Keeping It Fresh

Today I was feeling really inspired to go out there and find something new and fresh and exciting for you all. If I’m honest, I’ve been feeling a bit stale and stagnant on the “music discovery” front. But today’s song is definitely quite a banger but in the most laid back way possible. This song is dripping in swagger, provided by the beats which make up the song and the rappers who throw their bars on top.  Wiley is an English MC and rapper out of London and has released music under a variety of names, including Eskiboy. This song is actually a very interesting one because it provides some outlook on the nature of hip hop, grime, and riddim. In the song, Wiley takes the term which makes up the song title and gives it a different meaning. Instead of boasting outright as to what he is, who he is, and what kind of things he can buy, Wiley is able to be “Boasty” in a way that is tasteful. I found it quite entertaining to hear what Wiley was being boasty about. In one verse, he talk...

It has been a couple of days since I last posted, as I've been traveling about. But today I have music for you by a band with a pretty awesome sound called Dirty Heads. Though the band hasn't been on the pop music radar, this song is an underground banger. The overall soundscape is very different from the current evolution we have been hearing from rock bands. A lot of rock bands now are introducing more electronic elements and synthesizers into their tracks. Some bands have completely changed their sound to be more of an electronic-based sound, whereas other bands have integrated those synth sounds into their live instruments. And I can respect both styles! But Dirty Heads does something completely different and explores this rap-rock and trap kind of sound. For the most part, I feel like they have dropped the rock sound in favor of creating this fierce bass boosted track. I love the introduction of the synths and programmed alien-esque sounds. Eventually, this segues into...

Today I wanted to do something a little different and talk about a style of music that absolutely bloomed and took off within the past few years. I realized that I have not posted music quite like the music I am posting today, in such a very long time. In recent years, a capella has become a huge part of youth and has entered the realm of pop culture. Acapella is the performing of songs using solely the vocal box, no other instruments are used to make the song. I think the concept of a capella is absolutely phenomenal because not only does it take great voices, but it also takes a creative genius to make the song work and function and sound as it should. A capella groups really started to make it to the forefront through social media sites like YouTube (thanks!) and film and TV and have really taken off. So many schools have a capella groups and the best thing about these groups is that it isn't that difficult to start. The pioneer a capell...

Today I have some really fun music for you by the duo known as Two Worlds. This is a duo that is most definitely a fantastic and different underground kind of sound. Normally when people think about underground and lesser known music, their minds go immediately to rap and EDM and synth pop kinds of music. But what is really cool is that this song is not along those lines whatsoever. This song is full of pop, funk, and soul! It is summery and a feel-good song, the kind that leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy inside. I think one of the best ways to describe this song is to call it a happy-go-lucky song. It is an incredibly lush song, one that is full of different musical styles and genres. Both members of Two Worlds sing, and each one has a beautiful and incredible range. The opening of the song has this old school hip hop kind of sound, one that strangely enough uses the guitar and ukulele to create a sense of beat and percussion. There are clear reggae and rap influences, with a lot o...

Today's song is  by  a band from Rhode Island called ZOX. This band has a very upbeat and fun sound to it What I find so interesting and entertaining about this song is how it has a reggae and rock sound to it! The energy it brings is something I have heard before, but the actual melodies are quite different and brilliant! Now a lot of rock bands today are not necessarily focusing on the reggae specific sound, but the music  industry, in general,  is starting to see a reemergence of that Caribbean style sound. And I love that because who doesn't like that chilled out, calm, and bubbly kind of music?  Now,  what sets this band apart from other bands that employ the reggae technique is that the vocals do not necessarily match. I mean, the vocals fit the band and musicality of the group, but at the same time, there is something about these vocals that give this song a more dynamic sound. I guess if you put the music on wave crests, the inst...

Today's song is by a band from Rhode Island called ZOX. This band has a very upbeat and fun sound to it What I find so interesting and entertaining about this song is how it has a reggae and rock sound to it! The energy it brings is something I have heard before, but the actual melodies are quite different and brilliant! Now a lot of rock bands today are not necessarily focusing on the reggae specific sound, but the music industry in general is starting to see a reemergence of that Caribbean style sound. And I love that because who doesn't like that chilled out, calm, and bubbly kind of music? Now what sets this band apart from other bands that employ the reggae technique is that the vocals do not necessarily match. I mean, the vocals fit the band and musicality of the group, but at the same time, there is something about these vocals that give this song a more dynamic sound. I guess if you put the music on wave crests, the instrumentals have the vocal wave next to i...

Today I have some music for you by Alex Clare. What I absolutely love about this song is how he mixed a harder rock sound with electric, and then combines that with reggaeton! I have never heard anything so sick like that before and it makes me excited to hear that experimentation! This song has awesomely catchy beats and a great melody that just sounds so brilliant with a reggaeton beat! This song really has a cool sound to it because while it does have that Latin American beat, there are still distinct sounds of Western electronic music. This song was actually produce by Major Lazer which I found really cool. This is a different direction for Alex Clare, but it is also a different sound for Major Lazer. Both artists did a phenomenal job with this song though and I am super pumped by this song. Alex Clare has a really awesome voice for this song because he is able to make the song sound a little edgy and reckless. However, he also sings with a certain accent, one where he stresses the...

Today I have some music for you by an artist that is definitely not an underground artist, but is one whose music has been in my head for the past day now. I cannot deny the brilliance and greatness of this song, even though I believe that this artist is sometimes overly hyped. Drake is an artist who is known the world over as an artist who is super amazing and incredible and one of the greats. While I will definitely acknowledge that the guy is talented, I wouldn't go so far as to say he is one of the best rappers we have ever heard.That being said, I do enjoy his music and like that he has been able to take different directions with his music in terms of musicality and stylistic elements. This song is an EP that has come out and has become very popular. This song is pretty much everywhere and I have yet to get tired of it. This song is very different from what we have heard from Drake in the past. This song first of all, is him straight singing. No rapping, no wicked or funny rhy...

Today I have some really fun music for you by the duo known as Two Worlds. This is a group that is most definitely a fantastic and different underground sound. Normally when people think about underground and lesser known music, their minds go immediately to rap and EDM and synth pop kinds of music. But what is really cool is that this song is not along those lines whatsoever. This song is full of pop, funk, and soul! This is a song that is really great and summery and has this all around feel good sound to it. There is this groove to this song that you absolutely cannot shake. Even if it is raining outside, your socks have gotten wet, and tour grocery bags have ripped, this song can still lift your spirits. There is just this amazing energy to it, one that reminds me a little of Jason Mraz. There is this nice dance vibe to it as well, the kind of dancing you would do when your making breakfast in the morning, and just jamming out. I think one of the best ways to describe this song is ...

Today I have some music for you by a name that is huge in the world of pop and hip hop. Rihanna is a name that most people will be able to recognize. She started her career early, and so even people in my generation know who she is. Her music has seen some really incredible steps in evolution. I remember when she first started, she had more of this R&B and soul kind of sound. But today, as heard with this song, she has moved over towards more seductive hip hop, the kind of music that you definitely want to get down to. Which is good for her! I think evolution in an artist's style is a testament to their openness of new sounds and innovations within the music world. But anyway, with this song, we don't really get a heavy lyrical base. Most of the lines in this song are repetitive, so it slowly starts to turn into more of a club song. However, the meaning behind the lyrics is pretty controversial, if you understand what she is getting at. This song is a slow grinding kind of ...

Today's song is by a band from Rhode Island called ZOX. This band has a very upbeat and fun sound to it What I find so interesting and entertaining about this song is how it has a reggae and rock sound to it! The energy it brings is something I have heard before, but the actual melodies are quite different and brilliant! Now a lot of rock bands today are not necessarily focusing on the reggae specific sound, but the music industry in general is starting to see a reemergence of that Caribbean style sound. And I love that because who doesn't like that chilled out, calm, and bubbly kind of music? Now what sets this band apart from other bands that employ the reggae technique is that the vocals do not necessarily match. I mean, the vocals fit the band and musicality of the group, but at the same time, there is something about these vocals that give this song a more dynamic sound. I guess if you put the music on wave crests, the instrumentals have the vocal wave next to i...

Sorry about yesterday's post! I had a religious event to attend and wasn't able to put out some music for you all. But, today I do have some! It has been an extremely long time since I have posted any Latin or Spanish music. So today, I have some music by the always incredible and one of my favorite foreign artists, Daddy Yankee. This is actually a pretty old song by him but I never get tired of it. This song has so much energy and such a great beat to it. This song cause infectious dancing and if you don't feel the need to get up and dance I bet you caught yourself head banging a little bit or even bobbing. I highly, highly recommend you listen to Daddy Yankee's other music because it is just as good! Today's instrumental song is some reggaeton beats. I love this beat so much, maybe because you can do so much with it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the music and please feel free to comment!

Today I have some rock music for you. This song by Sublime is possibly my favorite one by them. This is the last song that the original singer of Sublime, Bradley Nowell, ever did. He sadly died right before it was released. But I have to say, this is a great song for him to have as his legacy. In the world of rock, this song is one of the most iconic songs of the 90s. This is one of the songs that brought punk rock to the forefront and made it more of a mainstream sound. Even after Sublime's breakup which happened over 10 years ago, this song persists as a fan favorite and is still around today on all kinds of radio stations. Sublime still remains an immensely popular band across America and is one of the most notable acts of the 90s. Almost everyone who was a kid in the 90s knows Sublime and they all know this song for sure. For being one of the last songs done together as a group, this is surely a knockout. This song features the beachy and coastal sounds that are often associat...

Today I have got some really wicked electronic music for you. I may have gone on a listening binge, which is the best kind, and heard a bunch of music. This song is by Major Lazer. Now Major Lazer is an electronic project that I am absolutely in love with. Why? Well, Major Lazer has a style that is so different and uses influences from a lot of different cultural sounds. I think that comes from the fact that one of the members is Diplo. With Diplo, we get so much music and so many sounds from all over the world, but he knows how to mix it in a way that sounds so boss. This song has a little bit of culture mixing. The percussion in this song has a very Latin feel to it and a very traditional Latin sound. Now this Latin American sound is actually a really cool addition to this song because it allows this song to be a trap related song. The way that reggaeton and Latin beats work is that they are generally at half the speed of the rest of the song. So with a song in this style, that kind ...

Today I have music for you by an artist out of Nigeria. I haven't posted any foreign songs in a long while and I definitely have not posted any music from Africa. Iyanya is one of Nigeria's most popular artists and I can see why! I love everything about this song, from the traditional African beat, to the inclusion of modern rhythm, to the way Iyanya's voice sounds. This song makes you feel so good just by listening to it. This song has such an infectious energy to it and when you hear this you feel the irresistible need to get up and dance. Iyanya has great versatility to his music. Some songs can be very sensual and slow, others very R&B oriented, or like this one. Iyanya makes fantastic use of the afrobeat style of music. I feel like it is very easy to hear the afrobeat in this song considering how the entire song is done in afrobeat. This song uses so many instruments and layered harmonies to add this great dynamism and drive to the song. This song never loses momen...

Today I have music for you by an artist that seems to get really bad press, yet, has some really incredible music. That's right ladies and gentlemen, today I have music for you by the one and only Justin Bieber. This is a kid who started out really well and now....well you know the rest. However, what a lot of people fail to think about and take into account is how talented of an artist he is. I won't lie, I was not a fan of the "Baby" days and such, but now we get a really smooth and soulful and kind of sexy sound from him. Despite what he does for public attention, my attention is focused on his music and especially on songs like this one. Justin Bieber is an artist that has traversed from the scene of pop into hip hop and R&B. Now Justin Bieber is not necessarily a "soul" artist, but he does sing with some soul. He is really good at creating songs that are not only catchy, but are good for dancing and singing along to. These songs really showcase his ...

Today I have some music for you by Alex Clare. What I absolutely love about this song is how he mixed a harder rock sound with electric, and then combines that with reggaeton! I have never heard anything so sick like that before and it makes me excited to hear that experimentation! This song has awesomely catchy beats and a great melody that just sounds so brilliant with a reggaeton beat! This song really has a cool sound to it because while it does have that Latin American beat, there are still distinct sounds of Western electronic music. This song was actually produce by Major Lazer which I found really cool. This is a different direction for Alex Clare, but it is also a different sound for Major Lazer. Both artists did a phenomenal job with this song though and I am super pumped by this song. Alex Clare has a really awesome voice for this song because he is able to make the song sound a little edgy and reckless. However, he also sings with a certain accent, one where he stresses the...

I realized that I have never really posted music quite like the music I am posting today. In recent years, a capella has become a huge part of youth and has entered the realm of pop culture. A capella is the performing of songs using solely the vocal box, no other instruments are used to make the song. I think the concept of a capella is absolutely phenomenal because not only does it take great voices, but it also takes creative genius to make the song work and function and sound as it should. A capella groups really started to make it to the forefront through social media sites like YouTube (thanks!) and has really taken off. So many schools have a capella groups and the best thing about these groups is that it isn't that difficult to start. The pioneer a capella groups are absolutely phenomenal and some of them have gotten quite a bit of fame for their abilities. One of these groups is an all male group known as Straight No Chaser. This a capella group is one of the older and mo...

Today I have some music for you by one of my favorite artists ever, Jason Mraz. This is a man who really knows how to sing and perform. This song that I am posting today is a live version of one of his lesser known songs. To be completely honest, I love this version way more than the original. From the beginning you can hear the genius and talent behind his music. Jason Mraz is one of the best songwriters I have had the pleasure to hear in a very long time. The way he performs is so incredible because he dose so with so much enthusiasm and passion and deft skill. He sings so articulately and precisely so that we can understand what he is saying even when he gets into the slightly rap style. There are so many phenomenal things that happen in this song and every other song that he has produced. Jason Mraz has a voice that can whisk you away and really get you attuned to the music. He has these little hilts and jilts when he sings and a lot of the times he has little grace notes that he s...

Today I have a very interesting combination of songs. This first song is a pretty popular song by the band Magic! Now this song is actually very catchy and has a pop reggae sound to it which I found very enticing. It isn't everyday that you hear a band that plays music like this and have it be on the radio waves. But I really like the resurgence of reggae fusion because it has been a very long time since we have heard anything else on the radio other than the excessive auto tuning and strange things in general. But this band does a great job of sounding pretty unique while also being something that a vast audience could listen to. Now the song composition is pretty great. I really like the way Magic! used two guitars to make those easily recognizable reggae tunes. All in all this song is really catchy due to these reggae beats. I would have liked to hear a little more reggae percussion, but hey, this will do just fine! The lead singer Nasri Atweh is a brilliant songwriter and has w...