NEW IN VIBE: BIG SEAN
AND A BIT O' HANNI
Entering at the #9 position is Big Sean with "GUAP," from Hall of Fame (G.O.O.D./Def Jam/IDJ), the follow-up to the L.A. rapper's massive debut, which streets Feb.19. The track is killing it at Urban and Xover, with love at Sirius/XM's Hip Hop Nation, Shade 45 and The Heat as well as WQHT, KPWR, WPWX, WGCI, WPHI, WUSL, WRDW, WJMN, WGPR, WJLB, KKFR and many more.
The official video for "GUAP" bows on MTV and VEVO this weekend; the lyric version has scored 1.2m YouTube views. Sean, who just played a sold-out gig at Detroit's Palace, appears on BET's 106 & Park 12/12 and KPWR's 12/14 Christmas show. The VMA Best New Artist nominee (who also got an EMA nod as "U.S. Artist About to Go Global") hasearned a ton of press, including an XXL cover.
Sliding into Vibe's #16 spot, meanwhile, is another L.A. artist, blues-garage rocker Hanni El Khatib, with "You Rascal You"--an evocative remake of the '30s jazz classic popularized by Louis Armstrong, among others. The song, which appears on Hanni's full-length Will the Guns Come Out (released last year by Innovative Leisure), has been getting mad exposure on a huge Captain Morgan TV ad campaign and is catching fire at PoMo; early believers include KYSR, KTBZ, WEQX, WZNE and KFMA. The noirish video has been viewed over 500k times on YouTube.
Hanni is currently on a European swing and will headline U.S. clubs in the spring, with festivals to follow. He's been enjoying press attnetion from the likes of Spin, Rolling Stone, the L.A. Times, NPR, Filter, The New York Times and more. His next LP is slsated to be produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys.
Be sure to check ou the rest of our Vibe-Raters artists here. And remember that your HDD editorial staff works for tips and tips only.
