SXSW is my kind of scene

I've always wanted to go to SXSW for all the crazy good music/film/comedy/technology/crowd. And I've always wanted to see the A$AP crew beat some people down live. Damn did I miss out on a good year. Although A$AP Rocky and his mob might get the short hand of this fight with the law, the guy/girl had it coming to him/her. Mr. Mayers tried to play negotiator between the mob and the irresponsible audience member but one person in the club got a little too tipsy. And then rocked.

REVIEW: The MF Life

Never though I'd do a review of a RnB album, but here I am doing it. And it's not so much of a review as a promotion of the album. The Toronto singer definitely impresses on her sophomore album by running the gamut of sounds from pop (Can't Say I Never Loved You), Beyonce-esque "I can do this" attitude (This Time, Watch Me Work), to that smooth Motown groove (Wrong Side Of A Love Song). Unfortunately she even has that one T-Pain track that only brings "Bartender" to mind. But each time she does it she preserves her own voice of pain and renewal.

There's a lot of raw emotion and desire, primarily for true love, in this album. The piano melody and Fiona's syncopation in singing the chorus for "Gone And Never Coming Back" forces me to recall Ray Charles in all the good ways. All of the guest appearances (J.Cole, Nas, B.o.B., John Legend) are matched up perfectly to their respective sounds. It's uncanny. And with a feel good track like "L.O.V.E." how can you not fall in love with Ms. Fiona? I just wonder how you can do her wrong like the jerks she sings about in this album.

Here's a little blurb of what she had to say about the album title:
“It’s all in the interest of growth. The key thing I want to impress upon anyone who listens to The MF Life is the idea that it’s possible to learn from everything that comes at you. That’s been my process. It’s why on the surface, the ‘MF’ in the album title represents my initials, but it also gets at the many facets of myself as an artist and a young woman. It can be viewed as the ‘Mighty Fine Life’ in times of triumph and success, but also the ‘Mother-F-ing Life’ when I’m dealing with frustration or misfortune. I celebrate both. I feel it would be dishonest if everything was all about glitz and glamour. It’s about the balance of life, the yin and the yang, the good and the bad, all of that.”

It's projects like The MF Life give me hope for the future of Hip Hop and RnB.

What have you done lately?

Not much? Watch this and tell people you're one of the dancers in this piece. Trust me, you'll wish you were. Not a fan of Tron? Watch it anyway.

UPDATE: Ok, on second watch after my girlfriend set me straight, it's kinda sloppy at times and could have been way more complex. But still, a really dope idea.

Mothafuc*in Mr. Muthafuc*in' eXquire

While there have been a bunch of recent artist signings (Top Dawg Entertainment signing with Interscope, Trae the Truth with Grand Hustle, Shakira to Roc Nation), an artist I thought would get signed much later just inked a deal. Mr. Muthafuc*in' eXquire is officially now a Universal Republic artist. Huzzah!

No words

Before I say anything, let it be known that I respect Yelawolf on the mic. Off the mic, I'm lost. Not too long after Mr. Atha was hospitalized, causing him to cancel a show in Detroit, he got a tattoo on the side of his head of Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash (Cash's second wife), and his girlfriend's name (Fefe Dobson). Deep down though, I want him to always shave his head so that the Cash couple eternally have Marlboro Man mustaches.

WHAT'S BEEF: Dream aka Terius Nash vs. Weeknd aka Weekender

At his sold out show at SOB's in NYC (with Jay-Z and Beyonce in attendance), The Dream took a shot at The Weeknd. Or at least, The Weeknd took it that way. Watch the first 30 seconds of the video to judge for yourself. What followed next? A twitter war. Hit the jump for this RnB heat.

You thought you knew Jay-Z

Purple glove + Jay's hat = They're on one

Complex did a dope sit down with Young Guru, the go to man for everything Jay-Z. It covers a lot from the weakness of Kingdom Come to the basis for D.O.A. to what's next for Hova. Really interesting stuff.