My name is Simon Glezer and throughout the winter-interterm I have been learning how to analyze music and express my analysis through writing. Three pieces as well as discussions were the assigned for developing my musical writing and analysis ability. My first piece RIP Mac was a track by track annotated playlist analyzing Mac Miller and his best eight to ten tracks. My second piece or desert island disc was an album review of DAMN the personal connection I shared with it, and why it is a good album for a deserted island. Finally, my third and final piece was meant to be a live performance review, but during this time period, I was in Senegal and had issues gaining access to a concert with an artist who had information publicly available for research. So instead I was assigned a musical documentary review of Travis Scott: Mom Look I Can Fly, an in depth look at Travis Scott’s life, Astroworld, and the experience of attending his live performances. I’ve decided to revise my first two essay’s since feedback, because I have learned more since the time they were created, and they can use the most improvement.

In my desert island piece, there was a lot of depth in the music, but a lack of a personal connection to the album and artist. To add a connection, I discussed Kendrick’s DUCKWORTH. where he describes how his father’s actions before his birth affected his life later in life and I was able to relate it with my father’s struggles through immigration. Some last improvements included fixing some proofreading errors as well as some additional links to Kendrick’s Pulitzer prize award and music videos links to HUMBLE. and DNA..

In my track by track annotated piece RIP Mac Miller, there were areas where some tracks needed depth and there were no videos or photos. I added more research to the track Dang! and Self Care in terms of depth of the sound and analysis of lyrics respectively. Some other improvements included the addition of album covers for the Swimming and Macacadellic, as well as track covers like Nikes on my feet, and a picture of Mac Miller with his birthday and death at the beginning of the essay. Finally, I’ve added some links to music videos to a few of the tracks as well as a news article commemorating the Pittsburg rapper.

In every piece written on my blog there is a personal connection to the artist and music whether it be just because I have researched the artist and know more about them now or how their music has played a role emotionally in my life. Reflecting on how music has shaped my life has been an introspective experience and has taught me more about myself. Writing about the music’s effect on me to a public audience has improved my ability to express challenging thoughts in writing as well as my ability to tie my own thoughts with research on a specific, artist, track, or album.

With the writing prompts and discussions provided in class, now, when looking at music I will pay attention to production and lyrics at an atomic level. Not only will I delve deeper into the listening experience, but, if I hear a new intriguing artist, I will be inclined to discover all the information I can on them whether it be through news articles or music reviews on them. Writing about music this interterm has also given me a new appreciation for the work that goes behind music reviews as it is no easy task and can bring a whole new depth to any track, album, or artist.

Every artist written about in my pieces on my music blog are hip-hop artists who have all been famous since 2010, so a pretty modern group of artists. These artists have all shaped the culture in hip-hop and the United States in recent years as music has been easier to access than ever before and shapes our views of the world. Through peer reviewing other students’ pieces, I realized how much music has shaped their lives and for many this influence has come from older generations, again influencing culture in our everyday lives.

With Writing about music in the 21^st century, I was able to deepen my understanding on artists’ lyrical and production choices. In WP1, my track by track annotation, I learned how to analyze which music best represents an artist from their life experiences to their evolution in production and flow. In WP2 my desert island album, I learned how to explain a story of a life through music and why music can be a story. Finally, in my last WP, my music documentary review, I analyzed the effect live music has on fans, the fan experience at concerts, and how life can shape in album, almost firsthand. All of my pieces encompassed all aspects of music as a whole and not only do I now have a new appreciation for music in general, but skills of analysis I can take around into any situation in life.

Travis Scott: Look Mom I Can Fly is a new documentary featuring the rise of hip-hop artist Travis Scott, and takes place in chronological order from the beginning of the creation of the legendary hip-hop album Astroworld.

Throughout the documentary, you are shown the relationships with fans, friends, family, and the creation of the Cactus Jack label. Although, all of the relationships are essential in understanding Travis, the most prevalent relationship shown in Look Mom I Can Fly is with the fans. During the documentary you see the growth of Travis’s fan base from the small crappy venues in 2014 with 12 fans to the most lit shows sold out at Madison Square Garden. With the growth of a fan base came the growth of intensity at Travis’s concerts. The fan experience is shown like no other with countless stage dives, mosh pits, and just kids going crazy. Travis goes as far as to tell security to bring back kids who were kicked out for going too hard, takes them on stage and sends them off flying into the crowd.

Photographer RaysCorruptedMind from the documentary explains, “He knows what the kids like and knows how to make them feel part of what he’s doing.”. This statement’s accuracy is proven through out the film where after shows kids talk about having the greatest day of their lives and the crazy adrenaline rush that comes with a Travis Scott concert. Fans are what determine an artist’s success, and that is why it is such a big part of the documentary. However, other relationships presented in the documentary should not be discounted as they shaped Travis to be the man he is today. This is seen when Travis reunites with his old high school principal and councilor. The people who played a role in Travis’s graduation of high school were essential for keeping him off the streets and allowing him to pursue his musical career. Travis explains that his high school counselor literally saved his life out of school and is overjoyed with her surprise visit.

Look Mom I can fly is all shot from 2016 to 2019 and includes Travis’s relationship with Kylie Jenner, one of the most influential relationships in his current life. Travis’s relationship with Kylie is not only a major change in his life because of the fame that comes with a “power couple” like that, but, also because they end up having a child together, Stormi (born January second 2018), changing Travis’s life, showing a paternal side to the hardcore rapper, and playing a part in the creation of Astroworld.

               Astroworld originally a six flags park in Houston, but shutdown in 2005, was the main factors of inspiration behind the album. Throughout the documentary, clips from Travis’s childhood at the park are shown from Travis rapping on the Ferris wheel to riding a roller coaster with his brother. Travis says “they took the park away and it took my heart away”, there is even a sample from Travis’s song Watch featuring a clip of a girl on the Houston news saying “Is this the last ride I’m ever going to take in Astroworld” right before the park closes.

               The creation of Astroworld is an ongoing process in the documentary starting with the creation of the track Skeletons a beautiful flow of trippy synthy guitar created by the featuring of Kevin Parker of Tame Impala. Travis explains that “I’m just trying to design that new Houston sound.”. Traveling to Africa is also a very influential part of Travis’s experiences to create Astroworld bringing in a new perspective and new creative ideas. Some of my favorite scenes of the creation of Astroworld in the documentary include Butterfly Effect and No Bystandards. What is so awesome about No By Standards is how hyped you get from the heavy bass and methodical melody with the continuous “Fuck the club up!” being yelled in the background. Like No Bystandards, Butterfly Effect also shoots you into a hyped up mood and just make you feel like your balling with your homies, from the waterfall sounding melody to the nasty kicking snare drum in the back, to Travis raping “For this life I cannot change” in the chorus. What is awesome is that you see this energy coming from Travis and his production team while creating these tracks in the studio, mansion and range rover under the new label Cactus Jack consisting of Sheck Wes and Don Tolliver.

Finally, Astroworld, the long-awaited album was released August 3^rd 2018 and first performed at Lallapaloosa with an enormous energetic crowd. Some of the fan favorite tracks included Sicko Mode featuring Drake, and Yosemite featuring Gunna and Nav. Sicko Mode Travis’s biggest hit could be considered two songs in one with an intro  sounding like a flying accordion jumping into a bouncy bass type beat with Travis rapping. The second part of the track is Drake rapping over Drake like beats consisting of a dense mix of eerie synth beats. Yosemite on the other hand is a much more laid back beat but still with some bounce while containing calming instrumentals from flutes to harmonized humming with auto tune. Astroworld was such a big hit that it went Platinum in less than three months! Travis was then invited to Jimmy Fallon and even congratulated by Selevester Turner, mayor of Houston, who establishes Astroworld day and promises to rebuild the park because of the inspiration Travis brought to the people of H-town.

Look Mom I Can Fly is not an in-depth review of Travis’s music, but an in-depth adventure of Travis’ life and the inspiration he has given to his audience. Although, Travis may not be the most lyrically talented hip-hop artist, through Astroworld, he revolutionized beats and created a diverse variety of sounds that no one has ever heard before. Listening to Astroworld after viewing the documentary, I found a new appreciation for every track in the album as well as a burning desire to see Travis live. Look Mom I Can Fly depicts the revolutionary change in modern music, the fan experience, and is something I am overjoyed to be part of for the years to come.

If you like stories full of ups and downs, character development, creation and destruction, not to mention, some fucking awesome melodies and beats, then DAMN is the album for your desert island. To many, DAMN is the best story-telling album ever created for many reasons, starting with the author. Kendrick Lamar is arguably the greatest lyricist ever and the only rapper to ever win a Pulitzer prize. DAMN is a story about Kendrick’s life, from the past events that shaped his life without even being born in the track “DUCKWORTH.”, to Kendrick’s eventual rise to fame in the track “HUMBLE”. If stuck on a desert island, you would want an album that could keep you entertained for as long as possible where something new could be learned or interpreted for every listen. In this description of DAMN, you will realize why this album is a masterpiece and an album to keep your mind occupied while satisfying the soul.

DAMN is a story about Kendrick. So many might ask, what is this story about? Can every track be a story? Or do the tracks need to be listened in a certain order? Although music is meant to be interpreted by the listener and therefor can be interpreted in any order, it is most likely that Kendrick wanted DAMN to be listened to from last to first. The reason being, that the last track of DAMN, “DUCKWORTH.” is the story of Kendrick’s father “Ducky” before Kendrick’s birth, but would eternally shape Kendrick’s life, “then you start reminding them about the chicken incident whoever though the greatest rapper would be from coincidence because if Anthony killed Ducky, top dog would be serving life while I would be born without a father and be dead in a gun fight”. This line in “DUCKWORTH.” describes how Kendrick’s father worked at a fried chicken spot where Anthony a “top dog” wanted to rob the fried chicken shop and would end up killing Kendrick’s father “Ducky” in order to do so, but, “Ducky” realizes this and befriends Anthony by “giving him extra biscuits” or “free chicken”. Anthony changes his mind and reunites with “Ducky” and Kendrick in the studio twenty years later. So, is “DUCKWORTH.” really meant to be listened to first? What is interesting is that in DAMN the collector’s edition, all of DAMN’s tracks are in reversed order, with “DUCKWORTH.” as the first track, but, the last in the “normal” album. Again, it is up to interpretation and may not have a definitive answer, but, it is certainly one of the most influential tracks in the story of DAMN. I love that Kendrick uses events before his birth to tell his story. It makes me and I’m sure other listeners intrigued about the circumstances that brought their parents together or kept their parents alive. My father immigrated from Moscow when he was seven years old and faced many challenges growing up, from dealing with Anti-Semitism in Russia to Russian hate in the United States and although Kendrick’s father and mine had very different challenges both fathers managed to overcome and be there for there sons.

 “BLOOD.”, the last, or first track of DAMN is a story or dream Kendrick recounts, where he meets an old blind woman who appears to have lost something. Kendrick offers to help her find it by asking her what she’s lost and the blind old woman says “your life” and proceeds to shoot Kendrick. This creates quite an eerie entrance/exit to DAMN as this story is being told over a trancey slow piano melody. What is even more strange, is that the very beginning of “BLOOD.” is the very ending of “DUCKWORTH.”, with the line, “So I was taking a walk the other day” and at the end of “DUCKWORTH.” before Kendrick gets to that line, the track quickly rewinds through every track of DAMN. “BLOOD.” and “DUCKWORTH.” tie/loop the story of DAMN together set the vibe of the story.

Continuing down the story of DAMN, we get to the track “DNA.” that transitions seamlessly from “BLOOD.”. “DNA.” takes a big turn from “BLOOD.” as the track jumps into a ferocious beat with heavy bass as Kendrick observes how his hood life affects his everyday life “I know murder, conviction/burners, boosters, burglars, ballers, dead” how it has shaped him, and how hip-hop has affected his community. “DNA.” is what defines everything about a human and can even change overtime, Kendrick observes the positives and the negatives of this as his first bars go “I got loyalty got royalty inside my DNA”, “I got power, poison, pain inside my DNA”. What I love about this track, although no one has gone through what Kendrick has gone through, is that everyone has their stories and life experiences that shaped them and their DNA to the point they are in today, making “DNA.” a track everyone can relate too.

Next, comes “YAH.” (possibly short for Yahweh a Hebrew name of God) a track about Kendrick’s beliefs on the fate of the world, and his treatment by his friends and family. This track is laid down with a mellowed-out melody created by wavering drums and what seems to be short bursts of a horn. Kendrick discusses people’s opinion of him as he raps “Interviews wanna know my thoughts and opinions, Fox news wanna use my name for percentage. My latest muse is my niece, she worth living. See me on the TV and scream: “That’s Uncle Kendrick!””. “YAH.”, then fades out and Kendrick flies into the more jumpy track, “ELEMENT.”. In “ELEMENT.” Kendrick describes how he’s risen to his position from Compton and has had to leave “friends” to continue on his path to fame “relocate, jump on the same G5, checking for me heavy because I go yea I go yea, they never be ready yea I know, yea I know yea”., Kendrick has left people in the past for his fame in “ELEMENT.” but, in “FEEL.”, Kendrick is alone “I feel like friends overrated, I feel like the family been faking, I feel like the feelings are changing”. Kendrick raps over an echo of possibly his own voice in his head reminiscing, sounding like a tide rolling in and out of the sand as his feelings are staying and going as the line “Ain’t nobody praying for me” repeats throughout.

“FEEL.” ends, and “LOYALTY.” begins, featuring Rihanna smoothly flowing in and discussing the people Kendrick has maintained relationships with who are loyal to him. “LOYALTY.” unlike most of DAMN is more of a radio hit song with a catchy remixed Bruno Mars beat and of course the addition of Rihanna’s beautiful voice, as Kendrick and Rihanna go back and forth discussing loyalty among each other. From Loyalty till the end of DAMN, there is a clear change in the style of the melodies and beats of the tracks, where it seems Kendrick is experimenting with new sounds, but making it work alluringly, with Kendrick’s amazing ability to maneuver his flow. “PRIDE.”, the next track in DAMN, takes a funky tune while Kendrick explains how his pride comes from faith in himself “I don’t trust people enough to put faith in them, I put my faith in these lyrics”.

Ironically, after “PRIDE.” Kendrick’s currently, most listened to track “HUMBLE.” is played. A recount of Kendrick’s humble begging’s to remind himself to “Bitch sit down, be humble”, but at the same time, a public display of his accomplishments. This is all over a tenacious beat produced by Mike Will MADE and a punchy piano chord progression with snarling sirens.

After hyped up “HUMBLE.”, “LUST.” transpires another ironic contrast to “HUMBLE.” as Kendrick recounts his inability to fight the urges sex, money and fame “way too hot to simmer down, might as well overheat”. From “LUST.” comes “LOVE.” another current top hit of Kendrick’s with an appealing smooth Drake type vibe with not as much depth in terms of lyrics, but a display of Kendrick’s talent to make a hit track and flow effortlessly with a catchy melody.

Kendrick takes a dramatic change from “LOVE.” to “XXX.” as “XXX.” is a track depicting life on the street addressing street violence, lost homies and interactions with the police, and the struggles being in the hood in America “the great American flag is wrapped in drag and explosives, disorder, sons and daughters, barricaded, in borders, look what you taught us, I’m on your street, my street, back streets”. This song also has an amazing change of flows from a trancey slow intro to a jumpy hip-hop beat with a lot of record scratching, and mixes of intermittent sirens and awkward piano chords, to finally a slow jazzy piano where the lyrics quoted earlier come in.

The struggles of “XXX.” mesh into Kendrick’s “FEAR.” as Kendrick describes the fear of losing everything he’s achieved from the money to the opinions held of him “I’m scared to return to section eight (Compton neighborhood) with my momma stressing thirty shows a month and I still won’t buy no Lexus”, “at 27 years old my biggest fear was being judged”. “FEAR.” to “GOD.” is another graceful transition as in “FEAR.” one of the main repeating lines is “why god why god do I got to suffer?” and ends with “Shalom”. Kendrick then explains what god feels like with very Kanye like vibe and beat and another display of Kendrick’s accomplishments. A good way to sum up Kendrick’s life before the progression to “DUCKWORTH.”

Damn is an incredible story and the short description of each track in the album cannot do the album justice. However, with an overview of damn I was able to connect through broad aspects of Kendrick’s life, like feelings of lust, power, or fear. Music has never been an aspect of life that has shaped me, but, more something of appreciation and a form of meditation. Interpretation of Kendrick’s lyrics while enjoying the amazing production behind his words is a great way to let your mind wander and take a break from all the thinking going on everyday. Listening to Damn may not have changed my life, but, it filled me with emotion, provided me a better understanding of one of my favorite artists and set the bar on how to tell a story through music.

Sources:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2017/04/14/kendrick-lamar-damn-track-by-track-instant-review/100452644/

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/18947-kendrick-lamar-humble/

Kendrick Lamar – ‘DAMN.’: First-listen track-by-track review

https://www.popmatters.com/kendrick-lamar-loyalty-ft-rihanna-singles-going-steady-2495383323.html

Spotify Genius lyrics (a great source with insights from the artist described during the listening of the track on spotify)

Malcolm James McCormick or Mac Miller was born January 19th 1992 in the Berg. He signed his first deal with Rostrum Records at the age of fifteen after creating his first hit mix-tape KIDS. Ever since that first mix-tape Mac recorded and produced hit album after hit album until his last one Swimming, which was awarded a Grammy nomination posthumously in 2018. These 8 tracks take you on journey through the beginning of Mac’s hip-hop career, from the teenager loving life, to the rise to fame, struggles with fame, struggles with relationships and drug addiction, to his final album Swimming where Mac tries to find meaning in his life. This musical journey is not only represented through Mac’s growth in lyrical ability and different stories through rap, but also through the evolution of Mac’s production ability to simple synthy beats, to the addition of new flows through sampling and mixtures of instruments. Mac Miller will always be one of my favorite rappers as his new music was always unlike any hip-hop you had heard before.

“Nike’s on My feet” (2010)

“Nike’s on My feet” from the album KIDS (Kickin Incredibly Dope Shit) is a special track that was a major kick starter to his career. What I love, is that this is a track from a Mac Miller not dealing with drug abuse, or the issues that come with fame, but just a kid loving life and you can hear it from the up tempo synth beat to Mac Miller rhyming about being with the homies and the vision of getting to the top starting with Nike’s on his feet.

“Donald Trump” (2011)

“Donald Trump” from Mac Miller’s album Best Day Ever, is the track that brought this album to the fame it has today. This track displays the ending of Mac’s high school career and the beginning of Mac taking over the rap game as he compares himself to Trump with the chorus: “Taking over the world while I’m on my Donald Trump shit, look at all this money ain’t that some shit”. Mac raps about how his life has changed and the success that has come with his hip-hop career. The rapping is over Sufjan Stevens “Vesuvius” a beat that bounces and flows harmoniously with Mac’s enthralling rapping.

“Thought from a Balcony” (2012)

“Thought from a Balcony” From Mac Miller’s Macadellic album takes a deep look into Mac’s life and how the world would be without him. This is again another song about Mac Miller taking over the rap game, but, with an audible transition in Mac’s music depicting a struggle with the power.

“Aquarium” (2013)

“Aquarium” from Mac Miller’s Watching Movies with the Sound Off can be seen as some inspiration for Mac’s album swimming, with slower wavy beats and lyrics displaying Mac’s struggles with depression. Mac talks about his life getting lost in an aquarium and how drugs numb him from his reality “Sedatives that take me to God / witness his fetishes / We all in search for substance, that drugs you pain and numbness.”. If you are a fan of Mac Miller, this song mat make you cry.

“Weekend” ft. Miguel (2015)

“Everything’ll be good by the weekend”. “Weekend” from GO:OD AM is like many of Mac Miller’s songs, to just have a good time. Intro’d with a smooth piano chord progression and a yawning Mac. Mac Miller talks about being tired dealing with struggles with women and the work load that comes with being a hip-hop superstar “I’ve been having trouble sleepin battling this demons”, but when the weekend comes everything will be alright as the beat an melody jumps into a joyful jumpy piano riff with the chorus going “everything will be good by the weekend”.

“Dang!” (2016)

One of Mac Miller song’s about losing love, but not getting frustrated about it. Just confused what he can do to get her back with the chorus “I can’t keep on losing you”. There is also a sense of confusion between love and meaningless hook ups, as Mac goes as far as quoting Kendrick with “This dick ain’t free”. This track with many others from GO:OD AM show Mac’s recovery from depression as he lets happiness flow from his creativity. This amazing production behind this track comes from Pomo which Mac and Paak use as a show case to the song with the groovy jazzy pumping beat.

“Ladders” (2018)

“Ladders” from Mac Miller’s album swimming, is a great euphoric sounding melody and beat through jazzy horns and a bouncy flow. Mac describes the way to keep moving on “Some how we gotta find a way, no matter how many miles it takes” he struggles with the meaning of life as do so many. How to make the most of your time every day is the question Mac keeps asking, but somehow knows the answer better than anyone else as he raps “waking up and I open my eyes do you mind if I blow your mid”. It’s is sad that this one of Mac’s last tracks ever created as, he died later in the year from a drug overdose. Swimming will be known as Mac Miller’s best album as somehow Mac is able to connect with the listener on a deep and personal level.

“Self Care” (2018)

“Self Care” from Mac Miller’s last album swimming is another journey through Mac’s Mind going through his recent break up with Ariana Grande leading to a DUI. Unfortunately Mac fled this DUI and put himself further into a hole of depression and confusion as he says “I’ve been reading them signs,I’ve been losing my, I’ve been losing my mind”. Mac is trying to figure himself out, nut is in no rush to do so because “for now I’m just chillin”. This track is produced by Nostxglic and DJ Dahi creating a breezy melody to accompany a slow moving beat and Mac who adds a sloppy sounding flow, however, seems to blend perfectly with the beat to create one of his most famous songs.

Although Mac has left this planet, his music has not and will continue to inspire people and empathize with the struggles many face everyday. Whenever, I am in a bad mood or in my feels I can throw some Mac on and he’ll be my therapy and help me know that whatever I am going through I’m not alone.

Discussion Post 1

Part 1: Hi my name is Simon I am senior mechanical engineer expected to graduate June of 2020 and have not currently decided what I will do this coming summer. I enjoy almost all music, but I really like Hip-hop, rock and some electronic. Out of those genres, I usually listen to Mac Miller, Wiz Khalifa, Red hot Chili Peppers, Cage the elephant, Hippie Sabotage, and Kygo. My favorite show was probably when I saw Hippie Sabotage at the Palladium in Hollywood.

Email: simon.glezer@du.edu

Part 2:

A: Three key features in an album review as a genre of writing include how well different sounds affect the listener, how the lyrics convey a message, and what are the emotions and feelings brought from the music. These features are important as the reasons for how listeners will interact with music. In Balmer’s there is a good example of describing the melody and sound “Basically a vocal group using rudimentary riffs and instrumentals fuzzed-out guitar, strong emphasis on beat, adherence to 4-4 tempo” and calls the album vulgar, but impressive. In Derogatis’s Courtney Barnette’s album review Derogatis starts right off by describing the emotions felt by this work of art. She says “Dread can yield frantic needling work: deranged guitar a yelping vocal. Yet Barnette’s most defining characteristic is her nonchalance. She sounds gloriously enviably, unbothered even as the circumstances around her openly deteriorate.”. In Power’s review of Daft Punk’s album RAM, there is no description of the lyrics, because daft punk is a band that focuses a lot more on the instrumentals and sounds created like this description “On a purely musical level, RAM defines through these oozy pleasures around sound a prog rock keyboard blending with some guitar boogie”.

B: In the article with Courtney Barnette, we learn that men fear women laughing at them and women fear men killing them, so she sings about how walking in the park alone at night is impossible. She has gone through domestic violence in her life but is still non-challant about it. Knowing this can help listeners understand the metaphors in her lyrics and the punk rock feel of her music.

Part 3: D Smoke, 33 years old, is an Inglewood local born and raised, and was recently featured on Chance the Rapper’s hip hop competition show Rhythm and Flow. D smoke won the competition by creating an amazing music video with star producers, a live performance in a feature with Miguel a famous hip-hop artist, and finally to win Rhythm and Flow with an original track performed live. With the victory, D Smoke was featured on Spotify’s Rap Caviar playlist, awarded 250 thousand dollars and better opportunities to create his first album Inglewood High. D Smoke was a good student and was encouraged by his older brothers to do so as his father was incarcerated at a young age (but was released prior to his win on Rhythm and Flow), he has been a Spanish teacher for ten years while creating music.

All the struggles coming from growing up and Inglewood and the overcoming of these struggles are beautifully expressed through D Smoke’s album. D Smoke’s musical talent is undeniable as he demonstrated in Rhythm and Flow that he can play piano, guitar, some drums and produced and wrote the lyrics for almost every song. In Inglewood High, he accompanies his amazing production with Terrence Martin on the saxophone, Sha’leah Nicole and Tommy Sketch on “Carry On”, and Tiffany Gouche who has a beautiful voice on “ain’t you”, a song for the ladies. D Smoke uses guitar looping for most of the melody with different drums and patterns that bounce with the vocals and melody. Inglewood High also displays signs of jazz and reminds me of Kendrick’s To Pimp a Butterfly through his cadence and voice. D Smoke are both are kids who had the will to carry on during the struggles of growing up in Inglewood and can be seen in their lyrics and display of oppression as well as gang violence. One of my favorite lines displaying this struggle is seen in the track Honey Jack “ Systematic oppression, we just servants indentured politicians retire while we work ’til we indentures they kill our black heroes and then just give us one avenger Wakanda forever, my nigga more like pour me a drink, I wonder what kind of liquor”. However, D Smoke can put his own twist on the music through his own struggles and the incorporation of his Spanish talent to his music. A great example of Spanish lyrics can be seen in D Smoke’s Let Migo ‘Un jovencito me paró (Dale) Y me preguntó (Yeah). Si vamos a levantar la’ mano’ como el muchacho el puerco mató Sangre en cada calle. Cada montaña tiene valle. Cada valle puede tener un río rapidito cuando la lluvia cae’ this translated to ‘A young man stopped me and asked. If we’re going to put our hands up like the boy the pig (cop) killed. Blood in each street. Every mountain has a valley. Every valley can have a rapid river when the rain falls.’. Although this translation does not flow in English, in the music video, D Smoke is able to translate the lyrics to rhyme in English and create a smooth flow in Spanish. With his ability to rap in Spanish, D Smoke brings in a whole new audience to his music and potential to grow. D Smoke is the next generation of hip-hop and his album is getting great reviews and fan love. He is bringing a new flow and life to hip-hop and people are loving it.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

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