Alright ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got a busy one today so try to keep up. Let’s start it off with a few big birthday shout outs. Afrika Bambaattaa turns 61 today. Bambaattaa was one of the best DJs to ever do it, bringing a dope electronic vibe to the genre. He brought us classics like “Planet Rock” and was a major influence in the creation of the Zulu Nation. Zulu’s have brought us more dope tracks than I can count. Today is also Redman’s birthday, as he turns 48. Redman is as 90’s as it gets. Known best for his work with Method Man, Redman brought raw skills to the mic and has countless quotable punchlines.
In non-birthday news, A Tribe Called Quest released their debut album on this date in 1990. People’s Instinctive Travels and Paths Of Rhythm introduced the world to the group from Queens. I’ve already told y’all about my love affair with Tribe and their music. This album brought us classics such as “Push It Along”, “Bonita Applebum”, and “Can I Kick It?”. The album is certified gold and widely recognized as one of the best of all time. Tribe brought a completely new lyrical style to laid back production and pushed the genre forward in a major way. If you haven’t listened to it yet, you’re buggin’. Definitely check it out ASAP.
As far as the playlist goes, we’re going to start to do it a little differently. We will be updating the playlist weekly from now and it will include all the music necessary for the upcoming week. So be patient, I promise I’ll be sending plenty of dope music your way real soon.
Not long ago, Travis Scott & Quavo dropped a project titled, Huncho Jack. Today, the duo premiered a new video on World Star HipHop from the project for their track “Black & Chinese“.
The Migos are back with a new track and this time they’ve linked up with Hoodrich Pablo Juan. If you’re a fan of the trio, be sure to sink your teeth into this new song “Migo Pablo“. Listen to it below.
Taylor mother f*ckin Swift thinks she runs the world and she can put out any song and it will be a smash hit. Taylor’s popularity seems to be drastically going down recently and after this horrific cover, she is racking up so much bad publicity.
Earth, Wind & Fire isn’t just a band and “September” is not just a song. It is a huge part of black culture and black music that marked a shift in cultural influences.
Check out the original song here:
Now check out Taylor Swift’s distasteful cover:
Not only was it bad- it was so bad that it was disrespectful.People actually thought it was a Friday the 13th joke. It wasn’t.
You could say that the criticism was very swift. Covering a popular song is tricky, but why would she even want to go into this territory? When I first heard Taylor’s cover it didn’t even sound like the original, so what was the point to even cover it if you’re not going to stay true to the song’s central theme/idea?
I don’t know why she had to put a sexual moaning voice at the chorus. It seems like she was trying to go for the vibe that Justin Bieber had when he released his cover of “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman.
Check out Justin Bieber’s cover of “Fast Car” here:
The difference is that Justin did it right and only put a small spin on the song.
Monique Judge, a columnist for the black culture magazine the Root stated:
Beyonce was the first black woman to headline Coachella, which is shocking because it is 2018. She made an effort to show her black roots and created a performance that was more than just music- it also revolved around culture.
She was supposed to perform at the 2017 Coachella but due to her pregnancy she had to back out and her performance was replaced with Lady GaGa. Since she had a year to prepare she certainly took all that time to produce one of the best performances of her career and one of the best performances on the Coachella stage.
She managed to pay homage to her roots of the black South while also incorporating her influence in American pop. She performed gracefully and powerfully, displaying black excellence to an audience that has ties to racial ignorance.
The performance almost felt like the SuperBowl with numerous light shows, fireworks and a large number of background dancers. With her dazzling black crown punctuated by pops of gold- she was the queen of the night.
Not only was she able to show her black southern roots, she sang verses of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black National Anthem. In a time of such political corruption, this is really what the crowd needed. She also included references to the big names of the civil rights movement. From Nina Simone to Malcolm X and Chimamanda Adichie- she really turned this performance into a landmark of her career. Malcolm X’s quote, “the most disrespected woman in America is the black woman” was broadcast all throughout the crowd.
Even though she is famous, she is still in touch with her black identity that most singers in her position ignore due to their success- for example, Michael Jackson.
She turned her performance into a show of resilience, black culture and power. She has cemented her name in the industry and has no plan on silencing her voice. This was one of the best performances of all time and one of the most moving performances to happen on the Coachella stage. I wonder how she is going to top this. Her voice will never be silenced and injustice will continue to happen unless powerful people in the industry speak up about it.
