A rotating lens captures Selah Sue and her band in the video for "I Won't Go For More," in which the singer promises not to trouble the waters; the song can be found on her new album Reason, out now. -GB
ALBUM REVIEW: EMILY KING, "THE SWITCH"
Emily King “switched” it up for her sophomore album, The Switch, moving from a stint at J Records to her own independent record label, Making Music Records, producing favorable results. The album is a classic, a timeless mixture of innovative instrumentals and her soft yet poignant voice. GBSTL has a breakdown of what to expect when it drops Friday, June 26.*
NEW VIDEO: LIANNE LA HAVAS, "WHAT YOU DON'T DO"
Before clicking on Lianne La Havas's new video "What You Don't Do," one may gather that she would talk about the positive things that her beau doesn't do, but it's just the opposite. It's the negative things that her beau doesn't do that makes him the ultimate keeper.
Lianne La Havas' sophomore release is called Blood; it's slated for July 31. --GB
NEW SONG: NGAIIRE, "ONCE"
Ngaiire's back with a great single, compliments of a co-writing partnership with Paul Mac and Megan Washington. The single is called "Once;" the relaxed jam a prelude to her sophomore album Blastoma. The Papua New Guinea born singer has just filmed a video for the single last week in New South Wales. Listen above.--GB
5 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT PHONY PPL
Elijah Rawk (guitarist) and Sheriff PJ (rapper) took the time to explain 5 factoids that will put you in the
know to this upcoming act.
UNLOCKING THE TRUTH AND MORE ROCK SUMMERSTAGE'S FAMILY DAY
It was a fun day Sunday as Summerstage held its first Family Day of the season! With Willie Mae Rock Camp For Girls, Black Girls Rock, and Unlocking the Truth, the kid-friendly concert displayed the fire of the next generation.
Willie Mae Rock celebrated it’s 10th Anniversary this year, showcasing one of their alumni bands, Harsh Crowd. The four piece punk band got off on the right foot singing songs of teenage crush angst and rebellion. They covered Radiohead’s “Creep” and performed their songs “Fine,” and “Don’t Ask Me,” among others.
DJ Diamond Kuts rocked the interim getting the grown crowd on the floor with “Wobble” and “Electric Slide” before Beverly Bond and the Black Girls Rock girls came on. BGR’s mentorship program supports African-American girls from all over the world, and some of Beverly’s youth came out to perform. BGR sang covers of Alicia Keys' “New Day”, and Imagine Dragons' “Radioactive,”while poet Mercy Jaye performed her “Shut It” and “Empire” poetry and song. Abby the DJ kept the crowd live before the BGR girls ended with a chilling rendition of the once-televised BGR performance of For Colored Girls … “Four Women.”
Next, Omari Mizrahi and Ephrat Asherie, dance extraordinaires, got the kids poppin’ and locking on the stage, playing songs that they knew the dances to like Silento’s “Watch Me Whip (Nae Nae).”
Unlocking The Truth closed the latter portion of the show with some heavy metal. They rocked out with “Help Me,” “Other Side,” “Escape,” “Native's Thorne,” “Spiritual Wannabe,” and more. Whether it’s on one knee jamming on the bass, or bending their heads backward while they play to show they know their chords, the band’s performance had no dull moments.
Who says the future isn’t bright? Sunday proved that there are many youth who want to change the world for the better.-GB
(Propers: Merissa Blitz/ City Parks Foundation)
ZENDEE CREATES WAVES WITH JESSIE J'S SMULE "FLASHLIGHT" DUET
SMULE is an app in which can do all types of cool stuff, and it may be next after Snapchat as the biggest tech sensation. One really innovative thing that can be done on SMULE is the "duet" function, in which the sender can sing a tune and his or her followers can sing with them.
UK singer Jessie J took to her SMULE a few days ago to post an invite to duet her song "Flashlight" from the new movie Pitch Perfect 2, and Zendee Tenerefe, internet sensation from the Philippines, took up the offer. Along with 75,700 others from around the world, and counting, Zendee sang alongside her idol; she blew it out the water and hit 900,000 views in the process. Catch the duet above.--GB
GBSTL RECAP: PHONY PPL AND TROY AVE. BRING THE ENERGY TO RED HOOK PARK
Brooklyn came out last night for Summerstage’s first show of the season. With hosts Laura Stylez and Ebro from Hot 97, Red Hook Park was live for Phony PPL and Troy Ave., and crowd was full of die-hard fans of both ready to jam.
GBSTL RECAP: THE ROOTS BACK ERYKAH BADU IN THE DOPE-TASTIC "ROOTS PICNIC"
One great thing about the Roots is that they embrace all types of music. With an eclectic set of artists on the bill which includes new artists such as the electro Marc E. Bassy, reggae brethren Chronixx, internet sensation Brianna Cash, Hiatus Kaiyote, Rae Stremmured, Donn T, Phantogram and more, there was something for everyone.
Raury was a sight for sore eyes. The adorable 18 year old played his hits on the come-up from the ATL, and the crowd was feeling his set. He wore a brown opened shirt and had fun parading around the stage to “God’s Whisperer,” and others.
DJ Mustard got the crowd going with radio hits from the new age. Everyone was lit from the time he stepped on the stage to the time he stepped off. Spinning tracks from Fetty Wap and Drake, Big Sean, Omarion and more, he was definitely the hype needed to get everyone excited for the headliner events.
A$AP Rocky played songs from his latest album “AT.LONG.AT.LAST.A$AP” (and “Wild For the Night” from his first album) while the crowd was feeling him, they were a little too chill for his taste. He commented that they all must be smoking, but stayed positive saying that he loved the vibe and that it was a “beautiful day” in Philadelphia.
Talk about crowd hype when The Weeknd came on the stage; the ladies went wild for his passionate lyrics and smooth vocals. He did not miss a beat on the vocal tip by the way. He proved his point in a stationary position in the middle of the stage, only moving his hands up and down slowly while he sang. Girls were melting singing all of his songs word for word like “Love Me Harder,” and “Wicked Games.”
The Roots took the stage and played two hits before introducing Erykah Badu, who started off with “Window Seat.” Every one in the crowd was singing her lyrics back at her the entire time. She wore a loose white shirt, loose white pants, a taupe cloak, feather earrings, space sunglasses, beaded neck attire, and a flowing fro.
During her song “Love of My Life“, Erykah would sing a verse, and then the Roots would flip it to another one of their tracks like “The Rising,” but when Erykah sang a verse and Freeway came out to perform “Roc The Mic” the crowd went wild. Then she sang another verse and the Roots flipped it and the LOX came out to perform “All About The Benjamins (Remix).” It was a great throwback.
One of the highlights of Erykah’s performance was “Green Eyes.” This is one of her most poignant songs ever; it just pulls on the heart strings, you know, like music is supposed to do. After performing the last line, “You tried to trick me” she shook her head with so much emotion, as if she could still tap into the pain that it took her to write the song in the first place. Erykah also sang more hits like, “Bag Lady,” and “Gone Baby/Don't Be Long” and the crowd was all ears the whole time. The Weeknd came out and closed the show with one last hit, and everyone left filled.
The Roots are thinking about taking the show on the road, considering that the attendance is growing and so is their notoriety of being “the best band in the land.” If you missed it, you may have another chance to catch them in your city in the future.--GB
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