You might not remember him, but Colin Munroe was big on MySpace. Back in 2008, his cover of Kanye West's "Flashing Lights" caught on like wildfire on the then-massively popular social network.
And now, in 2012, he still seems to be in goodstanding with Kanye's camp as G.O.O.D. Music's Pusha T has blessed his major-label single "Fight of My Life" with two guest verses.
The introspective "Fight of My Life" finds Munroe examining his own mortality and deciding that even if he's been beaten down at times, he's never out for good.
"Think of my voice, think of my vow / Never let go, never back down / Take a deep breath, take it too far / Make a wish with your eye on the last star," Colin sings. He alternates his dense, dark and robotic verses with his an uplifting, light chorus, full of inspired soul claps taking you to church.
Andre 3000 may have gotten the leg up on Big Boi by snagging the hipster collabo of the year when he scored a feature on Frank Ocean's Channel Orange album, but Big Boi can land a hipster track too.
Swedish alt-pop act Little Dragon was performing at the FADER X VITAMIN WATER UNCAPPED SERIES in Austin, Texas (hipster central), when Big Boi came out for a surprise performance. The Outkast rapper announced that the two acts were joining forces for "Mama Told Me," a new track from Little Dragon's new album, which they then performed live in Austin.
What Big Boi and Little Dragon cooked up is a funky slice of pop/soul. Big Boi does what he does best and plays it cool while Little Dragon's Yukimi Nagano gloats about her destined stardom. "Mama Told Me" feels deliciously '80s-inspired and there's not a whole lot to dislike about it.
Although Michael Jackson is gone, he is most definitely not forgotten.
Cash Cash (Jean Paul Makhlouf – vocals, Alex Makhlouf – keyboards, programming, background vocals and Sam Frisch – guitars, background vocals) is an edgy electro-pop trio with a track record of songs that have appeared on MTV's Jersey Shore. The trio weaves the titles of several Michael Jackson songs into their track and they even include an interview excerpt from the late King of Pop himself.
It's heavy on the dubstep and hard on the electro, but the pop chorus is gold: "Even though the king is gone / The beat goes on and on."
Check out the smashing new tune from Cash Cash below
The stars are aligning for rising pop star Starshell. We first caught wind of her in 2010 with her Fernando Garibay-produced jam "Superluva," which Kanye West and Big Sean recently remixed, but now she's back with a new R&B/disco-flavored anthem, "Birthday Girl."
Mary J. Blige, dressed in her mogul lady pantsuit and thick-rimmed glasses, was on hand on 106 & Park to introduce the world to Starshell, who is signed to her imprint Matriarch Records.
Starshell's appearance was brief, but the visibility has done wonders for her. The "Birthday Girl" video has already racked up more than 100,000 views and she saw a spike in new followers on Twitter after her appearance on the show.
Mark Morrison, yes of "Return of the Mack" fame, is out doing a little artist development. He's established his own label and signing talent. The first one out of the gate is Duchess, a London-born and bred soul singer who's got a little rude gyal in her.
Her single, "Come Check My Style," is a grity, slow winin' affair. Ray Kay was tapped to shoot the video, but it doesn't come off glossy and over polished like his material with Justin Bieber.
New York City is going to be filled with the sweet sounds of music this June. After fading away in the mid-1990s, the New York New Music Seminar was revived back in 2009. And today, it's proving to be a thriving, lively, breeding ground for budding musicians and music industry veterans and executives.
This year's NMS, which runs from June 17-20, features an impressive list of major-label songwriters, producers and label heads, including Claude Kelly and Benny Blanco. Kelly, who has penned hits for Bruno Mars, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez and Jason Derulo, will take part in a Songwriters Hall Of Fame Songwriters-in-the-Round studio session. While Benny Blanco, who has produced hits for Ke$ha, Nicki Minaj, Britney Spears, Maroon 5 and Flo Rida, will take part in a panel discussion on Producing Music For a Connected Society.
These are just two of the events scheduled for the weeklong conference. In addition to the sessions, panels, workshops and discussions, the New Music Seminar will also play host to a music festival, which offer new and/or underground artists a platform to perform and potentially impress music executives. One of the artists slated to perform at the show that hip-hop fans might recognize is Ca$h Out, who currently has the hit song "Cashin' Out" spinning on the radio.
Bark + Bite contributor Clayton Perry will be attending the seminar and providing coverage on the events at the conference for the site. So stay tuned.
For more information on the New Music Seminar and to register for the event, visit the conference's official site. You can also follow the official hashtag on Twitter: #nms2012.
Twaneé is a Bermudan artist who maintains friendly ties with the G-Unit camp.
The song above is "Lesson Learned," it's a classic R&B record, the likes of which we might've heard from Ashanti back in the day. It goes down smoothly, but R&B has been a tough lane for a lot of women who aren't named Adele to crack as of late. Just ask Melanie Fiona and Jazmine Sullivan.
What do you think about this new artist? Is she another Caribbean diamond in the rough?
Since this is my first piece for Bark + Bite, I should probably give you a little background information. I’ve been told that I have the musical taste of a 14-year-old girl, and I proudly own up to that. I LOVE bubblegum pop, and I think Max Martin is a genius. I followed every boy band from the late '90s explosion, from Backstreet Boys to LFO to 2ge+her to Westlife to BBmak.
If there was a group comprised of three or more guys singing, I was all about them. Hell, I even dreamed of being the first black member of a popular boyband (sure, there were black guys, but they weren’t in the good groups).
In any case, I not only love pop, but I’m also very protective of it. I need to know who’s behind you, as well as what your intentions might be. Are you a one-hit wonder or are you in it for the long haul? I’ve read the books, magazines, blogs — the life of a pop star is a LOT harder than it looks. So, I tend to cast a suspicious eye on any new act that starts gaining traction. My suspicious eye recently fell upon UK boyband One Direction.
I’ve been waiting for a boyband revival with the fervor that some people have when awaiting the messiah. These things work in cycles, and I felt we were overdue for their comeback.
There have been a few attempts, such as Big Time Rush, but they still didn’t have that “x factor” that Simon Cowell believes all true stars possess. Sure, there's Bieber, but a lot of his success was due to two factors: he had Usher behind him and he hit during a downswing in pop.
So it’s like the throne was gift-wrapped and his for the taking. I’m not taking anything away from Justin, but he really didn’t have any competition. He’s the modern day success story – plucked from YouTube, thrust into a bidding war, and plastered on pillowcases and t-shirts the world over. Good for him!
I, however, like for my pop stars to pay their dues. Be it on a reality show, or a boot camp that eventually sends them to Sweden to cut their teeth. Ever since boy band svengali Lou Pearlman went to prison for a pyramid scheme, there’s been a vacuum in the world of manufactured pop acts. Say what you will about the man, but he KNEW how to build a boyband. He understood there’s a recipe, and he had the resources to successfully blend all the right ingredients. Little did I know that the aforementioned Cowell was working to fill that void across the pond.
The Diamonds Emerge from the Rough
Though The X Factor is still working to gain traction in the US, in the UK it was the “Idol Killer”. Once the show debuted, Pop Idol (the show that eventually spawned our American Idol) became a thing of the past. Outside of Leona Lewis, UK reality stars rarely make a dent in the States, but One Direction seem to be out to change that.
In what may have been the greatest thing Nicole Scherzinger has contributed to pop music, the group actually assembled at her suggestion. Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson had all applied individually, but after failing to make the Boys category, they took Scherzinger’s advice and became a group.
Placing 3rd in the seventh season of The X Factor, One Direction were signed to Cowell’s Syco Records label. Their debut album, Up All Night, became the fastest selling debut album in the UK for 2011. In America, they signed with Columbia Records, releasing their first single, “What Makes You Beautiful." Up All Night was released in the States last week, so I thought I’d take a few minutes to review it.
The Up All Night Review
Upon the first listen, I hated it. If my history with pop has taught me anything, this means Up All Night will be my favorite album very soon. I also hated the debut albums of *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys, but those quickly grew on me. Hell, I’m STILL waiting for …Baby, One More Time to grow on me, but that’s a story for a different time.
After keeping it looped for a whole day, I began to notice the strong tracks on the album.
Things start out well enough with "What Makes You Beautiful." It’s a fun, energetic track, and it’s exactly the kind of song that a 14-year-old girl would love to have sung to her as the guys are describing all of the reasons they find her beautiful. Who could hate that?
There are also the songs that reveal the group’s inspirations. "One Thing" sounds like Unbreakable era Backstreet Boys so much that I’d almost wonder if it was a B-side from that album. "More Than This" is a gorgeous ballad that sounds like it was sung by a completely different group — a much more mature sound, which sounds like One Direction’s version of BSB’s "More Than That." Rounding the BSB feel, "Stole My Heart" comes complete with nasal Nick breakdown.
"I Wish" and "Everything About You" sound like their fellow Irish brethren, Westlife. "Taken" is very reminiscent of BBMak. "I Want" sounds like a mesh of Fall Out Boy meets Panic! At the Disco. Ballads like "Same Mistakes" and "Moments" have a distinct Ryan Tedder/OneRepublic feel to them.
Then, there are the songs that take advantage of today’s “party pop”, like “Last Friday Night." One of these songs is, coincidentally, the dedicated to Katy Perry title track "Up All Night." It’s a party starter, where guitar riffs overpower boyband lyrics. The same could be said for "Tell Me A Lie," "Save You Tonight," and "Stand Up." As dancey as they are, songs like these put them more in the category of Metro Station than *NSYNC.
In the end, One Direction almost seem to be 2 different groups. There’s the fun-loving group of teens straddling the boy band/pop-rock line, but there’s another, more mature sounding group vying for dancier sounds of that Top 40 is in love with.
Instead of coming off as a seamless transition between genres, it truly sounds like there are 2 different groups at play here. It’ll be interesting to see which side wins out.
