Clearly I’m not talking about the heavy metal Ronnie James. “Dio” is the alias of the 21-year-old Dutch rapper Diorno Braaf. Even though I don’t understand Dutch, I can still enjoy his sound and the videos! I was watching the video on the making of his track “Cool,” and Dutch sounds like such a bazaar language. (Check out my original post on Nederhop – hip hop of the Netherlands). Born in Amsterdam in 1988, Diorno was Influenced by Notorious BIG, Jay-Z and Eminem, and eventually started to write songs and rap in 2004. Check out some of his videos after the jump.
Visit his website here at diomusic.nl.

Dio feat. Jayh – Cool from Opslaan Als on Vimeo.

Dio – Cool Remix ft. Jayh, Ado’nis, KV & Kempi from Dux-Deluxe on Vimeo.

Dio & The Madd – Baby from Opslaan Als on Vimeo.

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Click on the picture above to download B.O.B.’s May 25th Mixtape, the title of which is also the release date of his album. Be sure to check it out.

Robin Thicke – Slow Down

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Robin Thicke samples one of my favorite Counting Crows songs, Colorblind, on his new track, Slow Down. Even though I can’t say this with entire confidence (since I have never seen Robin Thicke perform life), I don’t know if he could come close to their live performances. I’ve seen the Counting Crows twice in concert, and they always blow me away. Their energy is just so amazing.

Check out the original here…

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Counting Crows

KiD CuDi “cudderisback” – Directed by Jason Goldwatch – DatNewCudi.com from DP on Vimeo.

It’s all fun and games in Cudi’s “documentary” for his track, Cudderisback. While on the road in Boston, he decided to shoot a little music video in the hotel. Can you recognize the bouncy melody from somewhere? It’s Vampire Weekend’s “Ottoman.”

Video Breakdown: Cudi displays his lip-syncing skills to his own music as well as his abundance of weed. Way to cut down expenses for the shoot… well, that is depending on how much that weed cost.

Andy Suzuki & The Method take a fresh new take on the lyrics and melody to Drake’s “Best I Ever Had.” I love these guys. Check it out!

My music just keep piling up. Jeesh. My highlight tracks here would have to be J. Cole’s Playground, Statik’s Come Around and Rich Kidd’s So Much More.

Matisyahu ft. Akon – One Day

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Shanell ft. Ne-Yo & Lil Wayne – Other Side

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J. Cole – Playground

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Lupe Fiasco ft. The Neptunes – Beaming

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Drake – It’s Been A Pleasure

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Jason Derulo – Ridin Solo

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Jason Derulo – Blind

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Rich Kidd ft. Colin Munroe & Saukrates – So Much More

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Statik Selektah ft. Talib Kweli – Come Around

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Usher ft. Nicki Minaj – Lil Freak

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J. Holiday – Champion

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I was first introduced to the Swedish music scene through Lykke Li, and what a phenomenal introduction that was. Now, this mysterious Swede-pop crew has got me in a trance. The band was originally signed through Sincerely Yours, a label founded by another Swedish pop group, The Tough Alliance. However, just this past December, the band switched over to the record label Secretly Canadian. Their first album, jj n° 2, was released in July 2009. Keep a heads up for their second album, jj n° 3, which hits Sweden and the US March 9, 2010. Their covers are my favorites though!

Just warning you, the song you are about to listen to may tempt you to seek out your most readily available drug dealer. “Guess what drug?” I am assuming if you were to be in a club and listen to Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” while on X, this is exactly what it would sound like… This song flows about as smooth as that purple in Lil Wayne’s cup.

Download  jj’s  n° 2 album here.

It’s the underground world that served as inspiration for Subway Silence, the debut album of Amsterdam based singer Giovanca Ostiana. She observed passengers in the subways of Amsterdam, Paris, and New York. What did she see? That every station brings a new atmosphere, every minute a new emotion, that everything changes constantly, even our perception of ourselves…In one song she places life above love, in the other she begs her lover never to leave her. Contradictory? She prefers calling it realistic. There is always more to what we see and even what we hear. And somewhere in between is the realm in which Giovanca moves.

In her own words: “I was born in the 70s and grew up with the warm sounds of Dionne Warwick and Minnie Riperton, in the 80s supplemented with a solid dose of pop, while in the 90s I completely lost my heart to hip hop.“

I love this girl’s sound. Download Giovanca’s album, Subway Silence, and others now on iTunes.

Check out her MySpace or visit her website.

I like this song and this video a lot. I’ve always appreciated Eminem’s serious side. This is the 3rd official single from his album Relapse. It samples “Reaching Out,” originally written by Rock Therapy (catch the video after the jump). Em began writing the track while he was in rehab and then finished it off when he was sober. This would explain the change in mood in the lyrics, from a state of depression to one of motivation.

Download Eminem – Beautiful here.