The original version of “A No No” can be found on Mariah Carey’s most recent album release, last year’s Caution.

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24hrs – Houses On The Hill

Image credit: Private Club/Commission/BMG

I’d always been f***in’ with 24hrs since he was in the D.C. area going by another name (which found him in some legal trouble). With that said, I’m very happy to see that the Atlanta-based artist has delivered his official debut album titled Houses On The Hill, which sees executive production from Hit-Boy and Ty Dolla $ign (someone who’s been riding for him heavy) and additional appearances from DOM KENNEDY, Vic Mensa, Moneybagg Yo, MadeinTYO, Lil Pump, Smokepurpp, PnB Rock and more. Vibe to it below.

City Girls – Girl Code

Image credit: Quality Control/Motown/Capitol

I’ll be honest, I’m just getting to know who the City Girls are. Not that my tardiness makes a difference, as the Miami duo has been setting the streets on fire, even with one of its members currently in prison. Now aligned with Quality Control, City Girls now deliver a new project titled Girl Code, a proper follow-up to their well-received debut PERIOD. Cardi B, Lil Baby and Jacquees provide assistance, but it’s clear that J.T. and Yung Miami have the talent and star power to hold their own.

If you’re late in the game like myself, you can catch up below.

Mike WiLL Made-It – Creed II: The Album

Image credit: Eardruma/Interscope

I know that, once Mike WiLL Made-It took the reigns on the music accompaniment to the forthcoming Creed sequel, that our audio experience would be in good hands. Today, we see that project — Creed II: The Album — come to fruition, which features a plethora of Mike’s usual suspects and more — Lil Wayne, Nas, J. Cole, Vince Staples, Ella Mai, A$AP Rocky, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross, Rae Sremmurd, Gucci Mane, YG, Gunna and more join in on the fun. Even Creed star Tessa Thompson appears on the tracklist, adding to the all-around effort from the acclaiming Atlanta super-producer. Check it out below.

Big K.R.I.T. – Thrice X

Image credit: Multi Alumni

4eva Is A Mighty Long Time (hell, even Cadillactica) are still in my regular rotation, but I’m always keeping an eye out for new music from Big K.R.I.T. While I am not sure that this is it, fans should be happy to receive a new three-song EP from the Mississippi artist/producer titled Thrice X, which you can stream below. I may need to live with it a bit longer (or, just hold out for that next album).

Anderson .Paak – Oxnard

Image credit: Aftermath/12 Tone

This project doesn’t need much setup. Anderson .Paak‘s Oxnard is probably the most anticipated album of this week, and no one’s expecting the Aftermath artist’s new effort to be anything short of amazing. Fronted by the Kendrick Lamar-assisted single “Tints,” this funky number also sees assistance from Pusha T, BJ The Chicago Kid, Q-Tip, J. Cole, Snoop Dogg, (bossman) Dr. Dre and more. Just press play and be hella impressed.

Leikeli47 – Acrylic

Image credit: Hardcover/RCA/Sony

Brooklyn’s own masked artist Leikeli47 is here with a new album titled Acrylic. As with her identity, I don’t know much about the pieces that came together to make this album (although it’s clear DJ Paul had a hand in it), you can expect the same off-kilter, fresh air vibe of Hip-Hop influences this side of M.I.A. and related artists. Walk ins are welcome.

Kirk Knight – IIWII

Image credit: Pro Era

In addition to Joey BADASS‘ success, fellow Pro Era comrade Kirk Knight has been (quietly?) killing the game both behind in the boards and in front of the microphone. With that said, the New York multi-talent returns with a new project titled IIWII, which sees 12 new cuts and a single appearance from Lucille Gotti. Enjoy below.

Mariah Carey – Caution

Image credit: Epic/Sony

The fact that Gunna‘s on here is good enough reason to stream at least once. Legendary R&B star Mariah Carey is back with her fifteenth studio album titled Caution, which — in addition to Gunna — sees appearances/production assistance from Blood Orange, Slick Rick, Ty Dolla $ign, Timbaland, Nineteen85, Mustard, Skrillex and more. Stream Mimi’s latest below.

Birdman & Jacquees – Lost At Sea 2

Image credit: Cash Money Records

A couple of years after the original Lost At Sea, Birdman and his more recent Cash Money talent Jacquees deliver the sequel, a 14-track offering that sees additional appearances from Trey Songz and bunch of other artists I’m not yet familiar with. Check out Lost At Sea 2 below.

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Image credit: Lotion LLC/Epic/Sony

Let’s keep it a buck: recent/past footage of Mariah Carey on someone’s stage has been rather hilarious; watching the legendary songstress doing her best Weekend At Bernie’s impression (seemingly because she doesn’t feel like moving) is more of a draw than anything else at this point.

Nonetheless, MiMi is returning with a new album titled Caution, and she’ll be hitting a city near you to tell you all about it. The Caution Tour kicks off in February; get your tickets and check out the schedule here.

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Check that bouncy rhythm out below, along with — if you missed it — another recent visual for the track “With You.”

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Mariah Carey is back with a new single titled “GTFO,” and the simple-yet-effective video above sees the R&B legend enjoying a drink while letting an unknown love know how she really feels.

Mimi explained the new single — which was produced by Nineteen85 and samples Porter Robinson‘s “Goodbye to a World” — as a fun appetizer for her fans, who haven’t heard much from her since 2014’s Me. I Am Mariah… The Elusive Chanteuse (her performances since then have been hilarious, though):

I wanted to give my fans and everyone a first listen that wasn’t so serious. I’ve had so much fun making this album, and I wanted the first moment to reflect that light-hearted spirit.

Enjoy above.

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Power 105’s DJ Clue and Scoop B Radio host Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson in New York City. Photo Courtesy of: The Brandon Robinson Brand

Check out DJ Clue and Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson on Scoop B Radio

The NFL and NBA’s season are literally around the corner. That means one thing: the release of Madden 18, NBA Live 18 and NBA 2K 18 video games are a fast break pass and a 2-minute drill away from releasing.

Over the last ten-plus years, the NBA 2K franchise has established itself as a premier hoops platform. This year, EA Sports has made a comeback with their release of NBA Live 18 and James Harden as the game’s cover athlete. One of the coolest features of the game is a mode that allows you to play with WNBA teams; the first of its kind and according to my buddy Brian Mazique at FORBES Magazine, by way of Chicago the game’s soundtrack is pretty solid!

Speaking of soundtracks, I’m always enamored by the evolution of video game soundtracks. One of the catalysts of that was NBA Live 2003.

The game had Jason Kidd on the cover and the game’s intro, ‘It’s In The Game,’ was performed by Fabolous with DJ Clue producing the track. “You know it’s funny I was just thinking about that today,” DJ Clue told me on Scoop B Radio.

“I was thinking about how,  I think I saw James Harden say he was on the cover of the new Live. So I was thinking: ‘Man it wasn’t too long ago that I produced the intro to Live and it had rap on it.”

Added DJ Clue:

“I think that sometimes  you get caught in the moment and you don’t realize how big something is that you are doing.”

The track and video was pretty legit!

“They gave me no restrictions on how to be with sound, but they gave me sound effects that they wanted me to actually incorporate into actually beats.The whistle, the feet squeaking, the dunk, they gave me all those sounds. So I was in the studio, I was doing a beat and I came up with the beat and they came up with the rap and I had to go back and put the sound effects in from what he was rapping about.”

That he that DJ Clue is referring to was Fabolous.

Fabolous’ wordplay on the track was insane:

“‘I’m the crowd favorite and I believe the fans love the way I finger roll it with either hand, my handles pull it through presses plus I can play the lane and block shots like bulletproof vestes.’

How the heck did Fab turn the plural of the word ‘vest’ into his own wording? Years later he’d do it again in his song “Breathe,” when he changed the plural of the word ‘mask’ into ‘maskes.’

But I digress!

“It was a cool experience,” Fabolous told me in a recent interview.

“The whole video game, I actually got to visit the EA Sports headquarters and got to see the stuff behind games; the real geeky, techy side, that was even cool. It was really, really, really a cool experience.”

According to DJ Clue, not only did he take part in the producing process of the game, in the NBA Live 2003 game, EA Sports created a creation of the DJ Clue if you put a special code in. “If you typed in the code ‘Mixtape,’ I personally came up in the game as a player you could play with a 96 rating,” said DJ Clue while on Scoop B Radio.

A 96 rating Clue? Don’t let current NBA players hear that!

Apparently EA Sports crafted the Power 105 dj’s likeness after Tracy McGrady, who will be a minted an NBA Hall of Famer in a couple of weeks at the NBA’s Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Make sure to check out DJ Clue’s interview in its entirety by clicking here. Not only did DJ Clue discuss NBA Live 2003, he also discussed his infamous ‘Clueminati’ and William M. Holla Drops before the start of songs.

“I have always heard people talk about the Illuminati,” said DJ Clue.

“But it was, I wanted to try and put my own little twist to it. So I came up with Clueminati, Clue Fargino you know all those names, just to keep it interesting. You know Fidel Cashflow, you know.”

DJ Clue also discussed what it was like working with Mariah Carey on tracks like  “Thank God I Found You Remix,” a track that DJ Clue produced:

“Mariah is a super perfectionist man,” he said. “So she wants to make sure that when she does vocals that it are done right. She definitely is that person that if she wants you to hear her music it has to be right. She isn’t playing around.”

Clue says Working with Tamia on the So Into You Remix with Fabolous challenged Tamia in a good way: “I feel like I pushed her,” he said.

DJ Clue weighed in on why Jay-Z doesn’t write his lyrics down: “I think Jay started doing that because I think it helps him remember songs,” said DJ Clue.

“There have been times when we have been on stage when he first started. He would be on stage and he would forget a line or two. He would tap me and be like: ‘Yo what’s the line?’ I think coming from that he would just sit and be like: ‘yo maybe if I just memorize it better if I just sit and say it to myself over and over again.. He used to get in the car and be like: ‘yo give me a day or two. He would ride around with his driver and make up his lines. He would call me up and be like: ‘Oooh I got a line.’ That is how it would be.”

He also says Puff Daddy has a pretty good routine while in studio:

“I think with Puff working with him; when I would go to Daddy’s House [his old recording studio]  he would have Total in one room working, then you would have BIG working in another and then have Craig Mack working in another room. He would be bouncing from room to room working on songs; it was crazy! Je would say: ‘Ok I’m working with Total in one room and then be back in an hour, he was going for it. He had a movement, he would be there all times of the night, working on songs. Puff’s work ethic was serious!”

DJ Clue also discussed his own business ventures like his DJ Clue Ap, his forthcoming documentary and his no-tie shoelaces that he has called Clue Lace. The partnership that he and business partner, Randy Parker, a fellow DJ who goes by the stage name DJ ESSO is successful so far. “It is definitely the first no-tie shoelace,” DJ Clue told me.

“If you have kids out there, you know how strenuous it is when you get yelled at to tie your shoelaces. You don’t got to do that! These are the no-tie shoelace. They are flexible, they are dope. They are good for kids in sports. You don’t want to stop the game from the moment on the court because their shoelaces are untied, or trip over them. You can set them one time and it will never go loose. They look stylish too.”

 

There are about 12 varieties of his laces available.

As for DJ Clue’s forthcoming documentary he told Scoop B Radio:

“It is going to take you into different phases of my career,” he said. “The start, obviously you have to go into Queens and check out mom’s crib and the place it all started at. Different times when I was producing with different people, my different travel, of course. It is going to have my trials and tribulations and that kind of stuff. It is like any story. You have to make sure you focus on the good and the bad and all the positives and all the negatives. We want to have it well-rounded so that people can really understand the story and know where the grind came from.”

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The post Scoop B: DJ Clue Discusses Working With Fabolous on NBA Live 2003, Clue Lace, Documentary, Producing For Mariah Carey, Puff Daddy & Jay-Z appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Coco Jones posing. Photo Credit: Coco Jones/Instagram

You may know singer/actress Coco Jones Jones from her appearance in the Disney Channel film, Let It Shine or for appearing on Radio Disney’s Next Big Thing, but keep one thing certain: her foundation began in the church.

Appearing on Scoop B Radio, Coco Jones Credited both the late Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and more for the vocal inspiration.

“Growing up my mom put me on to a lot of powerhouse singers,” Coco Jones told me on Scoop B Radio.

“I was into Aretha Franklin, Fantasia, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Cece Winans, my mom told me like if you can sing these songs then you can sing anything, oh and I can’t forget Whitney Houston I was into all the bangers.”

She added: “I love singing. I’ve always been this little performer, I was always that extra kid doing the most.” 

A Lebanon, Tennesse native, Coco Jones is the daughter of NFL player Mike Jones and vocalist Javonda Jones. According to her Wikipedia page, her first stage performance was at the age of six when she performed “America the Beautiful” to a crowded auditorium of parents at her kindergarten graduation.

“I remember my dad bought me this karaoke machine one time, I broke it like on sight I broke it like I think it was on the day he bought it.” 

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The post Coco Jones Credits Cece Winans & Whitney Houston For Musical Inspiration appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.