Albums/EPs 💿
Planet Her (2021)
Doja Cat
Does Doja ever put out a bad song? It's hard to follow up an album like Hot Pink, but she hit it out the park. My favs are Woman, Naked, Get Into it (Yuh), Need to Know, I Don't Do Drugs (feat. Ariana Grande), You Right (feat. The Weeknd), and Kiss Me More (feat. SZA).
You can imagine how much pressure Doja feels being in this industry. She pretty much flew under the radar between 2014 when she was first signed, up until 2018 when MOOO ! went viral. I was not aware of the song at the time, somehow it missed me and I didn't discover it until late 2019/early 2020 when I started listening to her.
Billboard Music Awards 2021
a liquid breakfast (2021)
AUDREY NUNA
I can't remember how I found Audrey Nuna, but I think one of her songs may have come up on my Spotify. My favs are Blossom, Damn Right and Top Again.
I'm cynical I'm honest
I'm down by the rocks
Life's a bank, try to pause it
Pop wrists out the sockets
No drip I need new faucets
This live performance of Blossom is so good. I love how it was filmed, the lighting, the way the camera moves. 10/10.
上线了 GONE GOLD (2021)
Lexie Liu
Every now and then the Spotify algorithm really comes through. I heard CAROUSEL and I loved it. I wasn't familiar with Mandopop as a genre (Mandarin Pop) until I heard this song. I love CHU CHU too, I could listen to CAROUSEL while working out, while getting ready, it's also a good shower song. It just makes me feel energised and relaxed at the same time. Music has the power to make you feel.
[Translation from Mandarin to English]
Wrapped my head around trouble
In bloom but stopped in the middle
Sunlight jumps out of the window
Now it's time to realise
RENAISSANCE (2022)
Beyoncé
Renaissance was a slow burner for me. When I heard Break My Soul I was surprised because I didn't initially think it
sounded like a typical Beyoncé track, it sounded more like a tune you would hear in a club (but that’s not a bad thing). The name of the album itself didn't make me immediately think 'dance' so the concept caught me off guard but I love it.
Got a lot of bands, got a lot of Hermès on me
Got a lot of bands, got a lot of Ivy on me
I gotta fan myself off, I gotta fan myself off
Mr Morale & The Big Steppers (2022)
Kendrick Lamar
There's so much to say about this album. In the opening track United in Grief Kendrick says "I've been going through something." He's setting up the listener for what's coming. He tackles many complex issues in this album. Toxic masculinity, abuse, generational trauma, homophobia, transphobia, his struggles with alcoholism, his journey with therapy. I love Auntie Diaries, it was one of the first tracks that made a real impression on me. He uses a homophobic slur to make a point about the blasé way he and his friends would use this vocabulary when they were in middle school. He raps about how his auntie who was trans: "My auntie is a man now". He talks about how much he looked up to his uncle who had transitioned, how cool he thought he was, and how he would proudly tell his friends at school about him. When his uncle would come to collect him from school other kids would give him strange looks. He moves onto talking about his cousin who was also trans, and struggled with his identity while surrounded by kids his age making homophobic jokes. He switches the pronouns, going from "he" to "she" which I think is his way of portraying his younger self, not fully understanding if his auntie is his still his auntie, and forgetting to use the correct pronoun. I don't think it ever came from a place of disrespect, it's clear he had so much admiration for him. The song was controversial because he also uses his uncle's deadname but this also feels like a very deliberate choice, much like the use of the homophobic slur in contrast with the n word.
Demetrius is Mary-Ann now
He's more confident to live his plan now
But the family in disbelief this time Convincing themselves, "He ain't living discreet, he's fine"
They said they never seen it but I seen it
The Barbie dolls played off the reflection of Venus
He built a wall so tall you couldn't climb over
He didn't laugh as hard when the kids start jokin'
Kendrick tells a story about a time in church where the preacher used his cousin as an example for why human beings are living in sin: "He promised the world we livin' in was an act on abomination and Demetrius was to blame." Kendrick defends his cousin:
I said, "Mr Preacher man, should we love thy neighbour?"
"The laws of the land or the heart, what's greater?"
I recognise the study she was taught since birth
But that don't justify the feelings that my cousin preserved
The building was thinking out loud, bad angel
That's when you looked at me and smiled, said, "Thank you"
The day I chose humanity over religion
The family got closer, it was all forgiven
It highlights the conflict of morality and guilt many young LGBTQ+ people deal with when the people around them. In extreme cases, this can lead to barbaric things like conversion therapy. At the end, Kendrick makes a reference to the time he brought a fan up on stage to rap m.A.A.d city. You can watch it here. The problem with this was the fan was white, and one of the first verses of the song includes the n word, and all throughout. Fans in the crowd booed and shouted insults at her when she said the word, which of course she should never have said, and Kendrick also got criticism from people who felt he had set her up for failure. I genuinely don't think he realised, and it didn't create good publicity for anyone involved, so to suggest that it was pre-meditated is a reach.
Initially, my favourite tracks were Purple Hearts and Auntie Diaries, but the more I listened to it, the more I realised how many more of the songs I loved. I've had the album pretty much on repeat the last few months, at the moment my favourite is Count Me Out. There were mixed reviews of Auntie Diaries. There are trans and other members of the LGBTQ+ community who had positive things to say about it. Count Me Out is definitely one of my favourites. I love how many times the song shifts. He transitions into so many different moods and flows, it starts to feel like you're listening to 4 songs instead of 1, but not in a way that's disorienting or annoying. It just works.
Apollo XXI (2019)
Steve Lacy
I've been a fan of The Internet for a while but had never listened to Steve Lacy's solo stuff. I'm very late, but this is a great album. My favs are Only If, Playground, Basement Jack, Lay Me Down, Love 2 Fast and N Side.
I swear there's something in the wind outside today
And it ain't cool
Got me thinking 'bout how things decay
And about you
Life is a Bi... (2021)
BIBI
I came across Bibi when I started listening to K-pop last year. I love BAD SAD AND MAD from this album, the play on words is really clever esp when English isn't her native language. I also love KAZINO (2020).
You blued my bruise
Pink me with ties
You red my mind
You red my mind
I can't believe how many performances she's done of Bad Sad and Mad
Dawn FM (2022)
The Weeknd
I appreciate an artist that isn't afraid to take risks, and I feel like The Weeknd does that. Dawn FM has quite a futuristic feel to it, but it also has a lot of 80s vibes (imo). Gasoline especially. It won't come as a surprise that my fav tracks are Take My Breath and Sacrifice. Bops.
I hold you through the toughest parts
When you feel like it's the end
'Cause life is still worth living
Yeah, this life is still worth living
Collabs 👯
Post Malone - I Like You (A Happier Song) w. Doja Cat 🌼
Their voices jel together so well. Austin and Doja are two examples of rappers who also can sing. I love the aesthetic and mood of the video, it's so sunny and happy.
Balming Tiger - SEXY NUKIM (feat. RM of BTS) 🐯
I didn't know who Balming Tiger were before RM shared their song JUST FUN! on his story on Spotify. I listened to it, and thought it was great. I never imagined that he would feature on their song, it was a great surprise and I looooove it. Such a tune. I loved the contrast of the different rapping styles.
I love the video, the contrast in the different rap styles. I love Mudd the student's approach. I think they're all great. RM crushing the toy car with his bike is hilarious. The style of the video is so impressive, it looks like a 90s movie. As I wasn't overly familiar with Balming Tiger, so if I had seen the clips out of context I probably would have assumed they were from actual movies because they had such a cinematic quality to them. I didn't understand most of the references but picked up on the Parasite one, which is a reference to the scene where the fired housekeeper shows up on the CCTV camera in the rain.
Reference to Parasite (2019)
Through listening to Balming Tiger, I found this song by sogumm, love it.
What tunes have you been enjoying so far in 2022?
My October Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Uiz0ZvPF0jXqNoLIYsDfa?si=06640e96bcf44794
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