album reviews
Reviews of albums old and new from iconic artists and up and coming musicians alike.
'Revenge of the Dreamers III' Review
Grammy nominated rapper and producer J. Cole founded his label Dreamville along with his manager Ibrahim Hamad in 2007 during the time Cole was working on his first mixtape, The Come Up. The label has signed Ari Lennox, Bas, Cozz, Omen, Lute, J.I.D., Earthgang and Cole himself. In 2014, the label released their first album, Revenge of the Dreamers, which was followed by Revenge of the Dreamers II in 2015. Four years later, the label releases Revenge of the Dreamers III on July 5, 2019. The album was recorded in January 2019, and the process of recording and finishing the album was called the Revenge of the Dreamers sessions and was made into a documentary that was released three days before the album. The sessions invited an array of artists and producers who came and contributed to the album. Some of these artist are Smino, Saba, T.I., Dreezy, and Buddy. There were over 100 songs created, but Cole and Ibrahim settled on 18.
By Dakota Thomas7 years ago in Beat
The Bittah Dreamer Reviews NF
I know right? So soon after the album's release and you’re already being flooded with reviews from people who think they know what the album should sound like better than the artist himself and no if you thought that’s what this is then you are so, so, so wrong. I’m going to talk about the feel of the album because that’s what I get from artists like Nate—the music often has a feel to it rather than being technically either this or that.
By Bittah Dreamer7 years ago in Beat
50 Years of 'Yes' - A Review of the Band's Debut!
Over the past five decades, Yes have cemented themselves as one of the biggest progressive rock bands. And though other albums may be first to come to mind when fans think of Yes, their discography began when they recorded an album released on July 25, 1969. Simply titled Yes, this debut album illustrates what the band's music was like at a time when they did more covers and sounded more psychedelic in some places. While it may be a far cry from some of their later works, Yes shows some seeds of what the band would become.
By Steven Shinder7 years ago in Beat
Beyoncé Just GIFTed You the Album of the Summer
I am just going to come out and say it: Beyoncé Giselle Knowles Carter literally gifted us the music of the summer. The curated and produced album that now bears a historic place in the Beyoncé canon is The Lion King: The Gift, which was recently released and, if we are honest, the whole project slaps. I have been listening to it nonstop to be honest, and I have no shame. Why should I have any, when music from the continents of Africa and America collide in such a beautiful and expressive way? It is a musical love letter to Africa, featuring artists from Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa.
By Whitney Alese7 years ago in Beat
A Brilliantly-Aged, Badly-Aged Little Nightmare: Revisiting Eminem's 'Relapse'
So, Relapse happened about a decade ago. And I say "happened" because that honestly felt like the best way to sum up the general perception towards this album. A comeback EP from an artist whose list of people he had pissed off was only surpassed by the ones he had inspired, it was neither the return of the blonde haired controversy machine from the early '00s nor was it quite the emergence of a matured and more reflective version of him we got a year later. Instead, it was just...
By Art-Peeter Roosve7 years ago in Beat
Kiana Ledé ‘Myself’ EP Review
Kiana Brown, or more commonly known as Kiana Ledé, is a 22-year-old R&B singer and actress from Arizona. She started her career when moving to Los Angles at only the age of 16, but since she was young singing was always a passion. After getting Signed to Republic Records, Kiana had an amazing 2018 with the success of her song “Ex.” The song was part of her EP Selfless, which was released a year ago on July 13, 2018. “Ex” went on to be Kiana’s first song to appear in the top 10 of the R&B charts and now has been remixed by rappers Lil Baby and French Montana. She then performed the song at the 2019 BET awards. If you’re still unsure of who she is, you might recognize her from her role as Veronica on the Netflix Original series The Washingtons.
By Dakota Thomas7 years ago in Beat
Rusty Reid
Imagine a geezer, an authentic child of the Sixties, an old “never-was” troubadour with a style and message born of the idealism of that revolutionary generation and honed through decades of study, experience and passion, trying to break through the noise and orgy of self-aggrandizement that is the contemporary music biz! Ridiculous, eh? Foolhardy! Audacious stupidity! Sheer cluelessness!
By Rusty Reid7 years ago in Beat
14th of July, 1986: 'Knocked Out Loaded' by Bob Dylan Is Released
When I first read the fact that I was about to write an article consisting of five things I like about Knocked Out Loaded, I was absolutely terrified and filled with dread. I was really thinking about abandoning this article altogether, but then I said, “No!” I said that I was going to show people that this album is actually pretty good and that they are just mean. It deserves its place in Bob Dylan’s discography as being a pretty different album in every sense of the word. It takes place in what I have personally called the “Cocaine Years.” It was very apparent that Bob Dylan was taking an awful lot of cocaine, and really, between Empire Burlesque and Knocked Out Loaded and even in the strange sound of Down in the Groove, I think it’s safe to say that the cocaine years didn’t do Dylan much service in terms of luck and money. This doesn’t mean, however, that the albums are trash and not worthy of their place in the Dylan canon. Let’s get on with this then. Without further introduction, I will explain five things I love about the album Knocked Out Loaded (1986). The album is regarded as one of his worst efforts (if not the worst effort). I, however, wouldn’t call it that. What I’m really trying to say here (and I will repeat myself if I have to) is that this album is good, you guys are just mean. Here are five things I love about the album Knocked Out Loaded (1986).
By Annie Kapur7 years ago in Beat
Lil Skies 'Shelby' Album Review
Kimetrius Foose, or more commonly known by his stage name, Lil Skies, is a 20-year-old rapper and songwriter from Pennsylvania. He released his debut album Shelby in March 2019 through his label Atlantic records. Lil Skies got his recognition in the rap game with his mixtape Life of a Dark Rose,which was released in late 2017 and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200 charts. I got introduced to the rapper when listening to his single “Red Roses,” which peaked at number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100.
By Dakota Thomas7 years ago in Beat
