10 Aug

Posted at 11:04h in Music
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::::::::::::::CHUNE ALERT::::::::::::::

Listen…I’ve never doubted that the woman who made “Goodies” and “1, 2 Step” could give us a good song, but she’s been holding out on us these last few years. This collaboration with Nigerian singer Tekno is just what summer needed, and this infusion of Afropop — or “Afrobeats” as some people call it — is just what Ciara needs right now. It’s a fresh sound that doesn’t stray too far away from her artistic domain.

I will take this as an apology for “Level Up.” Check it out below.

09 Aug

Posted at 09:27h in Music, Throwback
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Today would’ve been Whitney Houston’s 55th birthday, so it’s only right that this week’s TBT post is dedicated to her.

“How Will I Know” was the fifth single from Nippy’s self-titled debut album and the second of her 11 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Originally intended for a teenage Janet Jackson (whose management turned it down), the song became Whitney’s after the suits at Arista Records heard it and thought it was the perfect for Whitney’s upcoming debut. And the rest is history.

I have spent a considerable amount of time trying to imagine what “How Will I Know” would sound like if Janet sang it — I actually think it would’ve been dope — but I am thankful that Whitney got a hold of it. No one else could’ve sung it this well.

08 Aug

Posted at 21:20h in Music
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Almost a month after the track dropped, we now have a video for “Sun in Our Eyes.” I don’t know about this one; yes, a beach setting with lots of popping colors might’ve been too obvious, but this video doesn’t do justice to the song at all. According to MØ, the theme is Peter Pan and the Lost Boys “sailing instead of flying.” I vote nay, but check it out for yourself.

07 Aug

Posted at 12:46h in Music
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Until now, I didn’t know there was a James Blake vocal solo and a harmonica performance from Stevie Wonder at the end of this song because I tapped out after 2-3 minutes when I first listened to it this past Friday. Astroworld was difficult to get through because that zombie music does my head in. That being said, the video for “Stop Trying to Be God” is quite entertaining and makes the earlier parts of the song a lot more bearable. Between Travis playing God and defeating Satan (also played by Travis), and people turning into Travis look-alikes after baptism (by a priest also played by Travis), this video will have you cracking up. Check it out below.

06 Aug

Posted at 14:04h in Music
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Ella Mai released a new song over the weekend and it is “Boo’d Up” redux. I’m not familiar with any of her other work, so I can’t tell if this is her sound in general or her sticking to a formula that works. Either way, it’s not a bad song. Check it out below.

04 Aug

Posted at 15:58h in Celebrity, Politics, Race
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Earlier this week, LeBron James did an interview with CNN’s Don Lemon, where they talked about King James’ recently launched ‘I Promise’ School, which serves at-risk children in Akron, Ohio. Click here for some of the amazing benefits that it guarantees its students.

During the interview, LeBron was asked what he would say if he was sitting across from Donald Trump, to which Bron said:


I would never sit across from him. I’d sit across from Barack, though.


As you can imagine, Donald Trump — whose greatest desire is to be accepted by rich and famous people — was big mad and rushed to the Twitter machine to let some steam off:

The Mike in question is Michael Jordan, and after this tweet, there were calls for him to speak up in support for LeBron. Within hours, he released this tepid statement via his publicist:


I support LJ. He’s doing an amazing job for his community.


That statement is as perfunctory as it gets, and if you’re familiar with MJ off the court, you probably already know that this is very on-brand. He may have never made the infamous “Republicans buy sneakers too” comment, but his unwillingness to endorse Harvey Gantt against renowned racist Jesse Helms in a 1990 senate race in Jordan’s home state should tell you all you need to know about Michael Jordan.

Issuing a one-line statement of “support” without addressing any of the surrounding issues that compelled said statement indicates that Jordan doesn’t actually give a shit. That statement amounts to “that’s none of my business,” and while he technically doesn’t have to care, I think it’s worth noting that this man has made hundreds of millions of dollars selling overpriced sneakers to black kids who can barely afford them. And all of the non-black kids buying them only do so because those black kids made them cool.

We can’t force MJ to do anything, but I beg of you: STOP BUYING THOSE GODDAMN SNEAKERS. They’re ugly, they cost too much, and the black man benefiting the most from your dollar doesn’t care about black people.

02 Aug

Posted at 23:00h in Music
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King Aubrey just dropped the video for “In My Feelings” and the early reviews are positive. The video is set in New Orleans and finds Drake giving us his best Louisiana drawl and wearing grills. Lala plays the now-world-famous KeKe and Phylicia Rashad plays her mother; there are also appearances from Shiggy (creator of the #InMyFeelingsChallenge) and Yung Miami of City Girls — the duo’s other half, JT, is currently serving time for fraud. Peep the clip below.


In the roughly two hours since its release, the video has racked up almost 500,000 views, and if it maintains this pace, “In My Feelings” will secure a fourth consecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. I know I had predicted that “No Brainer” would debut at No. 1 next week, but that was before this video dropped. A No. 1 debut is still possible, but these additional streaming numbers for “In My Feelings” is going to make for stiffer competition.

02 Aug

Posted at 12:10h in Music, Throwback
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The ’90s were all about big vocals, and while the first names that come to mind are Whitney and Mariah, there was a plethora of other insanely talented vocalists, including the ladies of SWV. They had some major hits in the early ’90s, but unfortunately, fizzled out towards the end of the decade despite putting out quality music — “Can We” and “Someone” are still my shit.

Released in December 1992, “I’m So Into You” was the second single from the group’s debut album, It’s About Time. Written and produced by Brian Alexander Morgan, the track is a bouncy up-tempo about taking another woman’s man. While creating the song, Morgan was attempting to break away from the New Jack Swing sound that dominated the airwaves at that time, but in retrospect, the song sounds derivative of that very style (which is by no means a bad thing).

Peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, “I’m So Into You” was the group’s first top 10 hit. And like every true classic, its appeal is evergreen. Treat yourself.