Fresh Music [Week 3]

Nothing Ever Hurt Like You - James Morrison
D.O.A (Death Of Autotune) - Jay Z
No Other Love - John Legend Feat. Estelle
Dead Mans Suit - Jon Allen
Battlefield - Jordin Sparks
Make You Say - Lil Rob
Now I'm That Chick - Livvi Franc Feat. Pitbull [New Artist]
Forever - Lionel Richie
I Could Break Your Heart Any Day Of The Week - Mandy Moore
Supernova - Mr Hudson Feat. Kanye West
Mama Do - Pixie Lott [New Artist - Currently Number 1 in UK]
Never Give You Up - Raphael Saadiq
Champion - Ace Hood Feat. Jazmine Sullivan & Rick Ross
Why R U? - Amerie
She Don't Wanna Man - Asher Roth Feat. Keri Hilson
Work - Ciara Feat. Missy Elliott
Fallin For You - Colbie Caillat
Bonkerz - Dizzee Rascall & Arman Van Helden [Was Number 1 in UK]
Keep Your Head Up - Girls Can't Catch
Drops Of Rain - Jon B
Wanted - Jessie James
Paparazzi - Lady Gaga [Just Released in UK]
Generation - Simple Plan
Ok, You're Right - 50 Cent [Brand New from his latest album "Before I Self Destruct]

* Songs In Bold - Hot Tracks

Mariah Scary in "Obsessed"

I became a fan of Mariah Carey in 2005 with the release of, what i consider to be, one of the greatest RnB/Hip-Hop albums of all time - "The Emancipation Of MiMi". Although i was never really a fan of Mariah - I had to admitt that she sounded amazingly fresh on that album, with the mix of club bangers and soulful ballads.
E=MC2, the follow up to TEOM was a huge dissapointed for me, and again i began to question whether TEOM was a pure fluke. I only really enjoyed one song from that album, that happened to be the Swizz Beatz O.O.C [Track 11].
A couple of weeks ago I read that her new album would be titled "Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel", funny as i thought that was - i still had hope for the album - but now that i have heard the lead single "Obsessed" i can tell u that things are not looking good.
Now Mariah is known, if for one main thing, her amazing vocal range - therefore using a vocoder is not such a great idea. She did it with the Track "Migrate" [Track 1] on E=MC2, and it was easily passed as a one off. But this obviously seems to be a new Mariah trend - which kind of puts her on the same level as T-Pain, Lil Wayne and Jaimee Foxx. Speaking of Mr. Foxx - Mariah has obviously had his latest smash "Blame It" on replay - because on "Obsessed" she attempts her own "a-a-a-a-alcohol" - again not too many points for originality.
Now lets talk about the lyrics and instrumental. The instrumental could well have been from E=MC2 because it sounds awfully similar to "Migrate" and a few other tracks from that album [which i really cant be bothered to recall because they all sounded the same]. The music is too edgy and aggressive for Mariah's vocals, and was obviously made for a male vocalist [hense the vocoder she uses]. It is the simplest most predictable beat that Mariah could have gone for - again no marks for originality.
Lyrically the song starts off with "Like... Why Are You So Obsessed With Me.." Need i really say anymore? She definately does push her song writing abilities with a few drug references though !
Fans of Mariah will buy into this nevertheless, because lets face it, it is still Miss Carey. Personally i don't think Beyonce has anything to worry about anymore. Unless the album turns out to be 100 times better than this song - i think Mariah may meet the same fate as a certain Miss Janet Jackson - who i cant even recall the name of her last album.

* [1/10 Stars]

K-Mat

Fresh Songs [Week 2]

Starstrukk - 3oh3
We Don't Care - Akon
Hologram - Backstreet Boys
Radar - Britney Spears
Aint No Rest For The Wicked - Cage The Elephant [New Band]
Evacuate The Dancefloor - Cascada
Good Girls Go Bad - Cobra Starship Ft. Leighton [New Band]
Love Dealer - Esmee Daughnters Ft. Justin Timberlake [New Artist]
Can't Stop Feeling - Franz Ferdinand
American Cowboy - Jada [New Artist]
Maker Her Say - Kid Cudi
Fire Burnin' - Sean Kingston
The Border - Shakira & Wyclef
Thats Not My Name - Ting Tings [Not Entirely New But Just Added To US Radio]
Boardwalk - Sugar Ray

BLOCK = Hot Songs

Simply Amerie

Now as much as i think that many artists are completely overrated [such as my "favorite rapper" 5o cent'], i also think many artists are often overlooked. I am a very big funk and RnB fan, so i listen to many artists that are not very mainstream such as The Soul Searchers , The Chi-lites amongst others. But one artist, who in my opinion, has been greatly overlooked is Amerie.
Amerie came out with her first album "All I Have" in 2002, and it didn't really create much of a buzz, except for a few minor hits from the album including "Why Don't We Fall In Love". Most people have probably heard of Amerie from her huge 2005 hit "1 Thing" which was included in the soundtrack to the film "Hitch". To this day this is still one of my favorite singles of all time. It was packed with an amazing set of funk drums and guitars that could truly get even the most timid of people on the dancefloor- not to mention Ameries amazingly raw vocal strength. The album that followed the single [Touch] was also fairly good, and included a number of great songs. However her third album was a flop and wasn't even released in the USA. Now, i'm glad she has been signed to a record label that has given her a second chance, and truly recognized the strength of her voice, song writing and music style, and she is now on her way to releasing a fourth album titled "In Love & War".
I personally i am extremely excited to hear the album, i have already played the first single "Why R U" on Nile Fm FRESH, and i must say i am not in the least bit dissapointed. The single isnt a club banger, but it is a soulful funk piece that Amerie fans will definately appreciate - and it's good to see she hasnt strayed too far away from her music style in order to please music execs.
So i definately advise that you give Amerie a chance and listen to her music, because she definately stands out of the crowd - and i'm sure she still has a lot of success in store for her.

K-Mat

50 Cent : New Song - Old Tricks !

When 50 cent appeared in the main stream music scene with his monster hit "In Da Club," it seemed that he was a beacon of hope for rap music. He instantly became a household name and had a slew of hits and, of course, sold about 12 million records with his first album. Fair enough - the success carried through to the second album which sold about 10 million. But then it was funny to see the album "Curtis" sell two and a half million worldwide. Now, the point of the blog is not to be overly critical - but to be honest.
On my show Nile Fm FRESH today i had the pleasure of playing out 50's new track exclusively. Now you'd think after the flop of his last album the guy would at least come back with a bit of a bang. His new single "Ok - You're Right" is actually not a bang at all. Infact - it is - in my opinion - one of the worst records i have ever heard. Not a single thing strikes me as earcatching. The production is cheap and cliched, the lyrics are the usual banter about how famous he is and how everyone else is jealous, and the song is just simply annoying [for lack of better words].
Now I personally am not a huge fan of rap music. Simply because of the lyrical content, which all seems to be the same old bag of cliches. But artists who are able to break away from those cliches and actually rap about something different usually have longevity and more success in their careers - such as 50 cent's best friend Eminem [who by the way just sold 800,000 copies in the US alone in 2 weeks].
In conclusion - i guess its just tedious to hear yet another rapper brag about how famous and rich he is and how we are all longing to be in his shoes. Isn't it time for an upgrade?

* [1/10 stars]

K-Mat

The E.N.D for the B.E.P???

The Black Eyed Peas - currently number one for their 9th week on the Billboard hot 100. Who would have thought the hip-pop misfits could pull off such a feat. Well no one really did. I personally became a huge fan of the B.E.P's with the release of their album Elephunk in 2003 [and inevitably the addition of Fergie], and have followed them since - I even had the chance to meet the band in London.
With the release of their 5th album The E.N.D - a radical new sound has been created by the band - but does this sound pay off? Well judging by the title track "Boom Boom Pow", the band definitely have nothing to worry about - however - when one listens to their album, it is definitely one slap in the face that you will either completely love or completely hate. At this point i have to acknowledge the fact that B.E.P have tried something new on this album, and it is always important for a band to update their sound to stay fresh, however on The E.N.D the sound often becomes to radical for a mainstream band such as The B.E.P's. The main blend of music is electronic house and hip-hop fused together to make a daring sound that sticks out like a sore thumb. Think daft punk meets jamiriquai with a bit of David Guetta.
I have not yet fallen in love with this album after a few listens as i did with the last two B.E.P albums [Elephunk & Monkey Business], and although their are some catchy tracks such as the discofied "Out of My Head" and funky "Imma Be", The rest of the tracks are slightly too extreme for fans of the B.E.P and explore a totally ambiguous territory.
The E.N.D will do well thanks to the lead single and perfected production work by the band's frontman Will.I.Am - but whether it is going to become a classic still remains to be seen. Their second single co-produced by David Guetta "I Gotta Feeling" is a strange choice after Boom Boom Pow, and definately won't help the album's marketing. So you will either end up absolutely loving the album or absolutely despising it - because lets face it - its an all new B.E.P you are listening to here. They are - and i hate to say it- "So 3008" on this album and we are all probably "2000 and late".

Welcome

Hey Guys. This is a new blog created for the Nile FM Fresh show [Every weekday from 7-8am with Khaled Matar on 104.2 Nile FM]. On this blog you can find the latest track listings, music reviews and music news. I will keep you updated on the latest music and info that you need to know... so keep it locked !!!

K-Mat