Welcome back to E Willz Music folks! The past few weeks I have been busy putting in some time towards the album and it is going to be a great blend of jazz and a variety of genres! Yesterday I had the opportunity to travel with a fellow musician and listen to both new albums from
Kanye West and
J. Cole. First of all, I must say that I have respect for both artists and what they are bringing to the music industry. However, Kanye has definitely failed to live up to the hype in my opinion so I will give my endorsement to J. Cole's
"Born Sinner."
Marketing Situation
As a music critic and aspiring businessman I could not help but take notice to the advertising strategies of both parties in the dates leading to their releases. J. Cole's label took the safe route in marketing his album the old fashion way with pushing lead tracks and participating in many interviews. I will give J. Cole's team a lot of respect for doing something different by charging fans
1 dollar for tickets to his current tour for the album.
Kanye, on the other hand, relied solely on his reputation and popularity to promote his album without pushing any tracks to his audience nor talking much about the project's purpose. Although I do believe that Kanye has already set his legacy in the industry I do not agree with the route that he took. If you are using
controversy and building up a tremendous hype for your album you better be completely sure that your music will bring it! Unfortunately for Kanye, he is surrounded by so many people stroking his ego that he may not be aware of the risk he takes.
Yeezus vs Sinner
The purpose of Mr. West's
"Yeezus" was to send a bold message that would have everyone talking for sometime. Kanye has always been known for great hooks accompanied by banging compositions (and I chose the word "composition" for a reason) but this album just seems like he got all of his track ideas from a mediocre beat maker and mixed and mastered it with techno beats. It was hard on my ears to listen to but, then again, that was the point of the album.
I may be sounding a bit like a "hater" towards my man Kanye but after listening to just the first song of "Born Sinner" I was sold! The album was very well orchestrated and thought out and as I skimmed through the tracks I found it easy to follow the story that J. Cole was selling. Good flows and good music will cause me to give J. Cole the "W" for Tuesday's battle of the albums.
So, to conclude, I believe that "Yeezus" is a little overrated and should be reviewed again by real musicians and competent industry personal. Am I the only one that feels this way? I urge you all to go out and listen to both albums and see for yourself and don't forget to find your way back here to leave a comment!
Live the Music
Marsha Ambrosius was deeply affected by the losses of her Aunt, Philly rapper Jimme Wallstreet, and Louisiana rapper Lil Snupe. Marsha claimed to have heard the composition of the song in a dream and immediately went to her piano and put her thoughts onto paper. The video was put together using a few clips and photos taken from her iPhone during one of her most recent flights. The song has only been on the web for less than 24 hours and is already getting a lot of buzz from her fans via Twitter and Facebook. The deep emotions that projects to the listener leaves chills in the spine and demands attention from music critics.
