June has certainly been an interesting month. With the resurgence of 80’s electronic music, Stranger Things premiere, and more hot girl summer energy, house music is coming back.
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Se Fue La Luz - 070 ShakeTread Carefully - SZAHow do you feel fightin' your feelings? Calling My Name - Drake
As I mentioned before, Drake’s album drop is a cultural indicator of where the sonics are headed right now. This summer will definitely be filled with synths, shakes, and a whole lot of upbeat drum patterns. I’m excited to see what’s around the corner! This little post was short and sweet. Feel free to reach out on IG if you have any comments or thoughts. Xxxoooooo
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I need to talk about this Drake album immediately. We have no time to waste. The Drake fanbase seems to be split on whether or not they like it. At first I was hearing bad things - people hated it, Drake was slacking, trash, it's elevator music, all of it. Then I went on Tiktok and LET ME TELL YOU: I found my people over there. I saw one video come across my page before I had listened to the album that put me in the right mindset. I try my best to avoid consuming any media to influence my opinion before listening to an album on first listen. This one happened so quickly I barely had the time to swipe it away before I heard the phrase "this album was made for the gays, theys, and girlies" and it stuck in my head. I was intrigued even further at this point. After hearing that, I had to listen because if something is for the gays, theys, and girlies, I want to know about it too.
My first impression of the album did not start off well because the album cover art is literally so ugly it's illegible. I can barely read the text, the design is atrocious, there is no flavor there. The only cool thing about it is the multicolor aspect but even that looks droopy. So it was not set up well in that regard. I posted on Instagram how Drake really missed an opportunity to uplift a digital artist to make something thoughtful and beautiful. Like someone who actually cares. Because honestly, the CLB cover of his last album was even more atrocious than this one, I could barely tolerate a first listen. I did not want those songs on my playlist, to look at that cover art every time I scroll through my favorite playlist at the moment? Absolutely not. I feared it would be the same case with Honestly, Nevermind. Thankfully, the album was better than the cover art and is the complete opposite vibe. This new Drake album is game changer and an indicator of a culture shift. There are small signs of culture shifting over time if you know what to pay attention to. This album is the clearest sign I have seen yet. DRAKE MADE A HOUSE ALBUM. I don't know if you know what that means but I have so many thoughts and they all collide and conflict with each other. CHAOS has ensued in my mind after hearing this album.
FOR STARTERS:
1. Drake, one of the biggest rap artists in the world is shifting genres. 2. Drake, getting older, is experimenting with his sound and brand. 3. Drake, a rapper, singer, tv producer, director, now house music dj?? 4. Drake, Canadian and American favorite, is going further internationally with his fanbase, expanding beyond the US market appeal. 5. Drake, the man with a grip on the pop culture neck, made an electronic album he believed would sell and be popular with an audience than has not been his previous audience (i.e. rap gurus and r&b babies). 6. Drake is moving away from rap as his main brand and expanding into other creative areas. 7. Drake demonstrates an influence from international cultures and subcultures in his beat production. 8. Drake flexes his range in styles with house music, island vibes, afrobeats, queer subculture dance music. 9. Drake, a renowned straight man, made a house music album that quite literally has songs that, in queer haus ballroom culture, would likely be absolute bangers to vogue to (vogue is a style of dance in ballroom). 10. Drake made an album he knew would be popular with a specific audience. I just want to know WHO he thought it would be because his trap rap fans are NOT a fan and I am sure he KNEW that so I JUST nEED to KNOW it ALL. This might be my favorite example of audience betrayal I have ever seen. Drake KNOWS who is fans are. AND HE SAID FUCK THEM BRO. I'm making new shit I know is going to pop off elsewhere. HE KNOWS artists have an expiration date when people start commenting how they fell off, how the quality of their music has gone down, when the music doesn't hit like it used to and how once world-famous names become something of the past. This man is doing everything in his power to shift directions, maintain his success in other avenues and build his legacy horizontally. There is an idea I have heard in business terminology to build up or to build out, also equating to expanding vertically or horizontally. STAY WITH ME BC THIS MATTERS. Drake is about as big as it gets with present day success. He has so many Grammys. That's not even a goal for him anymore. He sells out stadiums internationally, owns homes in other countries likely. All of these things are building his success higher and higher up the success ladder. There is another way in which to build an empire however. When building horizontally, it's more expansive on one plane of field. Drake is known for making rap albums with R&B flavor right? Building horizontally for Drake means expanding into other areas of music. We have seen him dabble in TV production with Euphoria and his UK show Top Boy. That hearkens back to his acting days from Degrassi. That's cool and all. But now we're getting something fresh and different from an artist we've all gotten a bit tired of! I'm tired of Drake. I don't want to like his music anymore. BUT I CAN'T HELP IT AND THAT IS A SIGN OF A GREAT ARTIST WHEN THE music is so enticing, the listener has no choice but to bop and vibe. That means the sound is fresh, the idea is different, the concepts are world-building. Drake has put himself and his music in a new setting he has not been in yet previously. The adaptability, diversity, and flexibility of this man is truly astounding. I am forced to give a metaphorical round of applause to this man for creative genius. Clearly, this album shows his listeners he is still willing to take risks in his music. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS? THIS MAN IS STILL HUNGRY. I'm reminded of so many quotes from successful artists, talking about maintaining that hunger and driver for the creative process, about never dimming your light for success, about constantly stretching the box people will try to put you in as an artst. Let me explain. In the jeen-yuhs documentary on Netflix, there was a clip with Pharrell and Kanye in the studio when Kanye was first starting his carrer. When YE played him a demo, Pharrell was shocked out of his gourd, aghast, taken aback and said something along the lines of "Always maintain that hunger. Whatever you do, Always chase that drive to create." At least, that's how I interpreted his statement. I'd have to go back and find the exact quote in the docuseries (I'm 90% sure it's when Kanye plays Pharrell Through the Wire for the first time) but it's there. This Drake album reminds me of when Pharrell - the industry icon, the main constant throughout the evolution of modern music, the producer of the century, the man that has worked with legends - tells Kanye he has what it takes and to maintain that creative drive however he can. In my eyes, this album symbolizes that creative hunger is still there for Drake. Another quote I was reminded of came from Jay-Z as Kendrick Lamar was releasing his album To Pimp A Butterfly. It came from a popularized tweet from the president of Kendrick's label Top Dawg Entertainment. The conversation went ‘we are about to drop this album that’s going to challenge and possibly piss off our fan base’, he said ‘good! Do it now, and they’ll never be able to put y’all in a box’. [HOV] was right.' (complex article source)." Summarized in my mind, that means "people will try to put you in a box. Never get comfortable or let people box you in with a specific genre. Once they do that, they will never let you out," essentially the genre becomes a prison. Do things differently that challenge people and if they get mad, good. This sentiment was echoed in Tyler the Creator's Grammy acceptance speech for IGOR when his album won best rap album. He said "On one side I'm just grateful that what I made could be acknowledged in a world like this. But also it sucks that whenever we—and I mean guys that look like me—do anything that's genre-bending or anything they always put it in a Rap or Urban category." This man basically made a jazz album - as I understand it - and he won an Grammy for best rap album, essentially structuralizing racism and putting black people into a box that society feels is acceptable for white people to give accolades to non-white people. Tyler follows his statement with "It is just the politically correct way to say the n-word to me. So, when I hear that I'm like, 'Why can't we just be in Pop?' So, half of me felt like the Rap nomination was a backhanded compliment," (complex article source). People expected rap Drake, and that's not what they got. People are hating. Drake gave electronic energy, but not in a Passionfruit way, more in an Ibiza way (ifgiygi). People's reaction to Drake making this album feels like that. It's okay if you don't like House music or even Afrobeats, just say that. Instead of "Drake's album is trash" just say it's not for you. I don't appreciate when people designate music or art bad. I heard this quote once in an interview from a lady (I think she was a poet) who said "if you don't like a piece of art, that just means it's not for you at this moment in time." That really changed my perspective forever on consuming and appreciating art. It leaves space for evolved thoughts and feelings down the road at some point. Sometime in the future, I can revisit albums I don't love now and hopefully I will have different thoughts about it later. It's a less negative, judgmental approach that I prefer. I know that my preferences are based on my experiences, that art taste is subjective based off of my lived experiences, and everyone will have different preferences because of that. Some people don't like house music - and again - that is okay. But recognizing objectively what you're listening to and judging it based off of preconceived expectations of the type of music you think Drake should make is not the move for me. Drake should be judged in other ways like his questionable choices of dating barely legal aged girls but his house music album is okay with me. House music, while it's roots are in disco and underground movements, was created by black people have been popularized by white people. White Dj's at raves. White Dj's like Diplo, David Guetta, who cares who else. I do not like them. Disco and electronic music has evolved to so many different branches though. There is a sound that I have been a fan of for awhile. It's a dance beat, set in ballroom queer spaces to vogue to. I am out of my depth in this conversation however, I just know it exists and I try to seek out this type of music and feeling. There is a specific type of house beat I hear - it's fast-paced, repetitive, thumping, echoing adrenaline pumping heartbeat - that sounds like a rhythm I can imagine being played while people vogue in a ballroom setting. Again, I do not know much about the queer subculture but it has become more and more popular in recent years. I have many ideas why, with the popular show of RuPaul's drag race, the upcoming generation embracing a queer identity and seeking community in that, I think there's a lot of reasons why we're getting this now. 2016 was sort of a golden age of hiphop (Lemonade, Blonde, Life of Pablo, Anti, Views, Untitled Unmastered, Jeffery, etc.), but it's 8 years later and I can see pop culture moving into a different era. I feel this wave of house music, 80's nostalgia, and vogue music. It's obvious to me with The Weeknd's album release in the beginning of this year heavily 80' s influenced. Now we have another synth example for hiphop r&b big name artist shifting to something much more upbeat. I'm here for it, and I think we will see more of this in upcoming releases by bigger artists. I have never been into electronic music before, but in past year or two, Afrobeats has been my go to. If you're not already familiar with the vibes and kinds of beats, it might be harder to pick up if you don't know what you're hearing. There are some drum patterns I hear that are distinctly Afrobeats. This album is giving boat party, summer happiness, carefree living, dance hall, cunty fresh lifestyle. I'll try to point out which songs I think have the Afrobeats influence in my non-expert white person perspective of a style of music I am completely unconnected to other than just being a fan. To start, the Intro clip to the album is nice, I don't find it particularly outstanding but I wanted to mention it since we're talking about the whole album today. I think It's a great juxtaposition as a softer sound to the upbeats that follow. Falling Back
Texts Go Green
Currents
A Keeper
Calling My Name
Sticky
Massive
Flight's Booked
Overdrive
We're sacrificing some time Down Hill
Tie That Binds
Liability
You put your words together like you getting points for that shit, like you playing Scrabble on me Jimmy Cooks (ft. 21 Savage)
Again, I love this album. I love everything about it. I do want to point out that Drake was not the only artist to release music like this. Beyonce dropped a dance track, very similarly of a voguish beat on the same day. THEY KNOW SOMETHING WE DO NOT. And I'll tell you what it is (I watched a Tiktok where this woman did an economic analysis of when other popular electronic dance tracks were popular): it's because we are approaching an economic recession. She analyzed time periods where danceable upbeat tracks (think Like a G6) was extremely popular and found it matched the rise and fall of deep economic recession. People needed something to get excited about. The clubs were popping but the pockets were empty. And that's okay. She even brought up the Jazz period of 1930's, how popular and successful that was, and pointed out how that a period of deep economic recession as well. Music reflects culture which always reflects what is happening in society. Music is going to reflect what is going on in the world and when people feel seen in the music, that is when people connect to it. That is what becomes popular. With recessions, people don't need to feel anything more to be depressed or downtrodden. They need a reason to get excited and happy when there are so many reasons to be sad and poor. I Both Drake and Beyonce know something we don't. The millionaires know something we don't. The worldwide, internationally acclaimed artists know something we don't. I feel like a huge shift is coming and these two indicators of mainstream pop culture confirm that in my eyes.
I also know from my personal experience that all of this follows two full years of pandemic, sadness, heartbreak, controversy, and so much rough water to navigate. Nothing has been easy about these past few years. I think we're going to start seeing more celebratory music because we have been so deep in our feelings for so long now. Here are some of my favorite TikToks I have come across related to the Drake album:
There is one last quote - actually a lyric - that reminds me of the Drake album. In Adele's most recent release, she has this wonderfully beautiful song called Woman Like Me. I love this song deep in my soul. The one powerful bar she sings that, when I think about the Drake album, I am reminded of: "Complacency is the worst trait to have, are you crazy?" I personally can see the continual drive for creative exploration, and how the hunger is still there for him. Complacency doesn't seem to be included in his vocabulary. I think that is really inspiring, to see how someone can be so successful and take creative risks. It doesn't feel fake or like he's trying for nothing. I'm down for it, and I respect the courage to try something new even when you know you're going to get a lot of side-eye from people who are supposed to support you. If this album did nothing else, it made me respect Drake a lot more as a creative.
I'm really excited for the future of music right now. The season feels fresh in a way I haven't felt in a while. People are looking for something different. With the accessibility and availability of so much music in our hands, I think we're going to see a lot of creativity in the beat production world. Again, I couldn't be more thrilled for what's to come. If you know any artists or have more recommendations for me, please reach out I am dying to hear more!! Thanks for reading today. Love u bye Does anyone need my thoughts and vibes on this? No. Is this my blog? Yes. Am I going to do whatever I want? Also yes. If you want to know about Juneteenth, you can google it and kind great reputable sources, just like I did to learn more. I am not a historical source of information! Now that we have that covered, I am going to jump right in. I had been thinking about the history of the holiday and why it exists in the first place. The fact that people were free for two years, labored and suffered for whilst being unknowingly free (being held there against their will). That is more ghastly than words can words can say. Thinking about why this happened: the speed of information and passing messages between people had been incredibly slow compared to current standards of literal livestreaming and instantaneous messages. The Pony Express was the way people were communicating at this time, and that didn't even last that long. I guess telegrams did exist but it's my understanding they had to be along specific wires or something (according this this website). That same website says the Pony Express only took about 10 days to deliver a message from the East coast to the West coast. It took TWO YEARS to let people know they were freed because they lived in a Confederate area that wanted to keep them enslaved forever. Literally, the army marched over there and let everyone know it was a federal proclamation. Freeing people under threat of force. Insanity. You may already know this part but it will never cease to amaze me the things politicians will do as a strategic move, they market it as a morally sound choice for a reason, but it always has some ulterior reasoning that benefits their cause. Literally, Lincoln was just trying to keep the Union together and realized at some point that freeing people would draw them up North and lessen the population pool of military recruits for the Confederates. This entire quote from History.com: "Lincoln confessed 'my paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and it is not either to save or to destroy slavery,'" in a letter to a news editor. The audacity to not even care about the welfare of the people he just freed. Anyways, I'm not a history expert or anything but I do try to do research and share when it's applicable, interesting, and necessary. In this case, it is all three. And the fact that white people write about Lincoln as being morally just in textbooks, that just doesn't sit right with me. And the fact that we carved four faces into a mountain that are questionable characters. It doesn't sit right with me!! And the fact that the Mount Rushmore land was taken from Native Americans there is really the cherry on top of the awful mess. Distasteful to say the absolute LEAST. Overall, the thoughts and vibes are not favorable!! Anyone who feels good about things is honestly operating under a state of delusion, for who has been writing the history books they have been raised on and been reading? And especially after Summer 2020? Come on bro. There's no reason to be acting silly or pretending to be dumb. If you've been paying attention and listening, you should know. Or know that you need to know. That's all I have to say. HOWEVER his is a music blog. LET'S GET TO THE MUSIC.
Is it weird for a white person to pick songs about this topic? Perhaps it is. I did consult several popular playlists on Spotify titled Juneteenth that have thousands of likes. They had a mix of Beyonce, TuPac, and other classics. I kind of wanted something fresh though. Like why would I highlight songs that everyone already knows and has on repeat? The freedom song by Beyonce is the exception though bc it did come from the Lemonade visual album and that is very cool. I hope these fit in with the vibe of those playlists that everyone else seemed to love. The songs themselves are a range in empowerment, ease, confidence, and self-love in blackness. I hope that is okay. If you have other thoughts, please share them with me! Have a gorgeous day.
I was traveling all of May so while I may not have had all the time to listen to jams, I made the effort to listen to new music coming out. Some of these were Future's new album (surprisingly I did like), Bad Bunny's new album (1000% YES), Kehlani's new album (R&B vibes HEAVY) and more. It was a nice moment to take actually and slow down to really savor some good music. The drawing was inspired by the time I spent in New Mexico when I mostly was listening to these songs. I was having a hard time getting inspired by what the visual should be and this came to me one day. It felt right. For me, the vibe was half hype in the beginning and then slowing down a bit to get centered and get in touch with feelings. This ten track playlist is the perfect balance of getting ready and excited for the day while also getting in touch with yourself. Mary J. Blige came out with an album that really took me by storm as well. Her song "Good Morning Gorgeous" is the perfect song to wake up to in the morning, especially om the harder days when it's difficult to get out of bed or you're just not feeling it. Enjoy!! I hope you find something new and fun to listen to today :) For A Nut - Future
Carry Anne - Leikeli47
Sleazy Flow - SleazyWorld Go
Andrea - Bad Bunny, Buscabulla
Provenza - Karol G
Good Morning Gorgeous - Mary J. Blige, H. E. R.I completely love this song. Usually, I'm not a big fan of cheesy type songs, big ballads, or really in-your-face messages in songs. I usually go for something a bit softer. However, this works for me because of the theme and how Ms. Blige sings it. Sometimes, in the morning, you really have to be in your own face, direct, and honest about how you're feeling in that moment. It's a practice in confidence building in my opinion. This is the perfect song to sing in the morning to lift yourself up or anyone else that needs to hear it. It seems like I'm always against me Skin and Bones - 070 Shake
Everything - Kehlani
Felt - cktrl, anaiis
Cry - Brenda Lee
These songs to me transition from exciting to get you in touch with your feelings a bit more.
Thanks for stopping by and taking a moment to read. I hope something was interesting and fun to think about or listen to. Have a splendid day and if you have any song recommendations for me, I would love to hear them. Thanks :) |
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