By Niy Birden

There’s a certain magical occurrence that happens when soul and jazz is formed. Something almost more magical than R&B itself. And Leon Bridges certainly knows that.

It is safe to say that Leon Bridges won’t be abandoning the genres for a while-in fact at this point it almost seems as if he is set out to master it. Not only was his debut album a cornucopia of early R&B that shaped American music’s history, but his original compositions within it were written in such a way that would make one wonder if they were instead covers of actual songs done before his time.

It would be hard to say that he is in the top list of mainstream R&B artists right now, but only due to the fact that his sound is so authentically vintage that it doesn’t necessarily par up to the modern techniques of musicians on the charts currently. But he isn’t so far-off with his sound that he is an oddity or unworthy of the same praise. He’s simply in his own carefully-crafted lane. And this lane is becoming even more intriguing recently.

Leon first burst onto the scene with his nostalgia-infused debut Coming Home, which spanned a few hits such as “Lisa Sawyer”, the title track itself, and “River”, which was accompanied with a political and sentimental nod to religion. His noticeable adornment and affiliation with Motown-everything gave him a special place in the industry. Oddly enough, Leon- who was born Todd Michael “Leon” Bridges in Texas, was studying to be a dancer. But a chance with a friend in possession of a guitar and a few gigs created the triple-threat we have come to know.
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By Jorell Zapanta

For the first time since 2011, digital music downloads were outsold by physical sales by the end of 2017, according to a recently published report from The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

While the difference is relatively little in terms of percentage (physical sales were 17%, while digital downloads were 15% of the market share), that is still surprising, given the consumer market’s increasing propensity towards purchasing digital content in all forms of entertainment.

Video games, for example, have shown a trend in recent years towards a decrease in physical purchases and an increase in digital purchases. Here are the market share percentages for physical and digital copies of video game purchases from 2009 to 2016 according to Statista:
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By Jorell Zapanta

Weezer’s lead singer Rivers Cuomo has recently made his debut as a solo artist with a new solo track , “Medicine for Melancholy”. The new release is his first official single outside of the band and contains lyrics written in the hopeless-romantic style that much of the Weezer discography is known for.

“No reason for me to struggle/Just be there when I wake up/You’re my medicine for melancholy/Let me take you in,” Cuomo sings, portraying a depressed character whose unhappiness is alleviated by a newfound romance. Musically, the song carries a more relaxed, ethereal vibe compared to what is typical for Weezer.

While this is his official debut, Cuomo’s solo discography include his home demos and segregated material: Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo , Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo , Not Alone – Rivers Cuomo and Friends: Live at Fingerprints, and Alone III: The Pinkerton Years.

Listen to “Medicine for Melancholy” below:
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By Niy Birden

2018 is truly off to a great start in musical terms. Although the Grammys hit quite a sour spot with their very confusing awards ceremony this season, the results of intersectional feminism and the #TimesUp movement have nonetheless paved a way for female artists to have a more direct platform perfect for their voice. The Grammys were a testament to that.

Janelle Monae is no exception, but is without a doubt one of the rare artists with a genuine spirit. Her story though, is what is most fascinating for her reappearance in music:

If you are like most, Janelle Monae was first introduced to us with her massive single “Tightrope”, which uses musical elements made famous by James Brown, Little Richard and Chuck Berry to form a dance R&B sound as quite an oddity in the early 2000s. The song, using a dance move as a metaphor for one’s own doctrine, has since then become a staple of Monae’s and is what introduced many to the world as a funk-tip toeing signature song for the musical magician.

This was our introduction to Janelle’s altar ego and the center of the stage, Cindi Mayweather, a rogue android in a dystopian future who has been declared as an outlaw.

But if you are a mega-fan of Janelle’s, you’ll know very well that the introduction to this songstress was more like during active Outkast days, when her song was added on Big Boi’s Got Purp? compilation album, and soon after made two appearances on Outkast’s Idlewild album, which was actually a soundtrack to their film of the same name. Not long after, she released her first official solo album, which is a very rare copy of her earlier works.
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By Armando

Fresh off his Grammy win earlier this year, Childish Gambino is set to hit the road for his North American tour, Gambino announced on Twitter ahead of ticket presale on Tuesday.

The tour is in support of his third studio album from record label Glassnote Records, “Awaken, My Love.” The tour will kick off Sept. 6 in Atlanta and wraps up in Vancouver on Sept 30.

The Atlanta native’s recent hit “Redbone,” received three Grammy nominations including Record of the Year, and Best R&B Song, eventually winning Best Traditional R&B Performance. The song was prominently featured in Jordan Peele’s award winning blockbuster “Get Out.”

childish gambino 2018 tour. pre-sale tuesday. general onsale friday. https://t.co/O5xfZSWl2J

— donald (@donaldglover) March 5, 2018

“Childish Gambino” is the musical stage name of actor, writer, director, comedian Donald Glover, and has won a Golden Globe best actor award for FX’s comedy-drama tv series “Atlanta”. He is set to play Lando Calrissian in this summer’s Solo: A Star Wars Story movie.

Hip hop duo from Tupelo, Mississippi Rae Sremmurd will be Gambino’s opening act.

See the list of dates and venues below:

Sep 6 Atlanta, GA – Infinite Energy Arena
Sep 8 Chicago, IL – United Center
Sep 10 Toronto, Ontario – Air Canada Centre
Sep 12 Boston, MA – TD Garden
Sep 14 New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Sep 18 Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
Sep 19 Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
Sep 22 Houston, TX – Toyota Center
Sep 23 Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Sep 26 Inglewood, CA – The Forum
Sep 27 Oakland, CA – Oracle Arena
Sep 29 Seattle, WA – KeyArena
Sep 30 Vancouver, British Columbia – Rogers Arena

By Armando

Former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne is set to release a new album on March 9, titled ‘American Utopia’ due out through Todomundo / Nonesuch Records.

Featuring songs co-written with English musician Brian Eno and previously released collaborations with composer Oneohtrix Point Never (0PN) and British singer, songwriter and record producer Sampham, as well as songs with Jam City, the full album is available for streaming ahead of the release date via NPR Music’s First Listen series. Head over to npr.og website to listen to the album.

Recorded at various locations such as in Byrne’s own home studio, XL Studios, Oscilloscope, and London’s Livingston Studio 1, ‘American Utopia’ is Byrne’s first solo album in 14 years since 2004’s Grown Backwards. Byrne’s last album was “Love This Giant,” a collaborative effort with St. Vincent (Anne Erin “Annie” Clark) in 2012.

Byrne will head out on a world tour featuring Perfume Genius in support of the album. Perfume Genius’ gorgeous songs are filled with unexpected sounds and deeply personal — and his costumes would have made David Bowie jealous. I am looking forward to sharing the stage with Mike during some #AmericanUtopia dates this Spring!,” Byrne posted on his Twitter account.

Regarding the album title, Byrne stated: “The album title refers not to a specific utopia, but rather to our longing, frustration, aspirations, fears, and hopes regarding what could be possible, what else is possible. The description, the discontent and the desire — I have a feeling that is what these songs touch on.”

Byrne was the founding member of acclaimed ’80s band Talking Heads, which was one of the major acts that helped define the new wave music genre. He won an Academy Award, Golden Globe and Grammy Awards for scoring Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor (1987) with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su.

By Niy Birden

Kendrick Lamar is Killmonger. If he hasn’t made it clear before, the album he’s curated definitely puts it into a higher perspective now.

We’ve seen him state that he wanted to be a villain in Black Panther-and for quite obvious reasons. The film version of the Marvel comic book series has created a wave in the film industry with its Afro-futurist, Black diaspora atmosphere that has re-surged discussion of African Americans in cinema.

Released one month after Black Panther’s film debut at the Dolby Theatre, Kendrick Lamar’s curated album is an exploration into the world of Wakanda-or, at least, Killmonger’s world.

With song highlights such as “Paramedic” taking such a strong homage to the narrative of African Americans in urban settings, “Black Panther The Album: Music From and Inspired By” is a very dark, flow-heavy, gritty environment. The artistic, lyrical and even musical content does not do the whole film justice, for many reasons. While the film was heavy on female-empowerment and showing both sides of a common race to liberation for Wakandans, this album only featured 4 females and played on a very rebellious theme catering to the unapologetic Black Panther lover. The kind of fan who would probably agree with the main antagonist, Killmonger’s style of conflict. A bit of backstory:

In the film, Killmonger is a fellow Wakandan whose father is killed by the King T’Chaka because he tried to sell off their most valuable resource-a metal that has kept Wakanda an independent nation with advanced technology unlike any other. Killmonger’s father is betrayed by his aid who works for the King, and Killmonger is left in 1990’s California fatherless, and to experience a Black experience that is now well-documented in American history. He feels abandoned, but seemingly for the cause, and sets out to take over Wakanda, in order to use its resources to liberate fellow Africans all over the world, but mainly for sake of knowing that he was able to take the King’s son- T’Challa, who has now ascended the throne- and replace him.
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