Drake - 'Nothing Was The Same'

After a season of ups and downs--beginning with more than impressive opening sales for J. Cole (297k), Kanye (327k), Jay-Z (Platinum), and Wale (152k) and ending with very lackluster openings for 2 Chainz (55-65k projected), Big Sean (72k), and Juicy J (64k)-- summer is officially coming to an end.
While things have been looking surprisingly dreary lately, the new season brings a new hope that Hip Hop will hit another high. With Drake's Nothing Was The Same is set for release on September 24th, odds are pretty great that hip hop will dominate Billboard yet again.

Boasting hit singles "Hold On We're Going Home" and "Started From The Bottom," along with highly  controversial "Wu Tang Forever,"  Nothing Was The Same seems to have the makings of another polarizing yet Grammy award winning project.

Update: Now that the album's in stores, hit the comments with your thoughts on NWTS!

Sales figures & Projections via HNHH

Previously: Drake Drops 4 New Tracks & Reveals 'Nothing Was The Same' Release Date

Kanye West Announces 'Yeezus' Tour With Kendrick Lamar

Kanye's album Yeezus has had quite the polarizing response, but there's a common consensus on one thing: the man puts on a hell of a show.

To make things even more exciting, Ye is hitting the road with the self-proclaimed "King of New York" and my personal favorite emcee, Kendrick Lamar  Check out the dates below, and be sure to stay tuned to GUE or KanyeWest.com to find out when tickets go on sale. Who's coming with me to the ATL show?!

# = Kendrick Lamar 

^ = special guest to be announced

Previously:

• [Music Video] Kanye West - "Black Skinhead"
• Big Sean ft. Kendrick Lamar & Jay Electronica - "Control"

[Music Video] Jay-Z ft. Justin Timberlake - "Holy Grail"

Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake have collaborated quite a bit this year--from "Suit & Tie," the Legends Of The Summer tour, a soon to be released track on Justin's The 20/20 Experience: Part 2 Of 2, to Jay-Z's MCHG opener "Holy Grail."

While the song itself is big, the visuals by Anthony Mandler take record to another level. Magna Carta... Holy Grail is in stores now!



Previously:

• [Video] Jay Z Talks Commercialization, Competion & More With Elliott Wilson
• [Music Video] Justin Timberlake - "Mirrors"

Janelle Monae ft. Miguel - "Primetime"

After revealing the upbeat yet socially aware singles "Q.U.E.E.N." and "Dance Apocalyptic," Janelle Monae reveals a smoother side of her forthcoming album The Electric Lady with the Miguel duet "Primetime."  As two artists who are highly influenced and in awe of Prince, I'm almost sure this is a track he'd be proud of.

Stream "PrimeTime" below, and hit the jump to view The Electric Lady's official album cover and track list!

[Music Video] Big Sean ft. Jhené Aiko & Lil Wayne - "Beware"

After Kendrick Lamar stole the show on Big Sean's "Control," it's good to see that Sean is returning the the focus back to promoting his singles that will land on August 27's Hall Of Fame. Check out the trippy visuals to the Lil Wayne and Jhené Aiko featured "Beware" below, and hit the jump to catch Sean and Jhené's recent performance of the track on Jimmy Kimmel live.

[Free Album Stream] Earl Sweatshirt - 'Doris'

I'm not one to vocally deem myself an avid fan of Odd Future, but my CD collection from the past year begs to differ. After streaming Earl Sweatshirt's new album, I'm positive that my physical copies of Frank Ocean's Channel Orange and Tyler, The Creator's Wolf will soon be joined by Doris.

Now that the "Where's Earl?" phenomenon has ended and the shock value surrounding Odd Future has calmed down a bit, it's time to see if the nineteen-year old emcee is really the prodigy he's been proclaimed to be. Stream Doris courtesy of Odd Future's Souncloud HERE, and check out the visuals to the Tyler, The Creator featured "Whoa" below. Be sure to cop on August 20th if you like what you hear!



Previously: Earl Sweatshirt ft. Frank Ocean - "Sunday"

Rickie Jacobs - "Memoirs Of HER"

I say this too often... Faith Evans had some of the best hip hop beats on her R&B albums!! Finally, an emcee worthy of "You Used To Love Me" greatness takes on the classic record.

Listen to "Memoirs of Her" below as Rickie Jacobs reminisces over somebody that he used to know.

This song is based on true events, me trying to get over a woman that's moved on to other things, me on the other hand is still dealing with the fact that she's never coming back. - Rickie

Previously: Rickie Jacobs - "Millionaire" (Prod. by YOG$) + #HeresYourAnswer (Reebok Classics Commercial)

[FreEP] J.A.E - 'Verses For !llmind'

Artwork By: Ladale Ally

While !llmind's musical greatness should never go unrecognized, J.A.E provides the ultimate salute by recording an entire mixtape over the producer's most recent project, !.B.F.K.W. (!llmind Beats For Kanye West). Stream + download Verses For !llmind below, and check out J.A.E's personal !llmind story below:

!llmind is one of my favorite producers of all time. When I met him awhile back at the Skyzoo "Frisbees" video shoot, I remember inquiring about some production and him stating something about a budget. However, at the time I hadn't even put out my first mixtape yet and was clueless to what a budget was. When a friend of mine played the production on #BFKW I was blown away and felt the need to pay homage to one of the greatest to ever do it. Thank you !llmind

Hourglass Picks: "Rolling Stones," "Fast Forward," "Accept Us," "Mr. Blog[*ahem* wom]an"

Download: J.A.E - Verses For !llmind

Earl Sweatshirt ft. Frank Ocean - "Sunday"

Earl Sweatshirt was the sole rap feature on Frank Ocean's debut album channel ORANGE, and the favor's been returned as the singer-songwriter morphs into an emcee on "Sunday." Frank's half of the record is an added bonus to Earl's well-crafted verse as Odd Future's most skilled lyricist takes on the simplistically intricate self-produced track.

Stream "Sunday" below, and hit the jump to see Earl's television debut as he took to Late Night Jimmy Fallon to premiere "Burgundy" with The Roots. Doris hits shelves August 20th,


Earl Sweatshirt - "Sunday" ft. Frank Ocean Lyrics

Did you catch that Chris Brown shade?

K. Michelle ft. Young Jeezy - "V.S.O.P." (Remix)

This week is "very special" for K. Michelle, so why not drop the remix?

The Love & Hip Hop diva is one of the few cast members with legitimate talent who positively capitalized from reality stardom, and she now has the album to show for it. In celebration of yesterday's release of Rebellious Soul, K. Michelle premieres the remix of the project's lead single "V.S.O.P." featuring Young Jeezy.


Purchase Rebellious Soul on iTunes now!

Previously: Young Jeezy - "R.I.P." (Remix) ft. YG, Kendrick Lamar & Chris Brown