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   CHRISTOPHER R. WEINGARTEN  

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When news broke of Eminem and Royce Da 5’9” teaming up again for the first time in a decade, old rap nerds (like myself) were ecstatic. Here were two reigning masters of electric wordplay and demented imagery ready to recapture the playful battle raps they honed in the ’90s. First single “Fastlane” certainly didn’t disappoint. The pair slaps policemen, fantasizes about Nicki Minaj, digs up Jack Kevorkian’s bones and explores levels of pyrotechnic assonance that would make Earl Sweatshirt’s eyes water (“Graduated from master debater-slash-massive masturbator/to Michael Jackson’s activator, meaning I’m on fire”—wtf!). If you’re into syllable torture and toying with taboos, this is your jam of the year.
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So you can imagine my disappointment in hearing second single “Lighters.” With its soaring Bruno Mars chorus, it’s less a rap song and more redolent of this new wave of histrionic pop where triumphant, melodramatic choruses are occasionally broken up by rapping: Jay-Z’s “Empire State Of Mind,” B.o.B’s “Airplanes,” Lupe Fiasco’s “Words I Never Said,” Diddy’s “Coming Home” and Eminem’s own “Love The Way You Lie.” Usually Skylar Grey is involved. Naturally, the sappy “Lighters” debuted at 17 on Billboard this week, handily clearing “Fastlane”’s peak. Village Voice music editor Maura Johnston calls this stuff “Glee rap,” which is fairly accurate—turning modern rap music into this mushy wash of Hallmark-special emotion, treacly sentiment and soap opera woosh. It’s safe to say that this stuff is not my thing. But when I look at it more subjectively, it’s hard to make a solid argument that chart-rap is actually bad for the art form itself. In fact, I actually think I’m gonna have to come to terms with the stuff.
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For starters, it’s impossible to complain about something that’s finally allowing some of hip-hop’s most talented people to write the biggest checks of their careers. After a solid 20 years of grinding, Jay-Z had his first Number One single with the syrupy “Empire.” The perennially slept-on Royce Da 5’9” had his first Number One album of his life. Even Dr. Dre had his second biggest hit as a solo artist with the rapper-to-rapper valentine “I Need A Doctor.” These guys already made Jaws, why should we be mad when they make E.T?
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Chris Martin and his Coldplay cronies deliver another surefire summer rocker. Check out the U.K chart-topping band’s new single “Major Minus.”
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Rap’s young gun wants to see you get your sweat on. It’s J. Cole’s new jam “Work Out.”
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T. Milly and tats go hand in hand. Watch dude get inked in his video for “She Got A.”
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Check out other new single and video premieres at MySpace Music.
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His re-working of “Old Man” was only the start. It’s “Introducing…” artist Redlight King’s entire new LP Something for The Pain.
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Listen to Redlight King’s new LP Something For The Pain right here.
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Check out other new single and video premieres at MySpace Music.