[Album Review] Ariana Grande - Yours Truly

When actors, especially those that have come out of the Disney or Nickelodeon camp, come out with albums, this is often a universal eye roll.  Consumers often don't like multi-taskers, and usually when they come out of these mega house kid camps, its often just seen as a larger marketing tool from the brand rather than a project from an actual artists.  However, having this mindset can often get in the way of hearing good music, which is the case with artist Ariana Grande.  Her debut album shows that maybe you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, or in this case, shouldn't judge an artist by their IMDb profile.


Ariana Grande has already brought on along comparison with Mariah Carey spanning her entire career, with the power ballads in the beginning of her career and the R&B/Hip Hop trend that started with Mariah Carey's Butterfly.  She also reminds me of R&B/Pop artist JoJo.  However, despite the comparisons, Grande is creating her own niche and path with this album.  It is a mix of 50s 60s doowop, pop, R&B, and hip hop.  She even has a cabaret feel with "Daydreamin'."

Producer and writer Babyface's footprint in evident in the album with all of these different sound mixes.  However, with Grande co-writing many of the songs, you can see she had control of her sound and music.  The best songs are the songs that features other artists, such as Big Sean, Mac Miller, Mika, or Nathan Sykes.  Her chemistry with these other artists is evident and make the songs even more exciting.

In a sea of artists, not just actors, who are auto-tuned and are just the voice on dance tracks, Ariana Grande Broadway trained voice shines through.  With all her personally touches, she shows that she is genuinely yours truly.

[Album Review] Big Sean - Hall of Fame

I was very excited for Big Sean's new album.  I'm from Detroit, so I'm always excited when someone from the hometown is doing well.  Also, I think he a tremendously improved with each body of work he does.  I'm a huge fan of the Detroit mixtape, which I still listen to often.  I also thought he had some of the best verses on Cruel Summer where he was against many heavy weights in the game.  I also liked many of the singles that he has released in anticipation for the album, including "Guap," "Beware," and "Fire."
 
I wasn't disappointed.  Hall of Fame is a great album that tells the stories, passion, and underlying reasons for all that Sean does.  However, there is one damp section of the album that throws me off when I listen to the entire album.

I've listened to the entire album several times, and tend to have the same experience.  The first two tracks, "Nothing Is Stopping You" and "Fire" really bang and set up the album to be fantastic.  Then "10 2 10" and "Toyota Music" comes up.  I doesn't give me the same energy, but I still like it and think they will sound great live.  I also liked the Ellie Goulding assisted track "You Don't Know" and how it rolls into "Beware."  I'm not a huge fan of "First Chain" but then the theme of the album changes drastically and the results are bad.  I'm not a huge fan or "Mona Lisa," "MILF" is just terrible and the skits "Greedy Hos" and "Freaky" should just be deleted.  This section really dampens the album.

The album takes a major turn for the better with the song "Sierra Leone."  The album picks up the same energy and excitement it had in the beginning with "It's Time" and "World Ablaze," which have the same themes of the albums first tracks; anthems and soundtracks for the city that raised him. He takes a personal break with the song "Ashley" which I think its beautiful and a very nice gesture to a person he loves.  He finishes the album out "All Figured Out," where he closes out the album with these words:

Today I woke up and realized every day gets shorter
Every minute turns into the longest second, yet never ending
Age is nothing but a reminder and it doesn't tell you
How old or young minded someone is
Cause we all started at the same starting point of a woman's legs
But each have our own finish line
Understand it never ends, and the only way to be immortalized
Is to be remembered, hopefully from right than wrong
Better to be in the hall of fame than shame
Whether it exists for what you do or not
We create this world so we make what exists
It isn't about the award, it's about the award of being immortalized
And remembered for all the right reasons
Mistakes are forgotten, no footprints of any missteps
So when it's so late that it's early
And you need a drink even though the bar's closed
Remember why you do what you do
For the coldest drinks, the fastest cars, luxury
The adrenaline rush of creating what you think about
With who thinks about you:
Your family, your team
The joy of looking back and saying that you did it
Winning the game: hall of fame

Sean is at the point where he can reflect on why he does what he does, why he wants what he wants, and his underlying ambition.  He can also use what he discovers about himself to approach everything with a more focused mindset and to enjoy it all with no guilt.  That's what Hall of Fame is about.  Your inner spirit, soul, and energy.  Of course he has a few missteps with some of his club songs on the album when he had better ones on his previous works, such as "Marvin & Chardonnay," and "Dance A$$," the album still show the inner soul of himself at the point of time.  And this is what makes albums classic and notable.  Why albums like good kid mAAd city and Born Sinner will be talked about for years is not only for the delivery, but the vulnerability and the ability to show the things that stress you, worry you, drive you, and make you who you are.  Many artists, and people in general, never get to the point where they are comfortable being this honest, and Sean is successful with this album because he takes that risk. I am excited for what's next. 
 

[Album Review] Selena Gomez-Stars Dance

Selena Gomez's music has always been a guilty pleasure of mine.  While most people dismiss music that has come from the Disney Channel machine, Selena and many other previous Disney kids, such as Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato, have had hits and have been successful in the mainstream music market.  Selena has had several hit singles with her band The Scene, including "Naturally" "A Year Without Rain" "Who's Says" "Love You Like a Love Song" and "Hit The Lights."  Selena was previously hesitant to do an album with just her name on it, but she steps out of the scene with her new album Stars Dance.

The album has already been buzzed about with its number one dance single "Come & Get It" but buzz has also been surrounding the album because of Selena's split with Justin Bieber.  If listeners are looking for a confessional album detailing their relationship, they should look the other way.  This album has mostly dance songs and is a fun pop album not focused on heartbreak.  However, the one song Selena co-wrote on the standard edition of the album "Love Will Remember" is about Justin.

Selena has said this album is influenced by Skrillex (who did the soundtrack to her move Spring Breakers) Britney Spears, and Janet Jackson.  While you can see the Spears and Jackson influences throughout the entire album, the first track "Birthday" is definitely inspired by Skrillex's work.

The lead single "Come & Get It" was originally for Rhianna, but she passed on it.  Jennifer Lopez tried to get "Save the Day" by Gomez kept the song.  Highlights on the album including the reggae influenced "Like A Champion" and the new single "Slow Down."  The iTunes bonus tracks are also great and were co-written by Gomez.  However, I'm not a huge fan of the two extra songs on the Target special edition.

If your looking for an album that is just a good time and you won't need to skip a track while being in the party mood, Stars Dance is your album for the summer.

[Album Review] Born Sinner-J. Cole

J. Cole starts off the album letting us know "it's way darker this time,"  referring to the lighter fare of his debut album "Cole World: The Sideline Story."  Its a bit eerie, because "Cole World" had its dark moments, with subject like abortion, abandonment, and adultery.  How much darker can he get?
Well, he gets dark.  Pretty much pitch black. "Born Sinner" is the exploration of the sinners of the world, including himself.  One of the topics he focuses on is what he gave up to be successful.  Many of the songs focus on him making a deal with the devil to be successful and wanting his soul back.  For instance, he feels that he was a sellout by giving in to the pressure of making more radio friendly music, such as his single "Work Out." This especially hurt him when he found out that his idol, Nas, hated the song, which he discusses in "Let Nas Down." Other themes Cole explores is the temptation of cheating, with songs like "She Knows" and "Runaway," and materialism on "Chaining Day."
While the album is quite dark, a bright spot on the album is "Crooked Smile" featuring TLC, which talks about inner beauty and loving yourself.  Despite the dark tone, he is optimistic, with the song "Born Sinner" declarying in the chorus with James Fauntleroy that "I'm a born sinner, but I die better than that."
In the album opening track, "Villumanti" J. Cole announces:
"Sometimes I brag like Hov
Sometimes I'm real like Pac  
Sometimes I focus on the flow to show the skills I got
Sometimes I focus on the dough
Look at these bills I got  
This is a message for some rappers trying to steal my spot"

He does all of this on the album, while showing that all the time, he is real like Cole.

If you are a fan of J. Cole's mixtapes, you will like his return to his original style and message.  Its very reminiscent of "The Warm Up" but goes deeper.  If you also liked "Cole World: The Sideline Story" you will also love this album.  Its the best rap album since "good kid, m.A.A.d city." and will be a stand out album of the year.

Stand Out Tracks:
Villumanati, She Knows, Rich N*ggaz

[Album Review] Justin Bieber - Believe Acoustic

I admit it; "Believe" was one of my favorite pop albums of 2012.  With songs like "Out of Town Girl" and "As Long As You Love Me" were sweet and fun enough to make me smile during my morning commute and pep me up during my afternoon drag.  It was a nice mix of R & B and pop that shouldn't be brushed aside. It wasn't, it was Justin Bieber fourth number 1 album in less than 3 years.  When artists re-release album deluxe or reissued version, it usually seems like they are trying to make a quick buck on their previous work.  Justin, however, is showing that an acoustic version of an album is a nice edition for fans and new listeners alike.  "Believe Acoustic" features acoustic version of 8 songs from the regular version of "Believe," including "As Long As You Love Me" that he often performs acoustic.  With the simplicity in the production of the song, you are able to appreciate the melody, lyrics, and Justin's voice.  Some of my favorite tracks include "Fall" and "Take You."  The album reads like a love note to Selena with each song selection, especially "She Don't Like the Lights" and the 3 songs that were not on the album, including the final track "Nothing Like Us" which seems to have been written specifically for Selena.  He said with the release of the album "all questions would be answered" but it actually conjures up more than he answers.  How was their relationship really like? Is his the current bad boy antics a reaction to the break up or the reason for it?  But answering questions leaving us wanting more is always the goal of a popular public figure, and Justin shows that he does his job well.