Hot Thing

Hot Thing may refer to:

Looking 4 Myself

Looking 4 Myself is the seventh studio album by American R&B recording artist Usher. It was released on June 8, 2012 on RCA Records, following the disbandment of Jive Records in October 2011 and LaFace Records months later. Several producers were involved with its production, including Diplo, Rico Love, Jim Jonsin, Salaam Remi, Pharrell Williams and Max Martin, among others. It features several guest vocalists, including Rick Ross, Pharrell, Luke Steele and ASAP Rocky. Inspired by the electronic duo Empire of the Sun and listening to music originating from several locations, Usher intended the album to contain a more experimental sound, that remained relevant to the music of its time. Defined as "revolutionary pop" by the singer, critics noted that Looking 4 Myself incorporates the genres R&B, pop, hip hop, electronic, Europop and dubstep. Critic Barry Walters has described it as a key release in the emerging alternative R&B genre.

Upon its release, Looking 4 Myself received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics. Most of them praised the album's diversity in music genre, while some were ambivalent towards its pop material and lack of structure. The album debuted atop the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 128,000 copies in its first week, becoming Usher's fourth number one album in the country. As of December 2012, the album has sold 438,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Worldwide, it attained top-ten positions in over eight other countries including Australia, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Eardrum (album)

Eardrum is the third studio album by American hip hop artist Talib Kweli. The album was released on August 21, 2007, by Blacksmith Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album features guest appearances from Res, Jean Grae, UGK, Raheem DeVaughn, Roy Ayers, Kanye West, Norah Jones, Coi Mattison, Lyfe Jennings, will.i.am, Sa-Ra, KRS-One, Musiq Soulchild, Strong Arm Steady, Sizzla, Justin Timberlake and Marsha Ambrosius.

Reception

Critical response

Eardrum scored 73 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews". Some than most reviews are average or mixed: Uncut gave it a score of three stars out of five and said, "Kweli, whose wordy rhymes can often read better than they flow, sounds nimble and at ease most of the time."Vibe gave it three stars out of five and said it "lacks cohesiveness."Spin gave it a score of five out of ten and said, "Though Kweli can't change his voice he was born with, he needs to figure out how to make it as compelling as his material."Hot Press gave it an above average review, however, and said, "Kweli's collaborative work has set the bar so high that his solo efforts routinely fail to meet these exalted expectations."

DJ Envy

Raashaun Casey (born September 3, 1977), known by his professional name DJ Envy, is an American disc jockey (DJ). He is also one of the three hosts of the syndicated radio show The Breakfast Club with Angela Yee and Charlamagne Tha God and an MTV2 VJ for The Week in Jams.

Career

A native of Queens, New York, DJ Envy was tutored by neighborhood acquaintance DJ Clue?, who introduced him to the mixtape circuit in the mid-1990s. He quickly climbed up the ranks, and by the early 2000 he was peddling the latest freestyles and exclusives for big-name rappers like Jay-Z, 50 Cent and The L.O.X.. Since his reputation was so esteemed, DJ Clue signed him to their affiliate label Desert Storm Records. In 2003, he released his commercial debut album entitled The Desert Storm Mixtape: Blok Party, Vol. 1.

Envy's big break on the radio came when he mixed once a month for Hot 97's show called "Takin' it to the Streets", hosted by Angie Martinez from 12:00 am to 4:00 am, but later filled in when Angie Martinez got pregnant. He then co-hosted Hot 97's morning show with Miss Jones from 6 am-10 am daily. His run on the morning show ended in July 2008 when Miss Jones moved to Philadelphia. Envy spun on his own mixshows on Hot 97 called "The People's Mix" on Saturdays from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm and "The People's Choice Hit List" on Sundays 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. He had a segment on Hot 97 titled "New at 2", where he played the newest hits from 2:00 pm to 2:30 pm. He hosts Hip-Hop Nation's afternoon show on Sirius XM Radio on weekdays 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm EST and on weekends he used to do a show from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Power 105.