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Bay Area Review: Lil B’s “Young Niggaz”

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Lil B

Lil B’s odd journey from parody figure to Hip Hop influencer hasn’t stopped him from becoming one of the most versatile artists in the industry. To be frank, everyone loves him. If you love traditional rap, chances are you find Lil B funny enough to justify checking out his music on occasion. If you love listening to experimental rap, you love Lil B for his constant forays into odd musical territories. The point is, there’s something for everyone when checking out his extensive catalog. With this in mind, it makes it hard to recommend listening to one his latest releases, “Young N*ggaz.”

To be fair, we did just say that he always experiments. But to be honest, he took a long time off from rapping relevancy, only to reappear recently for the release of his Black Ken mixtape. Maybe he retooled his approach recently to focus on a more traditional demographic. Maybe he wanted to go after a classic Bay Area hyphy sound. Whatever the case, “Young N*ggaz” suffers from it.

It’s not necessarily the overly hyphy production or the subpar mixing of the beat and vocals that make it a mess, more so the quality of the verse from Lil B combined with, well, everything else. It sounds like a joke, and that’s even low by Lil B’s standards. The track relies on the nostalgia produced by the hyphy sound to carry the listener to the end. The problem with that is that the production is yawn-inducing so the nostalgia lasts for all of ten seconds before you realize that the track is pretty bad.

The only saving grace in the song is a verse from fellow Californian YG who brings a phoned-in but quality verse. But then again, every YG verse is fire. Could this be on the lower end? Does YG sound bored here? These type of questions pop up as the song goes along. Imagine listening to it multiple times for a review. Yeah, it’s that bad.

Hopefully, Lil B can recapture the creative spark that he had for years when he ran the backend of the rap game with his original sound and message. As a Lil B fan, I can only return to some of his best work and reminisce on the golden days. If “Young Niggaz” is an indicator of the direction that he will push his sound, it looks like his best days are behind him.

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Perfect Distro is the Ideal Option for Independent Artists at Every Level

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Founded in 2021 by John Nichols, Perfect Distro has become one of the fastest-rising distribution companies in the industry. Nichols has a bevy of experience distributing music after partnering with musical heavyweights like QC, Warner Music Group, Atlantic Records, Alamo Records, Think It’s A Game Records, Freebandz, 300 ENT, Young Money Records, and many more. His success led him to become one of the industry’s go-to for mixtape streaming, marketing, and advertising.

His most significant accomplishments include Lil Wayne’s ‘Sorry 4 Tha Wait 2, Meek Mill’s DC4, and most notably, Lil Baby’s hit smash, “Freestyle.” To date, Nichols has helped facilitate over 1,000 project releases. After a two-year hiatus, he is back with his latest endeavor in partnership with Vydia. Perfect Distro has accrued over 50 artists and influencers to the roster since opening in 2022. Not only do they collect and distribute music, but the company also focuses on music business education. Creatives can use the platform to collect YouTube revenue, and the same for social media. They have hosted countless showcases and look to keep their foot on the gas in the upcoming years.

Perfect Distro distributes content to all Digital Service Platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, JPay, iHeart Radio & many more. Look out for more from the distribution giant shortly.

Learn more at Perfect Distro’s website.

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THE 1975 TO PLAY BIGGEST EVER UK HEADLINE SHOW AT FINSBURY PARK THIS SUMMER

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The 1975 today announce their biggest ever UK headline show at London’s Finsbury Park this summer, alongside a truly brilliant line-up of acts joining them for a monumental day of music for 40,000+ fans.

The event takes place on Sunday, 2 July 2023 and The 1975 will be supported by acts including Texan dream-pop band Cigarettes After Sex, New Jersey rock outfit Bleachers, electronica-pop act The Japanese House and emo-rock band American Football, for a day of unbeatable live music, with even more acts to be announced imminently. Tickets go on general sale Friday 17th February HERE.

Formed in Manchester in 2002, The 1975 have firmly established themselves as an act at the forefront of their generation. The band has been crowned ‘Best Group’ at the BRIT Awards twice and won the Award for Best Rock/Alternative Act at this year’s 2023 ceremony. Their fifth album ‘Being Funny in a Foreign Language’ was their fifth consecutive no.1 album in the UK. Just last month, the band completed a UK leg of their ‘At Their Very Best’ tour, including two dates at London’s O2 Arena, to wide critical acclaim. They will now headline London’s Finsbury Park after initial plans to do so in 2020 were scuppered by the global pandemic.

The 1975’s five-album career has encompassed glossy pop, punk, garage rock, electro-funk, country and so much more. The English rockers have designed a unique approach to songwriting and amassed an incredible following and ardent fanbase through their music which explores mental health, addiction, climate change and nihilism – to reference just a few songs. Latest album, 2022’s ‘Being Funny In A Foreign Language’, was praised for its enigmatic and ‘contradictory’ songcraft and their viral ‘At Their Very Best Tour’ not only executed a show-within-a-show concept whilst delivering a tirade of hits, but featured Taylor Swift as a surprise guest at one London show.

2023’s most famous British band promise only more showstopping moments this summer at London’s Finsbury’s Park, and they will not be alone. The band is bringing with them an array of acts with their own unique takes on pop and rock for an unsurpassable day of live music in N4, London.

Cigarettes After Sex hail from El Paso, Texas, and released their debut eponymous album in 2017 after recording it over three days in Brooklyn, NYC. Their music has been hailed for its modern take on romance and bringing together dream pop with elements of alt-country – all with a serious edge.  Singer Greg Gonzalez powerful and distinct voice has reverberated across countless countries around the world, and will come to Finsbury Park this July as part of a string of global shows across Mexico, China and more.

Described as “anthemic, life affirming pop rock” by the New York Times, Bleachers are fronted by eight-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, musician, and producer, Jack Antonoff. Releasing their debut album ‘Strange Desire’ in 2014, the band have built a huge following across three studio albums, becoming renowned for their impressive live show. As a songwriter and producer, Antonoff, who, in 2021, was credited by the BBC for having“ redefined pop music,” has collaborated with the likes of Diana Ross, Taylor Swift, The 1975, Lorde, St. Vincent, Florence + The Machine, Lana Del Rey, Kevin Abstract and many more.

The solo project of London-based singer-songwriter Amber Bain, The Japanese House made their first foray into music after being introduced to The 1975’s Matty Healy – and went on to release a pair of EPs with the band’s label Dirty Hit in 2015. Debut album ‘Good At Falling’ followed in 2019, bringing together Bain’s dreamy take on electronica into a shimmering collection of songs which cemented The Japanese House as a true pioneer in British music with incredible promise.

American Football released their first album back in 1999 during college before disbanding and reuniting 15 years later, having quietly amassed a consistently growing fanbase on the underground / emo scene. Their album was later honoured by Rolling Stone as one of the ’40 greatest emo albums of all time’ and described by Pitchfork as one of the most influential in its genre. Their influence only continues to grow and music fans can expect a journey through the past, present and future of emo from their set at Finsbury Park this July.

There are many more acts to be added to the bill imminently. With so much on offer from acts at the forefront of their genres, music fans will not want to miss out on what is set to be one of the most talked about live events of the summer.

Tickets for the Finsbury Park show go on pre-sale from 9am Wednesday 15th February (HERE), and on general sale from 9am Friday 17th February.

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Serato Launches Studio 2.0 with the Revolutionary “Stems” Technology, A New Landmark In Beatmaking and Audio Production

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Always ahead of the curve, Serato has changed the game before and they’re about to do it again. The audio production experts have outdone themselves with Serato Studio 2.0, the fastest and most intuitive DAW on the market for making beats. The new DAW provides a robust home for the revolutionary Serato Stems technology, a monumental innovation in the world of sampling and audio manipulation.

“Serato Stems is the biggest moment in sampling since the MPC,” says Cookin Soul, the GRAMMY Award-winning producer/DJ 

Powered by Serato’s one-of-a-kind machine-learning algorithm, Stems enables producers to instantaneously isolate and manipulate four different audio stems, while keeping the sterling audio quality for which Serato is known. Stems splits audio into distinct tracks for vocals, bass, drums, and melodies, enabling producers to instantly create acapellas and instrumental tracks and providing easy integration of additional samples or original sounds with the push of a button. 

“It’s like y’all use some kind of alien technology or something,” says acclaimed producer Dibia$e“because the drums sound clean, the bassline sounds clean.”

Now embedded in Serato Studio’s powerful sampler, Serato Stems delivers infinite possibilities for sampling and unique sound creation. In seconds, users are able to isolate, flip, layer, and chop with finger-snapping ease without sacrificing sound quality, giving them greater freedom to sample how they’ve always wanted to sample. As platforms like TikTok have made remixes and mashups increasingly relevant and lucrative, Serato and Stems can help producers find an audience and more easily express their boundless creativity.

“With this update, Serato Studio is the center of my universe. This is a big moment for music production,” says DJ Khalil who is nominated for two Grammys this year for his work on Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.

Stems made its debut in Serato DJ 3.0 in the fall, and in just a few short months, it has already made a major impact on the culture. Over 50,000 DJs joined the Beta testing period, making it the most popular beta in Serato history. One of those DJs was New York-based DJ Saige. A member of the Serato Academy, Saige used Stems to create her viral remix of Coi Leray’s “Players.” Saige isolated Coi’s acapella and laid it on top of the beat from Busta Rhymes’ “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See,” creating a buoyant mashup that generated over 387k unique creations on TikTok, becoming one of the most popular sounds on the platform. Inspiring dances from the likes of ShaqCiara, and Coi Leray herself (in a video that racked up over 17 million views), Saige’s remix earned an official release on all platforms from Republic Records, helping “Players” reach the Billboard Hot 100.

“The fact that we can get acapella is a huge, huge cheat code for DJs and producers everywhere,” says rising beatmaker Boston Chery. “This is really crazy.”

Stems has already made a major impact in the world of DJing, and its inclusion in Serato Studio 2.0 allows for even more refined sounds and fresh flips. A new functionality that gives producers the fluidity and inspiration to keep up in this digital age, Stems is only getting started.

#SeratoStems #SeratoStudio
Check out Serato Stems in Studio 2.0: https://serato.com/studio/stems

Watch world-renowned DJ and Producer Skratch Bastid demonstrate the power of Stems in Serato DJ here.

Check out more information about Studio 2.0 and Stems on Serato’s official website

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