Cajun Tomato’s Favorite Songs of 2012 (Halftime Edition)

June 15, 2012 By 2 Comments

Hamilton Leithauser of The Walkmen

Thursday I gushed like a schoolgirl at a Bieber concert about my favorite albums released in 2012.

Today I am once again feeling like a schoolgirl at a Bieber concert. Or a One Direction concert. Or whatever teens and their ilk go wild for today. There are so many songs I want to hoot and holler about, and only so much space on the interwebs to do so.

So, let’s do the damn thing. Here are my 25 favorite songs of 2012 (so far). Just for the hell of it, I am going to rank them. I only picked one song per artist. Click the song titles for links.

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Track Review: “Survival Tactics” by Joey BADA$$ and Capital STEEZ

June 1, 2012 By 1 Comment

The young BADA$$. photo via Steveography

Is Joey BADA$$, the ballyhooed 17-year-old Brooklyn MC, the ghost of “real hip-hop” past returned to take back the throne from impostors drunk on ho’s, weed, and greed?

Maybe. Maybe not. One song does not a savior make. One song, however, can raise the hopes of the faithful.

That song in Joey BADA$$’s case is “Survival Tactics” featuring Pro Era teammate Capital STEEZ, off the former’s soon-to-be released mixtape, 1999. Both rappers evoke an urban realism that feels primal, authentic, and now. Even if their “now” sounds like the mid-1990s, “Survival Tactics” rises above mere imitation.

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