SOME OF MY current favourite RELEASES...
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Music Playlists.
Ease Up - Nonso Amadi Honestly the promotion for this song was very necessary because I was definitely the target audience. Now I’ve known about Nonso since “Usual” but I never did a deep dive into his discography and I do regret such choices now. I think this tune really encapsulates his sound and provides the afro-vibes that are amalgamated in tunes made by Melvitto and Gabzy. The instrumental for this + the backing vocals are wondrous, an absolutely angelic riddim. Is this real love? - Debbie feat. Lucky Daye. Now this tune is very special to me, when Debbie dropped it a year ago it touched me in a way I can’t even explain - she’s gone on to do great things since then that I can say she definitely did deserve. Lucky Daye doesn’t change the essence of the song, which I love because we can still feel the purpose of it, but yet his spin? It just takes the cake. And the transition between both male and female perspectives just makes it so much more wholesome, the tune genuinely gives me chills. General Status - Tiny Boost. Tiny Boost is a character we all need to indulge in. He’s honestly been dropping bangers back to back, shelling his features and all. I wish I knew about him earlier than last year but it’s never too late as they say. His voice on this beat is just so prevalent, his clarity is everything and no matter the crud he’s talking I get more than a sense that it’s much deeper than surface level. Boost resonates with me in a way that intrigues me because I don’t know the lifestyle, the struggle or the come-up but I’d give him his flowers just from the few tunes I’ve streamed. Honestly, I need more recognition for this artist. I can’t wait for that tape with Teflon. Sharks II - TEF + BOOST Talking about Youngs Teflon, they both also dropped a single that’s a sequel to a song called “Sharks”. I love this story-telling/themed music thing they have going on, it fits both their styles of rap effortlessly and gives their listeners a way to follow on with what they’re referencing. Teflon flows majestically and he just makes me sit and admire bewilderedly because there is no rapper like him. I also love the energy that boost comes with every time he has a verse, we never get bored of hearing him. These two are an iconic duo. Holiday + Reason You - Rema Rema dropped a 2 song EP and it feels slightly different to what we’re used to but is appreciated all the same. In ‘holiday’ I can hear a sample of the song, “Runaway” by Aurora especially in the chorus - at least if it isn’t sampled there was a very apparent similarity which took me back more than 5 years. This song is a very nostalgic tune, we see Rema reflecting on times that aren’t in any way reflective of his current lifestyle. Out of the two ‘Reason You’ is my favourite because I like his verses better on this and his vocal range. The instrumental is also amazing, it compliments him stupendously. “Are you taken or available?” There’s only one way to answer this when Rema asks. For You - Abracadabra Now you should already know that when this dropped on valentine's day it was on repeat like crazy. Abz never fails to provide valentines drops that don’t disappoint, he has a soft spot for this time of year and I love it. The way he fluctuates with his cadence on this tune alone - let alone the entire EP - kept me in a chokehold. There’s not much to say about this masterpiece just take it in because he knows what he’s doing when it comes to this time of year. Escapism - Joresy. This guy has been dropping relentlessly and he’s keeping my ears blessed so I can’t complain. This was another song that from valentine’s day I couldn’t stop listening to. I like the way he portrays love, he makes it seem like something that is coincidental and emulsifying. “You’re my escapism other gyal I ain’t rating ‘em”. Waiting on a Joresy project. All in all these were a couple of my favourite drops of the month - check the rest in my playlist. 8 songs that I had on repeat, but also 8 songs that impacted me the most over the past couple of weeks; this month has been a beautiful one in terms of music drops and valentine’s day especially made me incredibly happy and proud of all the artists pushing their crafts. See ya next month - Miriam.
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Music Playlists.
To start off I just want to touch on my introduction to Capo Lee a little, I mentioned him in the blog, “Current Music Update - Nov” but after this I definitely went on a deep dive on his discography and found many tunes that I liked like, “Stack & Grind” and “Moody”. But without further ado, let’s get into our top 3 of the Cost of Living EP (no specific order). #1 4 My Endeavour I like the simplicity of this beat and his flow on this one, he plays with cadence really well and although repetitiveness can sometimes make a tune monotonous it fits the vibe perfectly. When he says, “They got eyes on me, the door I put my foot in” he shows to us how passionate he is about music but also how hard he is working to keep his position. #2 Smoke & Mirrors feat. Arz I like this collab, Arz and Capo bounce off of each other’s vibe quite nicely, “Capo bar for bar just throw me the ammo” - like Arz? I don’t know what it is but the calamity of both of them just makes this ten times better. El Londo shelled it on the beat as well, I love how the 808’s complement either of their flows. This song was a very smooth listen. #3 Dru Hill or Jodeci Yeah this instrumental? Shells. It’s slightly different to the slower vibe we were introduced with but is also the perfect way to end the project. The electric guitar just finishes off the entire thing, once it became apparent to me I couldn’t stop focusing on it. This is in my top 3 because Capo Lee is able to represent his ability to have fun on a track and spit those bars that we’re not necessarily supposed to agree with but still get a giggle out of me. Near the end of the tune where the beat is slowed down until the lyrics are done literally feel euphoric. Overall, it was a very good body of work for an EP, the features that I didn’t necessarily expect to see e.g. Arz & Bawo didn’t disappoint. This is also the first Ashbeck song that I’ve actually listened to too and will also be scouring his discography later. Honourable mention to “Drama or Karma” - it was so close to making it into my top 3. The EP as a whole was quite short, being 18 minutes, but Capo switched up the vibe so much it felt very natural flickering through all seven songs. Cost of Living is real, get your money up - Miriam. Music Playlists.
I started writing this in October of last year but I never exactly knew how to articulate myself when it came to expressing my views on this, so here goes nothing. Do we as a community lean towards ‘unserious artists’? And the thing is the lack of their severity isn’t based on the weight of their bars, yet how they present themselves. In music videos or any type of social media presence it is that they have, all indicate that somewhat toxic attitude that we’re drawn towards. We can’t avoid the idea that we like artist’s because of their music aside their personality, looks etc. Not saying I’d discredit an artist because I believe they’re ugly but, in our overall opinions these are extraneous variables. I said in another blog that we naturally resemble the artists we listen to, so is it a toxic community breeding toxic artists? I think we have to take into consideration that anything we enable is replicated in the industry, if the masses like it it’ll only be done more. I see it in myself too but I think it’s slightly different to others. I like artists that give off the ‘I don’t care vibe’ in terms of lack of care towards fame and popularity. To me when an artist cares less about this they always emit their natural selves in their music and you can always tell that they have fun with what they do, anything else is just a bonus. Not saying there’s anything wrong with seeing music as a career, but I’ve gauged that a lot of people that are under ‘tunnel-vision’ in that manner find it very difficult to accept defeat - as for one it’s not easy to get into the music industry - because they don’t know how to step out of their comfort zone. We also see a lot of that nonchalant vibe in the way artists take criticism from their music. There are definitely a lot of them out there that just release what they want all the time. Obviously they’re allowed to do this but after building a certain repertoire and fan base I believe we’re able to ask for the artist to represent specific sides that they’ve embodied in the past. Take for example Stormzy, the latest album he released was a disappointment to loads, it’s known that he’s in charge of his own creative directory but his fans were also missing grime Stormzy and I think it was slightly wrong for him to not take that into account. Again, it’s not him producing what the fans want because of the financial repercussions but rather because you want to keep the relationship you have with your fanbase; he’s built himself into a space where he’s allowed to have this much creative freedom but it’s always important to never forget your roots. And how can you desert a sound that put you into your current position? In the way I’m iterating it I make his fan base's reactions sound a lot more polite but in actual fact their approach of sharing their disappointment was nothing in comparison to how I’ve put it, sadly. That’s what makes our community toxic. It feels like everyone forgets what specific arts and artists have done for them over the years and lose all respect when one thing goes wrong, which might just be what’s causing our artists to rebel in such a stereotypical masculine manner. So how do we implicate this change we desire? And what effect will it have? I just believe that when artists reach a certain level it’s important that they do not get complacent or boisterous. Our society is very cyclical, those above us feeding negative energy will also be fed back negative energy, that’s just karma in her simplicity. Putting all types of energy into an artist's creation will naturally bring out the auras necessary for that project. Then the UK might be a tad less bad vibes. Is this what we represent? - Miriam. |