billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - october 8, 2016

So this was an interesting week. I'm hesitating to call it a great one - the fall turbulence is continuing and I'm not sure all the results of that are good... but the more I think about the trends here, the more I'm seeing things start to recover a bit, especially in terms of the songs rotating in and out. And while there are a few trouble spots - we'll get to them - overall this didn't seem all that bad, right?

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - march 12, 2016 (VIDEO)

Well, this is a late post - late episode too, but that's what happens when your software craps out. Oh well.

Next up, the 1975... well, the video that is.

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - march 12, 2016

I've said before there are certain weeks on the Hot 100 that are deceptive, appear quieter than they actually are because nothing seems to be really shaking up the top. And hell, it'd almost make sense, the week between the Grammys and Academy Awards, nothing really exploded here, right? Well, not quite, because if you delve deeper you'll find a fair few big shifts and dropouts, setting the stage for what could be the new songs of spring to flood in coming weeks.

video review: 'yung rich nation' by migos

I have no idea why I covered this, but I needed something to fill time, and I did want to have my say.

Next up... hopefully that album from Dr. Dre. This'll be a big one, stay tuned!

album review: 'yung rich nation' by migos

Some of you are probably wondering why I'm covering this. Because given the hip-hop I'm known to like, this probably seems like going straight through the bottom of the barrel to the dregs. And I can already see the comments: 'dude, you don't like ignorant hip-hop, why the hell are you going after Migos?'

Well, let me clear up a few things first. For one, I honestly don't have that much of a problem with hip-hop being shallow, accessible, and fun - provided, of course, the hooks are solid, the flows are cohesive, the performers have some charisma, and there's at least a modicum of wit behind the bars. And while I'd argue that there's enough hard-hitting hip-hop that's both smart and anthemic - I can only point at Doomtree so many times, folks - I get that party music doesn't have to be that lyrical if they can make up for it elsewhere.

All of that being said, to say I had trepidation approaching this record would be understating it. Migos broke with the viral track 'Versace' in 2013, a piece of repetitive brand name porn where I kept feeling the track was shutting off every few seconds. But what Migos were able to do over the next several mixtapes was established a distinctive staccato triplet flow that quickly flooded through hip-hop. And I'll admit I wasn't really a fan - sure, it was distinctive and catchy, but it often felt jumpy and lacked a decent groove. Beyond that... well, what else do you say about Migos? Everything I heard from them was shallow, hedonistic luxury porn of the basest variety, to the point where I've seen YouTube comment sections filled with admissions that, 'yeah, this sucks and the lyrics are garbage, but I still like it anyway!'

So this review is more an experiment for me: I wanted to see if there was actually anything more beneath Migos' idiosyncratic style, so I took a deep breath and dug into their debut album off Atlantic Yung Rich Nation - what did I find?