Hello music
lovers! Let’s take a moment to
acknowledge the interesting career of Robin Thicke. While most people refer Thicke to a copy of
Justin Timberlake they sometimes forget that longhaired hippy rocking out on a
bike in the 1999 “When I Get You Alone” video.
Robin Thicke’s career has since gone through multiple detours that led
him to his fifth album that includes the longest-running single on the top of
the Billboard Hot 100 chart this year.
The son of actor AlanThicke did not have much success after his breakthrough single until “TheEvolution of Robin Thicke” album released in 2006. That album captured the change in Thicke’s
appearance and music and went over well with audiences of a diverse
background. His record label took the
safe route of releasing two albums of similar sounds to the public; however,
records sales did match the success Robin Thicke’s 2006 album. Upon the release of Thicke’s recent album,
executives were not as supportive to his up-tempo beats. In a recent interview to Mesfin Fekadu of
APnews.com Thicke stated, “…I went into the record label and I played it for
the heads of the label, head of pop radio ... and everybody just went, 'Nice.
Nice.' Got no response; was kind of surprised by that.”
With the major
success of “Blurred Lines”, his lead single, Thicke has once again successfully
re-invented his sound to capture the attention of a younger audience.The purpose of his new album to have a “good
time” with his fans while delivering the same soulful vibes that people loved
in “The Evolution of Robin Thicke.”I
believe that Thicke is slowly returning to the sounds of his original album
with the loyal fans he has earned over recent years.Do not be surprised if his next album revisits
his funky roots with a mixture of his more popular style.
I found an interesting organization that I believe will be vital in the on-going growth of E Willz Music. Americans for the Arts is an organization that is taking action in maintaining opportunity in the arts for all those that have passion in it. As a musician myself, I will take advantage of their interesting blogs and information on trending topics within the industry to better myself in the art. Lets take a minute to check out what they are all about and their history.
Who Are They?
This video from their website best describes this organization's history and purpose.
As stated in their mission statement, Americans for the Arts' mission is to serve, advance, and lead the network of organization and individuals who cultivate, promote, sustain, and support arts in America.
This organization has many partnerships with active artists and politicians to who work hard to get art related topics recognized by the government. On their website you will find many statements explaining strategies taken to advance the arts throughout the country. You will also find tools of research and information on local trends and laws that are related to making jobs available. "Action Areas" as they call them, are strategies used in local areas to create more leaders and events that promote opportunity for art performance.
Americans for the Arts and E Willz Music
As our company begins to grow in the community E Willz Music will jump head on into membership with the Americans for the Arts organization. I believe that a partnership with this organization can better help us understand the state of art from a local and national level to better serve our future customers. Also, be sure to follow our Facebook and Twitter pages as we post updates on current events within the educational and performance industry that we discover on the Americans for the Arts blog site. For info on how to become a member yourself visit their site here.
Hello my fellow music lovers I am excited to share an innovative new genre that I have discovered recently. What if jazz and the live music of a DJ combined to create a totally incredible audio and visual show made with nothing more that two controllers, a mouthpiece, and an iPhone? If you told me this I wouldn't believe you and call you crazy but, my friends, the future of performance is now and it is here. Beatjazz is an evolutionary concept created by Onyx Ashanti who takes the phrase, "One man band," to new heights. So, what is it like to perform beatjazz and what does it have to do with the "Live the Music" movement? First, watch this video below and see what it is like!
So who is Onyx Ashanti?
Onyx Ashanti is a musician and sound engineer in his own right. Originally from Mississippi, Ashanti has traveled the world exploring the sounds of music and developing his new instrument. Prior to the creation of his beatjazz instrument, Onyx was proficient on electronic saxophone. Onyx has been through life changing challenges including the death of his mother in 2007. His beatjazz movement is an expression from the rhythms within his body to the laptop in which he records his music. For more information on Onyx Ashanti, check out his website.
How does this work?
The idea of beatjazz works in the concepts of sound design, live looping, and jazz improvisation. Two controllers, that are used with saxophone fingerings, work in harmony with a mouthpiece to capture hand, leg, and mouth movements to create sound. An iPhone is used almost as a mixing board to go between different instruments such as the bass and drums. Different lights signify that a different sound is being played and/or looped. All of these elements come together to create something truly magical for all those that are experiencing a beatjazz performance.
So what does this have to do with "Living the Music?"
This new art form signifies what it means to "Live the Music." Living life through the expressions of music and connecting with people along the way. Beatjazz is literally a manifestation of the emotional and rhythmical melodies from the body. Onyx Ashanti has truly found a way to both resurrect the popularity of the jazz genre while creating a new dimension for current DJs to explore. Although there aren't many that are ready to tackle this type of talent in the industry, the future is definitely within sites as Onyx Ashanti makes his best efforts to expand his knowledge and skills of the genre to vast audiences around the world. A great personal influence to myself as a musician, I look forward to seeing where Onyx Ashanti ends up next as well the development of beatjazz.
There has been many losses in the industry over the past few weeks as well as the four year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death. One artist that has caught the eyes of many of her followers is Marsha Ambrosius. Yesterday Ambrosius posted a very emotionally charged tribute song called "Sky" on her YouTube channel.
Check out the video here:
Marsha Ambrosius was deeply affected by the losses of her Aunt, Philly rapper Jimme Wallstreet, and Louisiana rapper Lil Snupe. Marsha claimed to have heard the composition of the song in a dream and immediately went to her piano and put her thoughts onto paper. The video was put together using a few clips and photos taken from her iPhone during one of her most recent flights. The song has only been on the web for less than 24 hours and is already getting a lot of buzz from her fans via Twitter and Facebook. The deep emotions that projects to the listener leaves chills in the spine and demands attention from music critics.
Both Jimme Wallstreet and Lil Snupe were young up and coming rappers from opposite sides of the country who met their end to a bullet in the past week. Lil Snupe was signed on as a Meek Mill rapper when he was fatally shot twice over a video game. Wallstreet left a tribute on his Instagram to senseless murder of Lil Snupe that same morning. Later that evening, Wallstreet was shot on the steps of his mother's house. Wallstreet was also an affiliate of rapper Meek Mill. For more information on the murders click here.
Welcome back to E Willz Music folks! The past few weeks I have been busy putting in some time towards the album and it is going to be a great blend of jazz and a variety of genres! Yesterday I had the opportunity to travel with a fellow musician and listen to both new albums from Kanye West and J. Cole. First of all, I must say that I have respect for both artists and what they are bringing to the music industry. However, Kanye has definitely failed to live up to the hype in my opinion so I will give my endorsement to J. Cole's "Born Sinner."
Marketing Situation
As a music critic and aspiring businessman I could not help but take notice to the advertising strategies of both parties in the dates leading to their releases. J. Cole's label took the safe route in marketing his album the old fashion way with pushing lead tracks and participating in many interviews. I will give J. Cole's team a lot of respect for doing something different by charging fans 1 dollar for tickets to his current tour for the album.
Kanye, on the other hand, relied solely on his reputation and popularity to promote his album without pushing any tracks to his audience nor talking much about the project's purpose. Although I do believe that Kanye has already set his legacy in the industry I do not agree with the route that he took. If you are using controversy and building up a tremendous hype for your album you better be completely sure that your music will bring it! Unfortunately for Kanye, he is surrounded by so many people stroking his ego that he may not be aware of the risk he takes.
Yeezus vs Sinner
The purpose of Mr. West's "Yeezus" was to send a bold message that would have everyone talking for sometime. Kanye has always been known for great hooks accompanied by banging compositions (and I chose the word "composition" for a reason) but this album just seems like he got all of his track ideas from a mediocre beat maker and mixed and mastered it with techno beats. It was hard on my ears to listen to but, then again, that was the point of the album.
I may be sounding a bit like a "hater" towards my man Kanye but after listening to just the first song of "Born Sinner" I was sold! The album was very well orchestrated and thought out and as I skimmed through the tracks I found it easy to follow the story that J. Cole was selling. Good flows and good music will cause me to give J. Cole the "W" for Tuesday's battle of the albums.
So, to conclude, I believe that "Yeezus" is a little overrated and should be reviewed again by real musicians and competent industry personal. Am I the only one that feels this way? I urge you all to go out and listen to both albums and see for yourself and don't forget to find your way back here to leave a comment!
Lately, does it
feel that almost every song on the airways is filled with hungry artist
collaborating on it? These pop stars practice this marketing technique to
further the popularity of their name and brand.
What ever happened to talented musicians getting together to create
great music just for the hell of it? Today’s
topic will be about an awesome news article I came across a few weeks ago
concerning the near formation of a supergroup concerning Miles Davis, JimiHendrix, and Paul McCartney.
What is a Supergroup?
A supergroup is a
band or combo containing artists that have already established their own mark
or fame in the music industry. Many
supergroups have formed in the past 60 years but rarely stick around for too
long. Some of these groups include
Chickenfoot (1/2 Van Halen, Joe Satriani, and Chad Smith), The Firm (AZ, FoxyBrown, and Nas), and TGT (Tyrese, Ginuwine, and Tank). Most, if not all, of these great talents most
likely decided to join forces after the historic talks of the
Davis/Hendrix/McCartney super group.
Imagine That
It is difficult
for one to imagine the unlimited impact that those artists would have instilled
on pop culture if they were to make an album.
Each of these artists brought their own following of millions of
fans. Davis, at the time, was a very influential
jazz trumpeter who completely revolutionized the way folks listened to the
genre. Hendrix was at the height of his
career and challenged the way guitarist performed various genres of rock. Paul McCartney just so happened to be apart
of a legendary band that had completely taken American pop culture by
storm. I would go as far to say that,
with the creative minds of those three musicians, the landscape of music would
be on a totally different level today.
The Reality
Unfortunately,
this moment will forever remain an urban legend in pop culture and a “what if” to
music analyst everywhere. Perhaps if
Miles Davis were to reach out to Jimi Hendrix he could have saved him from his
demons for Davis was a recovering addict.
For more information on past super groups throughout the industry visit
some of these sites where you can find out some interesting facts and see if
your favorite performer was ever apart of a super group.
Good evening music heads! The past few days gave me some time to reflect on feelings felt from the Frank Ocean performance. As I began to think that maybe I was critiquing Mr. Ocean's talent too harshly my doubts quickly evaporated once I heard him open his mouth for the first time. Today, lets look at something that we all fail to accept as consumers and future businessmen in the art. Why do talented artists think it is okay to explore grounds with their limited gift? As managers why do we believe it will be profitable to force these artists down the throat of their audiences? Why do impressionable fans allow and even encourage this behavior? Furthermore, if it is okay for consumers to allow it, why do other musicians let their peers get away with the act? Lets get down to business, shall we?
Understand One Thing
This blog is not about artists that are relevant without having any sort of talent. My problem is with managers and producers that allow talented individuals to get away with performing music that are not suited for them. Many of today's superstars are famous for creating beautiful music but, in my eyes I believe their songs are tainted by the lack of talent needed to deliver them. Most of these stars start out as songwriters for other artist but, at some point they believe they should try to perform their own music. A few artists such as Ne-Yo, Smoky Robinson, and R. Kelly have made successful careers from both writing and performing their own songs. On the other hand, The Dream, Frank Ocean, Drake, and T-Pain have made a mockery of the art by using technology to make them into incredible singers. What is wrong with this picture? Did you know that you can earn more money as the songwriter/owner of a song? Is it necessary to give into greed while setting music culture back? I will not stop at just the songwriters, we need to acknowledge the other singing frauds as well. There have been few singers in the history of the business that could both dance and sing. The likes of Michael Jackson, James Brown, Beyonce, and Chris Brown are, what I call, entertainers. These artist spend their whole lives learning how to do it all including singing, dancing, rapping, and whatever they need to excite their crowd. However, there are some greatly talented dancers that should never have grabbed the mic as well. These performers include Madonna, Ciara, and J-Lo among others. As much as we would like to see them shake their asses on camera I would prefer never to hear them sing a tone on stage.
Why Managers, Why?
You have to ask yourselves the same question every time you hear a horrible live performance, "Who let them get away with that?!" The answer to that would be their managers and higher levels of creative power. Sometimes a great songwriter may have all the credentials to be a star; great lyrics, looks, and stamina. Unfortunately, these artists don't acquire the performing talent to get their music anywhere. Since no manager wants to repeat the Milli Vanilli catastrophe, many are going with the easier route of relying on auto-tone. The wonders of auto-tone will make you a beloved star and the most hated among other musicians. If you don't believe that managers will do anything to keep fans buying lets remember what happened after the east coast/west coast tragedy. Before Biggie was murdered, his manager Diddy (Puff Daddy at the time) was seen in all of his videos and heard on all of his records. After the loss of Diddy's most prized artist, he was forced to take the spotlight to keep his label a float. Diddy did everything from singing, dancing, and rapping (none of which he was good at) to entertain the crowds. The successful career of Diddy was supported by many fans and unfortunately lead to other aspiring artists to follow in his footsteps.
Why They Get Away With It
Why do these talented, yet confused, artists get away with such a mockery of the arts? The answer to that question is you and I my friends. The music industry is much like any other business and operates on supply and demand. As customers we want good music and beats to dance to all night long and music executives will do what is needed to supply our demand. Although there are music heads like you and I who find this practice a joke, we are outnumbered by incompetent listeners who only care about bumping and grinding. Can we stop and avoid these kind of performers from taking over our radio and televisions? Of course we can but it is highly unlikely that this simple generation will request a higher quality of music right now. In the meantime, let us continue to support our favorite artists who are using their talent the correct way. Also, let us teach our younger generation the differences in all types of music and how to identify bad music. We have to hold these record labels accountable and prevent more performances like Frank Ocean's.
