Radio is Dead

Many people may know Donda as Kanye West's expected forthcoming album for which he has held two listening parties, had two different album covers and given multiple release dates but in typical Kanye fashion hasn't had an actual release. Many people also may know Donda as Kanye's late mother. Some may recognize it as the company Kanye started in 2012 that promised to "pick up where Steve Jobs left off" and made short films and music videos until 2016. The point is Kanye has used his mother's name for various projects and she has clearly inspired much of his work and has affected him greatly evidenced by the creation of 808s and Heartbreak shortly after she died. Donda was officially announced as Kanye's forthcoming album on July 18, 2020 and the public was told it would release July 24. Anyone who has followed Kanye for even a short period of time would not be surprised when the album didn't come out on that date. Many interviews and tweets from source...

Drake - Scary Hours 2 (EP) As promised, Drake released Scary Hours 2 which was received well by fans. The EP contained 3 songs, one had no features, the other featured Lil Baby, and the final one featured Rick Ross. The first song, "What's Next" has extreme hit potential due to how catchy it is. The second song mentions Kanye West and he alludes to having had sexual relations with Kim Kardashian. This is not the first time he's mentioned it and many fans are claiming Kanye lives rent free in Drake's head. Denzel Curry - Unlocked 1.5 (Remix Album) Denzel Curry is back with a remix album for his collaborative album with Kenny Beats, Unlocked. This album, although it hasn't quite reached the commercial success of TA13OO, has been some of the most creative work he's done yet. Not only does the music push his boundaries but the music videos and all the YouTube content he's been posting as part of the lore of the album has been top tier. Other Notable Releas...

Drake, who has been inactive in the music game since releasing Dark Lane Demo Tapes in May of 2020, came back to Instagram to announce the release of what is assumed to be an EP. Drake posted the picture on Instagram which was simply captioned, "FRIDAY MIDNIGHT 💀". This is not the first time we have seen cover art rocking "Scary Hours" text from Drake. Many may recall back in 2018 when Drake released Scary Hours which was an EP but with only two songs it can also be considered just two individual singles. Last time, that EP came out after a mixtape, More Life, and was followed by an album, Scorpion. Many fans are speculating that Dark Lane Demo Tapes was the mixtape, now he is releasing the EP meaning the album is on the way soon thereafter. This has many Drake fans who were angry about Drake postponing the album due to a knee injury very excited.

Gorillaz, the band with animated characters as the members has been releasing "episodes" or singles for their newest album,  Song Machine , since the beginning of 2020. All of these songs have included features and is clearly meant to be a common theme for all the songs on the album. This has led to lots of speculation over what artists will be featured next as it seems like the roll out for this album will be song by song. The speculation is over, however, over after the tracklist and release date has been released. The tracklist contains artists such as slowthai, EarthGang, JPEGMAFIA, and even Elton John and 6LACK on the same song. Many of these artists many people would've never expected to collaborate with Gorillaz much less that we'd see Elton John, 6LACK, and Gorillaz all on the same song. It just seems like 3 completely different worlds which is what makes it such a potential smashing hit. The release date has also been announced as October 23rd and there will ...

Cardi B -  "WAP"   feat. Megan Thee Stallion has been charting very well since its release. It debuted at number 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart and stayed there for another week. Currently it is sitting at #2, only topped by BTS' new single which broke the YouTube record for most views in 24 hours. Billboard also wrote an article announcing that the song was on track to be #1 this upcoming week. The song's success is very clear to even someone who isn't a huge fan of music as the song is also getting major radio play. This is a huge leap in artistic expression and even BBC Radio, which has very strict guidelines on what can and cannot be played, has played the song on its radio stations and even has it at #1 on its charts. BBC Radio banned Sex Pistols - God Save the Queen on May 31, 1977 which didn't have any explicit lyrics but instead criticized the queen of England and claimed the UK was a fascist regime. A song like that, nowadays, wouldn't even b...

The longest song ever is even longer than you think. In fact, it is still being played today. The song, which is entitled  " Organ2/ASLSP, ", began playing in 2001 and will finish playing in 2640. The song's length  will total 639 years if the instrument survives that long. The song has become somewhat of a tourist attraction where m any people show up to the small town every time the chord changes which happens seldom. So seldom , in fact, that the second to last chord change was on October 5, 2013 and the most recent chord change was on September 5, 2020. The next chord change will take place February 5, 2022. The  song is being performed by an organ which can theoretically play a song forever because  an organ pushes air out of tubes to play specific notes. Instead of the keys being played by a person they are played by sandbags which weigh them down to be played. The instrument is located in a church in the small German town of  Halberstadt. The piece was co...

Many anti-establishment and anti-police songs have reemerged into a lot of people's minds and playlists in the past week. "Fuck tha Police" by N.W.A was a major hit in the late 1980s and was the soundtrack to many protests and riots following the excessive force from the police against those of color. The song is still very much relevant today. Following the recent cold-blooded murder of George Floyd, the United States has been lit on fire with protests and riots in every major city in the country. This has led to the song's resurgence in popularity. As evidenced by Last.fm Scrobble Stats, the song began to explode in popularity only one day after George Floyd's death. Other songs such as "Don't Shoot" by The Game, and "This is America" by Childish Gambino have had a similar effect. The latter of the two has even been quoted on many protest signs around the nation. The protests are still ongoing and many people's hope is that change and...

NAV - Good Intentions (Album) Nav has released his fifth full length studio album. It features many high profile features on nearly every song. Immediately in the second song you're greeted by Young Thug followed by Future in the third song. The features don't plan to go anywhere either as Gunna and Travis Scott are quickly found on the next song. NAV has been called out for his career being carried by other artists since he started making music and this album doesn't seem to try to prove them wrong. Other features include Lil Uzi Vert, Don Toliver, Pop Smoke, and Lil Durk. Kehlani - It Was Good Until It Wasn't (Album) Kehlani who many may know from her many smash hits has released her 4th full-length studio album. With  features including James Blake, Tory Lanez, and Jhene Aiko the album has a star studded cast. The album features a couple of skits, has a runtime of 39 minutes, and features 15 songs. The album is sure to be a charting success and it is likely w...

May the 4th is today and May the force be with you! While Star Wars is certainly a film series, a book series, multiple tv shows, and many other things, the Star Wars experience certainly is very different without its amazing music. Everyone can hum the "Duuh  Duuh da da da Duuh Duuh da da da Duuh Duuh dun-dun-dun-duuuuh..." and it's been stuck in everyone's heads forever. Well, that's thanks to Star Wars' music composer, John Williams. John Williams is a seasoned veteran when it comes to making music for films. Even if you're not a huge fan of Star Wars he may have scored the music for your favorite film. His catalogue includes films like Jaws, Harry Potter, E.T., and at least one hundred more films. He did the music for the 9 Star Wars saga movies although he claims he's never actually seen one in its entirety. It seems that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker  (2019) is also the last Star Wars entity to actually have the music composed by him alt...

Kid Quill is an artist that you've possibly listened to, however, it's unlikely. He's an artist that busted onto the scene in 2014 with his first album, Ear to Ear. His upbeat rap and r&b influenced upbeat music is hard to truly pin down into one genre. His lyrics are amazing if you love storytelling and witty one liners. Many of his songs also capture nostalgia in the best way such as in songs like "Kids in the Summer" and "Rain, Rain". On "The Name Above the Title", the album that I first discovered Kid Quill through, he makes many upbeat songs with great hooks and great lyricism. This is still my favorite album by Kid Quill and perfectly captures many different emotions like in "Sounds Like You" it captures how a guy can feel about a girl. A song like "As Long as I'm Me" is a mellow, sad song about Kid Quill's comeup. "A Song to Sing" is the most fun and upbeat song on the album which sounds li...

Gorillaz have released a new song featuring the late Tony Allen and the very much still alive Skepta. The song is a single for the band's upcoming album, Song Machine. The song features afrobeat legend, Tony Allen and British rapper, Skepta. Skepta is the primary vocalist in the song and the song is very much a rap song. So why is this song's release such a big deal? Well, because afrobeat legend, Tony Allen is featured on the song. The musician died just two days before this song's release. His death was unrelated to coronavirus and was instead due to a heart attack. Former band mate, Damon Albarn, who also runs Gorillaz decided to pay tribute to a friend and legend in the music industry. Although his only vocals on the song is a bit of humming, his impact in music as a whole is way bigger. It is said that he is one of the Godfathers of afrobeats and without him the genre would probably not exist.

Drake - Dark Lane Demo Tapes (Mixtape) Drake, the biggest artist of the last decade, has released his first full-length project in this new decade. Do not be confused, however, this is not an album and is not his followup to Scorpion (2018). This is instead best described by Drake himself, " put together alot of the songs people have been asking for (some leaks and some joints from SoundCloud and some new vibes)". In other words, it's more or less another Care Package  (2019), this time with different leaks and some new songs. This mixtape also features his chart-topping single, "Toosie Slide". He confirmed in an Instagram post that his forthcoming album will indeed be releasing this Summer. Car Seat Headrest - Making a Door Less Open (Album) Car Seat Headrest's new studio album is not a huge departure from their usual sound. The album sounds very similar to one of their older albums,  How to Leave Town (2014). While it does take strides into p...

So we've all probably seen 8 Mile, Straight Outta Compton, Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocket Man, and a select few other big blockbuster movies about the music we love. I wanted to share some films that you may have not seen that also relate to music. Due to the current ongoing pandemic in the world most of us have a lot of newfound free time on our hands. While listening to music is great, it's hard to really understand what led to its creation especially for older bands. The movies not only chronicle the life of rockstars and icons but also the harsh upbringing a lot of them had. People who weren't previously fans can become fans when they watch these films. And for those who were already fans, everybody loves when their favorite artist receives the big screen treatment. Nowhere Boy (2009), a film about the most famous person in the most famous band ever to exist should theoretically lead to a huge blockbuster film. But it didn't, the film had a very lowkey release and...

6ix9ine was certainly the biggest figure in music and social media in 2018. He was on top of the world and touring the world and his songs were dominating the charts. He was meeting every rapper he looked up to and was constantly making headlines. That all changed on November 18, 2018 when he, along with five others, was arrested on charges of racketeering and possession of fire arms. He cooperated with law enforcement, however, and was able to provide them with testimonies that lead to the incarceration of his accomplices. Because of this he was only sentenced to 2 years in prison and was released earlier this month early due to concerns over Coronavirus. Currently he's under house arrest and is unable to leave for any reason. Well, news has surfaced today that he has been allowed by  Judge Paul A. Engelmayer to go to his basement for no longer than 8 hours a day to use his home studio. He has also been allowed to go to his backyard for no more than 2 hours a week for t...

Many artists in early 2010, just before the streaming age, would release mixtapes or "free albums" that could be downloaded for free from the internet. Many of these mixtapes were never released on streaming services the many years later. However, there are a few mixtapes that have been since released on streaming services because of their legendary status such as Chance the Rapper's Acid Rap (2013), Drake's So Far Gone  (2009). These mixtapes weren't on streaming services because the samples in the mixtapes weren't approved to profit off of from the owner.  The late Mac Miller released his debut label mixtape,  K.I.D.S. ,  in 2010 to critical acclaim. This mixtape has long been in the running for his best project by many. In 2020, nearly 10 years after its release, the mixtape is coming to streaming services. Last year, on the mixtape's 9 year anniversary, Benjy Grinberg of Rostrum Records announced that it would be coming out on streaming services s...

Daft Punk, the electronic music duo, haven't dropped an album since Random Access Memories  (2013). Their last release was both a commercial smash hit and a critical success. "Get Lucky", one of the singles from the album was the song of the Summer for every Summer for a while. There were a number of songs from that album that were hits including "Instant Crush", "Lose Yourself to Dance" and "Doin' it Right". Many people including both fans and casual listeners have been waiting for more content from the duo. When you don't release a new album for 7 years, you tend to build up a lot of hype. And Daft Punk have certainly built up a lot of hype. The /r/DaftPunk subreddit has 67k subscribers and has been active for a number of years without new releases from the artist themselves. So what is the name of their forthcoming album you may be wondering. Well, they're no strangers to soundtracks. In 2010, they made the Tron soundt...

You may have seen this silver-bearded, hippie looking man hanging out with your favorite artist. The odds are likely due to his broad scope of genres. He has worked with everyone from Kanye West to the Beastie Boys to the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Slayer and many more artists. You may have even heard other fans say he's legendary and that if he's hanging out with an artist their next album is going to be amazing. You're probably wondering what's so special about this guy. Well, let's learn about legendary producer Rick Rubin. Rick Rubin is the co-founder along with Russel Simmons of one of the biggest record labels for the past 36 years, Def Jam Recordings. With artists such as Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Logic, and many more the record label is home to some of the biggest artists in the world. The record label is also credited with the popularization of hip-hop music with early acts including Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, and the Beastie Boys. Rick Rubin would produc...