Jams 002: Season Fa Lovin'

It's 2016 and we're already on the second month of the year! Our February playlist features songs by various artists that are more on the hopeful side when it comes to love for yourself and love for others. Hope you enjoy these picks!

A Star Down the Hall: In Conversation with Niya Wells

This afternoon I had the pleasure of interviewing my friend and artist, Niya Wells. She’s making a name for herself in the world of music with her unique R&B voice and international collaborations. Two years ago we lived on the same floor as freshmen at UNCG. She was known for always singing in the halls, but no one seemed to mind. We sat down at Coffeeology in Greensboro to catch up and talk about music.

Hit Play on some of Niya's tracks while reading!

IMANI: I’ve gotta ask. Have you heard Pillowtalk by Zayn?

NIYA: Pillowtalk by who?

Zayn? From One Direction?

Zayn? No no. I’m gonna have to look it up. Let me see. I screenshotted this picture of a guy I think his name was Zayn.

*shows me a photo on her phone*

Yeah that’s him! I think he has different hair though.

Yeah I heard this song, and I was like “Oh my god! Who is this guy?” It was a remix of You & I. I’ll have to send it to you.

Who is your dream collaboration?

Frank Ocean. Frank Ocean is my dream.

Oh my god. You’re gonna have to find him first.

Right? I love that he’s building the anticipation, though. He’s like steadying his audience.

What’s your favorite collab that you’ve done so far?

I have two. My favorite, because it was great and it’s the biggest, is one that I did with Jarreau Vandal with Selections & Brasstracks. I loved that collaboration because I was the underdog, and they’re pretty big people, and I don’t know how they found me. Another is with Ace Henderson. He’s a Raleigh-based rapper, and I collaborated with visuals & musical forms.

Did they just hit up your email inbox one day?

The guy (Jarreau Vandal)’s manager, his name is Em, he lives in London and he said “I’ve been stalking your SoundCloud for years.” He sent me some house tracks & I did some of those, and he said “Oh this is great. Let me see you on this other track.” And out of all the tracks that I did, he loved that one. He was like “This is gonna be big! I’m sitting with him now and we’re amped about this.” At first I was like “Uh. He’s probably selling wolf tickets”. I’ve never seen his face. We always talk on the phone.

That’s a catfish situation. You might have to call MTV. 

Right? Like I love having this Charlie’s Angels type guy.

Was that Pure Bliss?

No Pure Bliss with Ralphy London. I did that one in like high school.

I liked that one. Sorry, I was on your YouTube.

Yeah? Thanks! 

I loved that one line “I’m digging your vibe/ I’m giving you all my time”

Yes! You know the words! 

I was fangirling. I was like “I know her!” 

That makes me so happy. 

How would you describe your music?

My voice is R&B-ish, but I love all genres so I say alternative R&B. Heavy emphasis on “alternative”.

Who are your musical influences?

Kimbra, definitely, Kid Cudi, and Pharrell. Especially his N.E.R.D. days.

When did you realize that music was something you wanted to pursue?

When I turned 19. I feel like that was the transition year. I was like “this is the year to find out what I’m gonna do. If I’m gonna stick with school and be very blue-collared, I need to stick with that. Or if I’m gonna be artsy, or you know, pursue my music career, I need to start now. This is the age.” And then around like 19, that’s when my grandmother started to pass, and she was my musical influence. She pushed me. So 19 was when I really felt like it was what I needed to do.

Are you working on anything now?

Yes, I’m working on a project. I initially planned to name it Canvas, but I’m not sure I want to keep it that just because I chose that name a year & a half ago. But yeah, I’m working on that, and I’m just doing a lot of collaborations with other deejays internationally. Those should be coming in soon.

Are you working with anyone in Greensboro? Other than Leo?

Ace Henderson, I’m still working with him. There’s another guy, his name is Unique, and he’s a producer so he’s been sending me a couple of tracks. 

How does that process work?

They just email. Social media is very good for like marketing yourself, and they just find & email you and are like “Hey, like this beat?” and I’m like “Yes, I love it.” And I’ll record a rough draft and send them the idea, and if they like it, I’ll go further. 

So do you have equipment in your room?

I have a USB mic and I just purchased some more equipment. An amp, just a regular mic, and a program that I use to do reverbs. I use VoiceLive. It’s made by TC Helicon. It allows you to do looping and pedaling and stuff. 

What are your social media sites?

I have an Instagram, SoundCloud, Facebook, and Twitter. My site is being built right now. It’s in the process, but SoundCloud is the main one. All of it is @niyawells. 

When is your drop date, if you have one?

That is so hard. Okay so, I know the collaboration tracks, I have to send them in soon, like early February. Just because it’s for a deadline, they wanna start getting headlines out. My release date? I’m not completely sure because every time you add songs, you take away songs, I didn’t realize how much of a process it actually is, and I’m a perfectionist. I want to make sure it shows me completely. 

Don’t pull a Frank Ocean. We have to hear from you.

Hopefully by the end of the summer. Like I’ll at least have some kind of demo rough tape that I can send.

What’s your favorite track that you’ve done so far? That could be solo or collaborations.

Solo work, I can say is this one song called The One. I did it with a guy named Tom Buchanan and he literally produced the whole track. He got on the grand piano, guitar, and just constructed the whole track. And it’s my favorite track because I wrote from the heart. I was upset, I was listening to this guy talk about this girl he’s madly in love with. So I wrote about it, and I’ve never been that honest. In collaboration, I’d say it’s with Ace. It’s this song called Cali USA, and I’m excited for him to drop that. It’s a fun song.

What’s one place you’d want to hear your music? 

I was a B5 stan for awhile and they did this interview where they were asked what their ultimate goal was for their music. Bryan said to perform at an award show, which I found odd because usually everyone’s like “I wanna be top of the charts” “I wanna play MSG” but he’s content with just an award show and I dig that. 

At first I thought it was just, you know, get on a radio station, international. But that happened, and it’s still spinning on BBC1 Extra. So I think I really just want to be able to perform in front of a crowd that just knows the words to my songs, and they like actually support me so much that if I were to mess up, they’re there all the way. It doesn’t feel like a trial because right now I feel like it’s a trial & error period. I have to like show them that I’m worthy whereas when people support you, they just want to see you create.

Have you heard of Halsey?

Who? No. 

She built her fanbase on Tumblr. She got signed like last summer and her album got to #2.

It’s crazy! People do that. I wish I was introduced to Tumblr & stuff like that at a young age because I feel like that’s what I would’ve been drawn to. I felt like an outsider as a kid, but I didn’t have access to all that stuff until later on. I missed the wave and now I kind of have to catch up.

What’s your creative process?

I cannot be angry. Or really down. I can’t be at a low point. I just don’t feel very creative. I was going to say worthless, but that sounds really bad. I just don’t like being in low points, so I like lighting, colored light bulbs, rhythm, and just a bomb ass beat. And that kinda gets me going.

Do you find that that effects what you write about in your music?

Yes. I feel like the beat is the foundation of the song. It gives you the mood. It can be somber. I’m not really a theory-head, but theory plays a lot in how a song sounds. Like if it’s in A minor or something like that, it kind of gives a somber feel. And movies! I like to have movies on mute playing on the screen. 

What’s your favorite movie to watch?

Wild starring Reese Witherspoon.

How do you deal with writer’s block?

I don’t deal with it well. If I have writer’s block, I’m just like “I’m the worst person! I’m not supposed to have writer’s block. I’m not meant to be an artist. I’m gonna get a regular job.” I’ll feel so bad, then I’ll just stop for a minute. I watched this interview with Erykah Badu and she was basically saying “If you can’t write, it means it’s not time for it to come out yet”. You’ve just gotta let it keep brewing. It’s not done. That’s it, so don’t try to force it. So I took it as that. I mean, I’m not gonna sit down and come up with a new song every day. 

I follow Tavi Gevinson on Instagram, and I remember she had this one post that said to be patient with your work. Even if it blows up, take time off. You don’t have to constantly have these big blowouts. 

Yeah, exactly. And sometimes you have the pressure to come up with things every day because you see other people dropping things consistently, but that honestly only comes when they hold all their ideas together and then drop it at that one time.

How do you balance school and your music?

I try to keep them separate. I feel like music is my escape from school. School is so structured, every day is the same and it drives me insane. So I try to find my time where I can just breathe. Like today is the day that I can just lay back, watch a movie, and come up with ideas.

Do you play any instruments?

I don’t, unfortunately. 

How did you & Leo get together? That’s something I’ve been wondering for a while.

I try to like spot out all the musicians. I remember I saw him and I was like “He looks like he’s 12, but he has a tattoo which is cool”. I befriended his roommate, Jacob, and then he found out I sang and we just kind of played and that’s it. We really got close over summer 2015. That’s when we went to New York together, and we all just kind of stayed there and lived in the city.

What were you guys doing in New York?

Just seeing if we liked it. We tried to find some spots where we could perform, and just get a feel.

Did you like it there?

Yeah, I loved it. I feel like I would get tired of it but if you wanted to get some things done, every day there’s something to do. 

Well, it is the city that never sleeps. So what’s a city you’d move to?

I think I’d be more of a west coast person. Just because it’s just so laidback and they support you regardless of where you come from. As long as your good, that’s it. And they have a lot of deejays & producers. I love it.

What’s the coolest audience you’ve played for?

Honestly, I’d say NYP. It was fun. They knew the words to the songs I was singing. Like when I do urban songs, hip-hop- based crowds, they don’t really know about Lykke Li or Jesse Boykins III or Frank Ocean songs from before channel ORANGE. They don’t know too much about that. So NYP loved it. I was excited. I was like “This is nice”. 

What’s your favorite venue?

I haven’t really been doing many venues. I’ve just been trying to see which ones were good. I’ve been to Raleigh and I’d love to perform at Kings. In Greensboro, we don’t do too many shows, but I will be at The Blind Tiger on the 20th so we’ll see how that turns out. That might be one of my favorite venues. I’ve seen videos and the lighting is really nice.

Is that solo or with Leo?

It’s going to be a festival. Black2HipHop. 

Are you & Leo going to have an EP?

We’re working on it, yes! We had to take a little hiatus because I was working on stuff before we decided to do the EP, and I was investing in my project so I didn’t want to throw that to the side. 

What’s an artist, album, or track you’ve got on repeat right now?

Well Rihanna’s album just dropped. I didn’t listen to the whole album but I do listen to Consideration with SZA. I think it’s the first track, but it is great. I think SZA just made the track. I feel like they should just do a whole collaboration EP. Rihanna came in and enunciated, her tone, she just went up & down, her riffs. This song is great, so I’ve had it on repeat. I’ve also been listening to a lot of Kilo Kish. She doesn’t do much singing, she’s like talking. 

Cool, I’ll check her out. Thank you for the interview!

Photos by: Tristan Pelletier

Cool People: Jam Session with Lucianna Ania

              

Lucianna Ania is a lovechild between Luci Davis, singer/rapper extraordinaire, and three talented guy friends of hers: Sebastian, Guthrie and Jack. The band is new, but already has a strikingly unique sound. Incorporating electronic tones with smooth base and sharp drums, Luci leads the sound with harsh yet beautiful notes gliding on top of the harmonies. Picture a garage rock collaboration with Odd Future, or a Janis Joplin post-rock lovechild. You'll get Lucianna Ania. I had the pleasure of listening to their practice and run of their current set, an eclectic mix of all the styles that inspired Lucianna Ania. One minute she'll be rapping about club drugs, and the next minute they'll have a full blown break-down. Here are some visuals, edited in inspiration of their music from my night with these very, very cool people. Listen to their recordings on Soundcloud.

             

              

Style Profile: Tyler, the Creator

“Can we add some more color? Um, like, some more, yellow? Yeah, that's good.”

I thought it was time for me to stop being the outcast and actually write on fashion. One of the actual topics for this beautiful blog that's letting me be me here.

You may not realize it, but Tyler, the Creator is a fashion icon, aside from having one of the best ears for music in the industry. He and his crew are responsible for a lot of the hypebeast sell outs of brand like Supreme, Thrasher and Bape. He the nigga that isn't afraid of colors. Colors that in the past have been looked at as “gay” or soft. Bright colors, you know nigga, them yellows and pastels. They don't exist in the rap world. Kanye and Cam’ron got that pink to pop but that was about it.

Stripes, checkerboard, polka dots. All the shit I would have never worn but somehow Tyler got to look good. The best things about these fire jawns he puts on is it's just stupid shit that comes up in his head. It's what he wants to wear. Evolving from cat prints in 2013 that sold like heat rock. Golf Wang was just rapper merch at that point, but like his music, his clothing evolved. He has never been a regular nigga, which has been a major part of his appeal to the youth.

Taking classic looks and branding it with his own crude drawings or logos. Parodic yet respectable.

Recently, over the last two years it seems as if the merch has transformed into a label with more mature, wearable fashion. Shortening itself as just GOLF for branding and it looks good on t-shirts.

I really think Golf Wang has the potential and exclusivity to be as influential as Supreme, one of Tyler's favorite brands. He even has his arms reached out to touch into collabs with Vans for shoes. Very impressive, rappers are really the new athletes but that's content for another week.

Now to his personal style. Usually wearing his own brand, one way he keeps himself separated from wearing the exact same thing as you simpletons is his jewelry. You gotta wear something you know these broke boys can't afford. As everyone growing up in the 2000's era, he was exposed to bling. Every rapper had on two, three gold chains in every video. In the last decade it has lost its creativity. Besides T-Pain's 'Big Ass Chain' and Ross' bust chain its all been just gold. No yellow diamonds, no color, and that's what Tyler has made a name on.

His ring that he wears on his hand is a bold statement in itself. Yellow gold and an aqua diamond actually inspired me to get one similar. All black because that's my shit, but the same design. Tyler's individuality has set himself apart from a lot of people in his lane.

     

Tyler has taken regular shit and turned it into fire ass cult jawns. I gotta applaud the guy. I am a fan of his boldness. Go buy some shit, stop being basic.

What to Listen to in 2016

Image credit

2015 was an undeniably great year for music; Grimes, Drake, Sufjan, Miguel, and Carly Rae Jepsen are just a few of the names that come to mind off the top of my head that released albums that were absolutely fire. Fortunately for us, 2016 is shaping up to be just as exciting. Click through the post to find all the albums we can't wait to get our hands on.

SWISH



You feel that? The crispness in the air? That fucking tingling on your nape bitch? You're not crazy, its Yeezy again.

Almost three entire years without an album Kanye. He hasn't necessarily been MIA like he was for the productions of MBDTF and Yeezus instead Kanye might have had the biggest year possible. From the separation with Nike and signing with Adidas then creating the biggest buzz for a model of sneaker since the Jordan 11 Concord drop of 2011. To having his second child, a son with wife Kim. On December 31st of 2014 Kanye released ‘Only One’ written from his mother's point of view to his daughter North (Nori) the song received great acclaim. Giving hope that Ye would bless us with an album in 2015. 

Nah, He had better shit to do. Finally getting his clothing line off of the ground, being named GQ’s Most Stylish of 2015, continuing fatherhood. He has been so immersed in this longtime dream of his he stepped down as president of G.O.O.D Music, handing it to right hand man, Pusha T.

Alas on December 31st 2015, following pattern he dropped ‘FACTS’ which is basically shit talking and bravado laced over a Metro Boomin beat. Yeezy jumped over the Jumpman for the second time. Yeezy season begins.

January 8th 2016 at about 1:45 on the east coast Kanye West gave us that good soul music that no one else can quite do. With ‘Real Friends’ and ‘No More Parties in LA’ sending everyone on the internet into a whirlwind, including myself. reaching out to the crooner Ty Dolla $ign who Kanye blessed with a feature on his album ‘Free TC’ on ‘Real Friends’ and one of the best rappers ever Kendrick Lamar on ‘No More Parties in LA’. This shit rides.

The reception was all great, many thanking that we had “The old Ye back” (Which to me is a blasphemous statement.) when we we're blessed to hear this audible chocolate, Yeezy doubled down by announcing his album SWISH is set to release on February 11th. Tis the season!

UPDATE: The full Real Friends is officially released.

ion know why he keep blessing me.  ion know why he keep blessing me. ion know why, ion know why.

Democratizing Music and How Diplo Saved my Life

Right now in this wonderful moment there is a iPad screen. The top is flashing red, indicating an absorption, not unlike the human mind, of the sound of thoughts, had and allowed to be had at any moment, or any place. Just a few years ago, that same process was an improbability in the order of the average state lottery game, it just wasn’t available to the average musician, let alone average person. Yet, that iPad screen, with multiple audio inputs, and serviceable microphone, is beloved by parents for its generous screen size. It’s probably the most powerful tool no one’s said you could make a concerto with.

Maybe concerto a bit of an exaggeration, if only a little, after all that would take years of musical education and understanding that only schooling and financial incentives provided. Though, those too are reasonably acquired with some google searches. I’ve found the term “how to make X sound” a most excellent resource to lead to me a professionally curated series of web pages dedicated to teaching the finer details of auditory aesthetics.

The internet freed up the information that was always thought to have been tangled up in headier parts of society, even if they were just at the library behind some intense vocabulary.

In 2005, an artist now known for his ability to work within a broad range of genres, gave an interview on a site filled with so much pretension, even then, that it makes sense that he found true mainstream success, in the last few years. He expounded upon the exploration of sound that took him all over the globe, to places where day-to-day life entailed making life or death choices just trying to walk down the street. In these places, he described making music, no matter the conditions, with bootleg software and a drive to want to make a sound to express himself. The sounds might not have originated with him but he made them their own. That’s how Diplo saved my life.

Music, the interview taught me, was something that would happen with the tools available to the artist. 

Those tools are no longer, lifetimes of practice from the moments we were seen as fit, nor enormous investments in physical objects meant to handle specific tasks, though a place for both certainly exists. Those tools are now the everyday devices we tend to relinquish as mundane necessities in the day to day consumption of life.

Our computers enabled us for sometime to manage and organize our digital lives, but now we can manage entire studio work flows; having previously cost tens of thousands in equipment, or hourly rental times, now live in the place we pay our bills. While our phones and tablets, though limited by interface limitations, allow us to harness ideas and sounds, previously so elaborate they would be considered other worldly. And Lest we forget about web browsers alone, the power of algorithms enabling creation without any investment at but the time we wish to spend.

Music has forever been the expression we choose to envision, personally as well as professionally. We learn to express emotions, and allow others to swim in the wonder of the spaces between sounds. To spread that wonder, however, used to come with an air of compromise, as the gatekeepers of its flowering usually had something else in mind. No more is that worry with portals to share with (almost) every corner of this pale blue dot.

Technology today has allowed music to flow constantly, as the creator sits on train rides during rush hour commutes, playing with synthesized sounds, previously completely tied to boxes the size of your average walk in closet. 

The freedom of information gives us clues as to how we can use those sounds to evolve our own possible sounds, while pulling the rug out from under the thought that those who make are those who have been taught how.

That iPad screens is still red at the top, still recording the unbalanced sounds of whatever the mind could translate onto its screen. Democratizing the entire notion of what it means to be a musician, no longer beholden to the traditional path. Letting the user forge a new path, allowed to the "go" diverge constantly, and bloom into personal divinity.

Have Fun

Sounds of Asheville: Omnitat

Music plays a key role in Asheville's artistic scene. From the buskers in the streets to local bands performing in all the venues throughout the city, there is always a chance to experience new music.

The video below features a local Asheville jazz band, Omniat, who are an exceptional contribution in bringing people together with the use of their talent. They have performed in a number of venues, including Aloft and The National Lounge in downtown Asheville.

Since I am studying abroad this semester, I haven't had the chance to edit the video due to exploring the streets of Hong Kong, China. It's a solid shot, so I think that's fair enough! Be on the lookout!

His Own Direction

One Direction, the British 5-part boy band made famous from The X Factor in 2010, has been broken up for about 10 months now. Well, logically, actually only since November 13th with the release of the seemingly last album,  Four.
I can't help but ask myself, who really even gave a fuck after Zayn Malik decided to leave? He was the one bringing in those numbers. What'd you think, Harry Styles? He dated Taylor Swift, so everything he does is now considered null and void.
I am a completely heterosexual man, so I can admit this in full comfortable in myself that Zayn Malik is a sexy sum'bitch. Look at him.

Knowing what I know about 1D -- a group geared towards 12 to 15 year old girls -- I never really gave a damn about them. But I frequent Twitter. That's my home. So when Zayn Malik split from the group, the Brit became a trending topic. It got me curious, why the f*ck he do that? 

Nothing much immediately came from the J.T./Beyonce move, or dare I say, the greatest solo venture ever, Michael McDonald leaving The Doobie Brothers. But, around the month of September, when talks of the final One Direction project began to arise, Malik began opening himself up to major publications in personal interviews at his home in Beverly Hills where after reading into who he is, you can clearly see he was the 'bad boy' of the group.

The graffiti, the smoking, the bleached hair and obligatory leather jacket. 

Now, the solo career started in March 2015. Here we are in the new year and still nothing. He has acknowledged the glaring absence of music in which constitutes a solo venture. So where the hell is it Zayn?
Learning of his life's musical influences really sparked a new interest in his forthcoming work. The British Pakastani credits his father with a deal of his influence, who was immensely into R&B, and when asked what music he had playing around the house, he said “it was a lot of R&B, a lot of R. Kelly, a lot of Usher, a lot of Donell Jones, a lot of Prince.” Along with rap artists like Pac and Big as well as the bop & reggae genres.

Training Wheels Zayn:

Motorcycle Zayn:

With knowing that we will hear some of Malik’s own sound in the spring is exciting and I am personally looking forward to it.

Jams 001: New Year, New You

Listen to our January playlist, New Year New You below! It features awesome upbeat tracks from artists like the one & only Erykah Badu, mixed with some chill underscores for a nice evening full of productivity. This playlist will surely get your creative juices flowing. Here's to the new year, you, and new hope & dreams closer to your reach.