A Taste:

Kings of Leon, Passion Pit, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes

Drake is undeniably the hottest new rapper in the game.

So we had to know…what the hell is he listening to?

“Indie rock,” Drake laughs with a big smile. “I feel like that that music is the best that it’s been in years. There are so many bands that are simply phenomenal.”

Even though he’s rolling with Lil Wayne and trading verses with Slim Shady, Drake prefers to kick back and turn up some fuzzed out artsy bands. That’s probably why he’s got such a unique style and melodic sensibility. You can’t mess with Drake and his shoegazin’ playlist!

Drake opened up his iTunes for ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolor author Rick Florino in this exclusive playlist feature. Check out what Drake is spinning below and pick up his brand new EP, So Far Gone, available now!

Drake’s Playlist:

1. Passion Pit

2. Frances and the Lights

3. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes

4. Kings of Leon

I listen to a lot of Passion Pit, Frances and the Lights, Edward Sharpe and Kings of Leon.

5. Grizzly Bear

I love Grizzly Bear. There are almost too many great indie bands. They’ve got their own sounds going on. From the lyrics to the melodies, everything is great. I feel like indie rock is at a real strong place right now.

—Rick Florino
10.13.09

A Taste:

Jeremih, Drake, Jay-Z, John Mayer

On Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory, Chris “Drama” Pfaff spends a lot of time making mischief with his cousin Rob, but he devotes even more of his time to making music.

Drama has logged time in the studio with Snoop Dogg, The Game, Chris Brown and Keri Hilson, becoming quite the production force in his own right.

However, if causing trouble were an Olympic sport he and his cousin would definitely be gold medalists.

When he’s not on some crazy suburban Los Angeles mission or in the studio, Drama is cranking his favorite tunes. He opened up his iTunes for ARTISTdirect.com and gave us an exclusive look at what he’s spinning. Check out Drama’s playlist below and catch him on Fantasy Factory on Thursdays at 9pm!

Chris “Drama” Pfaff’s Playlist:

1. Jeremih — Jeremih

Right now, I just hit “pause” on the new Jeremih album. He’s the guy who’s famous for “Birthday Sex,” which was actually charting before he had a deal. That’s why they signed him and knocked his shit out right away. I’m actually pretty impressed with the whole record. It’s really growing on me. His follow-up single, “I’m a Star,” is a banger. I’m backing it!

2. 50 Cent — “Baby By Me (Feat. Ne-Yo)

I’m all over the map, man. I just downloaded the new 50 Cent and Ne-Yo song—”Baby By Me.” I feel like 50 might have another hit with this one. I think that Ne-Yo-mainstream power might’ve done it for him. I like it! I’m looking forward to hearing the whole record.

3. Jay-Z — The Blueprint 3

I’m a fan of the new Jay-Z album. It’s really good!

4. Drake — “Forever”

The new Drake song, “Forever,” has been on heavy “repeat” for me. Drake was able to have hit singles, be in videos and establish a name before he even had a deal, which is absolutely insane. To get as far as he did without a label is crazy! My entire existence revolves around having new music to listen to. If I can’t find any new music, I’m bored out of my mind. Everywhere I go I hear the same things. I’ll get three or four new songs and listen to those for like a week straight until I can get three or four more new tracks. I repeat that cycle over and over [Laughs].

5. Trey Songz —Ready

I just bought the new Trey Songz. I’m not mad at it. I feel like that one has to grow on me. You have to listen to it in the right circumstances—with a girl and a bottle of wine or something [Laughs]. It’s pretty serious and love-inspired [Laughs]. It’s good! I’m a Trey fan for sure.

6. John Mayer

7. Jack Johnson

Every morning when I’m driving down to the Fantasy Factory and I’m annoyed at life waiting for my coffee to kick in, I’ll put on either John Mayer or Jack Johnson. I can’t start my day out with Jeremih’s “I’m a Star.” I have to relate to how I’m feeling at the time.

8. Young Jeezy

There are always the Young Jeezy days too!

9. Jay-Z — Kingdom Come

This is kind of random, but my favorite Jay-Z album is Kingdom Come. I was having a debate with Rob about it the other day. To be completely honest, when it comes down to Jay-Z as a whole, I’m not an extreme Jay-Z fan. I don’t go back and listen to old Jay-Z albums because they’re slightly before my time. For some reason, I love the entire Kingdom Come album. It’s so strange. It might be because he went with Dr. Dre on a lot of the songs. There’s an edge to it that I really like. I said that to Rob, and he said, “Man, he doesn’t even have an album called Kingdom Come!” I was like, “Yes, he does!” He responded, “No he doesn’t. You’re completely mistaken!” It just snuck through though. It has “Lost Ones.” The production on the Swizz Beatz song is crazy. Usually his stuff is that sample-heavy Kanye production, but Kingdom Come is all Dre and Swizz Beatz, newer younger producers. It’s just a different sound.

10. Kid Cudi

I’m really curious about the Kid Cudi record. I like stuff that’s left-of-center.

11. Ini Kamoze — “Here Comes the Hot Stepper”

I’ve been DJing lately, and I’ve been going back to old songs that were funny at the time like Ini Kamoze’s “Here Comes the Hot Stepper.” I remember having that in my tape player on a vacation to Myrtle Beach [Laughs].

12. Skee-Lo — “I Wish”

I love that song by Skee-Lo “I Wish.”

13. John Mayer & Rob Dyrdek — “Rob’s Mom”

We did a song for the show with John Mayer that’s going to be on this Thursday’s episode. It came out really funny, as you can imagine. It’s called “Rob’s Mom.” It’s a song apologizing to Rob’s mom. Rob and John were on TMZ about a month ago because there were a bunch of Paparazzi outside of a club. Rob and John decided it’d be funny for Rob to act like he was passed out drunk and for John to carry him out of the club. John is just brilliant at that stuff! John was inside the club Twittering that Rob was wasted and he bit into a glowstick [Laughs]. The paparazzi read his Twitter to see what’s going on, so they all gathered outside of the club. Rob acted like he couldn’t even walk, so it was all over the news and TMZ. It made it all the way back to the Dayton Ohio news—where Rob’s mom lives. It said, “Local celebrity almost dies from drinking too much.” It was all a complete joke though! Needless to say, his mom got upset. She’s real diehard no drinking and no cursing. Rob and John called her, and she yelled at the both of them. So they decided the best way to make up for it was to write a song [Laughs]. It’s pretty ridiculous. John is so crazy musically! We were just in there joking around. John can say whatever he wants, and it sounds amazing. From working with him, I saw him do delays and fade outs on his own with his voice not with Pro Tools. He just really understands how it works all the way through. Working with John taught me a lot.

—Rick Florino
09.15.09

A Taste:

Drake, Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy

Jim Jones knows music.

Not only did he crank out the year’s best hip hop record, Pray IV Reign, but he’s also a vice president of A&R for E1 Music. He’s constantly listening to something, and his taste covers the entire spectrum.

Jim smiles, “I listen to all kinds of music. I don’t listen to just one particular artist on a regular basis. I love rock n’ roll, country, calypso and reggae. That’s why we had such good live instrumentation on Pray. If I like it, I like it. It doesn’t matter what it is.”

Being the consummate rhyme hustler that he is, he’s currently bumping mixtape tracks. “I’ve started doing mixtapes, so I’ve got my own music in rotation now,” he continues. “If it’s a good song, then I’ve got it on [Laughs].”

So who else is making some of those “good songs?”

Check out Jim’s playlist below to find out! Also catch his phenomenal new documentary, This Is Jim Jones in stores on June 30, 2009.

Jim Jones’s Playlist:

1. Drake

2. Lil Wayne

3. Young Jeezy

4. Gucci Mane

—Rick Florino
06.29.09

A Taste:

Jay-Z, Kanye West, Drake, Kings of Leon

Some families have a secret recipe that they hand down for generations.

Sometimes it’s for cookies or lasagna, however, it’s different for every clan. For the Wayans family, it’s a potent comedy concoction—the perfect mixture of slapstick and sarcasm. With Dance Flick, director Damien Wayans carries on his family’s time-honored tradition of parodying Hollywood trends. In fact, Dance Flick stands proudly alongside the Wayans’ funniest fare, striking the same irreverent comedy gold.

Damien shared his playlist with us in this exclusive feature. Check out what he’s spinning below! Dance Flick is out now!

Damien Dante Wayans’ Playlist:

1. Jay-Z

2. Kanye West

3. Drake

4. Lil Wayne

5. Kings of Leon

6. MGMT

Check out the video interview here here!

—Rick Florino
05.22.09

A Taste:

Drake

Dance Flick teaches some valuable lessons like, “Don’t wear a pink shirt top a drive-by.”

That may be common sense, but it’s a good point to reiterate. The recipient of that tidbit is the film’s protagonist Thomas, a hilarious Damon Wayans Jr. Young Damon keeps the Wayans’ comedy tradition alive through an outrageous and clever performance in the film.

He’s also got an interesting taste in music, and he shared his playlist selection with us in this exclusive feature.

Damon Wayans Jr.’s Playlist:

1. Drake

“I actually just got into Drake. He was on Degrassi. I used to think he was credible—like kind of thugged out. Then I was like, ‘Wait, you’re on Degrassi.’” [Laughs]

—Rick Florino
05.21.09