The Top Ten Music Festivals for all Music Fans

By
Aimee C.
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Get your festival outfit(s) together because music festival season is upon us. The temperatures are getting hot, the colorful festival ads are going up, and word is, this year the acts are better than ever. With such a flavorful variety of festivals, how’s one fan to choose? Whether you’re looking to see one specific act or try and catch all your favorites (we’ve been there before, the mad dash between stages should be an Olympic sport), read on for our top music festivals happening soon. If you’re feeling adventurous, grab a friend, grab some tickets, and prepare your vocals for a memorable day/weekend. 

 

  1. Coachella

We couldn’t not mention one of the most anticipated festivals of every year. Selling out fast, this festival turns the Indio Valley in California into a buzzing hive of pool parties and an insane variety of artists. This year the festival takes place on the weekends of April 12th and the 19th. Some of the acts for the festival include Childish Gambino, Ariana Grande, Khalid, and The 1975, among others. It’s safe to say this festival is on many people’s bucket list! 

 

   2. Lollapalooza

– This one weekend festival is known for cementing a lot of artists’ careers. Taking place in Grant Park, Chicago, the festival welcomes over 10,000 music enthusiasts every year. Though the lineup is announced closer to the date of the festival (weekend of August 1st), past acts include Bruno Mars, Jack White, and The Weeknd.  

 

3. Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas

– EDM fans rejoice and highly anticipate this festival, taking place May 17-19 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Past acts include Afrojack, Martin Garrix, and Diplo. This fairytale carnival experience is not only popular in the US, but has also visited Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the UK.  

 

4. The Governor’s Ball

– Headliners for this year’s Governor‘s Ball are insane. Not only will they include the likes of Florence + the Machine, Major Lazer, Lil Wayne, and Brockhampton, but we will also be seeing the highly anticipated return of acclaimed band, The Strokes! Takes place May 31- June 2nd in Randall’s Island. We wouldn’t mind an extra ticket or two! 

 

5. Bonnaroo Music Festival

– A festival that’s been praised by Rolling Stone Magazine as being among “The 50 Moments that Changed Rock & Roll” definitely deserves a spot on this list. Some of this year’s acts include Post Malone, Cardi B, and Solange Knowles. The festival takes place the weekend of June 13th in Great Stage Park in Tennessee.   

 

6. Made in America

– Founded by Jay-Z, this festival is known for bringing together various genres of music, particularly hip hop, pop, r&b, and rock. Held in Philadelphia, this year the festival will be taking place on the weekend of August 31st.  Past headliners include Jay-Z, J. Cole, and The Chainsmokers, among others.  

 

7. AFROPUNK FEST

 – This festival mixes music, culture, and activism. Held in Brooklyn, NY, on August 2019. It attracts over 60,000 guests and celebrates black culture and gives a sense of community to those who feel marginalized or on the outside. The festival is also hosted in Atlanta, GA,  and also international cities like Paris, France, London, U.K., and Johannesburg, South Africa. Past musical acts include Erykah Badu, Miguel, Tyler the Creator, and Jaden Smith.  

 

8. Rolling Loud

– Held in Los Angeles on the weekend of May 10th, Rolling Loud is the largest Hip-Hop music festival in the world. Originated in Miami, Florida, the festival also is hosted in LA, California, and Oakland (The Bay Area), CA. The festival also has plans to expand to Japan, China, and Europe. Some of the acts for this year’s festival include Cardi B, Migos, Travis Scott, and others! 

 

9. Electric Forest

– Taking place in Rothbury, Michigan on the weekend of June 27th, this festival brings together bands with Electronic DJs. This year’s lineup includes ODESZA, Bassnectar, and Alison Wonderland, to name a few.  

 

10. Hot 97 Summer Jam

– Not necessarily a weekend-long festival, but this event showcases some of the integral acts in the hip-hop game. It takes place on June 9th in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Some of the acts from last year’s lineup included Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne, and Tory Lanez.  

 

Music festivals allow fellow music lovers to come together and see some of their favorite acts. The versatility and variety offered in music festivals is unbeatable, and the events on this list are just a few of the many out there. Take this list as an introduction or a basic bucket list to the world of music festivals, and hopefully this will motivate you to go on a whim and cross one of these off your wish list! 

 

 

The Juice Wrld Phenomenon

By
Leonard Bolivar
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Jarad Anthony Higgins better known as Juice Wrld was named the Biggest Breakout Artist of 2018 for Spotify, with hit songs like “Lucid Dreams” that went 4 times platinum, currently touring Europe, and already have toured the U.S. he is building quite the resume for himself only being 20 years young. Juice WRLD was no overnight success that came out of nowhere his grind through the years has led him to stardom.

A native of the Chicago, IL area the young new artist delivers an introspective punk-rock rap melody sound which has earned him the nickname emo-rapper as he often gives tales of heartbreak. Juice WRLD’s inspiration is drawn from bands like Panic At The Disco!, Bullet for My Valentine, and Paramore but also listened to rap with his favorites growing up being artists like Chief Keef, Gucci Mane, Kid Cudi, and Kanye West who he fell in love with there music in high school. He began rapping under the name of “JuiceTheKidd” during high school and uploaded his first song to Soundcloud “forever” but the big numbers wouldn’t come till later with his first successful song “Too Much Cash” achieving its first 10,000 views.

On June 15, 2017, he released his first EP “999” along with producer Nick Mira, this EP contained songs like “Lucid Dreams” and “All girls are the same” and then in December 2017 released his 2nd EP “Nothings Different” which started to generate a buzz for the artist. Collaborating with video director Cole Bennett who runs the youtube channel “Lyrical Lemonade” which currently has 2563 million views, the two worked together to make the video for “All Girls Are The Same” which would be the first successful song gaining over 80 million views on Youtube. Later he would release the video for “Lucid Dreams” which was another production by Cole Bennett and the Lyrical Lemonade team the video has accumulated 308 million views. The song also broke the top hundred for Billboard with the song peaking at 74 which lead to him inking a deal with Interscope Records due to his success. Releasing his first studio album “Goodbye & Good Riddance” on May 23, 2018, the album would go on to place 4th on the Billboard 200 and later on reach certified gold status by the RIAA. The album would feature songs like “Scared of Love”, “Wasted” featuring Lil Uzi Vert and “Lean With Me” which reached platinum.

As a new act in the rap scene Juice WRLD has garnered many collaborations since his new found buzz has reached new heights appearing in the songs like “No Bystanders” from Travis Scott’s Astrowolrd album, Kodak Black’s “MoshPit” and joining forces with megastar Future for their joint project “WRLD On Drugs” which served hits like “Fine China”, “No Issue”, and “Realer N Realer”

Juice WRLD’s quick burst onto the rap scene has grown massively within the last year, accumulating over a billion streams via Spotify alone for 2018. Staying relevant in the game with his latest singles “Armed & Dangerous” and “Robbery” gaining over 100 million views combined Juice WRLD plans to continue his success in 2019 as his 2nd project “A Deathrace For Love” is due to be released on March 8 of this year.

HOT GRAMMY REVIEW

By
Tasean Motley
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The 61st edition of the Grammy Awards was held last February 10 in Los Angeles California, where we had excellent presentations and controversial winners in the different categories nominated, today we will go by the branches to analyze the winners and presentations in the categories Rap, R & B and Pop.

Beginning with the presentations we found Shawn Mendes playing a piano opening the song “in my blood” to which Miley Cyrus would later join giving one of the best shows of the night, accompanied by some excellent musicians and a choreography of modest lights that followed the rhythm of the song.

It was followed by the presentation of H.E.R which played his song Hard Place in a spectacular way.

Then Cardi B made a presentation of his theme Money which opened the talented pianist Chloe Flower and then continue with a choreography very well executed accompanied by other women although some people commented on the use of lip sync.

Continuing with the presentations we have Post Malone who played two songs being these Stay which opened only with his guitar, followed by his success Rockstar and then join as guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers to play the song Dark necessities.

The always spectacular Lady Gaga also made her presentation of her theme Shallow accompanied by Mark Ronson, a powerful presentation with all the strength, elegance and style that have always accompanied Gaga in his presentations.

The next presentation was that of rapper Travis Scott accompanied by James Blake who played a more melodic version of the song Stop Trying To Be God followed by the song No Bystanders in which at first Travis was in a cage and people came from the audience to cheer on the stage while he came out of there and did a whole show of the song.

AWARDS

RAP

If we have something to highlight in rap awards is Childish Gambino’s song “this is america” which won 3 Grammy for “Best rap/singed performance” “video of the year” and “recording of the year” a real hit for the rapper.

Best Rap Performance

Here we have a double tie with the song King’s Dead by Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future & James Blake, which tied with the song Bubblin by Anderson Paak.

Best Rap Song

The winner was drake with his song God’s plan.

Best Rap Album

The winner of this award was Cardi B with his album invasion of privacy winning over albums like Daytona by Pusha T, Astroworld by Travis Scott and the late Mac Miller Swimming, after Cardi B won the ex girlfriend of Mac Miller, Ariana Grande proceeded to make a series of tweets in which she seemed to complain that she was the winner, presumably because did not win swimming by Mac Miller.

POP

Lady Gaga won two grammys in the category for Best solo pop vocal performance with the song Joanne (Where Do You Think You’re Goin’?) and also Best pop vocal performance duo or group with the song Shallow accompanied by Bradley Cooper.

Best Vocal Pop Album

The winner was Ariana Grande with her album Sweetener which did not attend the ceremony but from home when heard that she won she put on the dress was had planned to wear to the ceremony.

R&B

Here also we have a double Winner, in this case it is H.E.R that won Best interpretation of R&B with the song Best Part accompanied by Daniel Caesar and also won Best album of R&B with her album that carries her same name H.E.R, all a success for the young artist.

Best R&B song

The winner of this category was Ella Mai with her song Boo’d Up surpassing artists like J. Cole, Childish Gambino and H.E.R.

Controversies

As every year the Grammy are surrounded by polemics and this year was no exception, comments about Lady Gaga was under the effect of substances, Ariana big doing tweets after Cardi B won better rap album, the rapper also suffered strong criticism of whether she deserved that Grammy which led her to close her Instagram account after the event.

But the one that caught the attention was the fact that the microphone of Drake was cut off during his speech in which he was talking about not needing a Grammy to make a good career in the industry, with the fact that you had fans, people who listen to your music and pay to see you live you’ve already won and then they cut off the microphone and sent commercials, the Grammy’s had assured that they believed that he had finished his speech and that’s why they sent the commercials.

Many showed discontent that the album KOD of rapper J Cole was not nominated for album of the year, after the Grammy’s J Cole made a series of tweets where he related to have felt bad at some point by not being able to win awards, but after a while realize that this did not represent anything, was happy for his fellow winners, those awards are not the reality of what music is.

Another hard blow to the Grammy’s that every year they seem to lose more credibility among artist.

Written By: Leonard Bolivar

Rising Artist Spotlight: Pamela J

By
Tasean Motley
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0

Pamela J is a singer-songwriter from Syracuse, NY. Her soulful, sultry style, while staying close to her Filipino roots, makes her unique and worth the listen. “All Day” and “Why?” are standout tracks from the aspiring artist and you can feel the reminisce of the old school soulfulness she brings with her strong vocals.

She has performed at highly acclaimed New York music venues such as “SOB’s” and the “DROM”. During the day Pamela J is your everyday 9-5 worker but once that is over, she transforms into a soulful vibe when performing live. Stay tuned for more Pamela J as she is currently working on creating visuals for tracks “Search” and “Know what I want” which can be found on all streaming services and is looking to dropping an EP soon. Want to know more about the artist follow her on IG  @_itspamelaj and checkout her interview with Natasha Figueroa.

Rising Artist Radar 2019

By
Tasean Motley
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0

Top 10 Rising Artist

Hip-Hop and R&B left a stain that couldn’t be removed in 2018 with a magnitude of artist dropping music within in the year between mainstream and the new comers. Now with us well into 2019 with only 339 days left into the year one would think it maybe slow for the culture with projects, but more blessings are to come with some of our top artist dropping new music in the year. As we can always expect the seasoned veterans in the industry to give us music, we all love nothing comes better than a fresh new sound from an unknown artist generating a buzz into stardom and taking the industry by storm. We made a list for the top 10 new artist to watch out for in 2019 that’s destined to make noise.

 

YNW Melly

The Career of YNW Melly seem to come out of no where but it’s moving fast. Giving trendy melodies with expertise song writing on his tracks he impressed many with this sound as “Murder on my Mind” is a must listen as an introduction to the artist. 2019 he opened it up a dropping his project “We All Shine” and dropping the video for “Mixed Personalities” featuring Kanye which was directed by Lyrical Lemonade video director  Cole Bennett. YNW Melly seems to have study Hip-Hop’s biggest stars stating in a self-released documentary “I watched every video they did, every mistake they made, every good thing they did, [and] every sound they made”. The rising artist has come into the year running strong and leading a marathon into the upcoming months.

Benny the Butcher:

Gaining underground spotlight in 2018 Benny the Butcher is the third act coming out of the Griselda Records camp alongside label-mates Conway and Westside Gunn. Considered a secret weapon to the label he unloaded in 2018 with guest features throughout the year and dropping his debut project “Tana Talk 3” which was filled with quotable punchlines of attitude. Gaining co-signs from Power 105.1 Breakfast Club co-host Charlamagne The God as one of the top lyricist for the year of 2018 and the new year seems to be promising for the rising MC as he states in his standout track “97 Hov” “Where I’m at in my career, one hit and I’ll be set to go”.

Megan Thee Stallion

The Houston rapper started making noise through the soundwaves after her killer freestyle from her standout track “Stalli”. Keeping her cities rich tradition alive with her latest projects “Make it Hot” and “Tina Snow” she delivers strong lyrics with that southern bravado that we all love about the south and standout tracks to reference where she displays her sound to the fullest is the trap production “Cocky AF” and gives the occasionally New Orleans bounce on “Hot Girl”. She’s slated to debut her 3rd upcoming project “Fever” early this year and is looking forward to the continued success from all the buzz in 2018.

BlueFace

Blueface simply dropped out the sky in 2018 as something no one has ever seen before as many weren’t used to the rapper’s offbeat delivery as social media has often joked that the rapper’s flow is like that of Courage the panicky dog off cartoon networks “Courage the Cowardly Dog”. Dropping standout tracks like “Respect My Cryppin”, “Thotiana”, “DM” and “Bleed It” you see him testing the limits of his flow with his internet trendy lyrics and unique style. Nonetheless in 2019 his flow maybe some what genius as he has the look and charisma of a star. Signing with Birdman’s Cash Money West label last year and drawing future collaborations with artist like YG and Drake the young artist seems set up to blowin 2019.

Lil Tjay

“Prince of New York” a pretty bold statement from a rising artist but the young 17-year-old Bronx, NY rapper refers himself as that via his IG page and is manifesting that crown into existence. Only currently having 3 tracks in his catalog so far on streaming services with “GOAT”, “Long Time” and “Brothers” he’s 3-for-3 shooting so far. Delivering a bouncy motivational melody that can get dark when he switches up flow drawing screams that show inspiration from A boogie representing a new era coming out NY.  Building a buzz with a strong growing young fan base, and label backing from Columbia Records he’s due for a breakout year in 2019.

 

Ari Lennox

Discovered out of the Washington D.C. area signing with the Dreamville Label in 2015 Ari Lennox represents the resurgence of classic R&B soul in the industry. The singer/songwriter names artist like Ella Fitzgerald, Whitney Houston, D’Angelo, and Erykah Badu as her biggest influences which you can hear the inspiration in the Neo Soul standout track “Backseat” featuring Dreamville label mate Cozz. In 2016 the artist went on to drop her debut EP “PHO” which took many by surprised as you got a taste of the singer’s vocal ability in songs like “LaLaLaLa” in 2018 she went on to release 4 singles with the standout being “Whip Cream” and went on to feature on tracks with J. Cole on “Shea Butter Baby” of the CREED II:The Album and “Icarus” from labelmate Bas album “Milky Way” that shows just how important her sound is. Looking to drop her debut album in 2019 after the much anticipated Dreamville joint compilation album “Revenge of the Dreamers 3” drops and with her vocal ability there is much promise coming from The First Lady in charge of the label.

 

Roddy Rich

Every now and then you get a rapper who brings a sound that just gives you a breath of fresh air and Roddy Rich is a great example of that in this new era. The Compton artist has shown that he is exceptionally gifted with his alluring catchy songwriting as displayed in his standout track “Die Young” which was a tribute to the late rappers XXXTENTACION, Lil Snupe, and Speaker Knockerz. Releasing well received quality music debuting his 2nd project “Feed Tha Streets 2”, Featuring on Meek Mill’s “Championships” album, and dropping a single “Project Dreams” with EDM star Marshmello are serving him high-profile looks generating a rapid fanbase. Roddy Rich’s ability to mash meaningful storytelling lyricism with catchy melodies over trap ridden beats show’s he’s set up for a massive outbreak in 2019.

YBN Cordae

Out of all the members of the YBN (Young Boss Niggas) crew Cordae shows to be the most versatile with his complex and thoughtful lyricism. Flowing eloquently on tracks like “Kung Fuu” and “Old Niggas” where he displays, he can hand out blows as his reply to J. Cole’s “1985” prove there’s still young rappers out like him who still write conscious rap lyrics trying to bridge the gap between the new era of rappers and the OG’s who paved the way. On the scene lately collaborating with Dr. Dre, Juice WRLD, bodying freestyles on LA Leakers and The Cyphers from the BET Hip Hop Awards in 2018. YBN Cordae is destined to be in this game for the long haul as his debut project is set to drop in 2019.

Melii

If you were down on energy you can rely on Melii to get you rejuvenated just listen to her standout track “Sh*t Talk”. The Latin rap artist hailing from Harlem, NY show’s up with a aggressive bilingual flow over trap production as it was apparent in standout tracks “Balling”, “Icey” and her recent feature “With the shits” off Meek Mills “Championships” album stealing the show on the track. Gaining recognition through her uprising from artist like Rihanna and Latin rap making a return to the Hip-Hop scene we expect see a big 2019 with her atop a growing list of female MC’s.

Earthgang

Johnny Venus and Doctur Dot make up this Atlanta based hip-hop duo who bare a close reminiscent of Outkast mixed with sounds that hold true to legendary artist like Lauryn Hill, and T-Pain. Flowing with a playful southern cadence with edgy lyricism in some of their top tracks like “Stuck” featuring Arin Ray, “Can’t Call it”, and “UP” which premiered on the Berlin platform “Color Studios”. The two mc’s bounce off of each other so nicely whether it’s a rhyme off a verse or capping off on a addictive hook. Signing to J. Cole’s Dreamville Label in late 2017 the group has released a noteworthy worth of EP’s and is looking to debut their forthcoming project “Mirror Land” in 2019.

Let’s us know and comment if there are any artist that’s on your radar that may not be on my list

 

Culture Check 2018: Accolades of the Year

By
Tasean Motley
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1

Accolades of the Year

If I had to give 2018 a stat line Hip-hop and R&B averaged a triple-double for the year. As both genres accounted for 30% of All U.S. music streams in 2018 with Drake being the most streamed artist according to Nielsen Music. Artist came to the court of 2018 ready to play with their best line-ups and for the most part they showed up and showed out. Hip-Hop a genre that’s only existed for just 45 years continues to evolve as new sounds our brought to the forefront and 2018 was no different as Trap Rap blossomed as the new norm as artist like Migos, Lil Baby, Young Thug, and Gunna seem to anchor the sound this year. We see R&B return to a classic indie form in 2018 as artist like H.E.R., 6lack, The Internet, and Ella Mai own the sound this year and make us want to fall in love all over again.  From the start of the year to the very end it seems like everyone was dropping projects J. Cole, Jay-Z & Beyonce, Cardi B, to new comers like Juice WRLD, J.I.D., and Jorja Smith giving listener’s a breath of fresh air with their unique sound. 2018 has now commenced and as always, we like to debate the accolades of the year with who dropped the best music of the year and below I will be ranking music that dropped in 2018 from best album, song, verse, artist of the year etc.

SONGS OF THE YEAR

Image result for drake and travis scott

  1. Travis Scott ft. Drake – SICKO MODE
  2. Drake – God’s Plan
  3. Drake – In My Feelings
  4. Sheck Wes – Mo Bamba
  5. Lil Duval – Smile

Top 5 Verses of the Year

  1. Jay-Z – What’s Free

Verse 3

Best Line: “Look at my hair free, carefree, niggas ain’t near free/Enjoy your chains – what’s your employer name with the hairpiece”

  1. Black Thought – Twofifteen

Verse 1

Best Line: “I heard murder ran this vast deserted land/Since back when Burning Man was blacks in Birmingham/Before the presidential election diversion scam/Matter fact, before they clapped Franz Ferdinand”.

  1. Pusha-T – The Games We Play

Verse 3

Best Line: “This ain’t for the conscious, this is for the mud-made monsters/Who grew up on legends from outer Yonkers/Influenced by niggas straight outta Compton”

  1. Cole – 1985

Verse 1

Best Line: “Just Remember what I told you when your shit flop/In five years you gon be on Love & Hip-Hop, nigga”

  1. Nipsey Hussle – Blue Laces 2

Verse 3

Best Line: “Really not too spoked, calmly asked me, ‘Am I dyin now?’/All I know is keep you calm and collected/Crackin’ jokes like, ‘Nigga, now you gon be finally respected’”

Hip-Hop Artist of the Year

  1. J. Cole

Dropping one of the best albums of the year only after 3 days of announcing it to be released on 4-20 and breaking first day streaming numbers with 64.5 million streams in the first 24 hours in the U.S. Cole didn’t seem to let up shortly after. We all know him to be one of not doing too many features but in 2018 we seen him go on a run that we never seen before featuring on tracks with 6lack, Moneybag Yo, Wale, Rhapsody, 21 Savage and his fellow Dreamville label mates Bas, J.I.D. and Ari Lennox. We even got to see him be the soundtrack for the 2018 NBA Playoffs and in 2019 doesn’t seem like he’s letting up as he’s gearing up for the release of his Dreamville Label Compilation Album “Revenge of the Dreamers 3”.

2. Drake

As we all know Drake continues to push to make himself relevant in Hip-Hop and things didn’t change in 2018. His single’s and features didn’t disappoint this year as he had some of best hit’s this year with God’s Plan being the most streamed song of the year, as it accumulated 1.566 billion on-demand audio and video streams which was a calendar-year record for a song, other songs to mention were Nice for What, In My Feelings, featured songs with Blocboy J in Look Alive, Gunna and Lil Baby Never Recover, and Travis Scott in Sicko Mode plus more. Drake is like Lebron in Hip-Hop always making the case to be considered MVP each year.

  1. Cardi B
  2. Travis Scott
  3. Meek Mill

R&B Artist of the Year

  1. Ella Mai

The underground Instagram cover singer grew into a Star in 2018 with her 2017 release Boo’d Up blowing up in early 2018 as a social media favorite as the song went number one on The Billboard Hip-Hop/R&B airplay and with platnium as a single record and we can all agree the song made us want to be shacked up with that special significant other. Becoming one of R&B’s biggest names in 2018 she didn’t disappointment with her self-titled Album “Ella Mai” and features Meek Mill 24/7 and Tiiied with J.I.D. and 6lack.

2. 6lack

3. H.E.R.

4. Chris Brown

5. The Weeknd

Best New Hip-Hop Artist

  1. Juice WRLD

Juice WRLD burst into the scene with his hit single “Lucid Dreams” which was released in 2017 but didn’t catch a buzz till 2018. The video for the song which was directed by one of the most beloved video directors of today Cole Bennett and has amassed over 260 million views on YouTube. What makes Juice WRLD different from other artist is his Punk-Rap sound he’s brought to the industry with his album “Goodbye and Good Riddance”, which peaked at #4 on the Billboard Top 200. In 2018 he has established himself as a artist with a platinum single, a mixtape with future, and a album of his own as he is breaking barriers with his new sound.

  1. Tekashi 69
  2. Lil Baby
  3. J.I.D.
  4. Gunna

Best New R&B Artist

  1. H.E.R.

H.E.R. had a big 2018 the rising of the mysterious and beloved R&B Star first emerged in late 2016 with the EP H.E.R. Volume 1 that showed promised thanks to standout track “Focus”. In 2018 H.E.R. would go on to drop 2 more EP’s with “I Used to Know Her: The Prelude” and “I Use to Know Her Pt.2” in anticipation of her debut album. H.E.R. brings her classic indie sound front stage as she shrouds herself in seductive secrecy and some may say her music is reminiscent of Lauryn Hill’s 90s era cadence as her track “Lost Souls” tackles social issues like materialism, body positivism, and toxic masculinity. With her streaming numbers massive H.E.R. doesn’t seem to be finished as many will be anticipating her debut album in 2019.

  1. Jorja Smith
  2. Summer Walker
  3. Kiana Lede
  4. Arin Ray

Top 10 Hip-Hop Albums

1.KOD – J. Cole

J. Cole, KOD

In J. Cole’s 4th studio album KOD which has three meanings “Kids on Drugs”, “King OverDosed”, and “Kill Our Demons” he decided to address the current state of the culture. Mixing the trap-influenced sound with consciousness J. Cole tackled themes of drug abuse and addiction as well as issues he’s confronted. Often balancing between narrating and critiquing with a solid balance he highlights his mom’s past struggle with alcohol (“Once a addict”), stories of friends who have traveled down the wrong path in life (“Friends”) and even showcasing his own issues with his relationship with Love and Money (“ATM” “Kevin’s Heart”). Overall on the album J. Cole keeps the narrative fresh but also continue to give guidance as it was displayed on the closing track “1985” which he takes aim at these new school of rappers and there influence on the culture. J. Cole proved himself through KOD as one of the most vital voices of this generation.

  1. Victory Lap – Nipsey Hussle
  2. Redemption – Jay Rock
  3. DAYTONA – Pusha T
  4. ASTROWORLD – Travis Scott
  5. Invasion of Privacy – Cardi B
  6. Meek Mill – Championship
  7. Care for Me – Saba
  8. Black Panther Soundtrack – TDE
  9. Swimming – Mac Miller

Top 10 R&B Albums

East Atlanta Love Letter – 6lack

After a two-year Hiatus from releasing his first album “Free 6lack” 6lack returned to the scene with his sophomore effort “East Atlanta Love Letter”. For those who have listened to 6lack he’s most known for his dark, trap influenced sound that contains heavy lyrics about various topics from relationships to his own personal struggles in life. In East Atlanta Love Letter he presents the same sound but more wiser as he has become a father, tour the world, and also grown within the industry collecting features from J. Cole, Future, Khalid, Offset, and Ty-Dolla Sign. From standout tracks like Pretty Little Fears, East Atlanta Love Letter, Switch, Disconnect and Scripture 6lack made hearts flutter on this album but more importantly made listener’s think.

2. I Used to Know HER Pt.1 & 2 – H.E.R.

3. Ella Mai – Ella Mai

4. Hive Mind – The Internet

5. Everything is Love – The Carters

6. Lost & Found – Jorja Smith

7. KTSE – Teyana Taylor

8. Saturn – NAO

9. Selfless – Kiana Lede

10. Oxnard – Anderson.Paak

 

Hip-Hop & R&B came into the year the defending MVP genre and is poised to re-claim the honors for 2018. 2019 is officially here and doesn’t seem the genre is going to let up anytime soon with more music dated to drop this year. The newcomers are taking the industry by storm with the new sound and the veterans that can stay relevant creates a good mixture to have no chance but to consider 2018 a memorable year for the culture. The Culture it continues to evolve, and we grow to adapt to the environment of it all loving, trolling, and being heartbroken by its unpredictable nature.

Written by – Tasean Motley

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