jay-z

If you enjoyed Eric Franklin's post on 8-bit NES-style hip-hop, you'll definitely enjoy Team Teamwork's "The Ocarina of Rhyme." It's a mix tape of mashups that combines hip-hop tracks with the score to the Zelda game Ocarina of Time.

Team Teamwork produced the mix, which features unique tracks by Spank Rock, Common, Aesop Rock, Clipse, and my personal pick: MF Doom. Most of the songs fit well with the background score; for example, in "Fumbling Over Words," artist Edan Portnoy's intensity melds seamlessly into the rumblings of the "Battle" … Read more

Well, other than the fact that both Mega Man and Jay-Z were pop-culture icons of their respective eras (yes, people, Jay-Z is that popular), they now each have 8-bit, NES-style music associated with them.

Video game music from the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) era had a very distinct style. Even music on other 8-bit consoles like the Sega Master System could not match it.

Anyone who at least played an NES back in those days (pretty much every kid, at least in the U.S.) will immediately recognize the style of that sound after just a few bars.

It'… Read more

Motorola's "JayZ" headphones passed FCC muster (PDF), though we don't yet know if they're in any way connected to the rapper/music impresario/Beyonce husband of the same name. (Given the recent arrival of the Dr. Dre headphones, we wouldn't be surprised if they are).

The Federal Communications Commission filing reveals that you can use the JayZ headphones with your Bluetooth audio device and Bluetooth cell phone simultaneously. If you're listening to music and your phone rings, you can transfer the call to your headphones. Hang up the call with a push of … Read more

With sales for digital singles outpacing CD sales, it's hard to imagine an artist overlooking any avenue of digital distribution and revenue. Yet with the exception of a handful of tracks, American rap icon Jay-Z has resisted releasing his 100-song catalog as ringtones--until last week. That's when most of the remaining tracks streamed into the digital media marketplace. Most. Through August, ten of the artist's smash singles have been earmarked for only one site.

Starting Monday, those hidden hits, including 'Can I Get A', 'IZZO (H.O.V.A.)', and 'Roc Boys (And The Winner Is)', became … Read more

Just in time for Thanksgiving, the Vice empire has cooked up some snarky rhymes, headphone-wrecking, apocalyptic beats from some of the label's best and most recent reworkings for you to devour. Courtesy of Vice Records, all the remixes you see below were sliced and diced from hipster favorites Justice, Spankrock, The Streets, and Bloc Party. Download it, pass it around, play it at your parties. This music is meant to be heard (and danced to). Happy gobble gobble!

Britney Spears "Me Against the Music" Justice remix

Britney can sound listenable with the right producer--in this case, Justice implements a C&C Music Factory-reminiscent synth stab to spice things up. You'll wish they'd all met a long time ago. … Read more

The much-anticipated release of Jay-Z's new album American Gangster was released this past Tuesday, and while I personally feel it's a better album than his previous effort Kingdom Come, I have to ask, "Who is responsible for picking these beats?" I'd say half of the tracks are worth listening to and the rest are in serious need of a remix. Hova's lyrics are solid as usual, which is expected, but his delivery is borderline annoying.

… Read more