Trey vs. Tank

Male R&B artists were very popular in the 1990’s, and it’s good to see they are still relevant in 2012. This month I had the chance of purchasing then listening to, “Chapter V” by Trey Songz and “This is how I Feel” by Tank. Today I will be comparing the two albums, leading you the audience to go out and purchasing these albums. On his album Tank had collaborations with top artists T.I, and Chris Brown. Trey Songz joined with hit artists like Diddy, Meek Mill, T.I, Young Jeezy, and Rick Ross.

One reason why I love listening to music from male R&B artists is because, me being a man I can understand where the artist is coming from. Most of the time I am able to relate to what the artist is singing about. For example, I can relate to Trey Songz in his song “Never again”. This song talks about the feelings that arise when a man feels he will never see his significant other, or ex anymore. We start reminiscing on the times we did share and of course worrying about the next and new man she will bring into her life.

On Tank’s album I enjoyed the track called “Lonely” featuring Chris Brown. This song paints the picture of how we as men get unsatisfied, with the new women that come into our lives after a break-up. We compare the new women to the old women, therefore we feel as though the new women aren’t living up to the standards of our ex. As a result, we feel “Lonely”, even though we may have company.

Another good song on “Chapter V” is “Bad Decisions”, produced by Rico Love. This song talks about the many wrong decisions we as men make in relationships.  For example, flirting with other women, lying, cheating, not showing appreciation for our women, and more. Sadly, most of us realize what we had after the relationship is over. “Bad Decisions” is definitely for those men who are on the verge of messing up their relationship.

Lastly, my favorite track out of both albums is “Compliments” by Tank. This song gives a renaissance kind of approach to going after women. Tank suggests that we provide compliments to women, showing appreciation for them and their many assets. Even if someone isn’t seeking a relationship with another, compliments can influence a person’s day in many ways. I challenge you all to try and give someone a compliment today; it may make all the difference.

I enjoyed both of these albums, both artists having quality projects. Don’t take my word for it, I encourage you all to go out and purchase both of these albums if you haven’t done so already. After all, good music does still exist.

Hard Copy Review - Elle Varner

           

           In a society that is filled with mp3’s and other forms of digital music, I purchased against the odds. This month I went out and purchased four hard copied music albums, so throughout this week I’ll be giving you a review on all four. I had the pleasure of listening to “Perfectly Imperfect” by Elle Varner, “Food and Liquor II” by Lupe Fiasco, “Chapter V” by Trey Songz, and “This is how I feel” by Tank.

            In a previous blog post you can remember me speaking on the album title “Perfectly Imperfect”. Varner expressed on BET’s “106 & Park” that the title simply means she is releasing the album with its “flaws and all”. In other words it isn’t something that she spent years perfecting, instead she decided “This is it”.

            From listening to her album you can’t deny her raw and soulful voice. Her voice is often compared to the sounds of Macy Gray, Ella Fitzgerald, Erykah Badu, and Jill Scott all in one. Most importantly she has beautiful content within her songs. Some of my favorite tracks from her album include “Refill”, “Stop the Clock”, “Only wanna give it to you”, “Leaf” and “So fly”.

“So fly” stands out to me because of the special topic it covers. Often times Hollywood and the media helps us in deciding what we call a beautiful woman. Whether  it be having long hair, being a certain weight, or even encouraging plastic surgery. Varner makes a great statement in this song letting women know you don’t need all of the plastic surgery, sex, cars, and money in order to be beautiful. As Varner says in the song “ I must be out of my head If I think, that I am governed by material things”. In other words she is saying, do not let these material things run your life, you will end up being “everything but” yourself.

This is a great album from an awesome artist, and as you can see she cares about the content and lyrics she is providing to her audience. You can find many empowering songs like “So fly” on this album. I encourage you to purchase this  album at a store near you, iTunes, or Google Play.

Die Antwoord Black Facing?

Hello my fellow music lovers, I know you are all wondering what the above video is about. This is a new video from Die Antwoord called “Fatty Boom Boom”. Die Antwoord is a South African rap/rave group whose style comes from the Zef counter culture movement. This video has received mixed reviews as it appears to feature black facing, along with many other graphic images.

Check out the video and let us know what you think!

ASCAP - Entertainment Industry

               In a day and age where music is being digitally shared and played faster than ever, there has to be someone in the industry who protects artists, songwriters, music publishers and more. This is what ASCAP is for.

               ASCAP stands for The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, and they see to it that anytime an artists’ work is publicly performed, their revenue will shortly follow. One thing I like about ASCAP is that, it is the only performing rights society in America who is ran by its members.

               The ASCAP website is very key in getting new members to sign up for membership. In the “About” tab, the society gives you a brief history and it expresses its main purpose in the industry.  ASCAP licenses cover a wide surface of 10 main genres, which helps contribute to its 435,000 plus songwriters, music publishers, and composers. Under each genres tab are press releases and recent articles that show how the various artists are making strives in the industry.

This brings me to my next point of networking. According to the ASCAP website, obtaining an ASCAP license gives you “the ability to use any of the 8.5 million songs and musical works created by ASCAP members and members of foreign organizations who are represented by ASCAP in the United States”. In terms of networking this is great because it makes you apart of a community of composers, publishers and songwriters like yourself who are trying to make sure they are getting paid for their works being used.                                

Also, they have the ASCAP “I create music” exposition, which is a great networking opportunity as well. It gives members and others the opportunity to hear from industry leaders such as Quincy Jones, John Mayer, and Ludacris gaining knowledge on the music industry. This is also a great outlet for up and coming songwriters, publishers, and composers to get their work out there.

Overall, ASCAP is a great society, and it plays a major role in the U.S music industry. Without ASCAP many composers, songwriters and publishers will be cheated out of their craft, not being able to gain revenue from their pieces being publicly performed.

For my future business endeavors, it will be wise for me to become an ASCAP member; in order to make sure I have permission to play the music my customers will hear in my venue.