Sunday, January 11, 2015
Buy Beats and Quality Music: It’s Very Difficult To Teach Racism When Your Kid ...
Buy Beats and Quality Music: It’s Very Difficult To Teach Racism When Your Kid ...: Hip-Hop Helped Race Relations More Than Most Cultural Icons When it comes to race relations, Sea...
It’s Very Difficult To Teach Racism When Your Kid Looks Up To A Black Celebrity...
Hip-Hop Helped Race Relations More Than Most Cultural Icons
When it comes to race relations, Sean Carter believes he and his peers in the hip-hop game have done more to change the world than most.
Beyonce‘s husband expressed his opinion on OWN’s Masterclass.
“I think that hip hop has done more for racial relations than most cultural icons. And I say, save Martin Luther King, because his dream speech we realized when President Obama got elected,” he said.
“This music didn’t only influence kids from urban areas, it influenced people all around the world.”
According to Jay-Z, rap icons made it hard for fans of the music to be racist.
“Racism is taught in the home. I truly believe that racism is taught when you’re young, so it’s very difficult to teach racism when your kid looks up to Snoop Doggy Dogg,” he said.
“If you look at clubs and how integrated they have become – before people partied in separate clubs. There were hip hop clubs and there were techno clubs. And now people party together and once you have people partying, dancing and singing along to the same music, then conversations naturally happen after that. And within conversations, we all realize that we’re more alike than we are separate.”
Macklemore On Racism And Hip Hop: ‘This Is Not My Culture To Begin With’
Azealia Banks vs Iggy Azalea: 'Privileged white people shouldn’t steal hip-hop'
Two of hip-hop's biggest female stars have come to public blows over race. Reni Eddo-Lodge explains why this hip-hop battle is so much bigger than these two women
Three years ago, rapper Azealia Banks had a viral hit with 212, and this year she finally came out with her debut album. But she’s also known for her long-standing feud with the Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, started long ago for reasons I don’t have the word count to go into. Last week, Banks gave an interview to New York based radio station Hot 97. When questioned about her feud with Iggy, she burst into tears at the America’s cultural appropriation of blackness, calling it a "cultural smudging".
She seemed particularly upset that Iggy Azalea was nominated for Best Rap Album at the Grammys. “The Grammys are supposed to be awards for artistic excellence… Iggy Azalea’s not excellent,” Banks said. “When they give these Grammys out, all it says to white kids is, ‘You’re great. You’re amazing. You can do whatever you put your mind to.’ And it says to black kids, ‘You don’t have s***. You don’t own s***, not even the s*** you created yourself.’ And it makes me upset.”
As a fellow black woman, I’m not sure Azealia Banks realises the depth of the conversation she’s just started about hip-hop and white privilege. She said it best herself: "At the very f***ing least, y'all owe me the right to my identity. That's all we're holding on to in hip-hop and rap."
Banks became uncharacteristically emotional during the exchange. She said: “I feel just like in this country whenever it comes to our things – like black issues or black politics or black music or whatever – there’s this undercurrent of kinda like a ‘fuck you’.” She said that Azalea seemed to be ripping off Nikki Minaj’s Reloaded by titling her own album re-release Reclassified. Banks called it “cultural smudging”, her phrase for appropriation. Then she took the Grammy Awards to task for its nomination of Azalea and awarding of the rap record of the year to Macklemore, a moment that led Forbes to declare that “Hip-Hop Is Run by a White, Blonde, Australian Woman.”
The message to white kids, Banks said: “is, ‘You’re great. You’re amazing. You can do whatever you put your mind to.’ And it says to black kids, ‘You don’t have shit. You don’t own shit, not even the shit you created yourself.’”
When hip-hop began to cross over at the turn of the 1980s, its hardcore followers –not only black, but white, Asian, Latino and Native American – engaged in heated debates over appropriation and exploitation of the culture. That Vanilla Ice is now a reality-show regular rather than this generation’s Pat Boone tells us who won those debates. Ownership, control and power have all been themes running through the success narratives of Diddy, Jay-Z and the RZA.
If this were all that Banks had said, the discussion might have been interesting but nothing new. And in the interview, Darden reminded Banks that hip-hop had gone pop over and over. Why did she take it so personally? Banks then took the discussion in a surprising direction, illustrating that debates about culture can have deep emotional stakes.
Is Hip-Hop Racist? Dr. Boyce Watkins Talks Nicki Minaj And Accountability.
Recently, Nicki Minaj was interviewed by Rolling Stone magazine. In the magazine, Nicki admonished the police for killing Eric Garner, but then turned around and gave a pass for artists for not speaking out publicly against important issues. Dr. Boyce Watkins takes Minaj and other rappers to task in a new video op-ed piece. Below is the quote and then the video.
“People say, ‘Why aren’t black celebrities speaking out more?’ But look what happened to Kanye when he spoke out. People told him to apologize to Bush! He (Kanye) was the unofficial spokesman for hip-hop, and he got torn apart. And now you haven’t heard him speaking about these last couple things, and it’s sad. Because how many times can you be made to feel horrible for caring about your people before you say, ‘Fuck it, it’s not worth it, let me live my life because I’m rich, and why should I give a f**k?’”
Beyond the Stereotypical Image of Young Men of Color
Minority youth are often portrayed through a distorted lens. But many live counter narratives every day.
"Shut up and listen!" With these instructions running through their heads, a group of about 1,000 adults convened on the rooftop of a downtown Oakland garage. More than 200 "inner-city" high schoolers were already there, sitting face-to-face in cars with the windows down and convertible tops peeled back. They were talking in small groups, rapt in dialogue about their lives. The adults circulated through the crowd, listening to the conversations and learning about the students’ views on race, gender, and education, as well as the misperceptions that surround them.
That was two decades ago. Staged in 1994, this performance art piece—appropriately titled The Roof Is on Fire—aimed to give voice to urban teens by encouraging them to express their diverse concerns. "Everything we do every day is stereotyped," said one organizer of the event, a black teenager. "If you heard on the news ... ‘young black male,’ you’re not gonna think anything positive. What’s positive that’s gonna pop in your head when you hear that?"
Fast forward 20 years, and this student’s penetrating observation still holds true. In the American psyche, young black and brown males are continually seen and stereotyped as threatening, enraged, and beset by hardship—just as they were decades ago.
Imagine if The Roof Is on Fire were replicated today on a national scale. What would happen if young black and brown males were able to critically dialogue with one another and define themselves rather than undergo others’ stereotyping? What would happen if policymakers, journalists, educators, and others listened and tried to understand these young men’s perspectives before making sweeping generalizations about them?
The caricatures and critiques of these young men usually pivot around common tropes: The violent, drug-involved gangster; the angry, withdrawn teen; the crude, disrespectful provocateur; the unsmiling, unfeeling, untouchable thug.
But young men of color posses a range of complexities—insights, emotions, and aesthetics—that the public neither sees nor accepts because American culture often defines these males negatively and far too narrowly. In simple terms, there is much more to young men of color beyond the stereotypical image.
"[Young black, Latino, and other negatively stereotyped males] are a reservoir of questions and answers because they move through the world under a cloud of those [suspecting] questions," said the artist Chris Johnson, co-producer of The Roof Is on Fire and Question Bridge: Black Males. Consider another trope: a young man with baggy, low-riding pants. Chances are he has a beautiful mind: He could be a writer, a spoken-word poet, a future teacher or engineer. Yet he lives under routine scrutiny because of his image. People might glare at him and critique his hip-hop infused style of dress, presuming him wayward or uninspired. "He knows people are asking why he’s doing that," Johnson said. But people rarely desire an actual reply, "so he’s internally rehearsing answers to those questions all the time."
Many members of society draw from negative stereotyping in the media and apply these ideas, often subconsciously, to the young black or brown male striding behind them on the sidewalk, sitting across from them on the bus, even looking up at them in the classroom. They often see him as physical threat. Americans' perspective on this young man then becomes the control and policing of his body—rather than the acknowledgement and affirmation of his mind and soul.
As history shows, the public is most aware of the prejudice and vitriol against young black and brown males when tragedy occurs—and usually in hindsight. A prime example is the 1989 Central Park jogger case, when five black and Latino teenage boys were wrongfully convicted for the rape and beating of a young white woman in New York City. Between 13 and 16 years old, these young men were slandered across the news; their names, photographs, and addresses were released to the public. The sensationalist media even invented a new term—"wilding"—to describe the random, predatory violence and lawlessness it attributed to young men who looked, unsurprisingly, like them. In retrospect this tragedy is a painful metaphor for society’s angst and hostility toward young men of color. They are presumed guilty before proven innocent.
This kind of history offers a backdrop for current events. Today, while many young black and brown men are targeted by police and the media, they remain misunderstood, invisible. National public opinion data cited in a report from the University of Chicago’s Black Youth Project reveals that black youth "report the highest rate of harassment by the police," while fewer black and Latino teens trust police or feel like "full and equal citizens" compared to peers of other racial groups.
To make matters worse, the recent killings of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Trayvon Martin, among others, serve as grim reminders to young, disadvantaged men of color that their lives are undervalued in their own country. The cumulative impact of these tragedies on youth is what some scholars call a "speaking wound," when such events echo similar treatment others have faced. These killings re-trigger in young men traumatic memories of racially charged encounters with strangers and police—encounters that could have easily ended much worse.
This far-reaching form of stereotyping and oppression—what Toni Morrison and others call the "white gaze"—has shaped individual lives and collective histories within communities of color. For instance, in a recent New York Times op-ed, philosopher George Yancy described an unsettling encounter he had with a white police when he was a teenager in the late 1970s. Yancy said he was carrying a gift from his mother: a brand new telescope. Nonetheless, a policeman assumed the instrument was a weapon and nearly shot him. Even before assessing the situation, the officer had, in Yancy’s words, "already come to ‘see’ the black male body as different, deviant, and ersatz."
Though this type of encounter occurred in the past, this perilous brush with the police reads like it would today. Such encounters are haunting; they hold sway in the imagination and unmask the implicit bias people of color face.
The policeman’s knee-jerk reaction to Yancy not only criminalized him, but—most devastatingly—denied the notion of black male intellect and imaginativeness. "He failed to conceive, or perhaps could not conceive, that a black teenage boy … would own a telescope and enjoyed looking at the moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn," Yancy concludes. "In retrospect, I can see the headlines: ‘Black Boy Shot and Killed While Searching the Cosmos.’"
Nowhere is the white gaze so evident as it is in our public institutions, where black and brown males are all too often accused of transgression and subject to disciplinary measures. But while the protests surrounding the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner have begun to confront institutional racism within our legal system, young men of color often feel the burning glare of misperception early on in school, where teachers and other officials are more likely to perceive their actions and emotions as disrespectful or defiant.
Within school walls, the bodies of "blacks and browns"—boys and adults alike—are often seen through the prism of discipline. While on one hand black, Native American, and other male students of color are disproportionately disciplined in schools, the sociologist Ann Arnett Ferguson observes that adult black and brown men are often called upon to dole out the discipline. This is problematic, she writes, since these same male adults "may become suspicious, dangerous characters in the eyes of ordinary citizens on the streets outside." As a result, this portrayal of men and boys of color—as recipients, and then arbiters, of discipline—reinforces a cycle of control that fixates negatively on surveillance in school and beyond.
Schools have not evolved to fully embrace these men, argues Fanon Hill, a community organizer in Baltimore and the creator of the city’s recent Black Male Identity Project. Fathers as well as sons are excluded. "Young [black] fathers spoke with me about not being welcomed in schools," Hill said. "I’ve walked into schools with some of these fathers, walked down the halls, up the stairs ... we weren’t spoken to at all."
Research also supports this claim. Drawing from a national study on teens ages 13 through 17, a team of sociologists found that schools vary their messaging based on whether students are white or of color: While white students often see schools as places of care that invest in them, where teachers are supportive mentors, students of color (including males) generally report that schools teach them discipline and social responsibility. And if the U.S. Department of Education’s civil rights data on the suspension of boys and girls of color is any indication, commonplace school procedures likely play a part in this messaging.
These examples indicate that we need to understand young men of color more fully and clearly than we currently do. In short, we need to "shut up and listen," and shift our thinking away from policing and toward new ways of seeing.
In my most recent research published in the Harvard Educational Review, I explored emotional complexity among a small cohort of black and Latino males in Boston’s middle and high schools. These young men’s narratives represent a powerful counterpoint to what popular media says about black and brown male teens. In a series of individual in-depth interviews, most young black and Latino males in my study discussed the importance of relationships in their lives. For example, one Puerto Rican eighth grader, along with his 17-year-old brother, regularly cooked for his family, cleaned around his house, and helped take care of younger siblings while his parents were working late-night shifts. Another 18-year-old "Spanish" male student, meanwhile, talked about how seriously he took his role as a mentor to his younger sister, choosing to abandon teenage antics once he arrived home.
Most importantly, when I asked students about these relationships, I was intrigued to find that most of these young men coped with issues like racial discrimination and stereotyping in school by talking with trusted friends about their experiences, emotions, and problems. "We speak about things," one student said. "We listen to each other. We try to give the best feedback to make each other feel better at that moment."
At the same time, many young black and Latino males in my study felt on guard, afraid to be vulnerable at school. One Caribbean-born student suggested that his heightened vigilance stemmed from unease surrounding a "double negative" effect—being both black and immigrant, or both black and appearing intellectually inferior in the classroom. In his view, being immigrant or seen as underachieving adds to the obstacles he already faces as a black male. "At school, I am what they want to see," he said, even as he and others strive to disprove the negative stereotypes weighing down on them.
This perceptive, emotional depth—what I am calling "emotional complexity"—is a strength that schools only need to seek out and acknowledge in young men of color. It’s a simple but radical change; and it unearths sorely needed counter narratives that help disentangle what is true and good in these young men from the denigrating stereotypes about them.
Love, for example, is an ethic often separated from popular notions of masculinity, and it yet is precisely needed to help re-envision who young men of color are. If we take film, television, and media at face value, then men (especially black and brown males) do not love—or at least do not love well. In fact, doing so may raise questions about one’s masculinity.
But the cultural critic bell hooks contends that our nation as a whole disregards love as a critical component our lives and to positive social change. In her words, we are lacking in our ability to "see the depths" of goodness and possibility in others as well as in ourselves. "If love is not present in our imaginations," hooks says, "it will not be there in our lives."
In fact, witnessing middle school boys of color contemplating and interacting using a love ethic challenged me to see them anew. During an 90-minute session with the students, they read stunning essays they’d written about their "Selfless Love Acts" and reflected as a class on the question, "How would you describe love?"
Some spaces, however, do provide a radically affirming experience for students. At the George Jackson Academy, an all-boys school in New York City, middle school students are developing a "love ethic" and critically exploring the concept of love in their lives. This month, sixth- and seventh-graders recently culminated their "Selfless Love Act" assignment. In the project, each student completed a meaningful activity for someone they love but to whom they don’t show love enough. Boys usually chose a family member—grandmothers, stepfathers, sisters, mothers, or brothers. And for their Selfless Love Act, they cooked for families, played with younger siblings, and so forth. The assignment itself was part of a larger project aimed at connecting boys with their own and others’ humanity. As I observed, listened to, and talked with these male students about their experiences, I realized that this process validated important parts of their identities—parts that boys in American culture are typically pressured to silence or ignore.
"Everyone expresses love differently," said one seventh-grade black boy. "Depending on who you are and your experience, you may love in a different way." A sixth-grade Latino boy said, "The world can be very tough and vast … You can feel so tiny in such a big place, and love is that connection that can make you feel not so small." In the end, another sixth-grade Latino boy said it best: that the project made him aware of a whole different side of his peers and challenged others to look beyond the negatives when thinking about communities of color.
This kind of experience is rare. Far too many young men are shamed and silenced into distancing themselves from their emotions, from the personal truths they live everyday. Harsh or unsupportive environments can do this to a person. In my research, young men who spoke with no one in their lives about their emotions or problems kept silent for fear of victimization—because of neighborhood violence or because they lacked opportunities to be vulnerable and expressive with others. But if context is the issue, then settings can be created that intentionally nurture the capacities youth already possess. Schools like George Jackson are a testament to this possibility.
Young men and boys are capable of deep thinking and feeling, says psychologist Niobe Way, a professor and co-convener of the Project for the Advancement of Our Common Humanity at NYU. It’s American culture that doesn’t acknowledge or support this aspect of self. Interventions—or "love interventions," as Way calls them—are needed to counter the devastating forces of racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression. Performance art projects such as The Roof Is on Fire offer another way to intervene. Not only do they allow youth to reclaim their diverse identities and carve out new spaces for critical exploration, they also catalyze audiences and outsiders to listen, rethink, and reframe previously unquestioned assumptions.
These kinds of projects, many of which are artistically driven, point to new directions for engaging with and understanding men of color, young and old.
At a time when young black and brown men are regularly stereotyped, silenced, and blamed for the oppression they face, American culture needs develop ways to embrace these young men as they are—not as they are made to be. Change first and foremost lies with Americans, who need to engage imaginatively with these young men in order to build new understanding.
Are Old Understanding?
But it’s not just the music itself that we thinks helps combat racism, but the places where people come together to listen to this music: clubs. “Once you have people partying, dancing, singing along to the same music, then conversations naturally happen after that,” “Then within conversation, we all realize we’re more alike than separate. Some will leave their family to be with the one they love.
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Saturday, January 10, 2015
Artists You Need To Start Listening To In 2015
19 Artists You Need To Start Listening To In 2015
2015 should be an amazing year for music. Between expected releases from Kendrick Lamar, Modest Mouse, Kanye West, Radiohead, Drake, Adele, Chance The Rapper, Frank Ocean, James Blake and Fleetwood Mac, to name but a select few, this year should make up for the lack of impact albums that marked 2014 (even if there was still some great music in 2014). But beyond the returning titans, there are a lot of new, rising artists and long-game players, who are finally receiving their much deserved recognition, to be excited about. Here are 19 artists that you should start listening to in 2015:
Boots
Boots might be known as the guy who produced a majority of Beyonce’s self-titled album, but he’s quickly making the name for himself he deserves. His mixtape “WinterSpringSummerFall” proved his abilities to write beautiful songs, and then subsequent tracks like “Mercy” and “I Run Roulette” proved he isn’t afraid to get loud and aggressive.
BØRNS
One listen to “Electric Love” will demonstrate why BØRNS’ spacey jams have so swiftly propelled him into the spotlight.
Vic Mensa
Whether he’s laying down bars in dizzying rhythmic patterns or discussing his Film The Police campaign, Vic Mensa is exactly what hip hop should be aspiring towards.
James Bay
With a voice like James Bay’s, he could record basically the same album repeatedly with different vocals and they would all sell. Bay proved across three EPs that he is quick to improve all facets of his craft, and his debut full-length, “Chaos And The Calm,” will be the most dynamic and enjoyable of all ... at least until the next album.
Tyler Carter
A marriage of Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber and James Blake, Tyler Carter is an inevitable pop star. We saw Dallas Green go from hardcore to folk, Sonny Moore (Skrillex) go from hardcore to EDM and soon Carter from hardcore to R&B/pop.
R.Q. Phillips
Their faces aren't always seen, but hip-hop producers deserve as much credit as the rappers they work us, and there's always a slew of new beatmakers ready to make their respective marks in the game. From beats modeled after vintage sounds to to trap bangers and club joints, today's hottest new producers cover it all.This guy,R.Q. Phillips, is already a star, but it's clear that his best work is still ahead of him. www.confezzednoize.com
Jon Bellion
If there’s a reason people love Jason Derulo’s “Trumpets,” it’s Jon Bellion. A masterful meld of J Dilla and Disney, Bellion’s “The Definition” grows stronger in its swagger with each listen, and is the prelude to the album that will inevitably put him at the top of the pop pyramid.
Hail Mary Mallon
Aesop Rock and Rob Sonic have long been players in the underground hip-hop scene, but, like Run The Jewels’ Killer Mike and El-P, they are at their best together. Teaming up with DJ Big Wiz, their sophomore album “Bestiary” is as nasty as it sounds.
Erykah Badu, Tyler, The Creator Featured in Trailer for Adult Swim's 'Black Dynamite The Musical' [WATCH]
One of the odder projects to emerge out of the music / TV world is a new musical onCartoon Network's Adult Swim titled "Black Dynamite" that will feature the voices of hip hop and R&B's most eccentric names,
"Womanly Duties" Black Dynamite | Adult Swim
‘Souled Out’
Jhene Aiko
Jhene Aiko's 'Souled Out' is one long, hypnotic lullaby. She unveils her own stories of strife and success, love and vulnerability. Her release date was pushed back several times, but right before her debut, she received a massive following from her feature with Drake on his platinum-selling album 'Nothing Was the Same' as well as her tour dates alongside the rapper. Her EP 'Sail Out,' also gave her that extra push to keep her name buzzing.
On 'To Love & Die,' the first single from the opus, she informs listeners to always be soldiers of love. "You need to switch sides right away / Love side, hate side / Never in between," she declares. On 'Its' Cool,' she's meets the right person after a heartbreak -- someone that takes over her mind. But she's leaving it up to him to define the situation. "And I'm not even gonna front / At first I was just tryna f--- but you have got me so in love / So deep in love, so please be love," she sings.
Aiko's 'Souled Out' is not built for the turn up, but the singer has a way of helping you escape with her smooth approach. So just press play and coast.
‘Testimony’
August Alsina
From YouTube sensation to signed artist, August Alsina's success is one in a million. 'Testimony' is the story behind his rare triumph. It's been some time since R&B had a singer that can speak to the streets, all while still having the same appeal to the ladies. Alsina fills that void as he has been through his own share of hell and back at the age of 22.
"I'ma tell the truth and the whole truth 'cause there ain't no need to lie," Alsina reveals on 'Testify.' On 'Right There,' he uplifts those in the struggle. "I'm just like you, I've been there too, been through the pain," he croons with his high-octave vocals. 'You Deserve' and 'No Love' finds the New Orleans native being upfront about his intentions with a woman. He cares for her, but not enough to provide the life she needs. "See I was just your n---- next door, but girl I see more for you," he informs her on 'You Deserve.'
Whether hustling on the corner of the block or in the corner office, 'Testimony' is an authentic, motivational record, accompanied by collaborations with notable rappers Pusha T, Fabolous, Jeezy, Rick Ross and Yo Gotti. His songwriting is catchy and the emotional delivery is felt. But there has to be more to his story than offered on 'Testimony' and we predict a deeper look into his come-up on future projects.
'Luke James'
Luke James
Luke James' journey to this moment hasn't been a smooth ride. Since 2011, he has been buzzing underneath the surface as the next big thing in R&B. As an opener for Beyonce's Mrs. Carter Show World Tour, he had the biggest co-sign in the industry.
The singer used this success to fuel him towards his self-titled debut, a collection of songs based on true stories of love, romance and soiled relationships. The project is also a solid showcase of his polished vocals, which prove to be the most distinct in the game among his peers at this moment.
On his first single, 'Options,' featuring Rick Ross, the crooner and his woman are at a crossroads about the future of their relationship. “I’m a man of simple knowledge / She’s a woman who's prone to violence / It used to be something beautiful," a lovesick James bellows on the piano-driven track as he asks for forgiveness. Lustful eyes almost lead him into some serious issues, but experience teaches him he knows better this time around. "When you get lost in just lovin' someone pretty (Trouble trouble) / You'll always find (Trouble trouble)," he sings as the beat builds on 'Trouble.'
It is safe to say that James is largely underrated, but as a true perfectionist of his craft, he can still gain the loving ears of the people.
'Trigga'
Trey Songz
In a world where Chris Brown, Rihanna and Beyonce rule, Trey Songz has been able to hold his own by consistently crafting his brand of sex-driven club and bedroom odes.
On his fifth studio album, 'Trigga,' he masters the contemporary format that made him a big hit. He's a bit rough around the edges, while still maintaining his magnetic allure, charged by his pretty-boy looks. The album receives features from rap queen Nicki Minaj, Mila J, Justin Beiber, Ty Dolla $ign and Juicy J.
His playboy side gets him in loads of trouble on 'Smartphones' and 'Y.A.S.,' an acronym for "You Ain't S---." On 'Foreign' he has his eyes set on international beauties. "She only been here for two weeks /
Came with the girls and they tryna leave with me," he sings. 'Trigga' reaches a new level of trifling with 'Disrespectful,' in which two people in separate relationships proclaim loyalty to their side-pieces. "Girl you can come with me to her favorite diner / She even took me home so I could meet her mama (disrespectful)."
Came with the girls and they tryna leave with me," he sings. 'Trigga' reaches a new level of trifling with 'Disrespectful,' in which two people in separate relationships proclaim loyalty to their side-pieces. "Girl you can come with me to her favorite diner / She even took me home so I could meet her mama (disrespectful)."
Overall, 'Trigga' is the definitive collection of the fast and unpredictable lifestyle that few man can live and Trey clearly loves to bask in all of it.
‘G I R L’
Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams has been delivering and writing catchy drum-backed sonic goodness for more than a decade. So the success he saw with the gospel-influenced 'Happy' was well-deserved as it hit No. 1 in more than two dozen countries. Riding on that success, his sophomore effort, 'G I R L,' had much to live up to. The record is a conglomerate of upbeat records dedicated to the ladies and brings on the good times.
You have to dust off your dancing shoes for 'Come Get It Bae,' which gives you James Brown early funk. "You wanna ride it, my motorcycle / You've got a license, but you got the right to," he sings in his feathery vox. The opening track, 'Marilyn Monroe,' is another rump-shaker, as he exclaims that not even the biggest stars in the world could measure up to his lady. "Not even Joan of Arc / That don't mean nothin' to me / I just want a different girl," he sings.
On the calm, humming 'Lost Queen,' Pharrell has come across a woman he believes has wandered away from her throne on another planet. He bows down. "I think you are a lost queen / Let me serve you, serve you / Hot sex and gold, shiny things."
The upbeat lovey-dovey mood of 'G I R L' lets us know that Pharrell, who married Helen Lasichanh in 2013, infused his newlywed high into his music, since all of these songs are clearly about the woman he loves.
'LP1’
FKA twigs
Former back-up dancer FKA Twigs arrived this year with her genre-bending debut, 'LP1.' The record oozes with effortless sensuality and straightforward dirty talk, which she delivers in her haunting, soft tone. The lo-fi electronic, spacy booms and unidentified sonics that echo through each record are outer-worldly. Her coolness and swag mixed with high-ranged feathery vocals have brought her comparisons to alternative star Bjork and innovative angelic songbird Aaliyah.
The U.K. singer seduces on 'Two Weeks' as she convinces a man that she can "treat him better" than his previous woman. "I know it hurts / You know I'd put you first / I can f--- you better than her / You say you want me / You'll live without it," she softly coos. On 'Numbers,' Twigs finds herself in a grey area and her vulnerability has her wide open as she pleads for her lover to reveal his true feelings to her -- or else. "Was I just a number to you? / Was I just a lonely girl to fly / Tonight I’ve got a question for you / Tonight do you want to live or die?"
FKA twigs brings a dark, twisted fantasy to your ears -- one that you may not prepared to journey into upon a first listen. But the project will leave you with a sense of fulfillment, which she delivers on each song.
‘ART OFFICIAL AGE’
Prince
Prince is one of the most discrete artists in the game, so 'ART OFFICIAL AGE' wasn't expected to arrive in 2014, but when the genius returns, we gladly listen. His 33rd studio album is a cohesive batch of dreamy, chill cuts centered on love and lust.
The smooth, groovy 'CLOUDS,' assisted by British soul singer Lianne La Havas, gives instructions on how to keep things hot and heavy in a relationship. "You should never underestimate the power of / A kiss on the neck, when she doesn't expect," he repeats. He also calls out how humans today move too fast -- a theme that reemerges throughout the album, as the title of the album plays on the words 'Artificial Age.'
On 'U KNOW,' Prince puts his own twist on modern R&B as he sing-raps, his lyrics detailing that with him, a lady is winning, but with her current dude, she's clearly losing. "You know how much I want you / You know how much I care / When he gone, he know I'm gonna flaunt you," he teases. We're not sure if the funky, mellow 'THIS COULD BE US' was inspired by the popular internet meme of the same name, but Prince delivers top game to the woman frontin' on him on the track.
Prince's latest solo record solidifies what we already know -- that he's timelessly cool. His spirit of artistry may mature but it will never go out of style.
‘In the Lonely Hour’
Sam Smith
Every year, a soulful U.K. artist manages to jump seas and takes over the pop world. This year, that honor goes to Sam Smith. The 22-year-old grew in popularity with his feature on deep house duo Disclosure's hit record 'Latch' in 2012. Soon after, he followed with his debut LP, 'In The Lonely Hour,' a stripped-back album of ballads with power vocals that are destined to make you feel some type of way. Smith's riveting falsetto, rips and runs allows the lyrics to soar through every song.
His single 'Money On My Mind' is a promise to stay true to his heart in the world infatuated with fame, and the pulsating 'Stay With Me' finds him begging that a fling not end so soon. 'I'm Not the Only One' is a heartbreaking moment of truth. "I have loved you for many years / Maybe I am just not enough / You've made me realize my deepest fear / By lying and tearing us up," Smith laments.
The singer has a big year coming with six Grammy nominations, including the coveted Album of the Year. It's clear that Smith is in his own lane and we're only seeing the beginning of a promising career.
‘X’
Chris Brown
After experimenting within the EDM craze that took over in 2011, Chris Brown decided to go back to his R&B roots with 'X.' His fifth studio album had several setbacks while he was in and out of court and serving jail time, but his singles 'Fine China' and 'Loyal' were still climbing the charts. The final product delivered a blend of solid R&B sounds.
The pumped-up, bass-driven 'Add Me In' sees Brown convincing a lady to "subtract" her current situation and put him in place instead. With 'New Flame,' Brown collaborates with one of his inspirations, Usher. The two powerhouses -- on the mic and dance floor -- created one of the best R&B songs this year with this track. CB brings more smooth jams such us the two-step-inducing 'Lost in Ya Love,' and the Aaliyah-assisted 'Don't Think They Know.'
On the flipside, he's dealing with some heavy relationship drama and the opening track, 'X,' is a goodbye to a former love who's lurking in his past. On 'Stereotype,' he laments that his girlfriend "has become his biggest regret." On 'Drunk Texting,' with a whispering Jhene Aiko in the background, he's got one hand on the bottle and the other on his cell phone. The singer is airing out his feelings and being candid as ever.
Although Brown is constantly in a whirlwind of gossip, when it comes to the music, he's a successful leader in the R&B game, as anything he touches rises to the top.
D'Angelo
'Black Messiah'
After a 15-year absence from the music game, the soul magician finally granted his yearning fans their wishes with ‘Black Messiah.’ D’Angelo and the Vanguard surprised us in the final hours of 2014 with his meticulously crafted, funkdafied third studio LP. The album’s title is a mirror of what D’Angelo has felt and witnessed in these evolving times. He mentions recent uprisings in Ferguson, Mo., Egypt and the Occupy Wall Street movements as inspirations for the album’s artwork.
The follow-up to 2000's ‘Voodoo’ is a continuous stream of D’s own brand of funk, rock and roll, soul and gospel jam sessions. ‘Black Messiah’ isn’t merely a protest album; it is more so an anthology of love stories and deep spiritual epiphanies. The crooner has his mind and pockets tied up on ‘Sugah Daddy,’ his first single. The gold digger has one over on him with this swinging, hand-clapping, key-led effort. “Lawd, lawd / You say you wanna be the one she chooses to star in her meaningless romance,” he smoothly hums.
‘Really Love’ has the ability to freeze time and woo you in. The sway-inducing love song is a beautiful moment on the album; one that is all too rare these days. 'Black Messiah' proves D'Angelo hasn't lost himself in the years he's been gone. His music still creates a vibe that no one can duplicate.
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