Recently, I have been listening to more artists that combine R&B and Hip Hop. Two artists that I immediately go for when i'm feeling those kinds of vibes are PartyNextDoor and Drake. I like how they can rap for half of the song and then for the hook, it's more singing and soft. For those of you who aren't too familiar with these artists, i'll explain a little bit about who they are.
Drake is a 29 year old Canadian artist who started out on television and got into rapping in the early 2000's, with his first mixtape "Room For Improvement". His first studio album was released in 2010 and has had made success ever since. He has won many BET Awards, Juno Awards as well as a Grammy for his work. He also owns his own record label called OVO Sound as well as his own clothing line.
Jahron Brathwaite, better known as PartyNextDoor, he is also a Canadian artist that many people love. Funny enough, he was the first artist who was signed to Drake's label. He released his first EP in 2013 and released 3 more albums within following three years. He was the writer for Rihanna's "Work" which many people have heard. He has also been working with many other incredible artists on songs and has been doing well.
My favorite song from Drake is "Practice" which I jam out to in my car.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qjf5VFGshVk
My favorite song by PartyNextDoor is "Come and See Me" which features Drake.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5cc1LByAKA
I hope you like my blog posts about these artists and i'd love to hear your favorite songs by them!
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Monday, September 19, 2016
Studio Vibes
This weekend I had the opportunity to fly home to New York to do a final listening session for my first single. This meant that when my producer, engineer and I got together, we would listen to my song & say that the song is either finished or needed to be worked on a little bit. I have been working on this song since May, so I had so many feelings about it and just wanted to release something I have been so proud to work on. When we got to the studio, there was a session before me and I was nervous because this is a whole new process for me. The people singing before me wrapped up, paid for their studio time and I walked in.
I had my camera with me because I wanted to film this experience. It's a beautiful studio and being surrounded by such great people made creating my first song that much better. As we listened our first time, my producer caught a few things he wanted to change to make everything sound better. I took pictures and videos of the producer and engineer tweaking some minor things in the instrumentals, but overall there wasn't too much work to be done on this project. We listened to my song a second time and realized that our hard work had paid off, and we had made something really cool together. When we listened to the song, we admired every sound we had made, appreciating how much time and effort it took to make it. We were so happy to finish and decided to record an in-studio acoustic session, which meant that my producer would play the guitar while I sing my first song to it.
That was fun too, and very different. I set up my camera and hit record. There was a stool and a microphone set up for me and a bench with a microphone for the guitarist. We practiced what chords on the guitar sounded best, and recorded a few tries. We had such a great time playing and I was so grateful that I was able to create my first song with two great people. We talked about how to release a song and how we can come up with a strategy for the best time to do that. I will know more details soon, but this has been such an incredible learning experience for me.Writing and completing a song has made me so proud of myself and I can't wait to see what comes from it. Thanks for reading!
I had my camera with me because I wanted to film this experience. It's a beautiful studio and being surrounded by such great people made creating my first song that much better. As we listened our first time, my producer caught a few things he wanted to change to make everything sound better. I took pictures and videos of the producer and engineer tweaking some minor things in the instrumentals, but overall there wasn't too much work to be done on this project. We listened to my song a second time and realized that our hard work had paid off, and we had made something really cool together. When we listened to the song, we admired every sound we had made, appreciating how much time and effort it took to make it. We were so happy to finish and decided to record an in-studio acoustic session, which meant that my producer would play the guitar while I sing my first song to it.
That was fun too, and very different. I set up my camera and hit record. There was a stool and a microphone set up for me and a bench with a microphone for the guitarist. We practiced what chords on the guitar sounded best, and recorded a few tries. We had such a great time playing and I was so grateful that I was able to create my first song with two great people. We talked about how to release a song and how we can come up with a strategy for the best time to do that. I will know more details soon, but this has been such an incredible learning experience for me.Writing and completing a song has made me so proud of myself and I can't wait to see what comes from it. Thanks for reading!
Friday, September 16, 2016
My Journey
To start off, this blog is about different kinds of music & the
culture that goes along with this generation.. and it's coming from the
eyes of someone trying to make it in music. I felt like starting off
with my own journey in music was necessary. Right now i'm a student, a
published author, a songwriter, a recording artist and a regular 21 year
old. Here's my story.
Ever since I was little, I use to sing for my family, who told me "Dan, you're actually pretty good". Thankfully my parents have always been supportive of me no matter what I was doing, which I think has helped me in more ways that I realize. When I was a kid I just went to school, sang in the car and would just enjoy every second of it, thinking nothing of it. When I was in middle school I started to sing for my friends and got a reaction that only built my confidence to do what I love. They all would say "teach me how to sing", "let's do a duet together". I would laugh because I had no idea how to sing professionally, but it's something that always was natural for me. At one point, my siblings all wanted to start a band together..thankfully that never happened.
As I got older and went off to High School, I started to think of how I could take this hobby and actually do something with it. 9th grade was when I started to post some cover songs on Youtube but wasn't very open about it with my classmates. I was a shy young girl that just kind of sang because I loved it, but not everyone was as supportive as my family and friends. When some classmates found my videos online, they put me down and made fun, and I was hurt so I decided to take some time off from posting. I doubted myself for a while but slowly started to regain the confidence I once had. A year went by and I was ready to see what I could do in music again, so I thought of instruments I could try to learn if I didn't want to sing. I bought a DJ set which I thought was super cool at the time. I practiced and tried and eventually gave up on it. I sold the DJ equipment and went onto the next. I bought a guitar and tried it and became extremely frustrated that I wasn't as great as I had hoped. So I put down the guitar and thought about what I know I can do. A year later ( my senior year of high school ) I bought a studio microphone and a ukulele and recorded my first cover in a long time. I learned how to play my favorite song on the Uke and it felt incredible to be back at something that I was so passionate about. I recorded a few and put them up, and then I went to college.
When I was a freshman in college I was so busy trying to make friends, have fun and do schoolwork that I put off the video making to maybe once every few months. Eventually I got too busy and stopped, but the summer going into my Senior year of college changed everything for me. I was looking at internships for the summer and came across a recording studio in New York that really sparked my interest. I sent in my resume and got a call saying that when I come back home I will have an interview with the owner, who's a HUGE producer/engineer. He helped create " U Smile" by Justin Bieber and is constantly working with artists like Miguel, Chris Brown and French Montana. I went for the interview and was hired, instantly falling in love with the industry all over again. My job was doing paperwork and making sure clients are happy, and two weeks into it I had some free time and wrote my first song at my desk. I worked on it for a few weeks and was so serious about making this song legit, so I found a studio near me and worked with an awesome producer and engineer to help create my first single. I'm now working on an EP (which I write my own lyrics and it's very special to me) , getting ready to release my first song, and just having fun doing what I love. Social media platforms are my go to to help spread the word about my music. The lifestyle of celebrities and artists in general is something I was around this summer, so I can't wait to continue writing about it for this class and to keep going with my own dream. Thanks for reading.
Dani Max
Ever since I was little, I use to sing for my family, who told me "Dan, you're actually pretty good". Thankfully my parents have always been supportive of me no matter what I was doing, which I think has helped me in more ways that I realize. When I was a kid I just went to school, sang in the car and would just enjoy every second of it, thinking nothing of it. When I was in middle school I started to sing for my friends and got a reaction that only built my confidence to do what I love. They all would say "teach me how to sing", "let's do a duet together". I would laugh because I had no idea how to sing professionally, but it's something that always was natural for me. At one point, my siblings all wanted to start a band together..thankfully that never happened.
As I got older and went off to High School, I started to think of how I could take this hobby and actually do something with it. 9th grade was when I started to post some cover songs on Youtube but wasn't very open about it with my classmates. I was a shy young girl that just kind of sang because I loved it, but not everyone was as supportive as my family and friends. When some classmates found my videos online, they put me down and made fun, and I was hurt so I decided to take some time off from posting. I doubted myself for a while but slowly started to regain the confidence I once had. A year went by and I was ready to see what I could do in music again, so I thought of instruments I could try to learn if I didn't want to sing. I bought a DJ set which I thought was super cool at the time. I practiced and tried and eventually gave up on it. I sold the DJ equipment and went onto the next. I bought a guitar and tried it and became extremely frustrated that I wasn't as great as I had hoped. So I put down the guitar and thought about what I know I can do. A year later ( my senior year of high school ) I bought a studio microphone and a ukulele and recorded my first cover in a long time. I learned how to play my favorite song on the Uke and it felt incredible to be back at something that I was so passionate about. I recorded a few and put them up, and then I went to college.
When I was a freshman in college I was so busy trying to make friends, have fun and do schoolwork that I put off the video making to maybe once every few months. Eventually I got too busy and stopped, but the summer going into my Senior year of college changed everything for me. I was looking at internships for the summer and came across a recording studio in New York that really sparked my interest. I sent in my resume and got a call saying that when I come back home I will have an interview with the owner, who's a HUGE producer/engineer. He helped create " U Smile" by Justin Bieber and is constantly working with artists like Miguel, Chris Brown and French Montana. I went for the interview and was hired, instantly falling in love with the industry all over again. My job was doing paperwork and making sure clients are happy, and two weeks into it I had some free time and wrote my first song at my desk. I worked on it for a few weeks and was so serious about making this song legit, so I found a studio near me and worked with an awesome producer and engineer to help create my first single. I'm now working on an EP (which I write my own lyrics and it's very special to me) , getting ready to release my first song, and just having fun doing what I love. Social media platforms are my go to to help spread the word about my music. The lifestyle of celebrities and artists in general is something I was around this summer, so I can't wait to continue writing about it for this class and to keep going with my own dream. Thanks for reading.
Dani Max
Adidas of the Week
Fashion is a huge part of being in the music world. People are always trying to one up each other and get the best that's out there. A huge sneaker brand that i've been noticing a lot of people wearing lately is Adidas. I wanted to chose a few items from the website that I thought would be great for every day people to wear, inspired by real celebrities. Let's start with street outfits..
For women, I chose a simple athletic pants, going for $90. For a top, I chose a comfy and stylish sweatshirt, going for $70. The perfect shoes to go along with this outfit is the Tubular Defiant shoes for $100.
Now let's look at this week's perfect men's outfit. For pants, we have multi-colored sweatpants for $90. Next, we have a very simple graphic tshirt for $28. For the shoes to match, I have chosen Stan Smith shoes, for the people who are bold enough to wear them.
Overall, people have different styles, but Adidas is the type of brand that has so many colors and styles that there's something for everyone. Thanks for checking out my "Adidas of the Week" ! To buy your own, go to adidas.com
For women, I chose a simple athletic pants, going for $90. For a top, I chose a comfy and stylish sweatshirt, going for $70. The perfect shoes to go along with this outfit is the Tubular Defiant shoes for $100.
Now let's look at this week's perfect men's outfit. For pants, we have multi-colored sweatpants for $90. Next, we have a very simple graphic tshirt for $28. For the shoes to match, I have chosen Stan Smith shoes, for the people who are bold enough to wear them.
Overall, people have different styles, but Adidas is the type of brand that has so many colors and styles that there's something for everyone. Thanks for checking out my "Adidas of the Week" ! To buy your own, go to adidas.com
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