Category: Music News and Interviews

Music news, interviews, features and giveaways

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Music News and Interviews

The Best Female Rap Artists

I am a big fan of music created by and for women, and I find that female rappers best embody the strength and lived experience that women share and can relate to. I decided to compile a (condensed) list of my favorites, and a little about their individual contributions to music. 

  1. Ms. Lauryn Hill 

Lauryn Hill is honestly one of my very favorite artists in general, and her pure talent as a rapper emphasizes the breadth of her musical abilities, among all of them. Hill has had such an impactful career. She was extremely successful as a member of The Fugees, and her solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is one of the most empowering and influential albums of all time. She is skilled in rap and is one of the few artists able to casually blend it in and out of her songs seamlessly. Lauryn Hill has influenced an entire generation of young artists and will continue to do so as her legacy continues. 

  1. Young M.A. 

Young M.A. is possibly one of the hardest female rappers alive. She has a voice and flow rivaling any famed rapper and has gained prominence based on her amazing performances, including performing alongside 21 Savage and opening for Beyonce’s tour. Young M.A. is an inspiration as an artist: she has used her platform to share about her background openly and has done so seemingly effortlessly.  

  1. Doja Cat

Doja Cat started creating really unique raps unlike any other artists at the time in 2014 with her Purrr! EP, and I have been a big fan since. Although Doja Cat is mostly now known for her hit songs that have taken over TikTok, she truly has raw musical talent and is able to rap with incredible speed and clarity, even live. She is an impressive musician and a strong figure especially for young women, as she advocates for self-acceptance and empowerment. I can see her influencing the world of pop-rap in the future, more than she already has. 

  1. Megan Thee Stallion 

Not only has Megan Thee Stallion basically taken over the rap scene, she is truly an icon and inspiration. As a liberated woman with empowering, sexy lyricism and effortless flow; she is also balancing being a student in college. Megan has impacted rap artists and has introduced features by other prominent artists. I really look forward to her growth as an artist, and definitely think she is one of the most improved artists this year. 

  1. Honorable Mentions 

I definitely can’t list all of the most influential or best female rappers in one short list, and I want to keep this post short and sweet. I also really adore the following women and think they are incredible artists, all worth checking out: Flo Milli, Kari Faux, City Girls, Saweetie, Tierra Whack, and Kash Doll. 

Hope you guys enjoyed, let me know what you think! 

– Miranda 

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Music News and Interviews

Releases of April 2020

 

I  might be a bit biased when I say that April is the best month of the year, since it’s the month in which I was born, but I also have another reason to appreciate this April. I’ve already made two other blog posts about my favorite songs and music videos from the month, but now that the month is officially over I have even more exciting music news to share. 

It’s truly has been a crazy good month for new music, at least in my taste/ from some of my favorite artists, but I’m sure there’s plenty of good music and news I will miss in this, so make sure to let me know if I missed something you really loved or were excited for this month!

As far as artists, like I said a lot of my favorites released new material this month, including but not limited to: Twenty One Pilots, Hayley Williams, Rina Sawayama, Declan McKenna, and The Front Bottoms. I name these artists because I already covered their new material in my previous blog posts so I won’t go into any more detail here, but I am still super excited about these releases and think they’ve held up really well over the month.

As far as music I haven’t talked about yet, there’s new material from: Smallpools, Mindchatter, Gorillaz, J.P. Plains, Still Woozy, Bad Suns, Arson Daily, youngbuk, Beachtape, and chloe moriondo. There’s even more than that, but I won’t be able to cover them all in this one post without making it ridiculously long, so instead I put them all in a playlist which is linked below.

Local Band Arson Daily released their first full length LP on April 3rd titled Late Reflections. Pipe Dream is my favorite track at the moment, but the whole album is impressive and worth a listen. Their rock and indie infused sound is unique and soothing. Refreshing and original, this one of my favorite plays of the month. The band has done a few live stream concerts for the record already, so if you’re interested you should check them out online, they seem to be staying very active during this time.

‘Window’ by Still Woozy is a soothing pop track with an R&B vibe. It also fits in perfectly with a lot of the indie music on my playlist, since the artist’s sound is a very unique blend of genres, which has made it really stick with me through this month. This artist definitely stands out with his unique choice of instrumentation and hypnotizingly soothing vocals. Making this track short, sweet and kept on repeat.

Last, but as I said before not really the last, is Smallpools. They released the track ‘Play Pretend’ earlier in the month, and the track ‘slowdown’ about a week ago. The first song was used for ‘The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show’, a netflix original. The song is incredibly upbeat, fun, and with it’s catchy chorus and playful guitar riff, it definitely screams Smallpools. I find the chorus gets stuck in my head pretty fast and makes me want to dance. It contrasts nicely with the track ‘slowdown’, a lighter sounding track, though not completely mellow. It has a soothing midline beat that picks up in the chorus. The track was made as a collaboration with morgxn, and considering the netflix partnership they also had this month, it all makes me wonder what the band has in store for us next.

Those were just some of my favorite Music Moments from April. Like I said the month was overwhelmingly full of great new releases and news. You can check out more of my recommendations from the playlist below. 

As always I have a question for you, what have been some of your favorite tracks and music news from this year?

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6CHgt25jDtqy9eyIHKKP3n?si=vA8QIJBkTmaBUaPfcM_HpQ 

– DJ Psyched

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Music News and Interviews

Strange Ranger on WKNC’s The Lounge

Strange Ranger stopped by The Lounge to play a few songs off their latest album “Remembering the Rockets” 0:04 “Rockets” & “Ari Song” 4:32 “Living Free” WKNC is a student operated, independent college radio station, playing the best of indie rock, metal, electronic, hip hop, local music and more. The Lounge sessions are live recording sessions with bands and recording artists that visit the station. by WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2

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Music News and Interviews

The Saw’s Electric Chair: Andreas Kisser from Sepultura

The Saw's Electric Chair WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 heavy metal podcast

In this episode of The Saw’s Electric Chair, The Saw did a phone call interview with Andreas Kisser, the guitarist for Sepultura! They talked about Andreas’ upbringing in metal, learning how to play the guitar, past and future tours, and the band’s new record, Quadra, which will be released on Feb. 7.

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Music News and Interviews

UNDERGROUND IS LOOKING FOR NEW MUSIC

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WKNC’s Underground genre is looking for new music to be added to the regular rotation! Send songs or playlists with your fav underground rap music and I’ll review it and (possibly) add!

—cellar door xx

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Music News and Interviews

DBB17: King Gino

DBB17: King Gino

DJ Beowvlf sits down with King Gino to discuss his development as an artist and participation in the collective that is Callisto Records. Independent creators and musical collaborators also participated in this interview that are similarly part of Callisto Records.

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Music News and Interviews

Off The Record: DBB History

Off The Record: DBB History

In preparation for WKNC’s Double Barrel Benefit 17 on Feb. 7 and 8, DJ Beowvlf talks with station adviser Jamie Lynn Gilbert about the history of DBB and Gilbert shares some of her favorite DBB memories.

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Music News and Interviews

The Local Beat: Thirsty Curses

The Local Beat: Thirsty Curses

DJ Beowvlf is live with Thirsty Curses in the studio playing some tracks off their self-titled album. The cover topics such as their music videos, transitions as a band, & where they fit within the Raleigh music scene.

For more on Thirsty Curses’ new album, check out our review from Assistant Daytime Music Director Safia Rizwan.

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Music News and Interviews

My Chemical Romance is back

 

Well… sort of. As far as we know right now this is just one reunion tour. Don’t get me wrong though this is not underwhelming news at all. For anyone who’s been following the band for some time now, and knows how much this has been rumored over the years, it’s awesome to see it actually become a reality. I really didn’t think it would happen after like the 4th false claim, but I’m happy to be proven wrong.

After being reminded about one of my old favorite bands again I’ve caught myself listening to a lot of MCR in the gym (and on the way to class, and before bed, and while I showered, and basically anytime I put my headphones on) you know, as one does. I have to admit, and I’m really not ashamed to since this reunion is proof I’m not the only my chem fan still out there, that I was a huge fan in high school and still am. They’re still my #1 lifetime artist on Spotify. 

The other day I was thinking about who my chem fans are now. I think a lot of us who listened to this band now are definitely not the people we were when we started listening to them. Cause you know, growing up is a thing, sadly. so I think it’ll be pretty cool to see a crowd of vastly different people attending this tour.

Some of my friends who were huge My Chem fans are not into pop, electronic, metal, indie, hip-hop, rap, etc., really what I’m saying is you never know who was once a my chem fan. I think that will definitely make this reunion tour a pretty cool one, and I’m really excited to see if they’re planning to make any new music together.

Are you excited for the My Chem reunion tour? Because I’m already saving for my ticket…

– DJ Psyched

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Music News and Interviews

Let’s Talk Study Music

Sometimes I spend more time making study playlists then I actually spend studying, so I decided to make this blog post so that you won’t have to do that. I’ve tried just about everything from alpha waves, white noise to the lo-fi streaming video on youtube that’s become incredibly famous, so I figured I’d list my top study music choices so you can find what works best for you

  • Star Wars Soundtracks : As a huge Star Wars fan this has always been a favorite of mine to study to. It can be a little distracting when super popular themes come up but for the most part it blends pretty well into the background and just sounds like the epic orchestra scores that they really are. Any soundtrack without vocals could probably work here too.

  • EDM music to study to : There’s a surprising amount of playlists with this title but they all work pretty well, if you’re more into electronic/edm type music this might be a good option for you. I prefer anything without vocals really so I often switch between all of these to keep myself from getting bored, but this one really stands out for keeping you from falling asleep. Studying makes me sleepy, so it’s a bonus that this playlist usually keeps my brain awake long enough to actually focus on something.

  • Alpha Waves : This is for sure my go to ‘grind time prime time’ music. Something about it just really makes me get into the zone, probably because it’s the one playlist that I wouldn’t ever listen to unless I was studying. It’s relaxing and the playlist I use from spotify really hasn’t gotten old yet so I definitely think it’s worth trying.

  • Lo-Fi Hip Hop Beats to Study to : I feel like just about everyone has tried this so there must be something to it. I listen to it all the time and honestly it’s about the same realm as edm studying, just a matter of preference. Some of the songs are more upbeat and some are more chill, I think the variety keeps it from getting old.

  • White Noise : Technically not music I guess but some people like it, I am not a huge fan so that’s all I really got there.

No matter what you choose to study I’ve been told that what really makes studying music successful is that you ONLY listen to that specific music while studying, that way your mind knows it’s time to study and doesn’t try to relax. Variety works for me too, I switch between all of these pretty regularly to keep things interesting. So what’s your favorite music to listen to while studying?

– DJ Psyched