Welcome Blue Ivy Carter! + Listen to Jay-Z's "Glory"

Last summer word broke that superstar couple Beyonce and Jay-Z were expecting a little one. I'm not really one to care about celebrity babies, but this news even had me excited! After a decade together, many people wondered when the secretive couple would reproduce a mini superstar. Well as of last Saturday night, Beyonce gave birth to Blue Ivy Carter. Interesting name...

Speculation found on every celeb gossip site mentions that the couple went with the name "Ivy" because of the significance of the number 4 or "IV" in their relationship.  Beyonce's birthday is September 4th, Jay-Z's is December 4th and they were married on April 4th. They also have matching "IV" tattoos on their wedding fingers, not to mention Beyonce's most recent record is named 4. Many are assuming that "Blue" derives from Jay-Z's series of records titled The Blueprint. What happens if they choose to have another child?

I bet it will be a long time coming before anyone knows what she looks like, but it shouldn't be hard to figure out she's probably incredibly adorable. Her mom is a goddess after all. And her dad... well he's Jay-Z. Who, might I add, was already at work creating a song about the new joy in his life. Today, the rap mogul posted a new track to his website Life + Times, titled "Glory" featuring none-other then Blue Ivy Carter herself. Two days old and already in a track with one of the self-proclaimed greatest rappers alive. Listen below; it'll pull on your heart strings.

"Glory" - Jay-Z feat. Blue Ivy Carter

Beyonce Pregnant With Super Child!

By now it's no secret that Beyonce is preggers. At the MTV Music Video Awards on Sunday night, the R&B diva announced that her and husband Jay-Z were expecting a little one. After performing "Love On Top," she unbuttoned her shimmery jacket and flaunted her baby bump for the world to see. The Huffington Post confirmed that she is five months along. So just another four months until the super child is born! Celebrities have babies all the time, but this is an interesting case. Beyonce and Jay-Z have been a high profile superstar couple since 2002 and were even regarded as one of the most powerful couples of our generation (according to TIME Magazine anyway...). Not to mention that they are both incredibly talented. I'm excited to see how this baby's future will pan out (I'm not the only one; talk about pressure!). If anything, we know they'll be having one happy child, the almighty
Jigga Man will see to that.

In other news, I wish I was this baby.

Kanye & Jay-Z; "Otis"

Sorry blog, I have not abandoned you! I will get back to my regular postings shortly, promise. In the mean time, enjoy the Spike Jonze-directed clip for Jay-Z and Kanye's "Otis." It's over the top and flashy, what else could we expect? Enjoy!

Watch New Beastie Boys Action Figure Music Video + "Watch The Throne" Details

The Beastie Boys are back with another must-see music video! The New York rap trio teamed up with director Spike Jonze to create The Continuingly Ill Adventures of the Beastie Boys to accompany the track “Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win” featuring guest vocals by Santigold. The clip is ridiculous, yet hilarious and overly entertaining. It follows action figure replicas of the Beasties and Santi as they are ambushed at a live concert by an “Anti-Beastie Boys” military attack. A chase then ensues through the snow, then the ocean... and well you just got to see it for yourself. Watch the full length version of the clip below!

Finally, we have some details about Jay-Z and Kanye West's highly anticipated collaborative record, Watch The Throne. According to Billboard.com, the album will be available for download August 1 and dropped in stores on August 5. It was also announced that LMFAO, La Roux, Kid Cudi, Seal and Mr. Hudson as well as Beyoncé and Frank Ocean will lend their vocals on the album, while The Neptunes, RZA, Q-Tip, Swizz Beatz, Lex Luger, No I.D were reported to have worked on the tracks. Sounds interesting and left me with a sense of relief. The colloboration may be just as epic as their making it out to be...

Madge in the Studio + Jay-Z & Kanye's “Watch The Throne”

Madonna, pop's ultimate diva, is back in the studio working on her 12^th album, according to a tweet by her manager Guy Oseary. Details about her return are minimal, but it's been rumoured that A-Trak and David Guetta will be featured on the record. With these collaborations, it could mean that it would have more of an electronic/house vibe, which is a relief, because her stint in urban pop with 2008's Hard Candy was a little awkward.

The collaborative record by hip hop giants Jay-Z and Kanye West has been hyped about for some time, but details surrounding the album have been kept hush-hush. However there is now some speculation that Watch the Throne will be released on August 2 according to the receipts of pre-orders made by fans this week. Even the track-listing is a mystery. It's been said that the album will feature songs produced by Swizz Beatz, No ID and Lex Luger and guest vocals by Bruno Mars and Beyoncé. I'm enjoying the regal-looking cover art. Givenchy creative director Riccardo Tisci was hired to design it, probably Kanye's doing. I'm a little anxious to hear the sound of this record, but if “H.A.M” is any indication, my excitement will be short-lived.

Grammy Hangover; Surprises, Shockers, The Good & Bad

What can I say about the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards that took place in Los Angeles last night? Well, now that I've calmed down and placed my phone across the room so I can cease whatever is left of the Twitter attack I was having, I can clearly reflect on last night's events.

First of all, biggest surprise of the night; Arcade Fire wins Album of the Year for their masterpiece, The Suburbs. This was an incredible moment for not only the band, but for music. Like Kanye tweeted, maybe there is hope in the world. I was shocked. As a big fan of the band, of course I was cheering for them, but never expected an album that was released on an independent label to beat out the likes of Eminem, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Lady Antebellum. The seven-piece Canadian outfit was clearly shocked themselves. “What the hell?” exclaimed frontman Win Butler when he received the award. “Thank you to the Grammys, thank you everyone. We're so happy!” They then ended the night with an energized performance of “Ready to Start.” The band later tweeted this. I'm genuinely so happy for them.

Another surprise, Eminem, the one-expression-only rap superstar, was nominated for 10 awards, but only left with two. So much for the clean sweep everyone thought was going to happen.

The shockers don't end there. Jazz singer and instrumentalist, Esperanza Spalding took home the highly coveted award for Best New Artist. I think I speak for everyone when I say: “WTF?” How does someone who is relatively unknown in the world of mainstream music beat out huge contenders like Justin Bieber, Florence and the Machine, Drake, and Mumford and Sons? I'm all for recognizing new artists and sounds, but lets be fair here, everyone she was up against (including Bieber) contributed much to the industry as of recently and they hand over the award to the new kid? Voters got it wrong.

Yet another head-scratcher; the chart-topping country group Lady Antebellum won Grammys for both Record and Song of the Year, shutting out favored nominees Cee Lo Green and Eminem and Rihanna.

In the other top categories, Muse took home Best Rock Album for The Resistance, the deserving Black Keys won Best Alternative Album for Brothers, and Jay-Z and Alicia Keys received the Best Rap Song award for “Empire State of Mind.”

Awards aside, it was all about the performances. The night began with a tribute to Aretha Franklin (that went on for far too long) and featured Christina Aguilera, Martina McBride, Yolanda Adams, Jennifer Hudson and Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine (who was clearly the best vocalist of the bunch). A 67-year-old Mick Jagger also payed tribute, but to Solomon Burke instead and proved age clearly doesn't matter when he energetically danced across the stage in Nike sneakers.

Lady Gaga's debut performance of “Born This Way” was one of my favourites. Yes, she is crazy and weird and some of her artistic ideas seem out of the norm, but how boring would it be if every artist was the same? She offers us something different, a little entertainment while we listen to her beautifully crafted pop music. So haters need to leave her be; I'm looking at you Jason Segel. The pop star arrived at the ceremony enclosed in an egg, then hatched during her well choreographed performance and was born a hair-whipping, organ-playing demon-dinosaur! It was entertaining and I enjoyed it. Her outfits throughout the night were hilariously awesome; massive platforms, a superhero inspired leather ensemble which outlined fake butt cheeks and a hat that hid her face. Could we expect anything less?

Muse played their hit “Uprising” while standing on the three-piece stage they used for their last tour, as a riot took place beneath them. Bob Dylan joined Mumford and Sons and the Avett Brothers after they performed their folk singles and sang “Maggie's Farm.” Although Dylan is getting older and his voice isn't what it used to be, it was still a nice moment. Rihanna, Eminem and Maroon 5's Adam Levine teamed up for “Love the Way You Lie.” Then in his first television performance in over a decade, Dr. Dre joined Eminem in “I Need a Doctor.” It was great, but could have used a little more Dre.

Rihanna later returned with Drake for "What's My Name," another one of my favourite performances. The song took on a more tribal vibe and Rihanna's vocals seemed stronger. It probably wasn't completely live, which would explain it. Speaking of my faves of the night, Arcade Fire's seizure-inducing stobe light extravaganza for "Month of May," was simply awesome and consisted of guys on BMX bikes riding across the stage with cameras on their helmets so we could see what they see. Pretty cool.

Oscar winner Gwenyth Paltrow paired up with Cee Lo Green to sing “The song otherwise known as 'Forget You'” as the Grammys puts it. It was a colourful performance, complete with dancing Muppets, Cee Lo in a bird/knight costume and a piano-climbing Paltrow. Although it seemed like Cee Lo might have forgotten some of his own lyrics, he could have just been really into it. It was a fun few minutes after all. B.O.B, Bruno Mars and Janelle “Poof” Monae also came together during “Nothing On You,” “Grenade” and “Cold War.”


At the end of the day, it wasn't a complete waste of 3 and half hours. Until next year!

The 53rd Annual Grammy Award Winners:
Album of the Year: Arcade Fire, The Suburbs
Record of the Year: Lady Antebellum, “Need You Now”
Song of the Year: Lady Antebellum, “Need You Now”
Best New Artist: Esperanza Spalding
Best Rap Album: Eminem, Recovery
Best Pop Vocal Album: Lady Gaga, The Fame Monster
Best Alternative Music Album: The Black Keys, Brothers
Best Rock Album: Muse, The Resistance
Best Rap Song: Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, “Empire State of Mind”
Best Pop Performance by Duo or Group: Train, “Hey, Soul Sister (Live)”
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance: Lady Gaga, “Bad Romance”
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: Bruno Mars, “Just the Way You Are”
Best Dance Recording: Rihanna, “Only Girl (In the World)”
Best Electronic Dance Album: La Roux, La Roux
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group: Black Keys, “Tighten Up”
Best Hard Rock Performance: Them Crooked Vultures, “New Fang”
Best Metal Performance: Iron Maiden, “El Dorado”
Best Rock Song: Neil Young, “Angry World”
Best Rap Solo Performance: Eminem, “Not Afraid”
Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group: Jay-Z and Swizz Beatz, “On to the Next One”
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, “Empire State of Mind”
Best R&B Song: John Legend and the Roots, “Shine”
Best Urban/Alternative Performance: Cee Lo, “F*** You”
Best R&B Album: John Legend and the Roots, Wake Up
Best Contemporary R&B Album: Usher, Raymond v Raymond
Producer of the Year, Non-Classical: Danger Mouse

In the News: Friendly Fires Return, Jay-Z Produces, Glee and KOL Still Fighting + New Sleigh Bells Video!

Friendly Fires, the alternative-dance trio of St Albans, England have confirmed the title of their second album which they plan to release this spring. The record is entitled, Pala, after the fictitious, Buddhist sanctuary in Aldous Huxley's 1962 novel, Island. Personally, I'm pretty excited about this. Friendly Fires are by far one of the most awesome bands I've come across in the last few years. Not to mention, they put on a great live show and live up to their name; they're actually really friendly! I met frontman Ed Macfarlane two years ago at Lee's Palace. We talked about restaurants in Toronto and how cheese makes you gassy, especially before going on stage. Can't wait for this album! It was co-produced by Paul Epworth, so we should expect greatness.

According to Spin, hip hop giant, Jay-Z, has confirmed that he will be co-producing a remake of Annie, staring Willow Smith. I hate remakes which I guess makes me completely biased in thinking this is going to be a sinking ship. But, seriously? Just because she's a “Smith” and her brother cut it in The Karate Kid, doesn't mean she needs to reinvent the original Carrot Top.

The gloves are still not off between Glee's Ryan Murphy and Kings of Leon. According to Rolling Stone, Murphy sent an email to Perez Hilton (of all people) accusing drummer, Nathan Followill of being a homophobe (read Followill's tweet in the post below). The Glee creator continued to say that the cast loves KOL's music, but “cannot condone or even laugh at their clear disdain of gay people.” Followill replied through a tweet which read: “I'm sorry for anyone that misconstrued my comments as homophobic or misogynistic. I'm so not that kind of person. I really do apologize.” Will the madness ever end? Why can't we all just get along?

Today the Brooklyn electro-dance-punk duo, Sleigh Bells, released the music video for their latest single, “Rill Rill,” which you can find on their loud debut, Treats. Singer Alexis Krauss plays the role of a murderous schoolgirl, abandoning her beaten bandmate, guitarist Derek Miller, after throwing him out of her car while in the desert. Then she's off to school. Check it out! It's a good track, I promise.