Keys Finds Her Groove

(NEWSER) - Jay-Z's new Blueprint 3 seems to have critics divided. Some see flashes of brilliance showing the rap veteran at his best, while others see a mediocre effort that relies too much on celebrity.

• Jay-Z sounds "hungrier than he has in years on about half the tracks, while sharing time with guest stars or grappling with undercooked production on the rest," writes Greg Kot for the Los Angeles Times. "Yet even at three-quarters speed, Jay-Z can still be formidable."

Maxwell, K'Jon lead return to classical soul era's adult themes and sound

(NEWSER) - Soul music has always been adult, conveying mature themes like financial insecurity and emotional anxiety. Now, with the emergence of K’Jon and the return of Maxwell, it finally sounds adult, too, Jon Caramanica writes in the New York Times. “K’Jon and Maxwell represent a strain of R&B that has remained blissfully ignorant of the rise and domination of hip-hop,” writes Caramanica. More»

Sure, her life wasn't all hard, but don't write her off as a rapper

(NEWSER) - “Even in a ‘post-race’ world, street sells,” writes Amy Granzin for Pitchfork. That would explain why some looked at Speech Debelle—the once-homeless UK rapper turned Mercury Prize nominee and "hip-hop's next big thing"—and spun “a tiny bit of flash into blinding bling.” The truth is, Debelle had a middle-class, “girl-next-door” upbringing—but don’t write her off. Her debut, Speech Therapy, is “fine, fresh, serious (yet never dour),” and it “speaks for itself.” More»

There's still hope for full-length debut

(NEWSER) - The Cool Kids aren’t as cool as they once were—but “even when they’re on autopilot, their icy flatness has style,” writes Tom Breihan for Pitchfork. Gone Fishing, the internet phenoms’ recently released bundle of free downloadable music, “should be a major event in the group’s evolution,” but instead it sounds like “a collection of castoffs that weren’t good enough” for their upcoming full-length debut. More»

He says US foreign policy helps foster terror

(NEWSER) - Conservatives slammed President Obama for hosting Chicago rapper Common at the White House. Now Obama is taking criticism from a different Chicago rapper. "To me, the biggest terrorist is Obama, and the United States of America,” Lupe Fiasco told CBS in an interview noted by the Huffington Post . “I'm trying to fight the terrorism that's actually causing the other forms of terrorism.” He said “the root cause of terrorism” includes “the foreign policies that we have in place in different countries that inspire people to become terrorists.” More»