Kendrick Lamar

The Melodic Tree’s 5 Favorite Albums of 2015 So Far: #4 To Pimp A Butterfly

The highly anticipated album from Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp A Butterfly, has a cinematic way of dealing with its themes, networking a variety of dramas and a variety of characters. Lamar has an overarching mood of chaos and wryness, seemingly all at once sometimes, but underneath the chaos, there is the narrative of trying to avoid the sultry manifestation of the devil, Lucy as well as saying his fame has not helped his family at home in the track “u”. Behind the tragedy shown throughout the album, it is a celebration to continue living no matter what.

Kendrick Lamar performs a surprise show on the back of a truck

This was apparently another collaboration with Reebok after the “I am” campaign in December and a few days after thousands of Compton fans lined up for an intimate signing event for the album.

Osheaga Music festival announces 2015 lineup through mobile driving game

Montreal’s Osheaga Music Festival released its 3015 lineup in a immensely creative way today by releasing a mobile driving game called The Road to Osheaga which gives the users the ability to find out the names of the artists through collecting musical notes.

Some of the lineup includes The Black Keys, Kendrick Lamar, Florence and the Machine, St. Vincent, Alt-J, The Decemberists, Hot Chip, Weezer, Nas, Tyler the Creator, Interpol, The Kills, Caribou, Run the Jewels, Future Islands, The War on Drugs, and Father John Misty.

Also on the lineup is Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, The Avett Brothers, Of Monsters and Men, Brand New, Tove Lo, Charli XCX, Gary Clark Jr., Action Bronson, ScHoolboy Q, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Young the Giant, Patrick Watson, Twin Shadow, First Aid Kit, Toro y Moi, Philip Selway, MS MR, Viet Cong, Alvvays, Slyvan Esso, Milky Chance, Marina and the Diamonds, Raury, Strand of Oaks, Glass Animals, San Fermin, and Young Fathers. 

The music festival will take place the weekend of July 31st – August 2nd at the Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal. The full lineup will be released on March 24th which is the same day that tickets go on sale. 

Sasquatch lineup announced

The Sasquatch! Music Festival will return on May 22-25 to the Gorge Amphitheater. The festival lineup has been announced today, the lineup can been seen above.

This year’s lineup includes Kendrick Lamar, Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters, Modest Mouse, Lana Del Rey, The Decemberists, Tame Impala, St. Vincent, Spoon, James Blake, Chromeo, Hot Chip, Sbtrkt, Schoolboy Q, The New Pornographers, The War On Drugs, The Glitch Mob, Little Dragon, Gogol Bordello, Father John Misty, Run The Jewels, Jose Gonzalez, Jenny Lewis, Mø, Real Estate, Future Islands, Ab-Soul, Glass Animals, Sohn, Jungle, Sharon Van Etten, Action Bronson, Perfume Genius, Sylvan Esso, Rustie, Courtney Barnett, King Tuff, San Fermin, Alvvays, Will Butler, Twin Peaks, Merchandise, Nothing, Bishop Nehru, Ex Hex, Diarrhea Planet, Ought, Natalie Prass, S (Jenn Ghetto), and amongst others.

The full list of the 2015 Grammy Nominees have been revealed

Except for the Album of the Year, the list in full o the 2015 Grammy Awards nominees have been revealed. The album of the year nominees will be announced during the Ll Cool J hosted “A Very Grammy Christmas.” The program will air on CBS tonight at 9:00pm EST. The special will have performances from Sam Smith, Mary J. Blige, Pharrell Williams, Ariana Grande, Maroon 5 and Tim McGraw.

UK singer Sam Smith and Australian rapper Iggy Azalea are among the big nominees, dominating the categories And picked up five nominations respectively. Also, Beyoncé has become the most nominated female in the award’s history after receiving five nominations.

The nominations for Record of the Year are Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me,” Sia’s “Chandelier,” Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX’s “Fancy,” and Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.” Smith, Sia, and Swift also are nominated for the Song of the Year.

The category for Best Rock Song features Jack White’s “Lazaretto,” Ryan Adams’ “Gimme Something Good,” Beck’s “Blue Moon,” and The Black Keys’ “Fever.” All of these artists and also nominated for Best Rock Performance along with “Do I Wanna Know” by the Arctic Monkeys.

The Best Rock Album nominees features Ryan Adams’ self-titled album, Beck’s Morning Phase, The Black Keys’ Turn Blue, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Hypnotic Eye, and U2’s Songs of Innocence.

The Best Alternative Album includes Arcade Fire’s Reflektor, St. Vincent’s self-titled album, Jack White’s Lazaretto, Alt J’s This is All Yours, and Cage the Elephant’s Melophobia. These nominations were announced by Ezra Koenig, Vampire Weekend’s frontman.

HAIM, Sam Smith, Iggy Azalea, Bastille, and Brandy Clark are the nominees for Best New Artist.

Nominations for Best Rap Album are Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP 2, ScHoolboy Q’s Oxymoron, Childish Gambino’s Because the Internet, Common’s Nobody’s Smiling, and Iggy Azalea’s The New Classic.

Nominees in the Best Rap Song category are Kanye West’s “Bound 2,” Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda,” Kendrick Lamar’s “i,” and Drake’s “0 to 100 / The Catch Up.”

Nominees for Best Rap Performance category are Drake’s “0 to 100 / The Catch Up,” Kendrick Lamar’s “i,” Eminem’s “Rap God,” and Donald Glover’s “3005.”

Among the nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album are Coldplay’s Ghost Stories, Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz, Ariana Grande’s My Everything, Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour, and Katy Perry’s Prism.

Best Urban Contemporary Album will have Beyoncé’s self-titled album will be up against Pharrell’s G I R L. She is also nominated for Best R&B Performance and R&B Song for “Drunk in Love” with her husband, Jay Z.

Aphex Twin’s Syro, Röyksopp & Robyn’s Do It Again, and Little Dragon’s Nabuma Rubberband are the nominees for Best Electronic Album.

Karen O’s “The Moon Song” received a nomination for Best Song Written For Visual Media; Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross relieved a Best Score Soundtrack for their soundtrack for Gone Girl; FKA Twigs for Best Recording Package for LP1; and Tegan & Sara and The Lonely Island for their song “Everything Is Awesome!!!” for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

The Grammy Awards will take place on Sunday, February 8th, 2015 in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. The awards will be broadcasted on CBS.

Album of the Year: Yet to be announced.

Record of the Year:
Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX – “Fancy”
Sia – “Chandelier”
Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
Taylor Swift – “Shake It Off”
Meghan Trainor – “All About That Bass”

Song of the Year:
Meghan Trainor – “All About That Bass”
Sia – “Chandelier”
Taylor Swift – “Shake It Off”
Sam Smith – “Stay With Me”
Hozier – “Take Me to Church”

Best New Artist:
Bastille
Iggy Azalea
Brandy Clark
HAIM
Sam Smith

Best Rock Song:
Paramore – “Ain’t It Fun”
Beck – “Blue Moon”
The Black Keys – “Fever”
Ryan Adams – “Gimme Something Good”
Jack White – “Lazaretto”

Best Rock Album:
Ryan Adams – Ryan Adams
Beck – Morning Phase
The Black Keys – Turn Blue
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Hypnotic Eye
U2 – Songs of Innocence

Best Rock Performance:
Ryan Adams – “Gimme Something Good”
Arctic Monkeys – “Do I Wanna Know?”
Beck – “Blue Moon”
The Black Keys – “Fever”
Jack White – “Lazaretto”

Best Alternative Album:
Alt J – This is All Yours
Arcade Fire – Reflektor
Cage the Elephant – Melophobia
St. Vincent – St. Vincent
Jack White – Lazaretto

Best Rap Album:
Eminem – Marshall Mathers LP 2
Iggy Azalea – The New Classic
Childish Gambino – Because the Internet
Common – Nobody’s Smiling
ScHoolboy Q – Oxymoron
Wiz Khalifa – Blacc Hollywood

Best Rap Song:
Nicki Minaj – “Anaconda”
Kanye West – “Bound 2″
Kendrick Lamar – “i”
Wiz Khalifa – “We Dem Boyz”
Drake – “0 to 100 / The Catch Up”

Best Rap Performance:
Donald Glover – “3005”
Drake – “0 to 100 / The Catch Up”
Eminem – “Rap God”
Kendrick Lamar -“i”
Lecrae – “All I Need Is You”

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance:
Iggy Azalea feat. Charli – “Fancy”
Coldplay – “A Sky Full of Stars”
A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera – “Say Something”
Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj – “Bang Bang”
Katy Perry feat. Juicy J – “Darkhorse”

Best Pop Vocal Album:
Coldplay – Ghost Stories
Miley Cyrus – Bangerz
Ariana Grande – My Everything
Katy Perry – Prism
Ed Sheeran – X
Sam Smith – In the Lonely Hour

Best Pop Vocal Performance:
John Legend
Sia
Sam Smith
Taylor Swift
Pharrell Williams

Best Dance/Electronica Album:
Aphex Twin – Syro
deadmau5 – While (1
Little Dragon – Nabuma Rubberband
Röyksopp & Robyn – Do It Again
Mat Zo – Damage Control

Best Dance Recording:
Basement Jaxx – “Never Say Never”
Clean Bandit feat. Jess Glynne – “Rather Be”
Disclosure feat. Mary J. Blige – “F For You”
Duke Dumont feat. Jax Jones – “I Got You”
Zhu – “Faded”

Best Urban Contemporary Album:
Jhené Aiko – Sail Out
Beyoncé – Beyoncé
Chris Brown – X
Mali Music – Malis Is…
Pharrell Williams – G I R L

Best Comedy Album:
“Weird Al” Yankovic – Mandatory Fun
Jim Gaffigan – Obsessed
Louis C.K. – Oh My God
Patton Oswalt – Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time
Sarah Silverman – We Are Miracles

Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media:
American Hustle
Frozen
Get On Up: The James Brown Story
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media:
Christophe Beck – Frozen
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – Gone Girl
Alexandre Desplat – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Steven Price – Gravity
Thomas Newman – Saving Mr. Banks

Best Song Written For Visual Media:
Tegan and Sara feat. The Lonely Island – “Everything Is Awesome!!!”
Ed Sheeran – “I See Fire”
Glen Campbell – “I’m Not Gonna Miss You”
Idina Menzel – “Let It Go”
Karen O – “The Moon Song”

Best Music Video:
Arcade Fire – “We Exist”
DJ Snake and Lil Jon – “Turn Down For What”
Sia – “Chandelier”
Pharrell Williams – “Happy”
Woodkid feat. Max Richter – “The Golden Age”

Best Music Film:
Beyoncé and Jay Z – On the Run Tour
Coldplay – Ghost Stories
Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer & Judith Hill – 20 Feet From Stardom
Metallica – Through the Never
Pink – The Truth About Love Tour: Live From Melbourne

Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar unveil previously unreleased collaboration

A clip of an previously unreleased collaboration by Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar has appeared online.

The pair worked together for the track, “Never Catch Me,” on Flying Lotus’ new album You’re Dead!, They also have worked together on Lamar’s verse on Eyes Above, however, it did not make the final cut because of “political reasons”. Flying Lotus has been performing song on his current tour, completing it with Lamar’s verse.

Kendrick Lamar has revealed recently that his 10-year-old brother has the only copy that is available of his upcoming album.

The follow-up to Good Kid, Maad City is planned to be released before the end of the year. Lamar also released the official video for “i” earlier this month. This song is the first from the upcoming album.