The year is wrapping up, which means a few things. The weather is heating up, family we might not have seen for a while are descending upon us for the holidays and it’s time to get a bit retrospective. Overall, 2016 has been a bit of a shit-kicker and not just for all all the talent we’ve lost.
Over the past week, Triple J and listeners have copped a flack for the disappointingly abysmal representation (or rather, lack thereof) of people in their Top Ten Albums who weren’t male. For the sake of accountability, it must be noted that here at Howl & Echoes, while there was a fairly diverse spread across our individual picks, the overall top albums for 2016 only featured one female artist (Solange) – though it must also be observed that only two of the artists on the list were white. Festival lineups remained the Caucasian-male-dominated affairs they always have been and it was found that 80% of record labels registered in Australia are headed up by men while women, trans and non-white diverse artists still struggle for recognition, respect, understanding and paid work.
With all the bullshit all of that in mind, there’s still a fair bit to celebrate. Taking a leaf out of the Her Sound, Her Story book, here’s a look at a few things worth celebrating (that series is also one, if you feel so inclined to check it out) that happened in 2016!
Queens All Around
If ever a Holy Trinity existed, Rihanna, Beyoncé and Solange would be it and 2016 blessed us with albums from all members. In the very first month, we received ANTI, the long-awaited album from hardworking hit machine – the true princess of modern pop, Rihanna. After a four year wait and a whole lot of lead up, Rihanna broke with convention for ANTI, presenting perhaps her most surprising album for its tempered back, hazed vibe and down-to-earth lyricism, matched with a delightfully unashamed confidence. Needed Me and its accompanying video alone was enough to send fans and commentators into a tail spin and confirmed ANTI as one of the most surprising, but enduring pop releases of the year, just one month in to 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfN4PVaOU5Q
“ANTI represents the deconstruction of the manufactured pop star and the reassembling of Rihanna as a living, breathing personality that vibes with bands like Tame Impala, and alternative hip-hop stars like SZA and deals with self deprecating thoughts and is terrified of love. She’s human now. She’s not the hit machine she was in the Umbrella era. “Rihanna the pop star” is now “Rihanna the person” – Emma Jones for Howl & Echoes
The theme of 2016 seemed to be that everything kind of happened at once. It just kept getting faster, more full on, and it was no exception when Beyoncé dropped Formation in February. The song and accompanying video, was masterful and gave foresight into what was to come. Powerful, sensual, celebratory while also rife with social commentary, it was perhaps the single most disruptive song of the entire year for all the conversation and polarising reactions it caused.
The visual album that followed in April, Lemonade, has since climbed to the top end of Best Of 2016 lists, earned the singer 9 Grammy nominations, and caused a whole storm of debate. Her appearance with The Dixie Chicks at the Country Music Awards sparked controversy when the show removed all traces of the performance online and removed the collaboration from the official list of performers despite the fact that their mere presence boosted ratings to an all time high. Beyoncé remains, as always, a force to be reckoned with, having become the first artist to ever receive Grammy nominations across the pop, rock, R&B and rap categories in one year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeonBmeFR8o
In September, it became clear that both Knowles sisters were coming for institutionalised racism, social injustice and issues of inequality in 2016. Announced on a Monday and released that Friday, Solange wasted no time in promoting her new album, an ethereal, arresting piece of art. Accompanied by a series of music videos both haunting and inspiring, A Seat At The Table was altogether surprising, subtly powerful and a thing of beauty. It has solidified Solange’s place as an truly individual artist, putting her money where her mouth is in terms of her personal ethics and ideals and artistic endeavours. It also sees her catapulting her into Best Albums lists alongside her sister, without either overshadowing the other, for they are both so uniquely themselves in their art. Nominated for a Grammy (Best R&B Performance) A Seat At The Table is the gift that keeps on giving, with some of the most memorable live television performances – perhaps none better than that on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon earlier this month. Pure. Living. Breathing. Art.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-qHmXbkayw
Music videos, as clearly displayed by Rihanna, Beyoncé and Solange this year, are an art form in themselves and sometimes a song or concept isn’t quite complete without them. Another one that struck this year, though perhaps on a more personal than world-wide phenomenon level, was for Colombian electro outfit Bomba Estéreo’s single Soy Yo. It is the kind of thing I would have loved to see as a young, mixed, latina girl growing up. Though the song itself (which has some great self-love lyrics about the importance of what is inside rather than what everyone else sees) was released last year, the video came out in September this year and it’s everything I didn’t even know I needed. It’s a celebration of confidence and loudness, of taking up space and being one’s true self. When I first stumbled across the clip, I watched it on a loop for an entire morning: I smiled, I laughed, I felt like I might start crying with all the familiar feelings it provoked – good and bad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxWxXncl53U
Young girls, especially of colour, are so often taught, be it by our parents or more often our teachers and peers, to not be overbearing. Sometimes, when you’re loud and opinionated and dare I say it, don’t quite look like the people around you, it can start to feel like you’re not doing things right. This video takes that notion of ‘being good’ and behaving (read: being quite, overlooked or brushed aside) and shoves it into the gutter where it belongs. We follow 11-year-old Sarai Isaura Gonzalez (who gave some great life advice in a follow-up video) out of the salon where she’s just been given a new look she’s clearly pleased with, and rides around urban New York. She runs into two other girl, who try to stare her down to little avail. She demands attention on the basketball court despite perhaps not being very skilled at the game. She dances and moves the way she wants to and that’s the entire point. A beautiful, vibrant video that is worthy of a lot more buzz and hype than it ever did get.
Back on home soil, one of the most powerful, beautifully crafted releases of the year came from the alluring Ngaiire. The power in her voice and her knack for crafting pulsating, enthralling, winding pieces of electro-tinged indie pop is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Live, she is perhaps one of the country’s most astounding performers; on stage with two other musicians, she fills entire theatres – a soulful, arresting talent to be reckoned with.
For all the self-reflection and criticism thrown the way of the country’s taste-maker radio station, Triple J and listeners as of late about the lack of women at the top of of album selections, there were two stand out occurrences this year and they both involved Unearthed. In August, the honey-voiced, Gretta Ray was announced as the winner of Unearthed High, her country-tinged indie pop capturing the hearts of the nation through her songs Drive and Unwind. Fast-forward to November and the utterly captivating, magnetic Tash Sultana was unveiled as the recipient of the 2016 Unearthed J Award.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn8phH0k5HI
In Victoria, the results of the Women in the Victorian Contemporary Music Industry survey and paper prompted the creation of a new gender diversity policy. The survey, which was conducted mid-last year noted that instances of pay inequality between male and female performers were frequent and damaging. It also found there to be an imbalance in access to opportunities, a significant confidence gap, the major undervaluing of music made by women and perhaps the most unsurprisingly, that sexual harassment and assault are experienced by women in the industry on a frighteningly large scale.
The policy, which was unveiled in May, means that the state’s key body, Music Victoria is committed to promoting gender diversity across the industry (“Music Victoria acknowledges that gender is a diverse spectrum and when referring to women and men it includes those who identify as female and male, and those who are gender non-conforming.”) while encouraging “others in the industry to adopt a gender diversity policy for their organisations.” There’s still work to be done, which is outlined in the policy – but we have one, voices have been and are being heard. There’s a wealth more awareness out there and now with an official piece of literature to stand with, there is a way to hold people (punters, venue owners, industry heads, other musicians, every single one of us), accountable. Hopefully, it also prompts similar outcomes in other states.
Overall, 2016 has been a bit of a shit-kicker and for all the hopes we had coming into the new year, a lot of them were kind of dashed. But sometimes it’s good to remember the small victories alongside the huge triumphs and perhaps set the tone for the coming 12 months – one not just of positivity but of action rather than idle commentary about what more we ‘should be doing’.
Image: newnownext
Ah, the MTV VMAs, the music industry’s answer to a circus freak show – or was it? 2016 saw the award show celebrating its 31st anniversary, and the ceremony promised big, with a last-minute performance from Beyoncé, four minutes of whatever-the-fuck-he-wants allocated to Kanye, Britney Spears‘ reappearance and more. Although the show lacked some of its typical pizzazz and controversy, which has led many to deem it as underwhelming (indeed the show’s overall ratings dropped a massive 34% from last year), there’s still a lot to talk about – mostly the performances. In terms of awards, although Adele stacked up the most nominations, Beyoncé inevitably stole the show, not only delivering a stunning 15-minute Lemonade medley, but officially becoming the most awarded female in VMA history.
Rihanna was the main focus of the performances, who, as winner of the coveted Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, chose to split her performance into four separate slots, rather than one long set. Much like how this worked for the array of Prince tributes at the BET, this model worked really effectively for Rihanna, who split her time into four distinct parts: first, basking in pastel pink, she smashed through some of her biggest pop hits including Only Girl In The World, We Found Love and Where Have You Been. The next medley came in the form of a dance hall jam, where she brought a tonne of dancers up on stage to emanate a club feel for Rude Boy, What’s My Name, and Work. Next came a seductive medley of the raspy anthems Needed Me, Pour It Up and Bitch Better Have My Money. Finally, she delivered a powerful, emotive medley of the balladic Stay, Diamonds and Love on the Brain. As if it couldn’t get any better, her close *friend* and collaborator Drake presented her with the actual award, each delivering strong and humbling speeches. “Some artists need to play a character to achieve success,” Drake said. “She succeeds by doing something that no one in this music industry does, which is being herself.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyrUD1-nls4
Among the other performances, pop stars Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj turned the stage into a giant gym, recreating the video for their tune Side By Side. Future killed his performance of Fuck Up Some Commas, and while auto-tune-free Future might be confusing for some, we found it a welcome surprise. Collabs were clearly in vogue this year, with more from Britney Spears and her triumphant, if a little awkward return with G-Eazy and their new single Make Me, Chainsmokers and Halsey’s Closer and Nick Jonas and Ty Dolla $ign, who kept it cooking with their single Bacon.
It wouldn’t be an MTV VMA without Kanye West, and this year he excelled. Giving a social commentary on Chicago crime, his influences and more in a remarkably understated use of his four minutes of freedom, he then debutes the video to Fade, one of the standout tracks to his seventh album The Life Of Pablo. Check out Kanye’s speech and the clip for Fade here.
In the end it was really Beyoncé who stole the night. Beginning by making a statement in itself on the red carpet, she brought out the mothers of Trayvon Martin, Oscar Grant, Eric Garner, and Mike Brown, as well as cast members from her Lemonade visuals. Building upon this veracity, she went on to deliver what is easily the best performance of the awards – possibly ever – delivering a phenomenally powerful medley of Pray You Catch Me, Hold Up, Sorry, Don’t Hurt Yourself and the climactic Formation, leaving everybody absolutely blown away. In fact, the only awards performance that could possibly match this was her BET Awards performance earlier this year. Oh, and she also nabbed eight awards: Video of The Year, Best Female Video, Best Pop Video, Best Direction to name just a few. All hail the Queen!
https://www.facebook.com/MTV/videos/10153999778031701/
https://www.facebook.com/MTV/videos/10154000293846701/
2016 MTV Video Music Awards Winners:
Video of the Year:
Beyoncé – Formation
Best Female Video:
Beyoncé – Hold Up
Best Male Video:
Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna – This Is What You Came For
Best Collaboration:
Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign – Work From Home
Best Hip Hop Video:
Drake – Hotline Bling
Best Pop Video:
Beyoncé – Formation
Best Rock Video:
twenty one pilots – Heathens
Best Electronic Video:
Calvin Harris & Disciples – How Deep Is Your Love
Breakthrough Long Form Video:
Beyoncé – Lemonade
Best New Artist:
DNCE
Song of Summer Presented by Verizon:
Fifth Harmony featuring Fetty Wap – All In My Head (Flex)
Professional Categories
Best Art Direction:
David Bowie – Blackstar
Best Choreography:
Beyoncé – Formation
Best Direction:
Beyoncé – Formation
Best Cinematography:
Beyoncé – Formation
Best Editing:
Beyoncé – Formation
Best Visual Effects:
Coldplay – Up&Up
Image: Facebook
International pop superstar Rihanna has pulled out of what would have been the inaugural Lollapalooza festival in Colombia. As a result, the organisers of the festival have collectively turned to each other, shrugged and uttered the sacred words of “fuck it,” before cancelling the festival all together. Despite other big name headliners like Lana Del Rey, The Chainsmokers, Wiz Khalifa and Disclosure, they ultimately didn’t have enough time to pull another artist of her magnitude.
The ANTI singer cited concerns over the Zika Virus as the reason for the cancellation, as the disease . She is by far not the only high profile figure to postpone (read: cancel) their planned trips to South America. A large number of athletes have similarly opted out of attending the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro due to virus fears.
The Zika Virus is a nasty mosquito-borne illness that is most prominently found in tropical areas. Mosquito nets aren’t much of a defence, as the particular species of bug that transfers it is active at day. It causes fever, rashes, joint and muscle pain, vomiting and headaches. Not pleasant stuff.
While Rihanna’s motives were completely understandable, it is a shame to see the entire festival cancelled.
Lollapalooza will still be running in Chicago from July 28-31 and in Berlin on the 10th and 11th of September, so you can still experience the festival in those places.
Below, watch Rihanna’s sci-fi new video for her Star Trek theme song, Sledgehammer.
https://youtu.be/BXhIT4MpRis
Image: Kevin Winter/2016 Getty Images
Every highly-anticipated motion picture needs a powerful ballad sung by a pop star, right? Rihanna has stepped up to the plate today with a huge new single titled Sledgehammer, the theme song for upcoming film Star Trek Beyond.
If Sledgehammer has been designed to get you excited for the film, it totally succeeds. Below, watch the trailer, soundtracked by the star’s new song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MBXBMkcUNo
The high piano notes make for a gripping intro, perhaps emulating a racing heart. Her gorgeous voice enters on a stunning, lush melody and powerful lyrics – it’s completely difference to what we’ve heard from her recently, and it might not be your typical song, but it sure as hell makes for one killer film soundtrack.
The imagery is on point throughout the emotional track, as she talks about rising up in spite of deep sadness, climbing over the obstacles and living through life’s troubles. The positive affirmations run strong throughout, encouraging the listener to keep going, even if they “hit a wall.”
She repeats the phrase, “you’re just a brick and I’m a sledgehammer,” to show the listener the best way to think about a tough situation. You are strong enough to destroy whatever is bringing you down.
Listen to the full track below:
Image: Billboard
Let it be known that we here at Howl & Echoes are not just a bunch of hardened, arrogant cynics. Sure, there has been some terrible music in 2016, and we were recently quite happy to tell you all about our deep loathing of it, but we consider that to be our one-time exception. The reason we do what we do is because we’re fans. We’re obsessed with listening to music, with loving music, with finding feeling in it.
2016 has been a wild musical soiree of hedonistic proportions. We have been shamelessly gorging on all the amazing sonic ambrosia that has been bestowed upon us over the last six months, so much so that any attempt at a top ten list would be not only unfair, but impossible. So in our best interest and yours, we narrowed it down to a scorching playlist of 100 tracks instead.
This pretty much sums it up
It has certainly been a year of girl power. With a force that makes the mother of dragons look like Mother Theresa the queens of pop unleashed albums that will be battling for the top spot on many end of year lists. We are of course talking about Rihanna (Anti) and Beyonce (Lemonade) who packaged up raw emotional honesty with flawless production and exceeded all already towering expectations. Then we are supposed to pick just one song from each? Please.
The males certainly haven’t been slouching either. 2016 has been spearheaded by ridiculous album from Kendrick Lamar, Chance the Rapper, James Blake, Drake, Radiohead and David Bowie among others. Any day in 2016 could be like Christmas day, and we haven’t even got to the Australian releases yet. You might just wake up to an album from your favourite artist sneakily dropped in the middle of the night like a gift down the chimney from a sonically gifted Santa. The rules have changed, and while the era of the surprise release might just be another marketing ploy in some cases, it has opened the door for a time when you can be subjected to three albums from the biggest names in music in a single week and no one bats an eyelid.
Then there was Kanye, let’s not forget Kanye. So Help Me God, Swish, Waves, The Life of Pablo got more media attention than if every celebrity sex tape ever was broadcast in the Play School time slot. I have cultural fatigue even reliving those tumultuous weeks of tweets and memes. Despite a very mixed critical reception and solidification of the widespread suspicion that West is actually insane, there was still some Yeezy magic among the wreckage.
While there was enough going on in the international the limelight to distract us all, there was also plenty of gems coming from home. The Avalanches finally appeared from a sixteen year long hiatus with two singles and album Wildflower due out July 8 in the lead up to their much anticipated Splendour in the Grass performance. Flume also flexed his production muscles with a vast and eclectic release, Skin.
Without further ado, Howl & Echoes is proud to present our top 100 songs of the year so far.
This is brought to you as a collaborative effort from our entire editorial team. Also, as this list has been made on Spotify, there’s a whole bunch of tracks we love that we couldn’t include, but we’ve done what we can. Enjoy!
Image: Pixabay
It’s beginning to feel like it’s impossible to escape from online music marketing. From ads squeezing into every visible corner of your screen, to invitations to listen to new music on every page and every news feed that you visit. Granted, many of these are just artists wanting to be heard, but nowadays this is hugely challenging – even for internationally renowned artists. So how do you get people to pay attention to your album in 2016? By mixing it up a bit.
Lately there has been a trend of completely turning away from the never-ending hype machine and doing something completely different. We gathered a series of recent case studies and compared the ways in which artists have successfully dropped new material in unique ways that piqued interest and created buzz in their own unique ways.
Kendrick Lamar – Untitled, Unmastered
Raw and real
In March of this year, Kendrick Lamar, one of the biggest rappers in the world dropped an eight track album of unmastered music with less than two days notice and no advance promotion whatsoever. In a music economy where albums are carefully produced, crafted then released after every effort has been made to build hype in all the right places, this is remarkable in a number of ways. While Lamar played a couple of these tracks live in advance, nobody knew it until a couple of social media posts immediately preceded untitled unmastered‘s release – and even then, nobody really knew we’d be getting a whole new Kendrick Lamar album one year after TDE – most of us thought it was going to be another release from his label TDE. It felt like a joke. nevertheless, the songs soon appeared on Spotify, and Kendrick then confirmed it: “In raw form. Unfinished. Untitled. Unmastered.” He didn’t use a media blitz, he released them in the hopes it would be a success based on his artistic merit alone.
Why It Worked
He was correct. People listened. A year after To Pimp A Butterfly, people were still raving about it (and still are today). untitled unmastered was the perfect follow up for an already established, loving fan base who were itching to hear more of what Kendrick can do. Now, Lamar was in a unique position. He released one of the most important albums ever; he has never had a particularly strong presence on social media; he’s by and large hailed as one of, if not the most important rapper alive. He didn’t need to name his songs. Hell, he didn’t even need to finish them. They show off Kendrick’s raw talent for funky jazz beats and smooth, soulful rhymes. The release of untitled unmastered was pretty much the antithesis of our next pick.
Kanye West – The Life of Pablo
Alive and kicking
In February, Kanye West released the self-proclaimed “best album ever,” The Life of Pablo. Love him or hate him you cannot possibly escape knowing all about this album’s confusing, immense release, which began by announcing – and subsequently selling thousands of tickets to – the live debut alongside the release of his Yeezy season 3 fashion show at NYC’s Madison Square Garden. Cinemas around the world aired were filled with hip-hop heads, waiting with baited breath. Then he released it on Tidal, and said it would only ever be available there, until it wasn’t. Now it’s available everywhere.
But more than the grandiose, over the top launch, the most important aspect about The Life of Pablo is what has happened to it since its release. Kanye has continued to tweak and update with the album, despite it already being completed. He has uploaded different versions of songs, added lyrics or verses and messed around with the production. He appears to be changing things whenever he sees fit, updating it like an app fixes bugs, or like a game adds new features. Kanye West’s album is fluid, it is not a finished body of work.
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/709872072604913664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Why It Worked
Many have criticised Kanye’s process here (and, well, everything about him). Once an album is released, shouldn’t that be the end of it? Traditionally, yes. This is one of, if not the first extraordinarily notable instance in history of this not being the case. Kanye’s showing us a completely new, revolutionary way that we can utilise technology and re-conceptualise the very notion of what an album, or any piece of music is, for that matter.
But how far does this go? While the idea of being able to continue to make it the best it can possibly be is exciting, is it right? What if every time an artist was critiqued on a specific lyric or a boring part of a song, or a stolen sample, they simply reopened and edited it? How far could this go – would artists begin to tweak songs based on reviews? Would it go beyond music and into film and television? Or will everyone just continue on their normal path, with Ye as exception.
It’s an incredibly grey area, but exciting nonetheless. Most importantly, it’s one of the many aspects that have kept people talking about Kanye and Kanye’s album infinitely.
Beyoncé – Lemonade
Music for eyes and ears
In April, Beyoncé released her sixth album Lemonade, a visual album that was premiered in its entirety on HBO before being released exclusively on Tidal. Not even like a film, it simply is one – or perhaps more than one. It was the second visual album of her career, following her 2013 self-titled album, which dropped on iTunes with absolutely no warning. She worked on that album in secret for two years, only telling a small group of people, because she felt that the hype created around singles meant that albums were being split up and losing their meaning as a whole. Even iTunes only found out shortly in advance. Lemonade, was essentially the same – only those who had to know, knew. The visual album has forced people to look at the album as an interconnected piece of audiovisual art instead of any simple compilation of songs.
All we’d heard before the album was Formation and the promise of a “project” a short time in advance. Of course, many people suspected an album – no doubt a visual album – was on its way, but there were no huge marketing campaigns, no media rollouts, no forced publicity. Instead, she gave fans a time and a place, and let her reputation work the magic.
With Bey it is never just about the music; her fans are captivated by her personality, her strength and the way she uses her platform to empower women, especially women of colour. Each song, and in particular each video, are layered with meaning, powerful imagery, stunning fashion and badass dance moves that many of us only dream of being able to recreate.
Why It Worked
Her album, like the others on this list, are musically remarkable, and any visual bells and whistles, would ultimately fall flat. Not only is this an incredible album which has helped to redefine what we consider pop music today, but a visual album offers fans an entirely separate way to absorb this release.
Read our full article about Beyoncé and the rise of the visual album.
Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool
How To Disappear Completely
Much like the other artists on this list, Radiohead don’t really need a marketing or publicity strategy. Their fanbase is the kind where the slightest hint of anything will be sourced and analysed in a thousand ways. They have never really stuck to any typical mould when it comes to their releases and this year’s A Moon Shaped Pool is their most remarkable yet. The first hints came last year when they registered a company, Dawn Chorus. Then, they sent out cryptic fliers to fans in the UK. But the biggest hint was yet to come. Then, they disappeared completely from the whole internet.
It was the complete opposite of what most artists do just before a release.
Shortly after, they began to reappear. A short clip was posted to social media. Hours later, they dropped Burn The Witch. The exact same order of events repeated themselves a day later, with Daydreaming. Mercifully, they then announced that the album would be a couple days later. And thus, came the stunning, critically acclaimed A Moon Shaped Pool.
Why It Worked
The release of A Moon Shaped Pool was weird and wonderful in a way that not many could have pulled off. Radiohead drip fed cryptic snippets of information, a virtual scavenger hunt for fans to decipher and piece together. The anticipation for their album increased the more mysterious and ambiguous their messages were. The clues and mysterious puzzle pieces were irresistibly enticing, and beyond the album being really beautiful in itself, simply receiving those rare tidbits of information felt immensely satisfying at every step. It’s obviously much easier to do this when you already have a well-established fan base but their uniqueness is part of what has retained that adoration for so long.
Chance the Rapper – Coloring Book
Young, independent and free
In terms of release and promotion, Chance the Rapper‘s Coloring Book was by far the most conventional on this list. It had advance singles and promotion, a release date that he actually stuck to, interviews, accessibility. But where it stands out is that it was completely for free, and completely independently. Not just any free and independent release, but an incredibly good one – one that featured literally the biggest artists in the world, from Kanye West to Justin Bieber, Young Thug to Lil Wayne and more.
The free mixtape has become increasingly common, and Chance’s are among the best. Not only are they a great way to connect with young fans, but free releases are clever, seeing as these days far more money comes in through ticket sales and merchandise (which Chance is an absolute king at). Chance has become one of the biggest artists in the world, yet he’s never signed to a label and he’s never charged for a mixtapes. Despite the very obvious fact that a lot of people would have paid for one.
Why It Worked
The free release makes Chance look like a guy who doesn’t care about money; he’s dropping tunes to drop tunes, for the fans, for the love. Simultaneously, there’s no money in album sales, so why bother?
In an industry flooded with generic vapidity created solely for the purpose of releasing album after album, filling seats at shows, Chance has established the value of his product in other ways, while finding more inventive, and more successful ways to earn top dollar at the same time.
Fans were so hyped that they stuck posters up themselves. Instead of having to create more unique promotional content, Chance was able to retweet fan-shot images of his posters in their bedrooms, on buildings and in bathroom stalls. His willingness to embrace innovative ways to create good music, make it accessible and still make money is so important for his audience – a generation who grew up downloading music free.
Rihanna – ANTI
Concept and Change
In January Rihanna released her eighth album ANTI. After countless moments of false hope and endless delays, few details were shared about the album in the lead up, but fans were directed to a mobile website, ANTIdiaRY.com. The site contained a mysterious message, “you’ll know when it’s time.” The website was a sort of virtual reality game, featuring a series of different interactive rooms in which fans could unlock clues about the album and hints at the themes of its content, including musical snippets.
There's more than meets the eye. The next #ANTIdiaRy room is now open: https://t.co/uJ0CLlhoaS pic.twitter.com/I8AmmtTr9K
— Rihanna (@rihanna) November 28, 2015
The album was available for a free download for one week, and received a week-long Tidal exclusive before being made available for all. To drop her music for free was like a gift to fans who had been following the creation of this record for years, patiently, desperately waiting.
Why It Worked
The website was a creative way to get fans excited about what was to come, and to build immense, boiling hype without actually plastering the album or any music online. The concept of ANTI goes beyond the music, it stretches into everything about this latest release. Rihanna is championing self expression and artistic freedom on this album widely considered her best yet. She’s singing, rapping, recording and releasing something fresh and invigorating. Much like Lemonade, ANTI has challenged the way we think about pop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49lY0HqqUVc
Marketing is an every-growing, ever-changing and increasingly creative aspect of the music industry. Gone are the days of a straightforward cycle, from singles to videos to release dates and the like. It’s becoming more and more interactive, and more and more necessarily unique. Artists and their teams want to surprise their audience, they want to stand out, they want us to talk about it – and sometimes the best way to gt us talking is by saying nothing at all.
Obviously it needs to be mentioned that these concepts won’t work for everyone. The above artists are the biggest in the world; none of them have any need for traditional publicity and marketing campaigns. They’re lucky in that they get to do what they like – an upcoming artist certainly doesn’t have the pull to simply drop an album out of the blue and expect it to blow up.
We’re no longer passive receivers, and artists no longer follow a typical format. It’s exciting, if exhausting. 2016 has already been such a massive year for new releases and long-awaited comebacks – it’s only a matter of time before the next big drop (we’re very specifically looking at you, Frank.)
Co-Written with Lauren Ziegler
One of my personal favourite songs on Rihanna‘s new album ANTI is the raw ballad Kiss It Better. It was recently covered by Father John Misty, and has now received an upbeat remix courtesy of Kaytranada.
Kaytranada, who just released a stunning new album of his own, transforms the sensual ballad into a melodic banger, perfect for the dance-floor – or the office chair I’m currently sitting on. It is very, very hard to not want to bounce along to this blissful remix – try it and see for yourself.
Kaytranada is showing know signs of slowing down, having revealed that he’s already working on the follow-up to 99.9%, aptly titled 0.01%. Of the remix, he told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, “I probably had it on repeat… I really love the song, but I really wanted to remix it and I had this idea of you heard it previously, how it sounded. It’s hard to explain… I just think about it and then, boom!”
Listen below, as premiered on Beats 1 Radio.
A frequent collaborator with R&B and hip-hop artists, his album also featured tracks with Vic Mensa, Anderson .Paak, GoldLink and Craig David among others.
Revisit Rihanna’s NSFW video for Kiss It Better:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49lY0HqqUVc
Kaytranada is touring Australia later this year, dates below:
KAYTRANADA 99.9% WORLD TOUR
AUSTRALIA / NEW ZEALAND DATES
Fri 21 October – 170 Russell, Melbourne
Sat 22 October – Metro City, Perth
Thu 27 October – The Tivoli, Brisbane
Fri 28 October – Studio, Auckland
Sat 29 October – Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Image: Rap-Up
The Billboard Music Awards are done and dusted for another year, and once again brought the goods when it comes to live performances from music’s biggest and (sometimes) best. We’ve checked out all the videos from the show, and narrowed it down to the 5 must see sets. Check them out below!
Rihanna
I have only four words for you: Bad. Gal. Ri. Ri. She absolutely killed it! Her passionate, heart-wrenching ballad taken from her opus, ANTI, titled Love On The Brain was a gentle push on the break pedal from the other high intensity, full throttle performances, and provided a rare glimpse into the other side of Rihanna. A simple set up with a green background, RiRi stood behind a mic stand as she belted out her song, wearing green fur similar to her memorable Bitch Better Have My Money performance with the helicopter at last year’s iHeartRadio music awards. It’s a stunning performance, and definitely the best of the night.
Britney Spears
The Princess of Pop reclaimed her throne at the BBMAs this year, with a medley of her greatest hits effortlessly pulled off. The child star-turned-pop-icon-turned-example-of-what-not-to-do-when-you’re-famous-turned-icon-again showed everyone why she is one of the world’s biggest pop artists ever, with a mix of songs including everything from Toxic to Womanizer to Work Bitch. Dance routines and a back up crew cutting all kinds of shapes, as well as multiple costume changes and an exciting light show started things off with a bang this year, and served as a not so gentle reminder that it’s Britney, bitch!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZG9bttWuFo
Ariana Grande
Having just released her sensational new album, Dangerous Woman on Friday last week, Ariana seized the opportunity to show off some new material. Performing a mash up of title track Dangerous Woman and new single Into You, she showcased her incredible set of pipes in front of a gaggle of back up dancers, performing her sexually powerful and self-assertive new tunes with so much confidence it almost came off as nonchalant. Stepping up her musical capabilities as well as her femme-fatale attitude, Ariana killed it from start to finish here. We’re predicting Into You to be absolutely everywhere soon.
Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber has been thrust onto the world stage for the last 6+ months thanks to his “comeback” album, Purpose and the huge amount of certified bangers on it, and whilst in the past he hasn’t exactly given his live performances his all, this time around he looked raring to go. Complete with back up dances, an elaborate stage set up, jets of fire and an insane light show, Biebs was back to administer another dosage of Bieber Fever at the BBMAs. Performing Sorry and Company, two stand out tunes on his album, he showed everyone that the comeback is far from over, and reaffirmed the fact that we are also far from being over it. Yassss Bieber!
Kesha
This performance almost didn’t happen, so the fact that Kesha did in fact get up on stage with Ben Folds to perform a cover of Bob Dylan’s It Ain’t Me Babe was a very big win for an artist who just can’t catch a break. After months of emotionally exhausting court cases to free her from a contract with her alleged abuser, Dr Luke, and having her case consequently thrown out, the music world has rallied around Kesha to hear her and what she’s trying to say, and this jaw-dropping performance showed that although she isn’t in a good place, there is still light at the end of the tunnel for her. Here’s hoping she sees justice soon.
Image: BGR
Rihanna has announced a scholarship program which will be targeting international students and allowing then to apply for a grant that will see them be given up to $50,000 to attend American colleges.
Rihanna’s own charity the Clara Lionel Foundation has been making philanthropic leaps and bounds since 2012, contributing to health, education and the arts. Now the Barbados native has decided to open up a path to higher educations, by allowing students from Brazil, Barbados, Cuba, Haiti, Grenada, Guyana and Jamaica to attend US based colleges.
“To be able to give the gift of an education is actually an honor,” Rihanna said in an exclusive with USA Today. “Higher education will help provide perspective, opportunity and learning to a group of kids who really deserve it. I am thrilled to be able to do this.”
Successful applicants will be from one of the aforementioned countries and will be selected based on academic and social merit as well as any unusual personal or family circumstances they might be embroiled in. Those applying strictly from a financial point of view will not be considered.
The sum of the scholarship will range from $5,000 to $50,000 and can be renewed for up to three years or until the student has earned their bachelor’s degree. The applications for the scholarship are open now, with the deadline being June 10, 2016. The lucky recipients will be notified in August.
With higher education proving to play an increasingly larger role in individual sustainability for younger generations, it’s excellent to see a celebrity with the means as well as the drive to help young people achieve their education based dreams. All you need to do is put in the work work work work work.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL1UzIK-flA]
Image: Pitchfork
Lil Kim has recently been blasted on social media, and across other “reputable” news channels, for a collage of selfies she posted on Instagram in which she appears looking significantly whiter than people collectively imagine her to be. This conversation about her physical appearance has managed to garner more attention and discussion about her than a recently released mixtape and an upcoming Bad Boy Reunion show appearance combined.
Image: Instagram
I have to ask, is it really a surprise that in an appearance-obsessed culture people will voluntarily undergo cosmetic procedures? Is it also a surprise to see that, when whiteness is the prominently displayed beauty ideal, whiteness is often emulated? Are social media users genuinely blind to the fact that they are a driving cause of these people’s insecurities, given that said complaints generate more publicity than their targets’ art?
Image: thehiphopdiaries
Lil Kim’s transformation is not new. It has been ongoing since the late 90’s, with the rapper initially using blue contacts and blonde weaves to alter her look, before moving on to more invasive procedures such as rhinoplasty and breast augmentation. While her body was being physically altered over the years, her skin also began to change, appearing lighter and whiter as time went on.
It’s important to note that Lil Kim has opened up in the past about her personal issues with self-esteem. Interviews from 1996 and 2000 have been dragged up in order to demonstrate that her desire to go under the knife and change her appearance is mostly because of her own unique deficit regarding her self-worth. Yet everyone is quick to overlook the fact that this shit is 16 years old and people change, and that, in a 2005 interview with Angie Martinez, Lil Kim just straight up owned her nose-job and denied any low self-esteem, saying “I love myself. …People think I did it because I had low self-esteem, but that wasn’t the case. I think I did it because I was a little too vain.’
Maybe self-esteem did have some part to play in Lil Kim’s desire to alter her appearance, but it would be difficult to have that conversation without acknowledging the fucking Mastodon (bigger than an elephant) in the room, which is the immense stress that women, especially those of colour, face regarding external pressures to adhere to a certain type of beauty standard in order to seem desirable from both an aesthetic point of view, and in their professional and everyday lives.
Image: dinosaurs.about.com
It’s no secret that western society looks upon lighter skin much more favourably than darker skin, and Lil Kim is perhaps a prime example of an individual who has internalised years of conditioning which have told her that black is less desirable, that lighter skin equals more privilege and status, and that acceptance is surmountable with a brighter skin tone. The reality of being black when popular culture and your own industry favour those with a lighter complexion could easily contribute to self-esteem issues, or at least spark an internal conversation which begins with questioning one’s own desirability and worth.
The difference between Lil Kim and the many women that battle these internal demons on the daily is that she has the means to do something drastic about it, and the well trained eye of the media will be there to capture every moment.
It’s worth pointing out here that countless celebrities have been accused of either changing their appearance or altering photographs in order to appear whiter. Rihanna and Beyoncé (who let’s be real, has had blonde hair for like 10+ years now) have both been accused of whitening their skin and generally attempting to appear more Caucasian by Mica Paris. InStyle was accused of digitally lightening their cover photo of Kerry Washington and had to release a statement denying the accusations. Zoe Saldana has been absolutely raked over the coals for her portrayal of Nina Simone in the biographical film, Nina, with her critics expressing their disgust at her allowing her skin tone to be darkened and facial appearance changed in order to fit the role of the darker musician, instead of bowing out and letting a darker actress take her role, claiming that it’s a perfect example of Hollywood not giving gigs to darker women, who are deemed less desirable to movie goers.
Image: time
One needs only to look at the immense popularity of skin whitening products in America, as well as other predominantly non-white countries to see that the cultural conditioning which promotes white dominance regarding the standard of beauty is very much alive and kicking. When I was in Singapore last year, it took my partner and I almost a full day to find sun screen which didn’t have whitening agents in it, and I’m fairly sure she never managed to find women’s deodorant free from the stuff.
The point I’m trying to convey is that although it’s now perfectly acceptable to sit behind your computer and talk shit about how much of an idiot someone is for getting plastic surgery to make themselves look whiter, while citing that person’s self-esteem issues and lack of “self-love” as the reason for doing so, it’s much more important to look at the bigger picture. And that bigger picture involves millions of women of colour changing their appearance in both subtle and drastic ways in the general direction of whiteness.
You can be mad that Lil Kim has felt the pressure to succumb to a white beauty ideal. You can be mad that Lil Kim chose to pursue a white beauty ideal. You can be mad that looking lighter and whiter makes Lil Kim feel more comfortable, more desirable, or whatever damn way she does, in fact, feel. But you can’t be mad at Lil Kim, the individual. You can only be mad at the circumstances which lead countless women of colour to pursue beauty norms associated with their oppressors, with social power, with the “elite.”
Lil Kim isn’t alone, and while her actions come across as drastic to some, she is an entirely autonomous being who can make choices for herself. Instead of criticising the individual, we should instead look at why these particular patterns of “enhancement” have emerged in the first place.
Just have a productive conversation for once, Internet. Obviously there isn’t inherent diversity in the “choice” to modify oneself – otherwise there would be no trends to talk about, everyone would choose their own unique modifications. There’s clearly a problem here. The problem is that Western beauty standards are just another means through which to perpetuate hierarchies of oppression. You don’t address that by hanging shit on Lil Kim. You address it by taking a complex look at histories of subordination, global chains of power, economic opportunities, and – of course – gender norms.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCHs-ox2-Qg]
Image: bossip