Celebratory hip-hop is the new stoned, navel-gazing hip-hop

As much as I like The Weeknd and Drake, they have a tendency to wallow in their privileged misery, the poor lambs. So it's a relief to see some hip-hop artists rediscover positivity in their music.

You could argue it started with Chance The Rapper's joyous, thankful Coloring Book (he means Colouring Book) mixtape a couple of weeks ago. Now Joey Bada$$ and Wiz Khalifa are joining in, with two life-affirming tracks about overcoming hardship.

21-year-old Joey Bada$$ is first out of the gates with Devastated, a song that follows the death of his high-school friend and rap contemporary Captain Steez, who took his own life.

"I used to feel so devastated / At times I thought we'd never make it / But now we on the path to greatness / And all it ever took was patience," he sings, on what sounds to me like a massive crossover track.


Wiz Khalifa's doubles down on that message on Celebrate, with a refrain that declares: "I could've been dead / I could've been in prison / So I want to celebrate."

It debuted on his sixth album, Khalifa, last week and now comes with a eye-straining video.


The positivity is even spreading to the UK, where Makola has gone against the grain of grime with the carnival vibes of This Is London. A love letter to his home town, it's like an Afrobeat version of Lily Allen's LDN. In other words, it's very good indeed.



And that hasn't lifted your spirits, here's Chance The Rapper performing Show Me Love on national television in a cuddly teddy bear sweater.


With new records from De La Soul and Jurassic 5 also on the way, would it be too far-fetched to say The Second Daisy Age starts here?

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The five worst lyrics in will.i.am's new single

Let's face it, Will.i.am is not known for his lyrical prowess. His most triumphant moments include clangers like "Let's get retarded" and the inexplicable "I go hard statues".

Still, he's outdone himself on his latest single, Feelin' Myself, which is about how impressed will.i.am is with will.i.am. He brings Miley Cyrus and Wiz Khalifa along for the ride, and they more than match him in the quest to write the most banal couplet of the year.

Here are the five standout moments.

5) "Feeling fucking lucky like the fucking Irish."

To be fair, Will has accurately captured the uniquely romantic cadence of Dubliners' interpretation of the English language here. But he loses points because it should be "the feckin' Irish".


4) "I get on the floor just to make that booty twerk
Shake, shake that ass like an expert."

Yes Miley, we are keenly aware of your ability to to move your buttocks in a rapid, to-and-fro motion. I'm not sure "expert" is the word, though. People are experts in things like neuroscience and astrophysics. The word you are looking for is "attention-seeker".


3) "Honey on my wrist, a couple of carrots on my neck".

Frankly, this is just a waste of good food.


2) "I tour the whole word like a dirty pirate
To give the whole world some Miley Cyrus."

Are dirty pirates known for disseminating the works of Miley Cyrus to the ports and harbours of the world? Because I'm pretty sure that's not a real thing. I'd wager the lyric originally said: "to give the whole world some mighty syphilis".


1) "Look up in the mirror
The mirror look at me
The mirror be like 'baby, you the shit.
'God dammit, you the shit!
You the shit, you the shit, you the shit'"

This is the song's actual chorus and... Well, I mean... I can't... Just, wow. Really? Really? How do you even? Wow.

Will.i.am - Feelin' Myself

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Wiz Khalifa ft The Weeknd: Remember You

If you haven't already picked up The Weeknd's "new" album The Trilogy (it's essentially three mixtapes remastered and bundled together), you're in for a treat.

He's been called the future of R&B, but his late-night nihilism is never going to dominate wedding discos like, say, Stevie Wonder. No, The Trilogy is more like someone committed the voices of D'Angelo's inner demons to tape - troubled tales of indulgence and addiction over woozy, sinuous grooves.

If you've already digested the 30 tracks of The Trilogy and you're dying for more, here's a gold nugget in the shape of Wiz Khalifa's latest single. A dark (and essentially misogynist) story of a one-night stand who leaves the singer lusting for more, it's accompanied by one of the most unsettling videos of the year.

Wiz Khalifa - Remember You (ft The Weekend)

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Covered up: Billie Jean & Coldplay

Just a quick post today with a couple of superlative cover versions I've stumbled across this this week.

First up, Aloe Blacc, who might not be the one-hit wonder I'd assumed. His string quartet rendition of Billie Jean is oh so classy, if a little down in the dumps.

Aloe Blacc - Billie Jean


Next, we have pop newcomer Neon Hitch. She's a British singer/rapper, formerly signed to Mike Skinner's label and, unvbelievably, Neon Hitch is her actual name. She's been popping up as a background vocalist on songs by Ke$ha and 3OH!3, and this cover of Wiz Khalifa's On My Level is an attention-grabbing calling card for her forthcoming solo material.

Neon Hitch - On My Level


Finally, and on the most shaky ground, is Robyn - who has unforgiveably chosen to cover Coldplay's Every Teradrop Is A Precious Resource So Please Save Them In A Jar And End The Minor Drought In East Anglia.

The Swedish starlet improves on the original, by virtue of a trickling synth line that builds to an arms aloft robo-tronic climax. Robyn also has the decency to mumble the year's most awful lyric: "I'd rather be a comma than a full stop" (if we're expressing punctuation preferences, I'd rather have a colon than a semi-colon).

Here it is, in all its Live Lounge glory.

Robyn - Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall (Live Lounge)

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Tinie Tempah hedges his bets in the US

Launching your US career with a platinum-selling single isn't a bad look. And that's exactly what Tinie Tempah has done with Written In The Stars. His US debut peaked at number 12, setting up Plumstead's second-finest export (after Shampoo) for a big year Stateside.

However, rather than follow up Written In The Stars with proven hits like Pass Out or Frisky, Tinie has recorded an entirely new song with Wiz Khalifa. "I respect his hustle," he told Rolling Stone, somewhat mystifyingly. "I feel like we're in the same kind of situation, but in reverse. He's really huge out here now and I have a lot of presence in the Europe and UK, and vice versa, so if there was ever a time to collaborate, now would be the time."

The song is called Till I'm Gone and it's produced by Rihanna cohorts Stargate. Built around a single ascending synth riff, it's a little formulaic - playing it safe for US radio's notoriously risk-averse radio programmers - but Tinie still squeezes in a few deft lyrical touches. My personal favourite is: "I shook hands with royalty / I make songs that monarchs know" (it's all in the delivery).

Here's the promo, which employs rap video template 4(b). look out for the random shot of a blonde extra who the director has taken a shine to at 2'03".

Tinie Tempah - Till I'm Gone


Tinie supports Prince at the Hop Farm festival on Sunday... I can't wait!

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