Focus Music Notes. "Out of the Blues". Popular music through the decades

Multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning music mogul Lil Wayne releases his critically acclaimed 2011 mixtape Sorry 4 The Wait on digital streaming platforms In addition to the original twelve tracks, it boasts four brand new tracks. The lead single “CAMERAS” [feat. Allan Cubas] finds Weezy firing on all cylinders with extraterrestrial cadences and incendiary wordplay uplifted by a hypnotic hook. It also serves as a showcase for the talents of Cubas who represents the impending next era of Wayne’s legendary Young Money Entertainment—stay tuned for more on that! In 2011, Sorry 4 The Wait shook the culture upon arrival as an appetizer for the blockbuster Tha Carter IV. Earning widespread acclaim, Pitchfork raved, “Wayne has plenty of insanity left in him,” and it earned “4-out-of-5 stars” from XXL, while Rolling Stone hailed it as “the kind of quickie that put him on top back in 2006 and 2007.” On the project, he notably reignited popular singles by Beyoncé, Adele, Miguel, Meek Mill, Drak...

After heating up the anticipation to a boiling point, CLEVER unleashes his debut album, CRAZY , via  Grade A/Posty Co. / Republic Records  today. Listen to CRAZY — HERE . He bulldozed the way for the record with the buzzing smash “Life’s A Mess II”  [feat.  Juice WRLD  &  Post Malone ]. Right out of the gate, it amassed 4 million-plus and counting Spotify streams in addition to garnering critical acclaim. Beyond plugs from UPROXX and HotNewHipHop , HYPEBEAST described it as “a heartbreaking, hard-hitting and hypnotic version . ” Complex included it on “Best New Music This Week” and went on to call it “heartfelt . ” Meanwhile, the early standout “Rolls Royce Umbrella” [feat. Chris Brown ] has also posted up 1.3 million Spotify streams and counting. HotNewHipHop  pegged him as  “one of the stars of tomorrow , ”  and  HipHopDX  described  “Rolls Royce Umbrella”  as  “moody and triumphant . ”  In...

Undisputed Hip Hop Queen, and Global superstar, Nicki Minaj, one of the hottest, most colourful and exciting stars to emerge in music in recent years, has her new single “High School” released on May 6th through Young Money/Cash Money/Universal Records. In the US the single has given Minaj, a relative newcomer, her 44th Hot 100 hit, equalling the record of fellow 'American Idol' judge Mariah Carey. "High School", featuring friend and label mate Lil Wayn e, is taken from Minaj's recent album " Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – The Re-Up," and Wayne also appears in the accompanying video. Nicki’s original multi-platinum Pink Friday album entered the UK chart at no. 1 and she followed that feat with a triumphant sell-out UK Arena tour. With more than 3 million albums sold globally, almost 30 million likes on Facebook, over 16 million followers on Twitter, and her own signature perfume “Pink Friday” launched, this 5’ 2” phenomenon is unquestionably one of...

Multiple Grammy-winning, multiplatinum hip-hop superstar Lil Wayne joins forces with fellow US superstar Bruno Mars for the release of his brand new Young Money/Cash Money single “Mirrors”. The video for the single has already racked up an astonishing 30 million views and looks set to give Weezy his biggest UK hit single to date. “Mirrors” is taken from Wayne’s current no. 1 album “Tha Carter IV”, the follow-up to his game-changing 2008 set “Tha Carter III”. “THA CARTER IV” is Wayne’s 10th album in all, and sees the New Orleans rapper returning to his hip hop roots and cementing his reputation as the greatest rapper alive. The last decade has seen Weezy establish himself as arguably the most influential artist hip hop has seen in years, with more than 10 million records sold, a staggering eight Grammy nominations for the seminal Tha Carter III, and shattering records by selling over one million copies in its first week of release. LIL WAYNE FT. BRUNO MARS MIRRORS New Single out 5th M...

Multi-Grammy-winning, multiplatinum hip-hop superstar Lil Wayne released his latest album “Tha Carter IV”, on August 29th. The feverishly anticipated follow-up to his game-changing 2008 set “Tha Carter III”. The album, released via Young Money/Cash Money Records,  includes the new single “She Will” featuring Drake, as well as recent singles “6 foot 7 foot” (ft Cory Gunz), “John” (ft Rick Ross) and “How To Love”, all of which debuted in the Top 10 on US iTunes. “THA CARTER IV” is Wayne’s 10th album in all, and sees the New Orleans rapper returning to his hip hop roots and cementing his reputation as the greatest rapper alive. The last decade has seen Weezy establish himself as arguably the most influential artist hip hop has seen in years, with more than 10 million records sold, a staggering eight Grammy nominations for the seminal Tha Carter III, and shattering records by selling over one million copies in its first week of release. The New Orleans native who hails from the rough...

Grammy-winning, multiplatinum hip-hop superstar Lil Wayne has his brand new single “How To Love” released this week via Cash Money/Young Money. The single is taken from the Weezy’s forthcoming hugely anticipated album, THA CARTER IV. THA CARTER IV follows Wayne’s ninth album, 2010’s I Am Not A Human Being which soared to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, but is really the official follow-up to his game-changing 2008 set “Tha Carter III”.The last decade has seen Lil Wayne establish himself as arguably the most influential artist hip hop has seen in years, with more than 10 million records sold, a staggering eight Grammy nominations for the seminal Tha Carter III, and shattering records by selling over one million copies in its first week of release. The New Orleans native who hails from the rough streets of Hollygrove is a veteran artist who released his first tracks at age of 12 after he was introduced to Cash Money CEOs Ronald “Slim” Williams and Bryan “Birdman” Williams. He released...

As arguably the most original, genre-redefining, prodigiously talented and best-selling hip-hop artist of the past decade, Lil Wayne returns with the hugely anticipated release on October 4th of his brand new album “I Am Not A Human Being”. The album has just gone straight in at number 1 on the US iTunes chart and features ten brand new tracks including lead single (US iTunes # 1) “Right Above” which features Wayne’s protégé and hip hop superstar in his own right Drake. Speaking about the new release on his birthday September 27th, Wayne commented “ I want to give a gift on my birthday to my loyal fans who have continued to support me ”. “I Am Not A Human Being” will be released digitally on October 4th in the UK and physically two weeks later on October 18th. The physical release will feature the same ten tracks plus three additional cuts: “YM Banger” feat. Jae Millz, Gudda Gudda, Tyga, “YM Salute” feat. Lil Twist, Lil Chuckee, Gudda Gudda, Jae Millz, Nicki Minaj and “I Don't Lik...

Lil Wayne , 4 x Grammy winning multi-platinum artist, and without question the undisputed hottest rapper in the world releases his second single “ Drop Tha World ” on April 12th. “ Drop Tha World ” features fellow hiphop heavyweight Eminem and follows the single “ On Fire ”, both taken from his new album ‘ Rebirth ’, released earlier this year. The video for “Drop Tha World” was directed by Chris Robinson (Busta Rhymes, T.I., Ludacris) and captures both stars in a visually amazing War of The Worlds-esque backdrop. A game-changing artist, Dwanye Michael Carter, Jr., aka Weezy F Baby, is one of the most prolific artists in music. Since establishing himself with the Hot Boys and his early solo albums, he became best known for the astonishing amount of music he released whether it be his acclaimed mixtapes, or special guest features on other artists work. The sheer breath, quality and volume of music featuring the New Orleans born rapper, made it difficult to argue against his self-procla...

The elite 11 who make up the Young Money/Cash Money/Universal Motown all-star roster are preparing to take over the game with the digital release of their debut album, We Are Young Money , on February 1st. Young Money Entertainment (YME), which was founded in 2005, is the brainchild of Lil Wayne , the Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum, critically acclaimed President of Cash Money Records. YME is an imprint of Cash Money Records and will be distributed by Universal Motown Records . Lil Wayne and his childhood friend Mack Mai ne, who is both signed to YME as an artist and serves as the President of the company, handpicked the label’s talented roster, which includes hip hop’s newest superstar Drake, Jae Millz, Nicki Minaj, Tyga, Gudda Gudda, Shanell, Lil Chuckee, Lil Twist, and T-Streetz, all of whom form the group Young Money. Young Money’s debut album, We Are Young Money , features many of today’s hottest producers, including Cool & Dre, Tha Bizness (Ne-Yo, Snoop Dogg), KANE (...

Lil Wayne , the undisputed hottest rapper in the world, who recently slayed London audiences with three sold out shows at the Hammersmith Apollo , follows his 4 x Grammy winning multi-platinum masterpiece “Tha Carter III” with the release on February 1st of “ Rebirth ”, the most eagerly anticipated hip hop record in years. 2010 is proving a boon for Lil Wayne fans with the release on January 25th of Young Money Entertainment’s first release “ We Are Young Money ”, featuring all the hotly tipped artists on Weezy’s label including Drake and Nicki Minaj. A game-changing artist, Dwanye Michael Carter, Jr., aka Weezy F Baby , is one of the most prolific artists in music. Since establishing himself with the Hot Boys and his early solo albums, he became best known for the astonishing amount of music he released whether it be his acclaimed mixtapes, or special guest features on other artists work. The sheer breath, quality and volume of music featuring the New Orleans born rapper, made it...