It's Finally "Over"

Now to follow up my posts on American music, hip hop, and the artist Drake, I’m deciding to get more specific by blogging about one of Drake’s songs. So I’m just here thinking of what song to choose, I mean there are so many superb songs to choose from. There’s “I’m Goin’ In”, “Successful”, “Thank Me Now”, and his brand new hit “I’m On One” in which he is featured. The decision is pretty difficult, but I’m going to go with one of my favorite Drake songs to date: “Over”.

Let me give you people a little background on this single. “Over” served as the lead single for Drake’s debut album Thank Me Later. It was written by Drake himself, as well as his friend Boi-1da. It was released to the public on March 8, 2010, and is a midtempo hip-hop song featuring an orchestral backdrop. It basically describes Drake’s induction to fame. 

To me this song is a lot more than great beats and lyrics, it instead tells a story about Drake himself saying how he has gone so far with his music. It describes how he will become famous, and everything people should expect from him. The song also says in the chorus that he’s going to keep singing and doing his thing for the rest of his life. “Over” also marks the beginning of his official career, being his first single of his debut album. It put him on the Billboard Hot 100 again, at number fourteen, and ranked number one on the rap songs chart and number two on the hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. It was Drake’s fourth consecutive top twenty hit in the U.S., and received a nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards.

Many critics viewed this song, and most of them thought of it as a good song. Most of them, in fact, believed that Drake was worthy of the hype he was getting, and compared this song to those of Kanye West. Yet, there was one critic, Henry Adaso, who dismissed the song. He was not pleased with the chorus and called Drake’s rhymes redundant and preposterous. He also called the song a disappointment. I completely disagree with this man. “Over” was by far one of the best songs Drake has ever written and sung. Its beat with its orchestral backdrop is kickin’; and the lyrics aren’t just words on the song, they have meaning to them. I don’t know what this guy was thinking but he must have some ear wax or something in his ears, because this was one of the best pieces of music I have ever laid my ears on.

There was also a music video made for this song, which can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lTB1pIg1y0. I highly recommend it, because it has an interesting viewpoint during the video as you see Drake in a room with some crazy stuff happening around him. Hopefully though, this is a prelude to what Drake has in store for us in his next upcoming album. Until then we can only appreciate what he has for us now, and expect what greatness he has to come. 

Drake, The Best I Ever Heard

Throughout the Hip Hop world, there are many names that are recognized. The most common names associated with hip hop music are: Chris Brown, Wiz Khalifa, Lil Wayne, Big Sean, and Drake. These artists are all known for the many great songs they each have produced. One of these artists, however, stands out to me as better than the rest of them. This one man is none other than Drake.

Born Aubrey Drake Graham, Drake is a Canadian recording artist and actor. His fame originally came from his role of Jimmy Brooks on his television series Degrassi: The Next Generation. It was from here his music career started, and in February 2006, Drake released his first mixtape Room for Improvement. In 2007, another mixtape of his was released called Comeback Season, which spawned his first hit single called “Replacement Girl.” 

From here, his career took off. Lil Wayne ended up hearing some of Drake’s music and invited Drake to go on tour with him in Houston. After this, Drake released his third official mixtape, So Far Gone. This contained the songs “Best I Ever Had” and “Successful” and was extremely successful. In fact, “Best I Ever Had” and “Every Girl” by Young Money Entertainment entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and were ranked at positions three and ten respectively. He is the second artist ever to have his first two top ten hits in the same week, with Nelly Furtado being the first (She is also Canadian). Then, on June 29, 2009, Drake signed a record deal with Young Money Entertainment, sealing his name in with all the other great rappers and artists that belong to the label.

Since then, Drake has released one mixtape called Thank Me Later, which premiered the songs “Over” and “Find Your Love”. These two, along with the single “Miss Me” featuring Lil Wayne, became the most popular songs on the album. Thank Me Later also became number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 447,000 records in its first week. Drake is supposed to release his next studio album Take Care in September 2011.

Drake, as well as being a great singer, is also a composer. He has written songs for artists like Alicia Keys (“Unthinkable”) and Jeremih (“I Get Lonely Too”). He also is thought to write his own features and songs, showing his skills and how talented he really is.

From his career, anyone can tell that Drake is a very talented artist, but what is it that makes him so talented? For me, being a good hip hop artist means having everything in a song flow together. Everything from the bass, the beats, and the lyrics; they all must flow and have some sort of pattern. Another reason I like his songs is that he tells about his life experiences, and recommends what he would have done differently in his life. The beats are also very catchy, and they are great to listen to during someone’s free time.

Since Thank Me Later, there has not been another mixtape released. However, there have been some songs released online. I get these songs from HipHopEarly.com, which contains songs that are released before their supposed release date. It’s almost like underground stuff not many people know about. This website has provided me with many of Drake’s more recent songs, like “Baby Come With Me”, and “I’m On One”. I highly recommend these songs because of their unique beats and the superb lyrics. They also are relatively new songs so they will be downloaded continuously over the next few days, which will increase the number of listeners and eventually the number of fans. 

So basically, Drake is the man. He creates his own stuff, as well as helps others out with theirs. He is the present face of hip hop, and I believe that he will remain there for quite some time. Until he comes down from his spot, I will continue to listen to him, but recently I have been looking for new material from him and have come up empty handed. Is there anyone who is as devote a Drake fan as me, and if so is there any new music that he has produced. I am in need of help. Also, my friend Trevor Brancato is an upcoming rapper who sounds like Drake. Most of his music can be found on his T-Rev. Trevor Rap Page on facebook, or on his youtube page, which can be accessed by going to www.youtube.com/user/tbrancato32. Go to his site, you won’t be disappointed.

Hip Hop History

So as of lately, I have been greatly interested in music with the downloading of these new songs I have found. Yesterday, I also posted something about the history of American music, describing how it originated and what it means to today’s society. Now for today’s post I was thinking of going deeper into the discussion, and maybe discussing one of the specific genres associated with American music. Also, the genre I pick must have popularity, as well as appeal to me as a member in our musically diverse society. So I’m going with my favorite genre of music, Hip Hop.

Hip Hop is a cultural movement that began in the 1970s. It is composed of two main parts that make hip hop what it is. These aspects consist of rapping, the delivery of swift, highly, rhythmic and lyrical vocals; and DJing and/or producing, the production of instrumentation either through sampling, instrumentation, turntablism or through beatboxing, the production of musical sounds through vocalized tones. Hip Hop came from humble beginnings, when it arose from The Bronx in the 1970s. It was started by a Jamaican immigrant named DJ Kool Herc, who brought it about by the Jamaican practice of toasting over the rhythms of popular songs. As time went by, and the 80s came, hip hop evolved and beats were repeated as emcees rapped. This newfound technique brought about celebrities like LL Cool J. Now even today hip hop has changed and gone into smaller more distinct groups. Gangsta rap is one of these sects, and is characterized by a lyrical focus on macho sexuality, physicality, and a dangerous criminal image (as seen by rappers like Gucci Mane and Yo Gotti). This was originated by the rappers Ice-T and the always famous Notorious B.I.G. After these men appeared, it introduced many other rappers to this distinct style, and soon 2Pac, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg appeared on the scene. This marked the beginning of a cultural revolution in the ways of music.

Now in today’s society, hip hop and rap are the genres of music that are mostly present everywhere, from when you turn on the radio to looking at your own ipod. I mean just have someone compare how many hip hop songs they have in contrast to the amount of country or techno songs they have. Chances are there will be a significant difference, and there is a good reason for it. It’s basically saying that the generation of young people today are more interested in fast beats and rhythm than the words of the songs (which might be true for some people). But let’s look around society. There is a great difference in the number of hip hop artists compared to country or rock bands. For example, you can ask anyone if they have ever heard of Trey Songz, Drake, Jeremih, Lil Wayne, or even Nicki Minaj and the odds are they will say yes. The odds of someone  my age knowing a band like The Police, not so much. This just shows the shift in cultural and societal interest taking place today.

Now speaking of my musical preferences, I primarily enjoy listening to hip hop music with a little RnB thrown in there every once in a while. My musical interest also primarily rests in the artists T.I., Drake, Lil Wayne, Eminem, Lupe Fiasco, and Wale (pronounced Wal-e not Whale; he tells you in his song “Chillin”) The songs by these artists are remarkable, and are composed by great beats along with verses that in other words speak to my generation about struggle or getting along in life or about what goals someone has (“Successful” by Drake). The other thing about hip hop is that every week there is some new song or recent artist that has appeared on the scene. Some of the more recent artists are: Big Sean and Yelawolf, while some of the more recent songs are: “I Do It” by Big Sean and “Drinks in the Air” by Ray J ft. Kid Ink. Along with these songs will come more and more songs made by new and upcoming artists and rappers, which will constantly provide a source for the society’s want for more hip hop and rap music. So as long as I live there will be hip hop, but like all cultural movements it will end, but like classic rock and roll it will never die out.

The History of Music... in America

Since the beginning of civilization, mankind has been creating music. Of course back then, it was either random patterns of beating on a drum, or some chants done at a ceremonial ritual. Whether on purpose or not, it is still music and does have relationship with what people listen to today. Today, however, people are more interested in the beats produced and the genre of music that intrigues them. 

Even though music has progressed over the thousands of years, America made music its own as soon as it arrived. The reasons are many but can be summed up in one sentence. American Music intertwines with aspects of American social and cultural identity, including through social class, race and ethnicity, geography, religion, language,  gender and sexuality. Musical meaning from the United States has mostly come from one main source; however, the relationship between music and race. The African American identity has been a constant theme in this music as well, and has become an integral part of American popular music through blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, soul, and hip hop. This has since then been incorporated into America by all races of people.

Now in the twenty first century, people listen to all sorts of music with the most popular being hip hop, rap, R&B, and rock and roll. The popularity of these genres depends solely on the interest of the population. For example, I am a fan of hip hop and rap so I like songs that have a good beat and have a meaning that I can identify with. This is only one example so there might be other reasons for the liking of a specific genre of music. So please, give me your reasons for liking the music you like. Don’t be shy, contribute to the blog. Please...