A Tribute

Today I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about one of my favorite artist of all-time, Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson had one of the biggest impacts on what music is today. He can only be compared to icons like The Beatles or Madonna. When I think about my favorite Michael Jackson songs, I can't pick one but more than that he had amazing albums. The type of music that he produced in his time was the type that gave people hope and caused them to get out on the dance floor and get down. So I was thinking, I like all of Michael Jackson's songs, but what was my favorite album? Well here's a list on my favorite's...

Off The Wall - This was the first successful Michael Jackson album after he broke away from the Jackson 5. I remember waking up on Saturday morning and my parents were listening to "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You." I think that was the first time I really started to like Michael Jackson and realized that he wasn't just a good singer but an amazing entertainer.

Dangerous - Although this album didn't have as many top singles as other Michael Jackson albums, this album was still really good. The most famous song from this album has to be "Remember the Time." I remember when I saw that video for the first time. The video had people like Eddie Murphy and Magic Johnson it and the concept for the video was amazing. I mostly remember the dance number that they performed, I definitely learned that whole dance and try to mimic those moves every time that video came on.

Bad - The Bad album is definitely one of my all-time favorite albums period by any artist. This album had a wide variety of songs that were really amazing. Songs like "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Smooth Criminal", "Man in the Mirror", and "Dirty  Diana" were what drove this album to be one of Michael Jackson's more famous albums. My favorite memory from this album was when he made the "Bad" video and modeled the video off of the movie West Side Story.

Thriller - Do I even need to say anything at all about this album. This was one of the highest selling albums of all time. Think about some of the songs that came of this one album, "Thriller", "Billy Jean", "Beat it" and "P.Y.T" are just a few of the hits that came off this album. This album turned Michael Jackson from a star to a superstar.

No matter how you remember Michael Jackson, the one thing that no can deny is the man had an amazing ability to make music that all people loved and could entertain us with some of the simplest moves. He has left us music that will last throughout time.

Wiz Khalifa - Rolling Papers

So I just listened to the new Wiz Khalifa CD and I must that the CD is hot!! In my last post I mentioned the fact that I'm a huge fan of his music. He is a young and upcoming artist that has a lot of potential to be in the music game for several years to come.

Up to this point Wiz Khalifa has only put out mixtapes, which all the ones that he has released have been extremely  good, but this was his first main stream CD and I must say...he didn't disappoint with this any of his songs or with the whole CD. Obviously, if you listen to the radio these days or watch music videos on TV then you've probably seen his first hit single "Black and Yellow" but I'm going to tell you about some of the other songs on the CD that I liked and I think you should listen to.

I have to start with the song "On My Level." This song has a sick beat and Wiz kills the song with his unique lyrics and melody. This songs is more of the song that you would listen to in your car with your friends. I think you should hear this song because if you're a fan of rap then this is a good representation of what good rap music is, here is the website link to youtube to listen to the song <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmP7TYtDVUU>.

The next song that I think that everyone should listen to is "Roll up." He gives you a good mix of songs on the album. Not every song is a hard hitting gangster rap type song. "Roll up" is a more a feel good type song. Once again, he has a song that has a good beat and his lyrics are really good as well. I think this song is more for the ladies. So guys if you're trying to tell your lady that you're always going to be there this is the perfect song. Here's the link to listen to it...<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhQz-0QVmQ0&NR=1>.

The last song that I want to talk about is called "No Sleep." This song should be the college anthem. Once again this is more of a feel good type song. This is definitely a song that you should listen to with your friends at a barbeque or something. Here is the link, check it out...<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObBoQ-jMTCA&feature=fvst>.

Check out the CD, I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

My Top 5 Favorite

5. Christopher Wallace a.k.a Notorious B.I.G - Although he only put out two albums and only got to see one of them released, Notorious B.I.G was one of the most lyrical artist of his time. He had the ability to tell a story during his songs that caused the listeners to picture everything that he was saying. He is one of the best of all time and there is never going to be another one like him. Songs such Big Poppa, Juicy, Hypnotized, and Machine Gun Funk are just a few of the hits that he had. Both of the CDs went platinum and even after his death people of all ages continue to listen to his music and his music continues to be sampled today.

4. Wiz Khalifa - This guy is a young artist but he has a lot swag to his game. It seems like every song that he comes out with lately is becoming hits. Although he hasn't put out an official album yet, his mixtapes have become very popular. Now that he is about to drop his first main stream CD, we are starting to hear more and more of his songs on the radio. Everyone knows about his song "Black and Yellow" but he has several other songs that can be heard on iTunes. I encourage everyone to  give some of his songs a listen I'm sure that  you'll enjoy them just as I do.

3. Tupac Shakur - Along with Notorious B.I.G, Tupac helped change the 90's rap game. Tupac had several talents including acting and music producing but he most known for his music. He lived a short life and died way before his time but he has had an lasting impression on the the music game. My favorite song of his has to be "Changes" and I enjoy most of the songs that he came up with. Tupac was ahead of his time when it came to music. He made songs that people can dance to and he also made songs that were just easy to listen. Tupac is a legend and will always be know as the best rapper to ever do it.

2. Lil Wayne - Lil Wayne is everywhere these days. He's in everyones radio, MP3's, and on other artist songs. If you want a hit song these days, you just need to ask Mr. Carter to jump on your track and it's a sure thing that it will sell. I love that he makes those songs that you can dance to but he also makes songs that lyrically are amazing. He is an amazing artist that has several more years to continue to make hits and I personal can't wait to hear what he has coming next.

1. Ludacris - My all-time favorite artist has to be Ludacris! I remember when I brought his first CD, I listened to that thing from front to back and knew every word to every song. I think I have every Ludacris CD that he's made. He has a signature style that allows to be on any type of song. He is also extremely  talented, he's been in several movies and continues to be one of the best rappers in the game today. I can't wait to see what he comes out with next but whatever it is I definitely be buying it.

Hip Hop Sites and music making

Now I know that anytime someone goes looking for new music it can be difficult and sometimes frustrating because it seems impossible to find good sites. I'm going to give you a couple of tips that I use when looking for new music and how to create your own music when you can't find any. First, when you are looking for music go to iTunes first and look at what's new on there. Sometimes you will go through and see music that you've never seen before and maybe find that next song that gets stuck in your head. Then you want to go to the top 100. You wouldn't believe how many songs that I find that I've never heard and those same songs have become some of my favorites today. Secondly, if you see that you iTunes doesn't have any new stuff, then you can go to a website like Hot New Hip Hop. This is a website that I currently use when I'm looking for new music. This website is good because the site gives you new artist and new music that gets released each day. I enjoy the site because of these reason and it gives you a chance to find songs that your friends haven't heard yet. Now, something that I've been doing lately is making my own instrumental beats and then adding my own words to those beats. It's pretty easy, I think you  should go and find free trial websites that allow you to make these beats. When you have the website that you're going to use, then the fun begins. You can make any song that you want...techno, hip hop, rap, R&B, Rock & Roll. The genre doesn't matter, making your own beat allows you to be the producer and the artist. Whether you are finding new music or making your own music it's all about having fun.

NEW MUSIC!!

So before I sat down this week to decide on what I was going to write about I went to iTunes and other music outlets to see what music was new this week. I found some great songs that I like and hopefully if you're reading this then you'll have the opportunity to check out some of the songs that I found. First, you have to start with the legend...Snoop Dogg. Now, if you listen to music at all you'll know that Snoop comes out with great music from time to time and even as he gets older he continues to come out with hits. The song is titled "Wet" and has a catchy beat along with the fact that Snoop sings a bit in this song which makes it different from all the others he makes, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-FpVjmLfSA. Another song I found is from the infamous but yet great Kanye West. Kanye is known for mixing up several songs, his vocals, and his message during his songs but  one thing remains the same...he continues to come out with hits. In the track "All of the Lights" West gets together with other artists, Rihanna and Kid Cudi, and they come up with a song that isn't necessarily a club banger but something to listen to in your headphones, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAfFfqiYLp0. The last song that I thought I should share with you is by Taio Cruz. Cruz is an artist that is rapidly growing with hits like "Break Your Heart" and "Dynamite." This new song is call "Higher" and this is another song where Cruz sticks to his guns and creates another song that young people can dance to, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrK6N4db-ik.
These are just a few of the songs that I have found and that I really enjoy. I've given you a couple of links to the music on Youtube. I hope you enjoy it.

Oscars

Well seeing how the Oscars are coming up I would look at the movies that are nominated and ones that are up for the best music (original score and original songs). Now if your like me then you think that the music in any movie has to help the movie and sometimes the music is the best part of the movie. Now I must be honest I have seen every movie that is up for the musical nomination but I have seen about two-thirds of the movies. I'm not a big country fan but the music in the movie Country Strong was very good, I think that movie will win. Obviously, movies such as The Social Network and Inception the music only enhanced the movie because in my opinion both of the movies were good no matter what music was played. Toy Story 3, How to Train a Dragon and Tangled were the typical Disney Pixar type movies they are uplifting and make you feel good so music reflects the the themes of each movie. Overall, my assessment is that the three movies that have the best chance of winning the award for best original score will probably be Inception (just because I'm bias and really like that movie) and best original song will be Country Strong.
I think that the Oscars will be a great event altogether and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing who wins each and every award. I think that everyone should watch it; it comes on February 27 so everyone set your tivo.