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NAO - For All We Know Album Review

by Christina Dollentas

NAO has mastered a her brand sound of wonky funk and high-gloss R&B with her debut album, For All We Know. Her recent single, “Girlfriend,” The song talks about NAO’s craving for a man, and her desperation for a love that can “make her fly”.

On For All We Know, NAO shares various relationships with friends, lovers, and her past self. Having decided what went wrong, she calmly confronts these relationships. On “In the Morning,” she acts the part of a lover too polite to say it’s over. “Buried all my feelings, I’m withholding,” she sings, “I tried to leave him signs ... Are they hard to recognize?”

NAO’s hook is her voice in addition to her Soulquarian grooves and abrasive beats. Her vocal style is crisp and angelic with a sultriness of an R&B singer. Her view of modern love, delivered in a tone that flows between euphoria and self-examination, feels like a rejected digital-era romance. Her music emulates a vision that women’s voices are dominant, making impossible for unsympathetic listeners to tune out.

Although the album is a bit too long and seems stagnant at times, it has its highlights. The albums travels through of different types R&B, from late 90s R&B, like “Get To Know Ya,” to the modern alternative R&B, like “Bad Blood.” However, a later track that stands out is “Blue Wine.” The song strays away from the slow-jam beats to an ethereal cosmic sound. It blossoms sprawling in a way that the music feels emotionally descriptive without the need of a declaration.

NAO’s For All We Know creates an excellent mix of different types of R&B. It does get somewhat repetitive with it’s long tracklisting, but it does have it’s stand out tracks. Overall, it’s a great R&B debut from NAO that solidifies her brand sound of ‘wonky funk.’

For All We Know Tracklist: 1. “Intro (Like Velvet)” 2. “Get to Know Ya” 3. “Inhale Exhale” 4. “Voice Memo 161” 5. “Happy” 6. “Voice Memo 162” 7. “Adore You” (featuring Abhi//Dijon) 8. “In the Morning” 9. “Trophy” (featuring A. K. Paul) 10. "Bad Blood" 11. "DYWM" 12. “We Don't Give A” 13. “Give Me a Little” 14. “Fool to Love” 15. “Voice Memo 4 (Say Yes)” 16. "Blue Wine" 17. "Girlfriend" 18. "(Feels Like) Perfume"

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DΞΔN - Artist Profile 

by Valerie Leon

DΞΔN started out as writing songs for KPOP groups such as VIXX and EXO. He then later had his own debut in the U.S. on July, 2015. He released the single “I’m Not Sorry” featuring Grammy winner Eric Bellinger. He then had his official debut in South Korea during October of the same year. He released the single “Pour Up” featuring Zico from Block B.

DΞΔN has a very big international following and rose to fame quite quickly after his debut. His R&B flow caught the attention of many fans across the globe. He performed his first showcase at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, TX in 2016. He often has been compared to American artists because of his “smooth sound that reminds you of a 90s era Usher to this year’s Bryson Tiller flow.” This album was No. 3 on Billboard’s World Album List. In July 30, 2016, DΞΔN performed at the Staples Center main stage and sang “Bonnie & Clyde” and “I’m Not Sorry”, and later joined Zico on a collaboration special of “Pour Up.” 

His album, 130 Mood: TRBL lived up to all the hype it received. Even if R&B is not your cup of tea, there are many different sounds on the album that will get you addicted to at least one song.

He was listed as one of the K-pop artists "you should know” from KCON NY and LA, by USA Today’s Hoai-Tran Bui. As you can tell DΞΔN caught the attention of the world in a short period of time.

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Prince Royce - Artist Profile

by Allison Leung

Nicknamed the “Prince of Bachata,” Geoffrey Royce Rojas was born and raised in Bronx, New York by Dominican parents. At the beginning, he started his career in reggaeton, after many unsuccessful attempts at hitting the charts in the genre and the decline in popularity, he focused on Bachata. In 2010, not long after the album release, he reached number 15 on Billboard Latin Albums. And the lead single, “Stand By Me” cover reached number one on the US Billboard Tropical Songs chart, singing in English and Spanish. And within five years, getting 11 number one hits on the Billboard charts.

In 2013, Prince Royce’s rise to fame didn’t stop there, with collaborations with many mainstream US artists such as Snoop Dogg, J Lo, and Pitbull. And tours with Ariana Grande, Enrique Iglesias, Selena Gomez, and Pitbull. Even being a judge on La Voz Kids (The Voice Kids) and an actor on East Los High, a Hulu series. Including winning Tropical Artist of the Year and being nominated twice for tropical song of the year award with his two songs, "Culpa Al Corazón" and "La Carretera." Recently, Royce released his new album FIVE with the hit single Deja Vu featuring Shakira and the rest of the album featuring Chris Brown, Zendaya, Farruko and more. Also, focusing more on tropical music, a blend of island, some electronic pop influences, and traditional bachata.

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J Balvin - Artist Profile

by Allison Leung

Jose Alvaro Osorio Balvin, known by his stage name J Balvin, is a singer, songwriter, and producer recently hitting high on Billboard charts around the world with reggaeton. Coming from a stable middle-class family in Medellin, Colombia he first discovered his hunger for fame at 17 years old. Balvin went to Oklahoma part of a student exchange program. After graduating high school, he decided to try his hand at the music industry in New York City. There he worked illegally putting on drywall and painting walls, going back and forth from Colombia and the U.S. 

In 2015, the remix, “Ay Vamos”, featuring Nicky Jam and French Montana was used in the soundtrack to the film Furious 7. The song went to number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart 2015 and reached over 1 billion views on the music video on Youtube. A year later, he produced  a song with American singer, rapper, songwriter, and producer, Pharrell Williams. The collaborative song “Safari” is a mix of island music with Williams and his protege, Puerto Rican-American, Bia singing in Spanish. As of today, Balvin is on tour and staying high on the Billboard charts in many parts of the world.

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EXO - EXo’LuXion Concert Experience

by Carina Hung

EXO made Valentine’s Day dreams come true for thousands of fans at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena on February 14, 2016. The concert promoter was MyMusicTaste. They held five concerts at North American cities - New York City, Chicago, Dallas, Vancouver, and Los Angeles - during the month of February. I went to EXo’LuXion concert with my friends. We bought 3 tickets for $360, each is $120. In the morning, I was so excited that I did nothing but think about what would happen in the concert. I had waited this day too long. After lunch, my dad drove us to the Sports Arena. The concert started at 7 pm and it had lasted for 3 hours. I arrived at the venue at 2 pm, and got lots of goodies like candies, stickers, fans, and banners to support the members. I also bought an official light stick for the concert. Although I had waited for 5 hours under the sun, it was worth it.

As the lights dimmed in the stadium signifying the start of the show, a high pitched roar rose from the audience. The audiences sang along with the music. After a while, a VCR introduced the concert came up on the screen. It lasted for 10 minutes. The members started the concert with “Overdose” and stepped up onto the stage to greet the audiences. The members sang many popular songs such as “MAMA,” “Call Me Baby,” and “Love Me Right.” With cool lighting effects and lasers, faster tracks like “Drop That,” “Let Out the Beast,” and “Run” turned the concert into a gigantic rave party that everyone danced and jumped crazily. While the members were singing, the fans were swinging their light sticks and they created a silver ocean. It was so gorgeous. I shook from excitement and screamed from the top of my lungs. I kept screaming and it really hurt my throat.

My favorite part of the concert was the elf VCR. The VCR was about 9 elves were working in the coffee machine. In this part, they sang “Peter Pan”, “XOXO”, “Lucky” and “365”. It showed the adorable side of the members.

The concert was enjoyable, but I felt disappointed because before the concert started I looked up some concert videos that was held in Seoul from Youtube. There were water effects during the Seoul concert. However, there was no water effect in LA show. I was quite disappointed. I also did not buy an expensive ticket for the concert. The distance was quite far away, so I only saw them on the big screen. Although the concert did not have water effect, it didn’t affect my mood. I felt energetic. The energy from the crowd was unlike anything I had ever experienced and made this one of the most fun concerts I have ever been to. I felt very tired when I got back home. I screamed until my voice was gone.

EXO is coming to LA again. They are going to hold a concert, named EXO’rDIUM on April 28, 2017. I am pretty sure I am going to their concert again. I will be prepared for this concert. I will bring more water and cough drops. I will buy an expensive ticket and stay at the GA standing area to watch the concert. I am looking forward to this day.

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EXO - EX’ACT Album & Music Video Review

by Carina Hung

After a lapse of a year, they release a new album. ‘EX’ACT’ is the 3rd album which is released on Jun 9, 2016. The physical albums have two versions for its cover-packaging: white for “Lucky One” and black for “Monster”. It also has both Korean and Chinese version. The album is composed of 9 songs and 2 of the instrumentals of title songs. ‘Monster’ and ‘Lucky One’ are the highlight songs. They are all sung by a Korean boy group named EXO.

The album has sold over 1 million copies, and it won the Mnet Asian Music Award for Album of the Year. Also, EXO broke records when their Exodus album earned the largest first-week sales ever for a K-pop act on the Billboard 200.

The first track and title track, “Lucky One,” begins with an instantly catchy electronic beat. The music video first talks about how the 9 members have suddenly lost their own unique power. They are trapped because they are experimented on with the new chemicals. When their powers return, they escape from the lab, They use their powers such as power on controlling fire, ice, wind, water and lightning.

The next track and second title track, “Monster,” has an abrasive instrumental but the soothing vocals tranquilize it. This song an energetic song that includes more rapping than “Lucky One.” In addition, the music video’s visuals and concept are darker compared to “Lucky One.” The music video shows the members rebelling against suppression. 

At first, when I watched the music videos, they are hard to understand. However, when you keep watching and listening to the songs, the storylines start to come up in your mind. With the help from the members’ explanations, I understood what the meaning was to these videos and songs.

I am very impressed with the new style of songs, especially “Monster”. In this album, they start to explore a new electronic style and it mixes with R&B flavor. At first, it takes me more than a couple of listens to get its hooks in. However, overall the song is awesome. A highlight of this album is that it features their best vocal and rapping performances. I’m happy that EX’ACT sounds distinct from the other two albums, EXODUS and XOXO. EXO is being stretched towards a new musical direction. 

EX’ACT Tracklist: 1. “Lucky One” 2. “Monster” 3. “Artificial Love” 4. “Cloud 9” 5. “Heaven” 6. “White Noise” 7. “One and Only” 8. “They Never Know” 9. “Stronger” 10. "Lucky One" (Instrumental) 11. "Monster" (Instrumental)

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Benjamin Clementine - At Least for Now Album Review

by Christina Dollentas

Singer, composer, poet and artist, Benjamin Clementine, is a 27 year old from Britain. He was born and raised in London, then later moved to France and became a homeless teenager in Paris. His performances about his life experiences helped him to become a cult figure in the music and art scene. Many critics found his personality and style so unusually intelligent and unique, that it’s difficult to place his music in a certain genre.

“At Least for Now” is his declaration of selfhood, loneliness, individualism, and hope. “This walk, it's a previous journey/And I won” he sings on “Condolence,” a reflection on he’s conquered life’s ups and downs, “sending [his] condolence to insecurities.” Clementine holds onto an experience of alienation unique to himself. In “Cornerstone,” he sings of being “alone in a box of my own,” and learning to savor such conditions. His lyrics are written very poetically, using different styles depending on the mood of the songs.

Songs like “Adios” notes Clementine’s incredibly diverse style of singing and using his voice. The song starts off with a declaring tone, “the decision is mine,” he states in the chorus. The song drifts off to a monologue that goes into a operatic interlude that shows off his incredible falsetto vibrato. Clementine’s has an acute tenor voice that can swoop from heartfelt cries to harsh shouts. His style of singing is often compared to Nina Simone.

His use of the piano brings a certain imagery and mood to every song. Songs like “Adios,” “Condolence,” and “Cornerstone” uses more complicated, upbeat piano riffs to bring a sense excitement and hope, while songs like “I Heard a Bachelor’s Cry” and “Winston Churchill’s Boy” uses more simple, melancholy riffs to bring a sense of loneliness.

Overall, this album is a solid album. Clementine’s unique use of his voice, piano, and writing makes him stand out as an artist. The tracks for At Least For Now are almost like pieces to a puzzle, the tracks have their own distinction from one another, but put together it’s as if it’s one big song. 

At Least for Know Tracklist: 1. “Winston Churchill’s Boy” 2. “Then I Heard a Bachelor’s Cry” 3. “London” 4. “Adios” 5. “St-Clementine-on-Tea-and-Croissants” 6. “Nemesis” 7. “The People and I” 8. “Condolence” 9. “Cornerstone” 10. "Quiver a Little" 11. "Gone"

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Stromae - Racine Carrée Album & Music Video Review

by Valerie Leon

Stromae released his new album after taking 3 years to composing it. This album has a euro-disco sound with a dash of hip-hop. Racine Carrée was considered Stromae’s break through album. The album sold nearly 400,000 copies in France. Most of his songs on the album touch on the topic of serious problems the world faces. These topics include absent fathers, AIDS, cancer, racism, sexism, and social isolation created by the internet.

The song “Papaoutai” which translates to “Papa where are you?” talks about absent fathers. The music video shows a immobile mannequin father figure which represents the father being physically absent, but is still present in the son’s heart. “Papaoutai” is the highest viewed french-language video on YouTube with over 403 million views.

“Formidable” is the second most famous song on the album. The lyrics talk about a lover who’s drowned his sorrows in alcohol after being rejected for his inability to father a child. A video was  secretly filmed of Stromae acting like a drunk, stumbling and hollering lyrics of the song out on the streets of Belgium during rush hour. There were articles of the incident and everyone was buzzing about it claiming he “lost his head.” Then a few days later, he released his music video for “Formidable.” 

 In my opinion this album was very well put together and has a great message behind it. Whether it stays in your head because of the messages it tells or the catchy beats, this album is not something you can easily forget. I can confidentially day this album was worth the wait.

Racine Carrée Tracklist: 1. “Ta fête” 2. “Papaoutai” 3. “Bâtard” 4. “Ave Cesaria” 5. “Tous les mêmes” 6. “Formidable” 7. “Moules frites” 8. “Carmen” 9. “Humain à l'eau” 10. “Quand c'est?” 11. “Sommeil” 12. “Merci” Bonus Track: “AVF”

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