Red, Rauchy, Reloaded Rihanna

Rihanna turned into a superstar not so long ago thanks to hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, singing her to his label. This 22 year old fashion forward and now icon has been through the good and bad phases of fame and with that behind her she continues to make music.

With five albums under belt, its only fair to move with the strong Rhirhi wave and let her reinvent herself with every album she releases, effortlessly. 'Loud' is her recent project and its not what one would expect from her last album, 'Rated R'.

The latter was dark and was a perfect venting session for herself but not her fans. Rihanna decided to also jump on the bandwagon and follow the dance inspired sounds. She moved away from her reggae debut sound to sounding more like The Black Eyed Peas.

'Only Girl (In the World)' is the albums first single which is a club song and a cross over hit which is dominating chats and air waves. Followed by the more publicised collaboration 'Whats My Name ?' featuring former lover, Drake. 'Whats My Name ?' is a beautiful song, its even better that Drake didn't attempt to sing, but its another great collaboration done well in relation to Rihanna's career in 2010.

Another hit, 'Cheers (drink to That)' is another lazy summer song, perfect for the responsible party lifestyles we all have. The producers dumped Avril Lavigne sound which makes 'Cheers' a bit annoying. 'Loud' is not only composed with only potential club hits but also slow and sexual music.

'Skin' is a more 'raunchy' and slow also in that light is S&M which raises eyebrows with lyrics like ''Sticks and stones may break my back but chains and whips excite me''. Following her major hit of the year with Eminem with 'Love the way you lie' part 1 which is found in Shaddy's album, 'Recovery,' sees a more slow and more vocal part 2. Rihanna now features Eminem with a more mellow sound but a direct lyric approach like Love the way you lie part 1.

Nicki Minaj also makes an appearance on 'Raining Men' which join the Trinadadian Tobagan n Barbados to a coastal babes a wet collaboration. Another songs which i think should have been deleted are 'Man Down' and 'Fading' were a waste of material, although Rihanna did attempt a reggae comeback which now makes her sound ridiculous. The disappointment to this album is that she didn't include more of her ballads which she crafts then beautifully.

Most songs were penned by her and had full creative control of 'Loud.' Rihanna's image really reflects her music, from her lack of clothes and her 'too much sexy image' also draws a "loud" attention. This is album is loud is creative and smartly written with producers like StarGate, The Runners, Polow da Don, Tricky Stewart, Soundz and Alex da Kid.

Mr West and his Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Kanye West needs no introduction in the music industry but his portfolio will include hits for the likes of Jay-Z, Foxxy Brown, Goodie Mob, Lil Kim, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey and many more.

Kanye has proved that hip-hop has the potential to grow, creatively. Kanye helped to transcend hip-hop with his most critised album '808 & Heartbreak' to his most recent album, 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.'

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is a dark-introspective, funny and bold album. Despite the 'Good Friday specials' that Kanye committed to deliver to his fans, he still managed to pull through another amazing album. He basically committed to releasing a single that might be featured in this album every Friday. Although the album received mixed reviews its still an amazing album.

The albums first single 'Power' featuring vocals from a neo-soul artist Dwele is the albums first single. The single didn't receive so much radio love as expected but did do well on the charts. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy sound moved away from his last release '808 & Heartbreaks' to what sounds like all of his album 'College Drop Out,' 'Late Registration' and Graduation combined. On production, Kanye seems untouchable especially working some of the best in that field.

'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' is composed of 13 tracks which make a 70 minute of Kanye's dark humor and a long list of collaborations. Kanye is always known to collaborate out of the hip-hop scene. 'The Blame Game' featuring John Legend which seems to be an open letter to his former lover, Amber Rose (model and socialite) which gets too graphic and raw with actor and comedian, Chris Rock at the end.

Followed by his somewhat an apology to his fans about his recent behaviour including his incident with Taylor Swift. 'Runaway' featuring Pusha T is an amazing song driven by the piano Kanye gets sincere and a bit emotional. Kanye does sing but not as much as he did on '808 & Heartbreaks'

'Monster' featuring Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver is a brilliant song but the title did cause a major stir between MC Hammer, Jay - Z and Kanye. MC Hammer wanted to expose Jay-Z and Kanye as members of the Illuminati on Halloween of 2010 via the social network, Twitter. The title of the song is not pleasant but how the featured artists give their all to execute one of the best songs in this album.

'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' is well crafted, every song sounds like a hit including 'All Of the Lights' which sees a long star stared artists. Also something that Kayne hasn't done in a while is include a poem or poet in one of his songs. 'Who Will Survive In America?' is a beautiful but too raw poem on how Gil Scott-Heron sees America from what is was too how it has turned out.

Kanye is also known and credited for his smart sampling, his credits run form Manfred Mann's Earth Band (So Appalled produced by Swizz Beats), 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow' performed by Smokey Robinson (Devil in a New Dress), Black Sabbath with Iron Man (Hell of a Life produced by No I.D.), 'In High Places' by Mike Oldfield (Dark Fantasy) and many more sampled songs.

'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' is one of the most sold recodes of 2010 which overall makes this is an ingenious piece. The old Kanye West is back with a bang followed by his old friends, controversy and success.

From Writer to Hitmaker, say hi to Bruno Mars ....

Remember the name - you're going to be hearing a lot more of it.

Bruno Mars is the man behind the year's biggest hits: K'Naan's 'Wavin' Flag', Cee Lo Green's 'F**k You', Travie McCoy's 'Billionaire', B.O.B's 'Nothing On You', and Flo Rida's 'Right Round'.

Now, on his debut album, the prolific songwriter proves he can sing too.   

Born Peter Gene Hernandez and nicknamed after the famous chubby wrestler Bruno Sammartino, on 'Doo-Wops & Hooligans' he showcases the major influences he grew up listening to: mostly doo-wop music by the likes of The Temptation and Three Tops.

But, as is to be expected from the man whose songs ruled the charts in 2010, he also incorporates pop, reggae, and soul influences. Some old school R&B and rock 'n roll elements also come into place, reminding you of Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and The Isley Brothers.

In fact, his songwriting skills can be compared to Raphael Saadiq's and his singing to Jason Mraz, but he balances the two with his fusion of sounds and instruments.

To help craft his sound, Bruno hooked up with ersatile producers such as The Smeezingtons, Claude Kelly, Needlz, and Dwayne 'Supa Dups' Chin-Quee. The guest roster is remarkably short though - Cee-Loo and B.O.B. show up on 'The Other Side', while Damian Marley appears on 'Liquor Store Blues' - but that's clearly to leave the focus on Mars himself.   

His falsetto voice blends in well with every one of the diverse songs, be it the catchy first single 'Just the Way You Are' or the dark-romantic 'Grenade', making 'Doo-Wops & Hooligans' a perfect album if you want to reminisce about old school R&B and pop-rock. 

The Last Analogue Nites with a Legend, Thandiswa Mazwai

When I heard Thandiswa Mazwai would be performing at the last Analogue Nites of 2010, I knew it would be a once in a lifetime experience to watch a legend perform.

The chilly Joburg night took off with DJ Kenzhero and his famous soul mix but there's always been something new and exciting with Kenzero over these past months. He's been including South African '80s bubblegum music in his mix, while the other resident DJ1D has never gone wrong with old school kwaito and new age hip-hop. How the two genres mix is beyond understanding but it sounds way too good.

The venue filled pretty fast with music fans and celebrities like Lupe (from Metro FM), Noni Gasa, Claire Mawisa, Shaka Sisulu, Anele, Kaos Matu, and Thapelo Mokeona. Eventually the doors had to be closed, which never happens, due to the sheer number of people wanting to catch the iconic singer Thandiswa.

But first, recent winners of etv 'Popstars', Nne-Vida, warmed the stage with songs that will be featured on their upcoming album. Although their first song sounded like a badly produced Afrikaans track, with the beats and vocals not synching in most parts, they followed it up with a good party starter, paving the way for the main event.

Thandiswa started her memorable performance with 'Nizalwa Ngobani?' from her debut 2004 album, 'Zabalaza', which provided most of the evening's material. While she was on stage, Simphiwe Dana joined her for an epic out of the blue collaboration that quashed all rumours of the two talented ladies' 'beef.'

Ending her performance with 'Ingoma', taken from her latest release, 'Ibokwe', she kept on saying goodbye before singing the song again with more jazz and just bass.

As soon as Thandiswa stepped off the stage, DJ1D got on the decks and took the early Friday morning of 2010 to 1996. He played the 'break-out' song from Thandiswa's first band, Jack Knife, moving to Boom Shaka's 'Thobela', 'Thebe', 'Ungwawa Kum' and many more hits from a decade ago.

You would think, with an hour-long set of old school jams, ladies in heels would be sitting down, but no. It was only later, when more commercial tracks were, played that slowly people finally decided to go home after what must have been the best Analogue Nites of 2010.

Evil Boy - This is too much !!!

Die Antwoord have been one of those bands that S.A has been proud of, so far they have made history in more than one way.

Now touching a bit to what disturbed me, "Evil Boy", their new song with some kid and a massive hard on rapping about dildos and doin' the nasty on someones daughter... my jaw was on the floor and i could feel my brain being fried.

Oh well enough about my trauma and the need of a shrink, here are the lyrics of Die Antwoord - Evil Boy:

VUIL-GEBOOSTED GANG$TA (turbo-boosted ill)
YOOO EVIL BOY!
WHY IS YOUR INCANCA (penis) SO BIG?

ALL THE BETTER TO LOVE YOU WITH!
NO GLOVE NO LOVE!
IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME
TAKE YOUR DIRTY HANDS OFF MY UMTHONDO WISIZWE! (penis of the nation, pun on this)

HAPPY! HAPPY! JOY! JOY!
CRUSH! KILL! DESTROY!
GOOI! (bring it!) CAR-CRASH RAP STYLE!
AH MAN THAT'S WILD!
EVIL BOY RAP TIME!
PEOPLE GOOI ZAP SIGNS! (throw up offensive hand signs)
FULL FUCKIN FLEX! FRE$!
MEGA-ZEF! GO!

EVERYBODY GO HO! LIKE A THUNDERCAT
I'M ALL UP IN THE CLUB IN MY UNDERPANTS
NO SHIRT ON COS IT'S FUCKIN HOT!
LET'S GO DIPLO PUMP IT UP!
GIRLS WANNA SAY HELLO TO ME
FROM THE ZEFSIDE TO THE FUCKIN OVERSEAS
I'M LOOKING AT WHO'S LOOKING AT ME
LOOKING AT YOU LOOKING BACK WHO CAN THAT BE?
WHEN I'M ALL UP THIS
BITCH YOU KNOW WHO THE MOTHERFUCK IT IS
ROLL THROUGH THE CLUB LIKE A
TIKOLOSHE (little hairy African demon man with a giant horse penis)
NINJAS HUNG LIKE A FOKKEN HORSE
YEAH GIRL! I'M A FREAK OF NATURE
SIGN MY NAME ON YOUR BOOB FUCK A PIECE OF PAPER
IF YOU FEELING ME:COOL...NOT FEELING ME:FUCK OFF!
WIES JY? FOKKOL! UMNQUNDUWAKHO! (Who are you? No-one! Fucking asshole!)

[HOOK]

MAMELAPA UMNQUNDUWAKHO! (Listen here, you fucking asshole)
ANDIFUNI UKUYAEHLATINI! (I don't want to go to the bush with you)
SUKUBAMMBA INCANCA YAM! (don't touch my penis)
ANDI SO STABANI! (I'm not a gay)
INCANCA YAM YEYAMANTOBI! (This penis is for the girls)
INCANCA YAM ICLEAN! (My penis is clean)
INCANCA YAM INAMANDLA! (My penis is strong)
NDIYINKWEKWE ENKULU! (I am a big boy)
ANGI FUNI UKUBA YEENDOTA! (Don't want to be a man)
EVIL BOY 4 LIFE! YEBO! (Yes)
EVIL BOY 4 LIFE!

[HOOK]

YO-LANDI VI$$ER SO FANCY LIKE THIS DOPE ASS BEAT
ROCK THE MOTHERFUCKIN MICROPHONE WITH NO PANTIES
I'M A BAD ASS CHICK YO MY BLACK MAGIC
SPELLETJIES MAKE ALL THE BOYS GO: DAMN THAT'S SICK! (Little games)
LIE DOWN ON THE BED BOY LEMME LIGHT THE CANDLES
UH UH! DON'T TOUCH! YO-LANDI JUST TOO HOT TO HANDLE!
BLIND-FOLD YOU TIE YOUR HANDS UP WITH THE HAND-CUFFS
EVEN THOUGH YOU LYING DOWN, I CAN MAKE YOU STAND UP
SPIRITS IN THE ROOM TICKLE YOU LIKE A SNEAKY PRAWN
FUCK A PEN AND PAD I WRITE MY RAPS WITH A OUIJA BOARD
DRAW A PENTAGRAM ON YOUR CHEST WIF MY LIP-STICK
VISIONS IN THE MIRROR HEAVY ZEF FUTURISTIC
LEMME TAKE YOUR PANTS OFF LET'S SEE WHAT YOU MADE OF
GO THROUGH YOUR POCKETS NO WE NOT GOING TO MAKE LOVE
GO THROUGH YOUR WALLET, WOO! WHAT ALOT OF PAPER!
WHAT A FUCKIN SUCKER! SEE YOU LATER MASTURBATOR!

[HOOK]

I WENT FROM FOKOL TO SO FOKKEN HOT RIGHT NOW I'LL PUT YOU IN YOUR PLACE (nothing)
MOTHERFUCKER SKRIK WAKKER WE COMING THROUGH PUMPING YOU FULL OF BASS (wake the fuck up)
FOK RUSTIG EKS APOKALIPTIKAL FUCKING YOU IN THE FACE (fuck chilling out, I'm apocalyptic)
ZEF CHERRIES TJOON MY: SPIEG MY FOKKEN HOL NAT (Zef girlies tell me to spit their bums wet)
FUCK EVERYONE EYES ON THE PRIZE WHEN I GO FOR THE JUGULAR
SURPRISE ME OR FOKOF AND DIE IF I REMIND YOU OF HOW MUCH YOU SUCK (fuck off)
EVERYONE'S SO FOKKEN SO-SO, YO WE BEEN SENT TO FUCK YOU UP ZEF TECHNO MOSH-PIT GANG$TA NOMMER EEN KIND (number one child)
EVERYTHING YOU RAP ABOUT COMES TRUE IF YOU GOT SOME FREAKIN BALLS BUT MIND YOUR TONGUE WHEN YOU RHYME ON THE DRUM, GAAN VRA VIR BIGGIE SMALLS (go ask)
I GOTTA ROCK IF YOU MOTHERFUCKIN LIKE IT OR NOT, YO
IS YOU READY FOR THIS HO$TYLE TAKE OVER? BOW TO THE FOKKEN MASTER
MY SLANG IS BANGING I'M FREAKING THE FUCK OUT OF MYSELF, YO I'M MY BIGGEST FAN
COS BUDDY WHEN YOU MAN DOWN NO FOKKEN HANDS OUT WHEN YOU REALLY NEED A HAND
MACHINE GUN RAPPER, LEKKER BUDDA-BUDDA MOTHERFUCKER, YO I'M BIGGER THAN
KOOS KOMBUIS SE MA SE FOKKEN POES (Koos Kombuis' mother's vagina)

NA NA NA NA NA!
YOU CAN'T FUCK WIF THIS OU (man)
BLAH BLAH BLAH! WHATEVER!
WATCH A MILLION FUCKIN KIDS GO:
NA NA NA NA NA!
SUPER FOKKEN FRIS FLOW (fuckin' buff)
NINJA, WANGA AND YO-LANDI VI$$ER
VS DIPLO

The Son Of Chico Dusty, Big Boi

As one half of hip-hop duo OutKast, Big Boi helped create music that blended jazz, funk, and soul with poetic rhymes and an outlandish fashion sense.

As a member of Purple Ribbon All-Stars he collaborated with rappers like Konkrete, Bubba Sparxxx, Sleepy Brown, and Rock D.

Now, finally, the man born Antwan Andre Patton has created an album all his own - even if 'Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty' doesn't sound all that different from his day job with Andre 3000. The quirky fast-paced rhymes, sonic experimentations, collision of jazzy elements and mellow old school beats, collaborations, and rock flavours are all here.  

So the first single, 'Shutterbugg', features Cutty with co-production from hitmaker Scott Storch, while its follow-up 'Follow Us' showcases Vonnegutt with the light sound of the electric guitar. 'Hustle Blood', penned and produced by Sean Garrett, is slow and romantic with Jamie Foxx making a guest appearance, while 'Turns Me On' is positively upbeat.

Other songs that stand out are 'Daddy Fat Sax', 'General Patton' featuring Big Rube, 'Be Still' featuring Janelle Monáe, and 'Back Up Plan.' Throughout, he still includes old-school rapping but has used fresh beats to give the songs a more modern feel.

It's a typically eclectic mix but Big Boi holds it all together with his diary-like lyrics and musings on The United States of America, his upbringing, and the music industry.

Despite taking three years to record, being pushed back multiple times, and moving from one producer to the next, 'Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty' is far better than anybody might have expected.

Not quite on the same level as the recent offerings by Drake and Rick Ross, Big Boi's solo debut offers good competition to anyone releasing a hip-hop album right now.

Analogue Nites featuring 340ml showing music unites

Analogue Nites is old school meets new school with a touch of hot music and a relaxed crowd. Nothing beats it as a way of saying goodbye to dusty August and hello sunny September with fine company.

This is the second of the monthly events to be sponsored by Peroni - and with sponsors come great prizes. So, while you're sitting relaxing with your cold one, the promotional girls take your name for the competition where you stand a chance to win Versace sunglasses.

You can also take a picture of you and your date and get it framed, a lovely gesture to remind yourself of the great time you had. And, as always, Moyo's in Melrose Arch is the ideal venue.

Like any other nite, the in-house DJs Kenzero and 1D start up the party with their hip-hop, rap, soul, and now reggae mixes. DJ Kenzero starts up with slow hip-hop jams and then moves to playing reggae, with remixes from Bob Marley's 'Turn Your Lights Down Low'. But, while Kenzero's mixes are getting too predictable, 1D has the ability to adapt and his mixing of reggae and hip-hop gets better each time.

They get the crowd warmed up for the main event: 340ml. A band originally from Mozambique, they're made up of four really laidback characters - Pedro da Silva Pinto on vocals, Paulo Chibanga on drums, Rui Soeiro on bass, and Tiago Paulo on guitar - who specialise in providing good vibes.

Performing songs from their two albums, 'Sorry For The Delay' and 'Moving', the SAMA-nominated collective seduce the audience with 'Shotgun', 'Good Things Happen to Those Who Wait,' and 'Fairy Tales.' They keep teasing the crowd with their most commercial and famous track, 'Midnight', as the bass guitar player keeps repeating the bassline before most of their songs. Eventually the crowd lose their minds and sing along with 'Midnight' when it is finally performed.

As soon as 340ml were done with their performance, the DJ went back to playing hip-hop, mainly focusing on Drake, playing most of his new album and every hit song featuring him. At 2am the party is still going with the crowd seemingly having forgotten that it's a Friday and work starts in a couple of hours.

Best not forget though that the next Analogue Nites will be on 30 September. And it will be on fire.