On Time with Zaki Ibrahim.

Greetings Folks!!!

So when I wasn't blogging, I was a student at The Art Institute of Jacksonville. I recently graduated with my BFA in Digital Filmmaking and Video Production- Yaaay me!

I'm working at a local TV station, MEE MEE TV, in Jacksonville Florida and it's AWESOME! Loving the new job and the work we do there, but in my spare time, I will still bring you A Different World of Music. 

I missed saying that, but now that I got that out of my system, let me tell you about an artist I stumbled upon during my finals week at AIJax.

While working on the edit for my Senior Thesis, I was feeling anxious and searching through my facebook friends. I was a combination of bored and frustrated that day, but I glanced at my friend's page and this name just popped out at me- Zaki Ibrahim ( Zah-key Eb-bra-him).

When I saw that she was a South African- Canadian singer/songwriter I was more intrigued. I found her band camp page and instantly enjoyed her album "Every Opposite". Zaki's sound is a mix of R&B, Jazz, and Electronica- it's captivating and eargasmic music. She's beautiful, racially ambiguous, talented, and totally capable of taking the music world by storm.

Now back to my exam story, so I'm listening to the album and "Flux Capacitor" begins to play. Although I LOVED the track, I had no idea what a flux capacitor was... or so I thought. In the movie, "Back To The Future" you will remember that the Doc created it to make time travel possible. When I googled it and realized what it was, I just laughed. During finals, I was frustrated and eager to graduate. I wished I could fast forward through the agony of getting projects done. I didn't realize that I should enjoy being a student for the last time, and be content with the progress I had made; I needed a reminder to live in the moment, and the universe (God) sent me a message:

     " I'll be late, trying to fault in a perfect space.

       I'm just saying, we're missing out on the point here.

       All this Hustle, Hustle what a shame.

       To see the light in a cage, I'd rather do my own thing.

       I'm on time, I'm on Time(6x)"-  Zaki Ibrahim "Flux Capacitor" 

Now, I may have gotten the wrong message, but I got a sense that I was exactly where I needed to be. I should've been happy and proud of where I was. Three years ago, I didn't think college was possible for me, and there I was, about to finish school and unthankful. I had to change my attitude and finally become content with where I was: weeks away from graduation. When I got frustrated,  all I could hear in the back of my head was, " I'm on time, I'm on Time".


Check out this song and tell me what message you get from this tune: ZAKI IBRAHIM "FLUX CAPACITOR BandCamp"

 And check out this interview with the song bird herself:

Peace and Blessings
Remember, You're On Time
MIks N.K.A Tami-Lee
                            

Gwen Bunn, Collard Greens, and More...

Decisions, Decisions. Today I have stumbled upon singer/songwriter Gwen Bunn, but there is one problem... I can't decide on what song I want to feature!!!

I have three of her songs and I can't figure out which one I like the most. They're from her album "The Verdict", and all three tracks are absolutely amazing.  There's "Let Me", "Turn The Lights Out", "Right Now", and RIGHT NOW I've decided to add another one, "Epitome".  I know I have to feature one, but before I make my pick, Who is Gwen Bunn?

 The singer/songwriter from Decatur, Georgia began playing piano at the age of 10; she really wanted to play sports, but when she was asked to sing lead for her church choir one Sunday morning, she put all her focus into music. By the time she auditioned for The Berklee College of Music she could play several instruments. The coolest thing about this artist is she's the co-producer of Schoolboy Q's single "Collard Greens".

 

"I went out to Los Angeles to vibe with producers and artists that I had connected with through Twitter, one of which was Rick Bricks from the production team THC. We all started working on music together and the track that became "Collard Greens" was one of the last ones during that particular stay...  He actually threw that beat away and wanted to move on to something else but I stopped him from doing that and added a bassline to his drum kick beat. After I put the bassline in, I added the synthesizers and completed the drum beat.... After I had flown back to Georgia, the guys from THC told me that they had a session with Schoolboy Q and he chose that very beat and said that it was the one for him... that stay was my first time ever coming out to Los Angeles and it produced the first single for a number one selling album. That wasn't in my plans at all. I just wanted to go out there and do my best on whatever I happened to work on. I hope that more female hip-hop producers can experience something like that." 

- Gwen Bunn  interview with laweekly.com

Bunn shows no signs of slowing down, she is still working on her next album Melody Dungeon, and plans to work with other producers. This 21 year old artist is bond to be a star.

So I've picked a song... DRUM ROLL....


                                                  
                Turn The Lights Out- THE VERDICT

 

Enjoy the music!
Peace and Blessings
Tami-Lee

FKA Twigs and Stromae have done it again.....

 "...Feel your body closin'
I can break it open
Suck me up I'm healing
With all the shit you're dealing..."-

FKA Twigs- Two Weeks

 Wow! I should have waited to make that last post because our girl FKA Twigs has done it again! She has just released her new video: " Two Weeks", and it's quite sensual. It reminds me of Kanye West's Video "Power" but more feminine, sexy, and more Twigs. Now, I'm not saying that she took the idea from Kanye, but if you watch the videos together, you can see that the cinematography is similar.  I love this song, and I LOVE her baby hair- I should get a tooth brush and try to achieve that look- If you don't get it, you never will.

 Also, Stromae has released his new video Ta Fete! It's the Belgium Soccer Team ( Red Devils) Anthem, and the video feels like a Gladiator movie. What's interesting about it is that he mentions the idea in one of his Lesson Videos. It was Lesson 28, and he talked about the concept to the players on the team, it seemed a little "too much" for them - and even for the audience- but he made it happen. To all you Stromae fans, he isn't in it much, but the clip is beautiful, and has a deep message. Looking forward to seeing what this very handsome entertainer will do next.  ENJOY!

So what do you think?

Tami ( MIks)

FKA twigs, and the strangest video I have ever seen...

         This is by far the strangest video I have ever seen in my entire life, BUT I LIKE IT!!!! It's so... Strange... and intriguing... and STRANGE. Her eyes look huge, and she's like a porcelain foreign/urban doll.  I really LIKE HER!

        FKA twigs is a British Musician, and trained dancer of Jamaican and Spanish decent. She can be seen in Jessie J's "Price Tag", and "Do It Like A Dude" music video; however in her own music career she is in a class all her own. This Trip-Hop artist will hypnotize you with her soft-lullaby voice, grab you by the throat with her lyrics, and pull you in with her videos. FKA twigs is definitely not afraid to make things fluid and sexy. Music videos such as: Papi Pacify, and That's How proves that she is not afraid to push the envelope, and talk about racy subjects.


Check out her website: http://twigsep1.com/ 
You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

My mini list of favorite FKA twigs clips:
1) Papi Pacify
2) Hide with Young Turks


Peace and Blessings,
MIks N.K.A Tami-Lee

Hard Time Forgetting... Seinabo Sey

                                                                                                     

         I finally found time to blog about an artist I just discovered, but first: BIG shout out to my favorite website Afropunk! I've discovered so much music, and fashion from these guys; and I'm always excited when I find unbelievable talent. The songbird I'm excited to tell you about is from Sweden, and she's currently signed to Universal Music Label. Her name is Seinabo Sey.



        There isn't much info on her, the website only has links to her music and social media pages. Although I would like to get more facts about her, I actually like that she's so mysterious. Instead of focusing on where she's from, or whether or not she's a trained singer- I'm forced to just sit back and enjoy the music.

Seinabo Sey " Hard Time"

      
         She has a baby face, and the cords of a woman twice her age. Seinabo has a gospel, and blues quality about her voice, and I have no doubt that she probably sounds amazing at her live shows. I'm looking forward to a full length album from her, until then check out the newest single, "Hard Time". When I watch this video, I want to throw a house party and invite all my girlfriends over, but who would help me clean up afterwards?


I think I'll let Seinabo have all the fun.


        Check out my little list of favorites from Seinabo.
1) My Sunshine
2) Younger
3) Change Your Mind


Visit Seinabo's Website for social media info:

Seinabo Sey

Peace and Blessings
Miks N.K.A Tami-Lee

The Maestro, STROMAE

   So I know it’s been a while boys and girls, but I came across some music and it has pulled me out of blogger hiding. There are a lot of things that inspire me, but attractive men are in the top ten. Handsome men maybe my vice, but handsome FOREIGN men are my kryptonite. I was in my own world being a film student, and suddenly a beautiful French man popped up on my Facebook feed via Afropunk. I had to come back to Song Love and tell you all about him.  He’s from Belgium and of Rwandan and Dutch decent, he’s 6’5, green eyes with a hint of yellow, and he has an awesome line of Polo’s and socks.

He’s also a Pisces, which means we are totally compatible (Team Leo).  I think I need to move to Belgium because apparently that’s where the beautiful people live. Ladies and gentlemen I’m done rambling, this gorgeous man’s name is Stromae.

The singer, songwriter, producer gained popularity with his 2009 song Alors on dance (So We Dance), the song is about everyday problems that we all have and it was an instant hit in France. The song also became number one in countries such as Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, and many others. It was also number one on the European Hot 100 Singles (wiki). His debut album “Cheese” was released in 2010 and it went gold and platinum in 15 countries (Rockhal.com). In 2013, he released his second album Racine Carrée (Square Root) which includes the very popular songs “Papaoutai” (Where are you, Papa?) and “Formidable” (Wonderful).  Papaoutai is about a young boy dealing with the absence of his father and Formidable was inspired by an encounter he had with a drunken homeless man. Both albums are fantastic and packed with energizing music and poetic lyrics.

                          

           

            Honestly, it’s hard to put Stromae in a genre, although there are different opinions about his style, I classify him as a mixologist of music. His influences included: Hip- Hop, Congolese rumba, salsa, electronica, and something called French chanson. Some say his lyrics are a bit dark even with the instrumentals that make you move, you’re listening to lyrics about absent fatherhood, economic/relationship troubles, drunken sorrow, the dangers of love and twitter, STD’s and the list goes on. Stromae once dubbed his style as “suicide music” but I like to think of it as conscious music instead. He talks about real life issues and circumstances all while making us dance. He may do it all in French, but that doesn’t stop me from listening to him- and it shouldn’t stop you either. If you were bumpin’ "Gangnam style" in the club or in your car, you have no excuses. Go right ahead, open your mind and give Stromae a chance. Personally I like conscious music, it’s a break from hearing those “Twerk sumthing” and “I got diamond breath mints in my mouth” songs- okay I made the last one up, but I may have given someone an idea. You’re welcome. 

         This beautiful man may not be an American artist but there are rumors that he will be working with will.i.am and Pharrell Williams. Kanye West was on the remix for Alors on dance and Angel Haze has also contributed to the remix of “Papaoutai”. This Belgium pop star could be on your radio sooner than you think. In closing, check out the Videos for Papaoutai and comment below. Meanwhile, I’ll be working on graduating film school, learning French, and trying to figure out when and where the next Stromae tour is.
 Until next time everyone, and I promise it will be soon! I hope you like my new imaginary boyfriend, and his music!


         And a message to Stromae: Je t'aime! Quand revenez-vous à l'Amérique? J'aimerais venir à votre concert. Je vais aussi voyager.



If this translates wrong don't judge me I used Google translate. :-) Okay Bye- au revoir ! 

Peace and Blessings

Now enjoy the music!!!!

MIks

Oooh I almost forgot. Stromae is a syllabic inversion of "Maestro”- like a slang word in Belgium.

  

Photo1 from: stromae.tumblr.com

Photo from: www.french-music.org

"... Tell us who gave responsibility without caring

Ah tell us who it is
Everyone knows how to make a child
But no one knows how to be a father.

...Tell me, where are you papa?

 Without even talking to him he knows what he did is wrong
It’s holy papa, tell me where are you broken, you must It’s been at least one thousand times, I counted my fingers

Where are you? Papa, where are you?" -

Stromae, Papaoutai

                                                                     
                     Press the CC( Closed Caption) button  on the Youtube Video to get English lyrics.

                                                      
                                             Check out translated over by CUT-Papaoutai

                                               
                                         
                                  

Rik Reed- It's a "Done Deal"

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There are Christian/Inspirational artists, and then there is Rik Reed. This Jacksonville, Florida native is in a league all his own.  He’s a rapper, singer, and music producer that is not limited to just Hip-Hop and Soul; he produces Rock and even Country music as well- he refuses to be constrained to one genre of music.  While listening to Rik Reed’s music, don’t wait for him to get overly religious; he keeps a perfect balance of dope music and Christianity, no matter what your belief is- you can listen to Rik Reed.

            This multi-talent artist does not deny his love for Christ, and he takes pride in spreading the message with swag; however, his album “Done Deal” isn’t just a Christian album, he has songs for the ladies as well, but it’s clean enough for your grandmother to listen too. “Acapella” and “About U” will keep both of your heads bopping. Tracks like “ Bazkin Robinz”, and “Everything was you and me” talks about love and heartbreak without leaving out Christ. “Done Deal” isn’t just music about God, it’s the musical of one man’s life and his love for the man upstairs.

            Rik Reed doesn’t have to establish himself as a force to be reckoned with- he already is. He’s been making music for quit sometime, and just keeps getting better. No matter your faith, your walk of life, or music preference- you will respect the man and the message.  

           

You and find Rik Reed’s Done Deal

On Itunes

Find Rik Reed on facebook

twitter. @rikreedmusic

Check out his Video Accapella