KanYe West is hitting us off with all new music from his G.O.O.D. Music artists back to back, all produced by the man himself. New albums from Pusha T, KiD CuDi, Nas, KanYe, and Teyana of course.
Each album has 7 songs with the exception of TT's release K.T.S.E. which has 8.
The Harlem artist first caught public eye over a decade when she had her own episode of My Super Sweet 16, as a prospective artist on Pharrell's label. Now, she is married and she is a mother. Throughout her career she has faced a ton of ridicule for not releasing music and KanYe has also been under fire for seeming like he does not care about his artists. Well now he is shutting all of that up.
K.T.S.E. is short sweet perfection. At an even more perfect time. Teyana's fame has been on a rise since her relationship with husband Iman Shumpert garnered some attention and her starring role in KanYe's "Fade" video grabbed a ton of attention. She now has a reality show with hr family and a new nail salon in her hometown Harlem. And now a dope new album. A tale of life through Teyana's eyes, her love for her husband, her experience as a mother, what she has learned in her adult years and more. Each song is so wonderful I can't even choose a stand out of possible single, it is all fun and all good. From start to finish, its a good listen. I recommend.
Last night AFROPUNK treated those two rsvp'd for this year's festival to an intimate concert featuring Twin Shadow performing music from his latest album Caer, presented by LG. This show also promoted LG's newest bluetooth speaker which is the boombox of this generation.
Attendees were greeted with a large hun the shape of the helmet on the cover of Car, filled with the LG speakers all playing stripped down portions of Twin Shadow's break out single from the album "Brace". Folks were allowed to press button on the walls of the giant helmet in order to play the portions of the songs on multiple speakers, for an immersive experience. The concert was an incredibly lively experience in such a small space, the lights, the instrumentation, and of course vocals all came together beautifully for an unforgettable little gem.
The Carters, individually the biggest superstars of our generation, have finally given listeners what we have been waiting for: a joint album. Rumors have been swarming since Jay-Z released his album "4:44" last summer on which he disclosed personal information about his marriage. In April 2016 Beyoncé released visual album "Lemonade" which was an hour long short film stringing together visuals for each song on the album with documentary like footage, as well as experimental imagery, poetry recited by Beyoncé, and more. Being one the most incredible contemporary art pieces "Lemonade" takes viewers/listeners on a journey through the hardships Bey has faced throughout her marriage with themes such as "betrayal" and "redemption". Their love has really become their "thing", which we do of course experience on the joint album fittingly entitled "EVERYTHING IS LOVE". However the entire album falls short.
What I imagined would be a combination of the kind of music we got from "4:44" and "Lemonade", it feels a bit more like your auntie and uncle doing trap karaoke. The feel lends itself to a lot of whats hot in the streets right now, with a feature from the migos, Beyoncé rapping, and Jay-Z being Jay-Z. There seems to be a specific vibe they were going for but it did not work. Beyoncé gives us sultry vocals similar to that on "On The Run II" and bars just as she did on their single with DJ Khaled "Top Off". But personally, it feels that she is holding back. Is this the Beyoncé Jay prefers? Does she feel she has to compete or keep up with him? It feels like Jay-Z featuring his wife on every track, when we all know who the better artist is here.
The first track "SUMMER" is a passionate R&B song primarily featuring vocals from Bey and just one verse from Jay. The feeling of this track is loving, sultry, and sexy; making it possibly the most bearable track on the whole album with the most replay value. Nothing else really stood out, aside maybe the first single and second track "APE SHIT". A turn up anthem heavily influenced by, and featuring vocals from, The Migos. It reminds me of one of their latest singles "Motorsport", but also a lot of Hip-Hop music out right now, a child of Trap Music. More rap-singing from Bey, more bragging about how poppin, and rich, and powerful The Carters are.
The music video is absolutely beautiful as they rented out the Louvre museum in France, where the Mona Lisa is. This makes a statement that as artists, as Black artists, they are just as valuable and important as very well know art by white people. They are dominating spaces Black people were not allowed to step foot in just a few decades ago. The chorus chants "Can't believe we made it, this is what we're thankful for", giving us an updated "Niggas in Paris" narrative.
Overall the album falls short, but I appreciate the effort. Maybe joint albums are just taboo, they don't happen often. "Watch The Throne", Jay-Z's album with KanYe West was 50% jaw-dropping incredibly moving music and 50% forgettable. Jay-Z's joint albums with R. Kelly are completely forgettable and I'm sorry I even brought them up.
As far as EVERYTHING IS LOVE goes, listen to it while you're cleaning the house, or on a long road trip and just need something in the background.
For a film screening I wore this Urbanworld Film Festival t-shirt featuring the names of a few well known Black Women Filmmakers. I pair the top with a high-waisted mesh layered F21 skirt, and complete the look with high-heeled black boots. A casual yet chic all Black everything outfit.
The first ever alumni association at my highschool put together a prom theme highschool reunion open to all alum ranging from class of 1990-2016. This was the first of its kind at my highschool and getting the news was of course exciting for the sake of partying and nostalgia but also the prom theme made my eyes light up. I did not attend my highschool prom, so I treated this as such, I knew I was gonna go all out with hit outfit. I purchased the high-low gown from Gojane.com months ago with intentions of wearing it to another formal event, which I wound up not being able to attend. I've had the black shoes for a few months as well. My mother helped me complete this look with a set of pearls she's had for me for years and earrings and a bracelet(worn as an anklet) to match. Ultimately I wanted to do something fancy yet fun with my locs, for an elegant look it is always great to do an up-do but I choose to spice it up a bit and create a petal loc faux-hawk.
The outfit is all about the H&M mom jeans paired with a patterned cut-out UO Crop-top, and this look is complete with Black & White Nike Air maxes, for a simple chill everyday Black and white look.
This look was for Urban Word NYC's annual benefit gala, a time to dress up. A very simple outfit, I wore a lacy black dress from UO and open toe black shoes. This look is complete with a coin purse(literally) by Ecote, also from UO.
Each album has 7 songs with the exception of TT's release K.T.S.E. which has 8.
