) Its so damn dope, lyk it was my song for the WHOLE of December..... Danja is on the beat which is dope n Usher is really bringing it, His album might 'Raymond Vs Raymond' jus might be a big big deal :-)


8. Juan 'Go Getta' Vu Ft Bubs - Doing My Thang..... This song is WoW and im not jus sayin that coz its straight outta DT Entatainment (Which im very proud of) but yeh, have a listen, the beat is Bananaz, The hook is jus WoW! n the verse's are dope too, get involved people, ©ThatKindaParty/DreamTeam Entatainment


9. Tiffany Evans - Whats Your Name...... This song is so damn sill
y but its so damn catchy at the same time :-) "Hie My Name Is Tiffay" :-)


10. Jay-Z - Ghetto Techno..... This is a track that didnt make Blueprint 3 which is very unfortunate coz its a good look.... produced by Timbaland this track would have so ROCKED the club :-)


©ThatKindaParty/DreamTeam Entatainment

Review - Alicia Keys 'The Element Of Freedom'

Album Review By Kosh Mwamuka

Alicia Keys – The Element of Freedom

A – 84%

Alicia Keys has finally found love. The R&B/Soul superstar has often referenced themes of love found, lost, then found again over the last 8 years and 3 albums however, until now, Keys has never been involved in a serious relationship. Today, however, she is smitten with Hip-Hop super-producer Kaseem ‘Swizz Beatz’ Dean (Beyonce – Get Me Bodied; Eve – Tambourine; Jay-Z – On To the Next One) and on Keys’ fourth album this new found love is apparent. On this EP, Keys has expanded her musical palette straying away from her traditional Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin-esque classic soul sound into a more futuristic synth-heavy sound, and the results have not disappointed.

The first single ‘ Doesn’t Mean Anything’ follows Keys’ traditional formula, acoustic piano and simple kick-snare-tambourine pattern along with a big sounding melodic chorus, and was lapped up by critics (as most Alicia Keys songs are). She collaborated with her usual ‘partner in crime’ Kerry ‘Krucial’ Brothers who helped pen previous hits ‘Superwoman’, ‘Karma’ and worldwide hit ‘No One’, so it was somewhat surprising that this song is Keys’ lowest charting single to date. This may be down to her heavily-processed vocals which partly remove the natural quality of Keys’ previous hits. However, despite this disappointment, the second single ‘Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart’ is incredible. So incredible, actually, I have even heard grown men singing it on the train (not very well, I must add). But once you hear it you won’t be surprised, this song is a collage of innovative, ground-breaking music past and present. The track opens with a cinematic synthesizer that sounds straight out of a Star Wars movie. Love interest Swizz Beatz’ influence is evident in a programmed drum & percussion pattern reminiscent of the old Run DMC, Public Enemy beats that Keys no doubt was exposed to growing up in the infamous ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ area of New York. An organ opens the first verse and continues throughout the verse in a chord progression that is easily the best we have heard in popular music since Ryan Tedder’s (OneRepublic) piano in Beyonce’s ‘Halo’. 808 & Heartbreak co-producer Jeff Bhasker then brings the same avant-garde creativity that made Kanye West’s album the masterpiece it was with an a 80’s synth that would shoot a plane out of the sky as Keys bellows “Tonight, i’m gonna find a way to make it, without you.” All these wide-ranging influences make this song an instant classic and it only gets better with every listen. The only thing missing is a Purple Rain-esque guitar solo, however (somewhat fittingly), Keys closes with a piano-vocal solo that not only shows off her finger-dexterity but also her vocal range.

Other gems off the album include another Swizz Beatz, Jeff Bhasker and Keys collaboration ‘Wait Til You See My Smile’ which is in a similar vein to ‘Sleeping with a Broken Heart’, synth-heavy with a booming drum pattern that comes in at the beginning of the second verse, and closes with Swizzy at his best with an incredible snare-tom-cymbal sequence. ‘Un-Thinkable’ is an epic ballad based on a man and woman’s first time getting intimate with backing vocals provided by 2009’s most promising act Drake. ‘Put it in a Love Song’ features the world’s biggest star Beyonce and opens more like a Beyonce-Swizz Beatz collaboration off 2007’s B’Day rather than a Keys song. However, the trademark Keys piano comes in and makes the song undeniably hers. Possibly a future hit, it has all the right ingredients. Darker themes are touched-upon in ‘Love Is Blind’, an ode to 1980’s Sade, a song in which Keys sings, over widely panned instrumental loops reminiscent of The Beatles albums when stereo mixing first began, “All of my friends think i’m crazy, but I don’t care. I’m over the edge, no turning back. Belong to you I swear.” On ‘Love is my Disease’, Keys again touches-upon the lack of control one feels when in love over a Caribbean sounding track. The remaining songs also reference love but in a more positive light, and it must be said, this album has no weak songs, they all carry a message described well due to great writing and production. However, not all the bases were covered, the natural soul feel of early Kanye West produced hit ‘You Don’t Know My Name’ is missing and it shows. Keys ultimately closes the album with her solo version of the Blueprint 3 hit ‘Empire State of Mind’. Fittingly it is Keys, with her loyal companion (her piano of course), proudly singing over light percussion about the city that made her who she is. In a contemporary music industry flooded with bubble gum songs that are instantly forgettable, there is atleast a few artists we can still bet the mortgage on to deliver fantastic albums. Keys is one of them. ‘Empire State of Mind (Part 2)’ ultimately builds into a triumphant harmony-filled, live drum, string and bass ending...

Let’s hear it for New York.

Xclusive - Diamonds....Are A Girls Bestfriends (Official Video)