Dying to Live Review

Dan Flavin, Roberto Escamilla, and Nate Donohoe

Music Critics

Florida rapper, Kodak Black, released his first project since his most recent jail sentence on Dec. 14, 2018 and it was one of his best yet.

  Kodak has had a history of legal issues, his most recent being a one-year sentence in 2018. He got out in seven months. After the jail time, he was determined to get to work and stop making the same mistakes he had in the past. He put all his time into his music and reportedly turned down six figure deals for live performances. His hard work definitely paid off with his most recent project “Dying to Live.”

  The album is riddled with great instrumentals and an improved flow. Kodak always seems to find the right flow for the beat. Songs like “Transgression” and “From the Cradle” were great. They had good flows and improved lyrics telling of how he prevailed through his struggles. Not only were Kodak’s solo songs good, but his features were great as well. Juice WRLD was featured on the song “MoshPit” and he had one of his best features of all time. He shows off his great flow and melodies, as usual, while Kodak delivers a good chorus and solid verse. Another great feature was on ZEZE with Offset and Travis Scott. The track had a great instrumental with steel drums and a vocal sample while Travis Scott had a nice chorus and Offset rapped a great verse with his classic triplet flow and witty lyrics.

  The negatives from this album come with Kodak’s repetitiveness. Throughout the album he uses the same flow. He also doesn’t rap about much, he only really talks about how he was poor as a child and has gotten really rich.

  Overall, Kodak’s most recent project “Dying to Live” is a pretty good album. Improved flow, lyrics, and instrumentals from his past work. However, due to the similarity of tracks on the album, we will rate it a 7/10.

New Artist Spotlight focuses on DC the Don

Dan Flavin, Nate Donohoe, and Roberto Escamilla
Music Critics

DC the Don, a lesser known rapper from Milwaukee, is an up and coming artist after releasing a sleuth of singles and projects that vary from hard hitting 808 bangers like “Meet Whitney!” to light singing tracks like “Motion.”
 After the release of his most recent album, “DC Dahmer,” the 19-year-old rapper has started to make a name for himself in the rap community. He has been pulling an average of around 300,000 streams on his SoundCloud since his first track was posted in 2017.
  His unique ability to change styles from song to song is starting to set him apart from the rest of the “SoundCloud rappers”. He can sing and come up with detailed flows like the ones seen on “Motion” and “Aug. 3rd Freestyle”. These tracks show not only his singing and light rapping skills, but also show that he can put meaning into his songs. Contrast these tracks with ones like “Meet Whitney!” and “Milwaukee.” These tracks are hard hitting songs with powerful 808’s and simple lines that are good for live performances and parties.
  DC the Don has more in store for listeners. He has been frequently teasing snippets of songs and hinting towards an upcoming mixtape. DC’s unique skill set and creative styles make him a real prospect in the rap game and someone to look out for in coming years.

21 Savage “i am > i was” Review

Dan Flavin Roberto Escamilla Nate Donohoe

Music Reviewers

21 Savage’s third studio album “i am > i was” dropped on Dec. 21, 2018 and ended the year on a high note.

   The album’s intro, “a lot”, starts with a vocal sample over a well done basic trap drumline and 21 rapping about his thuggish past as well as how important loyalty is to him. Loyalty is a theme throughout the whole album and has been consistent in 21’s interviews. 21 lays down a well put together first verse, but the highlight of the track is when J. Cole takes over for the second verse. 21 didn’t label any features on his whole album so when a feature like J. Cole, who is considered one of the best in the game, comes out of left field, it’s a great experience. Cole raps an incredible verse with intricate flows and meaningful lyrics that fans have come to love from the artist. He raps about his album sales with no promotions and how he still gets hate. Overall, the track is an incredible way to start the album and is one of our favorite in the project.

   Another highlight was “can’t leave without it” featuring Lil Baby and Gunna who were the stars of 2018. The track is produced by Wheezy who had a incredible year after the release of “Yes Indeed” with Lil Baby and Drake. His rolling hi-hats and simple melodies that combine with the heavy hitting 808s have become staples of his music throughout his career. Gunna laid down a catchy melodic chorus and 21 strays away from his usual choppy flow and had a smooth approach. Lil Baby had the final verse split with Gunna and showed why he blew up this year. His ability to rap with melody, but not sing, is a staple of his and Gunna’s music and it definitely showed on this track.

   The production on the track was solid. Not much stood out, but not much was wrong. A stand out track was “break da law” produced by Metro Boomin and Southside. The distorted lead is paired perfectly with a chaotic drum pattern that counters 21 simple flow, but the best part is when mid song the beat changes from the distorted lead to a simple piano over the same chaotic drum pattern.

   Like any album there are flaws. “i am > i was” was a great album, but 21’s flow got boring around the middle. A few songs just sounded the same and didn’t have much to make them stand apart. Another issue was some features didn’t work well together. They felt forced and rushed into the album.

   The positives on 21 Savage’s “i am > i was” undoubtedly outweigh the negatives. For the creative bars, solid production, lack of many flaws, and mostly well done features “i am > i was” comes out to a 8.5/10.

Bohemian Rhapsody has big night at the Golden Globes

Frany Barile and Lauren Hunt
Staff Writers

2018 was a year packed with countless interesting, moving and hilarious movies. Many were celebrated at the Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 6, 2019. This year’s Golden Globes were hosted by only the best: Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg. Starting with Best Motion Picture-Drama, Bohemian Rhapsody was victorious over a few other wildly popular movies this year such as A Star is Born and Black Panther.  For Best Motion Picture- Musical or Comedy, Green Book took home the award.
    As for those starring in last year’s most popular movies, there was some stiff competition. One unique aspect of the 2019 Golden Globes was that many seasoned actresses were competing against a celebrity better known for their music.  Although Lady Gaga did not claim Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture-Drama, she did accept the award for Best Original Song.
    The cast of Bohemian Rhapsody took home another award with Rami Malek winning Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture-Drama. The others who were nominated included Bradley Cooper, Willem Dafoe, Lucas Hedges and John David Washington.
    In Musical or Comedy, Olivia Coleman and Christian Bale took home the awards for Best Actress and Actor in a Motion Picture. 
    As for Best Motion picture animated, Spider-Man: into the Spider Verse took the win. The other nominees included Incredibles 2, Isle of Dogs, Mirai, and Ralph Breaks the Internet.
    Lastly, one of the most exciting aspects of the Golden Globes is the stars appearances. Gemma Chan, Emmy Rossum and Lady Gaga opted for romantic puffball-style gowns, whilst Janelle Monae and Charlize Theron went down the classic route.