Nevertheless, I went on Twitter, 'followed' him, and immediately downloaded his EP (which he posted the link for). When looking at the EP cover, the first word that came to my mind was, "Aww". The portrayed strong bond between mother and child just reinforces the affectional musical direction of the album.
From the exquisite 'Something Beautiful', to the soulful 'Dear Simone', the EP evokes such bittersweet emotions, with 8 songs that pours such quality cohesion into the seams. I believe that Jacob Banks is one to look for in the future. The music scene in the UK could definitely use a break with dance-crazed songs, and get ready for a male version to Emeli Sande.
So, 2012 is long gone (including everyones New Year Resolutions). Since I recently made this blog (and this being my first post), I wanted to review a decent amount of albums in the past year, but decided against that in the end. Mainly because the albums obviously aren't new/recent anymore. Nonetheless, I'm hoping that I stick to this blog (regardless of how many people don't actually read it). I've wanted to do something like this for a long time, but never got round to it. I'll probably just use this as a creative-output, especially since I believe that I listen to quite a lot of music in my spare time.
But anyway, my stand-out artists of 2012 were most definitely Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, Miguel, Killer Mike, Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q and The Weeknd (who released a compilation of his three EPs), and Nas. Do me a favour and read that list again. I'm pretty sure I had all of them on repeat; especially Channel Orange (Frank Ocean) and Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (Kendrick Lamar). 2012 was such a good year for the Hip Hop and R&B industry. Just a pity that album sales do not reflect this! There's no one in the world who can tell me that Thinkin Bout You wasn't one of the best songs of 2012. Leave this solar system, and turn he Sun off on your way out if you disagree! Ocean's rippling falsetto delves deep into the emotional subconscious of the listener, creating a strong rapport; and thus an instant classic. I do have to admit, once a new artist receives a certain amount of recognition and becomes over-saturated within the media, backlash is inevitable. I just hope that this doesn't deter consumers from listening to his album and mixtapes. He's here to stay.
Mind you, I have noticed that I haven't really given a lot of attention to female artists in general. I guess that's because I'm not really the target audience. Things can always change though. I've got admit, though, that Losing You by Solange is exceptional. It possesses a retro, classic and smooth vibe, which is completely different to what her peers are putting out within the past few years. Definitely a throwback song; very reminiscent of the 80s, but perfectly avoids sounding dated in every way possible.
Top 15 songs of 2012:
15. Kendrick Lamar, Drake - Poetic Justice
14. Solange - Losing You
13. G.O.O.D Music - Don't Like
12. Ab-Soul, Jhene Aiko - Soulo Ho3
11. 2 Chainz, Kanye West - Birthday Song
10. Schoolboy Q, A$AP Rocky - Hands On The Wheel
9. Usher - Climax
8. Frank Ocean - Pyramids
7. Miguel - Do You...
6. A$AP Rocky - Goldie
5. Nas - The Don
4. Kanye West - White Dress
3. Kendrick Lamar - Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe
2. Killer Mike - R.A.P Music
1. Frank Ocean - Thinking Bout You
It will be interesting to see what 2013 brings us. One wonders whether it'll best 2013, but only time can answer that. I'll be forever happy if Kanye released an album on-par with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, one of the greatest albums to ever grace the music industry. Yes, I did say that. And yes, it is true. Within the next week, I'm going to try and review Long.Live.A$AP (A$AP Rocky) and The Monologue EP (Jacob Banks).
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