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One on One With Hip Hop Legend Redman- The MD Exclusive

You really can’t get any bigger when it comes to legends in the came then you can with the one and only Redman. Redman, who has been active in the hip-hop industry for 25 years now, is still going strong as ever and staying as relevant as ever. Born right outside NYC in Newark, New Jersey, Redman has had his hands successfully in multiple different business ventures outside of his illustrious career in the hip-hop game. From television, movies, video games and more, Redman’s unique personality and consistent drive in doing what he loves show in everything he does. He is a personal favorite of mine since I was a kid in the 90’s and continues to be many years later.

Now Redman has a brand new single he just released called “Dope Man” from his newest album called “Mudface”, due in stores on October 30th. We at Manhattan Digest were blessed to interview Redman about his single and album, his longevity in the industry, current favorites, and why women’s feet are part of his upcoming plans. For real. Check it out.

The song “Dope Man’s” chorus goes- “Hey Mr. Dope Man you’re a star, I love your gold chains and your fancy car”. Is Dope Man really you? What drove the inspiration for this song?

Yes I’m referring DOPEMAN as me! Meaning my lyrics and music is the DOPE people are fiending for… People are complaining about the same sounding music on the radio!! So it’s up to the DOPEMAN to supply the hood with the Goodness !!

You also have a new album coming out in October called “Mud Face”. What can your fans expect from that album?

MudFace album is an album I put together for my fans and to keep relevancy, till MUDDY WATERS 2 album come out..!! I’m independent now, so I have to keep music out there to create other revenues of business !!

Are you planning a tour to support the album?

Yes i always do a tour run on every album..Mudface Tour i will be in a city near you SOON !!!

It will be 23 years on September 22nd since your debut album “Whut? Thee Album” has been released. What is the best advice you would give to new artists in the industry that want to find longevity and relevancy that you have paved the way for?

For new artists to create longevity path as I did… to be able to still drop music 23 years later and still be Hot??? Here are some steps.

Go against the Grain!
Stay mastering your craft!
Love your Momma and Kids !
Never let em see you sweat !
Don’t do reality shows !
Have a good team that will keep you Brand Name Monumental..
GO OVERSEAS AND PUT ON GREAT PERFORMANCES as WELL AS YOUR OWN COUNTRY !!
Know your History on this Rap shit !!..It is a business !!
MAKE good connections and know the right PEOPLE !!
Make sure your Hood and City respects you for you and the work you doing and did to Rep your state !!

Do you have a favorite moment of your career that sticks out for you?

My favorite moment in my career would be the Day I met EPMD which was one of my favorite Rap Duo and then moved to Long Island… that’s when my career started !! God is Good !!

Who currently is your favorite artist in hip hop and who would you love to collaborate with?

My favorite artists are still Slick Rick, Krs One, IceCube, NWA & EPMD. These are the groups and guys that built me !!

I’m curious to know what your take is on the hip-hop industry today. Where is it excelling and where do you think it is lacking?

My ERA ( Biggie ,Snoop, Eminem D12, Jay Z, Tribe Called Quest Dogg Pound ,Wu Tang,Beanie Siegal,Kanye West,Naughty By Nature,Lords of Underground, Keith Murray,Busta Rymes Flip Mode,OutSiders, G-Unit,Game,Mobb Deep, R.I.P Sean Price and Helter Skeltah ,Lil Kim, The Pharcyde, The Roots, Xzibit, Boot Camp,UGK,Smiff and Wesson,Common,Scar Face,Camp Lo,Pete Rock Cl Smooth,Organized Confusion,Slum Village,Craig Mack,Choclair,Kardinal Official, ETC….

New Era I listen to Kendrick Lamar, School Boy Q TDE ,GunPlay , J Cole , Dope D.O.D , Rick Ross, Asap Rocky, Asap Mob, Drake, Che Grand, Jneiro Jarel, Boogie.

I want to collaborate with everyone !! Everybody on one track goin in!!

I’m curious to know what your take is on the hip-hop industry today. Where is it excelling and where do you think it is lacking?

I love Hip-Hop ! It provides jobs and allows and average person to become somebody !! The state of HipHop NOW; the music is sounding the same.. and that’s what people and fans complaining about. But hey it’s still provides jobs to my people my culture… the future of Hip-Hop will continue to grow and be that universal language !!

What other upcoming projects do you have coming up that your fans would like to know about?

My up and coming projects are-

MUDFACE ALBUM- Oct 30 2015

MUDDY WATERS 2- 2016

BLACKOUT 3- 2016

HOW HIGH 2- 2017 or 2018

Also I’m directing and producing behind the scenes in Hollywood. I started and production company with my Business partner Laura Irvine called UGLYJONES ! We are producing a show now called “Who Got Heat”; a street version of American Idol.. I feel there’s not enough artists getting recognized so we want to help with a platform to be seen… also we will give back to the community each city we run show at…stay tuned for details… show is fucking Hot !

Also I love woman who have beautiful FEET..Oh God… whewww !! I wanna create a High Heel Open Toe Sandal for woman !!! That is my top goal… So as you see i have another 8 to 10 years worth of work to do, and I’m gonna do it !! AND THAT’S HOW YOU KEEP RELEVANT FOR 23 YEARS BOYIIIEEEE !!

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Grammy Predictions 2015- Album Of The Year

by Ryan Shea

When it comes to the music industry, the Grammy Awards still remain the Gold Medal when it comes to award achievement for artists and musicians alike. Last year’s saw newcomers like Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Lorde take the top spots in the New Artist and Song of the Year Category, whereas perennial EDM megastars Daft Punk shocked many a music fans by winning the coveted Album Of The Year Grammy with “Random Access Memories”. Now with another year in music about to close, and the Grammy Nominations out in less than a month, Manhattan Digest digest’s what will be nominated and who might be left in the dust in a year that was less than stellar to say the least. With no major artists with the exception of Coldplay, Beyonce, Jason Aldean and Eminem releasing albums this year, the music industry was run by throwaway pop tracks and one hit wonders in the making (Sorry Meghan Trainor). That being said, there were some stellar exceptions that I hope that Grammy’s notice and crown this year- some who are overdue, some who are new, and some who have been here before and deserve it again. Today, we look at the potential noms for Album Of The Year.

Beyonce, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: HipHopDX

Album Of The Year at the Grammy’s can be tricky. Sometimes they get it right (Mumford & Sons, Daft Punk, Adele) and sometimes we don’t know where they are coming from (Steely Dan, Herbie Hancock). Sometimes, they miss the ball completely, like last year when Justin Timberlake didn’t even get nominated in a category that many people thought he would’ve won. This year, the inevitable nominee and winner is simple- Beyonce. Beyonce has been in this category before, losing a couple of years ago to Taylor Swift’s “Fearless” over her insanely good effort “I Am… Sasha Fierce”. However, with her self titled debut this year, she really doesn’t have any competition as this album was one of the biggest music stories of the year. With no one knowing it was coming out, she quietly released this on a cold December night and drove the album to platinum status in less than two weeks, and outselling her previous effort “4” shortly after. The album spawned several huge singles (some will be discussed later), has insatiable duets with artists like Drake, Frank Ocean and her hubby Jay-Z and received generally positive feedback from fans and critics alike. No doubt the winner in my mind.

Frozen Soundtrack, Frozen, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: Wikipedia

Others who could be huge contenders? Obviously, The “Frozen” Soundtrack for many reasons. Oscar winning, highest selling, songs parents and like minded people alike can’t get out of your head equal Grammy goodness. This is the first soundtrack in several years though that really can be a strong contender in the main categories so be on the lookout for this to be nominated several times throughout the night.

Eminem, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: Pretty Much Amazing

Hip-Hop this year wasn’t exactly stellar whatsoever. Last year had so many memorable people come out of the wood works with fantastic first efforts (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Kendrick Lamar) and icons who kept churning out some amazing tracks (Jay-Z, Kanye West). The sad fact that the biggest star in hip hop this year may have been Iggy Azalea says a lot about that industry and hopefully there will be some recharge in 2015. That being said, Eminem should no doubt be the 3rd nominee in this category with “The Marshall Mathers LP 2”. As someone who grew up when Eminem was really at his peek in so many different ways, I find it fantastic that 15 years after we first heard “The Real Slim Shady” he is still incredibly relevant and hip with a younger crowd that is just discovering what an epic rapper and legend he is. Whereas he had a better shot of winning this award years ago with “The Eminem Show” and the first Marshall Mathers LP” it would be a surprise if he was left out in this category.

Sam Smith, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: Wikipedia

The other two could be difficult to choose. One new artist who has gained quite a huge following this year is Sam Smith, who broke through with his gold selling “In The Lonely Hour”. A powerhouse on his own, Sam blasted through the charts with his first single “Stay With Me” as well as working with other fantastic artists such as Disclosure (“Latch”) and one of my favorite artists and tracks of the year, “Lalala” by Naughty Boy. He is this year’s big British import, sort of the male Adele when it comes to the impact that he has had on the industry. His music style is very eclectic, with tinges of pop, R&B and adult contemporary all mixed in one. He’s a surefire lock for Best New Artist without a shadow of a doubt, however don’t be surprised if he is able to seep his way into the pivotal Album Of The Year category at the Grammy’s.

Coldplay, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: Wikipedia

Jack White’s “Lazaretto” seems poised to be the fifth and final nominee in this category. Jack, mainly known for his epic band “The White Stripes” is no stranger to this category having being nominated two years ago for his effort “Blunderbuss”. The 9 time Grammy Award winner’s Rock efforts paid off for him tend fold this past year, with “Lazaretto” receiving stellar reviews from the top publications and debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 Chart. If Jack doesn’t get the lock for Album Of The Year don’t be surprised if Coldplay takes the fifth spot for “Ghost Stories“, which is one of the highest selling albums of this past year. the 7 time Grammy Award winners lit up the charts this year with “Sky Full Of Stars” amongst other hits, and have been Grammy favorites in the past with “Clocks” winning Record Of The Year over ten years ago. Don’t expect Coldplay to take this award but expect multiple nominations for both “Stars” and “Ghost Stories” for sure.

Who do you think will be nominated Check out the Grammy official website for more info.

2014 MTV Video Music Awards- Who Will Win

by Ryan Shea

As sad as it is for me to say this, I was not invited to the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards that are happening tonight in Inglewood, California. I repped Manhattan Digest to the fullest at last year’s show when they were held at Brooklyn’s very own Barclay Center, and gave us one of the most epic performances in VMA history- Miley Cyrus. If you don’t know what happened then you have been living under a rock for the past year. Needless to say, this year’s VMA’s is sure to be unpredictable and insane as it usually is. The lineup of performances look sick, with the opening being pop divas Jessie J, Arianna Grande and hip-hop songstress Nicki Minaj doing their current top 10 single “Bang Bang”. Other noteworthy performances of the night should be Taylor Swift, who will be performing her new hit “Shake It Off” from the much anticipated new album “1989” due out October 27th. And of course, the lady of the night will be eight time nominee and already multiple VMA award winner Beyonce, who will be receiving the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award later in the evening. This award has been bestowed on several legends in the industry, from Madonna, Janet Jackson, The Rolling Stones and most recently pop pioneers Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears. Should be a performance of epic madness and one that I cannot wait to see.

So let’s breakdown the other thing that people are there to see- who will win each category at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards. This year’s pack is stacked with some of the biggest artists and songs of the year, and is making it tough for this journalist to choose who will win and who should win. It is still funny to me that MTV broadcasts something like this when I believe I was wearing JNCO Jeans the last time they actually aired a block of music videos, but it is the most highly anticipated award show of the season, so I can see why they keep it going each year. Let’s breakdown each category, starting with the “Artist To Watch, Presented by Taco Bell”.

Artist to Watch, Presented By Taco Bell

5 Seconds Of Summer- “She Looks So Perfect”

Fifth Harmony- “Miss Moving On”

Sam Smith- “Stay With Me”

Schoolboy Q- “Man Of The Year”

Charli XCX- “Boom Clap”

Who Will Win- 5 Seconds Of Summer, Who Should Win- Sam Smith

5 Seconds Of Summer really came out of nowhere and has won the hearts of millions of adoring teens, who are the ones voting on this particular category for the most part. They are One Direction with talent, drums and guitar for the most part, so I sure as heck see them easily winning this won as it is a fan based vote. Fifth Harmony could’ve been a heavy contender for this if 5SOS wasn’t in it, but they won’t win this one. Schoolboy Q is amazing, as well as Charli XCX’s song from “The fault In Our Stars” but not enough to garner this. If Sam Smith doesn’t win this at the VMA’s, he sure as hell will win at the 2015 Grammys and several other prestigious awards. His solo work this year on “Stay With Me” on top of his brilliant performances with other artists such as Disclosure and Naughty Boy prove what a threat this guy is to the industry, and I hope he gets some love on VMA night.

Best Rock Video-

Lorde- “Royals”

Linkin Park- “Until I’m Gone”

Imagine Dragons- “Demons”

Black Keys- “Fever”

Arctic Monkeys- “Do I Wanna Know?”

Who Will Win- Imagine Dragons. Who Should Win- Black Keys.

Imagine Dragons have had a pretty awesome two years, and this was only the 2nd song released off of their amazing debut album. “Royals” is not a rock song, so I don’t get why it is in this category. Lorde has a better shot in other categories than this one, and sadly I don’t think Arctic Monkeys have a shot in this category either. Black Keys should win as “Fever” is an amazing video, but no doubt Imagine Dragons will be the one taking this home tonight.

Best Pop Video-

Arianna Grande Featuring Iggy Azealea- “Problem”

Iggy Azalea Featuring Chari XCX- “Fancy”

Avicii Featuring Aloe Blacc- “Wake Me Up”

Jason DeRulo Featuring 2Chainz- “Talk Dirty”

Pharrell Williams- “Happy”

Who Will Win- Arianna Grande & Iggy. Who Should Win- Pharrell.

This really has been the year for Arianna and Iggy, however I think because Arianna has a bigger tween and teen fanbase she should lock this one up. “Wake Me Up” should be more in the clubland award than this one, and “Talk Dirty” just seems too urban for this as well, as is “Fancy”. “Happy” is a freaking brilliant video that screams pop with a R&B flare, and should be the one to win in this. But expect pop ingenue Arianna Grande to be leaving with not just one but a couple of VMA night.

Best Female Video-

Lorde- “Royals”

Beyonce- “Partition”

Arianna Grande Featuring Iggy Azalea- “Problem”

Iggy Azalea Featuring Charli XCX- “Fancy”

Katy Perry Featuring Juicy J- “Dark Horse”

Who Will Win- “Royals”. Who Should Win- “Dark Horse/Partition”

I think “Royals”, even though it is quite simple, kept my focus a lot more than the colorful pops that Iggy and Arianne presented in each of their videos, and the song is better than both so based off that it will and maybe should win. I loved the video for “Dark Horse” as Katy keeps bringing us really unique and out there videos that she has done so well over the years. “Partition” isn’t the best video from the Beyonce album, but the look and feel of it should really make her a good contender for this category tonight.

Best Male Video-

Ed Sheeran Featuring Pharrell Williams- “Sing”

Sam Smith- “Stay With Me”

John Legend- “All Of Me”

Eminem Featuring Rihanna- “Monster”

Pharrell Williams- “Happy”

Who Will Win- Ed Sheeran. Who Should Win- All of them (Minus John Legend).

This is quite possibly the strongest category of the bunch this year, as all videos and songs are incredible in their own unique ways. John’s song is amazing and is this generation’s new wedding song, however the video was basic and more of wedding video than an actual music video. I happen to love Ed Sheeran’s vocals and video for “Sing” so that gets my vote easily. I wouldn’t mind multiple VMA winner Eminem winning this for old times sake, however I think this is Ed’s to lose.

Best Hip-Hop Video-

Childish Gambino- “3005”

Drake Featuring Majid Jordan- “Hold On (We’re Going Home)”

Eminem- “Berserk”

Kanye West- “Black Skinhead”

Wiz Khalifa- “We Dem Boyz”

Who Will Win- Drake. Who should win- All of them.

Another really amazing category. I have to say Drake will win just based off of how popular the video and song was, however Eminem might be knocking at Drake’s door for this so don’t be surprised if he pulls an upset. Kanye’s video is one of his best ever with his own social message that makes this video and song one of the standouts off of his last album. Wiz hasn’t really had the biggest success since “Black & Yellow” however “We Dem Boyz” is a great video and keeps his street hustle going in the hip-hop game. Childish Gambino deserves a lot more success than then man is given, and I am super pumped the “3005” got the nod this year.

Video Of The Year-

Sia- “Chandelier”

Pharrell Williams- “Happy”

Miley Cyrus- “Wrecking Ball”

Beyonce Featuring Jay-Z- “Drunk In Love”

Iggy Azalea Featuring Charli XCX- “Fancy”

Who Will Win- Miley or Beyonce. Who should win- SIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Chandelier” is such an AMAZING song and video that I really just want to see Sia make a public appearance and win this. She’s like the female Daft Punk, you really never see her so I think it would make an AWESOME VMA moment if she won. I don’t get why Iggy is in this, the video is great but not at this level, she’s too new. As much as “Wrecking Ball” is a great video it is more 2013 than 2014, so I don’t think it deserves to win this. “Happy” is amazing, but I fear Pharrell may be shut out due to the younger demographic. Seeing as this is Beyonce’s night, expect her to win her second Video Of The Year trophy (done once before for “Single Ladies” back in 2009). But this is quite the unpredictable category, so you never know.

Who do YOU think will win tonight? Comment here and for a full list of nominees check out the official website for more info.

Best MC’s Of All Time- A Candid Discussion

by Ryan Shea

Who Is The Greatest MC Of All Time?

Such as the endless debate of which came first, the chicken or the egg, is equal if not less than the debate over who is the greatest MC of all time in the hip hop game. Long talked about for almost thirty years now, hip hop heads from across the world have spoken their mind on who they personally think is the best for whatever particular reason they think it might be. Factors like longevity, impact, the ability to spit ill shit on a dime and overall persona are just some of the reasons why students of the hip hop university we all know and love claim why their personal number one is the best. So what happens when you get three eager and green students together to discuss this epic battle of King King in the hip hop world? [Read more…] about Best MC’s Of All Time- A Candid Discussion

Is Macklemore’s Agenda Pro-Macklemore or Pro-Gay?

by Ryan Shea

Macklemore, Manhattan, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: Esquire Magazine

Macklemore- Gay Crusader or Selfish Poser?

Tonight will be a big night for rapper Macklemore and his sidekick Ryan Lewis. They are at the top of the leader board in Grammy nominations with 7, including the illustrious Best New Artist and Album of the Year, something that they are both heavily favored to win. As if that isn’t big enough, he is now doing something on tonight’s show that has never been done before.

According to NewNowNext, 34 gay and straight couples will be wed during Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ performance of “Same Love”, which is up for Song of the Year. Further than that, Queen Latifah, a devout supporter of the gay community will be officiating this group wedding. Crazy right? As awesome as this has sounded to some, it doesn’t sound that great to many others. Funny part is that the ones that aren’t down for this quote unquote “prop” are gays themselves. Here is why.

There have been people who think that what he is doing, on top of the song “Same Love” is just an agenda for him to further push his career into being the next big “pop hop” superstar (their words not mine). They believe that it doesn’t come from an authentic place, even having someone write- “Straight pop-rappers are ruining the sanctity of homosexuality”. There needs to be a bit more depth in that very honest quote, but I get where they are coming from because in a sense there isn’t a gay one out there that can speak their mind freely the way that they do without the words “fag” or “homo” being put into it. Why is this? Because hip-hop remains a very homophobic industry, and even with the support from huge stars like Macklemore, it shouldn’t be him that is speaking the message- it should be us.

At the same time, the song and what he is doing is groundbreaking in so many different ways. He is publicly said that the reason why he did this was to further help the state of Washington legalize same-sex marriage, which has now completely come to fruition. So in a way I don’t think what tonight is going to be is a prop. Now, if we look back 12 years ago when Elton John joined Eminem on stage for their performance of the controversial “Stan”, that to me is different. That was Eminem’s way of saving his ass because so many organizations like GLAAD were after him for his spewing hatred of gays in his songs on top of his misogynistic lyrics. Suffice to say, it was a well received performance, but it is like apples and oranges in comparing the both of them when it comes to pushing someone’s agenda.

So there is two very different sides to how people view Macklemore, how would you view him? Pro-gay, or pro-himself?

Fall Music 2013- It will be epic!!!

by Ryan Shea

Maybe it’s just me, but the music scene so far in 2013 has been pretty legit for the first time in a long time. The summer alone has brought us some inescapable and funk’dafied jams from “Blurred Lines” to “Get Lucky” to “Summertime Sadness” to name a few. It also brought us Miley Cyrus f***ing herself with a foam finger and wearing a Gaga latex rip off Sunday night. I think I am going to vomit. Regardless, with the fall season rapidly approaching it also is a reminder that some of the biggest names in music will be dropping their records in the upcoming months, thus making this guy here very excited for what is to come for 2013 and beyond. Seeing as the VMA’s was a preview for some of the incredible music we are about the unveil in the upcoming months, one can only hope that it will segue into an amazing 2014. Let’s start off with the news that got me insanely giddy.

Eminem- The Marshall Mathers 2.

Eminem as far as I am concerned was MY GENERATION. He was everything to so many of us growing up in the late 90’s and early 2000’s and has continued to be a dominating force not only in the hip-hop industry but in the music industry period. At the Video Music Awards it was announced that his highly anticipated new album, the follow up to 2000’s “Marshall Mathers LP” will be dropped on November 5th and the first single off the album called “Berzerk” has already shot to number one in less than a day of it debuting on iTunes. “Berzerk” is such an insane throw back for so many different reasons yet has a modern edge to it. It also proves why he is the fucking man still practically fourteen years after his debut in 99. Expect this album to do some severe damage on the charts and for him to educate a whole new generation of people on the school that is Eminem.

Katy Perry- Prism

Katy Perry has come quite a way since her days of kissing a girl (I never liked it personally. Not her, kissing girls.) Her last album “Teenage Dream” did the unthinkable in that she tied (and almost topped) Michael Jackson’s record of the most number one singles off of a single album (California Girls, title track, E.T., Last Friday Night, Firework) and received numerous awards and a pivotal nomination for “Album of the Year” at the Grammy’s. Well after a semi-quiet year from her after the long haul of her sophomore album success, she has come back full throttle with the first single off of Prism called “Roar” which quickly debuted at number one on the iTunes charts and raced up to number two on the Billboard Charts (expect it to dethrone “Blurred Lines” this week). The album “Prism” is set to hit shelves on October 22nd and the second single called “Dark Horse” is set to hit airwaves in a couple of weeks. “Blur” is a slower paced version of a lead off single than she normally does but somehow it works as she is very good at belting out a pop hit or two and this album will no doubt compete with Eminem and a couple others for the top spot in the fall.

Lady Gaga- Artpop

As much as I love Lady Gaga, and I really do, she needs this album to be freaking phenomenal compared to what I and many people think was a lackluster third effort with “Born This Way”. That album just felt very rushed and ill planned and conceived as well as it didn’t really hold a candle to what “The Fame” and “The Fame Monster” really did. “Artpop” is set to be released right before Thanksgiving on November 22nd and the leadoff single “Applause” really isn’t taking off like a lot of people thought it would. The song debuted at number 6 on the Billboard Charts where as its biggest competitor “Roar” by Katy Perry debuted at number two instead. She has an insane fan base so it is a given that this album will do well but I don’t think “Applause” was the right start off single. Hopefully her follow up songs will prove why she is one of the best out there right now and a force to be reckoned with in the world of pop.

Justin Timberlake- The 20/20 Experience Part Two

What a comeback year this has been for the prince of pop ey? Part one of “The 20/20 Experience” debuted at number one back in early 2013 with an impressive near million first week sales and nothing has stopped him since. Things really took it to another level with his EPIC VMA performance on Sunday night which included a very abbreviated reunion of the band that made him famous in the first place, NSYNC. He also was the recipient of two major awards that night, The Michael Jackson “Video Vanguard Award” and the ultimate- Video of the Year for his second single off “20/20” called “Mirrors”. Well now expect to hear much more from Justin as part two of “20/20” is scheduled to be released on September 30th with the leadoff single “Take Back The Night” already released last month. Hard to believe you can do two albums in one year, but then again this is a man we haven’t heard any new material from in 7 years, so bring it.

Is Macklemore the new Eminem?

by Ryan Shea

I don’t think that title is really premature in saying what a lot of people are thinking. Macklemore really can be the next Eminem if he plays his cards right. The Seattle native continues to take 2013 by storm again last night with his performance of his new single “Can’t Hold Us” featuring Ray Dalton at the 2013 MTV Movie Awards. Many said that was the highlight of the night and this is a freaking movie award show (then again it’s MTV, so we are lucky it wasn’t a Best Teen Mom Shore Buckwild Show).

Macklemore was known by many a hip-hop tastemakers for a while now but no one really understood who this guy was until late 2012 whe a song about a thrift shop came into play. Little do people know this guy, who turns 30 later this year, has been in the game for over a decade now, right around the time that Eminem broke through.

He released his first full fledged EP back in 2000 under the name “Professor Macklemore”. He quickly dropped the professor aspect of things but substance abuse plagued his chances of really becoming the star that he is today. These substances had him relapse on a number of occasions, most recently in 2011. Yet during this time he released some truly amazing music, such as “The Unplanned Mixtape” and “The VS Redux” in 2009 with his constant companion and DJ Ryan Lewis. That is some of his best work in my opinion, as you can tell what he was going through during that time.

Now with his album “The Heist” in full swing, “Thrift Shop” topping the charts for weeks and his subsequent song “Can’t Hold Us” climbing up the charts, we gotta wonder, is he the next big thing? The next Eminem? Let’s weigh this in and see.

Going beyond race, Eminem truly defines what an MC is and how, at least for my generation, he was our Kurt Cobain. He was our Elvis Presley, he was our Michael Jackson. He was a movement in itself for the simple fact that he went so far outside the boundary lines of what an artist is supposed to do and speak from his heart on what he was going on. “The Marshall Mathers LP” and “The Slim Shady LP” are in my opinion two of the best hip-hop albums ever with the former being the best one to be released in the new millennium. He has even impressed as a featured artist on other people’s tracks, most notably Drake’s “Forever”. He truly understands his gift of gab and uses it to its best extent.

What i just wrote is something that Macklemore is getting the hang of. “The Heist” is an amazing second album and is reminiscent of things that Eminem did. They both have that juxtaposition of being able to do funny songs (Thrift Shop) and then serious ones that really make you think (Wings). The stand out track here is “Same Love”, written in the support of same-sex marriage. It’s truly an amazingly written song and something really out of left field when it comes to a straight dude and hip-hop head writing about a very controversial topic. This can parlay to any of the controversial topics that Em wrote about, including anything from “Love The Way You Lie” about domestic violence and “Stan” about a deranged fan. Regardless, they make you think, something other rappers can’t seem to make you do.

So what is the verdict overall with this? Macklemore could no doubt be the next Eminem in my book. No doubt, even though he has been in the game for a minute, that he will be all over the Best New Artist categories at a ton of award shows and be on everyone’s forefront similarly to how Eminem is. Could they do a duet one day? Only one can hope. For me, he’s got it in him to go the long haul. Best of luck to him in the future.

eminem

Who Is The Greatest MC Of All Time?

Macklemore- Gay Crusader or Selfish Poser?

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