THE NEW GROOVE: August Tunes

The New Groove is an easy-read article that helps you discover new music every single month! Last month was all about the black women in the music industry who have been, and still are, providing us with amazing tunes to listen to. This week I’m zooming back into the world of new music and giving you all the info on who to discover this month!

August is all about new tunes, and new people to listen to. So, get your headphones ready and prepare for new greatness!

If you’ve not been living under a rock, you’ll have noticed that recently the hugely popular musical ‘Hamilton’ was added to the streaming service Disney+, and people have loved watching the “Hamifilm”. As a musical lover myself I obviously took the amazing opportunity presented to me, and I have watched it more than once now. Upon watching it I stumbled across a familiar face: Anthony Ramos, a singer and dancer who has also starred in ‘A Star Is Born’ and will be starring in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s other musical ‘In the Heights’. Playing both “John Laurens” and “Philip Hamilton” in ‘Hamilton’, Anthony Ramos has showcased his talents in a heart-wrenching and lovable way. (I won’t reveal why it’s heart-wrenching if you haven’t seen the play yet, but OH LORD MY HEART!)

Anyway, being a rather curious person, I always spend ten minutes Googling every person I ever see in a movie/play etc so I did my research on Ramos. As well as being a musical theatre singer, Ramos has also released his own music in the past and recently released an album back in late 2019. Here I am six months later, and I completely obsessed with the album. Titled “The Good and The Bad” it is safe to say there is nothing bad about this album, and Anthony Ramos definitely deserves to be listened to!

My favourite song from his album is “Dear Diary” .

This is a super personal song from Ramos, talking about his relationship with his mother and his father, and what it was like trying to leave home and New York altogether, but realising that his home will forever be apart of him. It’s a beautiful and honest masterpiece that I can jam to every damn day. It’s so raw and there’s a purity about it that cannot be ignored. Ramos also released a YouTube video called “The Story Behind “Dear Diary””, which highlights the importance of the song and the reasoning behind it. If you don’t listen to the whole album, then I encourage you to listen to just this song!

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For something a bit more mainstream, Billie Eilish recently released “my future”. It starts off as a slow tune, and suddenly becomes upbeat during verse 2; it’s all about self-love and being excited to meet your future-self.

The music video for this song is so cute too, it’s an animated version of Billie in a forest. The song is so soft and sounds like a dream – the animation fits perfectly as it shows the sad nature of rain stopping and the sun coming out again. It shows how self-love makes you feel. One of the lyrics that strikes me the most is: “I’m supposed to be unhappy without someone but aren’t I someone?”. This just shows society’s manipulation of the ideology that a woman can only be happy when she is in a relationship with someone else. Billie is calling this sh*t out and saying it’s important for a woman to have a relationship with herself.

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Another new song that needs to be listened to is “DON’T BE SAD” by Scotty Sire.

If you’ve read my previous music related articles, you’ll know I’m a big fan of Sire. His songs take on upbeat tunes paired with lyrics about mental illness and he’s created an amazing fanbase for himself. “DON’T BE SAD” is a great pop/rap song, that sarcastically jokes about people who say “just don’t be sad” to people who are depressed/suffering from a mental illness. The song focuses on how it’s not that easy to be “a ray of sunshine” but people think that’s what will cure their illness. It’s a super comical fun from a guy who has amazing vocals and genius lyrics.

Until next month, bye!