Editorial credit: Sterling Munksgard / Shutterstock.com DESCRIPTION: In honor of Dreamville, I decided to take a look back at my introduction to J.Cole’s music his 2010 mixtape “Friday Night Lights”. This is truly an outstanding project from a concept standpoint. Cole thrives in the underdog role and his unconventional route to becoming the star we…… read more »
Photo credit: Randy Miramontez / Shutterstock.com DESCRIPTION: Looking back nearly 10 years after the release of “Dreamchasers 2” this projects stands as a true testament to the blog/mixtape era of hip hop. Many of the artist who feature on this project were in the beginning stages of their careers and everyone of them sound desperate…… read more »
PHOTO CREDIT: RCA DESCRIPTION: Hearing Maxo Kream for the first time comes with an energy that is hard to describe. His music is able to capture what feels like a chase scene infused with dark lyrics about his life and what he has seen but all the way through there is absolutely no way you…… read more »
Editorial credit: s_bukley / Shutterstock.com DESCRIPTION: There are very few artist whose debut works feel intimate and personal and are able to find main-stream success. With the release of “Food & Liquor” Chicago native, Lupe Fiasco walked tightrope balancing infectious beats and song arrangements with his once in a generation lyricism to create a project…… read more »
Editorial credit: Everett Collection / Shutterstock.com DESCRIPTION: Sophomore albums are typically very hard to create simply because for many artist their first album is the one they’ve been waiting to make their entire lives. This was certainly not an issue for the incredible three artist that made up TLC. With “CRAZY.SEXY.COOL.” TLC harnessed all of…… read more »
Editorial credit: Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com DESCRIPTION: By the time of this album’s release in fall of 1997 Janet Jackson was already cemented as a true icon of music. Despite this many still couldn’t resist trying to discredit the lane Janet created for herself without her Mega-Star brother. To me, this album changed all of that,…… read more »
Editorial credit: s_bukley / Shutterstock.com DESCRIPTION: Few heart break albums hold a candle to the mastery of craft displayed by Keyshia Cole on this project. The themes of love and loss that the Oakland native would learn to wield in her classic sophomore album “Just Like Me” are present in this debut. Her raw emotion…… read more »