September's New Music: #LetsTalk About It

 

I know, I know. “Where you been girl?” “Where are the blog posts?” “Do you even still have a blog?” I’ve been all over and back around again but I am happy to be sharing with you all today some content. I apologize for the lack of content, I do have a life haha! I also have a mini-business where I do marketing consulting & graphic design.

Follow @blancosbranding on Instagram for more details & to see my work! 

Yes, I’m plugging myself! But I know you came here for the music so let’s go ahead and jump right in! 

The first piece of music I will be reviewing is the Do It Remix by Chloe x Halle featuring the City Girls, Mulatto, & Doja Cat. At first, I was hesitant about the song because I didn’t know how everyone’s voices would sound on the track but I was excited because I thought “maybe this was just what the track needed.” I was pleasantly surprised by Doja Cat’s energy on the track and the extra beats and ad-libs they added to the background really made it smooth. One of my favorite verses of the song was from Mulatto when she said “classy like Chloe and Halle, nasty like Megan” because I feel like all of us as women are a mix of both with different ratios. After listening to the song, I was fairly please. It gave me the same hypeness as the original song and left me feeling like that chick! I’m looking forward to seeing more from the powerful sister duo, they are truly a force to be reckoned with.

Next, I’ll be reviewing SZA’s newest single called “Hit Different” featuring Ty Dolla $ign.  Now me personally, I loveeeeeee me some Ty from his early days! So whenever he puts something out, I’m already hype. I’ve also been a fan of SZA for a long time, since her first album “Z”. I wasn’t too fond of her music as she started to gain a bigger following because I was used to a certain musical style by her and it felt like she was sort of switching up. Nonetheless, I still think she’s a great singer. As for the song itself, I’m not gone lie... I listened to the song twice and felt the same way. I really wasn’t feeling it like that. It actually upset me because I saw clips from the music video and set higher expectations but when hearing the entire song, it sounded like some of her other songs. However, I do still love the concept of the music video. The cinematography and wardrobe of it all was very nice and showed SZA in a beautiful light. The vibes it gave off was also very chill yet aesthetically pleasing. 

“Down” by G-Eazy featuring Mulatto was definitely a song that surprised me. Though I like Mulatto’s tone when rapping I think sometimes her rap style just doesn’t do it for me. Like there are some female rappers that I’d choose over her but on THIS song, she snapped. The theme of the music video was supposed to be some sort of prostitution with Mulatto starring as the Madame and G-Eazy as the prostitute which I found intriguing considering normally it’s the other way around. The wardrobe and decorum of the music video were very well put together. On top of that, they featured Flo Milli, Santana, and in the music video towards the end. What a great way to close out a music video AND they all looked good. The song is very catchy and I’m sure it’ll be a song that I’ll be hearing a lot more soon. 

Last but certainly not least, Big Sean’s Detroit2 Album. One of the things I was most excited about with this album was the features. I thought it was so honorable that Big Sean decided to really put the city on by having a cypher of all Detroit rappers including Eminem, Tee Grizzley, Sada Baby, Kash Doll, Cash Kidd, 42 Dugg, Boldy James, Royce 5’9, Payroll Giovanni & Drego which was absolutely amazing if I do say so myself. Everybody’s separate parts on the track were on point and the beat... it was just beautiful. Some other songs I enjoyed most on the album was Deep Reverence (RIP Nipsey!), Everything That’s Missing feat. Dwele and Guard Your Heart feat. Anderson .Paak, Earlly Mac, and Wale. I’m a HUGE Anderson .Paak along with Wale so to have them on a track together for me was everything. The stories in between from Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu & Dave Chapelle all meant a lot to me because to hear people talk highly of their experience with your hometown really makes you feel proud. It was a great touch as this album was in a way, a dedication to the city of Detroit hence the album title.  

I loved the fact that there was so much vulnerability throughout the album as far as his feelings towards certain things and the vibe just felt different and sincere. I saw some people complaining on social media as far as Big Sean going “soft”, but personally seeing this side of him creatively is refreshing. When someone grows, you should give them room to grow. The album overall was great, I’ve already been learning the words and I hope you do too. 

Always a pleasure sharing with you, thank you!

Tory Lanez’s “New Toronto 3” { Album Review }

Picture Courtesy of NowToronto.com

If Tory Lanez hasn't popped up on your timeline at least once during this quarantine, you're following the wrong people!

Since we've been put in quarantine, and in some states curfew, Tory decided to take it upon himself to give out free entertainment. He goes live on his Instagram account every on a weekly basis that has grown in popularity. It's just him and his team vibing to music, letting girls twerk, and just being genuinely goofy. I feel as though it's giving him an advantage over other artists because not only is he keeping his followers engaged during this downtime from their regular activities. It started off kinda slow but exponentially grew quickly to the point where Instagram wouldn't allow him to go live because it was said to have been violating their community guidelines.
When I've tuned into it myself, I've never been disappointed or seen a dull moment. Having his celebrity friends like Megan Thee Stallion, Wiz Khalifa, Chris Brown and Drake stop by to show love is what really makes it so interesting to see. Just people being people. Sadly, Tory announced on his Instagram recently that Quarantine Radio would be taking a temporary break until April 30th due to the guidelines of Instagram and it will later be determined on whether the fate of the live streams is headed.

In the meantime, many people have screen recorded his previous live streams and they are currently posted on Youtube!

"A lot of things were just turning me coldhearted, and I used that as the fuel to put in the project." Tory told Apple Music when asked more about his new mixtape.

Picture Courtesy of TIDAL

The mixtape/album consists of 16 songs (including the hit single Broke In A Minute), and I know it seems like a lot but none of the songs on the album are excessively long. The overall time of the album is 44 minutes-- not even an hour. In comparison to his previous album, Chixtape 5, this album consists of more rap songs rather than R&B. So, if you were expecting some chill 90s vibes again, this is not that.

This project is also cause for celebration since it is Tory's final project since being released from the contract he had with Interscope Records!

I'm going to let you listen to the tracks yourself and decide what you think, but here are my Top Five songs from the project.

Penthouse Red
What gravitated me to this song is the vibe of it all. The background music of this track is so simple yet really brings the song to life and does just enough for you to nod your head to. This is one of the few songs on this project that Tory is singing on for the full song. This song is for when you have that special person of yours in mind. "Hennessey to red and white wine vibes" are some of the many verses that stood out to me.
Letter To The City 2
Every time I listen to this song, it makes me feel motivated. Tory really went in-depth with this song and shared his inner thoughts & emotions. This song really took me back to some of his older music. The visuals for this song are so calming and the song aligns perfectly.
Accidents Happen
I had never heard of Lil Tjay before, but after this song, I'm searching for more songs by him. He bodied his verses on this song and made to be good a pairing on this song. I honestly still don't know if I like Tory rapping or singing better, but this song definitely gave me something to contemplate about. The visuals for this song are also interesting showing large amounts of money being spread out and being put through a counting machine.
Do The Most
This song really reminds me of the way I felt when I listened to Tory's song... from his previous project Chixtape 5 considering that this song gave me nothing but turn up & party vibes This also only one of the few songs from the project that has an actual music video. I enjoyed the music video because it just gave club vibes and made me want to go out, haha!
MSG 4 GOD'S CHILDREN
This is a heartfelt song that is honestly my favorite from the whole project because he's trying to bring to shine a light on his faith. Throughout the song, he is talking about finding God for yourself and not just taking his word for it-- actually seeing for yourself! Additionally, he talks about going to God in his time of need and being a part of the army of God. It's a beautiful song that shows him being vulnerable and authentic to his truth.

Overall, I'm glad Tory released more music. Especially with everything going on around us, now is a perfect time to have some new songs to listen to. You can find the mixtape on all music platforms including Apple Music, Spotify, and Tidal.

Press one of the song titles above to take a listen for yourself!

Always a pleasure sharing with you, thank you. 

Is Black Love Dying?

Source: Pexels.com (Matheus Viana)

In the past ten years, the amount of interracial couples in the U.S. has tremendously increased. While this may be good in some senses, it still poses the question of where this leaves same-race couples. More specifically African American couples. 

Many people often criticize black women for dating outside their race, but black men never seem to get quite the same criticism. In fact, many black men are praised when they date races other than African American. Being fairer-skinned with black women's bodily features seems to be the going trend nowadays.

Though black women have slowly stepped on the interracial dating trend, they are still found to be less progressive than black men. However, if the men the same race as them are all dating outside their race... where does that leave black women?




There's also the concept of black women being the leading amount of women attaining college degrees and growing in the business world whereas black men have had more stagnant or decreasing numbers. There could be some circumstances of intimidation or just not wanting to feel as though your woman is the ultimate breadwinner (a different conversation for a different time),  but these are ideals that are not too far fetched. Black women are also known to be more "aggressive" or less tolerable of things that they find to be Many men don't seem to like this or find it insensitive which is some of the reason they date outside their race. For others, it could be wanting to try something new or just the luck of the draw.

As mentioned before, the fact that black men date Caucasian women that have the features that black women have such as bigger lips or a more curvaceous figure. My response to that is that there is nothing like the original so no matter how much you try to dress it up, cover it up-- it's still not authentic. It is discouraging as a black woman when you see women copying the things that you do and posing it as "better" or when they are more readily accepted by society than what the originators are. That's why it's important to just remember who you are & your true beauty because will society will make you feel bad for how you look whether intentionally or not.

The answer to the ever so concerning the question "is black love dying?" is no. I say no because if it's love that involves a man or woman of color, it is black love. May the love of same-race relationships, the race being African American, be decreasing? Of course, but we shouldn't make others feel bad for who they decide to be with. You never know what someone's previous relationship history is or what they've had to go through to actually be with someone who appreciates them the way that person does.

At the end of the day, happiness is what should be at the forefront.

I mean hey, just look at Lauren and Cameron from the new hit Netflix series, Love Is Blind.  They met and connected with each other without actually seeing each other. Then, by the time they did, it didn't really matter because they had already made a deeper connection. The looks were just a bonus.

                                                    Picture Courtesy of Buzzfeed News                                                   

Always a pleasure sharing with you, thank you.