Rihanna - Diamonds (Remix) Feat Kanye West (Audio)

Perfect Timing.  Perfect song.  Perfect time to start blogging again.  I can always tell when its November (Scorpio Season and My birthday) by my luck seeming to fall my way, like that one time bumping into Usher's Uncle for Tickets to the concert, but I digress.

I think Kanye West and Rihanna must have seen my TRILLION tweets Begging for this remix.  Or maybe not because I did ask for Jay as well.  I thought the THREE of them together ran the town? Oh well.  Beggers can't be choosers.

Big Sean, Pusha T, 2 Chainz and Kanye West - Mercy (Official Video)

Most rappers taste level ain't at my waist level...

No Church In The Wild - Video Review?

Since being released earlier this week, the video for "No Church In The Wild" has caused major uproar, mainly because it doesn't feature Jay Z or Kanye West anywhere during the five minute plus timeframe.

Instead, it seems to represent an underlying theme that is becoming more and more prevalent in the music they've made together recently:

                          question religion, humanity, and everything surrounding it.

Directed by Romain Gavras, this video is extremely political and controversial, and quite frankly I could probably write a 20 page essay examining the theories/ opinions surrounding this detailed piece of art, but I'll keep it simple and summarize the main points that come to mind.

The video opens with a man holding a Molotov cocktail in his hand, it's apparent there's many supporters willing to fight this war with him.

 He then launches the flaming bottle at a barricade of police, and a riot ensues.

Jay Z's verse has the eerie lines:

"lies on the lips of a priest/ Thanksgiving disguised as a feast..."

Then he goes on to ask:

 "Is Pious pious cause God loves pious? 

Which seems to reiterate the ongoing "myth" that Jay Z doesn't believe in man made religions, some go as far to say he's involved with the Illuminati.

 Interestingly enough he compares himself to a God at the end of the verse:

"Jesus was a carpenter, Yeezy he laid beats/ Hova flow the Holy Ghost, get the hell up out your seats, PREACH" 

During the mayhem, clips are constantly shown of Greek God Statues, and as the riot in the video displays more violence, the statues are shown covering their eyes, almost as if to say "not even Gods can support this madness anymore."

On the back of one of the helmets belonging to a riot team member, is P94, which ironically enough can be quickly translated to Precinct 94 in Brooklyn, NY, fairly close to where Jay Z grew up and also well known for having the Pope visit in the mid 70s.

Following his visit, a street next to the precinct was named after him.

In the video, the rioters are fighting against the "enforcers" who are wearing P94 helmets quite often.

Why the number, there's got to be some significance behind it right?

Is this another "not so hidden" symbol blatantly denouncing government/ religion as a whole?
 
Kanye's lyrics go further into detail concerning the possible formation of "a new religion," and the destruction of religions as our society understands them.

"We formed a new religion, no sins as long as there's permission/ and deception is the only felony." 

The new religion seems to be centered on subjective reality, the idea that everything is ego driven, or in other words, each person should embrace his/ her beliefs and that's all that really matters. (research Thomas Nagel if you want further detail)

What do you think this video represents? Am I reading too far into the lines? Does Jay Z really think he's God or a God? Has he completely lost faith in our society and government regulations?

Or is he simply leaving a bunch of "clues" out there for fans like myself to purposely discover?

Being the keen business man Jigga's shown to be, knowing that drama sells, and will continue to in the foreseeable future?

I'll stop selling dreams now and let everybody formulate their own opinion........ enjoy the video.

That's That ISH I Don't Like...

I had a whole novel I was going to write but instead I will keep it simple.  Anyone giving false hope or Selling Dreams, that's that ish I don't Like.

Keep it real, keep it honest, keep it moving.

If you ever wanna call someone out for something you don't like, reference this post as your meme! :)  

Have a happy Friday!

OTIS Video - Jay Z and Kanye West

Who destroys a brand new $375,000 Maybach?

Well apparently Jay Z and Kanye West do..........for fun.

The superstar duo recently released their video for the hit single "OTIS" off their long awaited "Watch The Throne" album. The album shattered previous I Tunes records (the album was only released digitally) last week and easily debuted at #1 on the Billboard chart with an estimated $436,000 copies sold in it's first week.

In the video, Jay and 'Ye take blowtorches and chainsaws to the expensive whip, literally "blowin' the roof off."

They then hop in the converted Maybach for a joyride with some sexy models around an empty parking lot with an American flag waving in the background.

It's easy to see that these two rap icons are truly living the American dream.

The whole world seems to be dealing with negativity if you turn on your local news stations, so it's nice to see that somebody out there is still having fun with this life.

Video link is below.... what do you think about the album itself StopSellingDreams readers? Worth the wait or overrated? Let's debate!!!!!!

Take A Second for Good Music...

Fundamentals. Core. Bottom. Origin. Beginning. Roots. Roots, what are roots? By simple definition, www.Dictionary.com defines Roots as a person's sense of belonging in a community, place, etc, esp the one in which he was born or brought up.

It always amazes me to see the commonalities as well as differences among people raised in different parts of the country. Right when you think someone is very different, you find they have many similarities to you. Of course the differences will lurk but many times the similarities will bring you closer.

Music has that same type of connection to people that people have with each other. People from different areas tend to like different types of music but when the music is Good, this is when it becomes truly universal. Just like characteristics and traits of the human spirit, music takes on a persona that clashes with some but meshes perfectly with others.

My background is the Midwest, Joliet, Illinois to be exact, a city 30 minutes south of Chicago. Even within our small community we have differences from Chicagoans but tend to have more similarities. And the music is still universal.

My whole purpose for this article is to illustrate how great music touches everyone regardless of where a person is from. Its no secret, I have deep-rooted Chicago music roots proudly stemming from the midwest and with artists like Chaka Khan, Carl Thomas, R. Kelly, Common, Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco and Twista to name a few, its safe to say I have been brought up on a strong Chicago Home based foundation.

Most times a song plays for its origins in its own region first and then typically spreads around to other regions of the country. That's usually why you hear an artist from your hometown bumping the song for months or YEARS and then it hits the radio and the rest of the world embraces the song that you've already been loving/hearing for the last 2 years.

For me, growing up in the Chicagoland area, we used to listen and love all kinds of Chi-Town artists for years to the point they could do no wrong before they hit the masses. I'm sure other regions experienced this as well.

To my surprise, many people all over the world share my love for Chicago based music as if they were born in Illinois too. Some may proclaim they love it even more (I doubt it but welcome the love either way).

I actually was curious as to what my favorite artists resumes contained and found that my favorite Chicago Based Producers have been very successful and their sound has traveled throughout the country expanding into all types of genres of music.

Like I said, Good Music Is universal.

Check out my 3 Favorite Chicago Producers production discographys. Once you read the production credits you'll say the same thing I said...

...DAMNNN, he made that!?? Yup!

R. Kelly

Kanye West

No I.D.

Old School, New School You Need To Learn Though...

Being a photojournalist and lover of ART, I am always compelled to partake in the latest and greatest of the beloved subculture of Art which we know as "music".

Whether it be alternative, rock, pop, hip-hop, R&B or even spoken word, it always moves me to see new found talent find its way in a pool amongst a host of giants, superstars and Mega-Talented artists.

Since there is nothing new under the sun, it's interesting and spectacular how truly creative, gifted artists can still find a way to make their material new and fresh for the times.

When I think back to my pops, and my grandfather, I think about how each of our respective generations view the other generations music and to a certain extent we are at ends but we still appreciate certain aspects of it.

After seeing my generation become the "older heads" now, its interesting to see how my perspective has gone from the young, hipster to becoming "the Old man" telling the new young kids to turn that racket off.

As I become the old head I do however have to wonder what's wrong with this new generation? When did it stop being COOL to be a veteran? It seems like that is all you hear now a days from youngsters wet behind the ears disregarding those that paved the way.

I would never discredit any person that came before me, but now it seems the "new school" gets a kick out of dissing anyone older than them. How can you diss"respect" someone that paved the way for you? Its okay to be competitive and think you are the best, but where does any new school person have the right to disrespect someone older.

For example, I am a photographer, a pretty damn good one at that, but why in the world would I disrespect world reknown, sensational photographers such as Annie Leibovitz or Gordon Parks to make a name for myself?

In the past, I recall Lil Wayne saying some remarks about Jay-Z and I wondered, "um, the audacity?" Now you have Lil B The Based God & Tyler the Creator, (who??? yeah I know) apparently taking shots a Kanye West?

Seriously, this new school mentality is insanity to me. Nasir Jones would never diss Rakim, Jay-Z would not take shots at Big Daddy Kane, and 2Pac nor BIG sure would come at Ice-T or Run DMC sideways just to make a name for themselves.

The respect has been earned by these legends and pioneers of the game and should definitely be given that due respect. This respect should be given especially since these artists successfully performed in an era completely different from today's Internet based industry driven by greed more say than passion and the love of the art.

To be clear, I'm not knocking any new school artist grinding and doing their thing, but let's be honest, these new cats have a long way to go before they can box with the throne. To these new guys trying to make a name for them selves, the solution is simple. Stop talking down on pioneers that did it better and longer than you, just make great music for the next 20 years and then after that, make your comments accordingly.

Kanye West x Jay-Z - H.A.M. (New Music)

Its finally here. H.A.M., the first single from the Jay-Z & Kanye West Collaboration album Watch The Throne has arrived for the people to...______.

Exactly. With an album collaboration of this magnitude, everyone has something to say, negative, positive and everything in between. I could go on and on about this and that, but I will let the music speak for itself.

Kanye West x Jay-Z - H.A.M.

Kanye West - Eyes Closed (Unreleased w/ Tags)

I have been listening to Kanye West's Eyes Closed and Alicia Keys Speechless (Devil In A New Dress Cover) all day. It just seems music is one of the only things that inspires me to grind.

Eyes Closed was a track left off Of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy which is understandable but I still like this song. Supposedly it was given to Snoop Dogg for his upcoming project (It remains to be seen where it will end up).

Anyway, check out this new music from Yeezy. #Yeezytaughtme how to continue to find inspiration and grind it out to achieve your goals. When I see Yeezy I'm going to thank him!

S/O to www.Radioplanet.tv for the link.

Kanye West - Eyes Closed (Unreleased w/ Tags)

Kanye West - Blame Game (Full Version)

Good morning Music Heads! #ScorpioSeason always brings me good fortune and cheer! So of course I have no choice but to share my birthday month celebration with you all.

Being in the entertainment industry, I am usually privileged and honored to get jewels before they officially drop and today was no different. I woke up and to my surprise the entire song for Blame Game has hit the streets.

I will say Kanye West has set a new standard for how your work ethic should be if you call yourself an artist. Too many times people get involved with something because of the commodity aspect of it. When that happens, the passion is lost and the over all product loses value because of the lack of heart and effort put in.

But Kanye with his non-stop motivation and hard working dedication towards honing and mastering his craft, "yeezy taught me" this is the only way to become great, regardless of the monetary gain that potentially can be involved.

By yeezy continuously dropping free music on G.O.O.D. Fridays, it shows his passion towards his art and I am compelled to buy his new album just because I want to support good work ethic as well as to pay homage to the actual heart and soul of a true artistic spirit giving everything to achieve a goal.

Or maybe it could just be because I like the music and want to give myself something G.O.O.D. for my birthday? Hmmmm...

Kanye West - Love Hate (Mixtape)

For all of those people (cough...me...cough) waiting for birthday gifts on November 18th, I have a solution...come to my party hosted by Shock G, then hang with me at the Chargers/Broncos football game and of course buy me a copy of Kanye's new CD. (What a busy birthday week I will have...).

Since its only November 8th, I have to wait 10 days for the debauchery to commence.

If you haven't figured out by now, yes this post is intended for me! I basically can't wait for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy to drop so I searched the web for any type of snippets, unfinished, non mastered songs and to my surprise found this mixtape entitled Love Hate with some of the featured songs, snippets and full tracks from the Runaway Video.

What's cool is I KNOW with all the leaked songs out, Kanye will freak the tracks so the album versions will be completely different from the leaked versions we've already been hearing.

Anyway...

This should give me...you a fix until the album drops November 22nd.

Kanye West - Love Hate (mixtape)

*mixtape credit The Music Spot (www.kylekorpi.com)

Kanye West - Blame Game ft John Legend (Snippet)

I'm sure if you're a music head like me, you were scrambling through the net trying to find out what the other songs were featured in Kanye West's 35 minute Runaway video besides the obvious titled songs such as All Of The Lights featuring Rihanna and Dark Fantasy, the song that the mini-film begins with.

Look no further, Blame Game featuring John Legend is the song played after the Phoenix started crying from seeing the cooked turkey at dinner.

Anyway, here is the snippet for now.

Kanye West - Blame Game ft John Legend (Snippet)

*for music lovers, here is the original song sampled from Richard D James entitled Avril 14th.

Kanye West - Runaway (Official Video)

This weekend, Kanye West just released his latest visual work of art via MTV and BET as well as simultaneously streaming live on the web.

The video begins with a flame from the sky falling to the ground. The falling shooting star turns out to be a Phoenix bird in which Kanye rescues from the ashes.

This video is very artistic and holds a lot of subliminal messages with Kanye eventually falling in love with the Phoenix and after being told the Phoenix was a bird he replied that he didnt notice.

What I like about the video is yeezy features a lot of the My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album tracks including a revamped All of the Lights featuring Rihanna as well as an unrecognized song with Kid Cudi on the hook.

Even though the video is specifically for the song Runaway featuring Pusha T, it is 35 minutes long which gives additional visuals for more than just Runaway enabling us to get a better understanding of the music.

Anyway, check out the official 35 minute mini-film and leave your thoughts...

Kanye West - Runaway (Official 35 Minute Video)

video credit: www.2dopeboyz.com

G.O.O.D. Music Cypher

If you have not witnessed the reemergence of Kanye West's miraculous comeback after his disastrous almost career-ending Taylor Swift altercation/debauchery that happened a year ago, the rock you have been under must have its own kitchen and bathroom because you were obviously pretty comfortable down there.

This past year Kanye West took some time off, staying out of the spotlight to get his life together as well as working on honing his craft, taking his new material/music to new heights. This pause in the spectrum may have been the best thing for him as well as the music world.

Since his return, Kanye has done nothing but drop G.O.O.D. music that in a sense has returned him to the beginning, which is the type of music the people have yearned to hear from him since day one.

Seeing Kanye's work ethic as of late has made it almost impossible for me to want to slack off just even a little bit. It seems Mr. West took some advice from the college dropout album teacher and woke up only to be refreshed with a new look on life and a brilliant new career.

The fact that Kanye didn't give up after having a melt down from his mother passing away, losing his girlfriend and whatever other person battles he had to overcome showed the preservance and humility within his spirit. Honestly, by him taking a break to do some soul searching is very commendable.

Not to mention, watching Kanye screw up royally, then come back to the spotlight not only better but stronger, I think its safe to say that if anyone makes a mistake, which all people do, the only way to rectify the situation is apologize, don't dwell and get back to the roots of whatever it is that makes your gift, to be perfectly clear, great.

Many times we go through things in our life that will push us close to the edge almost destroying us, but the human spirit, ever so resilient, always fights to make things right.

The truth is most people may not have been able to handle that amount of overwhelming pressure and this is the very difference between those that are stars and those that never quite make it. The stars continue to shine even when everyone else says the light is out.

Personally, I always feel like every piece of hard work you put into your talent is worth something awesome. The minute you decide to give up, is the very moment some schmuck will pick up your left-over pieces, only to take "your" spot and shine exactly the way you were meant to.

I just have a never give up attitude because I don't want anyone taking the place that I worked hard for. I don't know that's just me though.

Anyway, Kanye and his record Label G.O.O.D. Music crew including Common and Pusha T, formerly of the Clipse, performed the last of 4 cyphers at the 2010 BET Hip Hop Awards. From this heart felt performance, I think its safe to say that Mr. West is still MAJOR.

2010 BET Hip Hop Awards G.O.O.D. Music Cypher

*source: www.theboombox.com

Lloyd Banks - Start It Up

It seems as if Lloyd Banks is on a roll dropping another potential heat seeker to keep you warm in the up coming winter months. Banks has teamed up with Swizz Beatz, Fabolous, Ryan Leslie and Kanye West to hit the people with the motivational anthem Start It Up. This is my I'm Focused song for the day.

Sometimes you just need that small extra push to get you motivated to accomplish your goals and with its pulsating yet driving beat, Start It Up is definitely the right song for the job.

A lot of times when people don't believe in you, it can be very discouraging but on the other hand, it can be fuel to energize you by proving those that doubt you oh so wrong.

In the words of Swizz Beatz on this song, You got A Problem...vroom vroom Start It Up!

Start It Up is another possible song from Lloyd Banks The Hunger For More 2 album dropping soon.

Anyway, check out this motivational music that can be the inspiration you need to get your day started while putting the haters in their place.

Lloyd Banks - Start It Up (feat Kanye West, Swizz Beatz, Fabolous, & Ryan Leslie)

*source: http://www.chicagonow.com/

Chris Brown - Deuces Remix

Chris Brown has reached out to some true A-Listers for sure on his remix for Deuces. Hearing any new music from anyone of these particular artists is always a treat but to have Drake, Kanye West, T.I., Fabolous and Andre 3000 on the same track is like having Christmas time come 5 times a year. One for each verse/gem.

The truth is this song is so well put together and every artist holds his own weight but as always both Kanye West and Andre 3000 verses stand out respectively.

Enough about what I think, I'll let you decide who has the best verse, but in reality, I don't even really want to compare, I do however want to appreciate the fact these guys on the same track is rare and precious like a diamond.

I realize I am late on posting this, but better late than never right?

Anyway, check out the Chris Brown - Deuces Remix here...

*source: www.theboombox.com

These Kenny West Flows...

For the new fall television season, Kanye West has landed a reoccurring role on FOX's The Cleveland Show in which this past Sunday's episode had Kanye's character Kenny West performing and giving props to the main character Cleveland.

I actually like this beat, and I wonder if Kenny will rap more on the show?

Anyway, thanks to www.worldstarhiphop.com for providing the video.

Check it out here.

Jay Z and Eminem- Home and Home Tour 2010 - Yankee Stadium

September 14, 2010 is a day that I will forever remember. I took the 2am Fung Wah Bus from Boston to NYC and arrived at 5:50 am in Manhattan, got off the bus and took the subway straight to Brooklyn to meet up with my high school buddy who now lives 3 blocks from where The Notorious BIG grew up.

After breakfast and a trip to Times Square, we headed back to his pad to get ready for the concert of a lifetime, the show that some hip hop heads have already deemed “our generation’s Woodstock,” it was the conclusion of Jay Z and Eminem’s Home and Home Tour at the new Yankee Stadium.

Walking up to the stadium, I could already sense the excitement amongst fans as they ushered into the venue. Two of hip hop’s most accomplished artists were about to ignite the stage, both of them Grammy award winners and Billboard Kings, not to mention the rumor that both had a few tricks up their sleeves, mainly superstar guest appearances.

The stage was massive and the stadium was sold out for the evening, scalpers were offering up to $300 for upper deck tickets right before show time.

Once the crowd settled in, Eminem’s set began with a recap of the past few years of his life in words across the Yankee Stadium screens. Recently he’s overcome a tumultuous battle with drug addiction and had a hard time coping with the murder of his best friend Proof.

His demons eventually led him to the brink of suicide and right as he hit rock bottom, he bounced back up with last year’s release “Relapse,” which was received with much commercial success but garnered harsh critical ridicule amongst both fans and music critics.

Oddly enough in “Talkin’ to Myself,” a track off of Eminem’s groundbreaking smash hit of the year, “Recovery,” he touches on the subject directly:

“Them last two albums didn’t count /Encore I was on drugs/ Relapse I was flushing them out/ I’ve come to make it up to you/ Now no more f&^king around/ I’ve got something to prove to fans cuz it feels like I let em’ down/ So please accept my apology/ I finally feel like I’m back to normal/ I feel like me again……”

Indeed, Eminem did make it up to fans this year with “Recovery,” and after his short story was told on the screens, he stormed the stage for the first song of the night “Won’t Back Down,” with his traditional hoodie nearly covering his eyes as he hit every lyric on point and looked as agile as he has in years during a live performance, bouncing back and forth across the stage.

After a few tracks off “Recovery,” including “No Love” featuring currently incarcerated rap star Lil Wayne, which prompted the sold out crowd to chant “Free Weezy,” Em brought up and coming artist B.O.B on stage to perform their hit single of the summer “Airplanes Pt. 2.”

Following the first guest appearance, Slim returned to the stage and did a few more classics including the chilling “Stan,”” the award winning song that really branched his music far beyond hip hop as he performed it with Elton John live at the Grammy Awards.

Suddenly a huge roar could be heard from the Yankee Stadium crowd as Queens’ native 50 Cent took the stage. 50 received a very warm reception as he performed “Patiently Waiting” with Eminem, his most memorable hit “In Da Club,” and later had the lights cut out in the stadium and was joined by Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks of G- Unit as they donned glow in the dark outfits and performed “I Get Money,” arguably the most notable performance of the night so far.

That was until Dr. Dre made his way onto the stage and I thought a bomb had gone off in the stadium the crowed roared so damn loud upon his introduction.

Dre came out to perform “Still D.R.E” and then went into “Nothin’ But A G Thang,” with Eminem filling in admirably for Snoop Dogg’s verses.

Following Dre’s exit, Eminem went into current hits off “Recovery,” including a captivating performance of “Love The Way You Lie” (minus Rihanna) before going into old school hits “The Real Slim Shady” and “Without Me,” which about 80% of the crowd tried to rap back to him, bar for bar.

The lights dimmed and Eminem took a few emotional minutes to personally thank his fans for continuing to support him during the past few years of his life changing experiences.

He admitted that he was wrong in so many ways and never wanted to find himself in such a rough place again before the chorus for “Not Afraid” began echoing in and his best performance of the night began.

The whole stadium was rapping along with him as he confessed his sins in the hit song and reminded them that:

“It was my decision to get clean/I did it for me/Admittedly, I probably did it subliminally for you/So I could come back a brand new me/You helped see me through/and don’t even realize what you did/ Believe me you/I been through the ringer/But there’s little they can do to the middle finger/ I got a tear in my eye/I feel like the King of …my world/Haters can make like bees with no stingers and drop dead.”

“Not Afraid” live at Yankee Stadium sent chills down my spine, Em delivered every verse flawlessly and the live band backing him had him dancing across the stage after his final verse, for the first time during a live performance in years, Marshall Mathers looked like he was at peace. Eminem thanked the fans one more time and exited the stage.

However, the crowd wasn’t going to let him get off that easy.

Chants of “Slim,” “Em,” “Marshall,” and of course “E-MI-NEM,” ripped through the sold out crowd, the lights came back on and the superstar delivered his Oscar Winning song from the film “8 Mile” “Lose Yourself.” The fans went wild and I even jumped out of my seat to give him a round of applause.

A short firework show followed his exit, the lights went dim, and on a chilly night in the Bronx thousands began anticipating the entrance of the King of New York.

A strobe light shot down onto the stage as Jay Z rose from below gripping the mic and the thousands of fans in attendance began chanting “HOVA” at the top of their lungs as Brooklyn’s beloved emcee began his opening number, The Intro track from his “The Dynasty: Roc La Familia” album.

After the freestyle, he began a current one in which he rapped:

“Break a record in this b&^ch, HOV/ Hit them with that BALCO.”

Undoubtedly, Jay Z and Eminem were already breaking records with the tour, all four shows had sold out shortly after they went on sale months ago, the previous night’s show was the first ever concert at the new Yankee Stadium, and tonight was the grand finale, which in hip hop slang “would put up MJ Numbers.”

Jay Z knew what was at stake and what he was about to deliver was the most epic performance I’ve ever witnessed live.

After the opening tracks, Jay went into “Run This Town,” flashing strobe lights were everywhere, cameras snapped pictures, and Jay had the crowd do their best impersonation of Rihanna on the chorus before Kanye West ran onto the stage decked out in a bright red suit with gold chains and viciously delivered his closing verse to the hit single off of Jay’s “Blueprint 3” album. Kanye and Jay did a mini-set together as they performed their new hits “Monster,” and the remix to Kanye’s single “Power.”

After the duo mesmerized the fans in attendance, Jay took time for an interlude and spoke about meeting a legend the day before. Apparently, Jay ran across hip hop pioneer Kool Herc the day before and invited Herc to join him at Yankee Stadium for tonight’s concert.

Hova had the crowd give Herc a standing ovation and thanked the hip hop legend for his impact:

“We wouldn’t be here without you.”

After the acknowledgment of Herc’s presence, Kanye jumped into “Good Life,” the most colorful set of the night, as West rapped and the screens on the stage lit up like a carnival. Following Ye’s exit from the stage, Jay brought out legendary producer Swizz Beatz for Hova’s hit “On To The Next One,” before bringing out Slim Shady for their verbal spar “Renegade,” which was released on Hova’s original “Blueprint” album.

After the duo’s performance, Eminem embraced Jay Z and thanked him for the tour, with Jay responding that the feeling was mutual, then Em turned to the fans and once again thanked them for coming out, he was so emotional I thought he was going to shed a tear upon his exit.

The show continued with Jay performing a new single ft. Rick Ross, who was mia for the set, entitled “Free Mason,” in which Jay strikes back at those who believe he is involved with Freemasonry:

“I told you I’m amazin’/ Not that I’m a Mason!”

Jay rapped during the set, which included Christianity symbols portrayed on the screens. Shortly after, up and coming rap superstar Drake joined Jigga on stage for their song “Light Up,” which both emcees breezed through smoothly and Drake donned a Yankee fitted to pay respects to the city he was in.

However, Drake’s performance of “Up All Night,” ft. Nicki Minaj, who joined him on stage, was a little bit rough as he seemed to slip up on a few lines, but most of the fans didn’t even notice (guess I’m just pickyJ)

During his 90 minute set Jay also paid respects to a few of hip hop’s fallen soldiers as he rapped Pimp C’s verse acapella off of “Big Pimpin’” and demanded that the DJ play Notorious BIG’s hits “Juicy,” and “One More Chance,” as he instructed the crowd to rap the lyrics.

Images of New York City began to flash across the screens and the Yankee symbol down on the field was illuminated as the beat kicked in for “Empire State of Mind,” fans raised their cell phone screens and lighters, making the stadium look as if one big light show was going on.

Screams of “BROOKLYN!” “HARLEM!” “QUEENS!” “SOUTH BRONX!” “STATEN SON!” “YONKERS!” “EAST BK!” and of course, my sole “WESTCOAST!” filtered through the stadium as Jay rapped about the city that made him who he is today and dropped his now famous line:

“S%^t I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can.”

However, by far the most captivating song of the night was when Jigga brought out his “wifey” Beyonce to sing the chorus for “Young Forever,” jaws were dropping all around the stadium upon the entrance of the beautiful pop Queen.

Just like in real life, they made a perfect combination on stage, leaving me to believe that true love just might still exist in today’s society.

Beyonce exited the stage and Jigga began to perform “Thank You,” before stopping halfway through and jumping into “Encore,” which many thought would be his swan song for the evening. But the self proclaimed “God Emcee” was far from done.

“New York City it sounds like you’re not ready to go home yet!?”

Jay asked his fans.

Everybody began throwing up the Dynasty Diamond and chanting HOVA, HOVA, HOVA, before Jigga responded: “For anyone who hasn’t been down since “Reasonable Doubt,” you can head to the exit.” Jay Z’s protégé Memphis Bleek joined him for an encore that included verses from old school Jigga hits “Where I’m From,” “Dirt Off Your Shoulder,” “Best of Me (Remix),” and “Jigga My N&*ga.”

Finally, Jay spent about 15 minutes thanking all the fans in attendance for a memorable night and their continuous support, the lights at Yankee Stadium came on and the thousands of people in attendance ushered toward the exits to jump on the subway or hop in their cars.

On my way out of the stadium it finally donned on me that I had just witnessed history and these artists are truly the voice of our generation.

To say I was inspired by the show would be a major understatement, now more than ever I realize I have to do whatever it takes to make my dreams come true, life is too short to not make your dreams reality………………………

Forever Young ft Beyonce [HD]

Kanye West - Monster

Looks like Kanye West is making G.O.O.D. on his promise to drop a new song each week. The latest weekly release is Monster featuring Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver and Nicki Minaj.

I'm really feeling this song because its a collaboration of the hottest artists on a hot track. No egos, just good music amongst peers.

Monster is 1 of 5 songs from Kanye West and Jay-z's forthcoming joint album called Watch The Throne.

I can't wait to hear more material.

Anyway, check out the new song courtesy of Kanye West

Kanye West - Monster feat Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver

*Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage

*sidenote: I love Kanye's Napoleon Dynamite reference...GOSSSH!

Kanye West - Power (Official Video)

No one man should have all that power, unless they are talented, gifted and have God on their side, then honestly all things are possible.

If no one else believed in Kanye West, Kanye West believed in Kanye West and thats all the motivation he needed to succeed. What people don't realize is, when becoming an artist, you have to believe in yourself or you will never reach the promised land.

You can say what you want to about Kanye, but you have to admit he has the drive, determination, perseverance and confidence to be able to accomplish his goals.

The thing that I like most is that he was humble enough to admit he made a mistake, seek help and then come back more focused, determined and on track and in tune with what made him great, which is the great music.

The way I see it, we are all human and all make mistakes, but we also all deserve a second chance as long as we work hard to show and prove that we definitely deserve a second chance.

Personally, I feel Kanye is on the right track to becoming a better person and this new material shows the same.

Kanye West - Portrait Of Power