Before LA got the Rams back, they have had hip-hop artists continue to represent their county through their music, sticking together like a team that lives to make sure their city never gets forgotten about. One of the artists that has done his part to put on for his team in ScHoolboy Q, 29 year-old hip-hop artist out of South Central who is signed to Top Dawg Entertainment a subset of Interscope Records. His most recent release is his second major label album, and he is beginning to prove that he has the ability to do it on his own using his own unique sound that we're not accustomed to hearing from LA hip-hop artists. ScHoolboy Q - Blank Face LP Released July 8, 2016 The first time I heard of ScHoolboy Q was in 2011, when he released a song featuring A$AP Rocky called "Hands on the Wheel" that samples the legend Kid Cudi's classic hit "Pursuit of Happiness" When I heard it, I was intrigued because the lyrics sounded like something out of a party song, referring to smoking weed and drinking and women. But the beat was deeper than that, sounding like something out of a horror movie, with samples of sounds of deep voices and screaming and screeching cars. Then you watch the video and you see a guy with tattoos on his face, one being a cursive Q and the other a music note, so you can visually see that this guy is serious about his career and representing who he is. So just from that video, I instantly became hooked to his fresh sound. This being his second major label album, many look at an artists' sophomore work as the most important because it gives the audience a chance to see if they are capable of continuing to grow on their rookie success or if they are just a flash in the pan. After listening to this album a few times through, I can say that I believe he is going to be here for a long while. He lets his roots of South Central be heard and felt in his music and seen with the visuals in his videos. His lyrics talk about committing crimes, gang affiliation, and probably the most heartfelt lyrics are when he talks about his daughter. He holds nothing back, admitting that he has been associated with a gang called 52 Hoover Gangster Crips since the age of 12. Letting his sins be heard through his music, he calls himself out on everything from his past to his present. In songs such as "Tookie Knows" he says "We might die for this shit nigga, might go down for this shit nigga. Gang banging this crip shit, we might die for this shit nigga." Holding nothing back, he lets it known exactly who he is and what raised him. Gangs have historically throughout our nation been looked at as a negative thing, and for the majority of what they represent is negative. But lately my eyes have opened to a lot, and I have realized that our country has been built by gangs, including by the government. We have political parties that defend each other against others, we have military that protects our land, and we have police that protects the government and the extremely outdated Constitution and occasionally protects the citizens of this country. So for kids growing up in environments where they are taught to defend their family, goods, and soil; gangs are often one of the only options they see fit. I'm not going to sit here and say that gangs are a good thing, but when people are put into adverse situations, there aren't always a lot of options. For him to be able to use his gang association in his music, to connect to people who are out there doing what he did in the past, I believe is a good thing. There will never be a solution to gangs because the police and government are fighting street gangs with their gangs so it will continue to go back and forth. But if there is a way for people like ScHoolboy Q to use their platform to show the struggles they've gone through to prove that being yourself is always important, then maybe one day more gangs will come together as one. But until then, the music will keep playing, and the people of the "United" States of America will keep judging people like ScHoolboy Q and where they've come from. "Lets put out brains away from gangs. Crips and Bloods the old and new slaves. . . But I'm gonna freedom write, Lets put the flags down and raise our kids, Lets put the guns down and blaze a spliff. . . Real shit, All Lives Matter, both sides." - Black Thoughts If you don't like hearing about gang violence, drug dealing, and overcoming adversity then this probably isn't for you. But if you like an underdog story, then lend Q an ear.
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Back again with #MusicMondays but this time I got something new for y'all. A young hip-hop artist from Maryland who's motto is "Peace, Love & Positivity" just dropped a new mixtape for the summer. I've been listening to this dude for about a couple years now and his continuous improvement both lyrically and production wise is making him one of the more respected people, not "rapper," in the industry right now. And his motto is all too relevant for where we are at in America right now. Logic - Bobby Tarantino Released July 1, 2016 Logic, or Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, was born and raised in Maryland. His father is an African-American and his mother is Caucasian, a representation of the integration of our nation. He grew up in low-income housing, living on food stamps and Section 8, while his parents battled cocaine addiction and alcoholism. His brothers began to sell drugs in the streets of Maryland, and he was expelled from high school at the age of 16, so he wasn't exactly put in an ideal situation to be successful. But he persevered and began a music career in 2009, and has since dropped five mixtapes, and two studio recorded albums through Def Jam. His newest release talks about his success he has had and how he has handled it, and he tells his doubters why he deserves to be where he is, being a bit less humble than his fans are used too. He begins the mixtape off with a strong message on "Flexicution" letting himself go and accepting the hate that he has been given since his career has taken off over the past couple years. His last album "The Incredible True Story" debuted at #3 and sold 135,000 copies in its first week, so he says "Check the last album, man y'all know I run it . . . Check the Forbes list, you know I'm ballin now." He follows this up with "The Jam" which talks about how he still doesn't let the fame effect him, and he is just going to continue to use platform to the best of his ability, he's states "Still me and my homies screaming Fuck The Fame . . . I don't do it for the money though, shoutout to Kid Cudi though, thats the homie you already know." When you shoutout Cudi on a track, I will automatically respect you as a person. Another great track is "Slave" where he talks about what drives him to keep pushing forward, and why he does what he does. This is definitely my favorite song lyrically from the mixtape, with lines such as "Tell me what you know about 40 days and 40 nights with no lights. Did it all for this. Tell me what you know about sleeping outside, No ride in the winter time. Did it all for this." Truly a message to people who came from absolutely nothing to become something, anything they dream of. I recently saw him in concert, and it made me respect him as a true artist and a person who wants to use their platform for the good of the people and the hip-hop community. He doesn't rap about killing people and he doesn't rap about how many women he has, so if thats what you want from a rapper then he's not for you, and thats cool. I don't expect everyone to like his music, but I do want people to know that this guy truly made it from nothing. Living in the streets, just trying to figure out life and he found a way out with music. And if you can get anything from this guy, even if its not music, it would be: Don't give up on your dreams, people will hate on you without even knowing you and Logic is a real representation of that. Here's an awesome video of Logic freestyling while also solving a Rubik's Cube. Shoutout to my cousin CJ. I'm sorry that I've been slacking on #MusicMondays But I have something for you guys to listen to again. I was introduced to this collective about 5 or 6 months ago by my girlfriend, who is always sharing some great alternative style music that I am not accustomed to listening to. Ever since she told me to watch their video for "The Less I Know the Better" I have not been able to stop listening to their most recent album. Tame Impala - Currents Released July 17, 2015 As a pretty big fan of the Beatles, I have always gravitated towards psychedelic sounds because of the way they hit you. Most music you can hear, but sometimes you can feel the music through sonic waves that are often times indescribable. Think of the last time you were at the beach and you were looking out at the water. You can see and hear the waves crashing, but that moment when it crashes into you and you feel it completely overpower your body . . . thats what this album feels like. Tame Impala is an Australian music collective that is centered around musician Kevin Parker, who has been creating music since around 2008. Currents is their third studio album which was preceded by Innerspeaker (2010) and Lonerism (2012). They have won multiple awards from shows all around the world for the work on all of their albums, finding the most success with their last two. They are considered an alternative rock group, but if you listen to them you'll understand they're much more than that. This album has sounds and lyrics that just can't be put into a box. There has been five singles that have come this album alone . . . so far. The first one was "Let it Happen" which also happens to be the first song on the album. In an interview with New Musical Express, Kevin puts the meaning of the song into his own words "It's about chaos - the whirlwinds of life that have always seemed too intense for you." He encourages the listener to simply "let it happen" instead of trying to block out whatever it is. The second single that was released was "Cause I'm a Man," about which he has stated that he recorded 1,057 partial vocal takes for. The video symbolizes him defending himself for simply being a man, as in a human who makes mistakes and has succumbed to the pressures of society. The final single that was released was "The Less I Know the Better," a song that could be more easily considered funk than rock. The song talks about a man who is in love with a woman who is already in a relationship with someone else, but we can see that deep down the feeling is mutual between them with the lyrics "She said 'Its not Now or Never, wait ten years we'll be together.' I said 'Better late than never, just don't make me wait forever...'" Although this album was made halfway around the world, on the largest island on Earth, anyone can relate to at least a couple songs on here. And even if you can't relate to the lyrics, you can still feel the music. So heres a link to the entire album on a YouTube playlist, but you can also listen on iTunes, Spotify, or Soundcloud. So sit back and imagine you're at the beach, and let the musical sounds hit you like an ice cold wave from Australia. So I recently decided to do #MusicMondays from here on out. It won't just be new music, it will be from all eras and all genres. Whatever I feel like you guys need to listen to, it will pop up here. And if you have good music for me to listen to, please comment with some suggestions! Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon: The End of Day Released September 15, 2009 I remember logging into a hip hop blog site that I used to go onto all the time, and seeing Kid Cudi's video for "Day 'N' Nite" and instantly becoming fully engulfed in the instrumentation of the music and how it went perfectly with the poetic flow and stylings of the young artist. I was a junior in high school, so I was in a perfect position in life at the time that allowed me to listen to Cudi's story and find a connection to me and my life. Sure I wasn't smoking any marijuana yet (which the song makes plenty of references too) but I was a young kid who was trying to figure out his true self, and Cudi helped me find that with "Day 'N' Nite" That first single that he released drew me in, so I was eager to hear what else he had. I listened to a mixtape he released before this album called A Kid Named Cudi which only built the anticipation for the release date. When I finally got it, I never stopped listening. This album is practically the Bible that raised me and got me through a lot of adversity in my life. He tells a story about himself, and individual who was put up against the odds, and had battles within himself to get to his success. He relates to the listener, and the world by showing his true feelings, and explaining his trials and tribulations through music. This was his canvas and he was going to paint it with his soul. The album is broken down into 5 "Acts." Similar to a play or a movie with how it has different scenes, or how a book has different chapters. Cudi was not only going to make music, he was proving that he was going to make art. In Act I: The End of Day he has a song called "Soundtrack 2 My Life" where he shares some of his life's most troubled moments when he says "I'm super paranoid, like a Sixth Sense. Since my father died, I ain't been right since." In Act II: Rise of the Night Terrors he gets even darker, digging even deeper into his soul on "Solo Dolo (Nightmare)" which sounds like the part in a scary movie where the killer is creeping up behind you. He says "Listen good, I don't need nobody. This is what you feel, all the sounds of insanity." In Act III: Taking a Trip he starts to see that these adversities he has been through are beginning to shape him into a stronger person. From the song that was originally supposed to be the theme song for the first Transformers movie with Shia Lebouf, "Sky Might Fall," he says "The sky might fall, but I'm not worried at all . . ." In Act IV: Stuck he begins to realize his purpose in life and why he was given the talent to be an artist. On the song that is good for any moment in your life "Pursuit of Happiness" he says "I'm on the Pursuit of Happiness and I know everything that shine ain't always gonna be Gold. But I'll be fine once I get it, I'll be good." He ends with Act V: A New Beginning where he learns to use marijuana as a way to help himself break free from his inner demons that have been haunting him throughout his life. The final song "Up, Up, & Away" allows the listener to end on a positive note when he states "I learn, I see the dreams are made, so I'm cooler now. I could take care of my mom and my lil niece Zuri." This album is a message to anyone out there who thinks they are alone in this world. To anyone who wonders when bad things will ever stop happening to them. To anyone who has ever felt like the world came crashing down on their life and thought they would never make it. Kid Cudi is here to tell you that dreams do come true. If you continue to punch that glass ceiling enough times, you will eventually break it. So don't ever give up, because you never know if you were only one swing away from happiness. Keep fighting. Here is a video of the greatest song ever made in the history of the Milky Way Galaxy. And Cudi, if you ever read this, I love you. Like seriously dude, I effin love you man. Thank you for guiding me through life through your music. If you haven't caught on to Damian Lillard by now then you might be asleep. But thats ok, because he is here to wake you up. This kid from Oakland *(Who wasn't highly recruited out of high school. Who stayed all four years of college so that he could get his degree. Who was drafted 6th overall in the 2012 draft. Who wasn't selected to be on the Olympic team. Who has never been selected to an All-Star game by the fans. Who lost all four of his starters last offseason. AND STILL has his team in the playoffs looking to move forward to the second round.)* still doesn't have the respect that he deserves, and he is totally fine with it. He feeds off of the fact that people write him off or doubt him, because he has been treated that way his entire life. Where he came from and how he grew up shaped him into the man that he is. And even more than a great basketball player, he is a great person. He has given back to the community not only in his home town of Oakland, but also in his new city of Portland. He wears the #0 to represent his journey through life and the places he has been by putting the 'O' on his jersey for Oakland, Ogden, and now Oregon. I could go on and on about his journey, but I want to introduce you guys to Damian Lillard the rapper aka Dame Dolla. He is not your typical basketball player/rapper that you would expect. His lyrics are about his real life, basketball, politics, and striving for peace on Earth. In his song "Bigger Than Us" he says "We need a change, better attitudes. To open up lanes, better avenues. We need rise up instead of latitude, lets think about the kids that gonna be bred after you." His lyrics are extremely inspirational for anybody who has ever felt any kind of adversity in life. He is proof that you can make your dreams come true with enough hard work and dedication. I just wanted to share this motivational and powerful video with you guys, and encourage you to really listen to the lyrics and understand that every single one of us can make a difference. Love is more powerful than Hate. Northern California is creating champions. The San Francisco Giants are in the middle of a (even year) dynasty, the Golden State Warriors are trying to make history, the Oakland Raiders are building something special, and local Bay Area artist Jay Ant is growing his Believers Circle. With his recent release of White Rabbit, he is showcasing his smooth talking personality over some beats made by some of the Bay Area's best young producers. Some familiar names you might know produced some of the coldest tracks on this EP. iamsu brings the party sound on "Louder" featuring himself and Kool John. P-Lo brings that 90's cruising down the street on a breezy spring Bay Area day sound on the song of 2016 "Let Me Ball." And Jay Ant himself gets behind the boards on just about every song on here, showing his versatility as an artist. He opens his vocals to the listener on "Let Me Ball." Making himself relatable by talking about a previous relationship he had that may not have went the way he wished. Spitting heartfelt lyrics when he says "I swear it ain't the same, I miss my ol' girl." He follows that up with some lyrics that are relatable to anyone from Northern California who has that loud pack on "Heem" with "Weed strong, very macho. Got pack, BIG pack like Costco." The Bay Area party anthem on this one is "Louder" featuring the Shmop Boyz founder Kool John and HBK's ring leader iamsu. Jay Ant proves he belongs in the game by showing he can stand out on a track with a couple of guys who have a huge following of their own.
If you are someone who celebrates artists who bring a personality to the table, then White Rabbit is something you need to set aside time for and listen to. Northern California is the land of creators and game-changers. Stephen Curry is trying to keep the NBA Finals trophy in the Bay Area, and Jay Ant is creating the sound of a champion that represents his turf. You can check out his album on SoundCloud ***UPDATE*** Jay Ant officially approves this message Welcome all! Friends, family, and internet. My name is Anthony Vallesteros and this is my official blog page. Follow me on my journey to my dreams. I'm calling this The IrrelAVant Blog for a few reasons. For those who have known me on social media in the past, you will know why the word irrelevant is spelled wrong. I have always felt like every one person in this world is so small in comparison to the grand scheme of things. So even if we're the greatest person to ever exist, we are still irrelevant to billions of people on this earth. And everything that we care about is not always relevant to everyone else in this world. So this blog, while it may be important to me and the people reading, it is all a bunch of irrelevance. And while this blog may not be what you're used to, I guarantee it will always be interesting. So welcome to the inside of my mind, and help me get my visions out to the world.
-AV |
Anthony VallesterosJust a man trying to make the most of his time on this planet. Categories
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