raDEO

                 What’s up guys, I got into Post Malone recently and I saw that his new album “Twelve Carat Toothache” came out and I figured I’d give it a quick listen so leggo.                 The intro track, “Reputation” is a really nice and solemn song that talks about Post reflecting on his life and figuring out what his life choices were and what were moments in his life that were meant to be. The second track “Cooped Up” was a nice song that kind of showcases the hip-hop side of Post Malone, and it’s this duo of singing styles from these two songs that we see repeated in the project. That isn’t a bad thing because the two sides that I see from Post each have their pros and cons and create a lot of good songs that are notable from his previous projects. “Lemon Tree” has some nice synthesizers and a nice beat that does take a good amount of time to get there, b...

                 We’re back at it again with part two of going over Kendrick Lamar’s album “Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers” and before we get into the second half of the project, I quickly wanted to share my thoughts about my interpretation of the album cover and name. From what I’ve said about the first half of the project, I can clearly tell that Kendrick is reforming himself from the ground up by addressing his traumas in the past and his current views on life. This has allowed him to correct his present self from making the same mistakes in the past through therapy and opening up about the vices he’s used to escape what kept him up at night. That all being said, I do think Kendrick Lamar is ‘Mr. Morale’, a man who’s allowed himself to be used as a guide just like he found in Eckhardt. He’s not perfect by any means, but he’s not afraid to talk about what really bothers him. This includes the status of society in our post-pandemic world, t...

                 Hey guys what’s up and welcome back to my blog for my thoughts on the new Kendrick Lamar album “Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers”. It’s been about two months since my last post where I interviewed amazing artist Zoe Gabrielle so let’s hope I’m not too rusty. I remember when Kendrick’s last album “DAMN.” came out, I was in my senior year of high school. I actually had the amazing opportunity that year to not only listen to the album but to visit Compton to see TDE’s Christmas Drive Fundraiser concert as well as had the chance to shake Kendrick’s hand and have him sign my “DAMN.” CD. That was a really special time for me and seeing how it’s been around six years since then, I’m excited to see how Kendrick has changed just as I have over the years. That being said, let’s just get into this. (For my thoughts on Zoe Gabrielle’s music video, just scroll down!)             ...

                 Hey guys! I know it’s been a while, but I AM BACK!!! And I’m back with a special treat for all of us because for the first time, I had the awesome opportunity to interview an artist and pick her brain on her opinions on both making music and the music scene we see today. Zoe Gabrielle is an upcoming singer who is originally from Nebraska but moved to Chicago to both pursue her education and her passions in the music industry. Zoe’s upbringing is a unique one that is surrounded by singing and musical theatre her whole life, giving her the impression that she was meant to be a part of the music/theatre field in some way, but didn’t realize her path until she impulsively released her first song in 2021. This path didn’t come quickly though as Zoe experimented with different aspects of music to see what works for her and what skills she wanted to perfect. Singing throughout high school, Zoe took an extra step by experimenting w...

       Okay, so I’ve talked about my beginning impressions of the album and my analysis of the songs up to “Is There Someone Else?”, so let’s just continue this.      After facing this mixing pot of emotions and thoughts, the Weeknd tries to find solace by helping someone he loves. In the song “Starry Eyes”, we hear a lot of isolated and echoey vocals that represent the Weeknd’s solo mission to heal this woman’s heart at the cost of his own. The song starts off with glee as he talks about how he finally met the girl of his dreams but realizes that she also carries her own trauma. Trying to help her be the best she can be, he sacrifices himself because he thinks he’s unfixable. Towards the end of the song, he says, “Back then, I was starry-eyed and now I’m so cynical baby, break me kick me to the curb.” The song “Sacrifices” showed a different perception of what the Weeknd thought of himself, but now we can see that he’s slowly losing grasp of that se...

       What’s up guys, it's been a while! I apologize for the lack of posts for these last couple of months, life’s been crazy with the recent MBA program I became a part of and everything else that’s been happening, but WE ARE BACK. And we’re back with analyzing the new Weeknd album, Dawn FM. I remember looking at After Hours both on my Twitch stream and on the blog previously, and I remember it being an unexpected but enjoyable project that fuses both the sounds of 80s music and modern pop. In that album, the Weeknd talks about his life choices regarding drug use, his relationships, and his overall mental state as he tries to find solutions to the toxic commitments he puts himself through. Now, two years later, we’re given something that I consider a sequel through Dawn FM. So, let's just get into this.      We start off with the song “Dawn FM” which sets the stage for the odyssey the Weeknd plans on putting us through. We hear a lot of echoey voca...

                 What’s up guys hope you are all doing well. Today I’m going to go over the debut studio album by someone who’s been on my daily rotation for a couple of days now, Baby Keem. I’m sure you guys  know this, but for those who don’t, Baby Keem is Kendrick Lamar’s younger cousin. The only reason I know this is because of the cover art for the amazing single that came out these past couple days, “family ties”. When it came to Baby Keem before, I won’t lie, I was not the biggest fan. His flow was different, and his version of the modern ‘baby voice’ sound in hip hop just didn’t reach me. The only song that I listened to from him was “Orange Soda”, which I think was the most popular song he had out at the time. However, after listening to “family ties”, things changed. I heard a more versatile and energetic Keem paired with a different yet aggressive flow from Kendrick. The song to me was one of those tracks that just kept gettin...