#beyonce fans I have no explanation and will not apologize

[arbitrarygreay]

This was...........actually way easier to do than I expected? Brain pattern recognition was right after all

The second verse and the bridge bring me much joy

[bangwoolofbangtan]

Why now'BTS' and'Grammy'

The significance of BTS' potential for Grammy award

2020.11.16

One of the concerns surrounding the 63rd Grammy Awards, which will be held in February next year, is whether BTS' Grammy Nominations and awards. When BTS was not nominated for the 62nd Grammy Awards in November 2019,' Forbes ' summarized the achievements BTS showed during 2019, saying, "Historically, artists of color in the Grammy have been repeatedly alienated." Pointed out. ' Rolling Stone ' also criticized, "Not acknowledging K-pop at the awards ceremony is in stark contrast to the everyday reality of the music industry." Nevertheless, at the 62nd Grammy Awards, BTS performed a short performance with Lil Nas X and received favorable reviews. At the 61st Grammy Awards held in February 2019, they emerged as the winners of the Best R&B album category, and the suits they wore at that time were displayed at the LA Grammy Museum in November of the same year. However, even at that time, BTS was nominated for the'Best Recording Package', a field that the album package's art director won. It is not known whether Grammy's choice had any specific intentions, as claimed by Forbes and Rolling Stone. However, it is true that the spotlights that Grammy shed on BTS and the nomination results do not seem appropriate.

Bulletproof Boy Scouts''Dynamite' recorded first place for two consecutive weeks on the Billboard Chart'Hot 100' on September 1st and 9th (EST). As an Asian artist, it is the third place since'Sukiyaki' in 1963 and'Like a G6' in 2010. According to Nielsen Music's financial report for the first half of 2020, BTS''MAP OF THE SOUL: 7'was the only album in the United States that sold more than 500,000 real albums during the first half of this year. In addition, among pop artists, BTS recorded 1417,000 points based on total consumption by converting the number of digital music downloads and streaming counts to album sales, ranking second after Billy Eileish among pop artists. This is also a record that surpassed the Beatles, another artist who earned more than 1 million points in total as the group's only. It's not just commercial achievements. BTS' fandom ARMY uploads a fancam to the Dallas Police Agency's app'iWatch Dallas', which receives reports of illegal protests on social media, and confronts the movement to control the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests, or Donate $1 million on the matterThe fandom is showing a new trend toward social participation. Bulletproof Boy Scouts not only achieved great success in the American music industry, which was commercially centered in the Western world, but became a symbol of the times leading a number of armies (ARMYs) made up of various identities around the world. If BTS were nominated for or won a Grammy, they would add one more line to this history that no one expected. But not being suspicious does not mean that this history will disappear. If you can find any meaning in BTS's Grammy Nomination or Award, it is because this is a problem in this era.

Before BLM became an important topic in 2020, Grammy was a competition for identity. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in 2014, when Macklemore and Ryan Lewis overtook Kendrick Lama to win the Best Newcomer Award and three rap awards, Maclemore told Kendrick Lama, "I wanted you to win." He uploaded an apology message sent to him on his Instagram. In addition, at the 59th Grammy Awards held in 2017, Adele won a total of five crowns, including three awards excluding the New Artist Award among the Main Awards (Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Rookie of the Year). On the other hand, Beyonce, who was highly praised for her album'Lemonade', only won the Best Urban Contemporary Album Award and Best Music Video Award, a genre award. Kendrick Rama did not win the main prize at the Grammy, even though'To Pimp A Butterfly' in 2015 and'DAMN.' in 2017 were highly evaluated with 96 and 95 Metacritic points, respectively. It is unknown whether Grammy, who has long been criticized for being'#GrammysSoWhite', intentionally excluded black artists. Just ' billboard'Is a collection of the history of the hip-hop genre, which has been steadily marginalized in the main awards of the Grammy Awards. It has been pointed out that legendary hip-hop artists have not tasted the glory of Grammy. In addition, a problem was raised that the awards of hip-hop artists were limited to some genres rather than the original award. In 2017, Drake expressed the opinion that his song'Hotline Bling', which won the Best Rap Song Performance category at the Grammy Awards, was not rap , and because he was a black artist and rapper, he limited his music to the field of rap rather than his own Complained about the award. This evokes criticism from some BTS fans that the establishment of the K-POP section of the U.S. Video Music Awards (VMA) in August could be a discrimination to exclude K-POP from the main stage. K-POP started to face the problem that hip-hop had been experiencing for a long time through BTS.

It's not that the Grammy hasn't changed. Childish Gambino's'This is America', which revealed the issue of racism and hatred in American society, won a total of 4 crowns, including the Song of the Year and Record of the Year, at the 61st Grammy Awards in 2019. In addition, at the 62nd Grammy Awards in 2020, a total of 5 crowns, including the four main awards of Billy Eilish, and a number of nominations and awards for Rizo and Lil Nas X, changed in that they paid attention to teenage women, black men, and social media stars. Seemed to be. However, these recent moves are the result of slow steps from a very long time ago. In September, Billboard pointed out that the Grammy has been criticized for being white male-centered in recent years, and predicted that it would be difficult for the 63rd Grammy Awards to be held in 2021 to ignore the race issue of 2020. In other words, it can be said that Grammy's trend toward awarding black artists has only changed after criticism such as'#GrammysSoWhite' or sharp issues such as BLM occurred. Just a few years ago, in 2017, Frank Ocean expressed dissatisfaction with the awards ceremony, explaining why he had not submitted the documents for registration for the 59th Grammy Awards . Jay-Z and Beyonce 2019 61st Grammy awards , for two consecutive years in the absence 62nd Graeme Award 2020did. The recent change in Grammy can be said to be the result of long voices of black artists, but the issue of racism is still ongoing. And it can be said that the history of Asian artists or K-POPs facing the Western music industry, and furthermore, the Grammy started from now through BTS. In other words, whether or not BTS will be awarded this year is the same as a litmus test paper that shows Grammy's present.

It is hard to say that Grammy intentionally excluded K-pop or Asian artists. There are not many cases in which Asian artists have achieved commercially meaningful results in the American music market centered around the Western world. Zhou of Chinese descent, Gil Chang of Taiwanese descent, Yuna of Malaysian descent, and Yeji of Korean descent, Park Hye Jin, and Ted Park were highly praised, but commercially It didn't show great results. In addition, even if K-POP is broadly defined not as'idol music' in a narrow sense, but as music by Korean artists or music in Korean, the success of Psy's'Gangnam Style' in 2012 soon led to the localization of Korean music. It wasn't. However, at this point, BTS''Dynamite' can be controversial. Although the artist is Korean, it is disco by genre, and the lyrics are English. It is also the 43rd No. 1 debut song in history on the Billboard Hot 100, and at the same time it reached No. 1 for two consecutive weeks and then rose to No. ' Forbes'Dynamite' was remixed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 again. Pointing out that this is a normal strategy, he said, "All pop stars compete for the same award for the number one hit, and the brightest artist with the most fan base takes the gold medal home." In other words, BTS had too much fandom to dismiss as a prejudice against K-POP idols that they like'only a certain fandom', and released music classified as pop in terms of English lyrics and disco. No matter which artist in the market recorded, the result was surprising. By race, by genre, by national borders, how will the Grammy accept this result of BTS, which has crossed the walls defined by the Western industry?

The American Music Awards (AMAs), which have been voted on by the public since 2006, evaluate their popularity, while the Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs) measure their commercial success based on data called the Billboard Chart. On the other hand, Grammy selected 20 candidates after the first vote of a voting group consisting of singer-songwriters, producers, and composers in the music industry, and reviewed by a nominating committee consisting of at least 20 voting members approved by the board of directors. Eight candidates for the award are decided. The TF Final Report of the Recording Academy for Diversity and Inclusion, published in December 2019, was reviewed by the nominating committee and prevented popular votes on the process of deciding candidates to ensure reasonable results, and Includes explanations from previous executives that are intended to include works. In other words, Grammy's voting and nomination system, which can be said to be conservative, is rather a factor that can focus purely on musicality as an awards ceremony. However, the TF final report showed that Grammy increased the number of candidates for the main prize from 5 to 8, which increased the chances for a wider variety of nominations, but in a highly competitive field, candidates with only 13% support in the voting could also win. Point out that there is. Also billboardAccording to the report, the nominating committee decides the final candidate without knowing the ranking of the 20 main candidates that were handed over in the first round of voting. However, the members of the nominating committee are appointed after approval of the board in consultation with the top councilor of the recording academy board of directors, and as of December 2019, the members of the board are 65% male and 63% white. There is a lack of representation that can reflect the opinions of the voters as a whole, the standards of the nominating committee are subjective, and the diversity within the organization is a problem that Grammy will continue to solve.

It's not that the Grammy is not trying to secure internal diversity these days. According to the aforementioned Billboard article, the Recording Academy has focused on recruiting more women, minorities, and younger-age voters in the voting group composition in the last two years, with 200 people in 2018 and 590 people in 2019. It recruited new voters. These efforts will gradually help Grammy select music that is more diverse and reflects the times. And, BTS can be a measure of how far the current limit of Grammy for change is. How far can Grammy possess the keywords of K-POP, Asia, and the minority of boy bands? They received'overall rave reviews ' , the highest grade in Metacritic for'MAP OF THE SOUL: 7'released in February , and "a whole new kind of global pop phenomenon" (' Rolling Stone '), "What kind of American people do A success story that breaks the notion of listening to music" ('It was well received by critics such as the Wall Street Journal '). In addition,'Dynamite' is a disco genre of retro music and at the same time a music that conveys hope for daily life after Corona 19. In short, BTS' music fits all of the perfection, diversity, and message of the times. Of course, just because BTS is not nominated or won at the Grammy Awards this year, it does not mean that the decision was wrong. However, one can ask how far the Grammy can embrace the musical diversity and trend of the times in the United States and even around the world. Considering the case in which'Parasite' won the International Feature Film Awards for films produced in foreign languages ​​outside the United States at the 92nd Academy Awards in 2020, as well as the Best 4 awards in major categories, this question is even more clear. It becomes.

The word K-POP appears once in the Grammy TF final report mentioned earlier. Pointing to the reality that Asian-American artists are under pressure from K-POP and African-American executives only attend rap and hip-hop, “The music industry has a broader view of what constitutes diversity within the industry. It is necessary to point out. The lesson from a single comment is not the fact that there are few references to K-pop or Asians even in the report on the realization of diversity. The prejudice implied in the word K-POP is that it is becoming a boundary that locks not only artists who started from K-POP like BTS, but also some Asian artists working in the US market. In the end, the important thing is not whether the music BTS currently plays is K-POP, pop, or something else. It's not even a debate about whether they are idols or boy bands. All of this is put together as a question of how much one's identity affects the evaluation of music. What BTS has experienced in the United States is also a history of turning such prejudice into favorable comments from critics, commercial achievements on the Billboard charts, and awards at AMAs and BBMAs. Question again. When the names of K-POP and Asia were deleted, what kind of music will Grammy remember'MAP OF THE SOUL: 7'and'Dynamite'?

[Credit

Written. Lee Eun Kim, Ye Jin Lee

design. Lee3am

Source: Weverse Magazine]

[soyoureviewhiphoptoo]

Reviewing 4:44

4:44 Released: June 30, 2017 Label: Roc Nation, Roc-A-Fella First Week Sales: TBA Certifications: TBA Peak Chart Position: TBA

Jay-Z is the greatest rapper of all time. It might be up for debate but it is hard to refute.

There is a handful of artists (not just limited to hip-hop) that can make the world pause and question everything when you put a message on a billboard. Jay-Z has grown to become one of them. After orange posters with 3 numbers written on them began to appear in Los Angeles and New York, the internet started to fathom the meaning of these three mysterious fours. Numerous fan theories, three black and white trailers and a multi-million-dollar partnership with American telecommunication giants, Sprint later…we had the answer. The answer was his thirteenth studio album, 4:44.

Your favourite rapper cannot get a billboard to promote their album like this…probably

Since the release of the lukewarm Magna Carta… Holy Grail four years ago, a lot of things have happened to Jay-Z: he relinquished his ownership of NBA team, the Brooklyn Nets, he would become owner of Ace of Spades champagne, he launched a sport management company, he supported Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, he’s thrown shots at Drake and so on and so on. But there are three things that happened in this 4-year gap that are not only large impacts in his life but impacts toward this new album: his altercation with his sister-in-law Solange during the 2014 Met Gala, the acquisition of streaming service, Tidal and (this one is very important), the release of Beyoncé’s Lemonade.

What’s worse? Being jealous or crazy? Taken from Beyonce- Hold Up

With the release of an album discussing the infidelity of a husband and his wife going through stages of denial, anger and depression before she is willing to accept him back into her life and rebuild the broken relationship, many listeners began to speculate whether this was just an album concept or a reflection of Beyoncé’s own marriage to Mr. Shawn Carter. Lemonade would act as a justification to Solange’s actions years prior or even older song lyrics that may have been overlooked. Many people (myself included) thought this was far-fetched and assumed it was a part of an elaborate ruse to sell records and up Tidal subscriptions. In some respects, 4:44 acts as a response to Lemonade and it proves the suspicions correct but in such a way that leaves you searching for words.

Referencing this first in the opening track, Kill Jay-Z, Hov mentions

“You almost went Eric Benét Let the baddest girl in the world get away”

Eric Benét is the ex-husband of Halle Berry. The pair divorced after his own continued infidelity. Jay draws parallels to Eric, noting that his own infidelity almost led to the same outcome. It was on the titular track, however, where Jay spills his heart. He makes it crystal clear that he had been unfaithful to his partner in the past and tries to justify these actions. In a wave of open honesty, he talks about his emotional immaturity going into the relationship fifteen years prior, the toll of not being able to be present for Beyoncé following a miscarriage in 2010/2011, the feeling of watching her change emotionally due to his actions but not being able to rectify it, how his actions drove a wedge between the two of them and how this negativity forced them into isolation. The most daunting aspect of this song is how the first few lines link with the final verse.

“Look, I apologize, often womanize Took for my child to be born See through a woman’s eyes Took for these natural twins to believe in miracles Took me too long for this song”

In these lines, Jay openly admits that it took the birth of his daughter, Blue Ivy for him to truly see the errors of his ways while the birth of his twin children, Rumi and Sir, made him see miracles, like the birth of twins or Beyoncé taking him back, are possible. In the third verse, the thoughts he would have when looking at his children become apparent as he questions how they would look at him if they were to learn that their father cheated on their mother, comparing it to learning Santa Claus was fake or that the Tooth Fairy didn’t leave any money. Without further explanation, it is very clear this has taken a lot out of him. What makes the song even more impactful is the production. The use of Hannah Willaims’ Late Nights and Heartbreak as the sample literally exudes emotion, putting Jay’s message in very simple terms “Never gonna treat you like I should”.

Despite this very prominent message from this album, 4:44 is not just a rebuttal to Lemonade, offering so much more insight and knowledge. A strong entry in this album is The Story of O.J. In this song criticises the decisions of black males in America, openly telling them that they do not know how to use their relatively new-found wealth. Rather than just spending the money on lavish possessions, Jay advises Black Americans to make wise investments into businesses or property. This is interesting as Hov himself has been in the position of just throwing money away on nice things and he’s been forced to look back at his mistakes. What makes this song even more interesting is the hook;

“Light nigga, dark nigga, faux nigga, real nigga Rich nigga, poor nigga, house nigga, field nigga Still nigga, still nigga”

The idea of this is that no matter what you do or how you act, as a black man, you will still be viewed as a lower-class citizen by certain social circles in America (just like O.J. Simpson, who’s namesake is used for the title). In fact, the ideas of unifying the black community under one view, supporting black owned businesses and establishing black wealth and not just riches, is a re-occurring theme within 4:44, further expanded in Family Feud, Moonlight and Legacy.

Aside from actually listening to this album, the one thing I want you to do is to find a way to watch the music video for The Story of O.J. It is remarkable.

Another interesting takeaway from 4:44 comes from Smile. In this song, he reminisces upon bad memories. In the first verse, Jay-Z reveals that his mother is homosexual. The idea of her living her whole life in the closet, the fear of the possible prosecution she would receive and even entering a marriage with a man as a means of disguising her true self is frankly heart-breaking and yet finally she was able to smile. This strength is clearly hereditary as Jay shares this same fortitude, being able to live through struggles in the hood yet he was able to accomplish so much…and smile.

With the spectacular production by No I.D. on the ten tracks, Jay-Z is able to deliver a concise yet impactful sermon listeners (more specifically black listeners) can absorb and truly learn from. While I am not entirely a fan of this album being a Tidal exclusive, this album has definitely made it worth applying for a membership. With three bonus tracks on the way when it goes on sale and a prospective visual album experience soon to come, it is hard to dispute the greatness of this album.

Jay-Z is the greatest rapper alive. It might be up for debate but it is hard to refute, especially with this album

Rating for Jay-Z- 4:44

Thank you, Mr. Savage…it’s a new thing I’m doing. The point is, 4:44 is a 5/5