Ya’ll know how much I love Chloe x Halle. Well, Chloe just released her first solo single, ‘Have Mercy’ and boy oh boy she did not disappoint!! Don’t worry though, Chloe x Halle ARE still a group and will be putting out new music soon 😊. So, if you haven’t seen Chloe’s new video, I’ve linked it below.
Tag Archives: Music
Can Art and artist be separated?
Bill Cosby. Robert Kelly. Harvey Weinstein. Kevin Spacey. Louis C. K.
Those names are very familiar now for all the WRONG reasons. Their actions brought in the new era of accountability known as the #METOO movement. 2017 was a wild time for accountability. It seemed like every time you turned around, someone would be getting called to the carpet for being a sexual predator. Weinstein ended up in prison. Cosby ended up in prison. Kelly ended up in prison. Louis still has a career as does Spacey, if you can call it a “career”.
Last month, Bill Cosby was released from prison due to a legal technicality. It had something to do with a plea deal Cosby made in an earlier trial from like 2004. Anyway, his show, The Cosby Show was a prominent show in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a little bit before my time(i was born in 1992). The show aired on NBC and was one of the highest rated shows of its time during its entire run.
I’ve watched the show often over the years. When all the stuff about Cosby’s sexual misconduct came out, people began calling for The Cosby Show reruns to be taken off the air. Their stance was that by airing re-runs of the show, the networks would be implicitly endorsing Bill Cosby himself and therefore agreeing with his misconduct. The networks complied, and re-runs were subsequently taken off the air. I remember feeling miffed about this because I felt that people were punishing the cast for the actions of one man. Cosby did what he did, but taking the show off of syndication would only hurt the remaining actors of the series in my opinion. When shows are in syndication, everyone working on the show gets paid royalties. Many of the actors from the show did go on to have good acting careers and were successful in other ventures, but they still should have been able to receive the royalties they earned from the show.
All of this brings me to my main question, can the art be separated from the artist? I personally believe it can, but I understand why some people may feel differently. It is a personal choice for you to stop engaging with an artist’s content because of their off-screen misconduct. That is your prerogative. YOU cannot tell ME that I cannot engage with the artist’s content just because you don’t.
The Cosby Show currently is available on Amazon Prime. It may still come on TV, on channels like TVLand, but I don’t have cable so I am not sure. I just watched a really good YouTube video about this particular subject. The video is by a YouTuber named Jose. I’ve linked it below. it is about an hour and a half long.
Bottom line for me is that separating the art from the artist is ultimately a personal choice and one that you cannot force onto someone else. The shows, films, tv specials, music, et cetera that these men have worked on are still apart of the overall media culture. Their wrongdoings have tarnished their own representations as well as the representations of their art, however, engaging with their content doesn’t mean that you implicitly or explicitly endorse these men’s wrongdoings. Accusing someone of endorsing sexual misconduct just because they watch re-runs of The Cosby Show or watch old Kevin Spacey films, or listen to Robert Kelly’s music(and music he has produced or been a songwriter on), is a slippery slope that I don’t think you all are prepared enough or cognizant enough to try and go down.
Throwback Music
I’m still in a bit of a down spell, so this post won’t be too long. I’m bored on my day off so I’m been going down a throwback music rabbit hole. Here is some of the songs I’ve been bopping to:
Planet HER Album Review
Doja Cat released her third studio album Planet HER a few weeks ago. I have been listening to Doja for only about a year and a half or so, Hot Pink was one of my favorite albums of 2019, so I was excited when she announced her third album was on the way. When I listen to an album for the first time, I listen all the way through, then I give the album a preliminary score. When I go back to listen a second and third time, is when I build out my song rankings and give it a final score.
Planet HER is a good album. My preliminary score was 9/10. The album has 14 songs. Doja put out a deluxe version a few days later that includes 3 new songs, I listened to it, but I’m not including them in my rankings or final review.
Ranking
- I Don’t Do Drugs ft. Ariana Grande
- Alone
- Options ft. JID
- Love to Dream
- You Right ft. The Weekend
- Ain’t Shit
- Kiss Me More ft. SZA
- Payday ft. Yung Thug
- Been Like This
- Woman
- Naked
- Need to Know
- Get Into It(YUH)
- Imagine
Final Thoughts
I’m keeping the score at 9/10. I really loved the Ariana Grande feature. Ariana has been bodying her features lately. Planet HER is certainly going to be on my year end music review list. Doja did really well with this project. I’m excited to see the live performances of some of these songs. You can listen to Planet HER on all streaming platforms
My Favorite Albums of 2020
This year has been a hot ass mess, but the music has been amazing. I was originally going to do a top 20 albums list, but there has been so much music I enjoyed this year that narrowing it down to 20 has been so difficult.
Ungodly Hour
Chloe x Halle sophomore album is my favorite of the year. They have really been on point this year. Dare I say, they were the best artists of 2020. This 13 track masterpiece shows the adult side of the girls, who are now 20 and 22 years old. This album even got three 2021 Grammy nominations. Favorite songs: Busy Boy, Lonely, Don’t Make It Harder On Me.
Future Nostalgia
Dua Lipa was the Pop standout of this year. This album is so good. The title is very fitting for the vibes of the songs. She even put out a remix version of the album featuring 80s idol herself, Madonna. The single “Don’t Start Now” was the song of the summer if we are being honest. I will certainly be on the lookout for Dua in the years to come. Favorite songs: Pretty Please, Break My Heart, Physical
Jaguar
Jaguar is Victoria Monét’s EP. It’s only 9 songs, but it is so good. We already knew she was an amazing songwriter, but this EP proves she has some pipes as well. Favorite songs: Experience, We Might Even Be Falling in Love, Dive
Ho, Why Is You Here?
Flo Milli shit bitch 😜. This mixtape/EP is a debut from Alabama rapper Flo Milli. Put this on when you really want to feel like a bad bitch. She even has a song on the record titled Like That Bitch. I’m excited to see more from Flo Milli next year. Favorite songs: May I, Like That Bitch, Pussycat Doll
Plastic Hearts
Miley Cyrus has finally got into her rock era. This album features rock idols like Stevie Nicks, Joan Jett, and Billy Idol. I was blown away by Miley here. Favorite songs: WTF Do I Know, High, Angels Like You
Good to Know
Jojo really put her all into this album. I love it so much. She even released an acoustic and deluxe version. On the original version, my favorite songs are Man and Pedialyte. On the deluxe version my favorite song is Kiss.
Evermore
Taylor Swift released Evermore a few weeks after she released Folklore. I enjoyed folklore, but I prefer Evermore. Both albums have taylor reaching into her folk/indie side instead of the traditional pop that she is known for. Favorite songs: ivy, marjorie, willow
B7
Brandy hasn’t released an album in a very long time. B7 delves deep into her personal life and gives us a much needed update on the R&B titan. I enjoyed this album very much. I’m glad Brandy is back. Favorite songs: Bye Bipolar, Borderline, Love Again
Lianne La Havas
This self titled album from UK star Lianne La Havas was so refreshing. You can tell she puts alot into her songs. I enjoyed it. Favorite songs: Bittersweet, Can’t Fight, Sour Flower
Love Goes
Sam Smith’s third studio album was wonderful. This album proves once again why Sam is the star they are. Love Goes features collabed with Burna Boy and Labrinth. The album brought out so many wonderful emotions. Favorite songs: Love Goes, My Oasis, For the Lover That I Lost
Positions
Ariana Grande. I have to admit, I wasn’t a big Ariana listener before this album. I heard her hit songs, but had never sat down and listened to an entire album before. This album is very good. Favorite songs: POV, Just Like Magic, Safety Net
Industry Games
Chika is amazing. Her flow is 🔥🔥🔥. She is another Alabama rapper and this EP really let’s her shine. I am very excited about what she has to offer us in the next year. Favorite songs: Crown, Industry Games, Balencies
Wonder
Shawn Mendes is in love. You can tell he loves Camilla just by listening to this album. I wish them all the best. This album is really good and I enjoyed it. Favorite songs: Wonder, Piece Of You, Teach Me How to Love
Sawayama
Rina Sawayama’s debut album is one of the best albums of 2020. My god, what a debut. Throughout the album she gives a flawless performance. It’s so good. I feel she got snubbed for the Grammy nominations, but either way I’m excited for what she will do next. Favorite songs: Dynasty, Bad Friend, Chosen Family
These are just some of my favorite albums from this year. I’d say these are my top choices. I listened to a lot of music this year from varying genres. This was my first year listening to K-pop. I enjoyed Blackpink’s album and I enjoyed BTS’s song Dynamite. In the R&B category, Khelani’s album It Was Good Until It Wasn’t was good as well. The UK group Little Mix released their album Confetti and I swear that album is full of bops.
Rap was dominated by women this year. Megan thee Stallion released her debut studio album this year. Good News was exactly what expected from her and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. If you want to shake your ass, go listen to this album. My favorites: Circles, What’s New, and Go Crazy. City Girls released City on Lock, it’s a fun album and you can tell Caresha and JT were glad to be back together. Atlanta rapper and former The Rap Game winner, Mulatto released her debut album Queen of the Souf. It’s good and she has some great features on it like Gucci Mane, Trina, Saweetie, and the aforementioned City Girls. Teyana Taylor released her album The Album and it as a love letter to her husband, basketball star Iman Shumpert and their two daughters. It was sweet.
Maggie Rogers released a new album last week, Notes From The Archive: Recordings 2011-2016. It’s a compilation album of the songs she recorded before she got famous. It’s very good. My favorite songs are: New Song, Wolves, Satellite.
Albums from 2019 that were in heavy rotation for me this year was Doja Cat’s Hot Pink, Harry Styles’s Fine Line, and Maggie Rogers’s Heard It In A Past Life. Even though Hot Pink came out last year, Doja Cat had one of the hottest songs of this summer with Say So. My favorite songs from Hot Pink are: Talk Dirty, Streets, and Addiction. Harry Styles’s Fine Line is his second solo album. God damn was this album good. My favorites were: To Be So Lonely, Falling, and Adore You. Maggie Rogers’s Heard It In A Past Life was phenomenal. Good grief. Just phenomenal. My favorites: Say It, Fallingwater, and Overnight.
There were some albums I listened to this year that were alright. John Legend’s Bigger Love reminded me of his old stuff. Queen Naja’s MissUnderstood was nice for a debut. Country star Mickey Guyton’s EP Bridges was good.
I didn’t listen to Alicia Keys new album although the reviews on it say it’s really good. I didn’t listen to The Weeknd’s After Hours, although that too was critically acclaimed. I also feel with the praise After Hours got, it should have been nominated for a Grammy 🤷🏾♀️.
All the artists and albums I mentioned here can be found on all digital streaming services. Have a Merry Christmas and go enjoy some good music. 🎶🎄
