Drake's Future Diamonds Are Looking Dull

Rapper, actor, singer, song writer? I barely know her!  Aubrey Drake Graham otherwise known as Drake is a Jack-of-all-trades and has, in the last 10 years, become one of the biggest hip-hop/rap/RnB artists in the recognizable history of rap.  Drake has the Midas touch when it comes to entertainment forms, and everyone is always waiting for his newest songs knowing that they will be major bangers.  If you're unfamiliar with Drake's work then you have probably been living in a cave with sound canceling earmuffs on and without access to any form of social media.  That being said you have probably heard of Drake's work and know about his new mixtape with up-and-comer Future.  Their mixtape was recorded in Atlanta and is titled What a Time To Be Alive.  What is most impressive about this 11-track mixtape is that it was recorded over the period of just six days.  They chose to release it to a very select group in the initial release - Drake's OVO sound show on Apple's Beats 1 radio and then allowing it to be exclusively downloaded and listened to on iTunes and Apple Music (Paraphrased from The Verge).   The album has had an immense amount of success since its release on September 20th, it debuted at number one of the US Billboard 200, and sold over 350,000 copies in its first week (Facts).   

While this album is very popular and combines two artists that are known to be leaders in the hip-hop/rap world, it doesn't quite deliver as well as I had hoped.  I was looking forward to having trouble switching away from the album for at least a few weeks, but I found myself leaving after just 30 seconds of each song.  None of the album's 11-tracks sucked me in like Drake's "Energy" and Future's "Turn on the lights" had in the past.  I was sitting and pondering how an album with two greats ended up being so normal and even, dare I say, boring.  Then it hit me!  The way that this mixtape was released and the fame of the artists added up to be the perfect outlet for an outrageously overrated album.  Songs like "30 for 30 freestyle" and "Diamonds Dancing" seem to be on the mixtape to showcase Drake's specialties, while most of the other songs are supposedly to allow Future to flex, but I think that it all ends up delivering relatively flat.  There are no moments in which I was drawn up or down into the song, so even if the lyrical content is there: the motivation to understand and truly listen is not.  I will definitely still be excited for anything that comes out from these two (separately) but as for this mixtape?  It's a flop in my eyes (and ears).

What A Time To Be Alive Album Artwork
What a Time To Be Alive Album Stream

Burnt out

Music in my life is as vital to me as the blood in my veins.  I listen to music in almost all scenarios in my life, regardless of current emotion- music always seems to have an answer.  This love of music has come from being constantly surrounded by music: whether it be the "golden oldies" and NPR Music, or hardcore rap it has always been around me.  That young love of music blossomed into a love for playing music as well.  I played trombone for seven years and now I have played guitar and banjo for about four years; music is one of my biggest passions.  After listening to so many beautiful songs over and over again they lose their meaning, and that is such an interesting facet of music to me.  I used to listen to a lot of music on the radio, and then on my iPod Shuffle, then it advanced to using Pandora, but now I have transitioned to a new form of social media: Spotify.  While Spotify is an amazing service and I do use it to its very utmost, I can see how it has changed my consumption of music and the length of time that I appreciate music.  I find myself constantly clicking the Spotify app on both my computer and my iPhone, even in scenarios where I think it would be faster or easier to work or be in silence, I still click it.  The level of music consumption that is occurring allows me to bounce from song to song and discover or share new music all the time, until I get sick of it.  Unfortunately the idiom "too much of a good thing can hurt" is very true and I am currently experiencing a burn out of one of my biggest passions.  I believe it is because of the introduction of this new Social Media form of Spotify.  I believe that after a break from constant listening I will enjoy using Spotify again because it is a great project.  I think it is an interesting point to note that social media has affected my life outside of its social use, and that even though I see the negatives in overuse of social media music- I still use it.  Spotify has cracked the code to my musical consciousness and it's scary yet beautiful.

Lord Dumpling

Facing and embracing obscurity is a phenomenon that is capturing the nation by storm.  Over the last few years this trend has been recognized and spoken on and is being recognized as more than just a trend but instead an actual movement (spoken of in the article from The Atlantic: Twee Revolution).  

This growing trend is indicated by the increasing popularity of films by Wes Anderson, of music by unknown shoe-gaze bands, and of hole-in-the-wall foodie paradises.  Everyone wants to be obscure: different and misunderstood just enough to be seen as their own person.  People are constantly branding themselves in different ways- especially with the amount of social media that we use in our daily lives- and people taking place in this new movement typically seek out the dark corners of the internet for facts, pictures, videos, or unknown anythings to share on their own sites.  This has led to more creative and obscure advertisements in any form of media, and doing new, "undiscovered" things has earned more popularity and acclaim than in the past.  As an example I will tell you a story from my own life:

A google search I recently executed led me down an interesting path of internet news and articles. After about thirty minutes of clicking from link to link I stumbled upon an article that inspired me to ask- Why?  That article was a Wikipedia page about North Dumpling Island- I clicked on it because I thought to myself: "Why is a territory located off the coast of Connecticut coming up in a Google search for obscurity?" After reading it, I began to investigate into the source of this micro-nation.  I began reading articles about the ruler of the "Kingdom of North Dumpling," an American entrepreneur and inventor from New Hampshire: Dean Kamen.  He is most famously known for his inventing of the Segway scooter.  Dean Kamen and his combination of silliness and intelligence has created an obscure being.  Personally I was interested and entertained by his embrace of obscurity in his founding of his Kingdom.  That caused me to seek out more micro-nations and eventually look into the rules and regulations of creating a micro-nation.  I am slowly embracing this new concept and seeking out the irregularities and hilarities of obscurity in my own lifestyle through the use of many forms of social media and digital media scrounging.

Pictured: (Top: Wes Anderson- Director of the Grand Budapest Hotel)

(Lower left: Dean Kamen)

Articles:

- Today Article about Dean Kamen

- Twee Revolution

- Wiki on North Dumpling Island

#KANYE2020

"Bro. Bro! Listen to the kids." is the bold beginning to Kanye West's acceptance "sermon" for his Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the MTV Video Music Awards last week.  Kanye "Yeezus" West has, since the beginning of his stardom in 2004, had a very unique approach to publicity.  Whenever he releases something new people are shocked by what he does but then proceed to love it.  He is on the forefront of rap, fashion, and culture in all that he does.  His albums have consistently broken new ground and brought interesting new trends to his constantly changing genre of hip-hop and rap.  From The College Dropout to his most recent studio album Yeezus Yeezy's music style has consistently evolved- no two albums are alike.  He samples from obscure sources, whether they be the newest underground artist, or an oldies classic.  After winning almost 100 awards from various sources including 21 Grammy awards, Kanye is without argument: an amazing musician.  

To end his VMA acceptance speech Kanye decided to shock America by saying "Yes, as you probably could have guessed by this moment, I have decided in 2020 to run for president."  Immediately after this statement #KANYE2020 began to blow up on twitter, which is scary because while Kanye may be a critically acclaimed musician and hip hop artist, and even though a few of his hit songs have a political stance that is implied or explicitly stated; is he really ready to be a full time politician? and even more, is he ready to be the POTUS?!  

My personal opinion is that he is a genius when it comes to creativity and creating groundbreaking content, and he is one of my favorite creatives (I would even venture to say he is my favorite).  When it comes to real issues I believe it takes a certain amount of background knowledge and experience, both of which Kanye is lacking.  

What about you? Does Kanye West have your vote in the 2020 election?  

Kanye West VMA Speech