fats blog

  A profound debut from vocal powerhouse: Jazmine Sullivan With a title as bold as Sullivan’s voice, fearless is a flawless debut that is a gracious letter to self reflection. This album forces one to access their hidden fears and leaves no emotions uncovered, exploring approaches to growth and the humbling experience of healing. Not only speaking on the mental anguish that begins in the first steps to a break up with one's lover, but also the hardship that comes along when your only option is to become self aware and snap out of the illusion that relationships drag you into. Fearless drowns out the background noise in your mind providing you with an hour of lyrical lessons that force you to listen to the harsh truth. It's not an album that romanticises love, no not at all. This album shows you the ugliness that comes with unconditional love - the grit, the fight, the fear.  Starting with “Bust your windows”, Sullivan introduces us to a woman scorned. A song that tells the tal...

  After recently discovering Ryan Beatty is dropping a new album I wanted to write this piece on an album that was constantly played throughout my teenage years. Receiving critical acclaim and accolades from artists like Tyler the creator and the members of Brockhampton, it's hard to realise why Ryan Beatty is still so underrated within the industry. Gaining a lot of his recent popularity singing the chorus to the infamous “Sugar” by Brockhampton, Ryan Beatty is an artist whos not only criminally forgotten about when introduced to the likes of modern day R&B but also an artist that should receive his flowers for the quality of music that he's produced throughout his career. This article is about his debut album Boy in jeans. If you haven't heard it yet, GO LISTEN?! Boy in Jeans narrates Ryan Beatty’s coming out and his confident retelling of his experiences in love and self exploration and within this he manages to regress into his highschool self. This album is a dream...

  Easily one of my favourite artists in the industry, I'm writing this article not only from my personal bias but also from an objective standpoint to help people understand why she is where she is. An artist that truly deserves all of her recognition , Mitski Miyawaki is a Japanese-American singer/songwriter that has been consistently producing albums that intentionally leave you emotionally marked. With a discography of 6 exceptional albums, Mitski has never lacked when writing gut-wrenching masterpieces that truly commemorate the experience of being a first gen immigrant in a foreign country, as well as alluding to the female experience being a POC woman in predominantly white spaces. With songs like “Your best American girl” she touches on the subject of feeling misunderstood romantically and the disturbing reality of coming to the conclusion that she will never be loved how she loves. As someone who was in Japanese household , Mitskis upbringing couldn’t be more different than...

Coming a long way from his debut EP “Pink”, Lancey reintroduces us to his fantastical presence. Bringing us further into his psychedelic planet and simultaneously allows us to further experience his otherworldly sound. ‘Life in hell’ is a strongly grounded album that really shows us where Lancey is at sonically and the production throughout takes us into new realms of Lancey Foux as he continues to build on his curated universe that has been consistently landscaped throughout all his works. Lancey provides us with more insight into his unique perspectives within, further embodying his arrogant persona which really allows us to understand his self confidence. Lancey has never been shy when talking about his self confidence, since ‘First Degree’, Lancey has let everyone know that he's not someone to be forgotten, a real soldier that will always fight for himself and his art.  Starting with the opener ‘Spirit of X2C’ as the first song on the album is a great way to initiate the journe...

 Character analysis on Denji from Chainsaw Man. After receiving the high acclaim for being one of the best new shonen mangas to come out in the past few years, I wanted to write a piece on why I think chainsaw man is one of the best mangas that have come out in the past few years and one my main reasons being its most important feature, its MC. Denji. An MC, instilled with optimism and unrealistic expectations in life is not something unheard of when it comes to Shonen Mangas yet Denjis personality intrigues me more than most shonen MC’s. Maybe it’s his unshakeable confidence or his undeniably naive perception of romance and relationships that initially sparked my interest. But even then, Fujimoto's brilliance when writing Denjis Character I think doesn't come from his ability to write a character that has a lack of realistic expectations but yet the dark and rather pitiful realisation that Denjis desires and goals in life stem from his need for necessity. Denjis character long...

 An album as sweet as its namesake, Black Party invites us into his home of love and lust as he talks about the beauty of attraction and youthful enchantment in his debut album ‘Mango’.A nine song serenade featuring the likes of Kari Faux and more , this “tropical funk”album as described by Black Party himself shows incredible potential for him as a rising artist. Opening with an upbeat and joyful introductory tune , Black Party sets the mood right from the start taking us back into the warmth of summer. 'Summer Love' is a short but sweet song welcoming us listeners into the midst of his midsummer crush.Polished production used for his songs like ‘Bloom’ and ‘Wanderlust’ there isn't any dissatisfaction with his skills, but this is commonly known as he's been producing songs for artists such as Father and Kari Faux. This project falls short of just over half an hour making this mixtape an easy listen almost as easy as it was for him to be encapsulated by the temptations ...

 Ignorance is bliss: the playfully mature latest album from Top UK artist Skepta.  With an endless amount of bars that could satisfy the thirst of any grime feen , Grime MC Skepta's relentless 5th album leaves no room for doubt when showing his unwavering  musical talent. Ignorance is Bliss is a common proverb used in everyday speech but for many it's now the title of of one of the best UK albums to come out of 2019.Skepta at his best when he's reached a level of nonchalance , Ignorance is bliss is a self aware and consciously forward album speaking on mature subjects such as fatherhood and politics.This album is a clear change of pace for an artist such as Skepta with songs like ‘Bullet from a gun’ and ‘Same old story’ highlighting his mindset alteration and his new perspective on certain situations.Yet somehow Skepta manages to incorporate organised chaos within this album consistently. Songs such as ‘ Animal instinct’ featuring UK icon Lancey Foux shows Skepta genre be...

  In defence of Whole Lotta Red: An analysis on Cartis most experimental album. Overlooked by the masses at first, now two years later described as Cartis best album to date.Whole lotta red was an extremely anticipated album by fans and this hype allowed Carti to receive a whole lotta mixed opinions.When first dropped in December WLR received a lot of attention; mostly negative opinions towards Cartis new sound. But why so much hate?  WLR is an album that incorporates a lot of punk and rock inspired beats which is definitely the opposite of what fans were ready to hear.Introduced into the new era of Carti with first song ‘Rockstar Made’ this song definitely sets up listeners for what they're about to experience. A song that encapsulates the whole aura of the album almost ‘Rockstar made’ is Carti showing a new version of himself, a version that is in its own lane. Carti 2.0.  Laced with new sounds and legendary samples like “ Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” Carti shows that ...

  An exploration of the immigrant experience in genre bending artist Bakar’s sophomore album : Nobody's Home. Nobody's Home is an album that explores themes such as identity and heritage as Bakar opens up about the reality of being an immigrant in the U.K. Also this album gives insight into the confusion that is faced with the feelings of being misplaced and the eureka moment of finally coming to terms with yourself therefore being “found”. Mentioned in the first song in the album Bakar talks about feeling like a ‘noun’ which is a metaphor that describes his realisation of who he really is. With lyrics such as “i've been lost and found” Bakar talks about identity being a clear theme in this album as he struggles to come to terms with himself, suggesting his wavering self doubt.This is already an interesting contrast to the self proclaimed confident persona Bakar had in debut album ‘Badkid’. The influences of punk and rock being prevalent within this album shows Bakars music...

  The innocence of adolescence  During your adolescence it's common to feel as if you're at war with the world, but the real battle is within. Immunity is an exceptional debut from Clairo and a great introspective album on the delicacies of young adulthood and navigating your emotional turmoil;using your tumultuous relationship with yourself as gain of perspective rather than a loss of self. As Clairo has stated herself, Immunity is about realising her bisexuality and going through the highs and lows of crushes, high school experiences and the innocence that one withholds whilst directing yourself through the mystery of the unknown. Starting with the emotionally driven opener “Alewife” produced by Rostam introduces Clairo’s intentional transparency which is consistent throughout the album. Alewife is based around Clairo’s gratitude for her friend that saved her from taking her life during eighth grade, which instantly brings in the darkness of feeling alone during your adolesc...

Raised on R&B and pop music JB has always been familiar with musical influences such as his own mentor Usher and the likes of stars such as Chris Brown and heavily acclaimed band Boyz 2 Men.  Bieber is no stranger to the R&B genre with consistent hits since his first album ‘My World’ showing his clear attachment to the soulful sentiment that comes with the aura of R&B. Songs such as “right here” and “first dance” display Bieber's first dips into the genre making new paths for the singer as he swerves from the direction of pop hits.  Journals is Bieber's first completely self controlled album that he was allowed to make big decisions with the albums direction and overall structure of his work.This is definitely shown as this is one of his most underrated albums to this day.From top to bottom journals shows maturity and real insight into Bieber's musical style as this album goes through the experience of heartbreak and literally the emotional rollercoaster of sepa...

  Future sex. Love sounds.  Easily one of the best sophomore albums ever dropped by an ex band member and upcoming solo artist venturing into this genre of music. JTs second album was Grammy nominated three times and this top charting collection of hit songs back to back was heavily influenced by soul music and the highly erotic singer Prince’s previous albums. This lust filled ambitious second album is delicately heavy on topics exploring the ups and downs of a relationship, its climaxes and its peaks. Profoundly talking about the disheartening reality of relationship complexities, one of those complexities being the experience of infidelity. In the song “What goes around…” Justin talks about his experience of being cheated on and his realisation of the boomerang effect that karma can have on a person, him being heavy on his belief of bad energy coming back to its sender.  The album starting out with Future sex/Love sounds bragging about his lover being desperately in lo...