When it was announced, Nas’ proposed album title seemed like more of a tactic to bait critics like Bill O’Reilly than a sincere attempt to start a conversation. But even in the intro to the Queensbridge MC’s unsurprisingly strong mixtape with Green Lantern, The Nigger Tape — the mixtape arena being one place where Wal-Mart has no say in the title — hearing the word in a hundred different contexts, whether spilling from the lips of white racists or being used as a term of endearment among blacks, still makes me shudder. (The inclusion of the cautiously pro-Obama cut “Black President” goes a long way to soothe the pain.)
At last count, the mixtape had been downloaded over 25,000 times, which, for someone who’s essentially turned himself into a conscious rapper, is a solid number. Whether the album will move a comparable number of digits compared to Hip Hop Is Dead, and whether it’ll escape the record company censor’s black marker, remain to be seen. (From the net.)
TRUTH IN ADVERTISING
Streaming albums that are soon to be released is hardly newsworthy, but Sigur Ros’ með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust appearing on last.fm has compensatory comic potential. The name of the album’s first single? “Gobbledygook.” Strident and defensive, or brilliantly self-aware? There’s only one way we’ll know for sure — if they title their next album Meandering Crap Sung By Elves. (http://tinyurl.com/5cyxjf)
MP3 OF THE WEEK
Santogold, Julian Casablancas and Pharrell, “My Drive Thru”: Admittedly this extended Converse commercial’s repeated guitar lick is somewhat catchy for the first 30 seconds but eventually pummels your brain into submission by the time Santogold sings: “we just wanna dance.” No! It does prove, however, that Julian Casablancas is alive and hasn’t, contrary to our entirely idle speculation, been chained in a basement by Albert Hammond Jr, the key to Casablancas’ cuffs hidden away in his ‘fro. (From the net.)