DJ Choclixx put together a workout mixtape of Lady Gaga and Kanye West tracks and mash ups to celebrate the two stars' upcoming tour. Check out the "The Gaga West Warm Up Plan," "The Gaga West Work Out Plan" and "The Gaga West Cool Down Plan." Hammer time! Time to get busy. Listen to it here.
Hook up your pacemaker, because this remix will race your heart into overdrive. MOTOR took Kanye's "Robocop" into a whole new stratosphere. Techno heaven to be precise. This remix is not for the squeamish. Don't say I didn't warn you. Catch MOTOR supporting Depeche Mode during their world tour this spring and summer. (Thanks to MOTOR for sending me this remix and allowing me to share.)
Listen to Kanye West "Robocop" (MOTOR Remix)
Did you watch VH1's Storytellers with Kanye West tonight? I did. And I thought it was very well put together. Amazing stage and lighting concept. Stark, sleek and very shiny. The set was conceived by Es Devlin and Martin Philips. Most recently, Devlin designed the show for the Pet Shop Boys at the BRIT Awards, and Philips is mostly known for his work with Daft Punk and his design of the LCD pyramid.
Devlin and Philips most definitely added a very entertaining dimension to Kanye's show. The emcee performed some of his biggest hits, including "Amazing," "Flashing Lights," "Stronger," Hearthless," "Say You Will" and "Robocop." In between songs he told stories about his songs with a little rant here and there.
Some quotes that I caught tonight.
"A lot of the things you learn are wrong, don't be an asshole too long."
"If a rich man would run into a poor man, what would they learn?"
"If a black man that came from Chicago and was taught to stand far away from gay people because you don't want to be accused of being gay. [What would happen if he'd run into a gay man] What's the talk? What would he learn, what would I learn? I learned that people in Chicago were wrong and I been an asshole all along."
"God chose me. He made a path for me (. . .) I am God's vessel."
"My greatest pain in life is that I will never be able to see myself perform live."
Somebody really should start a blog with Kanye quotes. Whatever he rants, raves and hollers is sometimes genius, sometimes insane, but always entertaining. (And big kudos for Kanye for bringing up the gay topic, which still remains a big taboo in hip hop.)
I just listened to Kanye West's radio interview with Ryan Seacrest on Kiss FM in Los Angeles. The rapper talked at length about how incredibly cathartic it was for him to produce "808s & Heartbreak" after all the things he went through personally last year.
The songs might not be produced to utter perfection but the collection of songs is an immediate reflection of how he felt at the time. Songs like "Say You Will" and "Welcome To Heartbreak" capture a vibe and state of mind that totally move me. I never thought Kanye's big ego could do that, but this LP is sewn from a different fabric.
Missouri DJ/producer Max Justus remixed 8 tracks from "808s & Heartbreak" and morphed the songs into organic sounding arrangements around Kanye's autio tuned vocals. The result is pretty impressive. Listen for example to the hyper-electro "Paranoid" and the buzzing emo stomper "Street Lights." (Image by John Shearer/WireImage)
Kanye West's "Love Lockdown" continues to inspire remixers. Check out another brand-new version of the song that was produced by Montreal turntabalist DJ Twitch. He adds fresh layers of synths and an electronic hip hop grind to Kanye's orginal. Nicely done.