Music you may have missed
April 2018
Photo via Justin Higuchi under Creative Commons license
On April 19, newly popular pop singer Billie Eilish released her new single “Lovely” with R&B star Khalid. Her new single is very different than her past releases, as she drifts away from her techno-pop stereotype to a more slowed down, instrument-driven style.
“Guatemala” – Swae Lee (explicit)
Rap and R&B artist Swae Lee released his new single “Guatemala” in early April. With this new single, Lee has begun to switch from the upbeat rap style of music to the slowed down R&B style.
With many fans awaiting the rap duo Rae Sremmerd’s third album “Sremm Life 3,” one of the members, Swae Lee, continues to put out his own singles, and not many are complaining. In March 2018, the Mississippi native released “Hurt to look,” his debut single. The very next month, on April 11, he released his sophomore single “Guatemala”.
In the recent months, the two members of Rae Sremmerd, Swae Lee (Khalif Malikibnsham Brown) and his brother Slim Jxmmi (Aaquil Brown), have been releasing their own singles as well as releasing music together.
Unlike most albums, “Sremm life 3” will be composed of three different albums. It will consist of Rae Sremmerd’s solo album, Slim Jxmmi’s solo album, and both brothers working together under the name Rae Sremmerd. They have not officially announced a release date for the album.
Unlike Rae Sremmerd and his brother Slim Jxmmi, Lee has started to stray away from the traditional “trap” style that he has used since Rae Sremmerd’s debut album “Sremm Life” released in 2015. With his first solo, “Hurt to look,” releasing last month, Lee has seemed to move toward a slower, laid-back style of music. “Guatemala” features a slow-moving trap beat with heavy bass, as well as heavily auto-tuned singing from Lee.
“Guatemala” is nothing excitingly new to the world of slow R&B music. However, Lee drops another modern hit that is sure to be very popular and boost his solo career. His branching off from his duo group has seemed to be paying off for the time being.
In late March, the highly popular R&B star The Weeknd released his EP “My Dear Melancholy” without any warning. The Weeknd continues his unique style of music with his slow beats and sappy lyrics.
“My Dear Melancholy” – The Weeknd
On March 30, 2018, close enough to April, multi-platinum selling and multi-grammy winning R&B artist, The Weeknd, released six new songs from his EP “My Dear Melancholy.” This is the Toronto native’s first new music released since his August single “Reminder.”
As with most of The Weeknd’s, or Abel Tesfaye’s, music, “My Dear Melancholy” hits us all right in the heart with his slow-moving tempo and beats, topping it off with his sad, soul touching lyrics. The six song tracklist, dives into an internal dark struggle that he seems to be dealing with. Many believe that the subject of two of the songs on the album, “Call Out My Name” and “Try Me,” are about Selena Gomez, Tesfaye’s ex. This is because the couple split in October of 2017 and the album was released, without any formal warning, at the end of March of 2018. While this may or may not be the case, all of the songs on the album are about dealing with or losing a significant other.
All of the songs on the album are very well done, produced, and written. The most popular song from the album, “Call Out My Name,” features a piano accompanying the soft voice of Tesfaye. It then picks up the pace toward the chorus revealing the full, soul-filled voice of The Weeknd. Other songs, including “Try Me” and “Wasted Time,” also have a very soulful sound, but not as slow as the other songs.
Since The Weeknd released “Beauty Behind The Madness” in 2015, he has been regarded as one of the top R&B artists. With the release of “Starboy” in 2016, he was shot up to being one of the most popular artists. The newly released EP “My Dear Melancholy” perfectly captures the heartbreak and sadness that accompanies a breakup.
“Beerbongs and Bentleys” (explicit) – Post Malone
Post Malone’s “Beerbongs and Bentleys” album is probably one of the most anticipated albums of 2018. The highly popular rap artist, released his 18 song album on April 27, 2018. Malone originally announced that the album would drop at the beginning of December When it never came out, he tweeted to his worried fans that the album would drop at a later time because he wanted to make it his best album. Since then fans have eagerly awaited this new project.
One problem with many music projects that build up a high level of excitement is that they frequently let down fans. “Beerbongs and Bentleys,” on the other hand, lives up to the hype.
In late April, highly popular rap artist Post Malone released his sophomore album, “Beerbongs and Bentleys.” The album is a continuation of his first album “Stoney,” with both albums having a mix of upbeat and slower rap music.
The album features other artists like Swae Lee in the slow-moving, relaxed song “Spoil My Night,” 21 Savage in the record-breaking song “Rockstar,” as well as Ty Dolla $ign in the early release “Psycho.” It also features Nicki Minaj in the funky, fast-paced song “Ball For Me.”
“Beerbongs and Bentleys” changes its style around frequently. Malone accesses his emotional side with a slower, relaxed beat and touching lyrics with the songs “Spoil My Night,” “Otherside,” and “Over Now.” He also keeps in touch with his rock roots in the song “Stay.” Malone uses an acoustic guitar and just the power of his vocals to make a great, different, emotional acoustic rock song. He did not slow down completely though. With the songs “92 Explorer,” “Better Now, ” “Zack and Codeine,” and “Ball For Me,” he takes it up a notch with a fast moving beat which is sure to get people in the mood for summer.
“Lovely” – Billie Eilish
On April 19, 2018, Billie Eilish released her fourth single, “Lovely,” off her breakout album “don’t smile at me.” With the release of “Lovely,” which features up and coming R&B sensation Khalid, Eilish is starting to show her talent as a musician.
The California native is relatively new to the music stage, releasing her first single in late 2016. Elish and Khalid are very young, with Eilish just turning 16 and Khalid just turning 20. They team up in this new project to drop a very powerful yet rather sad song.
In “Lovely,” Eilish branches off from her techno-pop norm to a very slow almost R&B type of song. The song features a piano and string background with very minimal electronic beats. Combining the powerful vocals of Eilish and the unique, soul-filled voice of Khalid, “Lovely” is a great yet sad song that will boost both of the young vocalists’ careers.
