Have You Heard?

Album Review: Rihanna Unapologetic 

While I am a Huge Rihanna Fan, I was unsure if "Unapologetic" would be a great album or just mediocre. The album is actually pretty good, I'd say that the album is about equal to the quality of "Talk That Talk". I really love the artistry of sound that Rihanna plays with on the album. She stays true to her island roots on tracks like "No Love Allowed". We  hear a softer side to the Barbados born vocalist in tracks like "Half of Me" and "Love Without Tragedy/Mother Mary" where she is actually surprised by her fame and also asks for forgiveness of her sins from "Mother Mary, Mr. Jesus". And of course, Rihanna wouldn't be Rihanna without her pop and edgy songs that have helped to carry her to fame like the treasured single "Diamonds" and "Phresh Off the Runway". 

A great surprise to the album was her collaboration with Singer Chris Brown in  "Nobody's Business". I predict this track to be the next great single off the album, it proclaims that the love between her and her lover is just that "Nobody's Business". Whether we like it or not Chris Brown and Rihanna are going to be together and they are going to make music together and every time they are big hits. Overall I give the album a B on the standard school grading scale, I  recommend the purchase of this album

 as a keeper!

Have You Heard Kendrick Lamar?

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth is the American hip-hop artist that is currently sweeping the internet. His latest mixtape Overly Dedicated has been getting worldwide attention. Not to mention the huge buzz off his new album Good Kid, Mad City to be released October 22, 2012.

Overly Dedicated features a mix of various underground and conscious rappers. The mixtape also includes many “indie” (Independent) artists like Jhene Aiko and Ab-Soul. Popular tracks off the mixtape “Opposites Attract”, “Ignorance Is Bliss” and “Average Joe” appear to be his testament to life, love and the hood. The Compton California rapper describes his music as not catering to Blacks or Whites but simply everyday life music. “Opposites Attract” is Lamar’s testament to love where he exposes the one fact that “We hate people that love us, love people that hate us”. “Ignorance is Bliss on the other hand appears to “glorify gangster rap and street crime but keeps repeating the line that “Ignorance is Bliss” hinting to the fact that we know not what we do”. “Average Joe” describes his position in relation to his experiences in his hometown. While there is violence and crime all around him he is just another man, affected by life. Kendrick Lamar’s music is very well- rounded and has something for every open-minded listener. 

 Good Kid, Mad City is already getting nationwide airplay with the single “Swimming Pools (Drank)”. Kendrick Lamar has a somewhat unorthodox sound with a new and interesting feature in each song and video. He is an artist in the highest sense of the word, detailing both the good and bad of his world. His west-coast sound is filled with beats and lyrics that make you bob your head and think at the very same time. Check out all his music and news at kendricklamar.org.

Have You Heard Angel Haze



I recently discovered this sensational female MC by the name of Angel Haze.  I happened to stumble upon her song entitled “Cleaning Out my Closet” and was instantly hooked. Her music both brash and sensitive to the female psyche draws the listener in by her sharp beats and clever word play.

The 21 year old lyrist began her career as a poet but having been influenced by a friend she turned her poems into raps. She currently has two mix tapes out to date Classick and Reservation which have “surpassed the 40,000 mark in downloads, and have over 100,000 views on YouTube.” Classick features a variety of Lauryn Hill songs that she has remixed to include more of the modern problems that women face. In Haze’s version of Doo-Wop That Thing, she quotes “never love a man that will treat you like a hoe, never love a man that will  let you go… never love a man that gets you high and leaves you low…[forget] your inner thighs, show him your inner glow”. Her words influence women to find more worth in themselves then what a man might.

Angle Haze is on the move building a large fan base online through, her websites whenitraeens.com, reverbnation.com/angelhaze and twitter.com/nativeraeen. I suggest her music as a must listen. The few female MC’s out deserved our attention and promotion of positive images and messages of women.