Category: Music Reviews
Review: Nuclear Tourism: ‘Nuclear Tourism’
Athens, Georgia band Nuclear Tourism’s self-titled sophomore album serves as a reminder of how much fun music can be in its rawest form, especially if that form involves a couple surf-rock anthems. The album opener, “Feels Alright,” perfectly sets the tone with a song that highlights the strengths of each member without taking itself too…
Review: Khamari: ‘A Brief Nirvana’
Up-and-coming R&B singer Khamari released his debut album, A Brief Nirvana, on May 26, 2023. The album is littered with recognizable samples, interpolations, and strikingly personal lyrics. His voice and strong songwriting are reminiscent of a Channel Orange-era Frank Ocean. He has writing credits on every track and production credits on all but the last,…
Review: CLEAR 2: SOFT LIFE EP
Fans and R&B aficionados can finally rejoice: Grammy-nominated artist Summer Walker has finally released her long-awaited CLEAR 2: SOFT LIFE EP. This nine-track project is a follow up to her CLEAR EP which was released before her debut album Over It. It features verses from J.Cole and Childish Gambino and includes production from Solange and…
Review: MAVI: ‘Let the Sun Talk’
An undergraduate student at Howard University at the time, Charlotte-born rapper MAVI released his 2019 album Let the Sun Talk just a week after his twentieth birthday. He is considered by many to make abstract hip-hop. It’s a hard-to-define sub-genre but some shared qualities amongst its artists, songs, and projects are pushing sonic boundaries, emphasizing…
Review: UGA MBUS Students: 2023 Spring Releases
As a part of the University of Georgia’s Music Business Certificate Program, I am lucky enough to be classmates with a host of musicians and performers. So here, I want to highlight a few recent releases from my talented classmates. Bea Porges is a singer-songwriter with a penchant for layered, relatable lyrics. Backed by fellow…
Review: Common: “Be”
Be. It’s a simple message, a direct command. And, it also happens to be the title of Chicago rapper Common‘s 2005 album: Be. Common explained the title of his album in a 2005 interview, stating: The album is entitled BE because the hardest thing to do is to be yourself, although many think it’s the easiest it’s…
Review: 6LACK: “Since I Have a Lover”
Hailing from East Atlanta, 6LACK (pronounced ‘Black’) has finally returned to music with the release of his third studio album Since I Have a Lover following a six year hiatus. The album boasts three features, including a surprising Wale feature. Previously, 6LACK has established common themes in his music like break-ups and being a rolling…
Review: JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown: “Scaring The Hoes”
On the music side of Twitter, you’ll find one revolving joke: “Don’t put on ‘so-and-so’ or ‘whats-his-name’ at the function, or you’ll scare away the hoes,” and JPEGMAFIA, also known as Peggy, and Danny Brown are often at the butt of the joke. They embodied this with their new project, a collab album titled Scaring…
Review: GROUPLOVE: “Hello, All!”
When the temperature reaches 70 degrees, certain things become non-negotiable for me: every outfit needs to include a pair of shorts, my car windows will be rolled down, and every playlist should contain at least one GROUPLOVE song to set the mood. Thankfully, with the surprise release of their new double single “Hello, All!” off…
Review: Musiq Soulchild & Hit-Boy: ‘Victims and Villains’
Following a six-year hiatus from releasing his own music, Musiq Soulchild returned to the scene in early March 2023. Victims and Villains is a collab album with producer Hit-Boy. This new album comes nearly 23 years after the release of his debut studio album Aijuswanaseing (I just wanna sing), but he still continues his E.E….