Teyana Taylor | Homewww.teyanataylor.com
Teyana Taylor's third musical project, simply titled The Album, is a
sprawling work of 23 tracks that sends a clear message: She's done
compromising her creative vision. Daniel Sannwald/Courtesy of the
artist hide caption
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Daniel Sannwald/Courtesy of the artist
Teyana Taylor's third musical project, simply titled The Album, is a
sprawling work of 23 tracks that sends a clear message: She's done
compromising her creative vision.
Daniel Sannwald/Courtesy of the artist
For most artists, choreographing a Beyoncé music video might be a
career peak. But for Teyana Taylor, who did it when she was just 15
years old, it was only the beginning. She was signed to Pharrell's
label, Star Trak Entertainment, around that same time and since then,
Taylor's grown up in the entertainment business, acting in movies,
modeling, starring in reality TV shows, directing and dancing in music
videos.
Now, Taylor's out with her third record, simply called The Album. It
features guest appearances from a slew of big names like Lauryn Hill,
Missy Elliott and Erykah Badu and she chose an important day for the
album's release: Juneteenth. It's a day for observing the end of
slavery in Texas, the last state to free its slaves.
"I personally felt like it was only right," Taylor says, "because it's
a celebration for my culture and my people, to show that no matter
what we go through, we always pull through."
But we started our conversation where the album starts, with the birth
of her first child. Taylor didn't have time to get to the hospital,
and she uses the recording of the 911 call in which her husband, NBA
star Iman Shumpert, is learning how to help deliver their baby.
"Everything happened so fast," Taylor recalls. "I pushed one time, she
came out. It felt like a movie."
Taylor says she wanted to have that 911 call on her last album,
K.T.S.E., which was produced by Kanye West. She's been public about
being really unhappy with her lack of creative control on that
project. She says this new album is quite different.
"When people hear the album, they will understand what my frustration
was with K.T.S.E.," she says. "Trying to put a lot of emotions through
seven songs is tough. So now to have a full album, 23 songs, you get
to literally express yourself and every single part of you."
NPR's Ailsa Chang talks to Teyana Taylor about her long road to a
place where she gets to call the shots, standing for black power and
the emotional Instagram post she wrote to her husband in the
announcement for her video "Wake Up Love." Listen to the full
interview in the audio player abov
ELLA MAIhttps://ellamai.com
Ella Mai (album) - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Ella_Mai_(album)
Ella Mai is the debut studio album by English singer and songwriter
Ella Mai, released on 12 ... Retrieved 16 June 2020. ^ "Top Selling
Albums of 2019". ... Retrieved 16 June 2020. ^ "New Zealand album
certifications – Ella Mai – Ella Mai".
Released: 12 October 2018
Recorded: 2017–18
Genre: R&B
Label: 10 Summers; Interscope
Verified Purchase
I am older and not into a lot of these younger artist but I saw Ella
Mai online visiting a radio show talking about her debut full CD. She
was so humble and down to earth. Later that day I was ordering a CD
from an established artist and I took a chance and ordered hers. I
have not been disappointed. Every song could be a single hit on its
own. Sauce is my favorite but I love so many others. I don't believe
in buying EPs so I won't go buy any of those of hers but I will
purchase any full CD she puts out. It has been a while since I
purchased a female artist CD that I loved every song. She chose really
well when she chose collaborators. If she did an entire CD with Chris
Brown I would definitely buy it. Her singles are not the best songs on
the CD so that should tell you something.
31 people found this helpful
Love ELLA!!!
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2018
Verified Purchase
This is a great CD. I fell in love with her voice when I first heard
10,000 hours. She is such a delight to listen to. Her sound reminds me
of the 90s from Brandy, Aaliyah and Monica. I 'm glad that she put out
a full length album. She has great EP albums but unfortunately , they
are not in CD format. Her lyrics are soothing and very relatable. My
favorite tracks are Trip, Boo'd up, Good Bad,Everything and Gut
Feeling. This is worth every penny. A new star is on the rise!!
15 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2019
Verified Purchase
Amazing Album! Just started collecting vinyls and had to make this my
first purchase. It’s a super soulful album and I would definitely
recommend to anyone!
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2018
Verified Purchase
This album is Awesome! I absolutely loved it! It's very modern and
soulful. A cross between Erika Badu & India irie but more hip &
modern!
9 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2019
Verified Purchase
Ella Mai is a truly talented young lady who can sing! She doesn't need
exotic outfits, backup dancers. or have to shake her butt to
entertain. All she has to do is SANG!!!
My favorite CD at the moment that's on repeat inside my vehicle. I
love this artist, Ella Mai so much that she's banging inside the car
and streaming on my phone at the gym during cooldown mode. I highly
recommend this CD if you don't have satellite or bluetooth radio
services inside your vehicle.
2 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 7, 2018
Verified Purchase
I couldn't wait to get hold of this album and I'm so pleased to say
that it doesn't disappoint. I've had it on constant repeat since I've
had it. This album is R n B at its finest. There isn't a single song
on the album that I don't like. Every so often an as album comes out
that speaks volumes and just hits your soul. This album is more than
'Grammy' worthy and I do hope it's recognised for its lyrical genius
content and music that moves you. Ella's voice is more than silky
smooth........ Ella Mai, "This album is UK Music at it's FINEST"....
Kehlani Official Website | It Was Good Until It Wasn't Out
Nowhttps://www.kehlani.com
It Was Good Until It Wasn't - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › It_Was_Good_Until_It_Wasn't
It Was Good Until It Wasn't is the second studio album by American
singer and songwriter Kehlani. It was released on May 8, 2020, by
Atlantic Records. It is her first project since her 2019 mixtape While
We Wait and first full-length record since her 2017 debut studio album
SweetSexySavage.
Background · Release and promotion · Promotional singles · Critical reception
Released: May 8, 2020
Length: 39:30
A
cross her solo releases, Oakland, California artist Kehlani has
channelled a nostalgic kind of poppy R&B. That the former America’s
Got Talent star’s debut album was called SweetSexySavage in a nod to
TLC’s CrazySexyCool is telling of the kind of slinky, exuberant sounds
she’s best known for putting out. This second album is more pared down
and feels more of its time, as much indebted to SZA as it is SWV. Some
of the lyricism is a little clumsy (“We fuck and make-up like it’s
Maybelline”), and the Megan Thee Stallion feature is an all-too-brief
skit, but overall Kehlani sounds assured and impressive here, offering
sensuality and intimacy in her candour.
Beyond the sultry, raw afterglow of balmy tracks about sex and love,
she interrogates her life as entertainment news on Everybody Business
(“So if you hear that rah-rah-rah about me [...] I beg you don’t
listen, I beg you believe me”), while on Grieving, a duet with James
Blake, she ruminates on the end of a relationship over silken beats.
Sonically, it can blend a little into one, but the closing feature
from the late rapper Lexii, a friend and collaborator of Kehlani’s, is
a rousing, poignant end to a largely accomplished set.
Kehlani - "Everybody Business" (Quarantine Style) Official Video
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John Legendhttps://www.johnlegend.com
John Roger Stephens, better known by his stage name John Legend, is an
American singer, songwriter, producer, actor, and philanthropist.
Prior to the release of Legend's debut album, Get Lifted, he had
collaborated with already established artists.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jun/19/john-legend-bigger-love-columbia
This album is stock John Legend - his throw-back silky voice and
impeccable falsetto always end up sounding epic and enduring. He
always has several songs on each album that could have longevity as
part of a movie soundtrack, in commercials, etc. Although this album
has more than its fair share of what I call "sexy time music" he makes
lyrics that might feel lewd coming out of someone else's mouth feel
lofty, elegant...aspirational even. A someone who is a fan of doo-wop
and R&B, one of my surprise favorites from the album is "Wild" ft.
Gary Clark Jr. It has a distinct country rock sound that I ended up
enjoying a whole lot. Overall, I love this effort and it will be in
rotation for quite some time.
After Hours | T H E W E E K N Dhttps://www.theweeknd.com › music › after-hours-0
After Hours
Studio album by The Weeknd
After Hours is the fourth studio album by Canadian singer The Weeknd.
The album was released on March 20, 2020, by XO and Republic Records.
Wikipedia
Artist: The Weeknd
Release date: March 20, 2020
Recorded: 2018–2020
Length: 56:19
I really enjoyed this album very much, I noticed less curse words and
less ego in The Weeknd’s songs on this album. Very emotional songs, I
can feel his emotions through his music. You will probably have to
listen to this album one more time before you fall in love with it and
that is because it’s different from what his other songs sound like.
It’s got that 70s & 80s vibe, beats got that stranger things vibe. I
did notice all the songs sound similar and talk and the same thing but
give this a chance I think this album will grow on you. My favorite
songs are alone again and snowchild.
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2020
Thriller. Purple Rain. After Hours? Yes, yes, and yes. All of these
albums are defining moments in pop music history that will live many
decades or more into the future. Sure, there are dozens of other
albums that could be mentioned, but my point is that this album is
something special, especially in a time when silly gimmick albums that
require almost zero talent seem to top the charts (and unfortunately
many of the awards shows). I am thrilled that the album doesn't
"feature" anyone ... it is just straight up The Weekend with an album
made the way music should be made.
After Hours absolutely harkens back to the time of poppy 80s music,
when powerful synth-driven melodies ruled, with complex chord
progressions hooking in listeners whether they realized it or not. But
it certainly feels as modern as anything out there, and has a soulful
sheen that comes through brightly and ultimately I believe will pull
in listeners from a wide variety of tastes. This album crosses genres,
crosses cultural boundaries, and dare I say magically eliminates a
generational age barrier that exists for me (as an older Gen X guy).
Blinding Lights has been getting lots of press, and it deserves every
positive snippet. It is just a brilliant pop song and is executed
perfectly. You are lucky enough to live in 2020 and I promise you will
hear this song a gazillion times (assuming we can ever leave our
homes), and in 2050 you will still be hearing it. And you will say in
2050: "God they don't make music like this any more."
The other tracks have enough variety that the album slows down but
always keeps momentum, and has the right peaks and valleys for an
end-to-end listening experience. Just like or old vinyl records or
cassettes. This music is meant to be listed to; sure, put Blinding
Lights on repeat a few days, but settle in for a musical feast when
you open your ears to the entire album.
This one gets the strongest 5 stars possible - buy it, listen to it, and enjoy!
Changes
Studio album by Justin Bieber
Changes is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It
was released on February 14, 2020, by Def Jam Recordings and RBMG
serving as the follow-up to Purpose. Wikipedia
Artist: Justin Bieber
Release date: February 14, 2020
Genre: Pop
Label: RBMG/Def Jam
C
onnoisseurs of documentaries that reveal the full horror of becoming
famous – particularly at a young age – are currently spoilt for
choice. Over on Netflix, there’s Taylor Swift’s Miss Americana, a film
that makes 21st-century celebrity look like something you’d mete out
as a last-ditch punishment: a lonely, exhausting world of constant
scrutiny, unending bullshit and dealings with people ostensibly on
your side whose commitment to your best interests looks shaky to say
the least. Meanwhile, on YouTube, there’s Justin Bieber’s Seasons.
The latter isn’t intended as a cautionary tale. Quite the opposite.
It’s a 10-part puff piece, the ruthlessly clear-eyed, non-partisan
tone of which can be gleaned from the titles of its episodes: Making
Magic, Bieber’s Back. It’s designed to assure all and sundry that its
star is recovered from mental and physical illness, and years of drug
use that apparently began when he was 13. But an ineffable unease
oozes from the screen. If Bieber appears better than he was during the
tour for his 2015 album Purpose – during the London shows, he stood
miserably on stage, unable to muster the enthusiasm even to mime to a
backing track – he still seems fragile and troubled, talking with his
head in his hands about the effort it takes him to get out of bed in
the morning, explaining how the oxygen chamber he keeps in the studio
“decreases anxiety”. “Being human,” he says at one point, “is
challenging”.<div class="player-unavailable"><h1 class="message">An
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For all the onscreen captions giving viewers details of how to contact
mental health and substance abuse helplines, the documentaries are
patently not a philanthropic exercise: they’ve been made to promote
Bieber’s new album. It arrived heralded by the single Yummy, which if
nothing else, offered a stark indicator of the point pop music has
reached in 2020. It was apparently designed with the intention of
becoming a sensation on TikTok, the vastly popular social network
where kids post short video clips. The chorus – “you’ve got that yummy
yum” – was meme-able nonsense, the rest went in one ear and out the
other. That was the point. On its own terms, it worked a treat –
TikTok ubiquity followed – although the question of whether pop music
might be better off setting its artistic sights a fraction higher than
coming up with a memorable 10-second jingle, a tricked-out
21st-century equivalent of “For mash, get Smash”, or “Washing machines
live longer with Calgon”, hung rather heavily over the enterprise.
Justin Bieber: Changes
If Yummy seemed cynical – bolstered by instructions to fans on how to
game the streaming services and get it to No 1 – then at least that’s
not an accusation you can level at the rest of Changes. Indeed,
listening to it after watching the first few episodes of Seasons, you
find yourself wondering if the man behind it really wants to be as
successful as he was. The kind of big-name songwriters and producers
whose efforts boosted Purpose to multi-platinum success – BloodPop, Ed
Sheeran, Benny Blanco – are noticeable by their absence. Justin
Tranter and Julia Michaels, who co-wrote the squillion-selling Sorry,
were last spotted writing for the ex-girlfriend who inspired it,
Selena Gomez. Also absent are sure-fire smash hits.
Instead, it deals largely in low-key, short, floaty paeans to Bieber’s
wife, Hailey Baldwin – “it’s a blessing that you’re in my life”, “you
make sure I’m comfortable”, “what are our kids going to be like?”, etc
– and to his faith. The title track is over almost before it begins,
unexpectedly grinding to a halt with a spoken-word section: “People
change, circumstances change, but God always stays the same.”
It feels subdued and unassuming, which are curious things for
mainstream pop to be
You get an occasional whiff of mumble rap in the vocal delivery of
Forever, which comes with a guest appearance from Post Malone, and a
hint of R&B grind on Take It Out On Me, but its primary sounds are
pillowy electronics and acoustic ballads. It isn’t entirely devoid of
hooks – the chorus of Running Over sticks fast – and nor is it badly
done: the dense mesh of synths on Second Emotion is suitably heady,
the effects-laden guitar on closer At Least For Now has an
intriguingly psychedelic tint. And Bieber sings it all beautifully
enough to make you wish they’d dispensed with the liberal slathering
of Auto-Tune that has the side-effect of rendering evidently heartfelt
sentiments and performances distant and faintly robotic.
It just feels subdued and unassuming, which are curious things for
mainstream pop to be. It’s a tentative, rather than all-guns-blazing,
return, with a by-any-means-necessary bubblegum single dutifully
tacked on to throw his record label a bone. In fact, it feels exactly
like the kind of album that the clearly damaged man at the centre of
the Seasons documentary would make. And, like the Seasons documentary,
it makes you wonder what the future holds for Justin Bieber.
This week Alexis listened to
Jacky Clark-Chisholm: Feel Good (feat Mary J Blige and Tia P) It’s
difficult to imagine pop music having anything more joy-inducing to
offer this week than the sound of Mary J Blige trading vocals with the
oldest member of gospel legends the Clark Sisters.
HASLEY
http://www.iamhalsey.com/
Manic
Studio album by Halsey
Manic is the third studio album by American singer Halsey. It was
released on January 17, 2020 through Capitol Records. It was preceded
by the release of three singles: “Without Me”, “Graveyard”, and “You
Should Be Sad” and features guest... Wikipedia
Artist: Halsey
Release date: January 17, 2020
Recorded: 2018–2019
Label: Capitol Records
This led fans to think that the album would be released in October.
In addition to this, on the pre-order for the album at Official
Stores, the product caption says: Halsey’s forthcoming album details
yet to be announced Release Date to be confirmed, expected in October
This was later changed to January 2020. How does Manic compare to
HFK or Badlands? Halsey seemingly debunked any rumors of Manic’s
similarities to hopeless fountain kingdom or Badlands on 1 September
2019, thirteen days before the release of the album’s first single,
“Graveyard”: What was Halsey's mental state like when writing the
album? As part of her in-depth interview with Rolling Stone, Halsey
revealed that this album was the first one she has written during a
manic period (bipolar disorder has two distinct phases: mania and
depression): (It’s a blend of) hip-hop, rock, country, fucking
everything — because it’s so manic. It’s soooooo manic. It’s literally
just, like, whatever the fuck I felt like making; there was no reason
I couldn’t make it. Is there any meaning behind the irregular
capitalization in the track titles? Yes! Ashley explained via
Twitter: The way that the songs are capitalized is based on, like, the
intensity of the emotion in them. Like, ‘clementine’ is a song where I
feel really small, so it’s a small song, ‘I HATE EVERYBODY’ is an
exclamation. A song like ‘killing boys’ I kept all lowercase, because
it’s kind of the opposite of what you would expect it to be. It’s not,
like, a large, explosive song, it’s kind of a small, regretful one.
Did Ashley cry in the studio while recording any songs? Yes — she
shared via Twitter: Oh my God, there were so many songs I cried
making. I cried making ‘More,’ I cried making ‘clementine,’ I cried
making ‘929,’ I cried making ‘Without Me,’ I cried making ‘Ashley.’ I
cried a lot. There was a lot of crying, so much crying happened. Were
there any songs that didn't make the cut? Yes! Ashley shared via
Twitter: There was one song that didn’t make Manic. Only one, which is
super rare, because usually I make only the amount of songs I’m gonna
put out. But there was one song where I sing completely in French, the
entire time. And it’s really special, and really awesome, but I just
couldn’t make it fit, and the album had to be sixteen songs, because
that’s what I do, I make sixteen-track albums. But I guess I’m just
gonna have to put it out, somehow, somewhere. What was the concept
behind the single art covers? When recreating the make-up look for
her album cover, Halsey explained to Vogue: Through the album cycle,
the black eye [on the album cover] goes from black glitter, to red
glitter, to yellow glitter. They symbolize the stages of healing that
the bruise goes through. With these colors, she is respectively
referring to the cover art of “Without Me,” “Graveyard” and
“clementine.” The songs were also released as promotional singles in
that order. How did this record perform on the charts? Manic debuted
at #2 on the Billboard 200 during the chart week of February 1, 2020,
after selling 239,000 album-equivalent units during its first week
Justin Bieber - Yummy (Official Video)
