a-Tunes

The Mid-Week Music Video Reviews Round-Up – 07/06/16 – Yuna, Laura Mam, Yung Koconut, Jessi Malay, Derez, Sam Tsui, Trus Real, TOKiMONSTA, Lions Ambition, Megan Lee, August Rigo, iNCH, Mila J

giftedthought — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 03:56:24 +0000

I know, you’ve heard this same old story before… but it’s been a few weeks and we got backed up on videos so we have a larger batch to share with you today. Listen, life gets busy… but I want to make sure not much slips through the cracks and still give you my 2 cents on the latest and greatest videos from some of your favorite artists. The total comes out to $0.36 today, seeing as how we got 13 clips for me to chime in on.

Oh and our coveted (not really) award for VOTW goes to…

[VOTW] Yuna – “Lanes”

When artists use the opportunity to tell a story with their videos as opposed to singing at me, that is a huge automatic plus in my book. When it’s done so with the use of flourishes of creativity, even better. Thankfully that’s exactly what we get here with Yuna’s latest. Groundbreaking? No. Entertaining, most definitely. And that reminds me, I have yet to hear anything from her latest Chapters album to suggest that it’s not worth picking up. I think I need to get it ASAP.

Laura Mam – “For My People”

I’m always inspired by how much love Laura has for her motherland, and dedicating an entire song to show it is certainly a definitive way to do it. Aside from the heart-warming sentiment, the song itself is a decent pop ditty, though the mixing is a bit uneven for my tastes. The video is serviceable but I think it would have used more b-roll type footage of the scenery and people of Cambodia.

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Yung Koco x HDthe1 – “Rollin Up”

Truth be told, I’m still adjusting to Furis’ transition to Yung Koconut but all things considered this song wasn’t too bad. It’s a smooth listen and while it’s not something I’d bump all the time, I can appreciate the chill vibes. The MV isn’t really all that memorable and has some questionable FX choices, but it didn’t really do the whole package much harm either.

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Jessi Malay – “Do It”

J. Malay’s latest is on some low-key earworm type of status. I honestly can’t say I loved the song but I unexpectedly found myself humming it days later. It’s just got this catchy (and somewhat repetitive) quality that lodges itself into your brain. On the V end of A/V, Jessi shows off her strong dance skills and I can’t help but impressed by how sharp some of her hits were. She also relies on her sex appeal a good bit here but I’m sure a lot of you won’t complain about that. While it just barely remains visually interesting, I wouldn’t put this in a year end’s list of superlative videos either.

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Derez – “Undeniable”

The artist formerly known as city boy has a tendency to bring a mixed bag to the table, and unfotunately that doesn’t change here. Song wise, I can dig it, despite the fact that D gives off the impression that he thinks his punchlines are more clever than they actually are. Don’t get me wrong, some are pretty witty… but not all of them hit with the hubris he presents. As for the visual front… I’m frankly pretty tired of that same friggn hallway in Little Tokyo being in so many videos and pictures… never mind the fact that his entire video takes place here. If variety is the spice of love, then consider this video under seasoned. Give the song a listen but skip the watch.

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Sam Tsui – “Perfect Storm”

It’s a lyric video. So I can’t say much except that it’s decently done, even if the constant change in typography was kind of distracting. Now the song is definitely the star here, with it having an Ariana Grande-a-la-Dangerous-Woman-bluesy-pop kinda vibe. More songs could use a little bit more soul; so I’m glad Sam delivered.

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Trus Real – “100 Bars of Gold”

TR is the kinda dude who would be at home on Sway in the Morning but wouldn’t crack the Billboard charts. He’s a Hip-hop purist, choose to flex his skills with wordplay over adlibs, and punchlines over auto-tune. I will always, always, have love for those who choose to make their mark the old-fashioned way. On top of that, Trus brings us what would have been the hottest video from 1994. OK, music over everything so I don’t care that much since the song is some strong, old-school boom-bap but really that video looked like it belonged in Yo! MTV Raps.

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TOKiMONSTA x a l l i e – “Wound Up”

OK this isn’t so much a music video as it is a 90’s era supersize in CGI, turned visualization. I’m pretty sure I had plugins for Winamp that did something very similar. I really enjoyed the mix of soul and electronic music and I do think TOKi and allie have found a winning sound here. It’s a minor shame that they didn’t bring something a little more dynamic with the video though I won’t complain too much. At the very least, I’m glad I never know what to expect when TOKi drops a video.

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Lions Ambition – “Sorry to Say”

The doodle effect has seen an huge spike in usage the past year or so, and while it can be kinda cool and it also be kinda annoying. LA doesn’t quite overdo it here, but they do straddle the line pretty closely. That being said, it’s a fun video and it makes the most out of somewhat average looking footage. I’m looking forward to the day when their videos match the standards of quality set forth by their music, but this will do for now.

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Megan Lee – “Make It Pop Acoustic Mashup 2”

At first glance, this seems like your studio layered music video, but there are subtle touches that colored me impressed. For one, there is a surprising amount of small, coordinated moments between the four squares, from choreography to cross-frame interaction. So, I’ll admit that as much as I’ve plugged Megan’s show in the past, I have yet to watch a single entire episode. But this acoustic break-down gives the bubble gum pop a little more grit and a sound I can better appreciate. Well done, Megan.

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August Rigo – “Easy to Let Go”

As someone who desperately misses the days when R&B singers… sang, I always look forward to new releases from artists like August Rigo. Now let’s talk about the good – it’s a great R&B tune, and August sounds as good as ever yet still maintaining elements of a modern sound. And the bad? Well video production quality has always been Rigo’s Achilles heel… and I can’t wait for the day when his videos don’t look like they were shot with a iBook webcam.

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iNCH – “Mousedeer”

Ever since iNCH moved her base of operations overseas, it’s been a bit of a mystery as to what she was up to. Due to licensing issues, I couldn’t listen/view much of her new material here from the good ol’ United States of ‘Murica. Now that I’ve seen this video… I gotta say I’ve been missing out! Her sound and productions values have only matured and I can only hope that we’ll be able to hear more over here in the States. I loved the song though I can’t say the video was quite as entertaining as “Artful Dodger” from a couple years back.

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Mila J – “Kickin’ Back”

Did you know Jhene Aiko had a sister who was also a singer? Cause I didn’t… but I’m glad I found out she did. While Mila J shares space in the same genre as her younger sibling, you could argue they are on opposites end of the spectrum. While the latter has a softer, more serene and angelic quality to her, Mila comes in with a little more aggressive energy, even spitting a few bars in the middle of the track. This is a small sample size but… I’m liking Mila so far.

New Music Tuesday – 6/28/16: The Catch Up Edition

giftedthought — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 04:14:17 +0000

It’s been over a month since our last New Music Tuesday – I know, I’m sorry. I have some valid reasons which I’ll get into at another time, but basically I’m here to make amends. I’ve just spent the past couple hours going through most of the known releases from the past several weeks by our artists and have presented them to you below. It’s the same deal, only super-sized for your music binging pleasure. So fire up your music service dujour and enjoy these two dozen releases!

[LP Album] Yuna – Chapters
Pop
Get It: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes | Stream It: Spotify

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[Single] Jessi Malay – “Do It”
Pop
Get It: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes | Stream It: Spotify

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[Single] J. Reyez – “That’s All Me”
Hip-Hop/R&B
Stream It: Soundcloud, Youtube

[Single] J. Reyez – “Tolerate It”
Hip-Hop
Stream It: Soundcloud, Youtube

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[Single] Parlay Pa$$ x Al P – “Stay Sober”
Hip-Hop
Get It: Soundcloud | Stream It: Youtube

[Single] Parlay Pa$$ x Tim Flu Maravich – “Houston”
Hip-Hop
Get It: Soundcloud

[Single] Parlay Pa$$ – “Turn It Round”
Hip-Hop
Get It: Soundcloud

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[Single] Sam Tsui – “Perfect Storm”
Pop
Get It: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes | Stream It: Spotify

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[EP Album] Yung Koconut x HDthe1 – Pegasus
Hip-Hop
Get It: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes | Stream It: Soundcloud, Spotify, Youtube

[Single] Yung Koconut x HDthe1 – “Zeros”
Hip-Hop
Get It: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes | Stream It: Soundcloud, Spotify

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[Single] Danny Chung – “Badboy Motown”
Hip-Hop
Stream It: Soundcloud

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[Single] Brevner – “Mattkavelli (Blow Up/Drive Slow)”
Hip-Hop
Stream It: Soundcloud

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[Single] Jhameel – “YNOT”
Pop/Electronic
Stream It: Soundcloud, Youtube

[Single] Jhameel – “Hold On”
Pop
Get It: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes | Stream It: Spotify, Youtube

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[Album Release] J. Lately – The Good Panda
Hip-Hop
Get It: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes | Stream It: Soundcloud, Spotify

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[Single] Us the Duo – “Goodbye Forever”
Pop
Notes: Off the upcoming album, Just Love
Get It: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes | Stream It: Spotify, Youtube

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[Single] Steve Aoki x Walk the Moon x Boehm – “Back 2 U”
EDM
Get It: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes | Stream It: Soundcloud, Spotify, Youtube

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[Single] MIKNNA (Mike B x Ken Nana) – “NESS”
Hip-Hop
Stream It: Soundcloud

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[EP Album] Snacky Chan – Space Bars
K-Hip-Hop
Get It: (USA) iTunes | (Korea) Bugs, Genie, Melon, Mnet, Naver

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[Album] August Rigo – The Fall Out
R&B
Get It: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes | Stream It: Spotify

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[Single] Arden Cho – “Take It Off”
Pop
Get It: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes | Stream It: Spotify

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[Single] Dumbfoundead – “Safe”
Hip-Hop
Get It: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes | Stream It: Spotify

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[Single] Clara – “Electric”
Alt Pop
Get It: iTunes | Stream It: Spotify

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[Single] AM Kidd – “I’m Not Supposed to Want You”

Stream It: Soundcloud

Pryde Reportedly Attempts Suicide – Says He is ‘OK’

giftedthought — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 16:31:23 +0000

Russell Llantino, a rapper you may better know as Pryde (or D-Pryde), announced via Instagram that he recently attempted to take his own life. Thankfully, he reached out for help and was able to come out of the situation a live, but he posted his message from the hospital after the scary bout.

If you’ve been following his career and his music, it’s been clear that he’s had to deal with a lot the past few years. I can only imagine what it’s like to internalize and go through these experiences as a guy who more or less grew up to a public audience. I’m just glad he’s OK.

We have nothing but love and best wishes for you, Pryde. May you soon find the light you need in this time of darkness.

The Mid-Week Music Video Reviews Round-Up – 06/01/16 – Dumbfoundead, Lyricks, Clara, Arden Cho, BgA, Jannine Weigel, Brevner, PKeys, Awkwafina, Sam Tsui, Dami Im

giftedthought — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 02:31:58 +0000

Welcome to June! You’d think I’d learn my lesson and actually keep up with these weekly MV posts because once you miss a couple, they quickly pile up! But it’s a labor of love and I just spent the past hour or so checking out the latest and greatest music video releases just so I can share my opinion with you for you to completely ignore! Passive aggressive humor aside, this is an incredibly strong batch of visuals and I do honestly recommend you check them out.

[VOTW] Dumbfoundead – “Safe”

If you follow Asian-American music you’ve probably already seen this video since it dropped last week. If you haven’t, it’s a pretty genius and entertaining stab at how the media lacks Asian representation and even blatantly removes them from traditionally Asian roles. I think we’ll look back and see this as yet another milestone moment in DFD’s career. Nice cameos from Danny Chung, Reks, and even the Clockwise partner in crime, Wax. Post production must have been a b for this though.

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Lyricks – “Strictly for the Lees”

Ugh. When Ly is hungry and jumps on the mic there’s nothing you can do but just go along for the ride and take in that pure, unadulterated hip-hop. And the schizo video is so visually lush that it’s hard to keep up – and that’s pretty much the perfect tone as you try to follow from bar to bar, rhyme to rhyme. This has been a good past few weeks for Hip-Hop videos!

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Clara – “Electric”

Ahhh, the long awaited return of Clara formerly known as Clara C formerly known as Clara Chung. As her name branding shortens, her talent only seems to grow from her simple but pure folk-pop origins. Her career is taking a very Yuna-esque trajectory and that’s a pretty great path to tread. The video is moody and dynamic and shows that her and her husband make a formidable creative team.

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Arden Cho – “Take It Off”

This just may be the most ominous sounding track I’ve heard from Arden and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Does she have the emotive vocal prowess to pull something like this off? Nearly… it’s not quite perfect but if learns to put a little bit more grit behind it, then we’d have something pretty solid. As is, it’s not bad though a guest rap verse could have added some welcome texture. The lyric video does it’s job well as a promotional clip as it fills the gap between static song video and a full on music video.

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BgA (David Choi x Jun Sung Ahn x Philip Wang x Ryan Higa x Justin Chon) – “Dong Saya Dae (똥싸야돼)”

Part parody, part skit, part KPOP… this is actually a combination for entertainment gold. Does it have timeless replay value? No, but neither does the subject matter they are lampooning. As a former lover of KPOP with a toddler proficiency in the language myself, this is a project that spoke near and dear to my heart… or er… funny bone. I may not have LOL’d but I was smirking the entire time and that’s more than good enough for me.

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Jannine Weigel – “Finish Line”

This rising Thai star has only been a radar for a short time but she’s proven herself to be a Pop force with enough momentum to be hard to ignore. Although there are enough audibly similar cues to Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” to make it questionable, it’s a pretty decent pop tune in it’s own right. The video is well shot with good production values but not entirely memorable but there is also a dance version available for those who want to concentrate on the choreo.

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Brevner – “Came Up”

Throughout the years, I’ve seen Brevner’s versatility as an MC as he’s been able to transition from style to style effortlessly. To begin with, this type of current sound that’s been prevalent in Hip-Hop lately isn’t exactly my favorite but Brev turns in a decent enough performance to keep me interested. The MV I could do without though, as it’s like I’m watching things through a Virtual Boy headset. Sure, it’s stylistically different but definitely a case of form over function.

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P. Keys – “Drunk”

When I heard this song, I thought it was the bravest track (from an artistic POV) on the album but also by far my least favorite. The way it’s mixed and the overall vibe and sound perfectly channels the subject matter at hand – but that doesn’t make it pleasant to listen to. The video actually fares a little better in the sense that it further conveys the tone, but even then this isn’t a clip that I’d put in repeated viewings for.

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Akwafina x Margaret Cho – “Green Tea”

I honestly don’t know how to feel about this release. I kinda love it, yet kinda hate it, yet am kinda apathetic. OK so let’s break it down… Awkwafina has clearly grown as an MC, her delivery is sharper than ever and she sounds great on this track. As for Margaret Cho, I’m guessing Awk ghost wrote her verse, which is fine, and she actually didn’t sound half bad either. Now in terms of the comedic/entertainment value, the best I can say is that I was amused at times and turned off at others. I never really developed an appreciation for M. Cho but her and Awkwa seem to play off each other’s energy well. In the end, I guess I like it… I think.

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Sam Tsui – “Love and Us”

If there’s one thing LA will also provide, it’s great viaduct scenery. It turns a simple performance video and makes it suddenly that much more interesting. This wasn’t one of Sam’s most promoted songs but I think it’s one of his more underrated ones. Although it didn’t get the full video treatment this ain’t a bad way to push a track that’s already a few years old.

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Dami Im – “Sound of Silence”

So many of Dami’s videos are region locked on Youtube and unavailable to those of us in the US. It’s a shame because it’s only when we get the rare access to releases like this we can get a glimpse of what we’re missing from the former X-Factor Australia winner. I’m not sure why her label wouldn’t want to widen her audience past the folks down under, especially since the girl really can sing. I’m digging the song as a whole though it’s a shame the video is just a sharp looking collection of cliched Pop power-ballad motifs. But you know what, I don’t care because it’s one of the few vids we can actually (legally) watch.

Presenting the Official White House AAPI Heritage Month Playlist 2016

giftedthought — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 02:24:10 +0000

May was a pretty busy month for yours truly, but with it’s final hours ticking away, I wanted to take a moment to share a very special project that we were involved with for AAPI Heritage Month. One of the best parts of running this site for the past 8 years has been being able to connect with folks from across the community, and recently the homie Richie Traktavist of Traktavist.com reached out to a number of us music and media folk to help curate a Spotify playlist on behalf of the White House Initiative on AAPIs. It was an incredible opportunity for us to handpick and assemble a list to represent the broad spectrum of AAPI musical artists and community as a whole.

But enough with the yapping. I encourage you to check out the playlist in it’s entirety below. Blast it at home, in the car, or even at work as it is SFW and show some love and support for some of our communities greatest acts! I dunno if Obama himself is bumping this playlist, but you definitely should.

Thank you to the folks WHAAPI and to Richie for helping bridge the gap and bringing this project to fruition.

Read Kina Grannis’ Incredible Story of Being Stranded in Jakarta for 100 Days

giftedthought — Tue, 24 May 2016 02:20:41 +0000

Wow. That’s really all I can say after reading Kina’s story about why she was MIA at the tail end of last year. I remember distinctly thinking that she had been surprisingly quiet lately, but I chalked it up to her needing time to recharge and reconnect with her family. I had no idea that she was stranded in Jakarta for over 3 months due to misunderstandings, poor organization by shady event staff, and a very strict government regime.

The joyful moment they received their passports to return home.

I don’t want to spoil too much, and instead encourage you to read her recollection of the ordeal on her own website. Just in case you feel like you need to read some excerpts, I’ll post them below.

I disappeared for a few months at the end of last year — perhaps you noticed. I re-emerged in January, and while I wasn’t ready to share my story then, I promised that when I was ready, I would. But, I needed time…

…In any case, I’m ready to share my story now, or at least the parts of it I’m comfortable disclosing at this time…

…On September 14th, 2015, my band and I head to Jakarta, Indonesia to kick off a 6-city tour in Southeast Asia….

…The Jakarta show is great. I meet lots of lovely people at the meet and greet afterwards. I’m feeling good. Then, out of nowhere, a group of Immigration officials walk onto the stage and confiscate our passports. They send us back to our hotel, no explanation given.

We manage a troubled sleep that night, with no idea what’s going on. The next day, the tour promoters (the people that invited us out to Asia and are in charge of the tour) assure us that the issue is nearly resolved and that we’ll be flying out to our next stop in Taiwan that night. But that night passes, and so does the next, and the next…

I’m just very thankful they were able to make it back safely and can only imagine how difficult the last few months of 2015 were for Kina, her band, and their friends and family. Thank you Kina, for opening up and sharing this unfortunate experience with the world.

Source: KG

New Music Tuesday – 5/17/16 – Jannine Weigel, mree, Yung Koconut, The Sweet Hurt, Mike-Dash-E, Yultron, Maribelle, Big-Pete & More

giftedthought — Wed, 18 May 2016 01:22:29 +0000

It’s been a busy day so let’s just cut to the chase. It’s Tuesday, we have new music to share, hence New Music Tuesday. Fire up your music app of choice, plug in your favorite earphones, and enjoy the following 9 releases. K, bye.

[Single] Jannine Weigel – “Finish Line”
Pop/R&B
Get It: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes | Stream It: Spotify

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[Cover Single] mree – “Passion”/”Sanctuary” Originally by Utada Hikaru
Pop
Get It: Amazon, Google Play | Stream It: Spotify

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[Single] Yung Koconut x Christy Cash – “Fair Exchange”
Hip-Hop
Get It: Soundcloud

[Single] Yung Koconut x cLAsicc – “Gettin Some”
Hip-Hop
Get It: Soundcloud

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[Single] The Sweet Hurt – “These Days”
Alt/Pop-Rock
Stream It: Soundcloud

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[Single] Mike-Dash-E x REAUX x BuckBars x DSEP – “Whoa”
Hip-Hop
Stream It: Soundcloud

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[EP Album] Yultron – Sushi, Friends & Everything Awesome
Electronic Dance
Get It: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes | Stream It: Soundcloud, Spotify

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[Single] Maribelle x Ganz – “Light Years”
Electronic Dance
Get It: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes | Stream It: Soundcloud, Spotify

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[Single] Big Pete x Sam-E x Paradise – “My Ride or Die”
Hip-Hop
Stream It: Soundcloud

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New Music Tuesday (on a Wednesday) – 5/11/16 – Clara, Yuna, Big Will, Yung Koconut, Mike-Dash-E, Mount Vermont

giftedthought — Thu, 12 May 2016 02:26:15 +0000

I wasn’t able to get around to New Music Tuesday yesterday, so you’re getting today. I know, you look forward to these weekly round-ups as if your life depends on it… or maybe these (quasi) weekly posts are only noticed by a shrinking but ever faithful group of fans of this blog. Where ever you fall in the spectrum, you got some new music to queue up so I’d get started!

[Single] Clara – “Electric”
Indie Pop
Get It: iTunes | Stream It: Soundcloud, Spotify

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[Single] Yuna – “Lanes”
Indie Pop
Get It: Amazon, Google Play | Stream It: Spotify, Youtube

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[Album] Big Will – Big Willin
Hip-Hop
Get It: Online Store

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[Single] Yung Koconut – “Sky High”
Hip-Hop
Get It: Soundcloud

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[Single]Mike-Dash-E – “Same Fit”
Hip-Hop
Notes: Off the upcoming EP, There’s Still a Chance
Stream It: Soundcloud

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[Album] Mount Vermont – MV1
Electronic
Notes: Mount Vermont is the electric side project of Samuel Joseph Kim
Get It: Bandcamp

The Mid-Week Music Video Reviews Round-Up – 05/04/16 – Mike-Dash-E, Perlo, Verseatile, Jannine Weigel, Kinjaz

giftedthought — Thu, 05 May 2016 03:03:02 +0000

So I didn’t procrastinate and made sure I kept up with the MV reviews this week, and that means we have a shorter list than expected to share with you. But that’s ok, because thankfully this isn’t a reflection of quality – only quantity. The former is here in spades and a great way to check it out is with our pick for Video of the Week, Mike-Dash-E.

[VOTW] Mike-Dash-E – “Same Fit”

After following MDE for years, I’d say he’s getting to the point where he’s found the perfect balance for his sound. The soulful, organ-backed production is a great background to his passionate but mid-tempo delivery. The video, while nothing crazy on a technical level, is more than fair accompaniment to the song – aside from the weird glitchy effect the use in the beginning and end. I’m liking this one.

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Perlo (mree x Henri Bardot) – “Masters”

If the essence of anthropologie were to be put in a music video, it’d probably look a lot like this. mree refered to Perlo as her “dream-folk” side project and there’s really no better way to label it. This is like meditation set to music – like drinking fair-trade organic white tea while sitting in an Epsom salt bath type of calm. I can’t say I’ll remember this video at the end of the year, but I enjoyed it for what it is.

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Verseatile – “Car Tunez”

This video ain’t perfect, but it’s got a certain sensible charm that’s hard to deny. The whole bit with the cassette tape is borderline fondly nostalgic/forced sentimentality but this is otherwise a decent MV to a catchy tune. Verse has proven he has a decent singing voice, but I’m glad his main gig is rapping as it’s def his stronger skill of the two. And it was dope to see Shogunna in the unexpected cameo!

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Jannine Weigel – “Finish Line”

It’s a lyric video – nothing much to say. I’ve seen better and I’ve seen worse. But the track ain’t bad, despite some occasional sound similarities to Justin Bieber’s “Sorry”.

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Kinjaz

The Mid-Week Music Video Reviews Round-Up – 4/27/16 – Twenty88, Steve Aoki, Far East Movement, Yuna, Pryde, Susie Suh, TOKiMONSTA, Latyrx, Kinjaz

giftedthought — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 02:54:15 +0000

Guess who’s back, back again. Mid-Week Music Video Reviews Round-Up’s back, tell a friend. Or not. Either way you should go ahead and put aside a half hour or so to enjoy this latest batch of music videos from some of the best Asian-American artists. Our VOTW pick goes to a rather ambitious project by Twenty88, the new duo comprised of Jhene Aiko and Big Sean, so we recommend you start from there – lthough just a warning, it’s not completely SFW.

[VOTW] Twenty88 (Jhene Aiko x Big Sean) – “Out of Love”

Jhene and Big have so much chemistry on record and screen that I’m surprised it took so long to come to this. The content is a bit explicit but has a compelling narrative wrapped in a retro/retro-futurism aesthetic. So while this is more of a short film than it is a music video, it works great as a sampler to their recently self-titled EP. I love how they used the breadth of their young catalog to span the course of the story. Who needs multiple music videos for multiple singles when you can just knock it out in one go?

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Steve Aoki x Felix Jaehn x Adam Lambert – “Can’t Go Home”

As much as I kinda dug the sci-fi spin to a lot of Aoki’s video, having something a little goofier and more relaxing is a refreshing change of pace. That monkey is a better actor than many I’ve seen before…. Anyway, it’s an enjoyable watch and listen and has a silly charm to it.

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Far East Movement x Swanky Tunes – “Entertain Us”

It’s just come to my attention that what we need more of in music videos is ninjas. OK, maybe the choreo wasn’t mind-blowing, but it was satisfying enough to make for an immersive viewing. Hearing FM’s vocals has becoming an increasing rarity, but they are present in this track and as much as I miss their more Hip-Hop driven days, I’m finding it hard not to like this release.

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Yuna x Usher – “Crush”

Yuna’s most recent singles have been on point! While the last one had a more Hip-Hop feel courtesy of DJ Premier’s production, this track with Usher has such a smooth and sexy vibe, it’s almost like a lighter version of Jhene. Her versatility as an artist is impressive and an unexpected shift from her indie-pop roots. I’m not entirely appreciative of the square aspect ratio but otherwise I’m liking every other aspect of this one.

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Pryde – “Aggressive”

DeLoreans, undercuts, grainy video – what year is it? It’s just a kick to see how cyclical pop culture and fashion are. Anyway, this is one of the cases where I’m liking the song more than the video. The track lives up to it’s name, with a foreboding instrumental layered with tenacious raps, but the visual is a bit uneven and scattershot, looking like a collection of random concept storyboard scenes rather than a single cohesive project.

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Susie Suh – “Here With Me (Two Worlds)”

Coming a cross new material from Susie Suh is a rarity so I was excited to see she had a new music video out (even if the single is over a year old). OK, so song wise we get an ethereal, almost hypnotic delivery of airy vocals and a gently crescendoing instrumental… but video wise we are given a more abstract, artistic visual interpretation that I’m not sure how to parse. Maybe this turned out exactly how they envisioned it, maybe it’s a result of a probably limited budget, but either way the direction and meaning are lost on me. It’s a great listen though, so don’t pass that up.

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TOKiMONSTA x Jonny Pierce – “Giving Up”

So, imagine if Stanley Kubrick directed a cyberpunk science fiction film like the Matrix or Bladerunner, only it was set in the not too distant future in Southern California AND it was all set to a mid-tempo electronic music score. That’s the best way I can describe this presentation. Does it work? Not perfectly but it does well enough most of the time. I can appreciate that they took artistic and directional risks.

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Latyrx (Lyrics Born x Lateef) – “Lady Don’t Tek No”

A music video shoot of a music video shoot is so meta it’s like watching a behind the scenes featurette of a documentary. The lighting and camera viewfinder gig makes for some cool style points though it wears just a bit thin by the end of 5 and a quarter minutes. Musically, we’re presented with the trademark funk and Hip-Hop blend that Lyrics Born is known for, so there are no surprises there. But regardless, it’s a head nodder and has a nearly infectious bass line.

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Kinjaz