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Common and Pete Rock’s Collaboration Album ‘The Auditorium Vol. 1’ Is the Hip-Hop Album I Never Knew I Was Waiting For

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Panama Jackson theGrio.com

There was a time when the pairing of rapper Common and producer Pete Rock would have easily been my most anticipated album of the 12 months. Common, a Chicago rapper turned multi-dimensional rapper, has long been one in all the most beloved MCs in hip-hop; he commands the respect of his hip-hop peers and has produced quite a few commercially successful albums and songs. “Light,” Common’s track, produced by the late GOAT producer J Dilla, is now hip-hop canon.

Likewise, Pete Rock is one in all the most praised and respected producers of ’90s boom-bap, hip-hop. He too has productions at the level of the hip-hop canon; “They Remember You (TROY)” Pete’s record along with his former bandmate CL Smooth might be the best beat in hip-hop history. It’s my favorite record of all time, no matter genre, and while “best” of anything often becomes a matter of taste, there’s no conversation about best production without this song.

When the news broke that two of the best artists from the golden era of hip-hop were collaborating on a project — the recently released “The Auditorium Vol 1” — my interest was piqued. As some extent of reference, Nas is currently working on a collaboration with DJ Premier — clearly, the GOAT level artists of the 90s have decided to collaborate. Now, I need to admit that while my interest has piqued, I do have some reservations. Listen, I’m incredibly comfortable that so a lot of my favorite artists are still capable of make work and make a living off of hip-hop. Hip-hop fans my age (mid-40s) often complain about the newer era of hip-hop and rap music, or whether hip-hop is what younger individuals are doing. As might be the case with any genre of music, as newer and younger artists enter the arena, the sound changes and evolves, and the music becomes less consistent with previous generations. This also often signifies that when older people proceed to create, their work seems outdated and less interesting, even to the core audience.

While each Common and Pete Rock are accountable for classic material, I think it’s fair to say that their best days have been behind them for many years. I’m sure neither of their egos would allow them to confess it, but I am a consumer, fan, and sometimes apologist who still listens to Common’s Like Water for Chocolate (1999) and each of Pete’s instrumental albums like they got here out yesterday. I love these artists and haven’t been as involved with any of their recent output beyond just a few listens. I will all the time pay them respect by paying for his or her projects and downloading them and listening to them because I appreciate what they’ve given to the culture and to me as a fan.

So I got excited when the first album I heard from the duo, Wise Up , had a vintage feel but sounded the better of each: Common spitting with the same drive that’s kept him in so many conversations as one in all the best rappers, and Pete with the form of groove that just… works. It’s an indicator of the entire album — vintage but on-point Pete Rock production with a ton of melodies and basslines that feel as impressive in 2024 as they did in 1992. Common sounds inspired, too. It’s almost like Common and Pete decided to be their best possible selves for a dream collaboration that each hip-hop fan still arguing about the top 5 didn’t even know we would have liked.

For example, Pete may need my 4 favorite lines on the album when he starts rapping on “All Kinds of Ideas” with the words, “I’m a soul brotha uno, Black from the future/make beats on my table if I spoil my computer/I still make hits like I used to/keep your top 5, I’m God’s favorite manufacturer.” I can’t let you know how excited I am about that; Pete has never been my favorite producer on the mic, but lines like that put a smile on my face. Not to say that the beat itself is the form of production that has made Pete Rock my favorite producer in the genre. The entire project is filled with beats which can be different enough to indicate Pete’s range while still staying true to his talents. “Fortunate,” “Now and Then,” “When the Sun Shines Again,” and “Dreamin’,” amongst others, are the explanation why anytime Pete Rock is a component of a project, whether solo or with others, I need to a minimum of take heed to it. Pete gon’ Pete and that is excellent news for each hip-hop fan.

And then there’s Common. I’ve criticized Common as a rapper for years. Mainly because I think Common was, for some time, one in all the best rappers to ever do it. He was a minimum of a part of the conversation about the top 10 rappers to do it. But I felt like Common’s growing success had polished him just a little bit. One of my favorite things about Common has all the time been his willingness to talk truth to power, regardless of whose feathers it would irritate. That led to his high-profile feud with Ice Cube and led him to repeatedly call out rap and hip-hop as an entire for being “shiny suits.” But all that modified sooner or later as his platform and profile grew. That’s not a foul thing, and even unusual — no pun intended. I just think it sometimes made Common the least compelling a part of his own albums. Still a superb rapper and songwriter, just different. It looks as if a silly thing to complain about or indicate — far be it from me to need to stifle anyone’s growth and evolution — but the conversation surrounding Common has modified from legendary rapper to rap megastar, if that is smart. Namely, Common is only a Tony Award away from a highly coveted EGOT, having won an Emmy, multiple Grammys and an Oscarfirst rapper to do it.

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Common on “The Auditorium Vol. 1” feels like the perfect mix of the old Common who wanted you to care about his verses and the present Common who knows he’s one in all the best to ever play and has nothing to prove to anyone, like the Common in the song “To be” from his 2005 album of the same name. I found myself reconnecting with Common’s verses in a way I haven’t been shortly. Which may say more about me than him as a rapper, but that’s just the way it is. All I know is that I enjoyed listening to Common over this Pete production.

Speaking of Pete producing (again), one in all his calling cards has all the time been using snippets of songs at the starting of records. The most famous example is The Beginning of The End “She promised me” which opens “They Reminisce Over You (TROY)”. On “The Auditorium Vol. 1”, Pete follows the same practice, but places snippets of songs at the end of the records, which either open the next song or end the previous one. I do not know, but I’m glad the snippets are there, adding to the vintage feel I have for the record.

The Auditorium Vol. 1 just isn’t an ideal record, but perfection is overrated and should never be the enemy of excellent. Two of the most respected talents in hip-hop history have created an album I didn’t know I’d be serious about in 2024. But not only am I interested, they’ve released a project that’s value listening to over and another time, not simply because it jogs my memory of 1997, but because, because it seems, 1997 still sounds amazing in 2024.

I hope Pete and Common still have loads of ideas, because if that’s the case, I’ll be waiting for the next installment in the middle of an auditorium.


This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Beyoncé will perform at halftime of an NFL game during the holiday game day

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Beyoncé has yet one more trick up her sleeve for the holiday season. This week, the star announced that he will perform in his hometown of Houston at an NFL game on Christmas Day. During the Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens game, Beyoncé will appear at halftime, where she will reportedly perform songs from her country-themed album “Cowboy Carter.”

Beyoncé is already aware of high-energy NFL halftime shows, having showcased her talents in two Super Bowl appearances. As the headliner of Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans in 2013, she reunited with fellow Destiny’s Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams for a performance that became the second most-watched Super Bowl halftime performance in history. At Super Bowl XV in 2016, the megastar joined headliners Coldplay together with special guest Bruno Mars, where she performed her hit “Formation,” which garnered 115.5 million views.

The star’s upcoming performance, produced by Parkwood Entertainment and Jesse Collins Entertainment, will be her first live performance of songs from her Grammy-nominated album “Cowboy Carter.” While there aren’t many details about the show, the streaming platform says fans can expect special guests to look alongside the award-winning artist.

In May, Netflix announced a landmark cope with the NFL, providing streaming rights to the sports league’s games on Christmas Day. Similarly, in 2019, the streaming platform signed a $60 million cope with Beyoncé, through which the two entertainment giants partnered to provide three projects.

Beyoncé shared the news about her upcoming NFL gig Instagramfeaturing a brief clip of him catching a football while standing on top of a automotive covered in red roses, equipped with horns. The show will be available to Netflix’s 283 million subscribers worldwide.

Beyoncé has signed a three-project deal with Netflix for a reported $60 million


This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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NWA, Janet Jackson and George Clinton receive Songwriters Hall of Fame nominations

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Janet Jackson, Songwriters Hall of Fame nomination, theGrio.com

NEW YORK (AP) – Eminem, Boy George, George Clinton, Sheryl Wrona, Janet Jackson, Doobie Brothers, NWA and Alanis Morissette are among the many nominees within the competition’s 2025 category Songwriters Hall of Fame, an eclectic group of rap, rock, hip-hop and pop pioneers.

Bryan Adams joins them with such radio hits as “Summer of ’69” and “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?” and Mike Love of the Beach Boys, who hopes to get in 25 years after band founder Brian Wilson. David Gates, co-leader of the pop group Bread, can be applying for admission.

Each yr, each performers and non-performers are invited to the Hall, and this yr’s category of the latter includes Walter Afanasieff, who helped Mariah Carey together with his hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You”; Mike Chapman, co-writer of Pat Benatar’s “Love Is a Battlefield”; and Narada Michael Walden, architect of Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know” and Aretha Franklin’s “Freeway of Love.”

Eligible voting members have until December 22 to solid ballots to pick three nominees within the lyricist category and three within the performance songwriter category. The Associated Press obtained an early copy of the list.

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Several acts have one other probability to make an entry, including Clinton, whose Parliament-Funkadelic collective made a big impact with hits like “Atomic Dog” and “Give Up the Funk,” and The Doobie Brothers — Tom Johnston, Patrick Simmons and Michael McDonald — with classics like “Listen to the Music” and “Long Train Runnin.” Steve Winwood, whose hits include “Higher Love” and “Roll With It”, also participated within the voting earlier.

Hip-hop this yr is represented by Eminem – whose hits include “Lose Yourself” and “Stan” – and NWA members Dr. Dre, Eazy E, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella. Hip-hop stars similar to Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg and Missy Elliot are already within the Hall. Tommy James, with hits like “Mony Mony,” “Crimson and Clover” and “I Think We’re Alone Now,” also earned a nod.

If Jackson, whose 1989 album “Rhythm Nation” was a breakthrough, gets into the Hall, it’ll be greater than 20 years after her late brother Michael. Canadian songwriter Morissette, whose influential song “Jagged Little Pill” won Grammy, Tony, Junos and MTV awards, would also join the ladies of rock within the Hall. (Glen Ballard, who helped produce and write the album, is already present.)

Like Crow, the “All I Wanna Do” and “Everyday Is a Winding Road” singer-songwriter is experiencing a renaissance after being introduced to the band Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2023. Boy George raises the flag for ’80s New Wave with Culture Club’s hits “Karma Chameleon” and “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me.”

Other nominees within the unperformed category include Franne Golde, co-writer of Selena’s “Dreaming of You”; Tom Douglas, who wrote country hits for Tim McGraw, Lady Antebellum and Miranda Lambert; Ashley Gorley, fresh off her co-written hit “I Had Some Help” with Post Malone and Morgan Wallen; and Roger Nichols, who co-wrote The Carpenters’ “We Only Just Begun.”

They join Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, who contributed to Brandy and Monica’s hit “The Boy Is Mine”; Sonny Curtis, former member of The Crickets, who wrote and performed the theme song to “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, “Love is All Around”, and British composer Tony Macaulay, who wrote “Build Me Up Buttercup”.

The Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1969 to honor creators of popular music. A songwriter with a big catalog of songs is eligible for induction 20 years after the song’s first business release.

Some already in attendance include Carole King, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Brian Wilson, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Lionel Richie, Bill Withers, Neil Diamond and Phil Collins. Last yr we saw REM, Steely Dan, Dean Pitchford, Hillary Lindsey and Timbaland introduced.

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Beyoncé leads 2025 Grammy nominations, becoming the most nominated artist in the show’s history

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NEW YORK (AP) — Welcome to Beyonce country. When it involves Grammy Award 2025 nominations, “Cowboy Carter” rules the nation. She leads the rankings with 11 nominations, bringing her profession total to 99. This makes her the most nominated artist in Grammy history.

“Cowboy Carter” is up for album and country album of the yr, and “Texas Hold ‘Em” is nominated for record, song and country song of the yr. She also received nominations in multiple genres, including pop, country, Americana and melodic rap.

This is her first time receiving nominations in the country and the Americana category.

If Beyoncé wins album of the yr, she’s going to turn out to be the first black woman in the twenty first century. Lauryn Hill last won in 1999 for “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” joining Natalie Cole and Whitney Houston as the only black women to win a significant Grammy award.

Post Malone also received his first-ever nominations in the country categories this yr, releasing his debut country album “F-1 trillion”in August. The song is nominated for Best Country Album, and “I Had Some Help,” a collaboration with Morgan Wallen, is nominated for Country Song and Country Duo/Group Performance. This is Wallen’s first-ever Grammy nomination.

Malone is just behind Beyoncé with seven nominations, together with Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar and Charli XCX, who earned her first nominations as a solo artist.

Lamar the ubiquitous diss track released during his feud with Drake, “Not Like Us” is nominated in the categories of album and song of the yr, rap song, music video and best rap performance. In the latter category, he had two simultaneous entries, which is a primary for his profession: Future & Metro Boomin featuring Lamar. “Like That” is nominated for best rap performance and best rap song.

This is his third time receiving two simultaneous nominations for best rap song.

Taylor Swift and first-time nominee Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan each can boast six nominations.

Last yr, female artists dominated essential categories. This yr the situation continues, but the essential trend appears to be species diversity. In the album of the yr category, together with “Cowboy Carter” were latest age André 3000, alt-jazz “New Blue Sun” and “Djesse Vol.” multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier. 4.” Rising pop stars Carpenter and Roan round out the album with “Short n’ Sweet” and “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” respectively, in addition to Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department,” Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard and Soft” and “Hit Me Hard” and Soft” by Eilish. and Charlie XCX ready for the rave “BROTHER”.

Eilish is the only artist whose first three albums have been nominated for Album of the Year.

Last yr Fast won Album of the Year for “Midnights”, breaking the record for most wins in this category (4). This yr, she becomes the first woman in history to earn seven nominations in this category.

“The breadth and diversity of genres represented in the overall field feels new and truly exciting,” says Recording Academy CEO and President Harvey Mason Jr. a developing electoral body for his success. “We were very conscious about our membership and tried to balance it. So not just gender or people of color, different races, but also genre equality and trying to make sure all types of music from different regions and locations are represented in every way possible.”

Only recordings commercially released in the U.S. between September 16, 2023 and August 30, 2024 were eligible for nomination. The final round of Grammy voting to find out the winners will happen from December 12 to January 3.

In the best latest artist category, Carpenter and Roan will go head-to-head, alongside Benson Boone, Doechia, Khruangbin, RAYE, Shaboozey and Teddy Swims.

Beyoncé was joined in the song of the yr category by Eilish for “Birds of a Feather,” Swift and Post Malone for “Fortnight,” “Good Luck, Babe!” Roan, “Please Please Please” by Carpenter, “Not Like” by Lamar Us,” “Die With A Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, and “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey.

Shaboozey she can also be a first-time nominee. His “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” is the biggest song of the yr, spending more weeks at primary on the Billboard Hot 100 than some other – it is so popular that a remix of the song can also be up for a remix recording.

Additionally, Shaboozey is nominated in the Melodic Rap Performance category for his feature on Beyoncé’s “SPAGHETTIA.” The song also features Linda Martell, the country’s first black musician to realize business success and likewise earned the 83-year-old artist her first Grammy nomination.

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In the Record of the Year category, “Texas Hold ‘Em” will compete with Swift and Post Malone’s “Fortnight,” Eilish’s “Birds of a Father,” Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” and “Good Luck, Babe!” Roan, Carpenter’s “Espresso.” “, “360” by Charli XCX and the last latest Beatles song, powered by artificial intelligence “Now and Then”.

“We strive to keep up with how music creators and our community use technology. In this case, the AI ​​corrected that record and allowed him to qualify in the categories in which he qualified,” Mason Jr. explains.

So what’s missing? Like last yr, there is a big dearth of Latin music – fastest growing streaming genre in the United States – overall and without representation in major categories. There are only 4 entries in the Best Música Mexicana Album category, although it is usually one in every of them the fastest growing species.

There doesn’t appear to be any K-pop either. There aren’t any nominations for BTS members who released solo material this yr: RM’s “Right Place, Wrong Person” J-Hope’s “Hope on the Street” Vol. 1” and “Muse” by Jimin. As a boy band, BTS has received five nominations in their profession.

“I definitely see room for improvement in many genres and we continue to invite people to be a part of the academy” – Mason Jr. says. “Without proper representation, we will not get the right results. When I say “appropriate”, I mean reflective and representative of what’s going on in music today. So the work continues.”

The 2025 Grammy Awards will air on February 2 survive CBS and Paramount+ from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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