Artist Spotlight – Post Malone

Austin Richard Post was born on July 4^th, 1995 in Syracuse, New York.  When he was nine years old, he and his family moved to Grapevine, Texas.  His father was the assistant director of food and beverage for the Dallas Cowboys, which allowed Austin to get free tickets to games.  Austin started learning how to produce music in his early teen years on FL Studio.  By 16, he started working on his first mixtape and showed it to his high school friends.  He attended a Community College for only a few months before moving to Los Angeles with a friend, where he came up with his stage name, Post Malone.

Post Malone came out with his first big hit titled “White Iverson” in 2015 which he uploaded to his SoundCloud account.  On July 19^th, 2015, Malone released a music video for the track which has been viewed over 360 million times.  After that track, he attracted the attention from music labels and ended up signing with Republic Records in August of 2015.  Post Malone has worked with various big time rappers such as 50 Cent, Young Thug, and Kanye West among many others.  It is also widely known that Post is good friends with Justin Bieber and even opened for him on Bieber’s Purpose World Tour.

Post Malone has since come out with many more hit tracks and his latest album titled Stoney has received great praise among the hip-hop community.  Post Malone is known outside of his professional career for being a very down to earth, sweet and kind person, which is a large contributing factor for his success in the music industry and in attracting his fan base.  I quickly noticed this while watching interviews he has been in, and just how genuine his personality is on camera.

Post Malone is projected to accomplish many more great feats in the music world and many say that this is only the beginning for Malone.  If you liked what you read, please follow my blog, and you can find my latest post here!

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Spotify vs Apple Music

If you’ve downloaded any music in the last six to eight months, chances are you’ve used either Apple Music or Spotify’s music services.  Apple Music and Spotify both offer monthly subscription based services to download libraries of music available to stream at any time.  The Apple Music Library, while pulling its music from iTunes, boasts around 40 million tracks and its library has been around for years.  Spotify on the other hand, features around 35 million tracks while being the younger service of the two.

Both music streaming services allow the consumer to listen to streamed music offline if using the respective paid versions, each priced at about $10 a month.  Apple Music offers a three-month free trial period while Spotify only offers 30 days of free use of paid services.  The free versions of each service are not worth using, so it really forces you to pick Apple or Spotify and pay into the service.  While both seem strikingly similar, each music streaming service has exclusive features missing in the other.

In Apple Music, the Radio feature is more robust and detailed service than Spotify’s and features a live, 24/7 global radio station streaming from London, New York and Los Angeles.  Spotify features a convenient mood-based playlist system where the music set to play can be based on whether you want to study and focus, workout, sleep, or start a party.  Spotify also features built-in tools to play music externally across external speakers and various devices such as PCs while remotely controlling the library from the mobile app simultaneously.

When jumping from Spotify to Apple Music, one will notice the lack of user-friendliness of Apple’s User Interface.  Everything is so complicated and confusing, not to mention the photos take up almost the entire screen.  There is no good reason for the pictures to be so big.  One area Apple does have Spotify beat however, is when using the shuffle songs feature.  Apple makes use of the user’s entire music library when shuffling songs, while Spotify’s shuffle songs algorithm has been broken for years.  Even after customers continually complain to Spotify that only small sections of their music library is being utilized when shuffling, Spotify still hasn’t figured this one out yet.

In the end, Spotify leads the industry in allowing its user to find the newest releases and artists, and new musical tastes.  Spotify leads Apple in number of subscribers by far.  Apple Music keeps the user in their own musical comfort level and offers recommendations similar to the user’s musical taste.  It can be put simply this way; if you like music, go with Apple Music.  If you love music, the Spotify is your clear choice.

 

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Clothing Brand Spotlight – G-Star Raw

G-Star Raw is a Dutch high-end streetwear company that focuses on raw denim.  G-Star was founded by Jos van Tilburg in Amsterdam in 1989.  G-Star is now co-owned by Pharrell Williams as of 2016, and he has contributed to bringing G-Star Raw’s name back into the forefront of streetwear fashion.  G-Star has flagship stores in New York City, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and many others internationally.  G-Star’s main influence in design come from vintage military clothing, featuring extra pockets and knee sections.

G-Star’s philosophy, coming from the about page on their website, states “G-Star’s philosophy has always been, ‘Just the Product.’”  This philosophy has led the company to be a leader in luxury denim streetwear.  G-Star takes 3-D thinking into account when designing denim.  Each constructed pair of denim tends to mold to the consumer’s leg shape over time, creating a unique fit and premium look.  Since most of G-Star’s denim is raw, untreated material, it requires special washing and drying procedures, and should never be tumbled.

I first came across G-Star when noticing more and more music artists sporting the denim in music videos.  I decided to take a risk on G-Star and ponied up the $200 on a pair of 5620 Elwood 3D Super Slim jeans.  Since that day, I have only bought from G-Star for my jeans, and currently own six pairs of Elwoods.  It’s true about what they say, you get what you pay for.  G-Star is worth every penny and the fit is unlike any pair of jeans or any other article of clothing I’ve ever tried on.  I recently purchased a few shirts from them as well, and I’m happy to say that the build quality and material is consistent with the rest of the clothes from G-Star.

If you haven’t tried out G-Star’s products yet, I highly urge you to do so.  You will not be disappointed, and your clothes will last a very long time.  Check out G-Star Raw’s website here!  If you liked what you read, please subscribe to my blog, and check out my last post here!

 

 

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The Struggles of a Left-Handed Guitar Player

As a left-handed guitar player, I’ve experienced many flaws and annoyances in playing a left-handed guitar.  There are a lot of issues and confusion on the topic of whether to learn left-handed or right-handed.  Most guitar teachers and guitarists in general will tell you to learn how to play the guitar right-handed, even if you’re a lefty.  Why is this?  Well a few reasons, actually.  For one, the availability and price options in guitars for righties are far superior than that of left-handed guitars.  Right-handed guitars can be up to 50% cheaper at times than their left-handed counterparts.  When you visit any music store, most their available inventory and range of options consist of right-handed guitars.

The main question you must ask yourself if you are thinking about purchasing a lefty or a righty is “What level of left-handedness do I consider myself to be?”.  Most left-handers automatically assume they need a left-handed guitar.  This isn’t necessarily true.  If you are just starting out learning how to play the guitar, it’s going to feel awkward and unnatural either way.  In this case, you’re better off choosing to learn right-handed.  This way, you’ll have all available options and colors of guitars to pick from, and at a lower price.

When I first started playing, I never considered the option to learn righty.  Like most lefties, I assumed it would never feel natural playing right-handed.  Now that I’ve had years of experience playing lefty, I probably wouldn’t look back.  I am constantly reminded however, of my decision to learn lefty in various situations.   Just recently I was in the market for a new guitar, and I kicked myself for making that decision years ago.  I ended up settling with a guitar what wasn’t my first color choice, nor at the price-point I wanted it at.  That’s just the sacrifice lefties are forced to make.

So if you’re left-handed and you’re considering learning to play the guitar, what should you do?  The decision is ultimately up to you.  If you think you’ll learn faster and more efficiently with a left-handed guitar, go for it.  Just be aware of the drawbacks and consequences it comes with.  Learning to play the guitar will always seem daunting at first, but if you can save yourself hassles in the future, it’s probably wiser to learn right-handed.

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Why Do I Do Parkour?

When I tell people that I do parkour, they either think I’m just joking or trying to be funny, or they ask “What the hell is that?”.  I started doing parkour and free-running in 8^th grade.  I came across a video of one of the greats, Daniel Ilabaca, defying gravity and performing some of the craziest things I’ve ever seen with the human body.  I knew immediately that I wanted to try and replicate that, and I knew I had the body type and coordination to do it.  I remember getting some friends together during lunch period and have them pull up on the belt-loops of my jeans as I attempted to learn how to back flip.  This was probably not the safest way to learn, but I was determined to do it my way.  I mastered the back flip in less than a week.

As soon as my friends saw some of the success I was having with it, they all wanted to try too.  Pretty soon, we had about 15 to 20 classmates involved, and had formed a secret spot we would go to so as to not be seen by any of the teachers.  It was almost as if I was teaching a parkour/free-running seminar every lunch period.  With that said, I was still very much learning, as I still am today.  I quickly caught on to the remaining flip variations after learning the backflip.  After a few months, I could backflip, front flip, side flip, and gainer off the ground.  Teachers eventually caught onto the cult-like activity we had started, and forbid us to continue our dangerous activities.

As the school-year went on, I kept learning and so did a lot of my buddies from school.  We would get together on the weekends and get into trouble, climbing to rooftops of buildings, schools, and even malls.  I knew this was where I belonged, and the whole way I saw the world started changing.  To most people, they would see a cool building with creative architecture as just a nice design.  To me, it was my playground, and it was my goal to try and find the best way to climb to the top, or pull some stunts off of it.  It’s almost like a drug, because it changes everything you think about.  You no longer see that flight of stairs as a helpful way up or down.  Instead, you see it as a gap to flip over, much like a skateboarder or BMX biker envisions their landscape and plans the line of tricks they will perform.

Parkour and free-running will always be a part of my life, and I am going to continue to push my boundaries until my body doesn’t let me any longer.  Parkour is what moves me.  What moves you?

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My First Live Music Experience

My brother took me to my first live show when I was eleven.  He told me I could pick whoever I wanted to see live for my first concert and I spent a good couple weeks thinking it over.  I finally came to the conclusion that Buckethead was going to be my first live performance I would attend.  If you don’t know who Buckethead is, he is arguably one of the best guitarists alive.  His tracks have been featured in Guitar Hero games as one of the hardest songs to play.  Given that, I would say he isn’t too well known, and definitely not a mainstream artist.  He is a very “unique” character to say the least.  Sporting a white mask on his face and a bucket on top of his head, you wonder what other planet he might be from.  When I came to my brother about my decision, he was just as stoked about it as I was.  There is just something about the way talented guitarists do what they do that excites me, and as a guitarist myself, I couldn’t wait.

On the day of the show, my brother and I did what we all do before a show; plan what to wear.  I was decked out in my white Buckethead tee I scored off his merch website.  We headed to Sacramento at the Ace of Spades, and I had no idea what to expect.  When we got in line, I was nervous for some reason, there were so many people waiting out the door.  We finally got inside and I started looking around at the venue.  There was an opening act that was called “That 1 Guy” which was exactly as it sounds.  Some guy had made a bunch of electric instruments out of random objects, it was really a cool sight to see.

Around the time that the opening act went on stage was also the same time that everyone around us immediately brought out their marijuana and lit up.  I figured they were just cigarettes, I mean I was only eleven.  Then it started smelling surprisingly good, and I became confused yet intrigued, but I lost interest and kept watching the act.  Keep in mind the venue was a relatively small indoor music hall.  My brother pushed us to the front to get a closer look.

Buckethead was about get on stage at this point.  I remember feeling anxious because I had never seen anyone I idolized so much in person before.  As Buckethead took the stage, clad in a navy air-force jumpsuit, his mask and bucket, and hi-top converse, he stood like a giant over the audience in front of him (he’s 6 and a half feet tall).  As soon as his fingers touched the strings, he was in full control, demanding the attention of every pair of ears in the building.  The speed and flow in which he played that guitar blew my mind.

Referring back to the funny smell in the room, at this point I was smiling from ear to ear for no apparent reason.  I think it’s safe to say that my first time getting high was at eleven years old, and damn was I lit.  I remember looking at the white toes of Buckethead’s converse.  He had colored them in with a drawing of a house, a tree with a rope swing, and birds flying out from it.  I’m not joking and it wasn’t the weed either.  That night was the best introduction to live music I possibly could have had, and I owe it all to my brother.

I know I can’t be the only one with great stories to tell of the first live music experience, so I encourage you to drop a comment below, and give me your best, worst or first live music experience.  Be sure to follow my blog, and if you missed my last post, here it is!

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Artist Spotlight – LIGHTS

I was first introduced to LIGHTS when the “Young Artists for Haiti” movement was going on in an ongoing effort to help people of Haiti through the devastating earthquake that occurred on January 12, 2010.  Over 50 Canadian artists were featured to record a rendition of K’naan’s “Wavin’ Flag”.  Proceeds of the record went to various charities to aid the struggling people of Haiti rebuild from the aftermath of the quake.  When I first heard the song, one voice stood out to me, and she only had to sing five words in the entire song to capture my attention completely.  Immediately I scoured the internet to find who sang the lines “so many wars, settling scores” in the song, and came across LIGHTS.

LIGHTS was born on April 11, 1987 in Timmons, Ontario under the birth name Valerie Anne Poxleitner.  According to her Wiki page, “she spent her childhood in many parts of the world, including the Philippines, Jamaica, Ontario, and British Columbia.  She moved to Toronto at the age of 18 when she legally changed her name to Lights.  She got the nickname “Lights” from her last name Poxleitner.”  LIGHTS’s first big song was titled “February Air” in 2006, and in 2008, her song “Drive My Soul” reached no. 18 on the Canadian Hot 100.  LIGHTS has now produced 3 studio albums, one compilation album, a whopping 18 music videos and singles, 5 EPs and has been a featured artist in numerous artists’ records such as Seven Lions, Borgeous, Kaskade, Owl City, Bring Me the Horizon, Blessthefall and more.

Where LIGHTS stands out for me is her unique and soothing voice, her picture-painting lyrics, and electronic, spacey instrumentals that come together in a way that captivates you into this creative world only realizable in our wildest dreams.  This was especially true with the album The Listening, where the outer space vibe is prevalent throughout.  I’ve always thought that LIGHTS was one of the most underrated and talented music artists who deserves so much more praise and recognition from her work than is given.  It’s gems like her that restore my love for music in an industry where undeserving artists receive more than their worth, and others twice as talented receive half the benefits and recognition for their art.

Aside from the negativity in the music industry, LIGHTS has consistently grown throughout her career, and I can honestly say that she has never produced a sub-par song not worth listening to.  My personal favorites include “Cactus in the Valley”, “Lions!”, “I Owe You One”, “From All Sides”, “Skydiving”, and “Meteorites”.  I’m leaving so many out, but this only proves my previous point that literally all of LIGHTS’s records are amazing.  LIGHTS’s newest project is her own comic series with musical singles attached to them, so be sure to check those out!

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How Fashion Moves Me

Everyone has their own way of expressing themselves, who we are, what we aspire to be, our individuality.  Whether it’s through the sports we play, the music we listen to, or the cars we drive, we all have that outlet for self-expression.  We see the things we like and attach ourselves to them, making them a part of us.  The clothing you wear gives others a better understanding of who you are.  There is no right or wrong, no specific style, and no need to limit yourself when it comes to what you wear.  You can match your outfits with how you feel at any given moment.

I started paying more attention to the clothing I wore when I reached high school.  I went through numerous phases, many of them questionable to say the least.  I think we all can relate to old pictures of our high school selves, and cringe at some of the style choices we’ve made.  I believe that through learning more about ourselves as we grow older, also helps dictate how we want to be portrayed to the world.  The world is always changing, and with it, so are the trends in fashion.

Take Justin Bieber for example, who has had all eyes on him from an early age to present.  The evolution of Justin’s fashion choices over the years looked a bit like this: Baggy pants, unlaced hi-top supra’s, button-ups and snap-backs that sat high on top of his head.  Then he transitioned to extreme drop-crotch skinny joggers, and designer everything.  Then came the layering era.  We saw him with extra elongated tees layered underneath designer and vintage hoodies, and extreme distressed skinny jeans.  Through the years, Justin has been a poster boy for the constantly changing trends of streetwear fashion, for better or worse.

What I love most about fashion is the sheer amount of choices that can be made, and even styles pulled from previous eras of trends that can still be worn today.  What fashion means to me can be totally different than what fashion means to you, and that’s the beauty of it.  That’s what starts trends, and that’s what allows people to express their individuality.  Streetwear fashion trends are changing almost daily, which only adds to the amount of options that are available.  Fashion is what moves me, what moves you?

 

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Artist Spotlight – Blackbear

Today we are talking about Matthew Tyler Musto, or professionally known as Blackbear.  Blackbear is an American recording artist who came up first as a songwriter.  He has accomplished numerous feats in the music world over the last few years, including four studio albums under his own label, beartrap records.  He has produced and released six EPs and nine singles as a lead artist.  His collaborations range from records with Gnash, Justin Bieber, G-Eazy, Mike Posner, Machine Gun Kelly, Mod Sun, Childish Gambino, Pharrell Williams, Linkin Park and more.  Justin Bieber’s hit song, “Boyfriend” was co-written by Blackbear and Mike Posner, and it debuted at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Matthew Musto was born on November 27, 1990 in Daytona Beach, Florida.  According to his Wiki page, “He was discovered at an early age as a rock-leaning singer-songwriter and grew up playing in garage bands, such as signed band Polaroid. Musto earned his GED while on tour. He was discovered in 2008 by talent manager Tabari Francis and later connected with manager Mister who runs Compound Entertainment, an artist incubator started by recording artist Ne-Yo. Musto moved to Atlanta, Georgia at age 18 and spent two years developing his sound and learning from songwriters like Sam Hook, Maejor and Ne-Yo.”

Blackbear’s early career consisted of his debut EP Foreplay in 2012 and his co-writing of Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend”.  He was featured on numerous artist’s tracks such as MGK’s “End of the Road”.  In 2015, he released his first album titled “Deadroses”.  The track “IDFC” was on that album and many still recognize Blackbear for this very song that held a spot on Billboard R&B charts for over a year.  The track to this day has over 22.5 million streams on Soundcloud.

Blackbear and Mike Posner pose at a Celtics game

He has had massive success with his music leading up to his collaboration album with Mike Posner, titled Mansionz.  Blackbear and Mike Posner have grown very close over the years and their chemistry is shown through the album.  In April this year, Blackbear released his best album yet titled “Digital Druglord”.  The album debuted on iTunes as number 4 album across all of iTunes and lasted 47 days on the US Albums Chart.  Along with his own album, he also helped Linkin Park in producing their newest album “One More Light”.

Blackbear went through a rough patch in 2016 however, that could have cost him his life.  According to Billboard, he suffered from “a life-threatening case of pancreatitis brought on in part by substance abuse. “One in three people would have died from the severity of my attack,” Musto says. “I had a large surgery where they cut me wide open.”  While recovering in the hospital, Musto started to come up with many of the songs for the new blackbear full-length, Digital Druglord, released last month.”  He narrowly escaped the scare relatively unscarred besides his surgery.  Since then, his success has skyrocketed, even to the point of Interscope records buying the rights to his Digital Druglord album for over 10 million dollars.

Blackbear is currently touring and is expected to be in the works with more dope music on the way.  Stay tuned for more music related news by subscribing to my blog!  If you haven’t read my last post, you can find it here!

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Artist Spotlight – PnB Rock

Rakim Allen, or better known as PnB Rock, has come out of nowhere in the music world and has been featured on some hit tracks lately.  His quick rise to stardom over the last couple years has caught the attention of other big artists such as Fetty Wap, Ty Dolla Sign, Wiz Khalifa, 2 Chains, Kodak Black and more.  PnB Rock has been featured on two hit songs from The Fate of the Furious Album, “Gang Up” and “Horses”.  Although his success seems to have come out of nowhere, he has had a rough upbringing to say the least.

PnB Rock’s early life has been explained on his Wikipedia page.  “Rakim Allen was born on December 9, 1991 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in Germantown, Philadelphia, primarily raised by his mother.  He grew up listening to Tupac Shakur and Jodeci.  At the age of 13, Rakim was sent to a youth detention program for committing robberies and fighting in school. When he turned 19, he was sentenced to 33 months in prison for drug possession and other crimes. Allen was homeless for a short period after being released from prison.  He never finished high school.”  His early life has had a huge impact on Rakim’s motivation for his success in music.

In an interview he explains that while incarcerated, he often sang to keep busy, and fellow inmates would tell him that he could go far in music.  The fact that some of the most harsh and realest people who were locked up would say something like that was enough for Rakim to continue his passion in music.  PnB Rock debuted his first mixtape “Real N*gga Bangaz” in June of 2014, that he wrote while in prison.  He signed with Atlantic Records in 2015 and has been on the come-up ever since.  His determination to break away from his past can be seen through his music and other artists are eager to collaborate with him.

I believe this is only the beginning of a very successful career for PnB Rock, and I can’t wait to see what he comes out with next.  If you haven’t heard his remix of French Montana and Swae Lee’s song “Unforgettable”, check it out below!  To stay updated with my blogs and other music related news, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and my previous blog can be found here!

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