Tag: Mary J Blige What’s the 411?

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: DRAMA Releases a Surreal and Otherworldly Visual for “Years”

Tracing their origins back to a chance meeting between its core duo back in 2014, the Chicago-based pop duo DRAMA — producer and DJ Na’el Shehade and vocalist Via Rosa — have managed to bootstrap a subtle yet rapid rise with a proudly DIY ethos, releasing several EPs of material that blurs the lines between R&B, dance pop, heartbreak and bliss, centered around a sound that meshes Shehade’s Chicago house-infused production and Rosa’s soulful delivery, inspired by jazz, hip-hop and Bossa nova. 

Now, as you may recall, the Chicago-based pop act’s highly-anticipated full-length debut Dance Without Me is slated for a February 14, 2020 release through Ghostly International. The album’s material reportedly finds the duo recasting romantic tragedy as moonlit self-acceptance. Instead of wallowing alone in their blues and heartache, the material features characters who sashay and strut, knowing their self-worth while being vulnerable. This album is dedicated to the people watching their friend’s love-lives grow and happen around them, and not having anyone,” Rosa says in press notes.

I’ve written about two of the album’s releases singles so far: “Gimme Gimme,” a sultry synthesis of Between Two Selves-era Octo Octa and classic, Larry Levan-era house — and “Nine One One,” a slow-burning, cinematic bit of Quiet Storm-like soul pop. “Years,” Dance Without Me’s fourth and latest single is a decidedly R&B-tinged affair that nods at What’s the 411-era Mary J. Blige and Robin S.; however, at its core, the song is full of uneasy conflict and bitter uncertainty : the song’s narrator recognizes that they’re deeply devoted to someone, who isn’t right for them. “This track is a bittersweet song about the conflict of wanting to let go but still hold onto someone you love, but you know they’re not right for you,” DRAMA’s Via Rosa says in press notes. “It’s about knowing you should walk away but also wanting to confess your unconditional and eternal love.”

Directed by Adam Chiayat, the recently released video features the members of DRAMA performing through a series of surreal and otherworldly transitioning spaces. “Filmed practically, we set out to create a series of otherworldly, constantly transitioning spaces for DRAMA to perform through,” the video’s director says in press notes. “Emotions can feel like they take us on a ride, floating us forward and bringing us towards things we need to tackle in our lives. The floating and the spaces seek to represent the themes of the song – speaking to your own heart, confronting your past and opening yourself back up to vulnerability.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Whitney McClain is an up-and-coming, Oregon-born, Los Angeles, CA-based singer/songwriter and pop artist, who grew up in a deeply musical family — her uncle, Marlon McClain was a founding member and guitarist in Oregon-based funk, soul and R&B group Pleasure, an act that landed a Top 10 hit win 1979 with “Glide;” in fact, the young, up-and-coming artist credits her uncle with inspiring, encoring and guiding her to go from performing in front of family and friends to writing, recording material that would be performed in front of larger crowds.

Her Mauli B. written and produced debut single, “Bombs Away” was released when she had turned 21, and the single as McCalin explains “sounded like some of the late night talks I have with my girlfriends,” as the song focuses on falling in and out of love, and trying to figure out how to pick the right lover — something that we’ve all experienced at some point or another. “Bombs Away” quickly racked up over 1 million YouTube views and building upon a growing profile, she released her debut EP, Nothing To Lose, which had three singles that also received over 1 million views and an Independent Music Awards nomination for Urban EP of the Year.

McClain’s latest single “Cruise,” which was co-written with Marlon McClain, Davi Jordan and Ralph Stacy, features an incredibly sultry and self-assured vocal turn over a soulful and swaggering production consisting of boom bap drums, punctuated yet sinuous guitar and bass lines and warm blasts of soulful horn, and while being rooted around a contemporary hook-laden production, the song nods at  What’s the 411?-era Mary J. Blige.

As McClain explains in press notes, “I wanted to create a record that pushed positivity and hope that, no matter how bad it might seem, we can always work through it if we love one another. Darkness can’t exist in the presence of light. Later, it developed into a love song, but I still think it holds true to the original message.”
Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Sultry Visuals and Sound of Eliza and Her Latest Single “Wide-Eyed Fool”

With the release of her eponymous debut, the London-born and-based pop artist Eliza Doolittle quickly rose to national attention, as the album went platinum, thanks to the success of  album singles “Skinny Genes” and “Pack Up,”  both of which landed on the UK Top 40 charts. Along with that, her collaboration with internationally renowned electro pop act Disclosure, “You & Me” was one of the duo’s best-selling singles. However, after such tremendous early success spent the past four years attempting to get back to her base and really discover what it was she wanted and needed as a person and as a artist. “When you’re young, you do what you should do, rather than what you really feel. I was always battling between that pull of my gut, and people talking in my ear,” Dolittle explains. 

Now, at the point of her life and career, Doolittle who now writes, records and performs under the mononym Eliza, the London-based pop artist is actively following her own creative instincts; in fact, she recently released the Get In My Head series, which consists of four mixtapes featuring snippets of new music as a way for her fans to get a taste of her change in sonic and creative direction; in fact, her first official single of 2017 “Wide Eyed Fool” is a sultry bit of singer/songwriter pop in which Doolittle reveals the full ranger of her voice, singing deeply personal lyrics paired over piano, soaring strings and swaggering hip-hop-lied beats. While clearly drawing from 90s neo soul, pop and hip-hop soul — What’s the 411?-era Mary J. Blige, in particular — complete with slick, modern production. But at the core of the song is some ambitious songwriting from a woman, who wants to take over the pop world. 

Directed by Charlie Robins, the recently released visuals for Wide Eyed Fool are equally sultry and brooding, while clearly nodding at the vulnerability, pride and strength within the song. 
 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Pop Star Nicole Wray Returns with a 90s Hip-Hop Soul and Classic Soul Channeling and Deeply Personal, New Single

Queen Alone may be Nicole Wray’s first full-length effort in some time; however, Wray is reunited with the original backing band from Lady Wray’s early days, along with Big Crown Records’ Leon Michels and Daptone Records Tom Brenneck handling production and as Wray explains in press notes the album is a “reflection of my soul. It’s who I am today. ” And as a result, the material on the album is inspired by the singer/songwriter’s life. The album’s latest single “Do It Again” is reportedly is a story about a failed relationship, as well as the story of a cherished and revered intimacy that the song’s narrator is desperate to re-enter regardless of the consequences on her heart and soul. Sonically speaking the song manages to channel What’s the 411 and My Life-era Mary J. Blige and bolstered by the Daptone Records famed horn section paired with silky smooth vocals.

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

As I mentioned in a previous post, the week of the CMJ Festival is quite the experience if you truly love music and you’re involved in music in some way. Countless venues are hosting both […]