Music Reviews
HHR Blog Interview with Rapper Tabi Bonney
Hip Hop Republicans interviews Tabi Bonney from MC Endeezy on Vimeo.
Tiffany Shorter from Hip Hop Republican sits down with rapper and entrepreneur Tabi Bonney. Tiffany conducted the interview in the offices of ICED MEDIA in Soho, NYC. Here she speaks with him on politics, Barack Obama and his music profession. Despite supporting Obama, Rapper Tabi Bonney is a trying to reach out in a non partisan way to Hip-Hop Republicans.
Please check out his latest CD and clothing line.
Check Out - http://www.myspace.com/tabibonney
HHR Note: Please check out this entrepenuers personally-designed Bonney Runway clothing line —www. bonneyrunway.com— continues to sell out of boutiques in New York, LA, Miami, DC, and London. More information on the availability of physical album copies and tour dates can be found at www.myspace.com/tabibonney.
HHR Interview with Julian Marley & New Album “Awake”
In a interview with HHR Blog, Marley says Awake underscores his growing sophistication as a musician and producer who knows exactly what he wants from his music.
By Javier E. David
We live in an unsettled world riveted by social turmoil, economic crises and political uncertainty. But with his new album, Awake, Julian Marley wants listeners to respond to his vision of optimism, positivity, and social engagement.
The title track neatly encapsulates the album’s central message and the artist’s intent, as Julian Marley sings passionately about “minds [remaining] in shackles, and exhorts the public to “open up your eyes and see” the upheaval in the surrounding world. Like most traditional reggae, the songs on Awake are suffused with the usual suspects of love, social phenomenon and spirituality - all of which Marley uses as a rhetorical hook to draw in his audience.
Awake is the third studio album by Julian Marley - the son of legendary Reggae singer Bob Marley - in which he aims to showcase his evolution as a musician. The album itself is a strong effort by the artist that illustrates the Marley family’s penchant for relaxed, hypnotic rhythms, with songs that make great additions to any summer playlist.
In a recent wide-ranging interview with HipHopRepublican, Marley said Awake underscores his growing sophistication as a musician and producer who knows exactly what he wants from his music.
“On the other two albums I was still learning…now I know a little bit more,” Marley stated in a telephone conversation from Miami, where he was promoting Awake. He emphasized the album’s ecumenical ambitions, adding that “there is something for everyone on this album; take away whatever reaches out to you.”
And Awake certainly gives Julian Marley the opportunity to show how much of his deceased father’s son he truly is. The songs feature the similarly soothing falsetto voice that recalls the elder Marley, and continues in that musical legacy with emotive lyrics suffused with socio-economic overtones and, of course, the occasional reference to that green leafy substance universally revered by Rastafarians and non-Rastas alike.
Old-school Reggae is noted for its charged social commentary, which often lack for the subtlety and nuance that would make such critiques more resonant and effective. Awake hews closely to this formula by eschewing the faddish, rap-influenced beats normally heard on the recordings of dancehall luminaries like Sean Paul, Beenie Man and Bounty Killer.
But move along ragga aficionados, for there are no dancehall rhythms to be found on Awake. Julian Marley’s style differs decisively from reggae’s more modern subgenres, which tend to be characterized by hip-hop-esque staccato vocals, light-speed electronic beats and sexually explicit content.
Perhaps the only exceptions to the old-school motif employed by Julian Marley on Awake come by way of up-tempo “All I Know”; the smooth ballad “Oh Girl” that features rapper Mr. Cheeks; and “Violence in the Streets,” a collaboration with this brother and fellow Reggae artist Damian. Particularly with his Grammy-winning 2005 album Welcome to Jamrock, which featured collaborations with hip-hop artists Nas and Black Thought, Damian’s own musical career has ventured into more modern Reggae territory.
While expressing his “love” for dancehall, Julian Marley emphasizes his own strong affinity for what he calls “the roots” of Reggae that preserves the genre’s rich history and traditions.
“Reggae music has its own statements: we can blend them but you have to keep its roots,” he said. “Hopefully we can give [other Reggae artists] the desire to create some new sounds.”
HHR Music Review: Chrisette Michele’s “Epiphany”
By Javier E. David:
Chrisette Michele, the immensely talented R&B chanteuse with a versatile yet powerhouse voice, has been something of a difficult sell to mainstream audiences. One might argue that this jazz-tinged singer’s career has been hampered by a mercurial music industry that more than often not, tends to rewards oversexed pop-tarts with wafer-thin vocal abilities (no offense, Ciara [http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=243418]).
Despite the disappointing commercial success of her stylish debut album “I Am,” a setback that might have caused a different singer to conform to mainstream tastes in order to move units, Michele remained true to her abilities, and in the process hit the ball clean out of the park with her latest effort “Epiphany”. This near-flawless album showcases what distinguishes Michele from many of her peers, yet simultaneously captures the frustration of some music aficionados with an industry that tends to cannibalize talent such that demonstrated by this particular artist. 
Michele experienced a career milestone and a dubious distinction this week, when “Epiphany” hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, but simultaneously setting a record for the least number of copies sold by a new release to reach that position.
Though blessed with a soulful and unique voice and the backing of some music industry heavyweights - she’s collaborated with Ne-Yo and Jay-Z, who once helmed Michele’s label, Def-Jam - Michele’s relatively limited commercial success is a testament to how inexplicably fickle music listeners can be (and in the same vein, how clueless some record industry executives can appear when choosing which talent to market).
The formula for “Epiphany” differs from her debut album by striking a perfect balance between radio-ready riffs with ear-grabbing hooks, while not burying Michele’s killer voice with hyper-produced boom-baps - or for that matter, reducing the singer to the insipid cooing one might expect of vocalists with lesser talent.
In a recent interview with Newsday, Michele herself acknowledged the variance between “Epiphany” and her first album. “It’s different because it ventured into Urbansville, definitely bobbed my head really hard this time, and definitely got involved with the hip-hop element of who I am,” the Patchogue, N.Y.-native told an interviewer.
Unlike “I Am,” which showcased Michele’s classy vocals and her old, jazz-influenced soul, “Epiphany” is a collection of contemporary and rhythmic songs designed to make listeners jump out of their seats and dance, coupled with ballads that tug at the heart-strings. On tracks such as the title track and “Mr. Right” (this reviewer’s personal favorite), Michele can tell it like it is; but can strike a more evocative tone with songs like “Notebook” and “Blame it on Me”, when she croons about standard romantic fare and its ensuing heartbreak.
“Porcelain Doll”, a song from “Epiphany” where Michele asserts her strength by imploring a lover not to treat her as anything less than a “full grown woman,” almost perfectly captures the conundrum of her career. Here is a songstress whose strong and distinctive voice sets her apart from most other young female vocalists, yet she’s infantilized by an industry that doesn’t quite know what to do with her.
Hopefully, Michele’s professional growth will inspire a host of would-be listeners to experience an “Epiphany” of their own, and perhaps even give her first album a second look.
Sure bets:
- “Notebook”
- “Playin’ Our Song”
- “Mr. Right”
- “Porcelain Doll”
http://thisischrisettemichele.com/
Javier E. David - Javier earned a B.A. and later a Master in Public Administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). He is a successful public relations specialist and advocate for the Republican Party.
Shinobi Ninja: Taking Over the World, One Sweaty Rock Circus at a Time
By: Angela Severiano
A few weeks back I had the privilege of seeing Shinobi Ninja perform live at Webster Hall. Barely being able to move through the packed venue I was thoroughly impressed on how this Indie Rap-Rock group has the following that most Major Label Artists today don’t.
The set feels like “Sublime and the Beastie Boys swinging a wrecking ball through CBGB’s” (Mergent Music Magazine Jan 09)With their debut EP “Brooklyn to Babylon” recently self-released, Shinobi Ninja has been filling venues all over the New York area and up and down the East Coast.
“We are children of the 80’s and we love metal, grunge and hip-hop, and we love to party and have fun,” the band says, answering questions like they play music: as an inseparable team. “It’s only natural that the music has bombastic drums, tons of guitars, rapping alongside rock and R&B melodies with a DJ slicing the crowd to pieces.”
Fate or happenstance brought these eclectic musicians to the same NYC Hells Kitchen recording Studio in 2008, where they formed Shinobi Ninja. The Band is the progeny of Singers Dave Aaron and Baby Girl, Guitarists Maniac Mike and Adriano Morez, Drummer Terminator Dave and DJ Axis.
What I found unique in watching this group is that they are all stars, but equally share the spotlight on and off the stage. “We all respect each other as musicians and we feed off each other’s energy.” They are a combination of songwriters, studio musicians, producers, dancers and battle dj’s. This “Voltron-esque” rock group is bound by a party lifestyle and a love of music that creates an original sound with an explosive and entertaining live show to back it.
Lyrically reminiscent of a house party in Brooklyn circa 1994, the band makes a nod to the old school while remaining in touch with their inner fiesta, fun craving personalities and un-tethered desire.
Prior to forming Shinobi Ninja, each of its members had respective careers in the music industry. Dave Aaron and Adriano Morez both produced and engineered at Progressive Studios, an Eden of music and personalities, which regularly collided fierceness with blind passion and the NYPD. Dave Aaron has a catalogue of diverse tracks with some of today’s top Artist, several of his productions landing him on the charts. Baby Girl is a celebrity dancer and singer for various major label artists such as Ricky Martin, Diddy, Cassie and Santigold. Twin brothers Maniac Mike and Terminator Dave ran The Sound Machine, a recording studio where they produced their projects and the work other eclectic NYC Indie artists. Dave has performed regularly all over the east coast with DJ Axis, an accomplished battle and club DJ.
Quickly buzzing in NYC for their mega high-energy live performances, you can check this band at its next show this Monday June 1st at 8:00 PM at the Legendary Blender Theatre (127 East 23rd Street)
With an immense response from the New York community Shinobi Ninja has one goal in sight, “taking over the world, one sweaty rock circus at a time.”
For more Shinobi Ninja & upcoming shows:
www.youtube.com/shinobininjamusic
Angela Severiano is a songwriter, performer, and political contributor currently living in New York City, New York. She is a music and pop culture writer for the blog HipHopRepublican.com.
