Albums Of The Year 2017

2 albums were my albums of the year in 2017. Male and Female, Masculine and Feminine.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR GOES TO JHENE AIKO & JAY Z – TRIP & 4:44

Since I am in the music industry and living in the UK, it is very interesting to know what people listen to and the state of people’s minds right now.

Trip was an album that when I heard it I was going through a spiritual awakening and most of those songs got stuck with me. As you all know I am a fan of psychedelics and staying in touch with your true self, the, I AM, which is in you.

The production of the album stays in that “trip” plane and keeps you constantly on a calm level. A massive credit to all the producers on the album and thanks for making her voice sit well with all the instrumentals. Harmonies and their placements… oh gosh.

Every song is a hit on this album and when I listen sober as well as in an altered state, each song had the same effect of me feeling love, understanding experience and simply me just believing I can do what I want in life as I am already a success. Tracks like Jukai, which speaks on going back to nature and bleeding out the ego and just being ok with you. “Hell is other people, or the lack thereof, and their lack of love” - this is powerful. People who want to live a peaceful life can easily relate to this, as the world is so noisy as opposed to being in a quiet state of bliss.

OLLA (Only Lovers Left Alive) being the only fast paced track on the album is a breath of fresh air. I adore the fact the song is a feel good song and if you listen to the album in nature you can’t help move your body and literally feel the love energy surging through your body. It is an experience. In 2018 I will start saying OLLA.

This album came at a very weird time in my life. A time when I was cleansing our some toxic energies including people. I was remembering where I came from and how far I have come and how I should be proud of myself, my accomplishments so far.

I hear ‘Nobody’ whilst I was smoking my herbs in the park and this song resonated. I related to when she speaks on; from a young age we have been under the influence of pain, and I need no one. I have always known I was right because I believed in myself but that got lost when I started listening to other people. Things messing with my chakra were, parents, so called friends and other people who were after their own gain. This song really made me feel like Action-Man, do not forget this was when my spiritual courageous awakening was happening. This was when I was becoming comfortable with my life choices and myself. Songs like these are the reasons why this album is album of the year. Truly when you can make someone feel you that much, it’s a gift.

I could go on and on and we could be here forever but this album really is a ‘trippy’ album. It makes you feel and makes you think. You also get to understand Jhene more. She tells you cool stories and sings with her daughter. Such a beautiful song called “Sing to Me” featuring Namiko Love.

Frequency is also a song that touched me. Kings and Queens.

This album will go down as a classic and I put this on the level of Erykah Badu’s early work which is still very relevant today and you ‘fell the music’.

I am a fan of music and that is why I write this post, to give the credit musicians deserve for making great pieces of art.

Well done to Jhene Aiko for “Trip”.

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JAY Z – 4:44

JAY-HOVA has done it again! I remember going to work around the time of this release and seeing this artwork all over the underground stations in London and thinking this guy is on some next shit. Jay Z really is the master of Rap, in all aspects of it from live performances, album topic delivery, marketing, PR and all sorts.

This album really got the world talking and got the conversation going on racial stuff in America and how black people are being treated. What I love about the album is, it is so good, it got people talking, got them listening to the instrumentals, and style of rapping kept the listening to the headphones. The music was just that good people just had to listen and when they listened they just bumped their heads to the message and knowledge. I give an insane amount of credit to the body of work. To keep folks listening in this day and age when majority of the people move on to the next thing so quickly is a talent.

Puff Daddy said that he believes this is Jay Z’s best work and he deserves ‘Album Of The Year’ at the Grammys and all those good awards. I think this album is something that will live on forever in the black community in America and the black community of the world. Jay has put himself down as a great and as someone who fought for the people by telling then to get rich and giving them the knowledge to fish for themselves.

“The Story of O.J” certainly got a lot of people talking. Speaking to the hood, the Jews, America, regular people etc… To do all of this in under 4 minutes in the delivery is divine. I touch of these little details because people should remember RAP is an ART. I believe you never lose your talent for anything you do if you stick at it. I do not see any of these guys retiring any time soon. I believe they will take it to death and beyond.

“Family Feud”; black owned things! If you are not motivated as a person after listing to this song, there is something inside you need to sort out. The story and moral is, take care of yours. Stop the internal fighting with family because when we band together, wealth grows and trickles on down the generations. Our future generations. It becomes old money, and inherited money is born. “We all lose when the family feuds”

“Bam” is one of my favorite songs. This is classic Jay Z, letting you know I got my life under control and with my big money nice guy persona, I also have to take care of mine. I think this is his I am a man on a completely different level and I stand for something greater than you can all imagine.

What I get out of this track of a way of letting you know you should be free. Anyone who does not respect you as an individual, you should move swiftly out of your life. It is about dedication and self motivation to get to the wealth group of life both in terms of money and feeling.

His flow and the riding of the beat – they compliment each other. Like a question and answer. “My advise is just don’t be too nice to niggas, just set the price so niggas’ll live your life, my nigga”. Powerful! This is a lesson for everyone because in life you have to keep yourself happy and yes we live in a negative physical world but when you reach deep inside yourself you will find out you are love and you become happy with who you are. Set your price of people and live your life.

“Marcy Me” is equivalent to a “Song Cry” or a “Meet The Parents”. It has that classic ‘we will remember this song’ feel, one that will probably produce no music video but is one of those classics. The feel of the beat, that chilled Brooklyn almost sounding sound and just the way his vocals sit on the track. This song is what I call a reminisce song. Remembering where you are from and how far you have come. This is why I am a Jay Z fan. He always reminds me of where I come from and the music career as well as arts career I will have. “I started in Lobbies, now parley with Saudis” – this is what true success seekers dream of. Dreaming of starting out with nothing and moving with the elite of the world and the elite of your lifetime.

I am truly in love with these two albums.

JAY Z and JHENE AIKO’s – 4:44 and Trip are my top albums of 2017 and as we head on to the year of 2018, hopefully I make my own list and make something that will blow minds away.

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EMINEM

The only reason Eminem’s Revival isn’t on this list is because I hadn’t listened to it yet and by the time I decided to write this up, he hadn’t released it yet. I will listen but I have to listen alone and in a state.