A month from tomorrow will be “Music’s Biggest Night”, in other words the 2016 Grammy Awards. The award show will be taking place in its usual location, The Staples Center in Los Angeles, with its usual host of the festivities, rap legend LL Cool J, to hold it down for over three hours of music, madness, pandemonium, winners and Kanye acting a fool. Question is though, who is going to win, and who should win in the four main categories of the night? (Record, Album, Song, New Artist). We here at Manhattan Digest break down the will and the should come Grammy night. Who do you think will take home Grammy gold?
[Read more…] about Grammy Nominations 2016- Who Will Win & Who Should Win?
Grammys
Is Macklemore’s Agenda Pro-Macklemore or Pro-Gay?
Macklemore- Gay Crusader or Selfish Poser?
Tonight will be a big night for rapper Macklemore and his sidekick Ryan Lewis. They are at the top of the leader board in Grammy nominations with 7, including the illustrious Best New Artist and Album of the Year, something that they are both heavily favored to win. As if that isn’t big enough, he is now doing something on tonight’s show that has never been done before.
According to NewNowNext, 34 gay and straight couples will be wed during Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ performance of “Same Love”, which is up for Song of the Year. Further than that, Queen Latifah, a devout supporter of the gay community will be officiating this group wedding. Crazy right? As awesome as this has sounded to some, it doesn’t sound that great to many others. Funny part is that the ones that aren’t down for this quote unquote “prop” are gays themselves. Here is why.
There have been people who think that what he is doing, on top of the song “Same Love” is just an agenda for him to further push his career into being the next big “pop hop” superstar (their words not mine). They believe that it doesn’t come from an authentic place, even having someone write- “Straight pop-rappers are ruining the sanctity of homosexuality”. There needs to be a bit more depth in that very honest quote, but I get where they are coming from because in a sense there isn’t a gay one out there that can speak their mind freely the way that they do without the words “fag” or “homo” being put into it. Why is this? Because hip-hop remains a very homophobic industry, and even with the support from huge stars like Macklemore, it shouldn’t be him that is speaking the message- it should be us.
At the same time, the song and what he is doing is groundbreaking in so many different ways. He is publicly said that the reason why he did this was to further help the state of Washington legalize same-sex marriage, which has now completely come to fruition. So in a way I don’t think what tonight is going to be is a prop. Now, if we look back 12 years ago when Elton John joined Eminem on stage for their performance of the controversial “Stan”, that to me is different. That was Eminem’s way of saving his ass because so many organizations like GLAAD were after him for his spewing hatred of gays in his songs on top of his misogynistic lyrics. Suffice to say, it was a well received performance, but it is like apples and oranges in comparing the both of them when it comes to pushing someone’s agenda.
So there is two very different sides to how people view Macklemore, how would you view him? Pro-gay, or pro-himself?
Grammy Award Predictions: Record Of The Year
Music’s biggest night is only three weeks away now, where the 2014 Grammy Awards will take place live on CBS at 8PM Eastern, 7 Central. The Grammy Committee released its nomination list in early December to much fanfare and shock. One of the biggest awards of the night, if not the biggest, is “Record Of The Year”, an award that is recent years has gone to Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep”, Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now”, and most recently Gotye & Kimbra’s “Somebody That I Used To Know”. This year’s category is interesting as it really isn’t that cut and dry as it was in previous years, which makes this category amongst others that much more interesting. Let’s break down the nominees, and see who was left out, who should win and ultimately who will win.
Record Of The Year Nominees-
Daft Punk Featuring Pharrell Williams- “Get Lucky”
Lorde- “Royals”
Robin Thicke Featuring T.I. & Pharrell Williams- “Blurred Lines”
Bruno Mars- “Locked Outta Heaven”
Imagine Dragons- “Radioactive”
Who Got Snubbed Yo-
There were a couple of people that I thought could’ve definitely been in the running for this category, but above all I think the Grammy Award Nomination Committee got this one right. Justin Timberlake was the biggest snub in my opinion for his song “Mirrors” as I thought he was kind of a shoo in for this and the other two main categories (Song, Album of the Year). Other hopefuls for this were Drake’s “Hold On We’re Going Home” and Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble” as they tend to love both artists in their perspective categories (Rap, Country).
The Long Shot-
The Long Shot here in my opinion is Bruno Mars, as when you look at his track record at the Grammy’s he always seems to be the bridesmaid and never the bride in terms of the big categories. The Grammy Award committee always nominates him for these particular awards, yet he never seems to win them. Granted he has won one, but he also has been nominated about 10 times in the past couple of years. So this will come and go for him again as he is always up against bigger fish.
Who Will Win-
There can definitely be an argument for each of the nominees for who will win this, minus Bruno Mars. I feel like Pharrell might be the thorn in both nominees sides because each song came out at the same time over the summer, and received similar fanfare in terms of chart positions, airplay and overall sales. I get the feeling that the Grammy Award committee that votes for this won’t really be able to differentiate between the two, and they will cancel themselves out. So this leaves “Radioactive” and “Royals”. Alternative has definitely had its moments for “Record Of The Year” over the past decade, with acts like Gotye, Kings Of Leon, Green Day and Amy Winehouse winning. That being said, my money is on “Radioactive” to win, as it seems to go with how the Grammy’s have voted on in the past. An upset for Lorde would be great, but I’m not counting on it that much.
Who Should Win-
I have a hard time breaking this down as for me it is between two songs- “Royals” and “Get Lucky”. “Blurred Lines” was great but I felt like it was overplayed and redundant after a while. I do feel as though “Blurred Lines” in the grand scheme of things could be considered the ROTY as it was the highest selling song on iTunes and stayed number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for such a long time, but personally I don’t feel that it is. Neither do I feel this way about “Locked Outta Heaven” and “Radioactive”. “Royals” has a simple beat with some simple backup singers, yet Lorde’s amazing falsetto and message of an anti bling society that she wants to be the queen of really rang true for me. In a world of Miley/One Direction mania, she really comes in to counteract something like those two and bring a more authentic sound to what she is doing. “Royals” would be a great winner. As for “Get Lucky”, two words- Nile Rodgers. Anytime you hook him up on a song it is going to be dope. “Get Lucky” is one of those songs that is just as good instrumentally as it is with Pharrell’s smooth vocals. It was the best dance track of 2013 in my opinion, and I would just love to see this win off the sheer fun of Daft Punk getting on the Grammy Award stage with those helmets to accept. Tee hee.
Who do you think should win? Take a listen to a Grammy podcast that I did with my good friend John Campanario last month after the nominations were released to hear our perspective on who should and will win. Best of luck to The Grammy Award nominees!
–
Rihanna and Chris Brown Split- WHO THE F CARES
I have had my fair share of stating how I feel about not only Chris Brown but Rihanna in the past couple of years, and when I heard all over the news this morning from The Wendy Williams Show to Newsday to E! that they had broken up yet again so Rihanna can focus on business opportunities I literally LOL’d. Here comes my rant about how I feel about these two, so buckle down everyone.
I have said this before and I will say it again, I DON’T GET HOW CHRIS BROWN IS STILL RELEVANT. How in gods name is a man who brutally and viciously beat the living hell out of a woman still celebrated, awarded and adored by millions of people who can blindly look past what he did? On top of that, he’s a wannabe thug who has gotten into so many altercations with people who actually merit respect and should be celebrated for their talent (Miranda Lambert, Frank Ocean, Robin Roberts). So once again, like Aubrey O’Day on Rupaul’s Drag Race this year, what is their appeal?
What is his appeal exactly? Can someone explain it to me? He wins the Grammy last year for Best R&B Album for an album that was all synth and nothing R&B. He won because The Grammy’s wanted to stir commotion and get viewers, so I get that. When every other person winning an award that night and getting standing ovations up the wazoo and people are barely clapping for you, how do you take that? When are you actually going to wake up and realize all of these childish, petty things you have done since you beat her up still don’t warrant a real apology or anything of the sort? I don’t get it.
As for her, I have my own personal feelings. She has her own issues with press I get it, but beyond that I really just can’t stand her attitude throughout all of this. If someone had beat up my sister and then tried to get back together with her, it wouldn’t happen. Doesn’t she have anyone around her telling her this isn’t right? A good girlfriend, family, SOMEONE. I mean I know she is grown and all, but the fact that no one seemed to stop this from happening over and over again really says something. And the fact that she really is “unapologetic” really says a lot about her character and how she really doesn’t want to be viewed as a role model no matter what.
This is just my gist on how I feel. Everyone is different, but quite frankly it bothers me that this continues to be headline news. It shouldn’t be. There are bigger things in the world to deal with than the modern day Ike and Tina continuously breaking up and getting back together for nonsense reasons. That’s it.
DJ Dainjazone- from LMFAO’s DJ to man with a mission
DJ Dainjazone has become one of the most sought-after DJ’s in and outside of the Los Angeles are in which he resides. After coming off an uber-successful tour with Grammy nominated superstars LMFAO, he took time to sit down with me and discuss what he has going in his career and the steps he took along the way to get to where he is. Really good read and someone you should be on the lookout for in the upcoming months. Check it out.
So how old were you when you decided you wanted to become a DJ?
I started DJ’ing about six and a half years go around the age of 22. I’ve always had an interest in DJ’ing in particular the hip-hop elements of it. I can’t really break dance or rap, so I figured doing this would be perfect. One night some of my basketball team members were throwing a house party and I decided to DJ the whole event. Turned out to be a great success. From there on I took matters into my own hand and made this into a career.
Who would you say are some of your musical influences that inspire you?
I would say guys like Chris Brown and Kanye West, ones that really express passion in what they are doing. I am a huge fan of Travis Barker and it inspires the hell out of just watching him play the drums. Stuff like that.
How would you describe your sound as a DJ for me?
It is tastefully all over the map. Red Foo of LMFAO lets me play more stuff that is hip-hop based. At the same time I like to throw curveballs in my sets but do it in a tasteful way. I like to educate a crowd and teach people new things when it comes to being a DJ and doing this has been a great platform for that.
When people hear your sets who do you usually get comparisons to?
I’ve gotten DJ AM a couple of times before. No one really besides that. For me with AM that is the ultimate compliment. He is the Michael Jordan in this field and broke down so many walls in terms of finding a way to be creative so anyone that says that to me is truly gratifying.
What was the experience like working on LMFAO’s recent tour?
The first feeling I had in this whole thing was truly how tiring it was. The schedule was crazy- we would do a set, go to another country and so on and so forth. In a span of three weeks we would only have two days off. I saw both sides of it truly- how relaxing and cool it was to really how intense it got. The intense times where was I learned a lot about your character by learning to be patient and survive mentally and physically. I persevered through and overall it was a great experience.
LMFAO got nominated for a Grammy this year for “Sexy and I Know It”. What were your thoughts on the show overall?
The Grammy’s for me is always an awarid show for the more grown crowd. Other award shows tend to me a little bit more goofier and people acting out, that doesn’t really happen here. It was a chill show that really was done very appropriately.
You have a hashtag on your Twitter handle about #theteam. What exactly is that?
The team’s group is myself, DJ Rell and Sean Harris who raps and produces. The team came organically, we even have our own hand pose to boot. Few other guys are based in Las Vegas and LA. This team ultimately consists of guys that I have chemistry and gel with, which ultimately is the most important thing when you are forming a team.
What are your plans for the rest of 2013?
There is a brand that I am working on called Infinite Intelligence. It is the name on my Twitter handle actually. It is related to DJ’ing and represents my lifestyle and being great in everything I do. It is putting out there that anything you do is possible and you can do anything you want if you put your mind right. I am going to put documentary videos on what I do- shopping, DJ’ing, working out,m etc. Let people out there know how we are proceeding. I also plan on redoing my website in the upcoming months and I have a great new logo that is done.
www.djdainjazone.com/
www.facebook.com/Dainjazone
https://twitter.com/djdainjazone
Country Class from the 2013 Grammy Country Nominees
Sunday night was a night that I was proud to be representing the country genre on Manhattan Digest as America noticed the Country Class exuding from the 2013 Grammy Country Nominees. From the wardrobe choices, to the performances, the individuals and groups were able to hold their heads high. My predictions were almost spot on, and every winner truly deserved their Grammy.
Move over Beyonce and Jay-Z, because Tim McGraw and Faith Hill stole that red carpet spotlight. Tim looked so dapper in his classy cowboy hat, while Faith was stunning in her sleek black dress. They were not only polite and friendly, but were seemingly genuine and happy to be attending the ceremony.
Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert’s duet of “Home” and “Over You” was a medley not to be reckoned with. The composition was a hybrid of southern belle meets southern comfort with Lambert’s bedazzled white cocktail dress and sweet lyrics, while Bentley’s performance was heartfelt yet edgy.
Lets not forget Hunter Hayes’ interlude of “Wanted”. Although short, he demonstrated his vocal and musical talents in this minute and a half introduction. He managed to shine and woo the audience right before introducing the women of the night.
From the moment she stepped foot onto the carpet, to her exceptional performance, Carrie Underwood glistened throughout the night. She wowed the red carpet without even having to bear any excess skin in a sleek black Roberto Cavalli dress. During her acceptance speech for best Solo Performance, she not only seemed surprised but also humbled, a sight rarely seen. Lastly, her performance of “Blown Away,” literally did what the title says. As spectacular as the light show was, my attention was not taken away from her powerful vocals. She has a command over her voice that should be praised and elegance to her performance that was not gaudy but impressive and creative.
Country has a reason to be proud; embodying class, style and talent at an evening where musicians come together to have their night to shine. If I hadn’t convinced you in my first article to check out some of these talented artists, hopefully now with the show stopping performances, you take a look into what country really has to offer the music industry.
Pamela Erin Gordon
Boobs or Snooze; The 2013 Grammy Awards
This year’s Grammy awards brought out an array of fashion. Despite CBS’s comical dress code, the stars still looked hot this year. CBS sent a notice that the attendees of the Grammy awards should not wear anything revealing; no plunging necklines, side boobs, or butt views. Although CBS tried to control the fashion, many artists clearly disregarded the networks warnings. This is the 2013 Grammy Fashion review.
One artist who visibly paid no attention to the dress code was Katy Perry. Perry’s revealing mint green Gucci dress was skin tight and the peep hole at her chest was anything but censored. Her cleavage was fully exposed! The dress was unattractive and Katy Perry looked a little undone. Not her best.
Another artist who ignored the no “bare skin’ rule was Kelly Rowland in Georges Chakra. The fitted black gown was beautiful and had many, many revealing lines. If she moved the wrong way all of her naughty parts would have been on display. Thankfully there were no slips, but it was obvious Rowland was unfazed by the clothing regulations this year.
I have to admit I was slightly let down by the fashion at the Grammy’s this year. Nothing really astounded me. That being said, there were a few celebrities whose choice of dress was beautiful and warrants mentioning.
My best dressed this year goes to; Rihanna!
I must admit I fully expected Rihanna to completely go against the dress code and shock us all, but she decided to keep it tasteful. The singer rocked a dazzling red Azzedine Alaia gown, sheer panels’ criss-crossed over the chest and haltered on the neck. The skirt was full and flowing chiffon. She looked elegant and still made a statement.
Carrie Underwood looked striking last night. She was put together from head to toe. The strapless Roberto Cavalli gown hugged her curves and accentuated her toned arms. The pattern on the dress was elegant and the beading on the skirt was breath taking.
Faith Hill really surprised me this year. The knee length frock she wore fit her perfectly and the sheer, embroidered top was lovely. The lace jacquard on the skirt was so subtle you could barely see it. This J. Mendel dress looked stunning on Faith Hill.
And now for my favorite part of the Grammy’s… the WORST DRESSED. The Grammy’s always brings out some of the most outrageously heinous fashions. And, oh, they did not disappoint me this year! I’ll try and narrow it down to my top 5 this year.
#5 – Jennifer Lopez
J.Lo’s dress looked like a hefty bag. The cut out for her leg to stick through made no sense!
#4 – Nicole Kidman
Her dress aged her and the muted colors washed her out.
#3 – Adele
I feel wretched naming Adele as one of my worst dressed, but the pregnant Grammy winner looked like she was wearing curtains!
#2 – Solange Knowles
Beyonce’s younger sister looked like a cracked out Diana Ross. The sparkly green dress was cheap looking and the orange heels were horrible.
#1 – Ashanti
Ashanti’s floral dress was too revealing and looked cheap.
Lastly, I want to shout out a few of the men who rocked it last night…
Country cutie Hunter Hayes looked handsome in his Hugo Boss black suit.
Justin Timberlake rocked his Tom Ford suit and had all of us ladies swooning.
The fashion at the Grammy’s this year was toned down compared to previous years. No one really amazed me. I remember tuning into the Grammy’s and being dazzled by the unique costumes the musicians would adorn. I look forward to the outrageous red carpet and can only hope that next year will be more eventful.
Even if it’s Frank Ocean’s fault, why we will never side with Breezy.
A recent story in the media that has been huge is of course the fight between Chris Brown and Frank Ocean that happened the night of January 27th outside of a recording studio parking lot. This fight was over a parking space. Yes, a parking space. Today, The Boombox has stated that Ocean will not press charges over the alleged incident in where Brown punched him and got jumped, stating-
“As a child I thought if someone jumped me it would result in me murdering or mutilating a man,” the R&B star wrote on his Tumblr page Saturday. “But as a man I am not a killer. I’m an artist and a modern person. I’ll choose sanity. No criminal charges. No civil lawsuit.”
If you have been living under a rock or in a country where music doesn’t exist, Chris Brown has had quite a few altercations over the past couple of years with several different people. The most noted one is four years back where he beat the living hell out of Rihanna the night before the ’09 Grammys. Now, they are allegedly back together and doing music as well (“Nobody’s Business”, “Birthday Cake Remix)”. That is a story I could write about forever, but as I’ve stated in the past, it’s her choice. She wants to go back to that, and not listen to the millions of people who think she’s a fool to go back to the modern day Ike Turner, then go for it. Be an idiot.
He has also gone after a slew of other people from Jenny Johnson, Raz-B from B2K, Miranda Lambert and so many more. I find it interesting when this cat came into the game about eight years ago. He screamed rising star, and was the nicest guy in all of his interviews and I generally loved his persona and music. I don’t get why he went from that to now looking like a Dennis Rodman lookalike who has to be so freaking gangster in everything he does. It’s baffling to me that he wants this image, but then again he still has ten million fans on Twitter, so he must be sadly doing something right. Sadly.
All the reports online don’t really favor Chris in this because of said history with other artists and of course Rihanna. He was seen with a cast on his arm recently, which should garner some sympathy, but for the masses of people who believe he shouldn’t be a celebrity anymore with his abuse against women, it falls on deaf ears. Plus Frank Ocean really isn’t know for being controversial in that kind of arena. He is just a talented dude. This fight better not have been over homophobia either, because that would just further Chris Brown on his tour of ultimate douchebaginess. Both of them are up for the same Grammy Sunday- Best R&B Album. Go Frank.