A blog about the music I listen to, the music videos I like, and most other music-related subtopics.
Welcome!
In this blog I hope to discuss my favorite music as well as share information on my favorite artists. I'd also like to create music and video playlists at some point. I'm just getting started so I hope you stick around.
Here are my 15 favorite albums of 2018. Write-ups on my Top 5 will follow.
1. Coloured by Priscilla Renea 2. Camila by Camila Cabello 3. Expectations by Bebe Rexha 4. Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe 5. Robots and Wranglers by Halo Circus 6. Joyride by Tinashe 7. Lost & Found by Jorja Smith 8. Pray for the Wicked by Panic! at the Disco 9. Bloom by Troye Sivan 10. Phoenix by Rita Ora 11. Palo Santo by Years & Years 12. Speak Your Mind by Anne-Marie 13. What is Love? by Clean Bandit 14. Ella Mai by Ella Mai 15. Wildfire EP by Marié Digby
Do you agree or disagree? What were your favorite albums of 2018? Thanks for reading!
British singer/songwriter Delilah was born Paloma Stoecker on September 23, 1990 in Paris, France. Her parents split when she was young, subsequently she moved to London with her mother. Delilah wrote her first song at 12 years old on the piano. Her step-father Jesse Stoecker owned Shakedown Sounds, an independent record label that promoted British bands and a nightclub where live music was played. Delilah didn’t take singing seriously until after his death in 2002.
The singer went to college but avoided the BRIT School saying. “ I didn’t want to be that structured.” At the age of 17 the singer recorded 4 songs for a college project. A friend sent the songs to Island Records and she was noticed for her talent and eventually ended up signing with Atlantic Records. For about 3 years Delilah collaborated and wrote songs including 'Time' by Chase & Status in 2011.
2011 she released the songs ‘Love You So’ and ‘Go’; the latter of the two contained a vocal sample of ‘Ain’t Nobody’ by Chaka Khan when called it “genius”. In February of 2012 she released her debut mixtape “2-4am”. Among the mixtape’s 8 tracks is a remix of ‘Love You So’ by Joe Goddard of Hot Chip. Also on the project are two songs that would later be released commercially on Delilah’s debut album: ‘Never Be Another’ and ‘21’.
On July 30, 2012 Delilah’s debut album “From the Roots Up” was released. It was supported by singles ‘Go’, ‘Love You So’, ‘Breathe’. ‘Inside My Love’ (a Minnie Riperton cover), and ‘Shades of Grey’. The artist has writing credits on every song on the album except the Riperton cover and has co-production credits on every track.
In 2014 Delilah was featured on ‘Way Back Home’, a track from Prince’s album “Art Official Age”. Delilah has since become an independent artist. She has been working on her sophomore album. Thus far only a single ‘Touch Me’ has been released as a free download from her official website.
For Fans of: Imogen Heap, Skylar Grey, Jessie Ware
Dawn Richard (or D∆WN as she is now known) was born August 5, 1983. Richard is a singer/songwriter who rose to prominence as a member of Danity Kane. The urban girl group was formed on Diddy’s reality TV series Making the Band Season 3. The group released two albums: “Danity Kane” (2006) and “Welcome to the Dollhouse” (2008) before being disbanded by Diddy.
After the disbandment of Danity Kane, Diddy still wanted to work with Richard so they formed a trio called Diddy Dirty Money with singer/songwriter Kalenna. The trio released 2 mixtapes and one album, the hip hop meets eurodance “Last Train to Paris” (2010). Following the release of the album, Richard asked to be released from her recording contract so that she could pursue a solo career as an independent artist. The singer reasoned that she could work on and release music at her own pace instead of waiting a few years to complete the typical album cycle. Diddy released Richard from her contract and in 2011 she became an independent artist.
Richard’s first solo venture since leaving the two groups was a mixtape “A Tell Tale Heart”, which was released February 7. 2011. Her tone and melodies on the project are reminiscent of R&B singer Brandy’s music - though she balked at the comparison. The mixtape consists of 15 tracks including ‘Me Myself & Y’, ‘Let Love In’, ‘These Tears’. The only feature on the project is none other than former Diddy Dirty Money member Kalenna who lends vocals to the song ‘I Know’.
March 25, 2012 Richard released EP “Armor On”. The alternative R&B style set consists of 11 tracks counting the intro and outro and has no features. It was supported by singles ‘SMFU (Save Me From U)’, ‘Bombs’, ‘Wild ‘N’ Young’, and ‘Automatic’. Each single received a music video although the third video was titled ‘Wild ‘N’ Faith’.
Richard released an EP “Whiteout” on December 1, 2012. The 5 song project is the artist’s unique take on Christmas music. It sounds nothing like conventional carols but with titles such as ‘Wynter’, ‘And the Bells’, and ‘December Sky’ it’s clear that the winter season is her focus.
After the release of her two EPs Dawn announced that her forthcoming album called “Goldenheart” would be the first in a trilogy of albums. In an interview the artist described the lyrical content of the album as being “like a modern-day Joan of Arc… like medieval times-cum-2045 or Lancelot and Guinevere in 3025. It’s a new version of these battles--age-old stories for the now.” The album “Goldenheart” was released January 15, 2013 and was a critical success. Fans and critics alike appreciated the way that Richard wove together medieval battle imagery and futuristic tropes into an emotional epic that spans 16 tracks. The album was lead by the only single ‘86’.
The second in the trilogy, “Blackheart”, was expected in October of 2013 and was preceded by singles ‘Judith’, ‘Meteors’, ‘Levitate’, and ‘Valkyrie’. The project was postponed due to the members of Danity Kane banding together again, save for D. Woods. The four women (Richard, Aundrea Fimbres, Shannon Bex, and Aubrey O’Day) toured and worked on an album before Fimbres dropped out as she had gotten engaged and wanted to start a family. Richard, Bex, and O’Day continued on as a trio and planned to release their third album “DK3”. The lead single of the project was called ‘Lemonade’ and featured rapper Tyga. Unfortunately the trio didn’t last because of an alleged fight that broke out in the recording studio. “DK3” was released in spite of their second disbandment and Richard returned to her solo career.
“Blackheart” was finally released on January 15, 2015 and contained none of the previously released singles. The 14 song set continues the features battle/medieval imagery but has darker lyrical content and more electronic or dance-pop leaning production. The album was supported by 7 singles including ‘Blow’, ‘Calypso’, and ‘Billie Jean’. The lone feature on the project is former Danity Kane member Aundrea Fimbres on a track called ‘Phoenix’.
The last in the trilogy of albums was known as the Red Era with the album called “Redemption”. Richard said “The Red Era is for everybody. Every gay, every fluid, every black, every white. Because my fan base has been through a lot of shit.” The album was preceded by singles ‘Dance’, ‘Not Above That’, ‘Wake Up’, and ‘Cali Sun’ but none of them are included on the tracklist. Altogether the standard set contains 15 tracks (including into, interludes, and outro) while the deluxe version adds two more tracks. The album was supported by singles ‘Renegades’, ‘Vines’, ‘LA’, and ‘Lazarus/Love Under Lights’.
On July 10, 1992 Raykeea Raeen-Roes Wilson was born in Detroit, Michigan to a single mother (their father died before they were born). Formerly known as Angel Haze, as of March 2018 the rapper now goes by the name Roes. Roes is pansexual and agender and will be referred to with the singular “they” for this article.
When Roes was a kid their mother moved the two of them into the house of a preacher but Roes later called the religious leader a cultist. As the result of being a part of a cult, Roes was witness to manipulation and domestic abuse. On top of this, Roes was sexually assaulted by a family friend. Because of these negative childhood experiences, Roes turned to writing as an outlet. When they were 13 Roes won a school competition and subsequently got their first poem published. Initially Roes wanted to be a gospel singer or songwriter but when they were 18 they started making Youtube videos of them freestyle rapping.
Their first mixtape “King” was released July 12, 2011 followed by mixtapes “Voice” (July 19, 2012) and “Reservation” (July 17, 2012). “Reservation” includes the songs ‘New York’, ‘Werkin’ Girls’, and ‘Hot Like Fire’. On October 5, 2012 they released the EP “New York” via Republic Records. Their fourth mixtape “”Classick” followed on October 25, 2012.
In late 2013 Roes released a cover of a popular song each day for 30 days, the collection of these covers became known as “30 Gold” and included a freestyle to ‘Same Love’ by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. In December of 2013 Roes and their record label had a disagreement over the release date of their debut album “Dirty Gold”. On December 18th Roes leaked the entire album via their Soundcloud. It was quickly removed by label executives who then decided to release the album December 30, 2013. “Dirty Gold” was supported by singles ‘Echelon (It’s My Way)’ and ‘Battle Cry’, which features Sia.
On September 14, 2015 Roes released the mixtape “Back to the Woods”, which featured the songs ‘Impossible’, ‘Babe Ruthless’, and ‘Moonrise Kingdom’. The mixtape is intended to hold fans over until they release their sophomore studio album. Roes released 'Resurrection' in March of 2017, the first single from their upcoming studio album.
Puerto Rican rapper Princess Nokia was born Destiny Nicole Frasquei on June 14, 1992. Her mother died from AIDS when she was 10. From age 9 to age 16 she lived with a physically abusive foster mother. Afterwards she lived with her grandma in New York City. Nokia is bisexual and says that growing up in NYC where there is a substantial LGBT+ community was foundational to her life. She began her music career by performing at gay clubs and found a following in the LGBT+ community.
Nokia started to write raps when she was 16. Her first song ‘Destiny’ was recorded in 2010 and released mid-2012 via Soundcloud and Youtube under the moniker of Wavy Spice. Her second single ‘Bitch I’m Posh’ went viral. Nokia’s third single ‘YAYA’ is inspired by her Taino heritage. Singles ‘Dragons’ (which is Game of Thrones inspired), ‘Honeysuckle’, ‘Vicki Gotti’, and ‘Versace Hottie’ followed.
The rapper’s alter ego, Princess Nokia, debuted with the song titled ‘Nokia’. She released “Metallic Butterfly” on May 12, 2014. “Honeysuckle” followed in 2015 and “1992” in 2016. On September 8, 2017 Nokia released her debut album “1992 Deluxe” via Rough Trade Records; the album is essentially a re-release of her 2016 mixtape with some added tracks.
On April 13, 2018 the rapper released her commercial mixtape “A Girl Cried Red”. The 8 song set is described by Nokia as an “emo mixtape”. In an Instagram Live chat, the rapper said “Everybody wants to put on this facade that they have it all together and I wanted to write a mixtape that was about falling apart and being a fucking mess.” The mixtape is available to purchase on iTunes, Google Play, and the Rough Trade Records site.
Mykki Blanco, born in Orange County, California in 1986, is a rapper, poet, and performance artist. Blanco identifies as trans/multigendered and has gone by male pronouns at some points in life and female pronouns at others. For the purpose of this article (for clarity and consistency) I will use female pronouns because Mykki Blanco is a feminine persona.
June 17, 2011 Blanco published a poetry book via an OHWOW imprint; it was titled "From the Silence of Duchamp to the Noise of Boys". May 9, 2012 Blanco made her music debut with an EP based off the poetry book "Mykki Blano and the Mutant Angels". The EP included songs 'Head is a Stone' and 'Join My Militia'.
November 9, 2012 Blanco released her first mixtape "Cosmic Angel: The Illuminati Prince/ss". It featured singles 'Wavvy', Haze.Boogie.Life', and 'Kinpinning (Ice Cold)'. May 21, 2013 saw the release of another EP "Betty Rubble: The Initiation", which featured the songs 'Feeling Special' and 'The Initiation'. In May the following year Blanco released "Spring/Summer 2014" EP.
October 28, 2014 Blanco's second mixtape "Gay Dog Food" was released; it boasted features from Cakes Da Killa, Cities Aviv, James K, No Bra, and Kathleen Hanna.
June of 2015 Blanco made public her HIV+ status. She didn't expect to receive as much support following her announcement as she got - she even thought that it would hinder her music career. Thankfully she was wrong and later that year was signed by !K9, an independent label. On September 16, 2016 Blanco dropped her debut album "Mykki", which included the songs 'High School Never Ends', 'The Plug Won't', and 'Loner'.
For Fans of: Brooke Candy, Zebra Katz, Cakes Da Killa
Download Link:
Website: MykkiBlancoWorld.com
Credits: MusicRoamer, Gay Star News, Wikipedia, MTV
Bleta “Bebe” Rexha born August 30, 1989 is a singer/songwriter of Albanian-Macedonian descent. Her first foray into the music industry was in 2010 as vocalist of Black Cards - a side project created by bassist Pete Wentz while his band Fall Out Boy was on hiatus. The intention was to release an LP but after a series of delays only ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Fame’ was released. In January of 2012 Bebe Rexha left the band to pursue a solo career. Rexha followed that up with posting covers and a few originals online such as 'Ride Till You Die' featuring Voli.
Warner Bros. Records signed Rexha as a solo artist in 2012. She then began to write songs for other artists such as ‘Like a Champion’ by Selena Gomez and ‘Glowing’ by Nikki Williams. Her most notable co-writing credit is on ‘The Monster’ by Eminem featuring Rihanna; the song won a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Performance and reached number one on the on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
On May 12, 2015 Rexha released her first EP “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up”. The EP was supported by two singles: ‘I Can’t Stop Drinking About You’ and ‘I’m Gonna Show You Crazy’. She continued to write for and be featured in other artist’s songs from ‘Me, Myself & I’ by G-Eazy to ‘Hey Mama by David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj and Afrojack. The latter song didn’t initially credit Rexha even though she sings the chorus and background vocals but as of June 2015 it does credit her as a featured artist.
In 2016 singles ‘No Broken Hearts’ featuring Nicki Minaj and ‘I Got You’ were released. Initially meant for her debut LP the songs became a non-album track (No Broken Hearts) and the only single off the first installation in an EP series called “All Your Fault”. On January 6, 2017 “All Your Fault Pt. 1” was released.
The first single from “All Your Fault Pt. 2” ‘The Way I Are (Dance With Somebody)’ featuring Lil Wayne was released May 19, 2017 with the full project following on August 11, 2017. The second single off the project ‘Meant to Be’ featuring Florida Georgia Line was released October 24, 2017. It reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped Billboard’s Hot Country Songs for 26 weeks becoming the longest charting Country song by a woman.
A third installation of the “All Your Fault” series was planned but instead morphed into an LP titled “Expectations”. Both ‘Meant to Be’ and ‘I Got You’ will appear on the album as well as promotional singles ‘Ferrari’ and ‘2 Souls on Fire’ featuring Quavo. The album is set to be released June 22, 2018.
For Fans of: Zara Larson, Halsey, Selena Gomez
Website: http://www.beberexha.com/
Credits: MusicRoamer, Wikipedia
