It's been a while

It's been quite a while since I last updated this blog of mine. I have been super busy with school, and honestly forgot I had created this blog a while back. Taking RTF and CS classes takes up a lot of time, but in the end is lots of fun. This week in particular will be a really busy one for me. I hope to update this blog at least 2 times a month if possible. Until then...

Drake - "Shut It Down" feat. The-Dream [Slow Jam/Possible Leak]

     

     A new track by Aubrey Drake Graham, AKA Drake, leaked out today. The song is entitled "Shut It Down" and features recording artist The-Dream. Drake spoke of this track late last year and said that it was a type of track that is meant to empower females. Its about how a female is about to, for example, walk into a night club and shut it down, based on her appearance and how she carries herself. This song might be a possible leak off his upcoming debut album "Thank Me Later", which is scheduled to drop in May. However, there is no confirmed tracklist and this might just be a song that is going to be left off the official album. Either way, this song is a great slow track that delivers a positive message. 

***[Track] Drake feat. The-Dream: "Shut It Down". Download HERE

Noteworthy SXSW Shows TOMORROW!

Just thought I'd post some info about some shows going down tomorrow here in Austin, TX during SouthBySouthWest [SXSW]. I'm not to sure if these shows are free or not as of now, but I will post more information as I get it.

Sum 41 ==> Maggie Maes Rooftop @ 12am [midnight]
Muse    ==> Stubbs @ 10pm
Nikki Jean ==> Dirty Dog Bar @ 8pm
Travie McCoy ==> Dirty Dog Bar @ 9:45pm
Wiz Khalifa ==> Spill @ 10pm
Curren$y ==> Spill @ 10pm
Redman ==> Spill @ 11pm

"Billionaire" - Travie McCoy feat. Bruno Mars

This is a new track by musical artist, Travie McCoy. He is also the lead singer of the group called Gym Class Heroes. On this track he features emerging artist Bruno Mars. Bruno Mars is also currently featured on B.O.B's new smash single entitled "Nothin' On You" which is gaining lots of airplay on the radio. This track is simply one of those "feel good" songs. Great beat, Great lyrics, Great message! You can download the explicit version of this song on iTunes already. I am 100% certain that this song will be THE Summer Anthem of 2010!

***[Track] Travie McCoy feat. Bruno Mars - "Billionaire": Download HERE

HTC Nexus One

    

     The HTC Nexus one is the most powerful phones out in the US market right now. Boasting a 1Ghz SnapDragon processor, 5MP camera w/ LED flash, 512MB of RAM, and a beautiful 3.7" AMOLED display, the Nexus One is a multitasking machine.

     This phone is sold unlocked and is compatible with the T-Mobile network. When initially launched the phone was experiencing 3G network problems, but HTC & Google were quick in fixing this problem. Most recently, several Nexus One users were reporting that their display screens on their phones were cracking for no apparent reason. HTC later stated something along the lines that the Nexus One is not meant to be placed in tight fitting pockets and that the screen may easily be cracked by a pair of keys banging across the screen.

     There is no arguing that the phone is very impressive and that it can handle a vast amount of tasks, however, there are a few things that both HTC & Google can work on. For example, despite being able to support up to a 32GB memory card, the Nexus One only allows you to store your apps on the 512MB of RAM the phone holds. It would make sense to allow you to store countless amounts of apps on your storage card, but for some reason this is not an option for Nexus One users. This is in the process of being fixed and is something HTC/Google is working on. 

   A friend of mine actually has the Nexus One and has had no problems with it up until now. I played around with a bit once, and was impressed by its responsiveness. The phone is very light and is a very sleek looking device. It easily captures ones attention. The battery life is also great giving you up to 7 hours of talk time on 3G service and up to 250 hours of standby time on 3G service as well.  It runs on Android 2.1 [Eclair] and comes with a 4GB Micro SD card straight out of the box.

     Overall, the Nexus One is a top of the line phone that has endless possibilities seeing how it is running on the Android operating system. Despite having a few hardware/software issues at launch, HTC/Google should be able to fix most of these flaws by simple OTA [over the air] updates. The tech specs that this phone has is what ultimately makes it a universal device.

***For a full review of the Nexus One click HERE ***

Sources: engadgetmobile.com, google.com/phone

T.I. - "I'm Back"

After being released from his prison sentence, T.I. is back at it again. He released this new track, entitled "I'm Back", today at approximately 5pm [est]. In a conference call earlier today, he stated that his upcoming album will be released on August 24th.


***[Track] T.I. - "I'm Back": Download HERE

Source: Nahright.com

***DISCLAIMER*** Music is for promotional use only

[Artist On The Rise] J. Cole

     

     Last year, it seemed like everybody in the world knew about or had heard about Toronto rapper, Drake. I had been listening to his work since about late 2007/early 2008. I have remained a loyal fan even through his recent explosion onto the music scene. Yes, it is kind of annoying sometimes that millions of people have hopped onto the band wagon and don't fully appreciate what Drake has to offer music wise. All they pay attention to is the chorus and ignore the rest of the song. I don't believe Drake's 15 minutes of fame are even close to being over, but I do believe that the following artist will "blow up" in 2010.

     The artist I believe will gain tons of exposure this year is none other than J.Cole [Jermaine Cole]. He was born  in Germany and then moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina shortly after birth. He was raised there throughout the rest of his life and later moved to New York to attend St. John's University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. He explains throughout some of his mixtapes [The Warm Up], that his intentions for going to that school weren't for educational purposes. He figured he would move to New York, attend school for a year, and would be signed as an artist. Things didn't work out like that for him though. He ended up graduating and worked on his music and production skills. 

     He released his debut mixtape entitled "The Come Up" in late 2007. It received a great buzz in the hip-hop world and eventually got into the hands of hip-hop legend, Jay-Z. After hearing one track ["Lights Please"], Jay-Z signed him as the first artist to his new record label, Roc Nation. J. Cole then released his 2nd mixtape entitled "The Warm Up" in June of 2009. This mixtape gained a much greater buzz and even led him to open up for Jay-Z on his "The Blue Print 3" College Tour. I was fortunate enough to catch this show at The Frank Erwin Center, in Austin, TX. His set was short, but when his song "Grown Simba" came on, the entire stadium was showing him love, despite the fact that probably 75% of the crowd did not know who he was. After this tour was done, J.Cole went on his own small venue tour in which I again, was able to catch him live at "Aces Lounge" in Austin, TX. He had just finished performing 3 straight nights in Texas in the cities of College Station, San Antonio, & Houston. Despite admitting that his voice was gone, he put on a great show.

     J. Cole is now gaining a lot more attention and is being featured on a lot of other artists songs. Such artist include Wale, B.O.B., Reflection Eternal, and most significantly was featured on Jay-Z's "A Star Is Born" track off of "The Blue Print 3." Most recently he was chosen as one of XXL's Magazine "10 Freshmen for '10" in which a mixtape by DJ Whoo Kid was released that included a brand new J. Cole track. There is no doubt that J. Cole is a gifted artist. Every single one of his songs tells a story and his manipulation of words to get his voice across is simply amazing. His lyricism is through the roof. His delivery is incredible. His style is unique. This is the year that the rest of the world will find out who J. Cole is and will hopefully appreciate what he is bringing to hip-hop.

Here are a few links to some of J. Coles work he has put out for free: 

 ***[Mixtape] "The Come Up": Click HERE

 ***[Mixtape] "The Warm Up": Click HERE

 ***[Track] "Lights Please": Click HERE

 ***[Track] "Who's World Is This?": Click HERE
***[Mixtape] DJ Whoo Kid presents "XXL 10 Freshmen for '10": Click HERE

***DISCLAIMER*** All music is for promotional use only. Ownership is sole property of the recording artist and those specified in the copyright.

Sources: www.jcolemusic.com / www.nahright.com

Bose Companion 3 MultiMedia Speaker System

     After a couple years of wanting to get this set of speakers, I was finally financially able to purchase them. I had been doing research on the Bose Companion 3 & 5 MultiMedia Speaker Systems for a good while. I constantly debated whether to get the Companion 3 or Companion 5 speaker system for my multimedia set-up.

     This past week I finally hit up Best Buy and literally walked around the store for close to 2 hours; still debating. I decided that the price tag was just way to high on the Companion 5 system, and figured that the Companion 3 system would be good enough for my set-up.

    I got home and immediately began to install my system. I set it all up and plugged it into my MacBook. Drake's "Over" single had just been released to I downloaded it immediately and was the first song I played on my new Bose Companion 3 speakers. I WAS BLOWN AWAY!!!

Words cannot explain how hard and on point this system hits. Hits the highs, lows, and everything & anything in between. I felt like I was at a live concert! I then played a variety of songs to test out different genres of music: Coldplay, Lil' Wayne, Deftones, Beyonce, etc.

     Overall, this system is well worth the price if you have a love and appreciation for music and audio. I highly recommend it!

For more information on this speaker system click here: Bose Companion 3 MultiMedia Speaker System

Drake - "Over" [1st Single off "Thank Me Later"]

"Over" is Drake's first single off his upcoming debut album "Thank Me Later", which is now scheduled to drop in late May of 2010. This song was produced by Boi-1da & Al Khaaliq. 


Download here: "Over" [Dirty Version] - Drake 

T-Mobile HTC HD2 [HD Photos Leaked]

New photos just leaked of T-Mobile's upcoming HTC HD2 handset. This phone will feature a 1Ghz SnapDragon processor, 5mp camera with dual LED flash, 16GB memory card [upgradeable to 32GB], a gorgeous 4.3" High Resolution touch screen, and will be running on Windows 6.5. It is not yet known whether this device will be upgradable to Windows Phone 7 Series, which is scheduled to be released around the Holiday 2010 Season.

The phone is scheduled to be released by T-Mobile on MARCH 24th for $199 when you sign a new 2 year contract, or $449 without contract.

Source: http://www.tmonews.com/2010/03/t-mobile-hd2-walks-the-red-carpet/