Day: May 1, 2018

J. Cole, the first artist signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label, was among the most commercially successful rap artists of the early 2010s. Born in Germany but raised in North Carolina, Jermaine Cole grew up with a mother who loved rock and folk, and a father who was a fan of hardcore rap artists like 2Pac and Ice Cube. Cole’s high-school grades earned an academic scholarship to attend St. John’s University in New York City, where Cole knew he could make progress as a musician. After numerous days standing outside Jay-Z’s office in hopes of giving him a demo, Cole finally ran into his idol, but the reception was well below chilly. He was shocked when, weeks later, he received a call from the man and even more shocked when he got a chance to contribute to his 2009 effort The Blueprint 3. Later that year, Cole released the mixtape The Warm Up, while 2010 saw the appearance of the Friday Night Lights mixtape, with Cole handling most of the production. In 2011, Roc Nation released his official debut, Cole World: The Sideline Story, which debuted on top of the Billboard 200. Featuring the single “Power Trip,” Born Sinner followed […]

British quintet Blossoms formed in Stockport, a town just outside of Manchester, England, in 2013. Started by school chums Tom Ogden (vocals, guitar) and Joe Donovan (drums), the band later incorporated Charlie Salt (bass, vocals), Josh Dewhurst (guitar), and Myles Kellock (keyboards, vocals). Their sound was pigeonholed as psych-pop, which the band didn’t like; rather, they hit a sweet spot between the Doors and Arctic Monkeys, combining a knack for classic pop songwriting and moody organ atmospherics with a youthful energy. Ogden’s delivery occupied the space between Richard Ashcroft (the Verve) and Alex Turner, of the aforementioned Monkeys, as the band slithered from spooky, groovy warmth to peppy Brit-pop. Debut single “You Pulled a Gun on Me” was a fine example of this combination, and the band continued to develop on subsequent singles “Blow” and “Cut Me and I’ll Bleed.” 2015 saw the release of two EPs — Blown Rose and Charlemagne. As the band gained exposure, they released another EP, At Most a Kiss, in February 2016. The four-song set featured some new elements, including synths and a more driving urgency. A month later, Blossoms revealed plans for their debut full-length. The self-titled album was released in summer 2016, […]

Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, arranger, producer, and actor Janelle Monáe left her mark on 2010s R&B with an energized retro-futuristic sound wrapped in theatrical science fiction concepts. Growing up, Janelle Monáe Robinson felt constrained by the limited resources offered in her greater Kansas City, Kansas environment. When she finished high school, she moved to New York to attend the American Musical and Dramatic Academy with the intention of pursuing musical theater, but in 2004, after performing in a couple off-Broadway shows and encountering a lack of desirable roles, she opted to try her luck in Atlanta. She soon joined a band and toured the local college circuit, where she eventually got in touch with her future partners in Wondaland Arts Society — a collective and label that looked to promote experimental arts — as well as OutKast’s Big Boi. The rapper was so impressed by Robinson that he included two of her performances on his 2005 compilation Got Purp?, Vol. 2. Robinson also appeared on OutKast’s 2006 soundtrack, Idlewild, and appeared in the video for “Morris Brown.” Robinson made her proper solo debut in August 2007 with an EP entitled The Chase, the first of four planned “Metropolis suites” based in […]

Dropping basketball references like the old-school but wrapping them in thoroughly modern beats, Post Malone hit in 2015 with his single “White Iverson.” Raised in Dallas, Malone was NFL before he was NBA thanks to a father who worked for the Cowboys. He loved music from a young age, and planned on joining a band thanks to the video game Guitar Hero, but when his dad gave him a copy of Terror Squad’s hit “Lean Back,” Post decided to become an MC. He hung with Dallas crew the IRAS until a move to the West Coast dropped him in Los Angeles. After putting some braids in his hair, he coined the term “White Iverson,” and when he posted the track in early 2015, he hit a million views within the month. Malone signed with the Republic label later that year. In 2016, he released the single “Go Flex” along with his official debut mixtape, August 26th, which was actually released in May. Months later, his first studio effort arrived. Stoney featured guests like Justin Bieber, Migos’ Quavo, and Kehlani. The album peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum. ~ David Jeffries Get this now from: https://www.apple.com/uk/itunes

Essex, England-born Anne-Marie Nicholson was no stranger to performing by the time her debut EP dropped in 2015, having shared the stage as a 12-year-old with none other than Jessie J in a West End production of Whistle Down the Wind. She also auditioned for Les Misérables without telling her parents, and was offered a part. It was a risk that paid off, as it served to open her parents’ eyes to her singing ability. Aside from West End commitments, the intervening years between her days as a child star and the advent of her career as a pop singer were spent becoming a world karate champion no fewer than three times, an art form she credited with teaching her discipline and focus, two essential traits of becoming a successful musician. After a chance meeting with an aspiring singer/songwriter, she managed to secure some studio time in Elton John’s Rocket Studios, and, after hearing what she could do, she was subsequently picked up by Elton’s management company Rocket Music. Anne-Marie released a demo in 2013 entitled Summer Girl, which drew some attention to the singer, most notably garnering a fan in Ed Sheeran. Despite the encouraging start to her solo […]