Allegedly, last night was Music’s Biggest Night. The 61st Annual Grammy Awards were held in Los Angeles; decked out with explosive performances, surprisingly solid results, and tributes galore, the Grammys delivered a formidable telecast despite the lack of major superstars. THE AWARDS Kacey Musgraves’ gorgeous Golden Hour was awarded the top prize (Album of the Year), while Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” took home Song of the … Continue reading 2019 GRAMMYs Recap
When you think of a list of artists who could drop two albums in six months, the list mainly includes rappers. Future, Drake, NBA Youngboy, and… Ariana Grande? On her fifth full-length studio album, Grande reinvents the pop wheel by releasing the antithesis to her Grammy-nominated #1 summer album, Sweetener (review here). Following the culture-shifting “thank u, next” (read here); a gorgeous promotional single in … Continue reading Ariana Delivers a Dark Companion to ‘Sweetener’ with ‘thank u, next’
This year is going to be full of surprises. Every category in the General Field (Best New Artist; Album/Record/Song of the Year) has been expanded from five to eight nominees. In past years, we could rely on traditional voting patterns to make strong predictions. Now, this expansion of the field, coupled with the increased blurring of genre lines, makes accurate predictions infinitely harder. Still worth … Continue reading GRAMMYs Watch: Who’s Taking Home Album of the Year?
Best Rap Performance The nominees: “Be Careful” (Cardi B); “Nice for What” (Drake); “Bubblin’” (Anderson .Paak); “King’s Dead” (Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future, James Blake); “SICKO MODE” (Travis Scott, Drake, Swae Lee, Big Hawk) As much as I adore Anderson .Paak and his effervescent single, “Bubblin’,” I think it’s safe to say that he will not be taking home a Grammy in this category. With … Continue reading GRAMMYs Watch: Who’s Winning In the Rap Categories?
SURPRISE: Roma overperforms Netflix’s ROMA ties with The Favorite for the most nominations for a single film this year with 10 each. While ROMA was expected to score well in the below-the-line categories (Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Production Design, etc.), it also broke through in marquée categories. With nods for Best Picture, Original Screenplay, and Best Director, we are looking at history for foreign language films … Continue reading 2019 Oscars Reactions: 10 Snubs & Surprises
Now, before we get into some things, I do not speak for the entire Black community and this is simply my opinion. The way I understand cultural appropriation is as such: “A person (likely from a culture with higher socio-political capital) lifts elements of a culture that is not theirs and uses it for (usually monetary) gain. While they do this, they actively denounce the … Continue reading Here’s Why Ariana Grande’s “7 rings” Is Not Cultural Appropriation
On the follow up to her massive “thank u, next,” Ariana cuts the crooning and raps about retail therapy as a way to get over a breakup. Like “thank u,” “7 rings” is empowering. She flips the weight of her engagement ring in to friendship rings for “six of her bitches.” Ariana is delightfully cocky (“write my own checks like I write what I sing”) … Continue reading Ariana Grande Reaches New Heights with “7 rings”
