This Week In Music:
The past few weeks in music have offered a ton of newsworthy material. One of the most talked about happenings occurred during the 54th annual Grammy Awards, which saw the controversial awarding of independent artist Macklemore over hip hop favorite Kendrick Lamar in the Best Rap Album category. Kendrick’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, considered a modern day classic by most, lost to Macklemore’s album The Heist (which was a joint project with Ryan Lewis). Although Macklemore’s album contained both hit records and extremely socially-conscious subject matter (including pro-gay messages), many felt that Kendrick Lamar was “robbed”, as GKMC was the standout project from 2012 in the eyes of the hip hop community. Macklemore even went as far as to agree that Kendrick should have won, texting the emcee immediately after the awards show.
The News:
Jay-Z sued as a part of lawsuit against the NBA for the Nets’ trademark
Justin Bieber’s plane detained on the suspicion of marijuana
DMX’s potential boxing bout with George Zimmerman canceled
The Cure announce their 14th studio album
Rick Ross releases tracklist for upcoming album Mastermind
TDE confirms Ab-Soul to be the next 2014 offering
Timbaland alludes to new Jodeci album in the works
Toronto mayor declares Bob Marley Day
Slaughterhouse announce new battle rap reality television show
MURS signs to Tech N9ne’s Strange Music
The Tunes:
Major Lazer – Aerosol Can (ft. Pharrell)
Justin Bieber – Confident (ft. Chance The Rapper) [Video]
St. Vincent – Prince Johnny
Broken Bells – Leave It Alone
Kelis – Jerk Ribs
Future – Move That Dope (ft. Pharrell, Pusha T, & Casino)
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib – Robes (ft. Earl Sweatshirt & Domo Genesis)
Jennifer Lopez – Same Girl [Video]
The Foreign Exchange – Better (ft. Eric Roberson & Shana Tucker) [Video]
Isaiah Rashad – Soliloquy [Video] | Menthol (ft. Jean Deaux)
Ratking – Canal
The Charts:
Hot 100: Katy Perry – “Dark Horse” (ft. Juicy J)
Radio: One Republic – “Counting Stars”
Digital: Katy Perry – “Dark Horse” (ft. Juicy J)
200: Frozen – Original Soundtrack
R&B: Beyoncé – Beyoncé
Rap: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – The Heist
Rock: Lorde – Pure Heroine
Independent: Of Mice & Men – Restoring Force
*Indicates New Entry
The Bonus Tracks:
Noisey goes to Chiraq, and a $5 million violin gets taken
The Listening Magazine 