Category Archive: Music

JD McCrary: A New Generation of Talent

JayDon “JD” McCrary was sharing  his vocal chords with the world long before he was dubbed the “New King of Pop” on Steve Harvey’s Little Big Shots back in May 2017. In fact, the 10-year-old-triple-threat entertainer was the high pitched voice featured on Childish Gambino’s “Terrified.” But even before that, he was singing his favorite Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder songs. “I’ve been singing since I was about two-years-old and dancing since I was three,” McCrary told Justin Davis of Complex Magazine. Today, he’s not only singing and dancing, but he is known for his acting skills as well. Regardless of whether McCrary is dancing across a stage, reciting lines behind a camera or bellowing notes from behind a microphone, it’s clear to see he represents a new generation of talent.

Born and raised in Granada Hills, a Los Angeles California suburb known as “The Valley’s Most Neighborly Town,” to a family full of singers (including Josh McCrary, his young brother who also sings). It’s almost as if McCrary was destined to entertain. He’s talented, friendly, loves to socialize and is not afraid to shine. In fact, despite only being 10-years old, he’s quick to admit that he’s not shy about being in the spotlight. “I don’t think I ever get nervous,” he explained to J’Na Jefferson of Vibe. “...I always feel like I’m just performing for people,” he continued, admitting that “we’re all [just] human.” He’s just as easy-going when it comes to his acting as well. Whether he’s being featured in a commercial or working alongside Zendaya in KC Undercover, McCrary is smiling big all while remaining cool, calm and collected. In fact, he was filming a scene as Kenny on Tyler Perry’s “The Paynes,” when his mother informed him of what would become his biggest gig yet - young Simba in Disney’s The Lion King Live Action remake. 

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Fabolous & Jadakiss: Friday Night on Elm Street

New York has returned to it's rightful place, at the forefront of hip-hop lately. The resurgence, is a much needed one. In the era of hot beats, repetitive hooks, and mumble rap, lyricism tends to get lost in the shuffle. Subject matter still exists, but they are usually pretty basic. I don't want to sound like a hip-hop purist, and I know that party and "turn up" music has its place in the culture. It just seems like it's taken over, and due to this some of the best artist and their work gets overlooked. Even in the somewhat absence of New York rap artists, a few "Kings of New York," have remained relevant in their own right. From Hov, to Cam and even Ma$e, it's been a real blast from the past. Not to mention Dave East bringing the heat for the new school.

Recently, a pair of kings decided to join forces for an album. Fabolous and Jadakiss, finally got it done after a year and a half of anticipation. The microwave era is responsible for the nullification of the phrase "highly anticipated" when it comes to music. They expect artists to put out new material way more frequently than the generations prior. This puts so much pressure on artists to put out albums, EP's, and mixtapes sooner than they would like, when they should really let the pot simmer for a bit. Well Jadakiss and Fabolous have had this joint project boiling for quite a while. I know the microwave generation expected it to happen as quick as the Future and Drake collab, but trust, the wait was worth every minute!

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Lianne La Havas: Some Kind of Wonderful

I was a senior in high school when I discovered the sultry, enchanting and commanding voice of a singer from London. The songwriter, bass, guitar and piano player still holds my attention eight years later. Lianne La Havas is one of the most refreshing 21st century musicians I have encountered, her style of music is jazzy, spunky, and fervent.

Havas' father is Greek and her mother is Jamaican, her background, life experiences, and skills, heavily influence her music. At a young age, she began singing backup for Paloma Faith, a popular English singer-songwriter and actress, while her father, a jazz musician, taught her to play piano.

Watching guitar lessons on YouTube got the adept artist to learn the guitar on her own when she was eighteen. Since she was raised by her grandparents, the eccentric musician named her guitar “Miss Connie,” after her grandmother. Havas believes in being true to herself, and not conforming to the pressures of society. She speaks about the importance of individuality rather than success in an interview with Coupe De Main:

“True success is getting closer or getting to that pure expression in your music and all of it, how you dress, or how your videos look, or your artwork. All of that is you, so for me if I could do that I would feel successful. But also to be remembered for the right reasons, in my opinion the right reason would be because I was a nice singer and I wrote nice songs, I would like to be remembered by that.”

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Black Veil Brides: Married to the Music

This American band has been around for a little over ten years and has gained a lot of support from fans. The group has also built a solid reputation in the rock music world. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Black Veil Brides, currently resides in Hollywood, California. Currently, their fans are anticipating their tour in 2018, and their new album called Vale. Even though the group members have changed overtime, some things have remained pretty consistent. The five rock stars are Lead Vocalist Andy Biersack, Bassist and backup vocalist Ashley Purdy, Lead Guitarist Jake Pitts, Rhythm Guitarist and Violinist Jinxx and Christian “CC” Coma on drums. Quite like a machine, each person’s talent helps the band function as a whole. 

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Big K.R.I.T. : He Who Holds the Crown

With the “soul of a giant, and the heart of a lion,” Big K.R.I.T. released his first album as an independent artist on October 27. In less than a month, the project has soared to No.1 on the Itunes hip-hop music charts.

The highly-anticipated album titled “4eva is a Mighty Long Time” is the rapper's third studio  album to date. Clearly, the rapper/producer isn’t a new face on the music scene.  He’s been releasing projects since 2009, and has managed to grow significantly as an artist, and still remain true to his fans by producing quality music at the same time.

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