Ron Artest – “Champions”

One of the first things we heard Ron Artest talking about after Game 7 was his single “Champions.” He said in his interview with Doris Burke that he recorded the song last June, if that’s the case, maybe Artest should look into being a psychic after his basketball and rap careers are over.

I love the fourth-quarter, I love the ninth-inning, I love Game 7, bring on the competition.

Here’s the official video for “Champions,” which is also expected to drop on iTunes in the very near future. I have a feeling that this song will blow away the numbers that Artest’s debut album “My World” put up back in 2006. That probably won’t be too difficult, considering the album only sold a reported 343 albums in it’s first week (William Hung’s first album sold nearly 38,000, just for comparison).

As for the song itself, it’s actually pretty good. It’s easily the best song that Artest has released in my opinion, it’s a damn good anthem type of track — but he still has a long way to go before he can check Shaq Diesel.

So here’s to Artest not only a winning a title last week, but for his rap career finally taking off.

Roll your windows down, turn up the Diesel

If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you probably know I’m a big of a fan of Shaquille O’Neal‘s work in the booth. Shaq has dropped some classic heat, better than the crap on today’s radiowaves.

Before T-Pain was rocking auto-tune, Shaq was rapping over some vocoder tracks.

“Straigt Playin’” is the jam. The East Cost keeps heating up, so roll your windows down and put this on blast.

DIGGY.

The kid is ONLY 14 years old. He’ll be 15 in a couple of days.

Seriously, he is ill. Probably the best kid I’ve ever heard rap. No ringtone ish, REAL HIP-HOP.

Want more? Check Diggy’s first mixtape out, it’s DOPE!

Props to my dude Big Red for inspiring me to post this tonight.

B.o.B – “Nothin’ on You”

Here’s the official video for B.o.B’s “Nothin’ On You,” which features Bruno Mars on the chorus. This song is the official coming out party for the Atlanta emcee, who is about to take pop radio airwaves by storm with this track.

This is the best song of a young 2010, plus the video is pretty ill too.

“We’ll Always Love Big Poppa”

13 years.

Rest in Peace BIG.

KanYe West – “Coldest Winter”

By now, you know I am down with Kanye West. Everyone else might “hate” him, but they’re nuts. The guy is a musical mastermind and one of the truest artists in pop culture, hip-hop and so far beyond. He is true to himself, his art and the music and puts so much into every aspect of his music.

“Coldest Winter” is a deep song from West. A song about the death of his mother, Dr. Donda West, who died in the winter of 2007. Kanye’s approach to his music, videos and performances is out of this world.

DOPE.

David Guetta – “Memories”

Over the past year, I’ve really taken a liking to dance music. I mean, I always liked quite a few songs here and there, but most recently, it’s become a part of my everyday rotation. My weekends generally consist of listening to David Guetta songs and fist pumping like crazy.

Obviously, a collaboration with Guetta and one of my favorite hip-hop artists, Kid Cudi is only going to make it into all of my playlists. The two have released a video to the hit song “Memories.”

Guetta might be pretty goofy looking, but the guy is insanely talented and makes some incredible music.

WARNING: Video contains some PG-13 language.

Jay-Z – “Forever Young”

One of the best songs on Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 album is “Forever Young.” A sample of the classic Alphaville song, featuring vocals from up and comer Mr. Hudson.

Maybe this means we won’t have to hear “Empire State of Mind” every nine minutes.

Check it…

Spike Lee’s latest masterpiece

I guess I’m way late with this, but I just saw Spike Lee’s video for Michael Jackson’s 2009 single, “This Is It” —  I’m blown away.

I was at the house and took pictures just a few months ago. The scene is just as you see it in the video, people’s signatures on all the street signs and the light post, an outpour of love for the late Jackson. A small house on the corner, in a midwest city that is suffering during this current recession.

Being there and seeing it all made this video even more moving for me, especially seeing Spike’s vision and concept that he took to tribute “The King of Pop.” A phenomenal music video and top quality work by Spike Lee.