4 Songs I've been playing this month: October 2017

The 4 songs I'm currently bumping in my vehicular automobile!

Okay, yes, I stole this idea from Youtuber Shawn Cee, but I am going to give him credit. I was "inspired" to do this by his series "5 songs I'm listening to". I doubt he'll see this post, but in the rare chance he does. 'Sup Shawn. Anyway, check out his Youtube channel here.

Basically, I wanted to talk about some songs that I'm currently feeling at the moment. Whether it'd be new or old, I feel like my tastes are wide and expansive enough that it'd be interesting to discuss them, plus, it's a short form way of writing about music, which I love to do.

Lately, I've been constantly playing these 4 songs in my car, or in my headphones. I notice I tend to have a small rotation of songs I consistently keep playing week to week.

Let's start with the newest song on here (which is Ski Mask's song) and work backwards to the oldest song on here...

(Throwback) Concert Review #1 - Kendrick Lamar's DAMN. tour

My DAMN. tour review

After seeing Travis Scott's lackluster performance, Kendrick came in and saved the day, thank goodness he was the headliner.

Basically, I went to go see Kendrick Lamar, & Travis Scott on the DAMN. tour (missed DRAM, but I didn't really care) on Tuesday, August 8th, 2017 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

Here's a picture of my ticket...

VVV, Vol. 3 (R&B Edition) - SZA, Syd, Bryson Tiller & Sabrina Claudio

The first R&B projects that I'll be reviewing in this very special edition of Very Velocious Verdicts!

I named this blog "Hip Hop and Other Things" for a reason. Variety is the spice of life, and even I, an avid hip hop fan, can get "burnt out" or "tired" of the genre from time to time.

Which is why I'm switching it up and reviewing R&B projects that have come out this year. A couple projects that are well known (SZA, Bryson Tiller) and a couple that are not so well known as the aforementioned well known projects (Syd, Sabrina Claudio).

As far as R&B as a whole goes. I do have my episodes where I listen to exclusively R&B for like a week or so. Obviously, I'm more experienced in listening to hip hop BUT music is music, and a lot of the times, R&B and Hip Hop intersect so much the line between the 2 genres become one giant smear. 

But I've talked for long enough, let's get to reviewing these R&B projects in the very non hip hop edition of VVV!

Let's start with SZA...

My Top 10 Hip Hop Songs of 2017 (So Far) + Honorable Mentions

It's time for My top 10 hip hop songs of 2017 (so far)

Time FLIES By

It's already MIDYEAR List Season. Yes, 2017 is already halfway dead and gone. And as we approach the 2nd half of the year, I want to reflect on what the year has given me so far in Hip Hop Music and more. These are my top 10 songs of 2017 (so far).

As always...we must start with the honorable mentions (there are 2) for this mid year list.

HONORABLE MENTION #1...

Kendrick Lamar - DAMN: My track by track review

My Review for Kendrick Lamar's "DAMN."

Kendrick Lamar. K. Dot, Cornrow Kenny, or Kung Fu Kenny, is a rapper from Compton, California. After releasing a series of mixtapes dating back to 2003, Kendrick finally got people talking with his 2010 mixtape titled "Overly Dedicated". And since releasing that mixtape, Kendrick went from just your run-of-the-mill, internet struggle rapper, to being the next big thing in Hip Hop and boy, did he not disappoint.

Or did he?

VVV, Vol. 2 - Kodak Black, Joey Bada$$, Rick Ross, Freddie Gibbs, Starlito and Don Trip & Jonwayne

Albums I'll be reviewing in the 2nd installment of "Very Velocious Verdicts"!

Welcome to the 2nd installment of Very Velocious Verdicts (VVV for short!) Basically, I take projects that I've heard that I think deserve a review, but unfortunately would take too much time to review track by track, and I review them in a shorter review format. Thus, allowing me to cover multiple projects at a time, but in a quicker manner.

Also, a word on the new Kendrick Lamar album...

Drake - More Life: My track by track review

Cover Art for "More Life"

Drake. Does this man even need an introduction at this point? Even if you've been marginally aware of popular music in the past 7 years, then you have heard of this man before. To put in perspective how famous this man is, even my 74 year old grandmother knows who he is. Now, you may be saying "Well, just because she's older, doesn't mean she can't keep up with the times!" and if you are saying that, you have to understand something. My grandmother comes from a 3rd world country called "Belize" (as does the rest of my family), she spends the majority of her days cooking food, looking after kids, and watching movies on the lifetime television network. The closest she gets to current technology is the house phone and flip phone she uses when she's out and about. She is literally never near a radio, or watches anything related to what the current, popular music is on TV. Just lifetime network movies and cable news...and even still, a 74 year old immigrant from Belize knows who Drake is...