Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons BY JOSEPH DEBELL, STAFF WRITER Aubrey Graham’s (Drake) streak of music recently has been underwhelming. Considering that Drake is 36 and his recent records haven’t had the best reception from a creative standpoint, it’s not entirely outlandish for him to retire. While Drake has easily been one of the most…
The die-cut poster on display in the Reilly Center David Scibilia / The Bona Venture BY: DAVID SCIBILIA, NEWS EDITOR “The heart is speaking; the spirit is speaking,” Jason Benefield, the producer of “Speak on Sistas”, said. “[‘Speak On Sistas’] is the ultimate event for women of African descent.” “Speak On Sistas” is an event…
BY JOSEPH DEBELL, STAFF WRITER Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons SXSW needs to do a better job of paying artists what they deserve, especially considering that some artists that play in the festival come from all over the United States. South by Southwest (SXSW) first appeared in 1987 after the city of Austin, Texas, wanted…
BY JOSEPH DEBELL, CONTRIBUTING WRITER Album score: 4/5 stars Stars are courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Singer, songwriter, rapper and producer Aidan Vaughn (VGHN) is an up-and-coming artist from Southern California. Although most people discovered Aidan Vaughn from his cover of Revenge by XXXTENTACION, I first heard of him when he released his cover/feature of Quadeca’s…
BY JOSEPH DEBELL, CONTRIBUTING WRITER Album Score: 5/5 Photo Courtesy of @quadeca on Instagram Former YouTube star Benjamin Lasky (Quadeca) has done enough musical evolution to turn himself into a genuine songwriter/producer that can compete with other names in the music industry. At first glance, this LP manifests fragments of his previous record, From Me…
BY JOSEPH DEBELL, CONTRIBUTING WRITER Album Rating: 1/5 Brockhampton is a boy band of rappers, singers and producers that really have made a distinct sound in music during their discography. During their time that they broke out, they dropped some stellar albums. More specifically the group’s trilogy of Saturation. And while the group was getting…
By Emilie Weinbeck, Features Assignment Editor In the last few weeks the vaccine rollout has been reaching new heights with thousands of people of all age ranges getting vaccinated every day. As of April 13, a total of 75,322,283 Americans have been fully vaccinated. For many people, the vaccine gives them a sigh of relief…
By Kelsey Purcell, Staff Writer Taylor Swift released her own version of her hit single “Love Story” on Feb. 11. Swift announced that she has finished re-recording her “Fearless” album and has hinted that “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” will be released on April 9, along with six never before released songs. Some other hit songs on…
By Margaret DeMarco, Contributing Writer Cardi B is starting the new year off right with her new song “Up,” as it sits at number two on iTunes’ Global Top 100 chart within its first week. Not only did the song soar to the top of the charts immediately, it also quickly became a viral video…
By Mike Polce On Sept. 25, singer, rapper, and actor Machine Gun Kelly released a pop-punk album titled Tickets to My Downfall, produced by Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker. Upon the release of the album, many questioned whether or not MGK could bring back this genre of music. Some believed that his previous “hardcore” rap style…
Indie-rock band releases political single days before election Matt Villanueva, Features Editor Since the inauguration of President Donald Trump, there has been no shortage of political anthems criticizing his administration. From Fiona Apple’s song “Tiny Hands,” to Death Cab for Cuties’ “Million Dollar Loan,” to The Avett Brothers’s album “Closer than Together” to the obvious…
By Kathy Williams, Features Assignment Editor Legendary songwriter and guitarist Eddie Van Halen died on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at age 65. The rock star struggled with several health complications such as injuries from stage performances and diverticulitis, but his death is attributed to his battle with throat cancer. Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, known as Eddie…
By Ethan Kerr, Contributing writer Joji’s sophomore LP “Nectar,” released on Sept. 25, tries to launch the up and comer to a consistent player in the R&B scene. Featuring singles such as “Gimme Love and Sanctuary,” as well as featuring collaborations with stars like Lil Yachty and Diplo. “Nectar” clocks in at 53 minutes and…
The Happy Fits, “What Could be Better” exceeds expectations By Matthew Villanueva, Features Editor Founded in 2016, “The Happy Fits” created their band just for kicks whilst releasing their debut EP, “Awfully Appealin.” The cover flaunted a personified and cartoonish banana with a yellow background. The EP contained four songs and currently has been listened…
By Mike Polce, Contributing writer Throughout the last two decades, mainstream music has gravitated more and more to rap and hip-hop. While pop and alternative music have stayed in the background it has become clear that rock ‘n’ roll has completely vanished from mainstream culture. What if one upcoming album could change everything? Cleveland, Ohio…
By Olivia Boyd, Contributing writer Paranoid has arrived! On Feb. 7, Green Day released their 13th studio album, “Father of All…” This is their first album since the release of “Revolution Radio,” the band’s 2016 album. “Father of All…” is their shortest album to date, with only 10 songs totaling at a whopping 26 minutes…
By Charlie Randall, contributing writer On Jan. 17, Eminem released a brand new album that both intrigued and confused listeners, whether they were fans, critics or listeners of the genre. While “Music to be Murdered By,” as of right now, is nothing fantastic by typical standards, it definitely piqued interest in the industry primarily due…
By Tucker Reilly, News Assignment Editor Last Sunday, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, Tyler, the Creator took home his first Grammy. Although Tyler had been nominated twice before, in 2012 and 2017, it was his “Igor” project, released in May 2019, which brought him the award for Best Rap Album. In an…
Oh, Christmas tree, oh, Christmas tree, how come you look so gaudy? We all know it is heading toward wintertime. With the blizzards and snowmen come an inevitable flood of cheery Christmas hymns and clanging holiday bops. I only ask that they wait until after November. I am not alone. Pass by a tinsel-tickled reveler…
On Sept. 13, three of the most well-known female singers teamed up to create arguably one of the biggest pop-anthems of the year, “Don’t Call Me Angel.” This song, by Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey, will be featured on the soundtrack of this year’s reboot of “Charlie’s Angels,” which has been a…