The last time I did a sort of 'what I'm listening to now' kind of post it was quite popular...so I thought I'd do another one! Its in no particular order, there are no particular genres (but I won't lie, it's mostly R&B and hip hop). It's just what I'm loving right now :)
Don't forget to post your top ten below when you're done listening!
1)
Missy Elliott ft Nas - Hot Boyz
I don't really feel like I need to say anything except...Missy Elliott. Nas. Perfect.
2)
Kendrick Lamar - Look Out For Detox
I remember some time last year Lemara told me about Kendrick Lamar and was just like "blah, whatever...he's nothing special." How bloody wrong was I?
3)
Iggy Azalea - Pu$$y
Since Nicki has gone missing somewhere in the world of bland pop music, I've taken a shine to this female rapper. She's Australian, yet somehow sounds a bit like the female version of Yelawolf. Fast forward to 1 min for the song...and yes it's a tad explicit. As if you couldn't tell by title lol.
4)
Keyshia Cole ft Kanye West - I Changed My Mind.
Before Kanye REALLY blew up and Keyshia still had the terrible red weave.
5)
Daley ft Marsha Ambrosius - Alone Together
My new favourite artist. Also make sure you listen to his cover of 'Pretty Wings'. Its amazing.
6)
Robyn - Hang With Me
Robyn is actually so underrated and this hurts me. In my mind she's a musical genius because everything she writes is basically about my life lol.
7)
Dennis Brown - Ribbon In The Sky
Basically...Dennis Brown is a staple in every Jamaican household. His voice is beautiful and so is his cover of Stevie Wonder's 'Ribbon In The Sky'.
8)
Damien Marley ft Bobby Brown - Beautiful
Is it weird that I find Damien Marley kind of sexy? Lol. Leave answers below.
9)
Sade - By Your Side
I'm obsessed with this song. Sex and the City fans will remember it from that poolside scene when Samantha fell for Richard. Yes, I am an SATC addict.
10)
Usher - Climax
Couldn't end this post without this song. A big thank you to Usher for attempting to bring real music back.
*Round of applause*
Hope you liked the post and remember to leave your top 10 (or 5 if you're feeling lazy) below.
I basically can't stand all this dance crap that's in the charts at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I'll listen to Rihanna's new album like the next girl...BUT...when I want music with some meaning, depth and genuine emotion, I often find myself reaching for music released 10 or more years ago. Or if it is more recent it has to be the voices have to be on point (e.g. Amy Winehouse, Adele, Jessie J). As far as I'm concerned Will.I.AM and that David Guetta dude have ruined current music. And don't even get me started on FloRida. Why is he still alive?
So...I've decided to do a mini playlist of what I've been listening to recently. Its my top 10 songs of the moment (in no particular order) and I hope you enjoy :)
1) James Blake - Limit To Your Love
To be honest I have no idea how to describe James Blake or this song. Its indie, mixed with a hint of dubstep, a splash of soul and pretty depressing lyrics. This kind of makes it amazing in my eyes. Make sure the bass is turned all the way up. You'll thank me for it at 00:56 secs.
2) Amy Winehouse - Halftime
Everyone knows how I feel about Amy Winehouse. My love for her as a singer is on a different level. She's the only artist that has actually made me go out and physically buy a copy of her albums. I have never illegally downloaded any of her music. I don't know why...it would just feel wrong. This song was previously unreleased but is now on her 'Lioness: Hidden Treasures' album. Go out and buy a copy.
3) Dazz Band - You Are My Starship
Ignore the boobies lol. If you have me on facebook you'll know that I posted this song a couple of weeks ago and it got a lot of likes. Its a classic. I don't know where I first heard this song or who first played it to me. I don't even know what these singers look like or when it was released. I just know that its a bloody tune.
4) Rick Ross ft Avery Storm - Here I Am
Ok, so this isn't that old. And I'm not usually a huge fan of Rick Ross but its such a feel good song. I didn't recognise Avery Storm just by name but when I watched the video I noticed that he's the same guy in the 'Nasty Girl' video. I know thats not really saying much but I actually really like his voice. (And he's kinda hot in a really weird sort of way).
5) Jodeci - Lately
This is Jodeci doing a cover of Stevie Wonder's 'Lately'. I don't need to say anything else. Just try not to cry. Please.
6) Mariah Carey ft Joe and Nas - Thank God I Found You
Because of Mariah Carey's most recent exploits, a lot of people forget that she used to make music like this. And I genuinely think Carey paved the way for all the R&B/Pop and Hip Hop collaborations that are happening today. I've always loved her voice, never been a huge fan of Joe but he does it for me in this song.
7) Jon B - They Don't Know
Last year, a friend told me they had never heard of Jon B or this song. I almost disowned them. My ex nearly ruined this song for me but the show must go on, its too much of a great song to be left behind.
8) Mis-Teeq - All I Want
I miss Mis-Teeq. I miss Alesha Dixon before she tried to sing. I blame Harvey.
9) So Solid Crew - Oh No (Sentimental Things)
And speaking of Harvey...remember this song?! I was still in Primary School when this came out. Sometimes I honestly wish I was at the raving age when Garage was at its peak. oh the fun I would have had. *Sigh*
10) Sean Paul - Like Glue/Punky/Deport Dem
I know this is really cheeky putting 3 songs as number 10 but its the same artist so don't hurt me lol. I just honestly couldn't choose between them. I remember when I first heard Sean Paul I was just like "this man is not even black, why's he tryna do dancehall?". That was very ignorant on my part and little did I know I was to become obsessed with him for the next 3 years. I dare you not to start whining when you hear these songs (if you're a girl). If you're a guy then I dare you not to nod your head or whatever moves males are doing these days.
Hope you've enjoyed my choices. Let me know what you think and leave your top 10 songs of the moment below in the comments section. :)
Yeah never really thought I'd be writing a blog post about the love of my life (J Cole) being in Norwich. London? Yes. Norwich? Not in a million years.
However J Cole did decide to pay a visit to the infamous LCR and to be honest made it one of the best nights in my entire life.
The day started of with Mitra and I travelling up by coach (because we can be a bit stingy at times) to Norwich. Once we got there we chilled for a couple of hours and then got changed into this...
To be honest I felt pretty ugly that day, maybe because I knew that loads of girls would be there with their flowing weaves, tight dresses, amazing legs and heels. I think I over compensated with the amount of make up I put on...but whatever. So I wore my leather jacket, snake skin print leggings and huge silver hoops...all from Topshop. Plus my red Vans which I seemingly can't go a day without these days. Oh yeah the white tshirt I'm wearing underneath was haggled down to £10 at Spitalfields market. I can't find an image online but it was basically very similar to this one...
Mitra looked amazing...
Her t shirt and faux leather high waisted skirt are both from H&M. Her tights and ankle boots are both New Look. I love the look. Its kind of 50s meets noughties alternative chick. I'm well jel (LOL)
Now onto J Cole. This is how I summed up that night in words.
To which a friend (hi Nnamdi! lol) decided to reply...
Erm...but he is though...
Anyways...It wasn't just his looks that I was in love with, J Cole performed amazingly well that night. He had so much passion for his music, so much energy and so much love for the crowd. He made the music sound even better live...every song was fresh and new. He performed old hits and new. I was so happy he performed all the favourites including 'Higher', 'Blow Up', 'Nobody's Perfect', 'Can't Get Enough', 'In The Morning' etc. He even did songs he was featured on like Beyonce's 'Party', Jay Z's 'A Star Is Born' and Miguel's 'All I Want Is You'. However, I was a little bit sad not to hear favourites like '2Face', 'Dead Presidents II', 'Cost Me A Lot' and 'Best Friend'...unless he did perform them and I was too high on life to remember. Let me know lol
A couple of pictures to either remind you of the night or make you a bit jealous. Take your pick.
Now just a little bit on make-up looks.
For the concert Mitra and I kind of unintentionally matched.
Dark eyebrows, liquid eyeliner, EYELASHES (mine are fake) and hot pink lipgloss/lipstick.
I used:
Foundation - a mix of MAC Mineralize in NC50 (which is a bit dark) and CoverGirl 'Clean Oil Control' in Tawny (which is a bit lighter). I like to use the MAC as a base and then use the CoverGirl over the top as it stops me from getting too shiny on my T-zone. It also has a different finish and is not as matte as the MAC Mineralize.
Yves Saint Laurent 'Touche Elact' as my concealer.
Collection 2000 eyebrow pencil, but I might start using a dark brown because the jet black is quite extreme.
A dark pink CoverGirl blusher.
Lips - I used MAC 'Girl About Town' as lipliner and then filled in and blended with Collection 2000 'Lock N Hold' Lipgloss in the baby pink colour. I love experimenting with my lips these days. Don't take that comment the wrong way please lol.
For the club after I literally kept the exact same look and changed the colour of my lipstick.
Ok so now I'm shiny. The lipstick is Collection 2000 in 'Firecracker'. Look, a sneaky lil peek at the tattoo. Its hardly ever on show these days. I blame the weather and my job.
Hope you liked the post. Comment with any questions :)
Since 'Take Care' leaked like a faulty pipe this week and Drake is one of my favourite artists, I (Jade) asked Eathan Sergeant to write a review of the album. And I must say its PRETTY DAMN AMAZING (the album and the review). Have a read folks.
Drake’s hugely anticipated sophomore album Take Care is finally with us, after days, weeks and months of waiting. Anyone who pays close attention to Drake and his music will know his thoughts on his debut album Thank Me Later, and will therefore know he believed it was a rushed job. He wanted to be given the chance to show the world what he could do with the right amount of time. I don’t know about you guys, but since he thought Thank Me Later fell far short of what he was capable of, I was going crazy with anticipation to see what Drake would provide for us with Take Care!
The album has a very strong introduction, with Over My Dead Body showcasing Drake’s singing abilities, but also his capability to pack a verse with lyrics we all can relate to. Towards the end of the track Drake states “Yeah, don’t make me take your life apart boy/You and whoever the f*** gave you your start boy/Or you wanna be a motherf***ing funny guy? /Don’t make me break your Kevin heart boy”. When I first heard this, I thought Drake was sending a subliminal directed to Big Sean and his mentor Kanye West, as Big Sean has often accused Drake of copying his “Supa Dupa Flow” style. Am I right in thinking this? Am I clutching at straws? Hmm… who knows.
Shot For Me is where Drake’s singing is at its best on Take Care. Here, he portrays the honestapproach to rap that I deeply respect about him. He’s had trouble with girlfriends in the past, simply due to them them believing false rumours and not trusting him. On this track, Drake lets rip, proclaiming; “Can’t you see that I made it, yeah I made it/First I made you who you are, then I made it/And you’re wasted, with your ladies/Yeah I’m the reason why you always getting faded”. This is hard hitting stuff. No holds barred.
He then begins to rap at the end of the track in the last verse. This is done effortlessly. His ability to express himself through singing and rapping at such close intervals on 1 track - whilst producing his lyrics with the same level of emotion and intensity, is something that should be hugely respected.
Make Me Proud fits in with the simply “good tracks” on Take Care which I haven’t discussed, but as this features 2 notable artists; I felt it deserved to get a mention. Drake and Nicki Minaj come together to produce a catchy track, where they rap about personal views on their ideal partners and relationships. Are they speaking about each other here… hmm? Back to the music anyhow, this track did not reach the heights of Up All Night on Thank Me Later, however it still provides us with a good quality sound, where both artists perform relatively well.
As is the case with most albums, not all of the songs are great. Which leads me to my first question in this review. Why oh why did Drake include Rihanna on this LP? This WAS NOT going to reverse the trend. Her weak vocals would not have been missed. Although the song Take Care provides an up tempo pop sounding beat, it wasn’t amongst the best songs on the album in terms of quality. Rihanna sounds off tune at times in her attempt to carry the song, and Drake’s bars are not as meaningful as some others he provides on further tracks. However, as all close followers of rap music know, these days a pop/catchy song is the required ingredient on an LP, to ensure a good amount of radio time.
Other standout tracks on the album include Headlines, Marvin’s Room, HYFR and Lord Knows. HYFR certainly did provide us with the “new flows” Drake has been tweeting and speaking of all Summer. His high octane rapping technique here, shows his development in terms of variation of his style. This flow is new from Drake, unheard on previous tracks. Additionally and surprisingly, even Lil Wayne managed to provide Drizzy with a good quality feature, after a poor performance on The Motto.
The production to Lord Knows in particular is a masterpiece by Just Blaze. Because of this, many have been calling the track the best rap song of the year, and the best song on the album by far. Drizzy certainly kills the beat with his punchy lines as well. “I know of all the things that I hear they be poking fun at/Never the flow though, they know I run that”. Drake knows people make fun of his mannerisms (especially that non-stop shaking hand), but he also knows his rap ability can never be questioned. And for all you guys that be hating on Drake’s singing? He’s got an answer to you to – “I'm hearing all of the jokes, I know that they tryna push me/I know that showin' emotion don't ever mean I'm a pussy/Know that I don't make music for niggas who don't get pussy/So those are the ones I count on to diss me or overlook me”. All I can say to you guys is… Shame.
Take Care is an improvement on Thank Me Later, an improvement which Drake promised. For me personally, this album goes toe to toe with J. Cole’s album – Cole World The Sideline Story for the title of Rap album of the year, just shading it because it has that extra piece of quality. This quality is down to the production of most of Take Care’s 17 tracks, along with the versatility of the tracks.
I know some reading this may be of the belief that a rapper shouldn’t be singing, or consider rappers who sing as “soft”, but I ask you guys to get rid of these stereotypes and warped opinions. Rap stands for R-hythm A-nd P-oetry, and if Drake is talented enough to provide us with this through singing and rapping, and do it all on 1 track most of the time, WITHOUT making the track sound disjointed, then we should embrace it, not knock it.
Drake has raised the level with Take Care. He’s doing something that no other mainstream rapper is doing. He’s rapping AND singing, and doing it well. Take Care has brought about a new, more pronounced style from Drake, a style that fans and music followers alike better get used to, because it will be successful, and it’s here to stay.
By Eathan Sergeant
So I think we'll be coming to Eathan for all our music reviews :)
