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Album Review: Azealia Banks – Broke With Expensive Taste

by Will McKinney

 

Azealia Banks, Manhattan Digest
Credit to: Wikipedia

Harlem born and raised, Azealia Banks finally drops her debut album

Azealia Banks has been quite the enigma since she burst into the mainstream radar with her monstrous hit “212” in 2011. Seemingly a star on the rise, she fell in and out of love with Interscope, had twitter beef with every artist from T.I. to Baauer yet had the promise to deliver some of the most experimental music since Missy Elliott.

However, two failed singles and no sign of an album release date left fans wondering whether or not Banks was merely a flash in the pan and a detriment to her own success. Fast forward to Summer 2014. Azealia Banks, now a free agent, released a new single “Heavy Metal and Reflective” and gave fans hope that her debut album “Broke With Expensive Taste” would actually see the light of day. 2 months later another single “Chasing Time” was released and Azealia teased that more was to come.

Then last Thursday, she took a huge risk and dropped “Broke With Expensive Taste” on iTunes with little warning and fans around the world rejoiced. Though not quite a Beyoncé move, given her less than stellar buzz in recent months, many may argue that it wasn’t the wisest decision, but truthfully speaking, in a world of instant gratification, it was right on time.

Despite nearly half of the album containing previously released material (depending on how closely you follow her music), overall the album is an incredibly solid debut offering. My one and only complaint about the album is the sequence of the tracks. “212” is now 3 years old and her most popular track bar none, however it is within the first 5 tracks on the album which in my opinion throws off the balance a bit. She also does not balance the diversity of her music well. Azealia often teeters the line of Hip-Hop, Electronic, R&B, and Pop which is both impressive and confusing and she jumps from one style to the next without any sort of transition.

These things aside, Azealia proved naysayers completely wrong: She is far from a one hit wonder or a flash in a pan manufactured artist. She sticks to her guns and she doesn’t apologize for it as she effortlessly delivers diverse musical styles that are absolutely amazing. And guess what? The risk has paid off. She debuted at #30 on the Billboard Top 200 with over 11k albums sold (and that was in less than a week’s time). In this day and age, without any label support and a marketing plan, Miss Banks certainly won’t be broke much longer.

Standout tracks: Wallace, Chasing Time, JFK, Idle Delilah, Ice Princess

Official Website Here

Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC Tagged With: azealia banks, baauer, manhattan digest, missy elliott, t.i.

2014 Grammy Nominations- Shockers, Delights and Kendrick!

by Ryan Shea

The 2014 Grammy Nominations were announced live last night in Los Angeles at the annual “Grammy Nominations Special” they do each year, hosted by LL Cool J.  They had some pretty off the chain concerts from some of the biggest artists in the world, and it truly set the stage for a great night to come in February.  When I read the list of nominees this year, some I expected, some I was somewhat surprised on, and some I was insanely baffled that got left out.  Let’s break each category down and see what went right and what went really wrong.

Credit to: Mademonoire
Credit to: Mademonoire

Record Of They Year-

Lorde- “Royals”

Imagine Dragons- “Radioactive”

Robin Thicke Featuring TI & Pharrell Williams- “Blurred Lines”

Daft Punk Featuring Pharrell Williams- “Get Lucky”

Bruno Mars- “Locked Outta Heaven”

In my original prediction blog, I had four out of five right (Hooray for me) with Imagine Dragons as an “Honorable Mention” but definitely a contender.  Not surprised by any of these as they were all great nominees.  Justin could’ve made this category, but I will delve much further into that on the next one.  These five songs were really some of the biggest of the year, each of them representing a different genre of music in my opinion.  Lorde on that pop/alternative tip, Imagine Dragons are pure alternative, Robin Thicke as the R&B crooner, Daft Punk bringing in the EDM and Bruno Mars giving us straight soul.  This is going to be an interesting category of sorts because I don’t think there really is a clear cut winner here.  Moving along.

Credit to: Word Press
Credit to: Word Press

Album Of The Year-

Sara Bareilles- “The Blessed Unrest”

Daft Punk- “Random Access Memories”

Kendrick Lamar- “Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City”

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis- “The Heist”

Taylor Swift- “Red”

No Justin Timberlake in this category, I am beyond shocked about that.  I pegged “The 20/20 Experience” as winning this award beyond easily and I truthfully believe he was the biggest snub of the night.  Kind of sad when you have the biggest album of the year and you are left off such a crucial list.  I think Sara and Kendrick are the surprising nominees here, in a good way.  I thought Bruno Mars was a shoo in as well for “Unorthodox Jukebox” but I am somewhat glad to see him left off this list as I think Sara and Kendrick had stronger showings.  Not shocked by Macklemore, Taylor or Kendrick but for the sake of my sanity I pray that Taylor doesn’t win AOTY again because “Red” wasn’t really a strong showing.  It was a continuation of her last album, and I hope when she releases her new effort it has a bit of maturity to it.  This is a tough one to call right now, but if I had to be personal on this- KENDRICK.  Please.

Credit to: Replay The Track
Credit to: Replay The Track

Song Of The Year-

Pink & Nate Ruess- “Just Give Me A Reason”

Bruno Mars- “Locked Outta Heaven”

Katy Perry- “Roar”

Lorde- “Royals”

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Featuring Mary Lambert- “Same Love”

In my original article, I had three out of five right (Pink, Macklemore, Lorde).  Katy Perry wasn’t really on my radar, and this was the category I thought Sara Bareilles had a chance at with “Brave”, which Katy insanely ripped off for “Roar”.  I actually had Drake in this category for “Hold On We’re Going Home”,  a song he didn’t even get nominated for this year.  That to me is frustrating, as it is one of the best tracks of 2013, and its the same sentiment I felt two years ago when his song with Rihanna “Take Care” got snubbed as well.  This is a pretty standard list, so nothing too surprising.  They could’ve given Miley something in the main categories, especially for the teen voters, and “Wrecking Ball” is in fact a very well written song.  That being said, “Same Love” has got my vote.  The lyrics are incredible and if there is one award Macklemore & Ryan Lewis should win it is this one folks.

Credit to: Fansided
Credit to: Fansided

Best New Artist-

James Blake

Kacey Musgraves

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Ed Sheeran

Kendrick Lamar

Two out of five in my original predictions, with Macklemore and Kendrick easily getting nominated.  The others, I don’t really know how I feel about it.  First off, where the heck is Imagine Dragons and Lorde on this?  Ed Sheeran has been around for a while, so I don’t get why he is nominated this year and not last year.  I am beyond floored that Florida Georgia Line didn’t get ANY nominations, and I thought that they would be the perennial country nominee as well over Kacey, but I am glad to see she got in here.  The shocker here is EDM producer James Blake, who is following similar pathways with EDM being recognized in the main categories as Skrillex earned a Best New Artist nod last year.  Fun! won this last year, something that I thought was completely shit as it should’ve been Frank Ocean, but this is a pretty strong group across the board.  Best New Artist has proven to be an award that is never really cut and dry, and many artists that have won in recent years are the one you least expect (Bon Iver over Nicki Minaj, Esperanza Spalding over Justin Bieber).  So James Blake really is the odd one out in this.  Macklemore really isn’t a new artist in my opinion because he has been around a lot longer than people think, so once again I would love for Kendrick to take this one home.  Country nominees never win this award, so it really comes down to Kendrick and Macklemore in my opinion.

Check out the official Grammy website for all the nominees and keep checking on Manhattan Digest for our official prediction blogs in all the categories for months to come.  Congrats to all the nominees, especially Kendrick and my homegirl Kathy Griffin who got a sixth nomination for Best Comedy Album! 🙂

 

Filed Under: BREAKING NEWS, ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC Tagged With: 2014 grammys, bon iver, bruno mars, daft punk, esperanza spalding, Fun., grammy, grammy nominations, imagine dragons, jay-z, justin bieber, justin timberlake, kacey musgraves, Katy Perry, kendrick lamar, lorde, macklemore, miley cyrus, nate ruess, nicki minaj, pharrell williams, pink, radioactive, robin thicke, royals, ryan lewis, t.i., Taylor Swift

2013 MTV Video Music Award Noms- The List is out…

by Ryan Shea

Credit to: Filter Magazine
Credit to: Filter Magazine

 

The Video Music Awards are the one award show I look forward to every year because beyond anything it tends to be pretty freaking awesome.  It ranks as one of the most social events of the year and has birthed and revamped many careers over the past three decades.  Now in it’s 30th year (crazy), the VMA’s are set to take place back where it all started- New York.  It will be broadcasted live on August 25 at the brand new Barclay Center right in the heart of Brooklyn.  Heck, even the classic Moonman got a great redesign for only this year.  Truth be told, this will be another one for the record books.  How can I tell? All the great people are nominated this year.  Let’s break down each category.

Credit to: Idolator
Credit to: Idolator

 

Video of the Year-

The ultimate, the biggest award of the night has got to be “Video of the Year”.  In recent years, R&B Divas like Beyonce (Single Ladies) and Rihanna (Umbrella, We Found Love) have taken the trophies yet over it’s 30 year history has seen this award go to a bevy of legends such as Madonna (Ray of Light) and Eminem (Without Me) just to name a few.  This year three R&B crooners, a hip-hop legend in the making and one of the biggest female stars on the planet all under one category.  Robin Thicke has his first set of nominations this year with his number one chart topping “Blurred Lines” featuring Pharrell Williams and T.I.  That song has been voted by several publications as the song of the summer, and boy has it been good to him.  Justin Timberlake returns to the VMA pool with the second single off his album The 20/20 Experience with “Mirrors”.  He has been in this category twice before for “What Goes Around… Comes Around” and “Cry Me A River”.  Country-turned-Pop diva Taylor Swift has her first Video of the Year nod with the second single off her album “Red” called “I Knew You Were Trouble”.  Rounding out this category is R&B hit maker Bruno Mars “Locked Outta Heaven” and who I think will and should be the winner, Macklemore &Ryan Lewis’ “Thrift Shop” which currently sits as the biggest selling song of 2013.  It’s also a rad video. Yup.

Credit to: Rap It Up
Credit to: Rap It Up

 

Best Hip-Hop Video-

This category has been around since 1999 (it changed from Best Rap Video) and has been won by quite the bevy of artists such as Beastie Boys, Jennifer Lopez and Missy Elliott.  The nominees this year scream out for the fresh new faces that are taking over the industry and keeping it hot and hopeful for the years to come.  Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, who are up for 6 this year, come in again in this category with “Thrift Shop” but they have some truly stiff competition in place.  Newbies in the game from Kendrick Lamar (Swimming Pools), A$AP Rocky (F***ing Problems) have their first shots at winning a moonman, and perennial favorites such as Drake (Started From The Bottom) and J. Cole (Power Trip) are looking to make their mark in this category.  “Thrift Shop” will most likely win in this category as well, but there is a crowded room for anyone to come out on top.

Credit to: Idolator
Credit to: Idolator

 

Best Collaboration-

This award, only given out in 2007, 2010 and 2011 has been won by all the big divas in recent years such as Katy Perry (E.T. with Kanye West), Lady Gaga (Telephone with Beyonce) and Beyonce and Shakira (Beautiful Liar).  The divaness in this one is not on the mainstage, as the five nominees couldn’t be different from each other.  Robin Thicke shows up again in this category with the saucy “Blurred Lines”.  Hot dance tracks such as Pitbull & Christina Aguilera’s “Feel This Moment” and Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding’s “I Need Your Love” populate the crowd as well.  The two that I see truly going neck to neck on this is Justin Timberlake & Jay-Z’s “Suit & Tie” and chart-topping “Just Give Me A Reason” by Pink and Nate Truess.

Check out the full list on MTV.com.  Who is your pick to win? Be sure to watch the MTV Video Music Awards live on August 25th and see if your favorite wins!

 

Filed Under: BREAKING NEWS, ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC, TELEVISION Tagged With: a$ap rocky, drake, j. cole, jay-z, justin timberlake, kendrick lamar, macklemore, nate truess, pharrell williams, robin thicke, ryan lewis, t.i., thrift shop, video music awards

Charity, Music, and Prom; My interview with Brittany Smooch

by Ryan Shea

Brittany Smooch
Brittany Smooch

Brittany Smooch is a young, up and coming teen pop star and Hip Hop artist.  Brittany’s music is fun and catchy and her personality is similar.  I had the pleasure of speaking to Brittany yesterday about her music and charity work she has participated in.  On the phone, Brittany seems sweet and determined.  She knows what her goals are and she is pursuing them with great success.  Brittany recently did work with the WGirls for their charity Project G.L.A.M, which gives prom dresses and accessories to girls who can not afford them. You can check it out at http://www.wgirls.org/get-involved/project-glam/

 

Brittany Smooch at Project G.L.A.M
Brittany Smooch at Project G.L.A.M

As soon as Brittany answered I knew she was going to be fun to interview.

When did you get into hip-hop?

I have always been into hip-hop music.  But when I started writing my own songs it just came out that way.  It just sounded like a rap.

When did you know you wanted to pursue a career in music?

I have been involved in music my whole life!  At 5 years old I was taking singing lessons and by 7 I was writing my own music.  I have always known that this is what I wanted to do.

Who is your favorite rapper?

Oh my God!  I have so many favorites.  But I guess if I had to pick it would be T.I.  He is amazing!

You have a unique Urban style, where do you love to shop?

I love Patricia Field.  They have a store in the City and the clothes are so crazy and cool.  I really like anything that has a unique feel.  I also really like Betsey Johnson.

Brittany Smooch
Brittany Smooch

How did you become involved with the WGirls and Project G.L.A.M?

I have always been involved with charity work.  I really enjoy it.  I was working with the NY city charity NY Cares and when the chance to do Project G.L.A.M came along I took it.  Its really an awesome charity and I love being able to help young girls.

This charity is so amazing, and it must have been cool to see the girls faces as they got their dresses, how was that?

Seeing their faces was priceless.  Watching the girls try on dresses and find ones they loved was really exciting.

Brittany Smooch at Project G.L.A.M
Brittany Smooch at Project G.L.A.M
Brittany Smooch Project G.L.A.M
Brittany Smooch Project G.L.A.M

What did you wear to your prom?

Well, I’ve actually been to a few proms.  But my favorite dress was one I wore to a Long Island prom.  It was really girly and looked like a Princess dress.  It was pink and lacey.  Usually I don’t like really girly clothes but this dress was beautiful and really made me feel like a princess.

Do you have any advice for prom goers this year?

“Don’t fall into peer pressure.”  Have fun and enjoy this time in your life but don’t think you have to do something you don’t want to.  That is really important to me.

What do you have coming up?

Well, I just released my EP and now I am working on my new album.  I just finished up my High School concert tour and am getting ready for my next performance.  I am performing at Six Flags Boston on June 29th.

Who would you love to collaborate with?

Well of course, T.I. since he’s my favorite rapper, but I also think it would be really cool to work with powerful women in music.  I’d love to do something with Nicki Minaj, Fergie, or Britney Spears.

What is one lyric to describe your life right now?

It would definitely have to be the chorus of my song, “Super Turned Up.”  Because that’s how everything in my life is right now, “Super Turned Up.”

You can check out Brittany Smooch on her website http://www.brittanysmooch.com/

Follow Brittany Smooch
Follow Brittany Smooch

 

You can also check out her interview in Vibe magazine.

http://www.vibe.com/article/new-music-brittany-smooch-booty-bounce-gal-behind-booty

Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, FASHION, LIFESTYLE, MUSIC, NEW YORK, STYLE, U.S., uncategorized Tagged With: betsey johnson, britney spears, brittany smooch, charity, clothes, dance, dancing, fergie, hip hop, long island, music, NEW YORK, nicki minaj, NY, patricia field, project G.L.A.M, project glam, prom, prom dress, rap, t.i., Urban, vibe, vibe magazing, wgirls

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