Hey everyone!
It's finally the end of February 2021...this time last year, nobody had heard of a 'lockdown' or understood what the 'furlough scheme' was, and a month later the entire world new. Anyways, I'm going off topic (as per usual). In today's blog post, I've hand picked some music that has been released throughout the month of February this year. I have also written some other blog posts highlighting individual songs, and I'll leave links to those at the bottom for you to go and have a read of. In this blog post, I'll be reviewing songs from a variety of confident and empowering women within the world of music and rap, including Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B and the Queen of Pop, Ariana Grande, along with some extra reviews of music by Wolf Alice, YouTube's Joe Weller and Spanish singer/songwriter who's teamed up with a 'Bad Bunny'. Do you see what I did there? Alright, let's get into the reviews!
Megan Thee Stallion (ft DaBaby) - 'Crybaby' (4th February 2021)
The first music video that I decided to watch was for Megan Thee Stallion's single 'Crybaby'. The overall vibe of the music video is quite unique, and it's set in a toy shop. Both Megan and her featured rapper collaborator are seen as miniature toys, singing and rapping about previous partners, relationships using a variety of male and female names to probably reference their haters. It's interesting how the music is set in a toy shop, because it could mean that they've both been playing games or having fun with love. Either way, I thought this was definitely an interesting music video, Megan looks stunning in her variety of outfits and she is definitely an artist to keep an eye on in 2021!
Cardi B - 'Up' (5th February 2021)
Before watching this music video, I know that it was going to be super interesting, because it's Cardi B, so why would it be your standard type of music video? From beginning to end it was an incredible production set up, especially with the 'RIP 2020' sign featured at the beginning of the video. I must say that I absolutely loved the different outfit changes and variety of scenes, with her featured as almost an 'angel', and also as the lead dancer of a girl group. There were definitely some interesting lyrics within the song, but I really like how she has created another fast paced song, and it seems very clear that this song is about relationships, dating or men! I believe this is one of those tracks that people can listen to if they're feeling self concious or not confident within themselves, and like with everything...things do eventually go up.
Slowthai & Skepta - 'Cancelled' (9th February 2021)
The beginning of the music video was quite funny, as Slowthai, Skepta and some of their other rapper friends were all saying 'Wagwun' on the phone to eachother and it was a strange (but also interesting) way to introduce the music video. Slowthai transitions into a new environment where he speaks about winning album of the year...but let's see if that actually happens! The song is called 'Cancelled' and I think it's about the rappers trying to be cancelled, but the song explains how many awards they have won and the attention they get from their fans, and being cancelled is infact not likely to happen anytime soon. I've always found Slowthai to be an interesting musical artist and I have watched some of his music videos before, but by him being unique, that's what makes him memorable and spoken about in the media. Either way, with over 1 million total views (and counting) on this specific music video, I don't think he'll be disappearing from the music scene anytime soon!
Headie One (ft Burna Boy) - 'Siberia' (11th February 2021)
One of the reasons I really like this music video is how amazing the snowy environment looks, as it seems to be set in the middle of the mountains - so I wasn't really listening to the lyrics, I was just checking out the environment. There was a line in the song where Burna sang about not liking drama, saying that he can't be compared to Jerry Springer, and I think that's one of the greatest messages I was able to get from this song. Within every industry there are people who like causing drama, continuously get themselves into trouble or end up in prison, but I think both Headie and Burna agreed that they didn't want anything to happen to them, so they're staying far away from anything negative! Either way, like I said, the music video environment was shot really well, I did enjoy listening to the song and if you want to have a watch of the new single for 'Siberia', then check out the link below!
Ariana Grande, Doja Cat & Megan Thee Stallion - '34+35' (12 February 2021)
Ariana Grande's latest album 'positions' has a lot of references to love and also sex. In this remix version of her song '35+35', it's quite obvious that the lockdown is getting to her. She has collaborated with two of the trending female rappers at the moment Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion who both add great rapping lyrics to this song. Throughout the video, you can see all 3 of the guys having fun in their hotel room, singing, dancing...and they even get a lot of champagne for the occassion, whilst also watching themselves back through a television screen? Maybe they've filmed the video, and they just want to continue singing the song over and over again! It's a good song and video, but might not be to everyone's tastes...
Lil Tjay (ft 6LACK) - 'Calling My Phone' (12th February 2021)
This song started with a slow and relaxing piano instrumental with the first lyrics explaining that Lil Tjay didn't want somebody calling his phone anymore. The slow and relaxing song and music video work really well together, and is definitely the type of song to listen to if you're feeling stressed. The variety of simple shots with smoke, lights and natural lighting help the video transition easily from one scene to the other. There is a lot of video montaging included with the music video which allows you to see the same person multiple times in the same shot...and it makes you feel like different stories are being told at the same time. The mood of the song is quite relaxed, and it seems as if the boys just want to explain that they're currently unavailable, or they just need the callers to know that they need to move on.
Bad Bunny & Rosalia - 'La noche de anoche' (14th February 2021)
Unfortunately I didn'tt know what this song meant at all as even the YouTube translated lyrics into English didn't make much sense, but I did understand that the word 'noche' means night. After a quick Google Search, I came to the conclusion that this is another romantic song, but in Spanish. I believe that both Bunny and Rosalia are speaking to eachother about what happened on a particular night, addressing their love for eachother, but it sounds like Rosalia already has plans to go somewhere else, teasing him about her departure. The music video was really creative, and both singers looked as if they were in an isolated village, or somewhere in Heaven. They are both seen wearing gowns, and Bunny is seen with fiery fingers, which he passes onto Rosalia, almost hinting that they are more powerful together than just being two individuals. It's got a lot of great colours and transitional shots, so if you're Spanish, trying to learn Spanish, or just like listening to international love songs like me, I'd check out this song as it was released about 2 weeks ago and it's definitely one for an international party playlist (when we are allowed to party in the near future!).
NF - 'Clouds' (18th February 2021)
I believe I've heard some of NF's previous songs, or at least I remember seeing his name. This song seems to explain his music career within a few minutes, explaining that he's the 'one trick pony' but after making difficult calls/choices, he's made a successful career out of music. All of his lyrics seems to explain that he's an ordinary person, but he's also very different to a lot of people, which is definitely the way to be in the crazy world that we all live in. Even some of the video shots in the music video are quite interesting but also scary at the same time, including a shot where he leans up against a tree, which transitions into a supermarket scene, where he accidentally makes some of the stock fall to the floor. NF a.k.a 'Nate' has a full mixtape which will be released on 26th March 2021, and if you haven't heard about this singer yet, you sure will hear of you very soon! With over 6 million supporters on his YouTube channel, I think he will collaborate with some of the biggest artists in music in the coming years, so watch NF's space...
Nessa Barrett (ft jxdn) - 'la di die' (19th February 2021)
In this music video, 18 year old American singer/songwriter Nessa Barrett has teamed up with an artist called JXDN who I've been supporting since the release of some of his original singles. Some of the original lyrics sung by Nessa are that she feels she'll be dead in the next 7 years, and this might not necessarily be true, but maybe a lot of her favourite singers or songwriters have died in their mid/late twenties and she's speaking from what she's seen on social media. The overall feel of the video is that Nessa is explaining how she has always wanted to be a superstar and both singers explain that they have their own personal problems, with Nessa explaining that loving her is 'like suicide' and JXDN speaks of having depression. The colours in the video are quite vibrant with a mix of pink and purple on Nessa's shots, and red with JXDN's shots. I feel like the 'la di die's that are sung in the song are both of these singers shutting out the haters by ignoring any negative comments or views that people have about them. In the video I also liked the merge of Nessa's pop vocals and JXDN's more rock and roll vocals, which actually blended really well together! Great tune from such young singers, but I think they'll be around for many years to come!
Joe Weller & Eddy Calvert - 'Mad About It' (23rd February 2021)
From the beginning of this music video, you can see how much of a joker Joe Weller is when after Eddy introduces the single, he just says 'I love sandwiches'. This song instantly gives me nightclub vibes and might be one of those tunes that you hear when you're next out with your friends. The colours in this video are all quite vibrant and 'disco-like' with purples and blues. Joe can be seen playing beer pong with one of the girls who happens to be at their very quiet house party. One of the great shots in the video is when you can see both of the boys with their silhouettes, as it looks like that could be the cover art for this song! Although there doesn't seem to be many lyrics on this song, a lot of people will probably just want to drink and dance when they're allowed to meet up again, so its definitely one of those lockdown singles that could be remembered, as it was created and released during a global pandemic! From YouTube comedian and creator to the next best music producer? Let's see let's see! But I loved this one from Joe and his mate Eddy Calvert!
Wolf Alice - 'The Last Man On Earth' (24th February 2021)
The final song that I will be reviewing is from the rock band Wolf Alice who seem to have created quite a relaxing tune which was released a few days ago. The video has been edited in black and white with a variety of different montage and double exposure shots. I think the meaning of the song discusses what would happen if this man was the last man on the Earth, asking whether the light 'shines on you'. About halfway into the song, backing instruments including drums and guitar are heard, still with those really cool transitions of the main singer. The music video reminds me of a module I studied at University called 'Alternative Media' where the photo/video collage we made was supposed to not make sense, but that it was a unique piece of media, and that can relate to this music video. Towards the end of the music video, it almost seems like the backing set has begun to set on fire, and the song is brought to a close with half of the line being sang; 'But the light...' which might mean that there was no light shining on this individual. It was an abrupt but also quite clever way to end the song, with the female lead singer looking away from the camera for about 30 seconds before it faded out to black.
I hope you enjoyed reading these music video reviews, giving a brief summary about the music video, the song (or a mix of both), and I hope to be back with some more music video or album reviews over the next coming days, weeks and months, as 2021 will probably follow the same route 2020 did...and we need something to stop us from watching the news...so music, films and television show it will be!
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