Categories
Classic Album Review

ALBUM REVIEW: BAD BRAINS- Bad Brains

ALBUM REVIEW: BAD BRAINS- Bad Brains

BEST SONGS: Sailin’ On, Banned in D.C., I, Pay to Cum, Right Brigade

“When I think of a great frontman, like a really charismatic guy who everybody in the audience immediately wants to be, I think of Iggy Pop and I think of H.R. from Bad Brains”.  Pretty high praise from Henry Rollins, Black Flag’s most integral and prolific lead singer, don’t ya think? Who, or what, could be such a force as to cause hardcore’s buff dad to put you on equal footing as Iggy motherfucking Pop?  Well, Bad Brains of course. “What’s a Bad Brains?” you ask, wide-eyed in anticipation of yet another WKNC review of an integral punk group, lip quivering on the verge of tears because you can’t take another four paragraphs justifying how music that sounds like shit is actually good.  Don’t worry! This week’s spotlight is on Bad Brains, the undisputed kings of hardcore. Outshining even essential acts like Minor Threat, they made every soul in a mile radius of their presence look down at their own bodies and ask why they haven’t been living through the Bad Brains lifestyle for the entirely of their previously miserable lives.  They made people check their turntables after throwing on their newest single because the noises coming from it didn’t sound like music that humans were even capable of creating yet. They made Guinness Book of World Records give them an award for the fastest band of all time. And the best part, they were good. They were really really fucking good.  While their contemporaries were pushing to play the fastest and the loudest, Bad Brains looked at each other and said “yeah I guess we can do that too” and played the loudest and fastest of them all. But beyond this, this naked engine nearing aneurysm intensity, Bad Brains was composed of incredibly talented musicians equipped endless creativity and an uncanny amount of stamina.  Though their later work was not at all tainted by age or a lack of ingenuity (I Against I is a masterpiece) their eponymous 1982 debut, colloquially known as the “Yellow Tape” is the most essential hardcore punk album ever recorded.  

Unlike bands like the Damned, or the Germs, or even Black Flag, Bad Brains was not originally founded upon a commitment to aggression and anarchy.  They began as a jazz fusion group. Yes, you read that right, Jazz Fusion, a genre not only infinitely distant from punk’s insistence on id-focused simplicity but one which demands incredibly high levels of skill and a thorough understanding of music theory.  So, in their embryonic stages, Bad Brains (then called Mind Power) were obviously leaps and bounds more technically proficient than any other punk band in their native Washington D.C. “Perfect,” the frontman for a completely hypothetical hardcore band who would need to compete with Bad Brains said to himself, “the Bad Brains may be way more talented than me and my sweaty group of pasty bad boys, but they don’t have anywhere near the attitude or vigor to even be considered in the same vein!”. But much to the chagrin of our hypothetical punker, Mind Power’s guitarist, Dr. Know, happened to catch a 1976 television profile on the then up-and-coming British punk scene.  His mind blown by a newly discovered weapon against the establishment, Dr. Know bought every Sex Pistols, Ramones, and Damned record he could find before convening with his bandmates and urging them to adopt a radically new style. They were convinced and Mind Power was forever rebranded as Bad Brains, a term taken from a Ramones song which served as an analog to their former head-centered title. After practicing for hours upon hours in the basement in their friend’s mother’s basement, Bad Brains began booking shows in the three D.C. clubs which supported the still very young punk rock ethos. While frequenters of proto-hardcore shows were initially drawn to the novelty of Bad Brains being an all-black punk band, it soon became clear that the group was a spectacle of fury and showmanship that no other D.C. contemporary could compete with.  The band was ridiculously fast, putting the Ramones and Stooges to shame with tempos which would have caused complete implosion under normal circumstances. Bad Brains was also tight. Really fucking tight; there was no wavering when their songs lurched into breakneck pace, as Dr. Know would even rip into solos (a cardinal sin in most punk circles) that scorched the bung hair off Minor Threat purists who claimed aggression’s only avenue was through the power chord.  H.R, the lead singer and front man would flail around wildly while his band was focused in their blistering craft, acting as the mouthpiece of a rabid flutter while he fell on his back and writhed around before jumping into the crowd and screaming in their face as they smothered in his sweat-drenched frame. What a performance. D.C. degenerates couldn’t believe what they were seeing. The area had never known anything close to a punk scene, and now it appeared like they had been gifted, simply put, the best band of all time.  Nobody could match their energy, technical skill, or ability to meld the crowd and performers into a single volatile goo. As such, they attracted a huge following almost instantly. H.R. notoriously would request over a hundred people for the guest list. That, combined with the natural frenzied disorder associated with any Bad Brains-caliber performance, quickly got them banned from the three D.C. clubs that would even think of booking punk shows. So what does an insanely popular, yet underground band who has been blacklisted from their native Washington do?  Well, move to the Big Apple of course! Bad Brains evacuated D.C. for the REAL DEAL DADDIO PUNK ROCK NEW YORK CITY BABY and almost immediately earned themselves a headlining spot at perhaps punk’s most important venue: CBGB. It was during their NYC libertine residency that the band recorded their seminal first album. Angry, playful, virtuosic, this self-titled statement to everything hardcore is an essential addition to any collection which aims to document an evolution of American music. Every single song is mind-bogglingly perfect. It’s briefest cuts require the listener to ask themselves “was what I heard real? Are people actually capable of making something like this?” while the slower ones provide breathing room and showcase Bad Brains’ ability to perfectly pace an album.  Pacing in a hardcore album? “These guys must be on a totally different plane from the rest of us”, you say, finally excited that we don’t have to cover a deconstruction of music itself yet again. And you’re right, faithful reader: Bad Brains is unlike any other band which came before or after, and their self-titled debut is the required first-taste of their galaxy-brained musicianship. 

“Bad Brains” captures a crossroad in the band’s sound and, to a larger extent, worldview, which saw the four Baddest Brains adopt Rastafarianism.  This meant a stronger spiritual message in their music, an adoption of reggae and dub by the band, and an alienation from racists who thought that Rastafarianism could be equated with violence and other racists who were pissed that the band growing dreads was a sign that they were moving away from the shaved-head mandate of hardcore.  In actuality, the implementation of a strong spiritual message within the album, coupled with the sonic diversity of melding reggae with hardcore, enhanced both the pace of the album and the overall quality of its songs. From the beginning of this half hour epic, Bad Brains incredible songwriting suffocates its listener in “Sailing On”: a Beatles-esque mosh fest whose brevity is equally as impressive as its ear-worm, call-and-response chorus.  Dr. Know shreds so hard that it sounds like it’ll melt any CD player unfortunate enough to challenge it, while H.R.’s vocals are brilliantly placed behind this crunchy guitar with a reverb that makes it easily distinguishable from the delicious commotion produced by his bandmates. Beyond this, the singer’s full arsenal of screeches, gulps, bellows, and growls instantly distinguishes him from even the most pissed off Ian McKayes and Henry Rollins.  “Banned in D.C”, a reference to the band’s blacklisting from all Washington punk clubs, pounds its unsuspecting listener into a higher orbital as soon as its mockingly militant opening is seized by the H.R. and Dr. Know’s respective vault into white-hot power chords and riot-inducing yelps. H.R. often sounds on the edge of collapse, his lyrics rattling off so fast that he must surely be on the verge of sloppiness or total collapse. This is all before he anchors it back with such ease that it sounds almost like a second thought.  “Pay to Cum” is just fast. That’s all I can really find within myself to describe it. It’s brilliant. It should be played to aliens when they are trying to decide whether or not to destroy humanity as the sole relic of our civilization just because, to me, it’s almost unfathomable that this music was actually created. It’s just that fucking fast.  

When H.R. screams, he goes fully in, incinerating his vocal cords in a raspy grind.  But Bad Brains isn’t just a band for pissed off teenagers; H.R.s versatility as a singer allows these moments of anger to be supplemented by an undeniable talent which can meld the band’s brand of punk into an innumerable amount of other genres (reggae, doo-wop, guitar pop, metal, etc.).  And at its core, this is what made Bad Brains so important was that their commitment to punk was not out of convenience or pure angst, but rather an understanding of the lasting vitality that naturally comes with a genre infused with genuine expression. Through their continued showcase of remarkable talent and innovation, Bad Brains legitimized hardcore more than any other group. 

-Cliff

Categories
Classic Album Review

Record Highlight: Born Again

It is not like any other Black Sabbath album. Like many of their records, Ozzy is not the vocalist. Unlike many others, Ian Gillan (Deep Purple) is. Born Again, the11thstudio album by the Titans was recorded in May of 1983 at The Manor Studio in England and was released on August 7, 1983. It is also different from any other Black Sabbath album, not only because of the inclusion of Gillan but also because of the song structures and the pure sound itself. In fact, originally, the record wasn’t intended to be billed as an offering from Black Sabbath, but as a yet unnamed “super group.” The record company, however, insisted on the established brand.

“His shriek is legendary,” said guitarist Tony Iommi of Ian Gillan. Bill Ward returned to play the drums, and Geezer Butler rounded out the rhythm section on bass guitar. This record, though containing all the original instrumentalists, is utterly different and absolutely nothing like the usual sound of the band. Absent is the normally eerie feel which they’re known for, but (newly) present is an instantly classic record that would go down in history as the best negatively critiqued line-up in metal history!

The ’83 recording was awful, but the album was remastered in 2011, which helped a lot. Iommi’s riffs, though different, are incredible (as usual). Butler is consistent and trustworthy. And Ward’s drumming is some of his best (IMO). But, honestly, it’s Gillan who steals the show (and album). I do not think that there is a record before or since that expresses the brilliance of his vocal abilities as is found on Born Again. 

The controversial album cover, by Steve “Krusher” Joule, has gone down in history, as well, as simply one of the worst ever. Bill Ward hated the cover, Ian Gillan vomited when he saw it, but Tony Iommi liked and approved it. However, for every critic that hated or hates the record, there can be found 10 Metal fans that rank it as the best Black Sabbath record (at least since the original line-up), and you can count me in with them! And other, more famous Metalheads favor Born Again: Chris Barnes (Six Feet Under; former Cannibal Corpse) places it as his favorite Black Sabbath, period. Lars Ulrich (Metallica) ranks it as one of the best from the band. I think that the Vision of the line-up and the track collection was simply before it’s time. This record is meant to be heard today!

Favorite Songs: Born Again; Hotline; Zero the Hero

Rating: 10/10!!!

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
DJ Highlights

5 Up and Coming Underground Artists You Must Listen To

The industry is so cluttered nowadays that often times, trying to discover good new artists can be a chore. Many new artists, however, deserve all the recognition, specifically in the Underground scene. There are 5 artists specifically that take the cake for being a must listen right now in the industry.

 (1) Tierra Whack

Tierra has gotten increasing fame with her new single; Hungry Hippo which is an encaptivating hit for all who listen. Her soulful voice which frequents tenor contrasts her playful beats which in all, provides for a vibe like no other. Her songs range around 2 minutes which is weird but effective as after the song is over, you are dying to hear more.

(2) Lizzo

You may know her as the girl who pulled out a flute at the BET awards but, her music deserves all the praise as well. Her shouting vocals, fun lyrics, yet soulful vibe make her an exciting listen. She is inevitably on the come up and has received praise from figures as notable as Rihanna. Needless to say, you should give her a listen.

(3) Tia Corine

Tia is actually a local artist from Winston Salem, NC. Her bubblegum rap style is hard yet fun, and her beats are all headbangers while not even being that bass heavy. Yea, she’s just that good. Her single, Lotto, remains my favorite and most listen worthy song. Her portfolio isn’t too extensive as she is very early in her career yet, all of them are bops, literally. 

(4) Azizi Gibson

Azizi is one of my top 10 favs. His lyrics are fun yet, real. His production is flawless and bass heavy. His voice is melodic yet hard and his concepts are so authentic and fresh as they talk about ideas ranging from depression to how 1996 and 2006 were the best twerking eras. His most recent albums; Backward Books 2 and Xenophile are simply works of art so please, listen.

(5) Duckwrth

Duckwrth is an artist who has a lot of potential for going mainstream because he is very appealing to a multitude of audiences. His sound is very abstract as it consists of Techno influence as well as heavy Hip Hop influence. His voice is extremely charismatic and personal and his songs are in all, hella cool. He was featured on the Spiderman album in the song; ‘Start a Riot’ with Shaboozy though he is still technically an Underground artist…for now.

 -Lul Bulma

Categories
Weekly Charts

Chainsaw Charts 7/5

# Artist Record Label

1 CARNIFEX “No Light Shall Save Us” [Single] Nuclear Blast
2 UPON A BURNING BODY Southern Hostility Seek & Strike
3 TERAMAZE Are We Soldiers Mascot
4 BRAND OF SACRIFICE “Fortress” [Single] Unique Leader
5 SHADOW OF INTENT “Barren and Breathless Macrocosm” [Single] Self-Released
6 DEAR DESOLATE “Beg and Plead” [Single] Self-Released
7 UNDER SUBSIDENCE Endings Self-Released
8 BURY TOMORROW Black Flame Sony
9 DESPYRE Rise Up Pavement
10 SEEKING SOLACE Seeking Solace Self-Released

Categories
Classic Album Review

Album of the Week: Deep Blue – Parkway Drive

It was 9 years ago, today (6/25/29), that Parkway Drive released Deep Blue, one of my favorite Parkway Drive records. This was one of the first metalcore albums that I heard when I was first getting into heavier types of music. To me, Parkway Drive has always been a veteran within the subgenres of heavy metal. Parkway Drive evolved their sound with this album and they continue to do so to this day with their most recent release, Reverence. Deep Blue is filled with a lot of breakdowns and melodic riffs.

Although this is one of my favorite records, and some have argued that Deep Blue is their best, it has been criticized by metal blogs for being repetitive and having the same sound. Most reviewers talk about how they over-use basic breakdowns and that it’s generic. But, when doing some research on Parkway Drive and reading interviews with Winston McCall (vocalist), I discovered that Deep Blue was different than their previous albums.

When reading Alt Press’ interview with McCall, he states that Parkway Drive’s sound has not gone through big changes. With Deep Blue, the band wrote everything beforehand and then recorded it exactly the way they wanted it. They experimented with a couple of new things in small doses, just to see if they would work. And to McCall and the rest of the band, it did.

Deep Blue was an experiment that the band created to see if they could evolve their sound. Although their overall sound did not change, musically, they added an atmospheric tone with melodic riffs into their hooks, bridges, and breakdowns. With the atmospheric set, it added more layering and depth to the record.

Overall, I think this is one of my favorite records by Parkway Drive, and some of their most well-known songs came off this album: Unrest and Karma. This record helped them develop their sound even more on their 2012 release, Atlas. Parkway Drive has continued to evolve throughout the years and I don’t see them stopping anytime soon.

Favorite Song(s):  Unrest, Wreckage, Pressures, and Home Is For The Heartless

Rating: 8/10

What is your favorite song off of Deep Blue? What do you think of the evolution of Parkway Drive?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Concert Review

Indigo De Souza & Joy Again Concert

WKNC gave me the opportunity to see Indigo De Souza and Joy again at the Kings venue in downtown Raleigh a couple of weeks ago. The show was amazing. The close-up venue and laid-back vibes of the bands really made the show feel more intimate. Not to mention the unforgettable ending when Joy again ended the concert with a unique outro version of winter snakes. Smaller indie shows like this have always been a personal favorite of mine, but these two bands really made the show memorable with how authentic and real they were on stage, it was almost like watching someone play in their home. All in all, it was a great show and I would definitely go and see them again

-DJ Psyched

Categories
Classic Album Review

ALBUM REVIEW: BLACK FLAG- My War

ALBUM REVIEW: BLACK FLAG- My War

BEST TRACKS: My War, Beat My Head Against a Wall, Nothing Left Inside, Scream

Though Black Flag was already a widely popular west-coast punk band with an affinity for harder, faster, and more experimental music than virtually any of their contemporaries, it was the addition of Henry Rollins that defined the band’s distinct sonic and aesthetic composition.  “Damaged”, the first album with Rollins as frontman, was simultaneously one of the first definitively “hardcore” punk records ever created and the inception of the young movement’s most charismatic frontman. For these first few years at the turn of the decade (“Damaged” was released 1981), Black Flag echoed other hardcore pioneers such as Minor Threat in their rampaged delivery of staccatoed screams under the banner of a disciplined, straight-edge lifestyle.  But just as Minor Threat disbanded in 1983 amid founder Ian McKaye’s realization that playing incredibly fast and loud was limiting, Black Flag was forced to reflect on how the band could move forward without relying solely on uber-aggression (which was becoming increasingly violent). The result: Black Flag became an art punk band. Well, I guess that’s not fair to say. Black Flag was actually always known for their intricate posters and album covers designed by Raymond Pettibond, and they had always demanded that their listeners take their music more seriously than some of LAs earlier punk bands which had become incredibly silly by the end of the 1970s.  But when faced with the crossroads brought on by the end of basic hardcore punk, two distinct voices emerged within Black Flag. Greg Ginn, the guitarist, founder, and only consistent member of the group began experimenting with free jazz and doom metal in what became the invention of the classic “anti-solo”, and Rollins began his descent into poetry and spoken word performance of bleak, basic lyrics hinged on frustration and alienation. Unsurprisingly, the two ended up tearing the band apart with their separate aggro-insistences on the future of alternative music, but the albums that were released prior to this inevitable fracture are some of the most interesting and crucial in any punk library.  And nowhere is that more clear than on “My War”, the punk rock equivalent of Johnny Marr and Morrissey dueling with their equally insufferable voices and somehow creating a musical texture unlike anything else. Ginn and Rollins are rarely in step together, their ideas flowing out from vastly different channels. But, somehow, as if a flash of congruency lined up beneath the band for the recording of the album, “My War” is Black Flag’s magnum opus.

California’s most important contribution to punk rock was birthed in 1976 by father Greg Ginn, in the vein of typical influences like the Stooges, MC5, and, of course, the Ramones.  Ginn’s role as the band’s guitarist and primary creative force meant that there was more of a focus on what Ginn could make his guitar do rather than having it purposefully act as the simple engine for pounding aggression. Ginn quickly established his new band, freshly named “Black Flag” (“Panic” was taken) as distinct from punk contemporaries in the sheer work ethic he required from every member of the band.  While this was partially a conscious effort to avoid the excess which killed off many members of punk’s first wave, this work ethic was also necessitated by LA’s lack of (figurative) underground infrastructure. With no punk-friendly clubs or distribution avenues, Black Flag created America’s most impressive DIY music network. As Ginn boasted a plethora of posters advertising each performance (a minimum of 500), self-booked shows at picnics, schools, and abandoned warehouses, a list of punk-friendly fans who could host the band to stay the night, and a comprehensive map of every all-you-can-eat buffet in within their touring scope, Black Flag as an entity required its members to commit every fiber of their being to punk rock.  And it paid off. Fans all over the country were enamored with what was then the least compromising sound or image of any other American band, and Black Flag’s cult status propelled them to underground stardom sans support from anything that even resembled mainstream music institutions. That’s where Henry Rollins comes in. In 1980, when Ginn’s rotating array of vocalists signaled that it was time to find the newest iteration of Flag’s frontman, Washington D.C. superfan, and Haagen-Daz manager Henry Rollins was tapped to join the band. Packing up his custom-built muscle T-shirt and nothing else, Rollins moved to California so the band could record “Damaged”. The shaved-head muscle bound Rollins was visually antithetical to everything that punk initially promised, in his ratty jeans and vocal abstention from anything vice-related.  But he soon embodied what would become “hardcore punk”. Their second full-length album instantly cemented them among the Gods of the movement’s newest wave with acts like Bad Brains and Minor Threat (led by Rollins’ DC friend Ian MacKaye). The reliance on pure, inflamed rebellion proved unsustainable, though, and rather than become irrelevant or force off their wheels, Black Flag turned to more experimental sounds and, well, lifestyles. While Ginn remained relatively the same whip cracking band leader (albeit with a little more interest in avant-garde jazz), Rollins began his transformation into his most unbearable form. Often performing in just his boxers, Rollins insisted on opening ‘83 and ‘84 era performances with lengthy readings from his journal. He was visibly larger, becoming a devout bodybuilder and frequent aggravator of crowd violence. He would carry around a pool ball that he would grind in his palm for nearly an hour before the set started, staring down the crowd with an ever-more concerning insistence on brute masculinity.  He and Ginn grew their hair out, alienating them from the classic Black Flag skinhead fan base. They no longer committed themselves to hectic live performances focused on pure energy, but would rather let the audience stew in silence while Rollins prowled in near nudity. At the time, it was confusing. And “My War” was the final nail in the coffin which forever broke Black Flag from standard hardcore. The album’s slowed down, meandering, tempo-shifting landscape was hated by fans of the original straight edge scene. However, despite an inevitable backlash brought on by the band’s abrupt shift to more experimental and brooding tones, it is this experimentation and willingness to break from a sound which they helped originally establish for the sake of artistic integrity that makes “My War” Black Flag’s most daring and interesting album.

It’s fair to point out that not every song on “My War” was destined to be placed on a Black Flag greatest hits compilation.  The titular song was a pretty standard Flag romp, with Ginn’s classic mid-drenched overdrive pulverizing a single riff while Rollins peeled his throat to paranoia drenched lyrics like “My War/You’re one of them, you said that you’re my friend/ but you’re one of them.” So, immediately, the greasy shaved head fans of the band’s earlier material were at least momentarily satisfied.  Though the intro may have deviated slightly from “Damaged” era speed-power just because it acted as a pressure build to elevate Rollins’ eventually shriek, it supplemented the breakneck pace of the rest of the song quite well. Great, so this is Black Flag’s new sound? Skinheads could handle their violent tempos occasionally coupled with a dissonant platform for Rollins to thrive if that’s what they needed. But after the album’s titular track, songs begin to drift further from any resemblance of original hardcore punk.  “Beat My Head Against the Wall” is a bizarre combination of classic Sex Pistols abrasion, pop music, and experimental west-coast noise bands like Flipper. Adopting doom-metal tempo shifts, the song shifts between Rollins screaming about ramming his head on a wall before switching to a sugar-coated pop chorus garnished with a heavy Ginn line, before switching again to a blisteringly dissonant free-jazz guitar solo and then leading into a final sludgy riff to end the song. In a span of two minutes, Black Flag recorded what is probably the worst song I’ve ever heard in my life.  But it’s genius. Once the initial disgust has worn off, it becomes evident that to remain relevant within a molting scene, Black Flag was forced to continually subvert expectations even within punk rock etiquette. The result is almost unlistenable at its worst but thought-provoking when it gets it right. And “My War” gets this formula right more so than any other late-stage Flag album. “Nothing Left Inside” is a seven minute, doom metal march of a song where Ginn does his best Black Sabbath meets Miles Davis impression as Rollins groans endlessly of self-hatred and agony. “Scream” takes “Nothing Left Inside” a step farther and, while still relying on slow methodical drum patterns and punk jazz heaviness, features Rollins literally screaming and croaking for seven minutes straight.  If you were to judge punk rock strictly off of how distant it drifted from the Ramones, then Black Flag would certainly be disqualified by this point. But “My War” has the sheer ability to drive every person who listens to it up a wall, something that no other genre drives to do.

In the years following “My War”, Black Flag released three more studio albums before calling it quits.  By the end of the legendary Punk band’s demise, Rollins had become drowned in his own ego, forcing too much conflict with Ginn’s long-established control freak attitude.  “Family Man”, “Loose Nut”, and “In My Head” all contained the warring personalities which first butted heads on “My War”, but each suffered more from a bitter disconnect.  “My War” might be an accident in its beauty, but hardcore punk’s transition into darker and weirder territories has never been exposed in its naked horror more than on this Black Flag classic.

– Cliff Jenkins 

Categories
Weekly Charts

Afterhours Charts 7/3

# Artist Record Label

1 HURLEE Beating For You [EP] Apparel
2 KEDR LIVANSKIY Your Need 2MR
3 CHANNEL TRES Channel Tres [EP] GODMODE
4 A BEACON SCHOOL Cola Grind Select/House Arrest
5 DEVATA DAUN Pye Luis [EP] Pytch
6 TORO Y MOI Outer Peace Carpark
7 KAYTRANADA Nothin Like U/Chances [EP] RCA
8 DORIAN CONCEPT The Nature Of Imitation Brainfeeder
9 18 CARAT AFFAIR Spent Passions 2 Self-Released
10 SAMPS, THE Breakfast Gloriette

Categories
Weekly Charts

Daytime Charts 7/2

image

# Artist Record Label

1 CHRISTELLE BOFALE Swim Team [EP] Father/Daughter
2 CRUMB Jinx Self-Released
3 HORSE JUMPER OF LOVE So Divine Run For Cover
4 PALEHOUND Black Friday Polyvinyl
5 MISS JUNE “Best Girl” b/w “Twitch” [Single] Frenchkiss
6 HATCHIE Keepsake Double Double Whammy
7 DUMB Club Nites Mint
8 HAYBABY They Get There Tiny Engines
9 BRIJEAN Walkie Talkie Native Cat
10 AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS Amyl And The Sniffers ATO
11 FADE EM ALL Fade Em All Self-Released
12 EYEDRESS Sensitive G Lex Ltd
13 CHERRY GLAZERR Stuffed & Ready Secretly Canadian
14 MADELINE KENNEY Perfect Shapes Carpark
15 (SANDY) ALEX G “Gretel” [Single] Domino
16 TY SEGALL Fudge Sandwich In The Red
17 CHAI Punk Burger
18 AA BONDY Enderness Fat Possum
19 REPTALIENS Valis Captured Tracks
20 LOMELDA M For Empathy DDW
21 BLESSED Salt Pirates Blend
22 MASS GOTHIC I’ve Tortured You Long Enough Sub Pop
23 SHARON VAN ETTEN Remind Me Tomorrow Jagjaguwar
24 IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE Doko Mien Merge
25 FLAT WORMS Into The Iris [EP] GOD?
26 ROSE DROLL Your Dog Father/Daughter
27 PINHEADS, THE Is This Real Farmer & The Owl
28 BELLS ATLAS The Mystic Tender Loving Empire
29 LUNG All The King’s Horses Sofaburn
30 TRUTH CLUB Not An Exit Tiny Engines

Top Adds

1 LAL Dark Beings Coax
2 YOUNG MAMMALS Lost In Lima Wallflower
3 MOMMA “Apollo” b/w “Highway” [Single] Danger Collective
4 DOUG TUTTLE Dream Road Burger
5 BRIDAL PARTY Negative Space (Remixed) [EP] Self-Released
6 GRAND VAPIDS Rake Self-Released
7 BRIJEAN Walkie Talkie Native Cat
8 SUMMER CANNIBALS Can’t Tell Me No Tiny Engines
9 HATCHIE Keepsake Double Double Whammy
10 MANNEQUIN PUSSY Patience Epitaph

Categories
Band/Artist Profile

Artist of the Week: Saweetie

Now, I know what you are thinking… this isn’t metal. BUT I appreciate all types of music and Saweetie is one of my favorite rappers at the moment. Born as Diamanté Harper on July 2, 1993, from San Francisco, CA. She has a Filipino-Chinese mother and an African-American father. Growing up, Saweetie had connections to artists because of her father and family friends, but she decided to put in the hard work and start from the bottom when working on her music career.

She got her name Saweetie from her grandmother on her father’s side. That is what her grandmother called her and it stuck with her. What I really admire about Saweetie is that she went to San Diego State University and then transferred to the University of Southern California where she studied communications and business. She went to college because she wanted to move down to LA to help kickstart her music career. I think education is really important and I admire her work ethic to juggle school, a couple of jobs, and a music career. She wears tons of hats and as soon as she got a record deal with Warner Bros. Records, she paid off her student debt. I respect that although she wanted to make it big, she went to school. That is something that my family has driven into me throughout my life.

She started posting short raps on her Instagram account in 2016 and the rap that got popular was Icy Grl, where she used the beat of Khia’s My Neck, My Back. She then released a couple of singles and then released her first album in 2018 called High Maintenance. She has also dropped a remix of Icy Grl with Kehlani, has a song with Rich The Kid and G-Eazy called Up Now, and also a song with Kid Ink and Lil Wayne called YUSO. Saweetie just released her EP in March of 2019 called ICY. The most popular song off that record is My Type, which Saweetie raps over the beat of Freek-A-Leek by Pete Pablo.

I think Saweetie is a Queen. Watching her work hard and follow her dreams inspires me to work hard as well. Saweetie should be a role model for women to hustle, be confident, work hard, and own it.

ANTI is the first freestyle of Saweetie that I heard and Icy Grl is by far one of my favorite songs by her.

Have you listened to Saweetie?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW