Category: Check This Out!

“Something In The Water” Recap

For those of you who missed out on Something In The Water, check out my review/recap here at TheOriginalChatman.com!

Virginia has already been on the map, but Something in The Water made it official.

“It is beautiful to see that everyone realizes that this was always supposed to be more than a music festival,” shared Pharrell in an interview with The Virginian-Pilot. Now that Something In The Water has came and went–I speak for myself and other VA locals when I say this—we’re ready for next year! Pharrell’s festival creation will be back on the Oceanfront for 2020. Check out the source here.

“If you know, you know.” These prophetic words from Pusha T (one-half of the Virginia Beach rap duo The Clipse) were best said on his recent body of work, Daytona. Virginia natives (such as myself) have long recognized Virginia as a hotbed of musical and cultural relevance before the epic scale of Something In The Water. Hampton Roads is up to its neck in talent. It’s no coincidence Something In The Water (SITW) fell under the same weekend as College Beach Week; nor is it a coincidence Pharrell brought us SITW at the right time.

friday 4/26/19

That Friday was supposed to set the weekend tone; unfortunately,
Mother Nature wasn’t letting anyone be great! Rain and thunderstorms prevented the day from running its course. While several people scrambled to various Oceanfront restaurants to take cover, I found myself hiding inside an arcade off 14th and Atlantic. The sun beamed through clouds a few times; nevertheless, the entire festival was shutdown that day.

In the eyes of some, Friday’s rainy forecast washed away high hopes of the festival being a success. I knew better, and I felt it too. Waking up Saturday morning with my optimism still in tact, day 2 of SITW was going to be different. Those words Pharrell echoed to the press, “more than a festival” were sustained by the various activities and community conversations offered throughout the weekend. Furthermore, the vast amount of food vendors, local and beyond Hampton Roads, was enough to keep me distracted from Friday’s fiasco.

More Than A Music Festival

For example, corporate sponsors Adidas and Timberland brought forth forward-fashion (free customizable tote bags and Adidas slides) mixed with grass-root community efforts that reach a global scale(Timberland presented festival-goers the chance to plant traceable trees that will revitalize Haiti’s ecosystem while also handing out free swag). American Express presented an Hampton Roads-themed/SITW Art-Walk scattered throughout the Oceanfront. Pharrell called on Chad Hugo and several other famous guests to join them for a live taping of OTHERtone, Pharrell’s Beats 1 Apple Music radio show. I firmly believe Pharrell took a page from other festivals, applied his own spin for SITW, and created a wave for the next few years.

saturday 4/27/19

Saturday’s line-up was like THAAAAAAAAT. A$AP Ferg, SZA, Kaytranada, Travis Scott, and Pharrell and Friends.

A visual representation of someone asking me how the Saturday line-up for SITW was on day 2!
Kaytranada

Kaytranada is a name everyone should know. He’s worked with names like Syd, Ty Dolla Sign, and his live DJ sets will get you moving no matter who you are! Unfortunately, not everyone was jamming as hard as they should’ve been. I know the word “vibe” is used a lot but it was nothing but tons of those during his DJ set.

SZA

If you’ve ever followed me on any social media over the past few years, you’re aware of my love for Solana Imani Rowe, better known by her stage name SZA. (For the record, I’ve been a fan since before her 2017 debut album Ctrl). Her signature free-flowing frolic dance and soulful smooth crooning are staples of her artist brand. There was no one/nothing that could stop me from witnessing her beauty and grace up close and personal for the first time. As powerful as that sounds, it’s a half-truth
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . SZA does make very relatable music; however, her music is mainly from a female perspective. (insert photos/videos here)

Imagine how hard it was for someone over 6-feet tryna stay lowkey while singing songs like songs like “Go Gina”, “Say It Like That”, “Drew Barrymore” and “Love Galore”. Willing to risk any stares I received (and I did get some wild ones), I kept my cool even loudly whispering, “That’s my wife! I love you SZA!” After her set ended, I turned around to look for my dispersed friends. On the journey back to them, I met a random kid with a Ctrl 2017 Tour shirt. When asked about his t-shirt, he told me he was proud to wear it and even prouder to call himself a SZA fan. We dapped each other up and then I left. That small interaction with him made me feel less crazy for admiring her as a fan.

Pharrell & Friends

No Pharrell Williams slander will be tolerated as long as I’m alive. DON’T YOU. DO. IT! Who do know you has enough juice to bring out Snoop Dogg, Charlie Wilson, Tyler the Creator, Missy Elliot, Diddy, and Busta Rhymes on the stage.. on the same night!? P warmed up the crowd rapping some notable hits he’s produced/sang on over the years such as “Hot In Hurrr”, “Alright” and “Mr. Me Too.”

Diddy diddy-bopped and hit us with a smooth, crisp dance number shared along with his three sons. Timbaland gave the crowd nostalgic You Got Served vibes doing “Breathe In, Breathe Out” with fellow VA native and (often-forgotten) veteran artist Magoo. Snoop and Charlie chimed in to help Pharrell serenade the crowd with “Beautiful.” The stars were aligned on the beach.

You know that feeling when you reach the highest of highs, and excitement becomes an out-of-body experience? That’s exactly how I felt when JayZ slyly positioned himself next to Pharrell for his verse on “Frontin'”.

Any ounce of cool I *thought* had in that moment was lost when Jay popped up and continued doing hits like “Izzo”, “I Just Wanna Love You” and my personal favorite “PSA(Public Service Announcement)”.

Allow me to reintroduce myself…my name is Hov!

Sunday 4/28/19


  By the time Sunday arrived, my voice, body, and mind were drained from the whylin’ out I put on for Saturday’s line-up. Nevertheless I kept that same energy from Saturday for Sunday. Chris Brown, Teddy Riley and Anderson . Paak were the last few artists I were ready to give my energy to.

In similar fashion to Pharrell and Friends, Teddy Riley snuck in some surprises throughout his set. 🎶 Doooon’t let me goooooo! 🎶I like the way you work it–No Diggity!🎶

Next thing I know, Coko of the ’90s girl group SWV came thru with her silky summertime voice to perform “Weak” and “Right Here (Human Nature Remix).” Somewhere between “No Diggity” and “Don’t Let Me Go”, Teddy transitions his keyboard playing into “Curious” by Midnight Star, the sample behind Lil Duval’s “Livin’ My Best Life.” Lil Duval jump-skip-hops along the stage and everyone goes nuts!

Chris Brown

Light rain came thru and reared its ugly head before Chris’s set causing him to hop on stage 20 minutes later than his 9:10 showtime. To be honest, I’m not even mad he was lip-synching for the most part. He danced so vividly I couldn’t believe the moves I was watching on stage. They were done so smoothly and effortlessly!

Anderson . Paak

Prior to me writing this, one of my friends recently just got hip to Anderson .Paak and I’m sad to inform y’all this person is no longer my friend! 😔

I kid, of course!😜 Without discrediting the legacy of the late soul singer James Brown, I can honestly say Anderson . Paak is the modern day James Brown with a modern approach. When the Chris Brown crowd left, I discretely inched closer towards the stage in an effort to catch the groovy vibe he and his band The Free Nationals gave off to wrap up Sunday night.

Something in the water was…

Overall one of the greatest experiences I’ve been a part of in a while! It’s about time people stop sleeping on Virginia and what we have going on in our hometown. Something is truly in the water, alright.

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Weekly Wrap Up [July 9th- July 14th]

Will Smith does the #InMyFeelings challenge for the culture. Speaking of culture, Cardi B and Offset welcome their baby girl Kulture into the world! Read more on TheOriginalChatman.com!

This week for the Weekly Wrap Up..Will Smith does the #InMyFeelings challenge for the culture. Speaking of culture, Cardi B and Offset welcome their baby girl Kulture into the world! Read more below! -TheOriginalChatman

Mon. 7/9

1. Winston Duke to star in a biopic detailing the life of deceased MMA fighter Kimbo Slice.

  • After playing M’Baku in two Marvel titles (Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War), actor Winston Duke continues his way to stardom by taking on a most daring role as the late fighter Kimbo Slice.
  • For those of you unfamiliar, Kimbo Slice (real name Kevin Ferguson) faced homelessness and transformed as a YouTube fighting sensation to professional MMA fighter. Slice died June 2016 of congestive heart failure.
  • No word on co-stars, director, or release date but the biopic is slated to be called Backyard Legend. Congrats to Duke on his new role!

[Source: HighSnobiety]

Tues. 7/10

2. Cardi B became a meme with an old childhood photo she posted to her Instagram!

  • If y’all ain’t know by now…the Internet has zero chill and is quick to turn ANYbody into a meme. This was the case with an old photo of five-year-old Cardi B. Here’s a sample of the latest Cardi memes that have been floating around:

Wed. 7/11

CardiB_Maternity_Photo
“K U L T U R E 7/10/18 K I A R I  C E P H U S” (Photo and caption via Offset’s Instagram @OffsetYrn)

3. Cardi B and Offset welcome Kulture, their new baby girl, into the world!

  • This past Tuesday, Cardi B and Offset welcomed their baby girl Kulture Kiari Cephus into the world! Kulture gets her name from Offset’s real name Kiari Cephus, meanwhile the child’s name pays homage to the Migos previous albums, Culture and Culture II.

Thurs. 7/12

4. Will Smith does the #InMyFeelings challenge.

  • You do what when you’re poppin’. CORRECTION: You can do what you want when you’re one of the world’s biggest movie stars— aka Will Smith!

 

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This a screenshot of Will Smith doing the viral #InMyFeelings / #DoTheShiggy challenge, started by Instagram sensation, @TheShiggyShow (Shiggy). Photo from Instagram (@willsmith).

  • The #InMyFeelingsChallenge was originally started by Instagram sensation TheShiggyShow, who goes by Shiggy for short. Since it began late June, other celebs such as Kevin Hart, Ciara, and Russell Wilson have taken a stab at the viral dance.
  • Apparently the Internet thinks Will Smith “won” the challenge as the actor took his attempt to new heights— literally! Smith danced on top of a bridge in Budapest. Despite stiff dance moves, one cannot help but admire the effort Will put into the challenge. Check out Will’s daredevil-ish attempt and let me know what you think.

Fri. 7/13

5. Mac Miller announces new album, SWIMMING.

  • 2018 hasn’t been great for Pittsburgh emcee Mac Miller. He was slapped with a DUI back in May of this year, and even split up with his former pop star girlfriend Ariana Grande. 
  • However, Mac’s looking to make a comeback with his new album, Swimming. As mysterious as the project material and title may be, a 30-second promo trailer for the album provided “some” context.
  • Mac took it a step further by even announcing his tracklist. Swimming marks Mac’s first album since  September 2016’s The Divine Feminine (which was a great birthday gift to myself back then, thanks Mac!).

1. “Come Back to Earth”
2. “Hurt Feelings”
3. “What’s The Use?”
4. “Perfecto”
5. “Self Care”
6. “Wings”
7. “Ladders”
8. “Small Worlds”
9. “Conversation Pt. 1”
10. “Dunno”
11. “Jet Fuel”
12. “2009”
13. “So It Goes”

[Source(s): Pigs & Planes, Complex, HipHopDX]

Sat. 7/14

6. Ari Lennox announces new single, “Whipped Cream.”

  • Despite multiple shows, tours, and festivals going on within the J.Cole-helmed Dreamville camp,  one label mate has remained quiet for quite a while now: Ari Lennox.
  • The first lady of Dreamville informed fans via her Instagram and Twitter that her new single, “Whipped Cream” drops Monday, July 16th.
  • The single’s promo was simple yet suggestive enough to have listeners craving for more. Check out Ari’s tweet for her new single, and hit up the comment section for your thoughts.

 

Weekly Wrap-Up [July 2nd-July 7th]

Mon. 7/2

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Simple and straight to the point, Lebron James’ sports agency, Klutch Sports Group, made a quiet announcement with a press release announcing that he’ll play with the Lakers.

1. Lebron James signs a four-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers!

  • King James f.k.a. Lebron James is taking his talents to the Lakers, and did so in the quietest fashion ever..with a press release and practically no press conference this time!

Tues. 7/3

2.  The official remix to Ella Mai’s “Boo’d Up” features guest verses from Nicki Minaj and Quavo.

  • Apparently the Internet hates it, and some people hated it before even hearing it. Me personally…I’m with the Internetz…issa no for me dawg!
  • Listen to the official remix here.

Wed. 7/4

3. 2 Chainz’s Twitter account was hacked..and man was it ugly!

  • 2 Chainz made a video responding to the hacker and he seemed pretty chill about it. Kudos to him!

View this post on Instagram

Ducks

A post shared by 2 Chainz Aka Tity Boi (@2chainz) on

[Source: BET]

Thurs. 7/5

4. Chance the Rapper is newly engaged!

  • Earlier this week, Chance the Rapper celebrated the the fourth of July and freaked it (*Kendrick Lamar “King’s Dead” ad-lib).
  • On the day most people in the United States seem to hate the most, Chance made sure to make the holiday a memorable one: by proposing to his long-time girlfriend and baby’s mother, Kirsten Corley.
  • Surrounded by loved ones at a barbecue, Chance alluded to the proposal with this tweet:

Here’s video footage of the proposal, in which Chance asked, “Will you make me a man and be my wife?”

  • A “fan”  disapproved of Chance’s proposal and Chano wasn’t having it. Chance exchanged tweets and even went as far as to personally DM this Twitter user. What do y’all think? Be sure to sound off in the comments below!

Fri. 7/6

5. Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande drop the video for their duet, “Bed.”

  • So prior to making this post, I spent roughly 5 minutes watching the video for Nicki Minaj‘s latest duet with Ariana Grande. The video was bleh, and the video seemed very lackluster for a song that’s supposed to give a sexy summer-time vibe.
  • Nicki spends her time rolling around in the ocean as a mermaid, and towards the end magically transforms back into her human form to be on time for a date with Odell Beckham, Jr. from the New York Giants. Whoopee!
  • “If the Barbz and Arianators (fan bases for Nicki and Ariana, respectively) come for my neck, and I don’t come back from war..mark these as my last words…”

Sat. 7/7

6. Drake’s Scorpion album becomes the first project ever to hit one billion streams in a week across all platforms!

drake-scorpion
“Scorpion” broke records with one billion streams globally! Photo via Drake’s Instagram (@champagnepapi).

  • Champagne Papi. The 6 God. Drizzy. Whatever you may call him..Drake seemingly continues to shatter records with almost every album he drops!
  • According to Billboard, The superstar rapper’s newest effort became the first album to reach one BILLION global streams across all digital platforms.
  • Prior to Scorpion tearing up global streaming records, Post Malone‘s beerbongs & bentleys held the global record with  under 700 million streams.
  • Congrats due to Drake! Let’s all help him celebrate by doing the #InMyFeelings / #DoTheShiggy challenge.

[Source(s): Billboard]

 

Eminem Calls On Beyoncé for “Walk On Water”

Eminem releases the Beyoncé-assisted track “Walk on Water” from his upcoming ninth album rumored to be titled “Revival”. Is the song HOT or not? Chime in the comments below!

Eminem and Beyoncé team up for “Walk on Water”, a song ripped from Em’s upcoming ninth album rumored to be titled “Revival.” Just as a heads up, the song is more of a ballad than Eminem’s Trump-bashing fiery freestyle he released at this year’s BET Hip-Hop Awards. Sound off in the comments to let me know if the track is hot or not.

Source(s): Rolling Stone

Joey Badass Dropped 3 New Songs Out of Nowhere!

Joey Badass Dropped 3 New Tracks Out of Nowhere!

While the rest of the world was grabbing their popcorn (and tea) trying to defuse the Rob Kardashian and Blacc Chyna beef (which oddly involved T.I.) which unfolded over Instagram and Snapchat, some really dope music from a respected emcee also dropped over the holiday weekend.

Joey Badass released the heat (July 5th) on his Soundcloud. “Love Is Only A Feeling”, “Too Lit”, and “500 Benz” are all produced by Statik Selektah. Recently, Joey and the Pro Era crew announced the third annual Steez Day festival which takes place in New York this year. Listen to the new Joey bangers and tell me how you feel about them in the comments section.

Dj Khaled Reveals ‘Grateful’ Artwork; Drops New Drake-Assisted Track “To The Max”

Dj Khaled Reveals ‘Grateful’ Artwork; Drops New Drake-Assisted Track “To The Max”

 

DJ Khaled and Drake team up for the first time since Major Key‘s hit single “For Free.”

Despite Khaled screaming all over the Internet the now-famous chant: “ARE THE DRAKE VOCALS IN YET!?”, the new track between Khaled and the 6 God is fire!

The collaboration “To The Max” will be featured alongside the certified platinum  hit “I’m the One” for Khaled’s tenth studio album Grateful, which is slated for a a June 23rd release.

Listen below and as always let me know if the track is hot or not.

♠-TheOriginalChatman-♠

 

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