Author: Alex Winnick

Hip-Hop, true to the 21^st century entrepreneurial spirit, is constantly searching for the next great artist to contribute to its repertoire. At the moment, all eyes are on a young rapper from Compton, CA by the name of Kendrick Lamar. So much so that Hip-Hop pundits are considering if his recent debut album good kid, m.A.A.d city has placed him presently at the number 1 spot in the game. Kendrick’s first two mixtapes established him as an extremely talented, creative artist focused on more substantial topics than rapping about money and fame. This album expands on that, weaving a dark story of his very personal struggles with adolescence and his hometown. Kendrick’s album shows his J Cole level flow, access to Kanye-quality beats, Odd Future style juvenescence and an intimate transparency only matched by Cudi. good kid, m.A.A.d city, despite being fairly similar in sound, is an extremely comprehensive album from a likeable new rapper.

When producer extraordinaire 9^th Wonder came to lecture here two months ago, he was asked to comment on the common assumption that Hip-Hop is dying. He agreed that it is certainly changing, but ensured the audience that Hip-Hop is not dying, nor will never die, so long as there are always new talented artists to keep it alive. He mentioned specifically how Kendrick Lamar is basically shouldering that responsibility by himself at the moment. Kendrick not only matches his creative talents with a worthwhile story, he also has an incredible attitude. On “Backseat Freestyle,” Kendrick articulates his concerns as a 16 year old and then contrasts them with the rest of the record’s lyrics. The hook to “Backseat Freestyle” reads, “All my life I want money and power/Respect my mind or die from lead shower.” Clearly, Kendrick has developed on many different levels in the past nine years. This particular song summarizes his 16 year old mindset- one focused on women and money. He had little practical ambition and was only concerned with material gains.

The subject matter of the rest of the album, however, delves powerfully into Kendrick’s intense struggles with his city, Compton. The title encapsulates his conflicted feelings of isolation; he strays away from the gang violence that all but consumes the city, stopped smoking after a bad experience with laced marijuana and feels as though he would be hated by the majority of his fellow Compton residents. Thus, he is the good kid in this mad city. The acronym m.A.A.d stands for “Me an Angel on Angel Dust,” referring to the laced joint. Almost all of Kendrick’s songs relate to the constant presence of violence, gangs, drugs, alcohol and peer pressure. This is why Kendrick stands out from the Hip-Hop freshmen (Asap Rocky, Meek Mill, etc): his words are undeniably real. Listening to his songs, you cannot help but be impressed by his level of transparency and openness. Kendrick has a message, and its one of a deep struggle. He has spent his life trying to come to terms with the city that raised him, while simultaneously coping with the realization that he does not fit in to the standard role of a Compton teen. The track “good kid” discusses how, despite his inability to enter the gang culture, he is still labeled as a gangbanger and criminal. “Poetic Justice” professes his skills in writing poetry while also acknowledging the commitment necessary to a stable relationship, opposed to just a sexual one he dreamed of at age 16. Each track reveals a new element of Kendrick’s life with which he has been coming to terms in a beautiful and creative way.

The beats on the album do not vary in any largely noticeable ways, but Kendrick does perform some very unique alterations to his voice. There are practically 5 different versions of Kendrick’s voice on the album, which not only validates his prowess as an MC but also enhances the mood of dark insanity prevalent throughout the record. This is supplemented by a strong set of featuring artists, including Dr. Dre (naturally, a fellow Compton rapper), Drake, Mary J Blige, Pharell and Schoolboy Q. Unfortunately, Lady Gaga’s unbelievable chorus to “Bitch, Don’t Kill MY Vibe” was released after the album dropped over a shortened version of the song. Her amazing voice brings the quality of the song to a new dimension, really augmenting the quietly resentful and proud tone of the song. Overall, good kid, m.A.A.d city is a deep, cohesive and strong album that may shock and provoke on the first listen, but will prove to be inspiring and sentimental on the ensuing plays. I highly recommend checking it out.

Favorite songs: Swimming Pools (Drank), m.A.A.d city, Now or Never and Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe.

A conundrum I’ve always tried to elucidate is whether an acoustic/folk album comprised of songs that essentially sound the same is a display of the artist’s ability to produce specific, cohesive and polished music, or whether it should be seen as a disability of the artist to diversify their creativity. I’ve struggled with this quandary with practically every Jack Johnson record, the Avett Brothers, a lot of John Mayer’s music and (although I don’t at all agree with this) I’ve heard Bon Iver be criticized for it as well. I am presented with this problem most recently by the Mumford & Sons release Babel, which is their second studio album. In my opinion, both of Bon Iver’s albums are similar, but not identical in sound; their variances are easily noticeable due to the array of instruments used and definitive stylistic deviations throughout the albums. Even Jack Johnson records incorporate different methods to the point where I can readily distinguish between the individual tracks. Try as I might, though, I cannot say the same for Babel.

Although it is easy to identify one or two of the songs without looking at the track list, the majority of this album sounds almost identical. It seems as though the chords and rhythms progress without alteration throughout the entire piece. This happens not because the band fails to utilize a wide array of instruments- in any given song there can be a combination of guitar, drums, mandolin, keyboard, accordion, dobro and, of course, banjo- but because they use all of these instruments in practically every song. With the exception of “Babel,” “Ghosts That We Knew” and “Hopeless Wanderer,” it took me a substantial amount of full listens to be able to differentiate between the tracks; they simply all sound the same.

The important question lies in the significance of this resemblance. Does this mean that Babel is a weak album? Or that Mumford & Sons are only capable of creating one type of music? In my opinion, the answer is definitely no to the first question, and for the most part no to the second. Babel is undeniably an impressive record; despite this flaw the songs all still sound marvelous. In an “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mentality, I don’t mind listening to songs that sound similar as long as I still enjoy listening to them. I particularly appreciate this music while studying as it drowns out any disruptive, outside noise but changes so minimally that it does not distract my focus away from the work. As to the second question, I think it is important to clarify that although Mumford & Sons have only ever produced stylistically similar music, this does not mean they are not talented artists or that they are only capable of composing a single genre of music. It just means they know what they are good at and have become extremely successful within that category. Granted, it is more impressive when artists show some sort of growth and development, but as this is only the band’s second album I think there is still potential for this maturation. In any case, as long as it continues to sound as fantastic as this piece, I’ll keep listening to anything they produce. The magic of this music is that it never gets old- I will always have a hunger for some soothing folk, bluegrassy tunes to accompany me in the library.

Rockin’ cold ass honkies, releasin’ tear-jerking, heart-swelling videos and flat out killin’ it in every way possible, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have been headlining the music world across the globe in the past month. With the release of their debut album The Heist on October 9 and subsequent cross-country tour, the duo has exponentially grew in fame and following. Almost every show of the tour, including those happening in over two months from now is completely sold out. On the day of its release the album reached the number 1 spot on iTunes; this is one hell of a CD.

The team took a number of steps to effectively reach this level of success. First of all, they have been working on this album for years and have had time to perfect it. Two of my favorite songs, (well, they’re all pretty much my favorite) “Wing$” and “Can’t Hold Us” have been out for years. As this is Maclkemore’s first album he was able to use two of his best songs to boost the record. Furthermore, he released the videos for “Thrift Shop” and “Same Love” weeks before October 9, which also helped increase excitement and awareness. The distinction between these two videos proves Macklemore’s cohesive and well-rounded skill set. “Thrift Shop” is amazing because it is a big ball of fur coated fun, hilarity and entertainment, yet is still lyrically brilliant. It’s arguably his most impressive rapping on the entire album and he’s talking about 99 cent gator shoes and broken keyboards. Most importantly, it shows his crew’s swag. Unlike many of his fellow celebrities, Macklemore maintains an incredibly down to earth mentality, proved in part by his style. “Same Love,” however, is amazing in different ways. The quality of video remains on par with all of his previous releases, but adds an entirely new dimension of tenderness and sentimentality. The video follows the life of a gay man, from his birth to his death, including a full celebration of his marriage to another man. “Same Love” is a beautiful proponent of legalizing same-sex marriage and advocating for gay rights. Macklemore drops intelligible, sensible lines throughout the song, for instance, “America the brave, still fear what we don’t know/And God loves all his children it’s somehow forgotten/ But we paraphrase a book written 3,500 hundred years ago.” He goes on to equate the fight for gay rights with the Civil Rights movement, saying until we are all equal there is no freedom.

Each song on the album (except perhaps “Jimmy Lovine”) is quality; this is an extremely deep record. Topics range from Macklemore’s very real struggle with drug addiction and relapse to his feelings of white privilege to, most frequently, his hometown of Seattle, Washington. Macklemore’s affinity for Seattle is representative of his modest attitude and love of the general public. By looking at any of the group’s social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, their blog.. anything) you can immediately tell the two musicians are not interested in fame, fortune or glamor. They believe they are making music for the benefit of their fans, not for the money or compensations. The team plays free concerts for those who couldn’t buy tickets to their main shows, they love meeting people on their tours and interacting with the public. This most likely is due to their pretty recent entrance into stardom; as Macklemore points out in “Victory Lap,” when he first partnered with Lewis they played shows for a total crowd of 8 people. While they have come a long way from those days (Macklemore can now launch himself a good 4 feet in the air into a sea of fans) they still remember how they started. Macklemore is quite literally glad to even be alive. It is this humility, this “music for the sake of music” attitude that separates the band from other Hip Hop artists. The Heist is one of the most impressive releases in the past year, both lyrically and in its production quality. It pairs intelligent, creative lyrics with beats that are simply enjoyable to listen to; no matter what type of music you prefer, I guarantee you can find a song on this album to play on repeat for the next few months. I for one haven’t turned off the entire CD since it came out.

(Find some tissues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlVBg7_08n0)

Hello again, Arts, ink readers! I hope your summers were a fresh bite of relaxation and that your Falls have galvanized the start to another year. My name is Alex Winnick, I’m a sophomore in LSA studying English and Community Action/Social Change. Clubs with which I am involved and subsequent people who inspire me include: rEDesign, (an organization that aims to involve college students in K-12 public education) the Prison Creative Arts Project, TedxUofM and 826Michigan. I enjoy drinking cold water from my washed out Tomato Sauce jar and riding my bike with gloves on. I found at an early age that music has a tremendous influence over my life, and am delighted that I get the opportunity to share its energy with you.

I return to this blog with a renewed drive for updating you all on new (or perhaps old) music that I have been listening to recently. Last year I focused my attention mostly on additions to my Hip Hop universe; this year I not only want to continue that effort but also bring in new releases to a multitude of other genres. I try my best to stay relevant in the music world by following a few different blogs, including Hypem, Sunset in the Rearview, Pigeons and Planes, Earmilk, and by using Spotify. I highly recommend using Spotify if you don’t already; it is an application that streams practically every album ever created for free. Legally. You pay nothing and the artist still makes money. It is the absolutel best way to listen to music.

As Fall is always, in my opinion, the most prime season for cutting-edge music, a number of terrific albums have already come out in the last month or so. Kanye West’s label Good Music released its compilation album Cruel Summer to mixed reviews. While I concur that it is nothing special, and absolutely nowhere on the level of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, there are a number of stellar tracks including The Morning, To the World and Clique. An unfortunate trend in the Hip Hop world lately, Kanye’s decision to reveal basically half the album before the release date left little anticipation for the real thing. Lupe Fiasco’s Food and Liquor 2 also arrived in a cloud of disappointment. While I think we can all agree that it was marginally better than his last effort, it is almost insulting to attach the “Food and Liquor” label to it, as it doesn’t even slightly compare to his debut release. Mumford and Son’s second studio album Babel is just as cohesive and impressive as their first; they managed to maintain their specific style while also varying their lyrics and tempos enough to keep the entire album interesting. Finally, one of the best albums to appear in the last few months dropped almost two weeks ago. The debut record from Macklemore and Ryan Lewis has swept across the country in a wave of party jams and emotional videos. (See below picture) Until next week when I go into more depth, download Spotify and listen to The Heist on repeat. It will soon become the soundtrack to your Fall.

For one of the shortest hours of my life I sat in the Mezzanine section of Hill Auditorium as J. Cole pranced around the stage this past Friday night, singing halves of his songs and literally walking behind the curtain for minutes at a time. His concert, brought to us by the new organization Music Matters and the fraternity Pike, was less than impressive. Much less. The concert hall was not nearly sold out, and the audience’s energy level probably matched that of the San Francisco Orchestra concert a few weeks ago. I was disappointed not because it was only a decent show, but because I had such high expectations for it. While I prepared myself for the ramifications of having a concert at Hill Auditorium, I had been to the Lupe Fiasco show and had experienced ways it could still work. These circumstances were not repeated Friday night.

A few weeks ago, I was intrigued and excited when I heard that Music Matters was having a competition for student organizations to perform as the opening act, and thrilled to hear that Encore (a favorite Hip Hop dance crew of mine) won the contest. However, at the concert all three groups that were being considered got a chance perform. This is great because it allows more students to be involved in the show, which I think is extremely valuable, but it marked the first moment my expectations were far from met. Also, the dance groups were not allowed to even stay and watch the performance without purchasing tickets. Trust me, Music Matters, there were plenty of open seats for them.

I was further surprised when J. Cole started his set at 9:30, an unprecedentedly early time for a Hip Hop show. My best guess is that this was due to restraints from either Hill Auditorium or Music Matters, and either way it reflects more upon the poor organization of the night. He only played for an hour, and because of this restriction he mostly only sang the first half his songs. This made it very difficult for the audience to coincide with the rhythm of the show. I expected his set to be primarily composed of his most recent, and debut, album “Cole World.” Again, my expectations were incorrect. While I was pleased he incorporated my three favorites (Nobody’s Perfect, Can’t Get Enough and Work Out) I would have enjoyed to hear some other tracks off the album. Full songs off “Cole World” would have been much better than partial songs off earlier mixtapes.

The only aspect of the evening I was completely unprepared for was J. Cole’s accompaniment. I was unwaveringly sure that J. Cole would not have a live band behind him, because most of his beats are predominately synthesized, but I was proved wrong when I walked into Hill and saw a drummer, guitarist and two keyboardists on stage. Far from just merely acknowledging his band, J. Cole allowed time for each member to have his own solo. Each was undeniably impressive, but he does not deserve that credit. I thought the solos interrupted the show and made it even more difficult to get excited about J Cole’s music. A good live hip hop artist will use each song to ignite and galvanize the crowd, while J. Cole took unnecessary breaks and disrupted the cohesion of his set. So while I was very impressed with the talent of his band, I was simultaneously losing respect for J. Cole. One of my favorite parts of the show was when J. Cole’s DJ spun a live remix of Big Sean’s “Dance A$$” creating an entirely new song right as we watched.

This was one of two ways J. Cole attempted to connect to his audience (Big Sean is from the D). His second was when he went backstage during one of his band member’s solos and came back out wearing a Michigan sweatshirt. Honestly, it’s always great to see Michigan pride, but it would be much more impressive if he wore it outside of our campus. Overall, the night was not nearly worth the price of admission, and the young Music Matters crew might want to reconsider the name of their organization, for it Friday night’s concert was any indication, it obviously doesn’t matter much.

This afternoon I had the very foolish pleasure of participating in an Ann Arbor tradition for the first time: the Festifools parade. Started a few years ago by an ingenious man named Mark Tucker, a few other staff members and students of the Lloyd Hall Scholars Program, Festifools is a hilarious and wild display of creativity. The students in Tucker’s LHSP class have spent the entire semester building larger-than-life, papier-mâché puppets that more often than not require at least three people to support. A group of Art and Design students have also spent the past few weeks constructing their own puppets, and of course anyone else is invited to join in the silliness. All of these artists and their volunteer supporters are then thrown onto about three blocks of Main Street, surrounded by hundreds of Ann Arbor residents and Michigan students. In the spirit of April Fool’s day, and foolishness in general, most of the puppets were peculiar adaptations of classic characters or animals, or else somewhat satirical declarations about our culture. For instance I enjoyed one group’s juxtaposition of ancient Greek power and intelligence with the current Greek life culture of partying.

I was beyond excited when my friend Carolyn asked me to help her support the giant, meth-addicted mermaid she spent the last few months creating. As we are both currently LHSP students, I felt a certain obligation to contribute to the parade. Also, I’ve heard how fun it is to participate. The stories did not disappoint. Although it was a bit tedious and strenuous to support a heavy, cumbersome mermaid, it was extremely enjoyable to allow the mindless routine of walking, waving and high-fiving consume my behavior. We all weaved and danced in a completely un-choreographed but nonetheless rhythmic array of messiness. After about five minutes the procession was much less in the form of a parade than it was a jumbled discord of costumes, drums and confetti. All this on a bleak, cloudy day. Nothing about it made sense, at all; but that of course, is the spirit of April Fool’s Day.