Category Archive: Music

Blake Shelton: Country Rock

It was a giant step for Blake Shelton, actually it would have been for anyone. In 1994, just weeks after graduating high school, the Oklahoma born country singer packed his bags and headed for Nashville, Tenn., a place that established some of country music's biggest stars like Alan Jackson and Dolly Parton. “I was so naïve though – when you're seventeen, this [is] going to be easy – so, I never had a doubt that I was going to make it one day,” Shelton said in an interview with Country Music Television.

After years of working random jobs and playing his guitar in bars, the perseverance finally paid off for the young country-rock musician. In 1998, Shelton was signed to the now defunct Giant Records. He released his first single “Austin,” on his self-titled debut album.

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Julia Michaels: Behind the Scenes

Songwriters have long been the driving force behind the music industry. Their creativity, motivation and desire to be completely vulnerable shapes songs on the music charts that range from top 40 to Alternative. Songwriters are the foundation of the music industry. Their tireless efforts are usually unrecognized in favor of the performers. However, singer-songwriters are not  easily overshadowed, they are a part of a the package deal.. Rising singer-songwriter Julia Michaels exemplifies both characteristics with the rise of her hit single “Issues.” She finally stepped from behind the scenes after years of writing for other artists to show the world her beautiful voice. The songstress was born in a small town in Iowa before moving to Santa Clarita, California when she was six years old. Michaels, originally named Julia Carin Cavazos, is of Mexican-Puerto Rican background. Her father changed his name to John Michaels at the advice of a casting agent when he pursued his acting career in the early 90s. She kept the surname Michaels as a stage name.  

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Ray Davies: A Rockin Rollin Knight

The 1950s and 1960s was a monumental time for rock-n-roll. Stunning guitar riffs, powerful vocals, and magical piano notes became the basis for all kinds of different rock music, like alternative rock, soft and hard rock. In the 1960s, Sir Raymond Douglas "Ray" Davies, also known as Ray Davies, emerged as one of England’s alternative rock stars. Davies can play the guitar, piano, and harmonica, and he sings. He was the lead singer for his band, The Kinks, and has done solo work on the side. The musician is well into his seventies but he keeps on rockin and rollin.

Davies started his music journey and career in the 1960s after discovering his love for music while attending art school in England. In 1964, Ray Davies and his brother, Dave, started The Kinks and gained their first record label the same year. They quickly became known for their psychedelic, alternative rock music with guitar riffs and cool chords. The brother’s interest in England’s sociopolitical issues heavily influenced their word choice, and they became known for making struggles into music.

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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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