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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: First Look

  • First Look: Eminem’s “We Need You”

    eminem

    Honestly, Marshall? No, we don’t. Not anymore, anyway.

    Mr. Mathers has been sliding down the slippery slope of suck ever since peaking with “The Marshall Mathers LP”, which celebrates its’ 9th birthday in a month or so. Not to say Eminem has lost his gift of gab-he’s just been at a loss for interesting subject matter. The more of a star he became, the less righteous rage he could muster up. This is why his last studio album, “Encore” (which is nearly five years old now), struggled to stay afloat. For every righteously indignant masterpiece like “Mosh”, there were twice as many pee and poo jokes-things that might have been appropriate for Em’s daughter Hailie, but not for the hip-hop fans who’d anointed Slim Shady one of the best emcees of all time.

    Those of you that thought a few years off might recharge Eminem’s creative batteries? Sorry, y’all. “We Need You” finds Eminem right where we left him. His flow is still ridiculous, but who told him to keep rhyming in that idiotic Triumph the Insult Comic Dog voice? Who told him that people still care about Jessica Simpson? (surely, he must read Billboard). Just like the first singles from each of his past three LPs (I say that since we don’t know where “Crack a Bottle” will end up), Eminem has gone ultra-pop and has resorted to cheap jokes to grab a hit, and the sad thing is, he still has a ton of fans who will eat this shit up. It’s sad.

    You can check out this piece of hot garbage here on MTV.com.

  • First Look: Ciara & Justin’s “Love Sex Magic”

    Ciara’s “Fantasy Ride” is one of those albums that was SUPPOSED to come out ages ago, but her record company just hasn’t found a song that caught fire. Enter Justin Timberlake, and voila, not only does Ciara have another hit on her hands, but the album’s finally been given a firm May release date. The song’s called “Love Sex Magic”, and the video is below.

    A lot of folks hate on JT, but I’m not mad at the dude at all. Although he’s obviously not as talented as HE thinks he is, the fact of the matter is that he was behind one of the few 50 Cent songs I like (“Ayo Technology”), finally turned me around to appreciating T.I. (“Dead & Gone”), and was behind most of the good stuff on Madonna’s last album. Hell, I wouldn’t even be caught near a Ciara record if not for this song. While I still won’t buy the album, this is definitely worth the 99 cents (or $1.29 now that their prices are being raised) on iTunes.

    As for the video, well, damn. All I have to say is that if Ciara moves like that, she should be in the circus.

  • First Look: T.I.’s “Dead & Gone”

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    Not only has T.I. been on his own personal road to redemption after his 2007 arrest for purchasing illegal guns, but he’s been on the road to redemption in my book simply for making decent music. The Atlanta MC surprised me with his latest album, “Paper Trail”, which boasts at the very least a handful of undeniable singles. T.I.’s lyricism has improved (thanks to something as simple as writing his lyrics down), and the result is what I consider the first listenable album of his career.

    As T.I. prepares to head for the pokey next month, he leaves us with the video for “Dead & Gone”, which features Justin Timberlake. It’s their second hit collaboration, following JT’s smash “My Love” back in ’06. It’s a pretty affecting video, and it makes me wonder-hope, even-that T.I. will emerge from this ordeal a wiser, more responsible man.