BY DAN GARCIA
Behind every great rapper is a great non-rapping singer… well not really, but there are plenty of amazing singers that especially complement the rap world very well. While these singers almost always have hip-hop influences in their production, when they hit up the studio with one of your favorite rapper, a hit is bound to form. Check out our list of the best singers to complement rappers.
BY WILL LAMPLEY
Yearly, hip-hop magazine XXL does a freshman cover, showcasing nearly a dozen rising stars. Sometimes, these lists are underwhelming, leaving obvious choices out (Drake, Young Thug, Tyler, the Creator, A$AP Rocky, etc) but sometimes they can also be packed with to-be stars (2011’s issue).
Now that a couple years have passed, it would definitely be interesting to observe how well some of 2012’s freshman have fared, because frankly, the gap between superstars and unknowns is huge.
Let’s begin.
The autotune crooner was already known by the time this cover was released and he’s done well for himself. While his record sales are mundane for someone at his status, his singles are still popular. Future Vandross has went completely left from his original trap persona to dive into writing for R&B artists and defying the odds, as most wrote him off to be a one hit wonder since his hit ‘Tony Montana’.
Back in 2012, to the general public, this guy was just a Chris Brown look-a-like with an overly simple rap name/aesthetic. But to the mixtape circuit, he was moving around and grinding heavy. The grind finally paid off once he scored two Chris Brown features and DJ Mustard produced hits. The sad thing is he’s only known for singles.
Detroit MC Danny Brown was known by 2012 but he’s only worked harder since the cover has passed, dropping a critically acclaimed album, opening for Eminem and touring worldwide. He has no plans of stopping and is fully satisfied with sacrificing radio spins for quality music.
French’s album flopped. But he didn’t let that stop him, he instead continued to release hits as well as linking with Khloe Kardashian the goddess, solidifying his pop culture relevancy. Let’s see how he responds to the break-up.
Who would’ve thought? The seemingly random white rapper Macklemore, independent, corny and somewhat conscious, went on to release his Grammy award winning album in late 2012 and ran 2013 as the biggest pop artist. I still don’t get it.
BY TER STAFF
This past summer Dave Chappelle recounted a story about a young Kanye West in which Chappelle overheard Kanye telling someone over the phone about how he was with Chappelle watching unseen clips of The Chappelle Show. Chappelle, in his interview with The Tonight Show, said that during the phone conversation, that after asked about how a young Kanye was in such a setting, West replied “Cause my life is dope, and I do dope shit.” Well in honor of that quote, we have photoshopped 5 images of Kanye doing ‘dope shit’ that he hasn’t done yet.
Continue reading 5 Pictures of Kanye ‘Doing Dope Shit’ That He Hasn’t Done Yet
BY TER STAFF
No one is better at their job than interviewer, Nardwuar the Human Serviette. In his top notch and second-to-none research, the Nard will find and uncover things about an artist that even their mother doesn’t know. Throughout his extensive catalog of interviews we have learned that Chance the Rapper owns a tobacco field in North Carolina, Drake thinks about porn star Cherokee before bed, and much more. Although he certainly puts on for his city, Vancouver, Nardwuar also uncovers local joints from some of your favorite rapper’s hometowns. Here is our list of 8 local joints we need to visit and learned about from Nardwuar interviews.
Continue reading 8 Local Joints We Learned About from Nardwuar Interviews
BY DAN GARCIA
In our inaugural year and summer as your daily source for music, we were given the great opportunity of being invited to cover Chicago’s North Coast Music Festival‘s 5th Anniversary. If you find yourself in Chicago this weekend, The Early Registration has the acts that you should be most excited to see.
Continue reading 10 Acts We’re Most Excited to See at North Coast Music Festival 2014
It’s that time of year again. FYF Fest is happening this weekend in the city of sunny Los Angeles, California. Having the fortune of being able to go for both days, I am very excited to see a slew of artists crossing several genres, some new, some old, and some reunited again after a hiatus (with the unfortunate exception of Death Grips due to breaking up last July). Here are my 10 most anticipated acts:
BY TER STAFF
In the past week, a ton of musicians have stepped up to show their support in the fight against ALS. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord that causes pain and loss for too many families across the nation. We took the liberty of compiling a list of some of our favorite musicians showing their support.
BY TER STAFF
Although 2014 has not been strongest year for albums thus far, being a couple months past the half way point of the year we have compiled our list of the best albums of the year so far.
Continue reading The Early Registration’s Albums of the Year (So Far)
BY TER STAFF
In an exchange where the interviewer has a direct interest to get the juiciest details out of an artist, sometimes even wanting to provoke the artist (see Charlamagne Tha God), sometimes artists just can’t keep their cool. Here are our top ten moments of just that. Credits to KanyeToThe for some of the examples.
BY TER STAFF
The world tragically lost one of its favorite actors and comedians yesterday, a void that can never be filled. With classic films like Good Will Hunting, Patch Adams, Dead Poets Society, Mrs. Doubtfire and many others, we will never forget Robin Williams. To keep the memory alive we have compiled a list with ten of the best moments were rappers paid homage and reference to the comedy legend that is Robin Williams.
Continue reading The 10 Best Robin Williams References in Rap
The Early Registration 