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wavelengthintl · 6 years

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Top Tracks Of 2017

10. Rico Nasty - Glo Bottles

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The story of DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia) rapper Rico Nasty is pretty remarkable. She released her first mixtape when she was 16 and still in high school. At some point during her senior year she became pregnant, however the baby’s father, who she describes as her best friend, died before he even knew he was going to have a child. She sunk into a depression, barely graduated, and was a single mom at the age of 18. After her child was 10 months old she started rapping again, and grinded from obscurity to the soundtrack of the Fate Of The Furious, the soundtrack of HBO’s Insecure, and this year’s top 40 rap albums list on Rolling Stone Magazine. This was all done without the support of a major label. When she talks about things like now having a “new whip every day” you genuinely feel happy for her as a person.

9. Pabllo Vittar - K.O.

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Pabllo Vittar is an openly gay Brazilian drag queen who is now officially the most followed drag queen on Instagram, surpassing even RuPaul. She was bullied in school as a teen for her feminine voice and demeanour, then began doing drag at the age of 18. In 2014 she was discovered via YouTube and made her first television appearance. Her fame began to skyrocket the following year after releasing “Open Bar,” a Portuguese version of Major Lazer’s “Lean-On.” This year Major Lazer compounded her notoriety even further by featuring her in their original production “Sua Cara.” She was also featured on Charlie XCX's Pop 2 album, had the most-in-demand song of Brazil’s carnival, signed an official deal with Coca Cola Brazil, and cracked 100 million plays on both of her single releases. Her heavy usage of LBGTQ-affirming imagery and her vocal criticism of some of the countries conservative figures have made her a rallying point for Brazil's LBGTQ population, as well as those disillusioned with the encroaching conservative political establishment.

8. Lil Pump - Flex Like Ouu

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Seventeen-year-old Florida Rapper Lil Pump is a lot like a Marvel movie. If you go into a Marvel movie looking for something that’s a dead-ringer to the comics you’re going to be disappointed. You have to just interpret each movie as its own thing, independent from the comics. Similarly, when you approach the music of Lil Pump you have to forget about rap music. Forget about Kendrick, forget about Big L and all those other old-head icons, and just interpret this music as existing inside a vacuum. When you do that it becomes more apparent why the sound of artists like Pump and Smokepurpp have become so infectious. A lot of times when artists try to add energy to a track they do so by being obnoxious, with brostep being perhaps the most egregious example of this. These artists, on the other hand, figured out how to create incredibly hype tracks by taking the stripped-down nature of trap music and adding this highly repetitive lyrical delivery. It’s a formula that’s really simple and efficient, and also easy for other Soundcloud rappers to replicate. I see a lot of similarities between the music of Lil Pump and genres like grime and kuduro. Even though it’s built off of hip-hop it’s essentially its own thing. The reason why old-heads are angry is because this isn’t happening in East London or Angola, it’s happening on American soil. Old-heads are shook at the prospect of someone in their own backyard gaining notoriety by yelling the same three words over and over while being associated with rap. Meanwhile the rest of the world is like hey welcome to the club we had this like 15 years ago.

7. Ski Mask The Slump God - Catch Me Outside

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According to Pigeons & Planes, 21-year-old Ski Mask The Slump God is one of the most “inventive and compelling” figures to emerge from the rising school of Florida rappers, and for good reason. If anyone can reconcile the growing gap between old heads and fans of new-school rap it’s him. According to Ski Mask himself he’s lyrical, but not lyrical. In other words he has the intricately crafted wordplay that old heads value, but he delivers it with the based “I don’t really care what I’m saying” aspect of the new school. The music video itself is a testament to his ability to unite both worlds. His decision to rap over the 1999 Missy Elliott and Timbaland beat for “She’s A Bitch” earned praise from Missy Elliott herself. Ski Mask was also praised by Isaiah Rashad, who said he was upset at “how tight this nigga Slump God is.” On the other hand, the video appears on the channel of video producer Cole Bennett, one of the central hubs for the emerging new wave of rap. Two of Ski Mask’s recent tracks, “My Mind” and “Achoo!” have veered off into more experimental territory, signalling that this artists definitely harbours surprises that remain to be seen in the new year.

6. Shy Luv - Lungs

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One time on a 20+ minute drive home I listened to this song on repeat the entire way, then when I pulled up to my house I sat in the car and listened to it like four times, then I went inside and listened to it again. Anytime a song provokes that reaction it's a good indication that it should probably be on some year end list.

5. Lorde - Perfect Places

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Pretty much everyone who listens to music in this solar system was in unanimous agreement that Lorde’s sophomore release "Melodrama" is a masterpiece. This is evidenced by the grammy nomination for Album of the Year, numerous top 10 finishes in “best albums of 2017” lists, and Rolling Stone Magazine comparing her to Kate Bush. For a major pop release it has a tremendous level of depth and intellectualism that far surpasses Lorde’s age of 21. A problem that some major pop artists face is switching to some trendy micro-genre then sounding unnatural, like the time Justin Bieber threatened to release a dubstep track, the first time Katy Perry did trap, or Lady Gaga going Americana to tap into the normie market. On Melodrama every track sounds like Lorde, and being able to firmly establish such a dynamic musical identity at that young of an age is also a testament to her power level. This could legitimately be the rise of the next Kate Bush.

4. Tei Shi - Keep Running

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In 2015 I listed Argentinian-Canadian singer Tei-Shi’s song “Bassically” as my top song of the year. That track was one of the main reasons why pop music is still one of my most listened-to genres. It represented this whole movement that year of pop music’s indie side coming into the foreground, or of pop music with a high degree of artistic value suddenly becoming visible. At the time, I described it as pop music coming into its own. The same could be said of Tei Shi now, except this time she has an entire debut album “Crawl Space” to back it up. Her music continues to showcase the depth that pop music on the whole can have, and why it’s no longer the anathema of the underground, but an extension of it.

3. Charlotte Day Wilson - Work

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Nylon Magazine called 24-year-old Canadian singer Charlotte Day Wilson “the next best thing out of Toronto.” The Star described her essence as “subdued soul, rich vocal texture and instrumental acuity.” According to Now Toronto she’s become a queer icon in the city, and she hopes to create space for women in music to flourish. I think one of my favourite memories from last year was wandering the streets of Budapest listening to this song on repeat.

2. Austra - I Love You More Than You Love Yourself

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This was definitely a Facebook newsfeed discovery. Austra is a four-piece band from Toronto fronted by Katie Stelmanis. This song is from the group’s album “Future Politics,” and according to the album’s page on Domino Records it’s a “collection of urgent, but disciplined anthems for dancefloor and headphones, [and] asks each of us to remember that apocalypse is not an inevitability, but the product of human decision-making.” Although the write-up goes on to describe the album in ways that make it seem like a manifesto, I definitely heard “Utopia,” the album’s other main single, playing in Earl’s once. It will probably end up on some Netflix show at some point. This is the power of pop music, it can make critical statements but still be accessible at the same time.

1. Lil Uzi Vert - XO Tour Llif3

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Last year, for the first time in history, hip-hop dethroned rock as the most consumed genre in the U.S., and I think it’s largely because of artists like Uzi Vert.

I held off on writing this one for a while because I wanted to actually do research to find out why emo rap in particular seems to have become the soundtrack of the contemporary urban youth. Thankfully I didn’t have to search too far, because this Pitchfork article (link below) perfectly summarizes it.

Unlike gangster rappers and some earlier trap rappers, emo rap has an aesthetic that doesn’t only speak to one demographic, but rather to the struggles that youth often face on the whole. Whereas rap music previously presented black communities as bastions of lawlessness governed by hyper masculinity and street bravado, lines like “Please Xanny make it go away” transcend racial boundaries and redefine the notion of how black men should present themselves in the performance of hip-hop.

In terms of the actual construction of the music itself, I think it’s worth noting that the spacey, atmospheric nature of Uzi Vert’s beats basically came from a subculture on Soundcloud that couldn’t find anything to relate to in their immediate environment, so they turned to the internet. This is evidenced by Uzi Vert citing Marilyn Manson as one of his biggest influences.

These beats, combined with the subject matter, combined with the anime-inspired outfits, mean that emo hip-hop right now is speaking to the largest population segment out of any genre. In 2018 old heads are going to keep being angry at music like this, but while they’re 45-years-old complaining in a basement somewhere, listening to Naughty By Nature, drinking AGD and playing Goldeneye 64, the rest of the world is experiencing rappers like Uzi Vert taking hip-hop to completely new heights.

https://pitchfork.com/…/1481-to-be-young-angsty-and-black-…/

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afreviews · 7 years

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In-Depth Review of Drake’s ‘More Life’

by Sadé

A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Mar 21, 2017 at 6:54pm PDT

This is an in-depth review of More Life, where I dissect it and have fun rambling. You can tell he had fun making this, that he felt…inspired, you could say.

(Oh and you know damn well I had to put this picture up.)

Yeah, I know I'm super late on this review, but I decided to take a different approach to More Life. A more calculated approach for a calculated artist. I just didn't want to say “Drake is giving life in More Life.” Nah fam. I’ve been fan of Drake since ‘09, and he was giving life and good vibes in this album playlist, I went back to last month when Drake premiered a interview with DJ Semtex during Episode 38 of OVO Radio. The interview explains so much of More Life.

Now, where shall we begin?

For those wondering why it’s not an “album” but a playlist, in his interview he stated “The style in which it’s being put together is based off of our concept that is OVO Sound Radio...Its almost like a radio show, basically I asked myself ‘man what would happen if I did OVO Sound radio but every song was a new Drake song?’” This “collaborative playlist” with Apple, at first, was a confusing concept but once he explained it - and once you listen to More Life - it makes sense. As he explains, Views was the album and this is just something after the album that keeps his fans enticed. And we are.

There is a playlist-mixtape type of flow to it that reminds you of “old Drake” and yet is new and refreshing and current. From tracks like “Passionfruit” and “Get It Together” to “4422″ and “Teenage Fever”; then from “No Long Talk” and “Gyalchester” to going into “Portland” and “Sacrifices” - just all the different sounds and styles, it’s pretty genius. More Life really embodies Drake and how far he’s come as an artist. The amount of passion and thought he puts into his work really shines through. And don’t get me started on “Lose You” and “Do Not Disturb.” Oh and the ever-confusing but magically track “Glow” with Kanye West - like what? After that rant about Drake being on the radio too much, Drake says in the interview, “whatever it is that you’re going through, I accept it, I don’t respect it.” So exactly when did this happen? What does this mean?! Did they move past it and is that Kanye and Drake project being worked on? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Now for the breakdown.

The London Experience.

A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Mar 13, 2017 at 4:23pm PDT

“The most solid gang that you will ever see” - Skepta Interlude, Skepta

In tracks like “Passionfruit” and “Blem” reintroduce us into that dancehall music that just makes Drake happy and well us happy too. Taking those risks with those dancehall influences paid off with VIEWS, with tracks like “One Dance,” Hotling Bling” and “Controlla.” Even “Work,” that started off the promo for VIEWS. But it turns out “One Dance" wasn’t just any dancehall record, its influences are that of the UK underground. From the original song’s artist, Kyla, he brought it to a producer and wanted to make it his own but still incorporate her voice and that UK “funky” sound.

It was just the perfect marriage of a lot of things...I love that tempo, I love that cadence, those melodies, that’s the music that makes me happy in life, so it was great to just be able to just make something like that and shine light on a song from the UK that deserves it, because that’s truly a classic song.

He started shedding light on the UK underground music in VIEWS, but took it to another level with More Life. In his interview with DJ Semtrex, he says, “I honestly, I think that the best rappers in the world are in London, I just think the complexity and the cadences and the way they piece music together.” He goes on to talk about how he met Skepta and although he had been a long time fan of the UK Grime scene, it was really Skepta who opened the doors for him and introduced Drake to people from that world. Actually, if it not for Skepta doing so, Drake says he would’ve never been so open to trying risks like “One Dance” and “Controlla.”

Then we have Giggs. The moment he first heard Giggs’ music, Drake says he just knew he had to be the one to shine that light on the UK sound, and bring more awareness. To Drake, it’s all about showing love and respect and good thing, because damn - Giggs got bars. He and Giggs apparently have tracks hidden somewhere, hopefully they see the light of day.

He’s just somebody I support and again he’s somebody I feel should be one of the biggest rappers as big as he can possibly get. So I’m gonna do everything that I can to try and make that happen.

Drake has definitely been catching some flak for bringing on that London sound, the same bull he dealt with for the dancehall tracks last year. He’s not taking from the culture, he’s utilizing it and helping it grow. He’s bringing up these London artists like Skepta, Giggs, the soulful Jorja Smith, and there’s the South African producer Black Coffee. People forget but Toronto is a very diverse city that literally has all of these types of cultures that are mixed into one. Along with all those different cultures, comes the music that Drake grew up around.

This is our music, this is all, we’re all intertwined, afro-beats, Toronto, the Jamaican culture, Dancehall, London, you know. I gotta hail Skep for that, because that was a turning point for me.

While I’m living for the dancehall and London sounds on the album playlist, his shots on the project are...well you’ll see.

Jab, Jab...and Another Jab.

A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Feb 25, 2017 at 3:46pm PST

“I get more satisfaction outta goin’ at your head And seein’ all of you die And I seen a lot of you die” - Free Smoke

Drake opens up his playlist with “Free Smoke,” an attempt to clear the air. The album is filled with subliminals, some more direct and apparent than others. His first shot goes to Tory Lanez: “Must have never had your phone tapped / All that yappin’ on the phone shit / you must really love the road life / all that never comin’ home shit.” This for sure was direct shot. Tory Lanez’s last album, I Told You, had skits of many phone conversations. Why would you conduct any type of business on the phone? That’s Drake’s point. His second observation goes for Tory always being on the road. “Home” is Toronto for the both of them and it seems Tory left home and never looked back.

Now because we all know how clever Drake is, in his outro there’s a bar (thanks to Genius) that I didn’t catch but is another shot at Tory: “You overnight celebrity, you one day star / Swear I Told You that I’m in this bitch for eternity.” If you didn’t know, because I didn’t, Tory’s government is Daystar Peterson and his album is called I Told You, AND there's a track on it called “One Day." Get it? “You one day star, Swear I Told You.” Clever, right?

“How you let the kid fighting’ Ghost-writin’ rumors turn you to a ghost?” - Free Smoke

Everybody and their mother knows about the beef between the two but after I listened to the OVO Radio interview...well, I bet you didn’t know it was actually very serious for Drake.

Because we live in a social media driven world now, Meek started off this beef via Twitter. In 2015, he tweeted something along the lines that Drake does not write his own raps. Meek and Drake weren’t exactly friends but as Drake said in his interview with DJ Semtex, he worked with Meek and helped build him up because of the relationship with Nicki Minaj. At the time Boi1da brought Quentin Miller to Drake, a kid he talked to about music with and thought Drake would like him. Miller and Drake ended up working together on about five tracks, but key word here is “worked” together:

The reason why I never felt like necessarily pressured to sit down and defend myself right away or go do an interview is just because...anybody that’s been in any room with me knows first of all that I am one of the best writers period. That is what I do, that is what I’m known for, I go and write for other people, I write my biggest songs, my biggest hits, the massive majority of my catalogue has all been written solely by me, which is a big feat because music is a collaborative process. At that given time with those isolated records, they just wouldn’t be what they were if it wasn’t for me, if it wasn’t for my pen, my contributions to that, and not taking away from [Miller], we did great work together in a very small space.

A shot against another artist’s most known creative skill, especially when at one point you were cordial, is a serious shot at the neck in this business. For someone he, as he says, “supported” and helped launched his first tour - it definitely must have hurt. And Drake wanted to return that right back to him. When he dropped "Charged Up,” and realized Meek wasn’t prepared, he knew he had to strike with the club banger “Back to Back."

I didn’t go the route of calling him a bunch of terrible names, I just used wit, I just used wit and good writing, ironically enough great writing, to just win that situation...DJ’s have to take a hit when you’re hosting a party and you can’t play the biggest record of the night because you’re standing there. It hurt and I wanted it to hurt...That was the only part about it that felt good, ah I finally got to compete when I was doubted and win. That was pretty much the only positive of it, but the rest of it was just all trash man, it was just embarrassing to witness.

It was hard for all of us to witness. Hilarious, but everyone definitely had a collective “ouch” moment. Even though Meek now is trying to recover, he’s not as public as he was before. Drake goes on to admit that it wasn’t a moment he wasn’t proud of but had to happen. And when DJ Semtrex asked if he and Meek would ever be friends again - referring to the recent reconciliation of Jay-Z and Nas, hip hop’s most notorious beef - Drake had this to say:

All blessings to Jay and Nas for coming together after all those years and I can’t predict what’s going to happen in the future, but right now nah I’m good – just be over there, I’ll be over here – that’s it.

He also throws jabs at Birdman, J. Lo (jab-ish) and there is a possible shot at Joe Budden who last year got heated on his podcast and said, or rather screamed, that Drake on VIEWS sounded “uninspired.” I actually agree which leads me to my next point. As he stated in his interview, he felt inspired after the release of VIEWS and thusly More Life came to...life?

Drake is Giving Life in More Life.

A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Mar 4, 2017 at 4:13pm PST

Nah, but really - he is. The album playlist just flows, and while refreshening, it does remind me of the “old Drake.” Pre-ghost-writing-rumors-Drake. When an artist is connected like that with his music - man, he’s unstoppable. I’m glad he’s at 100 percent for this project, and taking the risks he started to on VIEWS.

“I was an angry yout when I was writing’ Views Saw a side of myself the I just never knew I’ll probably self-destruct if I ever love, but I never do” - Do Not Disturb

But with all that said, that beef did happen. People did question and pick at Drake for those ghost writing rumors. In the interview, he states that the ghostwriter accusations did take an emotional toll on him during the time of VIEWS. It affected him in such a way, but More Life is him acknowledging his feuds and moving forward.

“Last chance I get to make sure that you take it personally Take this shit to heart, it’s always executed perfectly”

The pensive and introspective “Do Not Disturb” has to be my favorite of the 22-track project. It cuts in deep, a summation of Drake’s life. When discussing VIEWS, he notes it as just another album, not “the one” and how it’s “just another chapter in the story.” He barely took any time before getting ready for More Life.

“I can’t even party while a nigga pursuin’ this Distractions will do you in, in the truest sense.”

Drake always had that ridiculous work ethic since playing Jimmy and recording on the side, to which is the reason he was taken off Degrassi. His time on Dr. Dre’s project where he got kicked off mid-progress, he learned the lesson he can never slip up. Drake is always on the grind to keep his No. 1 slot. As he’s said “I really enjoy making music...I just am addicted to it. I don’t like stopping.” We’ve seen these feuds come and go, and while some may rattle him, they never knock him off his pedestal.

“They don’t know they got to be faster than me to get to me No one’s done it successfully”

It has been a good solid eight years and just magic, inspired (and some uninspired) genius that makes Drake...Drake. With the Jamaican pronunciations, to direct shots all those he’s been against, to his romantic life, to talking about plans for OVO Fest - it’s the perfect vulnerable end to his playlist.

“Maybe gettin’ back to my regular life will humble me”

It might just, and we’ll be waiting for the summary in 2018.

#drake #more life #sade

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