Articles

Will.i.am ft. Nicki Minaj - Check It Out (UMA)

Column: CD Single Reviews | Date Published: Tuesday, 12 October 10 | Author: Dave Ruby Howe | 2 years, 7 months ago

Will.i.am is a smart dude who has managed to turn modern urban music into a futuristic game of Outrun with himself in the lead. But the dude is not a genius, as evidenced by this bomb (in a bad way) of a tune. That chorus is nauseating, Nicki Minaj is wasted here and the sample is just fucking lazy. That said, the guy’s going to make a stack of this trash as well. Pretty smart, no?

	Rihanna - Only Girl (In The World) (UMA): So Rihanna’s back to making tracks for Mooseheads now, huh? Fair enough, and this is probably better than anything off of Rated R, but it’s hardly exciting with its epic-by-numbers Stargate production, production line lyrics and Rihanna’s shitefully shrill wailings.

	Starsmith - Give Me A Break (Neon Gold/Island): The whole producer going solo schtick has become rather worrisome of late thanks to the over-saturated turns of Timbaland and David Guetta wanting to be stars in their own rights, but next kid out of the block, Starsmith, should hopefully have more luck and be a little easier on the ears. Producer du jour for Ellie Goulding and a swag of other UK types, 22 year old Starsmith steps out on his own here with a punchy slice of stadium electro. The diva vocals kind of clip the personality of the tune but in the end it’s a pretty ecstatic jam that’s ready for summer.

	Chiddy Bang - The Good Life (EMI): Thankfully for, well, everyone Pharrell has stepped in and told Chiddy Bang, ‘hey, maybe don’t sample an indie track this time ‘round?’ and polished these hipsters into something that’s more palatable and interesting than it is of the moment. Sheesh.