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.

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.

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.

An introduction to Nederhop:

Rotterdam, or Roffa in street slang, has always been the hip hop capital of the Netherlands.
When hip-hop culture first crossed the Atlantic from New York, it was in Rotterdam that it found fertile soil. Winne was 18-months-old when his parents moved from the Surinam capital of Paramaribo to the ‘Old West’ neighbourhood in Rotterdam. When he was in primary school, his dad gave him a cassette tape with music by Public Enemy and Ice-T.

To Winne it seemed natural for Rotterdam to embrace hip-hop. The city doesn’t just look like New York; it also resembles it in character, he says. “This is a fast city, where many nationalities live together.” (Link it)

Today’s Teacher: Winnie

Winston Bergwijn, better known as Winne, is a dutch rapper from Rotterdam. He is signed to the Dutch hip-hop label Top Notch. After his EP Onoverwinnelijk he dropped his debut album Winne Zonder Strijd recently (download the EP after the jump). In the summer of 2005, Winnie’s song “Top 3 MC” was released on the Internet by Kapitein Mo and Winne gained a much wider audience.

Link it.

Download Winnie’s EP – Onoverwinnelijk here.

Keep checking back for some more Nederhop talents to come.

Beasted put out this “Emo Is Dead” tee back in January, but I came across it again recently, and it got me thinking about a couple things. True, Heartbreak and 808s was not an epic album in my opinion, but it was definitely a new take on hip-hop and some would argue, emo – A whiny release of self pity and emotional devastation spread out over 12 tracks. What I did like about the album was its introspective element and thorough story line. Something I admire about Kanye is his approach to his work as an art. He paints a clear picture for the listener. To me, that is what makes a good album – If an artist is able to communicate a specific message to his listeners, and have them relate to it and feel what he feels. So I think Heartbreak and 808s was successful in this respect. Kanye took a lot of heat for this album. I will admit, it did get old fairly quick, but as far as emo being dead?? I would have to strongly disagree.

The term “Emo” in relation to music is an ironic one, because to me, music is all about emotions. Before I continue, get the image of skinny jeans, studded belts, favorite band tees, and black square rimmed glasses  out of your head. Saying that emo is all about suicidal 17 year old girls who don’t smile, is like saying that rap is all about rubberband banks and grills. Ok….. there might be some truth to these statements, but there is a lot more to a genre of music than what lies on the surface. Unfortunately, it’s not as easily accepted for guys to express their emotions as it is for girls to do so, unless were talking R&B. According to Wikipedia, emo is defined by “expressive, often confessional lyrics.” The term, which is short for “emotional hardcore” originated during the mid-1980s hardcore punk movement of D.C. As the style was echoed by contemporary American punk bands, its sound and meaning shifted and changed, blending with pop music and indie rock. When I say emo, think Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Something Corporate, Death Cab for Cutie.

I like to look at albums as diaries (which is usually only possible if the artist writes his own songs). While many songs labeled “emo” admit sadness and tend to revel in it, they also supply a powerful release of emotions. Music serves so many different purposes, from entertaining to therapeutic. If you ask me, sometimes we just need a break from “Partying in the USA,” and “Seeking Amy.” Maybe this just makes me emo for writing this post… hmm. I guess I’m ok with that.

P.S. If you like the tee pictured above, it also comes in red and black. Get it at Karmaloop here, retailing for $24. I don’t think I would rock it, but I love the Kanye graphic, down to the plaid jacket. The original portrait below…

Last week, I posted Hip Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes. Thought this video was interesting too. I can not believe this happened in 2000, and in Central Park?! Absolutely ridiculous.

“More than 1 million women are stalked by their intimate partners every year.”
…. I don’t know where that statistic fits into this video, but anyways, it’s interesting.

“1 in 5 college females will be the victim of rape or attempted rape.”

“On college campuses, 90% of rape victims know their assailant.”

“1 in 6 women has been the victim of sexual assault.”