Showing posts with label Akon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Akon. Show all posts
Video: Pitbull feat. Akon - Shut It Down
Akon - New York City
Akon teams up with The Runners on this one. Not a bad end-result. Check it out below.
DOWNLOAD: Akon - New York City [Alt. Link]
Video: Fat Joe Feat. Akon - One
Check out the first single from Fat Joe's ninth album, Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E. 2) set to hit stores on April 7. Akon is featured on the hook, and the song overall is aight, nothing amazing. I'm really getting annoyed with Akon on EVERYTHING. It'd be great if he could switch up his style, but he sounds the same on every record! This is a good look for Joey Crack though, who's career suffered tremendously from his beef with 50 Cent. The video clip is cool; the good thing about Fat Joe is that he doesn't try ridiculous concepts, he keeps it simple. And I can appreciate the simplicity...
Video: Lionel Richie feat. Akon - Just Go
Normally, I would say someone like Lionel Richie should just hang it up and chill. But this song is aight. It's not a banger, but it's got a real cool relaxed feel to it, and I'm glad Akon plays his position and stays on the hook without tryin to oversing Richie. The video features a more mature Evan Ross, and parallels the song in concept. Along with turning 60 this year, Richie plans to release his 12th studio album in May, which bears the same title as this single. Contributions on the album include Tricky Stewart, The Dream, Ne-yo, and Johnta Austin. With a lineup like that, I might have to check for it...
Video: Akon feat. Colby O'Donis and Kardinal Offishall - Beautiful
I'm lovin' the way the song has that euro-pop appeal to it and is accompanied by a video that's very stylish and fashion forward. I'm sure there are some fashion bloggers out there that could spit designers backwards and forward for this video but I'm just really feelin the way it all comes together for this clip. It's rather refreshing for someone to take a classy detour with their videos these days. When I wrote the review for Freedom, the album on which this song appears, I mentioned its versatility - Akon really goes beyond hip-hop's limitations for an international feel with this album and although his voice isn't the easiest to tolerate, you can't knock him for striving to be different. Click here to read the album review, and check out the vid...
New Video: Akon - I'm So Paid
Young Jeezy and Lil Wayne team up with Akon in this video for I'm So Paid, the second single from Akon's current album, Freedom. The video is pretty cool, the whole money and jewels heist theme going on, plus there are some hot girls in it. It's actually one of the better songs from Akon's third album, if his voice doesn't make you wanna turn it off after 2 minutes.
-Mack-
Album Review: Akon - Freedom
Artist: Akon
Album: Freedom
Release Date: 12.2.08
Let me preface this by saying this is my first time listening to an Akon album in it's entirety so this review isn't comparing it to any of his previous work. Akon is actually a decent artist, this album breaks genre restrictions and really attempts to broaden his worldwide appeal. Although it’s really hard to get past his annoying voice, some of his music is worth the listen.
This album is very versatile, it kicks off with some very pop styled dance tracks, like Right Now (Na Na Na) and Beautiful featuring Colby O'Donis and Kardinal Offishall; both of which achieve something totally unexpected from Akon - a sound with international pop appeal. While the music on certain tracks is good, I think the CD would be even better by someone with better vocals. He's actually out sung on one of the album's standout tracks, Against The Grain, by its collaborator Ray Lavender. Hip-hop's presence on the album is felt on the swagger-boasting I'm So Paid, which features Young Jeezy and Lil' Wayne. Other highlights for me include the autobiographical title track Freedom and the equally introspective Over The Edge.
There are a few attempts on this album that aren't as great as the aforementioned. Keep You Much Longer is a fitting example, the annoying repetitive hook made me cringe by the time the track hit the 3-minute mark. Holla Holla, his collaboration with T-Pain is the unfortunate product of too much augmentation on the vocals; translation: put the vocoder down!! On top of that, the nasal tone of Akon's singing just gets to be a bit much periodically.
I can really only take Akon’s voice in small doses, and like I previously stated, producing is enough - he should let someone else sing. I mean, come on... there's only so much he can do without sounding like a wounded chipmunk. Still, on the few tracks that work for him, he really brings it home. I like the fact that he isn't limiting himself to any particular genre, he's doing something most artists aren't doing these days: expanding into uncharted territory. But the fact remains, if you're expanding into new areas, you've gotta have the talent to keep you there.
-Mack-
There are a few attempts on this album that aren't as great as the aforementioned. Keep You Much Longer is a fitting example, the annoying repetitive hook made me cringe by the time the track hit the 3-minute mark. Holla Holla, his collaboration with T-Pain is the unfortunate product of too much augmentation on the vocals; translation: put the vocoder down!! On top of that, the nasal tone of Akon's singing just gets to be a bit much periodically.
I can really only take Akon’s voice in small doses, and like I previously stated, producing is enough - he should let someone else sing. I mean, come on... there's only so much he can do without sounding like a wounded chipmunk. Still, on the few tracks that work for him, he really brings it home. I like the fact that he isn't limiting himself to any particular genre, he's doing something most artists aren't doing these days: expanding into uncharted territory. But the fact remains, if you're expanding into new areas, you've gotta have the talent to keep you there.
-Mack-
Video: 'Body On Me'
Artist: Nelly, Ashanti and Akon
Song: Body On Me
Song: Body On Me
There's so many things about this song that I shouldn't like: Akon's annoyingly irritating voice singing the hook, Ashanti singing....pretty much any part of the song, and then the way Nelly resorts to singing when he runs out of lyrics (ergo the end of the first verse). But for some reason this song has grown on me (dontcha hate it when that happens??). I think it's this video, which is pretty enjoyable to watch. Thank God Ashanti's sex appeal doesn't rest in her voice, and it's refreshing to see 2 clean cut gents instead of the constant thuggery. So yeah, the song grew on me, but only because the video is kinda hot...
-Mack-
