Hello everyone!!! Firstly I just want to say I have some very exciting news that I will be announcing very soon! Stay tuned!!
Today’s post is long overdue! I have made a list of some of the music I’ve been loving and listening to the past week!! Please have a read below to see some of the songs that have made the list!!
Kojey Radical Ft. Mereba
After watching Kojey Radical live at a festival last year, I became very intrigued with his music style. He’s so energetic and passionate and you can hear it translate so well with his sound! I stumbled upon this song recently and I absolutely adore it! the content of the song is beautiful too. There are some great hidden lessons within the lyrics. On top of all this, Mereba’s voice is absolutely sensational. Her tone is so unique and adds to the sombre feeling of the track. Her verse even switches flow towards the end which was a pleasant surprise. Really beautiful song. Check it out below:
Jeezy Ft. Rick Ross – Almighty Black Dollar
Jeezy, fresh off the success of his Verzuz battle with Gucci Mane releases a new album! (The Recession 2). This was the track on the album that stood out for me! I love the message of the song! Jeezy tells everyone to understand how important it is to support Black businesses. He also touches on the image many prople feel they have to maintain: “Went broke just to wear it, you can even tell it Jesus piece, I ain’t prayed one time today”. I’ve always been a fan of Jeezy and of course Rick Ross is one of my favourite rappers so this combination was always going to be enjoyable. Have a listen below:
Shana – No Rainy Days (Jiffthegeneral Garage Mix)
Shana is back with a remix to her already great single! Personally I wouldn’t say I listen to a lot of Garage music however I really enjoyed this remix! Jiffthegeneral manages to maintain the afrobeats sound on this mix! I found myself having this song on repeat, the fast paced sound and Shana’s vocals mixed so well! It’s the type of song that I could imagine playing on radio and playing in clubs! You definitely feel like shaking a leg listening to this song!! Have a listen below!
Cuuhcraig Ft. Blxst – Keep it 100
Blxst is my new favourite artist as I’m sure you may have picked up with my previous review of his latest EP. He features on this track with a fairly new artist Cuuhcraig. The song is just a feel good track!
DaVido – Jowo
After ‘Holy Ground’, this was my second favourite song from DaVido’s new album. The song has such an authentic Afrobeats sound and feel. For me, this is the kind of sound DaVido does best!
SAINt JHN Ft. 6LACK & Kehlani – Randsom
Looking at the lineup of this song, you just know what kind of beautiful sound we were going to get! the track is very tender and for me 6LACK steals the show! Have a listen below:
Asya Ft. Leemz – Ride For Me/ FWU
Asya is an artist I’ve recently discovered. She is a British singer with an R&B sound who recently released an EP titled ‘Love Me till I’m Me Again’. The UK R&B scene is finally growing and it’s great to hear new artists coming up. From the project these 2 songs were my favourites.
Russ Ft. KXNG Crooked – Stockholm Syndrome
We all know I’m a big fan of Russ but for me the king of the song is KXNG Crooked! His fast, gritty glow blew me away! The song is taken from Russ’ latest EP ‘CHOMP’ which contains 5 songs with features with artists such as Busta Rhymes and Benny the Butcher that I recommend you have a listen to.
This week’s Music Monday entry is from UK rapper Loski featuring Nigerian artist Davido.
The song is taken from Loski’s new project: “Music, Trial & Trauma: A Drill Story” which was released last week Friday. The track was originally released on Loski’s 2017 mixtape “Call me Loose” and it originally featured Bis.
I really enjoyed the song and especially DaVido’s switch in flow which was really surprising. Check the song our below!
Happy Monday everyone!! Hope you all had a great weekend! Good news is that I should be coming out with a few more posts this week! Even better news is that I have something in the pipeline that I will be announcing soon!
For now! Today’s #MusicMonday pick is a song that I’ve been playing non stop!! DaVido dropped his latest album on Friday called “A Better Time“. As soon as I heard this track, I fell in love with it! This is one of my favourite Nicki Minaj features in a long time. One thing I do love about DaVido is that despite his many American collab, he never compromises his sound. If anything, the featured artists always somehow tune in to his sound more. I liked the singing Nicki in this track as well as the usual rapping. Both artists worked very well together, I would be down for hearing more music from the both of them.
In terms of lyrics though, I wouldn’t say this song would win content of the year. DaVido’s lyrics are hilarious but I guess with this song it’s more the feeling of the song you fall in love with!
Louis Rei is most known for being a part of the UK trio WSTRN. His distinctive deep voice is usually what makes him stand out. I’ve been a fan of him for a while and believe he is a real talent. He provides personality to every song he features on.
His delivery and punchlines always capture me so I was excited to hear he had his very own Daily Duppy! I was even more pleasantly surprised to hear him on a drill beat!!! Halfway through the Duppy, the beat switches and we hear Louis Rei say “First time doing drill, not first time drilling”. Instantly you’re prepared!! He did himself proud as he rode the drill beat like it was his usual genre! I’ve noticed he’s been doing a lot more features with artists outside of WSTRN and I’m hoping it may lead to some more solo records too. His solo piece on WSTRN’s EP “Double 3AK” called “Bare Wit Me” was when I really saw his potential as a sola artist.
Hello everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend! Today’s #MusicMonday entry is a new song from Giggs’ latest ‘Now or Never’ album. The song features Dave and is called “Straight Murder (Giggs & David)“.
This is the second track the two of them have released together. The first being ‘Peligro‘ from Giggs’ ‘Wamp 2 Dem‘ EP. Both tracks have something very noticeable in common as both allow Giggs and Dave to have their own minutes to share their bars separately. Instead of a rap battle/collab which usually happens with features, they both give each-other space and take it in turns to take the spotlight. ‘Straight Murder‘ is split into 2 with Dave taking the first section. Personally, this has to be Dave’s best featured verse. He completely dominated the track and held his own against a legend as big as Giggs!
I’ve always known that for artists, albums are their most prized possessions. The process of creating an album takes so much thought and precision, from the content, theme, all the way down to the track listing order. Sometimes I feel that some people forget the strength and courage it takes to release an album with songs that for the artists may be extremely personal and triggering.
This new Ariana album feels like we are sitting behind her during an intense therapy session. Throughout the album I felt like I could understand exactly how Ariana was feeling at the time of recording the songs featured. The whole album transitions perfectly into a body of work that she should certainly be proud of.
I wasn’t a huge fan of Ariana’s last album but this album really spoke to me. Here are some key tracks for me:
shut up:
This is the intro track on the album which explains the shortness in length. I really enjoyed the backing instruments on this song, it feels like a build up for something bigger. The song is really just a message to the people that spend their times worrying about other people’s lives.
34+35
Boy!!!!! Okay, so firstly when I heard this song and saw the title I didn’t put 2 and 2 together (not a pun). I fell in love with the beat and Ariana’s tone! As you get deeper into the song however, you slowly begin to realise the meaning of the song title and understand the link between that and the context of the song. This being the second song on the album, I got the impression Ariana was really not going to hold back on this album at all. She has always had songs that allude to sexual relationships or have sexual connotations however this is a very blatant reference. I do however love the fact she still manages to keep it classy. It’s hard to remember that Ariana is a grown 27 year old woman as some of us may still see her as a young teenage singer. I think the past few albums Ariana has put out, she has tried to prove to us that she is now a woman in her own right.
just like magic
WHAT IS IT WITH ARIANA AND THESE PERFECT BEATS!!!???? I almost want her to drop a 16 with some of these incredible beats she has! This song won me over from the first few seconds! This for me was such a positive song and you can tell that at this point in the album she was gaining her confidence again. The song alludes to the law of attraction with the idea that you get back what you put out.
Good karma, my aesthetic (Aesthetic), keep my conscience clear, that’s why I’m so magnetic. Just like magic (Yeah), I’m attractive (Oh yeah) I get everything I want ’cause I attract it (Oh)”
Law of Attraction.
This song is one of the reasons I feel like we were flies on the wall in her therapy sessions. This song feels like something you tell yourself when you are healing from a lot of trauma and heartbreak. It feels like this is faith talking and the hope that in future things will get better if you begin to think differently and approach life in a different way.
WOW. This song showcases Ariana’s vulnerability to another level. There are some songs that when you hear, even if you may not relate to what is going on, you somehow empathise with the artist and feel every emotion they are singing about. This song was one of those. The opening lines of the song; “Will I ever love the same way again?. Will I ever love somebody like the way I did you? are lines that every woman who has been badly heartbroken has said to themselves.
I’ve always wondered why people wish to find/chase the same feeling of love every time. I believe that love will always be relative to the person or circumstance. Sometimes I even think that is for the best. Ultimately chasing a previous kind of love is not giving your new situation the fresh chance it deserves. Love always evolves.
There is a theme of lack of faith in future happiness and lack of faith in love itself throughout the whole song. Ariana repeatedly sings throughout the song “Not yet healed already” emphasising the fact she is still raw from the heartbreak. The Weeknd sounds perfect on this song and his verse uses the role of a lover that is reassuring Ariana that he will wait until she is ready to let him in and trust in love again. The song for me is a representation of the whole theme of the album. Acknowledging where you are emotionally is part of the healing process. She understands there is long way to go but she has already made so much progress and is ready to get better.
safety net
It’s hard to believe that this is only the first collaboration between these two as the musical chemistry is beautiful. Ty’s harmonies with Ariana make this the kind of song you can close your eyes to and still feel everything and feel safe which coincides with the theme of the song. This song alludes to the idea that Ariana is willing to give love another go acknowledging her fears and hesitation to get hurt. Again, this is progress from her song ‘off the table” showing the growth.
nasty
Similar to the track ’34+35′, Ariana expresses exactly how she feels and articulates her sexual needs with her partner. I really like this sassy, confident side to Ariana.
obvious
This song towards the end of the album focusses on how Ariana is starting to believe in love again. In the first verse she sings “Nothin’ else, nothin’ more important, makes me wanna believe in love” and in the second she sings; “Never thought I’d believe in love again”. FINALLY she is beginning to believe again!!! *smiles*
pov
This was the song that actually managed to break me! Hands down my favourite from the album. Ariana was spot on for putting this as the climax to the album. Even now, I cannot listen to this song without tearing up. This may be my favourite song from her period! The song focuses on how her lover sees her and Ariana wishes she could see herself in the same beautiful light he sees her. I feel this song is the result of all the trauma, tribulations, hurt and anguish Ariana has experienced. Sometimes when someone has gone through so much it takes a long time to accept someone else to fully love them.
On the second verse Ariana sings; “I’m getting used to receiving” implying she maybe was the one in relationships that always gave, something that has evidently contributed to her hurt. She also sings; “I’ma love you even though I’m scared. Learnin’ to be grateful for myself“, implying that she is going through the process of self love too. For me, this song is Ariana singing that she wants to get better and wants to finally let go of the hurt so she can finally be happy like she deserves to be. She is realising she needs to forgive herself and begin to love herself again in order to experience everything she wants to experience. Ultimately no matter how much someone loves you, you won’t be able to understand or accept it fully if you don’t have the same amount of self love. Such a beautiful song.
I know I haven’t talked much about Ariana’s vocals but that is simply because she is consistently flawless on this album as she is on every single piece of work she puts out.
Overall for me this album is what I would call a SOLID piece of work. Ariana touches on life, love, heartbreak, sex, happiness, sadness and self love to name a few. You get the sense that the next album Ariana puts out will be a completely different energy, a new awakening so to speak. I look forward to the positive changes that will be coming to her from this therapeutic album and I really hope she has managed to heal/find peace.
This week’s video pick is from UK upcoming artist Promise!! I’ve been a fan of him since hearing his previous hit “Gara”. His new song is the perfect pick me up as we all prepare for the new lockdown! Promise always seems to have such great production on his songs and this does not disappoint.
This time he wows us with some crazy visuals for his new song “Mad“. The song has a great meaning behind it as Promise reminds us that we should always follow our dreams and try block out those that may not understand your vision. I feel that every song released by Promise is very intentional, it seems that each song has a specific meaning or lesson.
Can’t wait to hear more music from him! Check it out below!
Happy Monday everyone and belated happy new month! I hope you all had a great weekend! I pray this month is a month of blessings for us all!
Today’s Music Monday isn’t really that new in terms of release but it’s new for me! I recently stumbled upon the artist Blxst and really enjoyed his music. I discovered he had released this EP ‘No Love Lost‘ a few months ago (September 4th – my birthday coincidentally!!!). My favourite songs from the project were: “Overrated”, “Wrong or Right” and “Be Alone”.
Fun Fact: The song “Overrated” uses a sample from one of my favourite singers Donell Jones’ song “This Luv“. Check out my previous post on him below:
