Music Review: Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran - Music as an Art

      I can't tell you how many times I turn on the radio and think to myself, "Really? This is what's popular now? This is what our generation listens to? Repetitive lyrics, 4-chord-song treachery and catchy tunes with no lyrical meaning or soul? Ed Sheeran, an artist out of the United Kingdom, gained in popularity as a singer-songwriter in 2008, when he released the album "+", where the single "The A-Team" grew in popularity and gained radio air time.

(And if you've never heard of a 4-chord song, here's a link to a great example by: Axis of Awesome - 4 Chord Song.)

(some explicit language)

Beginings:

     Ed Sheeran started recording in 2004 at the age of 13 years old and eventually brought an old "indie" feel back to the radio scene, which is another way of saying singer-songwriter (think: Taylor Swift, before she was drowned in pop-artists beats). When I think of singer-songwriter, I think of an artist and their instrument, a guy and his guitar, a woman and her piano; simple music with a focus on lyrics that are personal to the artist. Ed Sheeran's hit, "Photograph", is a great example of a "man and his guitar" singing about memories of love kept within a photograph. His voice is filled with conviction and passion throughout his collective works and he's a testament to artists everywhere.

Here's a link to Asylum Record's and Ed Sheeran's - Photograph.

     Reminiscent of the days of Eric Clapton and Dave Matthews, Ed Sheeran is a reminder to us all that true art never dies. In a year since his music video "Photographs" was posted, the song has over 250 million views and continues to rise as he gains in popularity. Taking acoustic influences from The Beatles and Nizlopi, Ed found a unique sound for himself that took the world by storm.

Music Reviews: NF

9/13/2016
Christopher J Rosario

Music 2
NF

Rap is dead.

     Along with Eminem who wrote "Rap God" back in 2013 (doesn't it feel like yesterday?). "Rap God" was a testament to Eminem's talent when it was released, even at the age of 40 years old (I know!) we all remembered that Eminem was and still is the King of Rap. Pandora radio compares Eminem's rap title of King of Rap to Elvis's title, the King of Rock. Eminem took it old school, 20 years later and the entire album Marshal Mathers LP 2 felt like he took it back to his roots, what made him great. Raw rap, less "effects".
   
     But that was in 2013 and other than a few rappers that have fought to get to the top (like Kenrick Lemar), there aren't a whole lot that I could call "great". All of the famous ones, Kanye and Drake, Lil Wayne, Big Sean, are good, but not game-changing. Rap is no longer as big as R&B Hip Hop, back in the 1990's like Bone Thugs n Harmony, 2Pac, or Snoop Dogg.

     After listening to a rapper, NF, Nathan Feuerstein by accident, clicking through Youtube; I was brought back to the old days of Eminem, The Slim Shady LP (1999). I was in middle school, and he wrote the famous and annoying song, "Hi! My name is, What? My name is, Who? my name is, tika-tika Slim Shady." NF brings back the old feel of rap, raw words and lyrics. Very similar to Lecrae, he's a lyrical wordsmith with the emphasis of telling his stories while using clean lyrics. NF sometimes rhymes, but he's mastered the art of placing less vocabulary-heavy words and emphasizing certain words at the right moment or tempo in order to fit the beat perfectly, while still being musically coherent and pleasing.

     NF uses the phrase, "NF real" because his music is written by himself and typically about situations he's been through or friends that he's met and thoughts that go on in his mind. His human emotion is shared with the world through his honest and real lyrics and music. It's the passion to write and the passion to share his words that keep him going, he states in most of his music, especially his album, "Therapy Sessions". My favorite album release is NF's 2015 "Mansions" album featuring "All I Have". Here is a music video Capital Records published on Youtube for free, NF - All I Have.

    In a world full of music with nothing but beat-fetishes, auto-tune and overemphasis on a "cool sound" rather than poetic lyrics. You hear songs that repeat the words, like Lady Gaga's "P-p-p-p-poker face," or Drake's Hotline Bling, "You used to call me on your cellphone," or Adele, "Hello," and, "I can't feel my face when I'm with you," by The Weeknd. All of these songs have a point to them, but it's drowned-out by non-stop repetition of the same lyrics over and over, with a catchy beat.

     I think it's refreshing to have such a talented and musically engaging, passionate current-day rapper that isn't afraid to sing about the truth while still holding on to his morals. In his music, NF, Nathan Feuerstein, talks about his past mistakes, writing music without curse words, death of a parent, and the trials and tribulations that he, and many of us have gone through in our lives. It may sound depressing, but it's life. He raps, sings, and writes about life.