A great video by the touring musician Adam Neely who brings out the pain and stress of having to give away a precious instrument to airline workers and just hope it'll come safe and sound to the destination. Neely gives advice on how to try and protect it, and how to talk to flight attendants in order to have the instrument treated as hand luggage.
Music YouTuber Rick Beato shares his thoughts in his latest video about how creators crushed the music business, he himself being a creator now, and part of the music business previously. He goes back to where it all began - file-sharing services and social media. However, he insists that it's still an opportunity.
James Brown's 'Funky Drummer' beat was sampled over 1,700 times, yet its originator, drummer Clyde Stubblefield never got a penny for it. He didn't really like his beat either, unlike Brown who heard "a mother" in it. Arthur "LA" Buckner and Linda Diaz delve into the history of it, tracing its impact on Hip Hop music and the cultural significance of this iconic rhythm.
Rock and metal music YouTube channel has shared a video about gatekeeping, what it is, why it’s hurting heavy music, what can be done about it, and why it had increased over the last few years. The key point is to make the heavy metal environment as inclusive as it once was.
Rihanna performed last night at the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show singing a medley of her biggest hits. She sang on a floating stage wearing an all-red ensemble, with her dancers all in white. Yahoo describes her show as a "historic, glass-ceiling-shattering". Rihanna also showed her baby bump during the performance. Watch her performance here.
Trapital Dan Runcie's latest podcast is about the Super Bowl Halftime Show, how it evolved since Jay-Z got involved, and why artists agree to play for free: "In 95% of situations, companies asking talent to do things free 'for exposure' is bullshit. But the Super Bowl halftime show is one of those 5% exceptions. It’s the rare event that the talent can reap the long-term rewards for the exposure." This year, Rihanna will perform and she has prepared her business for the "after". Listen/watch the podcast below.
The 2023 Grammys celebrated the 50th anniversary of hip hop with a truly star-studded, multi-generational medley of performances, including the Roots, Run DMC, LL Cool J, Jazzy Jeff, Salt N Pepa, Rakim, Public Enemy, Ice-T, Queen Latifah, Method Man, Big Boi, Missy Elliott, The LOX, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Nelly, Scarface, Lil Baby, GloRilla, Too $hort, Lil Uzi Vert, and others.
A great new episode of How to Get Good at Music - Adam Neely and Elliott Klein discuss the legitimacy of writing your own solo. "Your ability to communicate an idea is based on your confidence in articulating it, and when you write stuff out ahead of time you fill a lot more confident... When you say things in your voice, you have to have your own way of saying things, and the way you develop that is by practicing and writing it out yourself" - Adam shares his advice. The two music experts also suggest you should sometimes fight to keep the imperfections in music.
Vibrato is that natural oscillation of pitch that singers often use when singing sustained notes - music theorist Adam Neely points out in his latest video. He gives examples like Schubert's 'Ave Maria', and Duke Ellington's 'Caravan', and how much they lose without using vibrato. YouTuber/musician also offers some advice on the approach to music - "Take music very seriously, but maybe don't take yourself so seriously as you do it", and about a career in music - "You should be passionate about what you do and you shouldn't make any decisions out of fear".
American-Kameroonian singer-songwriter Libianca has released the visuals to her viral hit 'People (Check on Me)'. Libianca's emotional music video shows the singer struggling through isolation, loneliness, and depressive moods. At the video's conclusion, the singer shares a heartfelt message saying, "Check in on your people. What they may be dealing with internally could be much more than American-Kameroonian sing-songwriter meets the eye. Your sense of kindness can break the wall of isolation and the feeling that no one cares."
