2015 Year End Rap-Up: Top 5 Moments in Music

As 2015 nears it's end, we at Roman's Rap-Up have taken the time to list our favorite things in music from the year. Below, find our top 5 favorite moments:

(MTV)

5) VMAs Nicki Minaj: “Miley What’s Good?”: Nicki Minaj called out fellow female artist and host of the VMAs, Miley Cyrus, during her acceptance speech. Cyrus had apparently dissed Minaj in an interview a few days before the awards show; once Minaj won the award for best hip-hop video, she responded to Cyrus’s criticism during her speech, ending with, “Miley, what’s good?” Cyrus attempted to smooth out the attack, as she was onstage the same moment Minaj was accepting her award. However, the artist vs. artist shade could be felt throughout the audience. If 2015 proved nothing else for Minaj, it’s that her attitude is almost as big as her… um… 

(Twitter)

4) Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift’s Twitter Feud: Again, Minaj slayed the haters involving Taylor Swift; except this feud occurred through Twitter. Minaj tweeted a passive aggressive statement about how her “Anaconda” music video was not nominated for best music video of the year even though it blew up on YouTube. Yet, some other artists’ videos were, and this might hint at possible racism occurring in the nominations. Minaj’s curvy body is celebrated in “Anaconda” in comparison to other artists whose slim bodies seemed to be favored for the VMAs. Swift, assuming Minaj must be poking at her, fired back. Minaj was not having the pop star’s fire, and this turned into a back-and-forth Twitter battle. No worries though – peace was restored to the musical girl world the next day when Swift apologized for the assumption that Minaj was directly digging at her.

3) Drake’s Release of “Back to Back” Aimed at Meek Mill: Another famous social media battle – Meek Mill, a well known rapper, fired at Drake as the two huge hip-hop egos went at it on social media determining artistic talent. Mill accused Drake of not writing his own lyrics among other digs. Drake finally replied through the release of the hit “Back to Back,” which seemed to shut down the hype and lean in Drake’s favor. Next time Mill, focus more on the recording studio and less on the subtweets.

(Twitter)

2) DJ Khaled’s Snapchats: Basically self explanatory, DJ Khaled’s Snapchats and videos have become famous for this inspirational yet extremely humorous content. As he stands against a stark background in one of his most famous videos, Khaled declares, “You smart. We da best. You a genius. I appreciate you. Never give up. This next part of the video is when you’re doing push ups or when you’re doing sit ups; let’s get it. Another one. Another one.” Though he attempts a serious vibe to inspire his viewers, the result is more hilarious than thought provoking. It sparked the usage of the phrases “I appreciate you” and “Another one” in a pop culture context. Keep doing you, DJ Khaled. Another one.

(Getty Images)

1) Left Shark: Probably the most famous shark of all time including Jaws, Left Shark made headlines after Katy Perry’s halftime show during the 2015 Super Bowl. Left Shark was a dancer dressed in a shark costume for Perry’s mash up of her best hits. Unlike Right Shark, Left Shark blatantly forgot the choreography, creating memes and GIFs of the struggle in comparison to his counterpart. It taught the country that we all have a little of Left Shark in us to appreciate and laugh at.

The Rap-Up: 2013 MTV VMA's

Sunday night, the biggest names in the music industry gathered at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn NY for the 2013 MTV VMA’s. Missed it? Don’t worry, Roman’s Rap-Up has a “Rap-Up” of the night. Below, find some of the best and most talked about performances of the night.

Performances-

Pre-show:

Austin Mahone performed his newest hit, “What About Love” during the “All Access” preshow outside the Barclays Center. Right after Mahone’s performance, Ariana Grande took the pre-show stage to perform a medley of her two big hits, “Baby I”, and “The Way”.

Main Show:

Then it was time for the main show, where Lady Gaga performed her new single, “Applause”. This performance marked the first time she has performed this song, as well as the first time she had a large live audience since her hip surgery mid winter.

The next perfromance was perhaps the most talked about one of the night... Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke. The former disney star entered the stage via a large teddy bear, then proceeded to twerk and, well... “dance”. This strange dancing then turned into her song “We Can’t Stop”, and it became apparent that no, Miley really can’t stop. Cyrus danced sexually around the stage, before joining Robin Thicke in singing “Blurred Lines”, and twerking up on him. Find the performance video below. Proceed with caution.

I mean, just look at Rihanna's face...

Screen Shot 2013-08-28 at 5.23.33 PM

Later in the night, Justin Timberlake performed some of his best hits in a 15-minute set. In the middle of his performance, JT brought out the members of 'N Sync to sing "Bye Bye Bye". Unfortunately, 'N Sync was only onstage for 1-2 minutes, but it was still entertaining.

Other memorable performances include Macklemore and Ryan Lewis- "Same Love", Drake- "Started From The Bottom", Bruno Mars- "Gorillaz", Kanye West- "Blood On The Leaves", and Katy Perry- "Roar".

Winners List-

Video of the Year: Justin Timberlake – “Mirrors”

Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award: Justin Timberlake

Best Hip-Hop Video: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray Dalton – “Can’t Hold Us”

Best Male Video: Bruno Mars – “Locked Out of Heaven”

Best Female Video: Taylor Swift – “I Knew You Were Trouble”

Artist to Watch: Austin Mahone – “What About Love”

Best Pop Video: Selena Gomez – “Come and Get It”

Best Collaboration: P!nk feat. Nate Ruess – “Just Give Me a Reason”

Best Rock Video: Thirty Seconds to Mars – “Up in the Air”

Best Video with a Social Message: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – “Same Love”

Best Art Direction: Janelle Monae feat. Erykah Badu – “Q.U.E.E.N”

Best Song Of the Summer: One Direction – “Best Song Ever”

Best Choreography: Bruno Mars – “Treasure”

Best Visual Effects: Capital Cities – “Safe and Sound”

Best Cinematography: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray Dalton – “Can’t Hold Us”

Best Editing: Justin Timberlake – “Mirrors”

Best Direction: Justin Timberlake feat. Jay-Z – “Suit & Tie”

Drake Delays Album Release

Drake posted tonight on his Facebook page that his next album would be released one week later than previously said. "Nothing Was The Same" was originally due out September 17th, but will now be released on September 24th. No reason was given for the delay, but at least it's only a week later!

Credit: Republic Records

Credit: Republic Records

Drizzy also announced today that he will be performing this weekend at the VMA's! Tune in at 9PM EST on MTV this Sunday.

The Rap-Up: Recap Edition

After a surprise, unannounced vacation, we’re back! Here is a recap of what you may have missed. Ariana Grande’s “Yours Truly” Album Up for Preorder

The “Baby I” singer took to her Twitter and Facebook accounts last week to announce that her debut album, “Yours Truly” is available for preorder on iTunes! To top it all off, Grande released another track from the album, “Right There” featuring Detroit rapper Big Sean. Listen below!

Preorder “Yours Truly” right here. Available September 3rd.

“Get Like Me” Visuals Released

Rapper Nelly released the music video for his song “Get Like Me” featuring Pharrell and Nicki Minaj. Check it out below. WARNING: This song will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day.

New Music From Katy Perry

Last week Vevo posted a 30 second sneak-peak for a new song called “Roar”. The track was supposed to be released across United States radio stations Monday morning, but was leaked early this past weekend. So, Katy Perry gave in and officially released the song early. 

It was also announced that Katy Perry will perform the new single for the first time at the 2013 MTV VMAs on August 25th.

“Hold On, We’re Going Home”

Thats the title of a new song from YMCMB rapper Drake. It features Majid Jordan, and shows off Drizzy’s vocals more than ever before.  What do you like better: rapper or singer Drake?

Drake’s new album “Nothing Was The Same” is slated for a September 17th release.

Lady Gaga Gives Up and Releases New Single Early

For the past few days, Lady Gaga has been posting pictures on her Twitter and Facebook accounts, counting down the time until her first single from “Artpop”, “Applause” was supposed to be released. But, this past weekend, “music pirates” took matters into their own hands, getting ahold of low quality snippets of the track “Applause”.  So, Lady Gaga decided to release the song early.

Yesterday morning, Gaga had this message for her fans:

“A POP MUSIC EMERGENCY IS UNDERWAY 911 - 911 SUMMON THE MONSTER TROUPES

DUE TO HACKERS AN ABUNDANCE OF LOW/HIGH QUALITY LEAKS...WE ISSUE THIS POP MUSIC EMERGENCY...MONSTERS SPREAD THE WORD

MY NEW SINGLE 'APPLAUSE' IS OUT TODAY AND CAN BE HEARD ON UNITED STATES RADIO IN 5 MINUTES. INTERNATIONAL RADIO TO FOLLOW.

POP MUSIC EMERGENCY #‎0DAYSTillAPPLAUSE MY NEW SINGLE COMES OUT TODAY. 911 SPREAD THIS MESSAGE”

Along with the new single, Lady Gaga’s album “Artpop” is available for preorder on iTunes and is scheduled to be released on November 11th (11/11).

Credit: Facebook

Credit: Facebook

Gaga is set to perform her new song at the 2013 MTV VMAS on August 25th. This will be her first public performance since her hip surgery back in February.