satire
Music industry and celebrity satire presented by Beat.
Aaron Lee Tasjan:
By Brian D'Ambrosio The title of Aaron Lee Tasjan’s new album, Get Over It, Underdog (due out July 17th), lands with a wink. It sounds like something muttered after a hard knock, equal parts encouragement and resignation. That mix of humor, resilience, and self-awareness runs throughout one of the most rewarding records of Tasjan’s career, a collection that explores the many meanings of being an underdog while celebrating the oddballs, originals, and unlikely heroes who keep finding reasons to carry on.
By Brian D'Ambrosio about a month ago in Beat
Massive Attack: Totally Wack
“[T]here are many here among us for whom the life force is best represented by the livid twitching of one tortured nerve, or even a full-scale anxiety attack. I do not subscribe to this point of view 100%, but I understand it, have lived it. Thus the shriek, the caterwaul, the chainsaw gnarlgnashing, the yowl and the whizz that decapitates may be reheard by the adventurous or emotionally damaged as mellifluous bursts of unarguable affirmation. And one could, if so inclined, take it even further than that…”
By Kendall Defoe 2 months ago in Beat
The Art of Storytelling: Once Upon A Time In The Projects
The year is 1990 and west coast Hip Hop superstar Ice Cube has just left the world’s most dangerous group, NWA. So after being offered help by the east coast powerhouse Public Enemy he goes to New York City to record his ambitious solo debut, Amerikkka’s Most Wanted. The album was heavy with subject matter about the struggle of the inner city, but was also littered with a great deal of humor added to its vivid storytelling. One of the best songs to display this quality of the album was “Once Upon A Time In The Projects”.
By Joe Patterson4 months ago in Beat
“I Got Blacker”: Jack Harlow’s Statement We Need to Talk About by NWO Sparrow
Jack Harlow “Got Blacker” and Still Didn’t Leave Hip-Hop Behind by NWO Sparrow Jack Harlow said it himself on the Times Popcast this week: “I got blacker.” He was talking about his new R&B-leaning album Monica, and how he approaches music that’s traditionally rooted in Black culture. I get what he was trying to say, even if the phrasing landed awkwardly. I know he didn’t mean to minimize anyone’s experience or make it sound like he can claim some kind of cultural badge. Still, the words themselves were striking, bold enough to make you pause.
By NWO SPARROW6 months ago in Beat
Hold On to the Vision: El Pablo 1x Leads with Purpose, Music, and Community
Memphis has always been a city of sound, soul, and fearless originality—and standing firmly in that tradition is El Pablo 1x, the award-winning, nationally touring artist and visionary leader of the Black Sheep Kid movement. More than just a performer, El Pablo 1x is a curator of culture, a builder of platforms, and a relentless advocate for independent artists who dare to move differently.
By Independent Indie Artist Radar8 months ago in Beat
The Quiet That Follows the Applause
I didn’t cry at the end of Better Call Saul. I cried three days later, while washing dishes. The water was hot, the sponge worn thin, and suddenly—without warning—I saw Kim Wexler’s hands again. Not in the courtroom. Not in the finale. But in that tiny Albuquerque office, adjusting the blinds just so, trying to control one small thing in a world spinning out of her grasp.
By KAMRAN AHMAD9 months ago in Beat
The Song That Brought Him Back
After my mother passed, grief settled into our home like winter fog—thick, gray, and impossible to ignore. He stopped whistling while fixing the sink. Stopped tapping his boot to the oldies station. Even his laugh, once so loud it startled the dogs, vanished into a silence so heavy it filled every room. For two years, he moved through life like a man walking in someone else’s shoes. So when he said, voice barely above a whisper, “Let’s go south for New Year’s,” I didn’t ask why. I just booked the tickets.
By KAMRAN AHMAD9 months ago in Beat
Tyla’s Chart-Topping Rise
Introduction When South African singer Tyla released her self-titled debut album in late 2023, few predicted it would ignite a global movement. But by 2025, her name was everywhere: on Billboard charts, Grammy stages, and playlists from Lagos to Los Angeles. Fueled by her breakout hit “Water”—a seductive fusion of amapiano, R&B, and pop—Tyla didn’t just enter the global music scene; she reshaped it.
By KAMRAN AHMAD9 months ago in Beat
