Live n in Living Color...4

Happy Monday to everyone! Yes I know the work week has started back up but only 4 more days left till the wknd. Have no fear though, Coleminers has got you covered on new updates and content to help this week go by a little quicker. In today's post, I have collected some of the latest videos to drop this past week or so and added my little review. Hope you all enjoy...

Chris Brown "Sweet Love" x "Till I die"

It is clear that Chris Brown is a hardworking star in the music industry. In fear that he will be asked the "water cooler through a window" questions, he has taken a hiatus from doing interviews and red carpet premieres to just working in the studio and putting out music and videos for the fans to enjoy. With his two latest videos "Sweet Love" and "Till I die" dt Big Sean and Wiz Khalifa off his Fortune album dropping later this summer, he shows two different sides to his eclectic personality. In the "Sweet Love" video, Brown goes for the softer, more generic appeal of R&B complete with rain and pseudo crying confessions of love. On the other hand in the "Till I die" video, he takes some notes from Cheech& Chong with a more modern hip-hop spin. The video is fun and filled with plenty of silly things, so nothing really to judge or review. I must give kudos though because Brown is one of the few artists that can still sell and win awards with very little publicity.

Wiz "Grinder"

With some new material and a return to the "old" Wiz with his last mixtape, Philly rapper Wiz khalifa released a new visual for his single "Grinder". At this point it is pretty clear that Wiz likes his home grown herb, so much so that he titled his latest single off of the item used to break the mary jane up into smaller parts (for those who didnt know). However I doubt that the video would be very interesting if thats all there was to see, so to keep the weedheads and nonweedheads entertained he took us on a little journey, or a night out. With fellow rapper Juicy J following in the background and a wide shot camera to take the viewer on a high night out.

cataracs x waka x kaskade "all you"

Blend lizard babes, a shoot out, LSD breast milk, water guns, and Waka Flocka riding a segway all set in a middle-of-nowhere old western bar and you have a sense of the hilarious randomness that takes place in the Cataracs visual for their single "All You" ft Kaskade and Waka Flocka. The rap/producer duo did something a little different and take a "Wrong turn" approach to this club friendly hit by playing two hitchikers stranded at a western themed bar somewhere off of some desert road. With all the imagery, I think director Mickey Finnegan was playing off the unusual and randomness of a duo white rapper group and the Waka Flocka feature. The video is funny in its randomness and I can appreciate the creativy of the two, plus the song is kinda dope. Oh and did I mention all takes place off a psychodelic trip from a shot of hallucinogenic breast milk?

No church in the wild-The Throne ft Frank Ocean

Long awaited and highly anticipated vid for Watch the Throne's "No Church in the Wild" was finally released this past week. I have been a fan of this song for awhile and lately it seems like you cant watch a movie trailer without hearing the 88-keys and Kanye West beat. This song should have been one of the first singles off the LP and the visual is nothing less than epic. Complete with a full scale riot in some foreign country and topped off with a random elephant (i guess to symbolize the wild or something), this video compacts all the intensity and rawness of the song but leaves out a cameo from Kanye West, Frank Ocean, and Jay-Z. I don't know if director Romain Gavris thought that it would be more powerful to not include the artists lip synching or appearing in the video but, regardles, it is a good watch.

Will.I.am ft Eva Simons "This is Love"

Previous reviews for Will.I.am havent been the best on this blog but I cant hate on dude because he is a great producer and talented artist. His latest solo efforts have not been greatly received, but that doesnt stop him from putting out new material. His latest video for his single "This is Love" ft Eva Simons has the makings of a dance-pop hit and the video is nothing too extraordinary. Director Rich Lee uses multiple Korean imagery and plenty of costume changes as he takes through the seasons. Simons offers the "weird" and oddly attractive element with her good looks and never moving, signature mohawk and Will.I.Am does his best sensitive guy role that comes across as a futuristic R&B singer with an old school piano. Complete with the generic "party crowd" that seems to come with every dance video like a prop for a movie and great shots of the London Bridge, Lee has all the elements for making an appealing visual.

Coldplay "Princess of China"

Sometimes when a single fails to hit the charts but has the potential to be a huge single, a dope video is made for it to help stir the buzz and get the masses to becoming addicted. It seems that the industry has done this tactic ever since they realized that with both visual and audio stimulation, the public can make a subpar song a hit, ie Rihanna's "Where Have You Been" song and video. Riding off the coattails of Rihanna's latest singles succes at number one on the billboard charts is Coldplay's latest visual for the single "Princess of China" ft Rihanna. The Adria Petty and Allen Bibby directed video takes some inspiration from one of my favorite movies, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and has the songstress and the lead singer Chris Martin doing their best ninja in feudal China inpersonations. With a little sword fighting and ancient Chinese dancing, this wuxia-inspired video is more on the CGI heavy interpretation of a song about a bad relationship and includes some special effects that we have seen before. It is a good effort but not one of their best videos.

Kid Ink "lost in the sauce"

LA rapper Kid iNK prepares for his debut LP Up and Away, dropping June 12th, by releasing his new video for the single "Lost in the Sauce". Doing his best to keep the kids off drugs and promote D.A.R.E., Brian Collins aka Kid iNK every scene with at least a different substance in hand. From alcohol to weed to vape, the video is basically him getting high and riding around town...by himself. The black and white vid looks pretty low budget and is basic, but I'm sure the fans will still love it. If this is going to be the future of Hip-Hop, consider me strictly an R&B and throwback junkie.

"Invincible" MGK

Bad Boy artist and party-rap rocker Machine Gun Kelly released a video for his new radio-friendly single "Invincible" ft Ester Dean. With everything that a self-motivating and "struggling through hard times" biographical track has to offer this video follows the same formula. There is the multiple shots of people down on their luck, Dean (looking exceptionally good) walking through some hall in an abandoned building, the MGK solo passionate-rapping scenes, and the MGK with his band "rockin-out". Judgement aside, the song is a solid track and this is one of the first non-dance songs that I have heard from Dean. The video is a little cliched but director Isaac Rentz's imagery tells the story well.

"Ride like that" Travis Porter

The Alex Nazri directed video for Travis Porter's "Ride Like that" is the 4th single of their debut album Day 1. Model chicks, hanging light fixtures, designer shoes, and Jeremih's swacking of Diddy's style best describe this video. It is pretty basic with a different scenes of the fellas in different settings with three different girls. Other than the usual imagery and the models, there is nothing else that really stands out. Their debut album is in stores now.

Whatever Wednesday: Mixtape/album review

With the coming of Spring, new mixtape releases are dropping like bird poo on top of your freshly washed hooptie. So today I wanna take sometime out and give a slight review of the latest and greatest mixtapes I have come across on the blogs and sites.

Model/singer/actress Teyana Taylor has been making steady noise over the years from features on Kanye's new album to starring in Tyler Perry's "Madea's Big Happy Family". After dropping a couple singles that received underground success but failed to hit mainstream, she recently parted ways with label Star Trak/Interscope. Now riding solo dolo, she is drawing inspiration from Lauryn Hill's classic debut album with her new EP "MisUnderstanding of Teyana Taylor".

Trying to make a statement with this mixtape, the 21 yr old Harlem native recruits the production talents of JukeBox, Tone P, Mustard, Hitboy, Charlie Boy, King, and Christian Rich. This project also features verses by Fabolous and Jadakiss ("DUI"), Travis Porter ("Choosin") , Honey Cocaine ("Bad Boy"), and Wale delivering a dope 16 scene setting opening on "Make Your Move". This tape also includes the one of several remixes to "Marvin's Room" titled "Her Room" that was released late summer of last year. 15 tracks, top producers, and features from some of rap's best emcees help dress up this newly independent artist's well put together project. Both a mix of singing and rapping over 15 tracks, Taylor shows fans that she has found her lane in the music scene while showing that you dont need a major label backing to drop some heat. Lyrically I feel that Taylor still has some growing to do and that is what holds this EP from being a certified classic, but it is her first and is a lot better than others I've heard this year. 

"Make Your Move" ft Wale

"Choosin"

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One of the beautiful things about mixtapes are the versatility and limitless creativity that many artists get to express without money hungry industry moguls/loan sharks telling them what they can and cant do. In times where the music industries is the free market of internet use, creative expression and innovation is becoming harder to discover. When that new artist is found and signed, many fall into the trap of putting out work before they are lyrically mature or ready to display longevity. Lucky for music lovers everywhere, Chris Cab's "Echo Boom" is a breath of fresh air for the hip-hop/ reggae world.

Different from Cab's previous covers on "Black and Yellow" and "All of the Lights", from the start of the beginning of the tape( "Echo Boom" ft Pharrell) he establishes that this is going to be all his original and new sound. Cab continues to deliver audio crack with the following tracks. From trying his hand at some dance with "Put in Work" to drawing some influence from his Carribean roots in "Rihanna's Gun" ft. Mavado and Wyclef and "Turn You On" ft Melanie Fiona and Shaggy, Cab's flow and charisma with the beat  that show off his talent on a well produced track. He even tries his hand at some pop flavor with the track "Cross Your Fingers" and succeeds in not coming across corny or generic. Not giving too much at once, he slows it down with the following hip-hop love ballad "Angels and Demons" and gets on a more serious but uplifting message with  "What Can't We Do Here(Here We Go Again)" and "Going Home". With only 12 tracks, Cab gives the listener enough to establish his individual voice but leaves you still wanting to listen more. At such a young age, that idea of "leaving them wanting more" is something that many artists have yet to master when releasing a mixtape.

With "Echo Boom", Cab experiments with many sounds from pop to hip-hop while still keeping the laid-back chill vibe that you would find in a Corona ad of chilling on the beach. At only the age of 19, it is no suprise that he has already toured nationwide with T-Pain and Gym Class Heroes and is backed by Pharrell. Although many of the tracks are very simple, they still have a certain addicting vibe and quality that is just peaceful to listen to. This mixtape is definitely something to have on your playlist whether you're kicking and partaking in the herbal remedies or just lounging around the house. I just hope that this is not the best or last we here from this up and coming star.

"Echo Boom"

"put in work"

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“You can clean to this, cook to this, you can iron to this"-Wiz Khalifa

From dropping some fire mixtapes but less than decent album to wifin'/savin' industry hoes. Khalifa has made a name for himself in the hip-hop community and continues to keep his music on your playlist with his new mixtape "Taylor Allerdice". Just released yesterday, Wiz drew inspiration from his high school days with the title and shut down interner servers on both Hot New Hip Hop and DatPiff with over 200,000 hits. So to say that Wiz has fell off would be an exaggeration considering his fan base is still heavy and every growing. After listening to this mixtape, I understand why Wiz's riders love it and not just because it is free.

After openingly admitting over his Tumblr that Rolling Papers was a load of hot garbage (summarizing/parapharasing), Wiz stays true to the flow that is what made "Kush and OJ" worth the download and listen and the production that makes dope music. With production from Cardo, Dumont, Lex Luger, Sparky Banks, and Big Germ, "Taylor Allerdice" is a solid tape that comes across as Wiz returning to the music his fans from earlier days would enjoy. Bringing in members of Taylor Gang like Chevy Wood and his fiance Amber Rose, this tape is a interesting mix between the mainstream "pop" sound and underground. Although the subject matter is basically still the same (weed, girls, money, and more weed) and his lyrical skill isn't some of his best work, it is still better than most of the verses on Rolling Papers and is a step towards the right direction for this Philly emcee. I was pleasantly suprised by this tape and give my kudos to Wiz for putting out some good work. The talking at the end of tracks and some of the singing can be left out of his next drop though.

"the code"

"California"

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Still Better than "My Jam"

Trendsetter, Wiz's new girl and Kanye's old bad habit, model, and now singer Amber Rose has finally released and long anticipated track appropiately titled "Fame." No one should be surprised that she is putting out music, with all the artists that have gotten the chance to get to know her, it was only a matter of time before the bald beauty opened up her vocals and spit some tunes for your ears. This track is everything I thought it would be; very produced, autotuned, and synthesized but with a pop feel. I cant really hate on the girl for her extracurricular activites and personal life because, like many girls before her, she is just after fame and fortune and it's clear she doesnt really care what people have to say. Musically, Im not really feeling it at all. Maybe she should just stick to acting and modeling. I was a big fan of those leaked pics. Sad thing about this song is that even though it's kinda whack, it's still better than Kim K's "My Jam." 

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