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A very slow week for R&B/pop music this week (those new Chris Brown/Rihanna collaborations don’t count as music), and as a result it’s a pretty short, and stream-heavy, episode this week.
I’ve made this statement before, but R&B really is in a bad spot at the minute, with a serious lack of both quantity and quality as many of its stars are either inactive or pursuing pop careers. It’s a sad state of affairs, but I retain hope that the likes of The-Dream will be back soon to restore the natural order.
Click below for this week’s relatively diverse edition.
→ Continue Reading R&B Fridays: Episode 139
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These Game Changer videos are seriously becoming music highlights of my week. The last two episodes were extremely captivating, and both offered insights into different aspects of each artist’s personalities.
This week’s delves into self-esteem, misconceptions of success/confidence, and even more. It ends on a very inspirational note too, and surely offers a lot of hope to artists who are coming up right now through many of the same struggles these shining lights have faced.
Sadly, this seems to be the last ‘episode’ of this particular series, but hopefully we’ll get another roundtable with some different artists soon, as this was a genuinely enlightening mini-series that probably got more good PR for Atlantic than anything else they’ve ever done!
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I really enjoyed part 1 of the Game Changers series, offering us an insight into the minds and motivations of four globally successful, and critically-acclaimed artists. Definitely worth a watch.
Part 2 continues in the same vein, offering a further look into the ways in which they feel they’ve changed the ‘game’, with each artist giving very different accounts: from Estelle’s more descriptive process to B.o.B philosophical musings, this roundtable discussion is a very refreshing watch that really fleshes out the ‘characters’ we see on TV or hear on iTunes. Another good video, and hopefully there are more of these to come!
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3 of the most diverse and talented acts around the music scene at this moment in time (2 of whom feature in this video) combine to give us a truly sensational performance.
First off, we have B.o.B combing with both Janelle (backing vocals) and Bruno (keyboard) to give an enchanting rendition of Nothin’ On You. Bobby Ray then jumps onto the keyboard as Mars, whose vocals are once again utterly superb, breaks out into an amazing 50′s inspired performance of Grenade (grab the latest remix here). We then get treated to Janelle Monáe singing her brilliant single, Cold War, as B.o.B gets on the guitar and Bruno smashes it on the drums.
Somehow, both Bobby Ray and Janelle Monáe managed to walk away from the Grammys with nothing, though Bruno Mars managed to pick up the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance award. Props to Ajay for spotting Bruno’s talent way back in November ’09
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Atlantic Records present a very interesting roundtable discussion series, kicking with four of their most prominent artists. I’ve definitely got appreciation for all of them too (albeit to varying degrees), and it’s a fantastic insight into the motivations, artistic directions and individuality of each of the artists.
It’s so rare to find such detailed, honest discussion, and it certainly results in an eye-opening look at the power of the industry, the drive it takes to follow your own directions and a whole lot more. In particular, Janelle Monae comes across incredibly well, articulating her studied and measured approach superbly and really embellishing her artistic integrity.
Normally I don’t have the patience for these long videos, but I can’t recommend this one enough. You’ll definitely be left wanting part 2!
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The footage is from a recent concert, and whilst it seems quite far away, the audio quality is surprisingly good. Janelle’s clearly got the respect of some of the biggest names in the music world right now (rightfully so), and collaborations like this will hopefully become commonplace.
It’s a fantastic duet, and I’d love for a studio version to be released at some point, as there voices work brilliantly with one another. This video has certainly solidified my love for Janelle’s voice, particularly between 3:30 and 4:00: a great performance of a classic song!
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It’s been a hectic few days for me, and unfortunately some great music got put on the backburner as a result. My apologies for holding this stuff from you, but you know how we do it around here: we don’t post the stuff until we’re ready to do it justice!
First up is a fantastic little track from the brilliant Janelle Monae, who brings her modern soul sounds to Max Frost and The Troopers’ 1968 single. It retains a vintage sensibility in its jazzy production, but is embellished appropriately by Monae’s energetic and memorable vocals. I just wish it was longer!
Janelle Monae-Shape of Things to Come
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Looking forward to watching this one. This is from her incredible album, The ArchAndroid, and was actually the first release way back in February if I recall correctly.
Still really like this fantastic uptempo joint, and it’s definitely something that will fit right onto anyone’s summer playlist. Full of bouncy goodness!
Audio is here.
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Real nice remix to a track dropped by Ajay a while back . It’s a bouncy, funky, head nodding affair – happy music if you will, which is much welcomed considering how depressingly slow it’s been today (as well as yesterday) for new music! Stupid sexy July 4th American holiday.
Janelle Monae – Tightrope [Organized Noize Remix] ft. Big Boi
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Ajay brought you this official remix a month ago (click here to get hold of the track) and now we have the visuals. Always great to see B.o.B and Lupe Fiasco, even better to see them on the same track and video!
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Janelle Monae grabs two of hip-hop’s finest for a complete remix of her awesome track Tightrope. The original was energetic and bouncy, and the remix retools the beat into a much more hip-hop oriented style. Nice to see someone doing a proper remix for a change, in terms of adjusting the production as well as adding guest spots.
A very solid remix from top to bottom: nice work on the production, new Lupe and B.o.B verses, and most importantly those ever-harmonic vocals from the inimitable Janelle Monae.
Janelle Monae-Tightrope Wondamix ft. B.o.B and Lupe Fiasco
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Looks pretty good! Eminem and Hayley Williams on the same track!? Many more good features too, and a couple of tracks that B.o.B fans will already be familiar with. Click on to have a look at the rest of the tracklist.
→ Continue Reading B.o.B-The Adventures of Bobby Ray Tracklist
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I got quite lucky with this week’s episode. I’d hoped to throw in a couple of older tracks that I revisited/reloved this week, and thankfully there hasn’t been a huge glut of material released this week to overshadow that. Don’t panic: Naturally, there is still a load of new stuff. I usually try to sneak in some older tracks when I can (dedicated followers will attest to this), I’m just extra keen this week.
New stuff from Jason Derulo, Usher and more after the click. Before you do though, be sure to check out The-Dream’s newest track which was dropped yesterday.
→ Continue Reading R&B Fridays: Episode 36
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Quite the range of acts once again, both in terms of popularity and age, with the boy Justin Bieber making an appearance as well as veterans Jagged Edge. Not too much range in the quality though: it’s predominantly good stuff as I’ve taken time to root out (most of) the poor stuff. Any crap stuff is just there to make the rest look better.
I’ve been listening to a lot of R&B this week, so click on to sort yourself out for the coming week.
→ Continue Reading R&B Fridays: Episode 35
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