Seems like space is _the_ ultimate trend for 2009? First we have the whole N.A.S.A.-project, second KiD CuDi’s upcoming album "Man on the Moon: The Guardians" with the whole space theme around it and third: this track Walking On The Moon from The Dream’s upcoming album "Love vs. Money" (which drops the 10th of March). The track features no one else than KanYe West although it’s definitely not as strong as Lemme See That Booty or Rockin’ That Thang but quite pleasant listen material anyway.

KanYe, also flies high with T-Pain and fellow G.O.O.D-mate GLC in Flight School from GLC’s upcoming album "Love, Life and Loyalty" (scheduled for release sometime this year) . NMC leaked it, tagged it up NMC-style, labeled it and decided to leave out GLC completely, even if the 10-second snippet of the track that leaked in November was a GLC track. Seriously this is one thing with the blog sphere I really dislike. Why not do things proper? Research, id3-tag and things like that? Love Hype Machine’s latest statement on which blogs they prefer to add to their aggregator (even if I wish they could remove all them shitty blogs that doesn’t fit that description...).

Yeah I should stop whining. Instead moving on to a nyce surprise KiD CuDi left on his blog before it ran out of bandwidth again, his much talked about freestyle on BETs 106 and Park when he and KanYe premiered the Day N’ Nite video is in fact a new track produced by Emile, can we put a wild guess on that it’s gonna be called Soundtrack To My Life?

Let’s kick off this Monday and the last week of February with a nyce grime banger from The No Hats No Hoods Records-crew. This time around it’s all about Tempa T, who might be a man of very FEW words on msn and on the phone, but luckily has the skillz to spit in ultra rapid on the mic and personally I do prefer the latter.

Some might remember him from his take on the Battle Riddim or from Mumdance’s mix of Santogold’s Creator which also featured Jammer, Badness, Chronik, Rage, Silkman? Or perhaps from this golden oldie?:

However, Tempa T is kinda special, his voice is …strange? Not in the bad Frisco-way (seriously, still can’t stand it) more positive strange. And now he returns with possibly his biggest track to date, Next Hype in which he up the levels and take his signature frantic style up another notch. Over a dark, chaotic beat Tempz’ shouts his delivery with such intent you can almost hear his voice straining under his sheer raw energy. Apparently Next Hype has been banned from the BBC so u know it’s good, coz just like everything for free, everything banned is: yeah, _good_.

The single drops the 2nd of March and also contains remixes from Scratcha DVA and Brackles (who has gained some hype with his recent releases on the Applepips label and his official remix of KiD CuDi’s Day N’ Nite for Ministry of Sound).

Speaking of Mumdance for that matter, saw this remix of Evil Nine's All The Cash among the e-mails, "a bit late" but it’s good so just enjoy.

When I woke up this morning, did that 2k Pennies-post and zipped on my morning coffee, little did I know that this wasn’t gonna be another usual lazy Sunday. Oh no. Someone I love the most is right now involved in some minor kidnapping drama. Yeah. Kidnapping. No worries, it’s not like in the movies, there’s no ransom, gun pointed to the dead or walking on the line between life and death but still, some seriously fucked up shit. I don’t know so much more basically just that some people should be declared of incapacity even if they are like 38 years of age. Well, I keep my fingers crossed that everything’s is solved by tonight, hopefully.

Yeah, that’s that... I’m all drained of words from having been on the phone the whole day, but well let’s move on to some lighter note.

Work Work Work seems to be all Dutch Don Diablo does. He's been unleashing forthcoming releases like there's no tomorrow, stuffing my mailbox full every week the past months so I guess it’s about time to shed some light on him over here at First Up!

A few months ahead of its release, u now get a first taste of his latest work, with the suitable name: Work Work Work. Don's forthcoming release "Too Cool For School" EP got its first spin this week on BBC Radio 1 (UK) as part of Hervé's Essential Mix and was also featured in last week's episode of CSI: NY. Here’s also a hot remix for Plump DJs latest single Beat Myself Up and at last the wonderful weapon to destroy ur speaker system: Like a Pro.

It’s not that hard to see who has been the visual inspiration to this Decon version of the 2k Pennies video:

Wondering why they didn’t hire So Me directly? But well, guess the direction by Decon's Yoram Benz works as well? Just not that refined as So Me’s work.

The most interesting beef in the world of rap the recent months is not the one between Rick Ross and 50 Cent. Oh no, coz that one is just such a big yawn in my opinion. Yeah, Rick Ross used to be a cop and he tried to hide it, 50 Cent is the _real_ bad boy, he got shot 9 times, blahblah. Couldn’t care less to be honest, not even a decent track has come out of it either, just endless talk and hype over nothing.

What is interesting however is the war between Wiley and Durrty Goodz. I’m so glad that this old feud started to brew again coz if it wasn’t for that Panty, Bras, Coke and Cameras (Wiley Diss 2) never would have seen the light of day. Goodz (and with Titch over the phone) goes hard over Nocturnal’s Don’t Phone Me-production, will probably be an instant classic like the good old Wiley Shut Up from Crazy Titch’s "Crazy Times vol. 1" mix CD and DVD, peep at 05:55:

Maskinen has a new single out called Pengar, (if u don’t speak Swedish Pengar means Money), not much of them spend on this video directed by Kamisol I presume, but it actually manages me to feel really uncomfortable:

Some genderbending gone terribly wrong? Yeah, most likely. Kihlen has apparently dropped out of Maskinen (due to lack of time) so now it’s only Frej and Afasi left driving it. Don’t get me wrong, Alla Som Inte Dansar was wicked and fun, Segertåget was good but lacked something more and Pengar, well what can I say, besides Frej’s rap it’s kinda... boring? Hopefully it will grow bigger after a couple of listens, one thing that stands clear is the fact that it’s def better live:

Is it just me who think that KiD CuDi sometimes seem to work against himself? Like the latest chapter in the story of CuDi explaining himself: "CuDi’s Right to Shoes" (if he didn’t have so poor bandwidth u could read all about it in his blog). Or the fact that this, the official and original video for Day N’ Nite premiered today, a year after when the single was released in the US and a good time after the whole Crookers vs. CuDi-video drama?:

But well, after his huge displeasure with the Crookers-remix-video (which I still don’t understand, I liked it, seems like everyone did except him, the Crookers and G.O.O.D-music) I hope he is fully satisfied with this directed by SO.ME. And hopefully the long awaited album "Man on the Moon: The Guardians" will be out by summer.

And yeah, that track Look Up In Da Stars ft. Wale that leaked yesterday, from what I’ve heard it’s not a legit track, apparently CuDi’s verse is from The Biggest Grinder, and I’m not gonna post it since it’s ridiculously tagged up. Instead were gonna squeeze the last drops out of Day N’ Nite, Lunice sent over another awesome remix of the track some time ago, finally I got the chance to post it.

Is it one thing I love to watch on telly besides cooking shows and British crime series like Inspector Morse it’s bizarre documentaries (documentaries may be the wrong word, semi/quasi-docu is perhaps more correct). Anyhow, best by far this year has been the one with the title "Half Man – Half Tree" (just the title...) about some man in the jungle who had some rare skin decease that made his skin look like tree trunks with branches and everything. Modern days answer to the old days freakshow and I _love_ it.

Maybe it’s also the reason why I love this new N.A.S.A.-video of The People Tree (ft. David Byrne, Chali 2na, Gift Of Gab and Z-Trip) coz frankly, that track really doesn’t do it for me, but freaks like people with fishheads drawn by Marcel Dzama does:

Well, video is dope, track is not, so here’s two fresh and nyce remixes of Whatchadoin? instead.

Let’s stay with the KanYe-vibe for a while. Browsed through some of my many many unread e-mails earlier today and found one about Tokin' Black Guy. Never heard about this dude before so I searched the web and haha, Tokin’ Black Guy has the same mystery aura around him as Asia Cruise had before her true identity was revealed.

But anyway, Tokin’ Black Guy is most likely not KanYe West as some has stated. Tokin’ Black Guy is apparently from Japan. His upcoming album will be called "Spaceship". These tracks are produced by KanYe. Then I just have to usual rant to pass on; TBG brings his own style to everything he touches, and these are no exception. Call it techno, electro, whatever you like, but in the end you'll agree it's a sound all its own, bound to be heard in the headphones and clubs of the world for years to come.

Biggest music mystery to solve, a complete hoax or not, it doesn’t really matter as long as it sounds this _good_. Body Clock is really addictive. Asia Cruise was like the biggest snore ever, both music wise and regarding her identity. I’m sorry but to me she was Chocolate Chip Cookies without the chocolate chips, cake without cream, sex without cum... Well u catch my drift.

Love the way KanYe walks with his videos right now! The rotoscoping in Heartless was dope, and this fucked up, stop-freeze-go square pixel by pixel one for Welcome to Heartbreak is def in line with his vision of 808’s as “pop art”. No, we’re not talking Warhola pop art, pop art the KanYe West way. The video is directed by Nabil Elderkin:

However, Welcome to Heartbreak ft. KiD CuDi is not the next single from the album, apparently it’s Amazing ft. Young Jeezy. But before Amazing comes out, See You in My Nightmares ft. Lil’ Wayne will hit the streets the 10th of March.

I’ve been one of those people who have hyped Sam Spiegel and DJ Zegon’s N.A.S.A-album "The Spirit of Apollo" for months and now, today when it’s officially released, I’m a bit... puzzled. That A Volta-track with Sizzla, Amanda Blank and Lovefoxxx from CSS I predicted to be one of the best, is in fact one of the best tracks of the album, no doubt. The interchangeable covers all look great (esp the one by Shepard Fairey) but I wonder if I like the concept and the idea to ignore all of the boundaries and borders that are in place to keep people divided, such as musical genre, race, politics, geography, language, etc. that lays behind this project more than the actual album? I simply don’t know.

"The Spirit of Apollo" is like a smorgasbord, there enough on there for everyone. From rock/pop/hip-hop/dance hall/funk/etc. My taste buds likes variety but everyone knows that when u eat of _every_ single dish on that smorgasbord, u tend to get a bit full. I even often get sick as well, so my refined taste chooses A Volta, Whatchadoin’, N.A.S.A. Music, and Gifted, for the second portion, the others, well, not bad, but not exactly faves either.

Or wait, "The Spirit of Apollo" is not a smorgasbord of individual dishes. It’s more a mishmash of all turned into one dish, which may explain why the album is hard to digest for me. Then in the other hand, Tom Waits-voice from Spacious Thoughts still haunts me in my nightmares and I often hum on Money.

U simply have to taste it before u know if u like it or not, coz u can’t say if the track is good just by looking on the tracklist-menu. Some like paté, some like salad. "The Spirit of Apollo" just combines it into salad-paté with sprinkles on top.

Oh God, _everyone_ around me plops out children to left and right, getting married and the whole shebang. Every week there’s someone announcing some new family constellation in their FaceBook-status and I must say, I feel a bit stressed. I’m 27 years old. My mami gave birth to me when she was 21. My grannie gave birth to her when she was 20. 2 of my younger sisters (yeah, twins) both have kiddos, one nearly 1 years old, and the other is due in June. Sometimes I actually wanna be a stay at home mum, u know, walk in the park, no stress, zip some coffee with other mums. It's rather funny, coz back in the day, when I was 17 I wrote some things that got published in some book about the fact that I never ever wanted children, marriage or just the typical family stuff. I’m glad things change. I’ve changed. But nah, no kiddos is gonna peak out from this womb for a while, need to browse the market a while longer.

Speaking of motherhood, M.I.A. gave birth to a healthy baby boy Wednesday’s, it’s been all over the tabloids. Isn’t it funny btw? Who would have known in the years of the "Piracy Funds Terrorism" that M.I.A. would be a full on tabloid pet? However, to see her in this, in the late stages of pregnancy, just before the early stages of labor kicked in is just amazing!

How annoying! LoveGame was the _ultimate_ video to post on Valentine’s Day! But my Internet and YouTube failed to work in sync, all I got was that lousy “This video is not available in your country”-message, yeah, even involving proxys and minor haxx0r-skillz. Seriously, YouTube sucks even more since Google laid its greedy hands on it. But well, luckily there are other sites that don’t suck that that much so here it is:

LoveGame is my absolute fave song from "The Fame", (I mean come on, Disco Stick may be the funniest nickname of a cock, ever, period), Poker Face comes second and third place has this little goodie:

Just the Cherry Cherry Boom Boom-part alone, wonderful. And the hair-bow.... So cute! I fucking love Lady GaGa and no, not ashamed of it either even if it sort of feels like when I had to confess to myself that I like Destiny’s Child in my teens when I overdosed on hardcore and punk.

Speaking of the tricky love-game for that matter, this piece from IllDoc is so damn good, the Rihanna and Chris Brown-story actually brings something postive to the table as it raises the consciousness about domestic violence and abuse towards women by their loved ones. Elizabeth Mendez Berry makes several good points and the ending is what it’s all about at the end of the day:

The remix below of LoveGame is straight fire and this new Lady GaGa track called Fashion (a new version of Heidi Montag's with the same name) is from the film-adaptation of "Confessions of a Shopaholic", chic-lit deluxe, straight outta Fullham.

Yey! Actually was pretty content with the street video of this from the K.I.G. (Kingz In Da Ghetto)-collective but I guess that little people are always funny so what the heck, the tune is still huge, actually like this new version of the track a bit better:

The official release will be the 23rd of March, until then, here’s the version with Bashy that was posted in the comment-section some days ago:

It’s the _perfect_ weather outside. Still winter but it’s sunny and warm and gah I wish my flat had a balcony. Just the very thought of drinking my after dinner coffee outside in the sun makes me cream… One thing that still makes me calm and serene is the sun. Thank God. The thing is, my flat has sun all day long so the reason why I’m without a balcony since my neighbor 20 cm from my large windows has one is beyond me. Haha, just googled "portable balcony", without any luck, this drives me crazy, need to click home some new spring shoes to cope with the frustration.

Speaking of spring and shoes btw, unpacked some guy’s sneaker collection at work this week. OMG. We speak sneakers and kicks in crispy white pristine condition, never touched pavement, never been worn. I would buy ‘em all (with my discount they would be ridiculously cheap) if they weren’t in size EUR 42-43. Guess I need a man to pour some sweet sugar on?

And yeah, I know, the over using of swag drives me nuts but this remix works.

Happy Valentines Day cutie pies! Haha, I actually don’t celebrate Valentines, never had, whether I have been in a relationship or not, guess I wanna be appreciated every day, not just when market economy tells u to. But well, my post-cynical thoughts aside, have a lovely day even if u celebrate or not.

Guess Lil’ Mama celebrates? More than other youngsters like, hmmm, her partner in crime from Shawty Get Loose and this week’s biggest name in the gossip columns: Chris Brown? I know that many have some troubles with this, esp. men but the whole Chris Brown-story proves that every man may be a beater/rapist/whatever, no matter how kind they are or how cute and puppy-like they might look. _Not_ saying that all men are, just that the possibility is there, that u simply can’t know. Just the fact that he turned himself in reads guilty on his forehead so...

But well, Bobby Brown made himself wealthy and a legacy even if he was a really bad excuse for a man so I doubt that this has ruined Chris Browns career completely. One thing I actually think is quite sad with this is his fans who actually pinpointing Rihanna, that it’s her own fault. Yeah, blame the women, always the easiest solution to the problem. Love that both KanYe and Jay-Z got Rihannas back, proves in grown manhood.

Nuff about that, back to Lil’ Mama. It’s now almost one year since her debut album "VYP" was released and Truly In Love is the upcoming single. Love her new sassy Diva-ish style in the video and the new song I’m a Diva. The follow up to the debut album now has a name, it’s going under "Dykin" and will be released this year or in early 2010.

Lil Mama was scheduled to be featured on a remix/skit version of Lil Wayne's A Milli, but it failed to make the final cut of "Tha Carter III" and may instead appear on "Tha Carter III: The Rebirth" (out in May), don’t remember if I have posted her freestyle of A Milli before, anyway, she kills it.

Oooh, this remix of N.A.S.A.’s Whatchadoin? from David Starfire was a nyce surprise indeed. The original was fire, but this is actually better. Why? The additional rap of former model iCatching from LA.

Usually I actually hate that wordplay and eating right out of Apple’s hands with using the i-prefix like Soulja Boy and others waste their time on but well, inconsistency is sort of one of my fortes these days? Women, never known to be on their best game in that department, ask Aristotle for instance. We’re more caring and are more in touch with our feeeeelings. Yeah right, right in the kisser.

Blablabla, (insert more old Greek jibberish), what I’m trying to say, iCatching (born Tiffany Catching) works for me, she totally rocked my socks off. Absolutely love hers and David’s ongoing collaboration that they have had going on since 2007, just peep this video for Music directed by Marc Anderson:

My Internet has been living its own life the past days, hence the lack of updates... But now, hopefully, we’re back on track, no DNS errors or any other shit.

Well, this is the follow up to Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin') which was supposed to be the first single from T-Pain’s "Thre33 Ringz" but then it got cut out from that album completely. However now it’s the first single from T-Wayne’s "He Raps, He Sings" instead. Despite the title, it’s actually not _that_ snappy, more than the obvious "snaps", it’s mellower but in some strange way I love it as it really grows more and more for every listen. Also absolutely loving the fact that Lil’ Wayne is multitasking his ass off and juggle more than his questionable guitar skillz at this time, that possible rnb album with the work title "Luv Sawngz" where he plans to marry the vocoder sounds more than interesting...

Aww, do I have the sweetest readers or what? Thanks for all concerned, cheerful and kind e-mails, messages and everything. Much appreciated even if I don’t have the time reply them all. Love u guys.

Everything is a bit better over here. My new job is quite fun and actually relaxing. Its so nyce to do something that doesn’t mean that I should produce anything at the end of the day. Coordinate clothes after colour and style makes me calm, sounds very Bree-ish, but it’s true, I’m anal retentive, love things in order. The only thing bugging me is all men who can’t fold a pair of jeans and put them back in the right size-pile after trying them on. It’s just basic 1-2-3-folding, nuh rocket science.

And another thing, how on earth can u steal from a second hand shop where all profit goes to good will and charity work? I just don’t get it. Yeah, we have got some rare haute couture and some fancy clothes in the store but anyway, I don’t get it, the clothes without any burglar alarm are _cheap_, under 100 SEK. We also got someone who likes to cut and slice them fancy clothes like crazy... like what? Why?!

Anyway, let’s correlate with the previous post instead as Phil from Dirty Disco Youth just made a nyce remix of that Crooker song:

Can’t write in my personal Swedish blog, the words just piles up like jigsaw pieces that doesn’t fit with each other and I actually prefer this blog, so well... Let’s kick off this new month and week with some help from the Crookers with asking, What Up Y’all?

My weekend in Stockholm was strange, really strange. Constantly trapped in stress-limbo, unable to focus on anything. Most frustrating is the fact that things I used to like now means jack shit, I’m just numb and not there. Don’t really know why which makes everything 10 times worse, if u know the problem, it’s so much easier to fix it. The thing is, I’m not working like I used to and I’s so frustrating, yesterday I started to cry like 30 times, normal? Uhm, no. Reason? No idea. Feels like I don’t know myself anymore and it scares the shit out me, I don’t know how to hang around with people I love either. All is just a big mess.

Came to one conclusion thou, I’m moving to Stockholm after the summer I think, when I was in Uppsala Thursdays, walking to my sisters place I walked by 4 (out of 8) places I’ve lived for the past years and well, I’m def done with Uppsala. I’ve also developed a heavy addiction for Jelly Belly’s Buttered Popcorn (time to move over Sizzling Cinnamon). Yeah, that was my weekend, hope urs was way better.