Social Music reviews new albums/mixtapes from all types of artists and genres, including (but not limited to) rock, hip-hop, country, cross-over, etc. Social Music looks at all aspects of an album from music, lyrics, producers, backing, and of course the puppet masters pulling the strings, the music label themselves.
This summer, I’m biking cross-country to benefit the affordable housing cause with Bike & Build. On May 26, I’ll be biking with about 30 other individuals from VA Beach, VA to Cannon Beach, OR as we support affordable housing organizations through fundraising and build days.
Donate to help me reach my $4,500 fundraising goal: http://bikeandbuild.org/rider/7097
Album Review: Trombone Shorty, “Say That to Say This”
Artist: Trombone Shorty
Album: Say That to Say This
Label: Verve Forecast
Release Date: September 10, 2013
Rating: 4
For his latest album, Say That to Say This, Trombone Shorty has surprised everyone. Coming off two successful records with a large influence of jazz, rock, and funk all from New Orleans, Trombone Shorty has veered in a new direction with R&B. Still sticking with New Orleans music, this album is smoother, slower, and more sensual than anything he’s done recently.
This album is the sum of a successful career, a lot of innovation, and some great musical talents coming together to produce a full and new album. Say That to Say This exhibits Trombone Shorty using multiple styles of music to say something he hasn’t said before through his music. Through this album, he is actually saying that to say this.
In the R&B genre, the ideas of sex and love come up quite a bit. In fact, it could be argued a good amount of R&B albums recorded dwell on sex as main theme. There are subtle albums about sex and love, and then there is R. Kelly’s latest album Black Panties. Earlier in the fall, John Legend released Love in the Future, an album that is easily one of the best and sexiest R&B albums of the year, if not one of the best releases this year. No one ever said R. Kelly had or needed to have the tact of John Legend, but Black Panties is so obvious, the message becomes convoluted and chauvinistic in the process.
The album does improve with the tracks with features on them. Ludacris, Kelly Rowland, and Young Jeezy add a lot of value to the songs they’re on, not so much 2 Chainz (never 2 Chainz). Ludacris on “Legs Shakin” really brings elevates the song to a way R. Kelly just couldn’t. Kelly Rowland being featured on “All the Way” makes it the most tolerable song on the album as well.
The best track on the album is “Shut Up” where R. Kelly talks about his throat surgery and he openly confronts his critics. This song had the most depth and showed us a side of R. Kelly that hasn’t been seen in a while. We could never expect an R. Kelly album to sound like a John Legend album, but Black Panties could use a little more delicacy on the subject matter. Otherwise there’s nothing really setting R. Kelly apart or bringing his music to the next level.
On Friday, December 13, 2013, Beyoncé surprised the world with a brand new album and lot of music videos to go with it. This surprise is even more welcome because the album Beyoncé is one of the best pop album of the year. This solidifies 2013 as a banner year for all genres of music across the board. This album in particular also means Beyoncé will dominate 2014 as some of these tracks conquer the radio.
“Drunk In Love” is yet another great collaboration of the power duo and takes their musical partnership to a new level. “Blue” and “Heaven” feature their daughter Blue Ivy as the main focus of the tracks and even feature her voice again at the end of the album. The track “Flawless” provides the greatest insight to Beyoncé and the career that got her to the stardom she has today.
Beyoncé is a force that is not to be reckoned with. She proves time and time again that her talent is unmatched by other vocalists and musicians in the industry. The album Beyoncé gives the industry a new take on her style of music and provides further insight into her life in a way we haven’t seen before.
After a year of waiting, B.o.B.’s third studio album, Underground Luxury, has finally leaked… I mean “been released”. B.o.B. himself put out a lot of hype for this album, saying he was returning to the sounds and music that he was doing in the beginning on his mixtapes. In some respects he succeeded. The music is simple and basic, he definitely held back on features compared to Strange Clouds which was averaging a feature a track. The content of the album is mixed and frankly, a little filled with opposites.
The best tracks on this albums are the songs where Bobby Ray really goes back to his roots. Songs like “Paper Route” and “John Doe” exhibit the artist at his best. “Paper Route” is a sequel to “The Watchers” but not as much about conspiracies. His lyrics and flow is on point making it one of the better tracks he’s released in a while. Priscilla Renae commands the song from the moment it starts singing a full verse and the chorus after. The song itself is decent, with B.o.B. rapping about addiction and hardship.
“Nobody Told Me” and “Forever” with Playboy Tre are also two typical B.o.B. tracks which is what makes them good. B.o.B. sings “Nobody told me money don’t make you rich” over piano chords that help propel the music forward to help make his point. Playboy Tre really does well on the introspection songs and while his verse on “Forever” isn’t as great as his presence on “Just a Sign”, but overall, he proves again and again you can’t have a B.o.B. record with Playboy Tre.
Overall, the album isn’t as epic or E.P.I.C. has we were hoping but it was a great effort put forward by B.o.B. There are times where his verses are on point and the music is phenomenal, it’s just a question of the album being perhaps a bit too crowded with tracks that sound a little too similar to each other. Underground Luxury does take B.o.B. back with less commercial features and more songs demonstrating B.o.B. as the innovative artist he really is.
[We will not be reviewing the track featuring Chris Brown due to his involvement in the past domestic violence case. Social Music will not support domestic violence in any way, shape, or form or review artists involved in such cases.]
andulkaphoto
2087
vaporwave
prguitarman
theartofmadeline
areudirty