10 Songs with Brilliant Percussion

Tamira Thomas

8/28/14

These are the my top ten songs I believe have awesome percussion in them. Shout out to the drummers! (Whether it was a machine or human). Some are songs that are from my phone's playlist (so its not completely random) and some are those songs that just stuck with me because of the percussion.

     

10. Metric - Help, I'm Alive

    You know what I love about this song? Of course the drumming (which I learned to play myself) but also the rawness and how upbeat it is. I don't really consider myself a hardcore rock fan but I do listen to and appreciate rock music this. And let's be honest.....percussion is one the most defined things hip-hop and rock have in common and I enjoy both. Take a listen below:

9. Kanye West ft. Pusha T - Runaway 

     I originally loved this song for the piano (it's very easy to play) but I also noticed the how great the percussion is. People wonder why Kanye is talked about so much.....well because of songs like this, they're really good. And let me mention Pusha T's misogynic verse (ouch) but overall, great song. 

8. Childish Gambino - The Longest Text Message

     Well Gambino tried so hard for this not to be a love song but it just simply is and the marching band-like percussion compliments the topic. I have to admit, I don't love this song like I use to but it made the list.

7. Drake - Trophies

     This song is just fire in my eyes. I think I officially have a love/hate relationship with drake and his music. And I love this song. Especially for the percussion and when I learned how to play it....I was too hype! 

6. Santigold - L.E.S. Artistes

     I adore the weirdness of this song! And the grooviness of the drumming makes it define as rock but alternative rock...which I love. I also loved the fact that Santigold is from Philly! Look at the rather creepy video below:

5. Vic Mensa - Lovely Day

     When I hear this, it always reminds me to try and have a "lovely day". It also reminds me of how awesome drumming can be especially when you're good at it. I don't know if the percussion was processed or played live but either way, it went great with the flow of the song....it's just one of those feel good songs.

4. Dirty Projectors - Stillness is the Move 

     With this one, I had to switch out one of my favorite songs (Kilo Kish - Sick), which I didn't like doing but it earned the number 4 spot. The only thing with this band is that I wish they made more songs like this one where the percussion (and the guitar) dominated but they don't and if they do, they don't grab like this song. So this is my favorite song from them (credit to NBA 2k13, thats where I first heard it).

3. Amerie - 1 Thing

     May God bless me with drumming skills like such in this song. That's really all I have to say. Oh and nice vocals from Amerie. 

2. Chaka Khan ft. Mary J. Blige - Disrespectful

     This song is the very reason I came up with this idea for this post. Me and my mom were just jamming in the car with this and a light bulb just brightened in my mind. Though the percussion itslef is slightly similar to "1 thing", this song is so soulful and I enjoy it so much....listen below:

1. Destiny's Child - Lose My Breath

    No words, just listen to those drums....

Amazing right? Hopefully the girls didn't take you off your focus of listening LOL. Thanks for reading!  ^_^

Music on the Mind: Heat Miser and Snow Miser

 Malik Frierson
 8-22-14

       Hello music lovers. This will be a quick and short post about my music related thoughts. So rejoice people who don't like to read that much Not a lot of words this time.. I your friendly neighborhood handsome nerd completed the ALS ice bucket challenge today. After I completed the rather refreshing challenge you know what popped in my head. The Snow Miser song from That Christmas movie " A Year Without a Santa Clause." Now if you had a childhood then you know that song. You also know of its warmer opposite Heat Miser from the same movie. I remember each winter being excited too hear those songs. I would watch the movie just too hear the songs. The songs themselves aren't that different just a quick change to some of the lyrics and boom. The songs are no where near forgettable. If you listen too them you'll probably have it stuck in your head for a good couple of days. They also give you a great sense of nostalgia. They'll take you back to being an excited little kid around Christmas time. Listening to these songs will put you in a good mood and might also give you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. I urge anyone who has never heard the Heat Miser and Snow Miser songs to please go look them up you wont regret it. Thanks for reading and see you next post.

The Lannister's Song

            By Malik Frierson
           8-13-14

I love Game Of Thrones. It is a fantastic show. But as much as I would love to talk about Game Of Thrones this is a music blog. So I'll talk about a famous song from Game Of Thrones. (Loophole) The world of Westeros  has many songs but none as infamous or memorable as "The Rains Of Castamere." Let me explain the history of the song. In Game Of Thrones there are many families vying for control of the country of westeros. One is the Lanisters led by the powerful Tywin Lannister. Big families like the Lannisters have small families to serve them. one of them was the Reyne family from Castamere castle. The small family of Reyne attempted to rebel against there masters the Lannisters. Tywin wasn't having that so he had the entire family killed and castle Castamere burned to the ground. No survivors were left. After the destruction of house Reyne Tywin had a song made to immortalize his victory. The song was named "The Rains Of Castamere" The song lyrics are as follows

                         "And who are you the proud lord said that I must bow so low?
                             Only a cat of a different coat that's all the truth I know.
                              A coat of gold a coat of red the lion still has claws .
                    And mine our long and sharp my lord as long and sharp as yours
                             And so he spoke and so he spoke that lord of Castamere
                             But now the rains weep o'er his hall with no one there to hear.
                             Yes now the Rains weep o'er his hall and not a soul to hear."
                                                                            
 This song appears all through out the show and usually means something bad is about to happen. For instance a couple of soldiers sing it before a big, bloody battle, and It is played right before a big massacre scene.It has a medieval gothic feel and fits well with the tone of the show. It will get stuck in your head and will stay there. Depending on your favorite Game Of Thrones character. My favorite character is a stark so typing this is going to leave me very depressed. Anyway thank you for reading music lovers. now if you'll excuse me I have some Game Of Thrones episodes to cry at. This is your resident handsome nerd signing off.

                                       
                                  

Artist Spotlight: Phil Beaudreau

Tamira Thomas
8/11/14

Phil Beaudreau 

 .......doesn't he kind of look like Superman (my favorite superhero)? So cool. ^_^  

    

     

      Let's talk about how I first discovered this handsome fella's music a month ago. Well I was streaming some rap mixtapes on YouTube and I thought I listen to Casey Veggies's (being that I never listened to him before). The first song featured Phil ("Life Changes"). At first listen I enjoyed Phil's voice so I looked his music (not even finish listening to Casey's....sorry). Then the first song I heard of Mr. Beaudreau's was "Anyway", which was the sample Casey used for "Life Changes".  I LOVE THAT SONG. So real. From there on, I loved his music. And the real point of this is to say this guy is TOO underrated. And I wish I knew more about him being that he isn't "famous" enough to have a bio. All I know is that he went to Berklee College of Music, he use to be in an alternative rock band called Shaimus and he currently makes music with a rapper/producer named Dawuan Parker (they are called AoE).

His mixtape/album Ether is amazing. (it can be heard on SoundCloud or itunes)

      

      While its relevant I minded as well talked about the songs feautured on it. The best songs to me on it were "Little Wild Fire", "Buried Alive", "Take It High", "Anyway", "This is Why", "Something Better" and "Rollolloll" (funny title). That's more than half of the album and not to say I didn't like the ones not mention but these are my favorites. But I can say he has yet to make a bad or terrible song. 

Did I talk about how I much I love his voice? Well I do. And I don't think I've heard another like his. Very unique.

Just to give you a taste of his music, listen to the song below and thanks for reading.

Band Spotlight: Trocadero

     Malik Frierson
     8-7-14
                     Well hello there music lover. I assume your a music lover because your on a music centric blog. Today I'm going to introduce you to a band that I think is absolutely fantastic and that is Trocadero. Trocadero is an experimental rock band from Massacusets.

 They've been active since 1997 but officially became Trocadero in 1998. There first gig was in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since then the band has grown in popularity since they partnered with the famous gaming organization Rooster Teeth. Trocadero's most famous work is probably the songs they made for the Rooster Teeth's famous web series "Red Vs. Blue". Trocadero have about three albums and a few singles. The reason I'm giving the spotlight to Trocadero is because they bring there own style to the table. Their songs are original, creative, and exciting. Trocadero continue to make songs for the web series " Red Vs. Blue" the most recent being "Contact" which is one of my favorite songs by the band, it has the elements of being stranded and mixed with awesome rock. If you love originality, ingenuity, and awesome sounding music look no further Trocadero is here for you. So you can get a taste of the band I'm going to leave one of my favorite Trocadero songs below enjoy and thanks for reading.

Song Spotlight: Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani

#ThrowbackThursday 

This kickass song is from 2004 from one of my favorite underrated and low key Caucasian arist, Gwen Stefani.

I miss her in the music world.

With the upbeat and groovy instrumental and the tough and raw lyrics from Stefani.....I'll say this is my favorite song from that year. And you can say its a bit righteous and overzealous but it's put you in a confident and happy mood. Oh and did I mention the again upbeat and fun video. It's so bananas! LOL, I'm so corny but give it a listen and thanks for reading!

Be sure to check out my SoundClound: https://soundcloud.com/mira2x .

Female Rappers: The Few and the Feuds

Tamira Thomas
8/7/14

For starters, let me give credit to one of my friends, Jayde, who gave me the idea to talk about this topic. Actually, I'd like to call it an issue because......"Why can't we all just get along?"

Now let's get real. How many female rappers can you name?......Probably just the ones below:

Nicki Minaj and Iggy Azeala, huh? Mainstream media has brought much attention to these two. And although Iggy dropped an album this year which many people loved (and I still didn't listen to but I love her song "Work"), Nicki still won the Best Female Rap Artist Award. And I'll give my opinion about it: there was much shade thrown at that award show. 
    At some point in my life I did consider myself a fan of Ms. Minaj and I did buy her first two albums. But nowadays in which she has made songs like "Lookin' Ass N****", she just doesn't appeal to me anymore. But somehow, I still believe everyone still has to respect the fact that she is THE most famous female rap artist (pretty much what Lil' Kim use to be) and therefore is "running the game." Hey, but maybe one day Iggy will catch up to her.

                                                                                                       

 The Few...?

    There are a good amount of female rappers. But none come to fame and when I mean fame, I mean to the spotlight and mainstream industry. When everybody knows who you are. But does that mean you're the best?
No. But yes. 

    You see these ladies? I feel like they are underrated but they are right where they need to be. It is true to say everybody doesn't need fame or to be mainstream to exactly make it. They both have a pretty solid fan base. BUT in my opinion, honestly, only some of their music is good. Maybe 50%.....every other song. When it came to Minaj's music, I could vibe to almost every single song.
    
       From Azealia Banks (at the top), I love her songs "1991", "Liquorice", "212" and there may be other but those are just to name a few. I also liked the fact that she was featured on Childish Gambino's album.
      And from Angel Haze, I love her songs "Echelon" and "Werkin' Girls". I guess it's her story that I respect most about her. She's really misunderstood sometimes.
Oh, yeah.
    These two were beefing, not that I want to talk about that old ass beef but Angel made a really dope diss song, "On the Edge", much better than Azealia's.   

                              
   There are more interesting female rappers. Just to name a few: Lola Monroe, Snow Tha Product, Brooke Candy, Amber London, Trina (if she's still around anymore) and LETS not forget about my girl Eve, she still does her thing. But honestly, on a regular basis I still only listen to Nicki, Azealia, and Angel. 

The Feuds

    When I say feuds I don't mean swinging and hair pulling like its Bad Girls Club, I mean throwing MAJOR shade and never collaborating. I mean don't male rappers collaborate on songs or even entire mixtapes together but it is us righteous females that cannot? 

    I know rap artist are very competitive, that's one of the things I love about Hip hop itself. Just the other day, I got all hyped when I heard Gambino stated at a concert that he was the "best rapper alive". I agree with him, LOL. Then when he said he's better than artist like Drake and Kendrick Lamar and others, that really shows the competitiveness.

   But I can't remember the last time I heard two female RAP artist collaborate for a song. And before I couldn't even get a chance to post this, I read about the return of the Lil' Kim-Nicki Minaj beef.......sigh.

    Uggghhh. These two have been beefing since day one.....well actually since Minaj started to rise to fame. I can say I have seen the resemblances of Kim's personas and fashion in Nicki's. But now she's got her own style and has moved. But here goes Ms. Lil' Kim. She abruptly release a diss track to Nicki...again. I think its for promotional use. But it's really getting old. Everybody's wondering how and when will Minaj respond. But I hope she doesn't.

   I'm wondering when will the day come when these two will squash whatever it is and collaborate. I'd think that would be really cool. Hell, when will any of these female RAP artist collaborate and do something dope?

Tell me your thoughts and thanks for reading! ^_^ 

   

Awesome Hooks of 2013

Tamira Thomas
8/3/14

Some Awesome Hooks from 2013

These are what I believe to be some of my favorite hooks from the past year. Some of these artist mainstream and some are not (underground I guess). The songs are all different but one thing each song has in common are awesome hooks that draw you in and are the main reason I love each and every song. Now I couldn't give you all of them but here are some of them....by the way there's no specific order.

Vic Mensa - Orange Soda 

This song actually had to grow on me and I happen to take fond of the hook. Vic is said to be very similar to Chance the Rapper but I happened to like Vic better and one of the reasons is because of this song. Lately, a lot of rappers are starting to get their singing on and Mr. Mensa does a good job at it. Be sure to check the song out if you haven't already, but just imagine Vic's soulful voice singing this:

 "To get you what you need

Make you love it, make you want it

'Cause baby you are so amazing".

Kilo Kish - Goldmine

This song was love at first listen. Then the hook just made it better. People really are sleeping on Kilo. So much talent, that's all I can say. Since I don't exactly know how to define her music as a whole, it doesn't really matter what type of music you listen to, you will enjoy this song and most of her music. Here's the hook:

"I've been looking pretty hard but I come up empty

I've thinking that the only one 

For you is me (repeat)

Baby, baby (repeat)

Babe".

Childish Gambino - The Worst Guys ft. Chance the Rapper

Well first off, LOL. Just from experience, when I was chilling with my friends and they heard this song (well the hook), the question was "what did she need?". That's often the question. But I think Gambino and Chance left that for you to decide......even though we all really know the answer. I'm sure all Gambino fans absolutely love this song, so if you're not really one.....give it a listen, you'll love it. The hook:

"All she needed was some....." (repeat).

Kilo Kish - Ghost ft. Childish Gambino

As you can tell already, I am a big fan of these two. Such an awesome song. Such an awesome hook:

"And everywhere you are

I fall in love and scared in the dark I can pretend

You're all that I need

I love the thing you are

Holding on to this Lost in the dark 

and you pretend

you're here to save me"

Beyonce - Mine ft. Drake

Somehow I can relate to this hook and I enjoy it more than the rest of the song, besides the outro.  Here it is:

"Do you wanna roll with a good girl?

Do it big do it all for a good girl

One time, this is a song for the good girl

Don't sleep when you know you got it good girl

One time, this is a song for the good girl

Wanna roll, wanna roll with a good girl

One time, this is a song for the good girl

And I still keep it hood, still treat you like I should

Wassup?"

Childish Gambino - 3005 

Now just like every song so far, this one will have you singing, jamming, and rapping along. Its just amazing and that is why I cherish it. Though the only hook on my list with explicit language, it means a lot to me. Be sure to listen to it because if you haven't already, you're missing out. 

"No matter what you or what you do

When I'm alone I'd be with you

Fuck these other n*****, I'll be right by your side

'Til 3005, 'hol up".

Big Sean - World Ablaze ft. James Fauntleroy

I must say I'm not a huge fan of Big Sean, but I do value his music somewhat and this song is why. Of course with the help of James Fauntleroy, I enjoy this hook. 

"Now, when the world's ablaze, the stars will fall

The lights go off

Say its going to be, alright

Its going to be, alright

Cause, when the world's ablaze, the stars will fall

The lights go off

Say its going to be, alright

Its going to be, alright".

Drake - From Time ft. Jhené Aiko

Even though Drake's verses were dope, Ms. Aiko is the reason I love this song. Her voice, her words, that hook....love it!

"Cause I love me, I love me enough for the both of us

That's why you trust me, I know you been through more than most of us

So what are you, what are you, what are you so afraid of?

Darling you, you give but you cannot take love".

J. Cole - Power Trip ft. Miguel

"Got me up all night, all I'm singin' is love songs.......
Would you believe me if I said I'm in love?
Baby, I want you to want me
Would you believe me if I said I'm in love?
Baby, I want ya".
I guess I saved the best for last because I love both hooks in this song. Some say without Miguel, this song is shit because I would still love it, though his lovely voice adds much soul. And though I picked J. Cole's most popular song from last year, I loved a lot hooks/verse from his entire album. Hopefully in my next post I'll talk how many, many, many songs get ignore just because they're aren't the single or played on the radio (like they should). But anyway, that'll be for another time.

I hope to see more great hooks and just music from these artist this year. And I know you do too. Thanks for reading!


Also, be sure to check out my SoundCloud: m.soundcloud.com/mira2x .

Bringing Music Of The Past Into The Future

         By Malik Frierson
         8/2/14
This weekend since I'm a huge nerd I went to go see the master piece that is Guardians Of The Galaxy. Now I know what your thinking "Why is Tamira letting the nerd talk about nerd movies on a music blog?" Well I'm talking about The movie's superb soundtrack. So sit back, relax, and get your reading glasses on cause I'm about to review the Guardians Of The Galaxy soundtrack.

     The Guardians Of The Galaxy soundtrack also known as "The Awesome Mix Tape" is a collection of classic pop and rock songs from the 70s and 80s. From the Jackson 5 to The Runnaways there are a wide variety of classic songs to listen too. Each song has a charm to them which makes you want to listen to them over and over. From slow and calm to energetic, your sure to find something for you if you have an appreciation for the classics. Each song is featured in the film thanks to the protagonist Peter Quill and his stylish Walkman.  I dare you to try and listen to any of the songs and not at the least tap your foot  or bob your head to them. They get stuck in your head and you don't want them to leave. My absolute favorite songs from the album has to be "Hooked On a Feeling" by Blue Swede and "Come and Get Your Love" by Redbone. Every time I heard either I got the urge to dance to the music. The music of this album was so good it made me question the quality of the music produced today. Other songs featured on the album are "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"," The Pina Colada Song", and "Ooh Child". I urge you if you haven't listen to this album please do your self  a favor and listen to it you'll almost certainly have a good time listening. So on a scale from 1 to 10 how good is this album? I say 20. This has been your resident handsome nerd thank you for reading.