10 Jan

Posted at 15:20h in Music, Throwback
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Vocals. Melody. Soul.

“I Care ‘Bout You” is truly for the lover in us all. Written by Babyface and performed by supergroup Milestone — made up of K-Ci, JoJo, Babyface and his two brothers, Kevon and Melvin Edmonds — the song is about unreciprocated love, which is a theme you’d hardly find in songs by male R&B artists today. Can you imagine Chris Brown or any of these young’ns singing about how his girl stays out late to avoid him? Ha!

The song appears on one of my favorite soundtracks of all time — the Soul Food soundtrack; the movie also happens to be an all-time favorite. The melody in the chorus borrows from Patti LaBelle’s “If Only You Knew,” and somehow, this fact went unnoticed by me until very recently, which is crazy because it is a pretty obvious sample.

“I Care ‘Bout You” wasn’t a smash hit, but any true R&B fan above a certain age understands that this is a classic. If you’ve never heard this song before, you’re welcome.

04 Jan

Posted at 22:16h in Music
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Earlier today, Chris Brown released the music video for “Undecided,” the lead single from his upcoming album, Indigo. The song sample’s Shanice’s “I Love Your Smile,” which is a childhood favorite of mine.

The video shows Breezy as a ghost hunter who transcends into another realm, where he’s pop-locking with a love interest played by actress Serayah. Check it out below.

04 Jan

Posted at 04:02h in Music
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Future took a long enough break from his Instagram shenanigans to give us some new music, and it’s not bad. “Crushed Up,” which is classic Future as far as the lyrics are concerned, is reportedly the first single from his as-yet-untitled seventh studio album. Watch the video below.

03 Jan

Posted at 23:54h in Music, Throwback
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First post of the year! I had a short vacation because my body and soul needed it, but now I’m back and better than ever.

The Black Eyed Peas’ “Request Line” (featuring Macy Gray) was the third single from their sophomore album, Bridging the Gap. More significantly, it was the group’s first song to crack the Billboard Hot 100, which blows my mind and serves as evidence that popularity is not always an indication of quality.

The music video is also a reminder that the Black Eyed Peas’ have always been a fun and imaginative group with pop sensibilities (i.e. they didn’t become that way after Fergie). Watch the video below.

21 Dec

Posted at 14:37h in Music
1 Like

In the “Money” video, which dropped less than an hour ago, Cardi B gives a nod to her stripper past while serving haute couture. I’ma just go ahead and say that this is the best video I’ve seen in a LONG time — definitely the best one I’ve seen all year.

We get to see grade A stripper gymnastics, all sorts of bare nipples, Cardi’s bare ass while she plays the piano, and even a few frames of Cardi breastfeeding Kulture. The streams for this video are gonna be through the roof, so expect “Money” to take a big leap on next week’s chart. Watch the video below.

21 Dec

Posted at 14:19h in Music
1 Like

Earlier this week, YG dropped the video for the Quavo-assisted “Slay,” which happens to be one of my favorite tracks on Stay Dangerous. The song is a reminder that you can make a melodic rap song without it being too “poppy” (as they say), and that even the gulliest of rappers can make songs about things other than guns. And honestly, I just feel blessed whenever these rappers use a bit that doesn’t sound like a variation of that one beat everyone has been using for the last three years or so.

The video is set in YG’s imagination of heaven, which is full of 10s with giant angel wings. I dig it.

20 Dec

Posted at 18:36h in Music, Throwback
1 Like

About a week ago, Ariana Grande released “Imagine” and sent the internet into a frenzy with a couple of whistle notes. If the Mariah Carey comparisons was a giant bucket of gasoline, “Imagine” was like lighting a match and throwing it into said bucket. Fans of Ariana declared that she had officially replaced Mariah, while lambs (i.e. Mariah stans) downplayed the impressiveness of Ari’s whistle notes and suggested that she couldn’t do it live.

Two nights ago on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Ariana hit those notes live, and while it was impressive, she doesn’t appear to have as much control over her higher register as Mariah does.

All of this critique might seem unfair unless you’re familiar with Mariah Carey’s live performances in her prime. One that comes to mind — especially where whistle notes are concerned — is her September 1991 performance of “Emotions” on The Arsenio Hall Show. In this performance, you see a young woman in her bag and on her way to making history — with “Emotions,” Mariah achieved the distinction of being the first (and, so far, the only) artist to have their first five singles rise to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

This performance is not just arguably Mariah’s best ever, but also one of the best you will ever see in terms of vocals. She was SANGIN’ and it was effortless. When you put this up against anything Ariana has ever done, you realize that the debate about who’s better is actually quite ridiculous. Check it out below.

20 Dec

Posted at 18:21h in Music
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The Black Eyed Peas found their way back to making unadulterated hip-hop, and I love it. The only difference between me and most of the people praising their return to form is that I also like a lot of the music they made while Fergie was in the group — “I Gotta Feeling” was hot trash, but most of the other singles were great.

“BACK 2 HIPHOP” is both an announcement of the group’s return to the genre (I don’t think they ever really left) and a rebuke of its current state. It’s really odd that the group behind “I Gotta Feeling” would have the gall to do that, but what do I know? The track features Nas — who, along with will.i.am, once famously declared hip-hop dead — and samples Soul II Soul’s “Back to Life (However Do You Want Me).”

“BACK 2 HIPHOP” is the fourth single from the group’s seventh studio album, Masters of the Sun Vol. 1. Watch the video below.


17 Dec

Posted at 01:16h in Music
2 Likes

“All I Want for Christmas Is You” might be Mariah Carey’s biggest money=maker, but she has quite a few other holiday originals that are deserve the same amount of attention. One of those is “Miss You Most (at Christmas Time),” a heart-wrenching ballad sung from the perspective of a forlorn lover reminiscing about her ex. It might not get the party  started like “All I Want,” but real ones know this is arguably the best song on Merry Christmas.

JoJo just released a cover of “Miss You Most” and the internet is unanimous in praising her efforts. Mariah herself commented on JoJo’s Instagram to give props. Listen to JoJo’s cover below, and as a bonus, I’m also including the original. I’m in a giving mood.



The original: