Memphis Tennessee rap group Three 6 Mafia consists of producer and rapper DJ Paul, rappers Juicy J, Lord Infamous, Koopsta Knicca, Crunchy Black, and Gangsta Boo. The group got its start on the underground rap scene of Memphis in 1990. The method of mass-producing physical cassette tapes in a homemade style, were the tools of […]
Drake
Album Review: The 1975 – A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships
Shortly after the release of The 1975’s second record in 2016, I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful, yet so unaware of it, eclectic frontman Matty Healy described the group to MTV as being “the biggest band in the world that nobody’s ever heard of”. Two years on, perhaps only the first half […]
Album Review: Drake – Scorpion
Like a flustered complaint about the weather and the resulting sunburn, a Spring/Summer Drake release has become the established annual norm. 2018 is no different; after garnering huge success with singles “God’s Plan” and “Nice for What”, as well as a well-publicised feud with rapper Pusha T, his latest double-sided LP Scorpion has been released. […]
Mental Health & the Progressive State of Mainstream Hip-Hop
Mental illness has seemingly always simmered beneath the surface of mainstream hip-hop. In the 1990s paranoia permeated throughout the lyrics of Tupac Shakur. The track ‘Suicidal Thoughts’ closes The Notorious B.I.G’s debut studio album Ready to Die, charting the depth of Biggie’s depressed state through a late night phone conversation, ending with simulated suicide. Mainstream […]
Album Review: Drake – More Life
Categorising More Life as a ‘playlist’ is an interesting yet calculated move from Drake. It displays a sense of awareness that this material is not worthy of a formal ‘album’ status, so it makes its way onto a new type of collection. Of course, it is quite likely that the financial benefits that Drake will surely reap from […]
Album Review: Drake – Views
Views, originally titled Views From The 6, is Drake’s love letter to his home city of Toronto. Since the album was announced way back in 2014, Drake has dropped a surprise mixtape If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late and collaboration album with Future What a Time to Be Alive. After two years of anticipation, […]
The best music videos of 2015
When Taylor Swift started announcing the ridiculously star-studded line up for her blockbuster “Bad Blood” video, her fans and skeptics alike waited for what promised to be the best music video of the year. It had everything: Selena Gomez in a wig, Ellie Goulding holding a bazooka, and Kendrick Lamar in a see through car. […]
Track Review: Kanye West – Facts
Since ‘All Day’, Kanye West has focused on fashion rather than music and took a year before dropping his new song, ‘Facts’, on his Soundcloud on 31 December – ever the showman. While one would have thought his time away from music would leave his return revitalised and riveting, the fact of this matter is: […]
SPOTTED: Music In The Forum (Week 2)
Samantha Chantarasak Year: Third Subject: English with Study in North America Song: Grimes – ‘Flesh Without Blood’ “It’s innovative pop that’s unique in our moment” Alex Hills Year: Third Subject: Geography Song: Ben Rector – ‘Fear’ “I like his lyrics. He’s got a good way of telling stories, and a good voice, and good sound” […]
Album Review: The Game – The Documentary 2
The Game The Documentary 2 Blood Money Entertainment Man. It has been a long time since The Documentary, The Game’s first big release. A whole decade, in fact: back in ’05, Game put out the album just after recovering from a three-day coma, the result of getting shot on his own doorstep. Back then, […]