The biggest boss in the game has officially returned…
Rick Ross unleashes a brand-new single entitled “Outlawz” [feat. Jazmine Sullivan & 21 Savage] today. Get it HERE via Epic Records.
It bulldozes the way for the four-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated multiplatinum rap icon and Maybach Music Group mastermind to release his anxiously awaited eleventh full-length album, Richer Than I Ever Been [Maybach Music Group/Epic Records], on December 10.
“Outlawz” busts the down the door with a classic Rozay flow. His muscular delivery bodies the production before 21 Savage rolls through with a menacing cameo offset by a simmering and soaring appearance from soul siren Jazmine Sullivan.
It sets the stage for RICHER THAN I EVER BEEN. During the Miami Heat’s home game against the Boston Celtics last Thursday, he personally announced the release date and lit up social media. The album represents a full circle moment for the rap icon. It embodies a new level of excitement for his artistry and life itself. He redefines RICH as far more than money, but more importantly, happiness, health, family, self-reflection, and growth. You can hear it loud and clear on the album.
Stay tuned for a whole lot more very soon.
Get ready to feel RICHER THAN EVER with Rick Ross.
Oregon-based brothers-turned-bandmates, My Brothers And I, exude soul and emotion through their indie pop jams. The band, which consists of Wurgler brothers Erik (bass/vocals), David (lead vocals), and Scott (drums), along with childhood friend Jordan Roach (guitar), released their debut album “Don’t Dream Alone” in 2015. The project has amassed over 15 million streams on Spotify, and has since led to premieres from Billboard and Ones to Watch. The group was also named one of KCRW’s Artists to Know, and featured in Amazon’s “The Next” new artist program.Since their debut, the band has released their “Heartbeat” EP, two remix EPs, an acoustic EP, and released their second full length album “LOVE IS” in May of 2021. Now, with over 33 million streams on Spotify, the band is poised to release its first single as an independent artist, titled Anger & Grace. Songs from across these projects have landed dozens of syncs in top TV programs including God Friended Me, Queen Sugar, Pretty Little Liars, and more. Their various tours and festival appearances have also resulted in a number of high profile performances supporting the likes of St. Lucia, Misterwives, Allen Stone, Family of the Year, Saint Motel and others.
Rising pop artist Harper Starling is getting into the Christmas spirit early this year with the release of her new single & music video, “Snow Cone Christmas.”Written by Harper Starling and co-written/co-produced by Cindy Valentine (Bebe Rexha, Britney Spears, Alisha) and Gemini Muzique (Justin Bieber, Jason DeRulo, Snoop Dogg), “Snow Cone Christmas” is a festive pop number packed with catchy lyricism, sugary sweet vocals and sparkling pop production. The holiday-themed single arrives on the heels of Harper’s recent buzzy releases, “Cannot Tell A Lie” and “No More What If,” which have garnered attention from tastemakers like MTV, PopWrapped and Variance Magazine. The official music video for “Snow Cone Christmas” is a wonderfully cozy accompaniment to the song. Directed by Fernando Cordero (Industrialism Films) and Cindy Valentine (The Star Groomer), the video stars Harper alongside an array of special guests like actor Johnny “Roastbeef” Williams (Goodfellas, Green Book, The Mask) and influencer Hootie Hurley (@hootiehurley). The video is packed with festive imagery like Santa, elves, glittery ornaments and fabulously themed costumes, perfectly setting the tone for a joyous holiday season ahead.
Devon Baldwin has built her career creating music in the midst of crises. Her lung collapsed several times immediately following her songwriting debut, “Let’s Get Lost,” a collaboration with rapper G-Eazy while both attending school in New Orleans.
Unable to sing, Baldwin returned to her childhood home in the Bay Area to recover. This move forced her to focus solely on her songwriting. Holed up in her hometown, Baldwin infused the experience of growing up there into her work. She crafted songs rich in the images of the natural landscape —vast seascapes and winding foggy mountain roads through the lens of a love-stoned teen.
After her recovery, she released her debut EP, appropriately titled, Lungs, which accumulated several million streams and featured a collection of ethereal, sensuous pop songs with forward-thinking electronic production that highlighted Baldwin’s innately emotive vocals and songwriting.
As she continued to build her career, Baldwin worked with high profile artists like G-Eazy, Blackbear, and Skizzy Mars, while also releasing two EPs titled Dead of Night and Underwater produced by frequent collaborators Christoph Andersson and Jono Dorr. After these releases, Baldwin found herself on tour when yet another life-changing crisis – the pandemic— forced her and the rest of the world to isolate and retreat inward.
Once again, Baldwin used this isolated time and space to write and record the bulk of her debut album. In 2020, she co-wrote and released a two-part single called ‘Blindspot’ with EDM artist Nurko and a single and music video for G-Eazy’s “Angel Cry.” Following these successes, she covered Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” with G-Eazy for his latest album, These Things Happen Too, all of which were major streaming successes.
Baldwin’s music shares an underlying theme of loneliness that can be attributed to the crises that helped shape her career. Her songs take on a haunting ethereal quality that speak to the various forms that loneliness can take on: physical, emotional, and mental. The first single from her new album, “Forgot To Miss You,” embodies the relatable struggle of being at peace with yourself after a breakup. “Forgot To Miss You” is about the in-between after a relationship ends, when the process of healing means realizing that wounds don’t heal – you just accept them as time goes on.” “Forgot to Miss You’ comes just as Baldwin begins touring again on November 12, 2021.
The daughter of a music producer and creative writing teacher, Baldwin was destined to become a songwriter. But throughout her career, her determination to prevail despite setbacks and false starts also demonstrates that she is a force to be reckoned with.
Star2 is a true survivor. Born into a refugee camp in Thailand, his family walked over 500 miles through the jungle to escape Burmese soldiers when they attacked and burned down their village. As Karen’s (Kuh-ren), a minority group that the Myanmar government has tried to destroy, Star2 (and his family) has faced immense adversity and racial opposition for generations. With no father or mother by his side, his grandmother was chosen in a lottery to be able to migrate to the United States and at the age of six years old, took him to San Diego where he began his new life. Unfortunately it wasn’t an easy one, as a young kid living in the inner city, his family struggled financially and he lived with an uncle who was addicted to drugs. Adapting to living in a new world filled with cars, electricity and paved roads, he was overwhelmed and overstimulated. Star2 found solace, however, turning to music as a teen, learning to rap, sing, write and perform. With a diverse set of influences including Justin Bieber, Tyga, Chris Brown, and more, he developed his own musical style complete with winning hooks, rich harmonies, and distinctly progressive R&B soundscapes.
Since 2020, the prolific songwriter has released a series of singles and has captivated audiences with his genre-bending music that rings true and respected. His last unveiling is a collaboration with the credited rapper Luh Kel. Titled “I Wanna Get F’d Up” the song is about heartbreak, abandonment, and disillusionment. Star2 paints the scene of painful relationship dynamics that is highly relatable. “I Wanna Get F’d Up” is a raw and authentic narrative of lost love. “I wanted to write a song with the backstory of the best relationship of your life that blows up out of nowhere leaving you wondering what happened- leaving you in pain and wanting to self-medicate. It was a dream come true to do a song with Luh Kel, my dude. Our song is the diary of a toxic relationship with a toxic shawty you loved heart and soul who cheated. Even though it’s hard because you really love that one person – there is at least one time for everyone when after a breakup you just want to be gone – gone from the universe.” The single is an emotional exorcism complete with an infectious French horn melody, somber lyrics, and soul-infused vocals over a prominent hip hop beat. His talent is undeniable.
Swedish indie-emo kids Tribe Friday return to their garage rock stomping grounds with the riff-stuffed breakneck romp “conversation”. Astride insistent guitars and machine gun hi-hats, singer Noah Deutschmann agonizes over a conversation that just needs to take place. Its Tribe Friday as fraught and urgent as they might have ever sounded. On a break during the band’s 6-week tour of Germany this fall Deutschmann explained how “conversation” has fought its way into being an integral part of their live set, and one of the hardest-hitting Tribe Friday tracks. “We’ve been playing it live on tour for a while now just to try it out in front of an audience, and the reception has been absolutely crazy.” He continues, “Lyrically, ‘conversation’ is angry, desperate, frustrated, scared – all the ugly emotions at once. I wanted to write about those moments in a relationship where you can’t see eye to eye on anything so you resort to name-calling and borderline psychological violence. I’ve had a relationship that ended up like that and it’s fucking ugly. It’s a sad thing to see yourself and someone you love turn into horrible people in real-time. The contrast here, of course, is that ‘conversation’ is also like… a dance track? But I guess that’s our thing now…Dancing to tragedies.”
With a seventies hue which nods to the likes of Fleetwood Mac and The Mamas & The Papas, it’s a track which finds the Anglo-Scottish duo of Sam & Sarah Gotley entwined in passionate duet and searching for sanctuary within the comfort of others. Backs against the wall, but with hearts on sleeves, “Asylum” tells the story of two protagonists outcast from society for their so-called insanity, but who find love within the confines of the institution in which they are held and the troubled circumstances in which they share.
“The word mental health is thrown about a lot these days. As a society we feel we are beginning to address the stigma surrounding mental health issues but we are still far from being fully accepting. “Asylum” is a song that focuses on the isolation of struggling with a mental health issue and the power of knowing you are not alone.” says Sarah Gotley.
Finessing the track across several years, “Asylum” was initially recorded by Sam on just an acoustic guitar with its arrangements reworked and verses reconfigured until reaching its Goldilocks moment. Adding complexities with each session, the finished version glows a retrofied aura; its multi-layered harmonies, humming hammond organs, and the Laurel Canyon-esque echoes of its duel guitar strums, all heavenly hallmarks of that once seminal era for singer-songwriting. With the pair completing the lyrics while on tour in Edinburgh, Blue Violet went into the studio with the legendary Rob Ellis (PJ Harvey, Bat For Lashes) to bring the track to its current transcendent form. Mastered by Mount Olympia Mastering, the track was engineered by Peter Miles and mixed by TJ Allen. Blue Violet are husband and wife duo: Sam & Sarah Gotley.. Previously performing under the guise Broken Bones Matilda, the pair put-in noteworthy performances at Glastonbury, Belladrum, Pub in the Park, Carfest and Wilderness festivals to name a few before regrouping to form Blue Violet. Sarah, a Scot with Parisian roots, teamed up with Sam a few years ago and between then and now the duo have lived between London and Sarah’s childhood home in Argyll, where they have been busy writing their next chapter.
Setting out their stall with a series of sublime cover versions including “A Girl Like You” (Edwyn Collins) and “All I Have To Do Is Dream” (The Everly Brothers), the duo made their mark in 2021 with sublime debut single “Undercover”. Earning ‘track of the week’ on BBC Scotland’s Afternoon Show and praise from BBC Introducing; Blue Violet’s first original music saw them championed as being like the ‘Civil Wars meets the Black Keys’. Releasing “White Beaches” over the summer, the swelling shoegaze-tipped second single received airplay on BBC 6 Music (Steve Lamacq) and was praised as “a hypnotic gem of wistful pop that creeps out of its shell in a mesmerising way” (Vinyl Chapters). Inspired by the causes of Greta Thunberg and Surfers for Sewage, it was a timely and universal rallying cry for the protection of our planet. With a diverse array of lyrical themes also at play on their upcoming album, expect intricately crafted, genre crossing song writing, delivered with a raw, beautifully anguished husk when their debut LP arrives in 2022.
Returning new single “Asylum” this Autumn (out 12 November 2021), Blue Violet continue their upward trajectory with an enchanting folk/pop record of a classic finish. Already a live favourite, Sam and Sarah are currently airing “Asylum” on the road in the UK at a series of support shows with Daytime TV throughout this month.
Continuing to make his mark on the alt-pop scene, Dan Owen unveils his latest rock-infused sensation ‘Wide Awake’ – the third single plucked from his forthcoming album.
Combining hard-hitting drums with rumbled piano chording, ‘Wide Awake’ depicts the moment of realisation for a relationship that did nothing but drag you down. Deepened with Dan’s distinct rock-edged tones and gritty vocals, ‘Wide Awake’ weaves soaring melodies between poignant lyricism for an anger fuelled empowerment anthem.
Speaking on the track, Dan Owen said “I was in a relationship with a girl for far too long thinking it was good for me, but it actually was a toxic connection. We became immobile, static, because we didn’t allow ourselves to live out important parts of our personalities. Today I realize what went wrong then. But I had to wake up from the alleged idyll first.”
Multi-Platinum Recording Artist BIA is known for music that possesses both biting wit and boldly authentic swag that stems from BIA’s years traveling through the Boston rap scene, later moving over to Miami, Los Angeles, and then taking over the world. With every mixtape, collaboration, and guest appearance, BIA has only amplified her reach. She dominated 2020 with a fresh new perspective: she inked a deal with Epic Records, dropped the hard-hitting “Free BIA (1st Day Out)” and the intoxicating “COVERGIRL”, as well as dove further into the fashion world with a feature in Good American’s Spring 2020 campaign and Missguided x Sean John Fall 2020 capsule collection.
BIA recently dropped her For Certain Deluxe EP, armed with the hit single “Whole Lotta Money”—a song with a central message that unlimited currency can be both mental and physical. The original EP reached the Top 10 of Billboard’s Heatseekers Album Charts, and “Whole Lotta Money” became an undeniable force, due in part to its continuous viral success on TikTok. The track has jumped right off the platform and into streaming stardom, marking its territory in the Spotify Viral 50 Chart as well as the Global Spotify Charts and earning her a nomination for “Best Breakthrough Song” at the 2021 MTV VMAs. In addition, BIA’s reimagined version of her hit song “Skate” was featured in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs tune-in promos on NHLNetwork, NBC and NBCSN in the U.S., Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada, and across the NHL’s social and digital platforms.
The recently launched website is quickly gaining recognition across the USA as one of the first websites dedicated to bringing critics and users together to catalog their reviews and inspire conversations on the latest releases.
The internet is filled with websites for fans of movies, sports, fashion, etc. Yet, music fans seem to be the ones left out as there are currently no platforms that have successfully implemented reviews or the social aspect of music.
With its recent official release, Beatly Music hopes to fill this gap by allowing users to see what critics think of albums and to respond to them by giving their own review. While there have been “IMDB for Music” like websites before, Beatly Music is the first website to implement highly curated lists of albums along with a heavy emphasis on users.
It’s incredibly easy to join. Simply sign up for an account. Find an album that interests you and then give a review out of five stars. If you have something that you want to say about the album, add it underneath your starred review. Beatly Music is constantly updating the website so make sure to come back to see new releases and updates.
neillfrazer@hotmail.com
