Try this tongue twister: I’m really likin’ Lykke Li’s “Little Bit” song a whole lot. For once, I feel safe in saying the music blogs are right about Lykke Li and her highly anticipated debut album. As one of the newest singers to break out of Stockholm, her first full length album, Youth Novels (produced with the help of fellow Swede, Peter Moren of Peter Bjorn & John) hit Swedish stores on January 30. Antsy American fans can rest assured that the album is expecting a U.S. release date, and more is on the horizon from this pop singer compared to the likes of Kylie Minogue, Lily Allen and Feist. While waiting for Youth Novels to make its way across the sea, you can visit her MySpace page, and preview most of the album’s jams. And an extra perk - keep an eye out for Lykke Li in the upcoming TRACE Peace Issue.

The song that sealed the deal for me was “Little Bit” and the accompanying video. After countless plays, I still can’t decide if it’s the textured “oo-oo-oo”s that open up the song, the beat that gets me moving, or the catchiest refrain I’ve heard in awhile that keeps me hitting the repeat button. Maybe it’s the combination of all three, but Lykke Li’s lyrics are stuck in my head—and I don’t want to get them out. Go ahead and give Lykke Li a try, just for a little bit. I did, and I still have her on repeat.

Behold the dopest music video you are ever going to see… EVER. Erykah Badu is opening her latest studio album New Amerykah, Part One: 4th World War with the single “Honey” produced by 9th Wonder. Check the authentic vintage album cover remakes (Chaka Khan is my favorite) and the Andre 3000 nod. The album drops on her birthday February 26, 2008. And like the sister said - don’t forget to support your local record store.

With the early to mid-’90s permeating the fashion sensibilities of so many in this post-American century of ours, it pays to revisit the source from time to time. The year was 1992. The pants were obscenely baggy and they were worn backwards. Daddy Mac and Mac Daddy, or Kris Kross as they were referred to for cataloging purposes, were Totally Krossed Out (1992; number 1 on the Billboard chart; 4x Platinum, for what it’s worth), boys among men in a work-a-day, dog-eat-dog, kill-or-be-killed, apple-a-day-keeps-the-doctor-away, mi casa es su casa world.

Yeah, they turned centuries of sartorial convention upside down. So? They were Young, Rich and Dangerous, and that’s all that really mattered. They just wanted you to “Jump”. And who cares if their Sega CD title Kris Kross: Make My Video was ranked 18th on Electronic Gaming Monthly’s “20 Worst Video Games Of All Time” list? Do you have a video game using your likeness? Neither do I. Besides, it wasn’t about 16-bit games with negligibly enhanced graphics. Oh no. Because when you “Live And Die For Hip Hop”, it’s all about the rhyme. Yet looking back, it wasn’t all sugar-coated puppies and money-rainbows (those would be rainbows made out of money, natch). Dark days that I remember quite well. Heavy was my heart when, after saving coin after coin and finally busting up my piggy bank (yes, it was an actual ceramic pig; I felt kind of bad afterwards) to cop Young, Rich and Dangerous at the now-defunct Recordmasters, Kris Kross fell off the face of the earth.

But after hearing a rumor that Chris and Chris plan to release an album this year (don’t call it a comeback; allegedly with their former producer/style consultant Jermaine Dupri and the cat that owes them everything, Bow Wow), I’ve decided to rock the zipper-in-the-back-steez as an homage to the boys who would be kings. Can’t come with me on this one y’all. Wearing your pants backwards is a lot more uncomfortable than they made it seem. But what is life without sacrifice? Exactly.

Shut your eyes and clear your mind. That’s it. I want you to dial it back. Back to your teenhood. Remember your best friend’s cool-as-fuck younger sister from back in the day? You know the one I’m talking about. Damn was she cool. She knew all the lyrics to every rap song ever recorded, could dance circles around everybody on your block (even Mookie the Magnificent, and motherfucker could dance) and her kick game was always way stronger than yours could ever hope to be. And the craziest thing about it was that she made being that fly look oh-so-easy. Just like that friend’s sister, Rye Rye is cooler than you. Her friends are most likely cooler (and more relevant) as well. And to add insult to injury, she’s also way younger than you. But given all this, it’s damn near impossible to hate on the girl. At just 16, she’s been signed to Diplo’s Mad Decent label, toured with indie goddess M.I.A. and along with friend, labelmate and collaborator DJ Blaqstarr, she has emerged as one of the freshest and most exciting faces of the B-More (Club) scene.  Yet she never throws out the diva vibe that leaves that sour taste in your mouth.

When I got a friend request from Rye Rye on MySpace, though I accepted, I just as well assumed that she was just another West Baltimore girl with an internet connection and stars in her eyes. That was last summer, and needless to say that a) I had no idea who I was dealing with and b) the girl’s been well on her grind since then. And if you really mull it over, her success comes as no surprise: young, vibrant, talented and a Baltimore native, she is the genuine article that B-More-obsessed tastemakers like Diplo and M.I.A. have been seeking out for a while now. A diamond in the rough that is Harm City, if you will. Having escaped the Beltway, the Blaqstarr/Rye Rye collabo “Shake It To The Ground” has caught the attention of the hipsterverse in recent months, so of course everybody and their mother has cooked up a remix to the track (the best of the lot are featured on Blaqstarr’s Supastarr EP, p.s.). But before all the Brooklyn-based hype, around Rye Rye’s way, the song could be heard blasting out of stoop-bound jamboxes and open Crown Vic windows on 92Q (Bodymore’s local/only “urban” station) during the Five-O’Clock Ride with Konan.

It’s been a few months since the video for “Shake It To The Ground” blew up on YouTube, and the shit’s still got the hood (and the interzone) on smash. The “Crazy Leg Edit” version we’ve got here shows Rye Rye and friends doing what it is that they do best in various parts of “The City That Reads/Bleeds”. Take note of the “Greatest City In America” bench, cameo from B-More Club legend Scottie B, the Inner Harbor waterfalls and the Misfits poster in her room. Respeck. And don’t sleep on your boy Crazy Leg either. In addition to the Blaqstarr vid, it seems that every week, a new clip of a Rye Rye performance pops up on the Tube, brightening lil’ homie’s star that much more. Also featured here is a vid of our self-proclaimed “ghetto superstar” droppin’ some science on a crowd at NYC chillspot (and TRACE hangout) Dante’s Fried Chicken.

And just as a heads up, Rye Rye will be performing at the Lower East Side’s Club 205 on January 20th. Hands up, thumbs down, represent that D-Town!

Another genius video passed on to me by our TRACER Crayon: Japanese school kids competing in a cheerleading competition. God bless their little pumping hearts… if only I understood Japanese, because the commentary seems to be just as riveting as the performance itself. Dance dance dance!

With the success of Judd Apatow’s Superbad, three relatively unknown dudes (Michael Cera, Jonah Hill & Christopher Mintz-Plasse) busted onto the scene, and reinvigorated the “teen summer blockbuster” that really wasn’t just for teens. Although Mintz-Plasse was a newcomer, (and will now forever be known as McLovin’,) Jonah Hill and Michael Cera’s careers have been on an upward trajectory for quite some time now. Hill is an Apatow favorite, and Cera gained a cult following by playing George Michael Bluth in Arrested Development. So after all the hooplah I was worried that my precious little Cera would change… but alas, he’s still out there making ridiculous films with his buddies. Case in point Drunk History Vol. 1 whose plot is as follows: “On August 6th 2007, Mark Gagliardi drank a bottle of Scotch… And then discussed a famous historical event. That night history was made…Drunk History.” Too ridiculous to make up. Check it out:

There are no words to describe how utterly cool and cute this video is. They are a powerhouse of intensity and talent… and they’re just kids! Thanks to Crayon for sending me a link - proof that kids nowadays are so much cooler than us.

Far from burned out, it seems that we (as in, media of all stripes, the listening public, “all of God’s children”, the Lollipop Guild, the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the Peanut Gallery, the Corvette Club of America, the House of Lords and the People Under The Stairs) are all basking in the post-coital glow of the mindfuck that was Radiohead’s In Rainbows. Whether it was the countless bits of mainstream coverage of the album’s paradigm shift (and all the industry ramifications that surrounded it), critical praise from journos who’d listened to the actual album tracks way before you did, or the personal epiphany that is wholly possible when you bury yourself in some blankets, close your eyes and give the the album a run, front to back, it’s certain that Thom Yorke and Co. have accomplished their mission.

Not easily sated, however, the band has once again turned its attention towards the interweb, creating webcasts to complement the album. For the new year, the boys from Oxfordshire have released Scotch Mist: A film with Radiohead in it. Put simply, the piece features the band running through In Rainbows in its entirety, with brief interstitials featuring the band, animations and you guessed it, the Scotch Mist, serving as transitions. Sure, the bruhaha over the “pay what you feel like” headtrip has died down a bit and this year will see a conventional, physical release of the album. But as Yorke sings (bemoans?) in “Bodysnatchers”, “This is the 21st century”. And I’m not sure what he’s on about specifically there, but I’m thinking it’s something along the lines of, no more words, just watch.

While ’06 was the year in which hip-hop’s lifeline was the main topic of conversation, 2007 was the one in which society’s ills were attributed to culture. Enter Ice Cube, the legend who also happens to be a pioneer in the genre and has decided to give his two cents on the finger-pointing conversations surrounding the art form. He is doing it not through highly publicized debates, but through the outlet that made him famous: rap… Gangsta rap that is. The thought provoking Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It is the first single from his upcoming album Raw Footage. The song and video are vintage Ice Cube, powerful lyrics, a hint of sarcasm and an ominously melodic beat that accentuates his angry but patient delivery. Ice Cube turns the mirror on everybody who jumped on the ‘blame Hip Hop bandwagon’ and suggests (that’s putting it nicely) that they back off.

The fabulous Vashtie (part of the 1992 collective featured in TRACE’s Music Uncommon issue) has done it again. Even with the end of 2007’s 1992 parties, she’s found something new to sink her teeth into. This time around, parties have been put on the shelf, and her creative eye has been put to the test. Done completely for the love of the song, she recently directed a spec video for “Us Placers” off of Kanye’s “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” mixtape. Relying heavily on the help of her friends, Vashtie created this video with no budget and borrowed clothes and everything else she needed from her homies. The song which features the vocal stylings of Lupe Fiasco, Pharrel, Thom Yorke of Radiohead, and of course Kanye is reinvented by Vashtie - each singer’s stand-in is a bad ass kid who knows all the words like the back of his hand. We leave you with this fellow TRACERS, and the best of wishes for the coming year. Happy Holidays! See you again in 2008!