Welcome back to your office, hope it smells like you remember! FADER takes a break for the holidays, but we're now happily back in our office chairs. As you blink into your RSS feed, like a babe renewed, you may be wondering, What the fuck happened? Beyonce didn't have a baby, probably. Elsewhere on the internet, some of your favorite artists shared good and weird news. Here, lest you be left behind, are some items of note.
The XX unveiled a loosie demo from the recording sessions of their second album. Stream "Open Eyes" here.
Mass Appeal, the Brooklyn-based lifestyle magazine that started in 1996 then folded, sadly, in 2008, announced it is coming back.
50 Cent kind of lost it? After a single featuring Jeremih, "Girls Go Wild" premiered, prematurely, on his Myspace page, the rapper/mogul tweeted, "Ill be honest I don't think I'm gonna live much longer," “I have lost all the faith in the team I’m on,” and, “I having nothing left to say I will not be promoting my music.” 50, who made a distribution deal for his Street King energy shot with Pepsi, says he'll complete a promised fifth album for Interscope, but will turn his focus elsewhere. "I’m going to deliver this album. Then I have a film I wrote to focus on. I’m not upset, I’m just convinced this is not how I want to remembered.”
A seventh episode of Kanye West and Jay-Z's tour diary followed Brian, a fan who won tickets to see the superduo at Madison Square Garden.
Odd Future’s Twitter account got hacked. Hodgy Beats later offered that "Twitter is the Feds."
Diplo prepared a new EP, Express Yourself. Stream a preview here.
Current FADER #77 cover star Future announced that he'll release a DJ Scream-hosted mixtape, Astronaut Status, on January 11th. His major label debut, Pluto, is still promised for January 24th.
North Atlanta-born producer Mike Will, right-hand to Gucci Mane, Young Jeezy, Big Boi and more, released Est. In 1989, a tape of new and old tracks that features his collaboration with Schoolboy Q and character testimonies from 2 Chainz, Gucci, DJ Scream and Future.
Azealia Banks teamed with Scissor Sisters on a new song, "Shady Love." After spending Christmas in Harlem, Banks traveled to Abu Dhabi and tweeted,
P.p.s: I am not going to stay independent. I do not want to be the grungy hipster brown girl you all are begging me to be.
— ♥ AH-ZEE-LEE-YAH ♥ (@AZEALIABANKS) December 30, 2011
FADER #74 Gen F artist Grimes signed with 4AD. Her new album, Visions, will be released in the US on February 21st.
Brooklyn-based producer Dre Skull made a slow-grinding ballad with Vybz Kartel's Portmore Empire protege, Popcaan. Preview "Get Gyal Easy" here.
Following his weird Christmas song, Wiley made a weird bashment song, "Nah Kill Pon a Sunday," inspired by Tenor Saw's "No Work on a Sunday."
Young Dro, released a black and white video previewing two songs, "We Out Chea” and “Getting To The Money,” from his forthcoming We Out Chea mixtape, to be released later this month.
Rick Ross announced he'll release a new tape, Rich Forever, this Friday. He also had a crazy New Year's.
Waka Flocka released the second and third videos in his Streets Most Wanted series, for office favorite "Rap Game Stressful" and "Sterotype." Noz wrote a list of the top 50 Brick Squad songs of 2011.
