Weekly Obession: #NaeNae

There’s a new dance craze that sweeping the interwebs, particularly instagram and vine. It’s called the #NaeNae dance.
Originating from ATL, Georgia this hot dance was made popular by the group @WeAreToonz. You may have even seen the video where basketball player Dwight Howard hit the NaeNae (watch here.)
The dance can be described in three parts.

First, knees are bent and widespread in an athletic like stance.

Second, choose one hand to hold up in the air, either right or left. You’ll want to rise your hand high as if your big bad self is about to tell those fives listen up.

And thirdly, you will have to master a sassy shoulder movement that rocks to and fro. That is where you keep your focus. Make sure you make your shoulders swivel with some attitude now.

What sets this dance apart from others in the past is that the #NaeNae has some fairly feminine moves in it. Aside from the basic NaeNae shoulder and hand movements; the steps in between the Nae Nae (also referred to as “Jig”) is where you get creative with it. Make it your own by doing a little foot tap with a hand on the hip or do a little weave pat with it. Why not some subtle tweaking? Now you’ve got it going on! Make it your own and others will sure not forget it.

Weekly Obsession: Artist, Lykke Li

Different. Refreshing. Swedish singer/songwriter, Lykke Li, is one of my favorites. Her music is so artistic it’s probably unlike anything you’ve ever heard. Her lyrics are are a work of genius and seems a few others have caught on.

If you haven’t seen her live performance that’s when she’s at her best, talented to say the least. A voice that’s pure. Vulnerable on stage, but with presence and charisma. What more could you ask for?

Because of her musical background she will often incorporate various instrumental elements. The use of percussion, strings and tambourines are commonplace. The sounds of live music is enchanting like that of indie-rock.
Listen to one song and you will definitely catch a hipster vibe.
Her songs featured in Twilight and performed at festivals such as Coachella. To witness her sing live is contagious.

“You’re my river runnin’ high, run deep, run wide.

I, I’ll follow. I’ll follow you. Deep sea baby.”

Here is her outofthisworld love On The Moon performance.

Here is her video official. Pure genius.

And here is a popular remix kind of an Abercrombie vibe but catchy none the least. A must listen!

Situationships

Why do good guys hurt good girls? Is it because secretly they wish to be the bad guy? In the end, they’re both alone, sitting, contemplating. Does love slowly fade or do you never realize what you have until it’s gone? Truly, a love that’s enduring is what I want. Trust comes from that which is not as it seems. Love is never so cut and dry…

Listen Situationships by Fabolous ft Mack Wilds & Tiara Thomas here.

EMINEM: RAP GOD

I once heard someone say, Eminem was their favorite rapper because of his ability to consistently release albums that can be listened to over and over. I remember having this unconvinced look on my face, but now I may have to disclaim that reaction from memory. It’s hard to deny that remark now that the new Marshall Mathers LP2 being so fire!

To be honest, it was only after listening to songs off the album apart from the popular singles, Berzerk, and Rap God, that I became hooked. The reason for that being, because I wasn’t all that impressed with what I heard. I had this idea for a while that Eminem was getting too mainstream (he actually addresses it in his song, Rap God.)

Now, for a lot of you out there, you may shudder at labeling a song or artist today as mainstream. It can be a taboo topic. Many of us become instantly turned off when those words are used in a sentence together.

WARNING!!! THIS SECTION MAY BE DISPUTED

To clarify, what this expression means in this case is that Eminem’s raps were becoming more to satisfy the masses and not for himself. It’s this phenomena that occurs when a artist becomes too popular or has gained significant wealth. We begin to question the artist and prefer his/her older songs over the new. No doubt, few artists today can pull this off without straying from what made them popular in the first place. What made them the ‘hot new sh*t’. What made them really relate their words to us. When I listened to the album with a friend whom is an avid Eminem listener, I found that there is something that instantly grabs our attention.

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[BACK TO THE TOPIC AT HAND…]

There is an incorporation of sounds and lyrics from his beginnings with modern references that takes on other artists, media, or social social sayings that are relevant. Now sounds and lyrics His transitions from one song to the next are well placed and eases you into something new with each track. It’s quite impressive

Listen: Rhyme or Reason (He goes in after rapper Chief Keef)

The separate tracks from the singles that are out now give you a sense of nostalgia and freshness. Eminem was able to use sounds and lyrics from his beginnings of rap and mix them with modern references and takes on other artist. His ability to do such a thing makes it difficult not to pay attention to.

Maybe you’ll recognize the famous classic rock line-“My Maserati does 185, I lost my license now I don’t drive.”

The track, So Far, features sample from Joe Walsh’s, Life’s Been Good.

Listen: So Far… by Eminem- (@3:05 he even throws in sample from Slim Shady!)

OWN IT///BRIAN PUSPOS

One thing I cannot deny is that I’ve been an avid Drake listener from the very beginning. His songs are the perfect mix of singing and rapping. To be completely honest, not every song of his is a gem, but how common is that today with rappers constantly pushing out new content?

I am pleased to say that a statement song off his latest album Nothing Was The Same, received some ‘special treatment.’ Own It, is one of my favorites. A true R&B song that’s guaranteed to make you feel “Some type of way.”

Choreographer Brian Puspos, a fellow Filipino I might add, along with famed choreographer Ian Eastwood had taken the challenge of creating a visual dance video in accordance with the song.

A visual masterpiece is what was born. It’s a short film but it envelops you. You become transported to another time, another place, another feel.

I instantly fell in love. Just as I did when I first heard the song.

“Guess who’s it is….Yours”

QUEEN BEY: BEYONCÉ ALBUM REVIEW!!!

Beyonce’s album is hard to handle (Whoooooh!) Off the get go the album hits hard. Beyonce is just the fiercest in the game. There’s no hiding it.

Partition: The beat is very drumline. Simple, her voice, and bass drums. Then the song takes a turn and the beat completely twists unexpectedly in the best possible way. (BEYONCÉ ALL ON HIS MOUTH LIKE LIQUA) Beyoncé hits hard just to remind everyone that she’s still the boss. Her first track ends on french words to soak in. You fall in love from the very beginning. the attitude is too much

No Angel: Completely an R&B song. Beyonce shows off her talents by singing the lyric in falsetto, effortlessly I might add. It is purely a song about adoration and imperfection. The breakdown is dope, it kind of reminds me of electro-music. Her lyrics are also stunning to top it off.

Rocket: We all love when Beyonce hits us with a little slow grind. This time its completely slowed down. I don’t know how else to describe it besides a slow jam for that sexual healing. We find that she loves to call her man daddy, (I will never understand that one). “Rocket till water falls” Well, use your imagination for that one. 

Blow: Another mature song for the grown and sexy audiences. The way I can describe this song is basically that Bey is describing just how she likes to ‘get it in.’ The lyrics are very detailed and extremely descriptive. I almost feel as if she had Kelly Rowland help her in the writing it’s so dirty.

XO: A lovely song out there for all the couples. As she sings about her intimacy with her partner, crowds are heard cheering in the background. She sings about the kind of love that makes you a better person, how you search for this person and they have all of you. “I search through the crowd and your face is all I see” “Baby love me lights out” Beyoncé demonstrates that she truly has it all.

Superpower: Ok, I dont even know how to properly describe this song well. It’s a vocalists song that’s for sure. The beat is kind of a background show tunes type of “Doo Doo Doo.” Frank Ocean’s voice in the song is deep in the beginning, kind of like ‘where’d this come from?’ The message of the song is how unstoppable herself and her love are together. “Not that the world would revolve, without us”

Haunted: This song is so dope! Refreshing. It begins with a speech recorded of Beyonce receiving an award at an early age while she thanks her parents and declares her love for the city of Houston. “All the people on the planet working 9-5 just to stay alive, how come?” Beyonce relates to us with this line. Her haunting voice takes us away as we get lost in her vocals. This song is from a dream. The lyrics are mesmerizing.

Heaven: A timeless song about the passing of a dear loved one. This song has very few lyrics but the message is clear. “Heaven couldn’t wait for you. So go home, go home.” The song is sung beautifully, if I had to compare it to anything from her past discography I would have to say Halo. Beyonce belts the lyrics with such emotion it’s almost gospel-like.

Flawless: Totally a song about power. I listened to her talk about how the song came into production and it turns out the lines “Respect that, bow down b*tches” actually came from an angry place. Beyoncé tells us to think about someone that your extremely mad at then imagine yourself to tell them to, “bow down, b*tch!” That’s sure to make you feel 100x’s better about yourself. So she wrote the song out of anger and thought the inspiration was tight. I would have to agree. Probably my favorite song of the album so far, it’s really hood. The lines “My diamond, flawless. My rock, flawless. I woke up like this, I woke up like this, flawless,” just resound in my head everyday. I love it! Also, Nigerian Novelist, Chimamanda Adiche samples in the track. She talks about the comparison from men and women. How women are aspired to marriage and compete each other for it, while men are not taught in the same way. It is a powerful excerpt taken from her speech on TED. Watch here.

Blue: The song titled Blue is a beautiful track about her two year old daughter. She is in awe of the beauty and feels blessed by her creation of life. If you have any type of soul the words “You’ve got to hold on” press deep into your heart — a simple sentence that expresses the boundless love surrounding Blue Ivy. This song brings so much joy to me and I don’t even have a child. If you are a proud, loving parent then you will appreciate Bey in this song.

Overall this album is quite the entertainment. It comes out with a boom and keeps us paying our attention on it. This album is unlike any we had ever seen before. At certain points I was questioning “Who is this? This is not a Beyoncé that I know.” Although it is much different from what we’re used to, Beyoncé has improved and moved to further achieved points in her life. This album helped me recognize that change is for the better. It will always happen!

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