#jeeven rihal

So, we’ve just have a great session on zoom (obviously zoom, where else is everyone spending their time nowadays?!) with a few MediaTrust alumni’s who spoke about their past experiences with the course, how they took their first steps in the industry and what they are up to now.

Below I have compiled a listicle of my favourite quotes from each of the panel the quotes may not necessarily be from the panelist but they, just as I found them inspirational and can be applied to anyone.

1. Fayida Jaille - “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”

I found this quote could be related to absolutely anything that one can do in their life, you’ve got an important pitch tomorrow that you have not practised for? You’re going to fail. You have your theory test tomorrow and have no revised for it? You’re going to fail. This shows that planning in anything you do will leave you in a position where you have more of a chance to succeed as you have put in the necessary work.

2. Jordaan Shelley - “Everyone is trying to go through the front door, so you need to go through the window”

This is an excellent quote about how everything in life will not be simple and and that you will get the job that you want in the most direct route possible. You want to start a career in music journalism? Go start a blog and get YOURSELF noticed rather then asking to be noticed. Sometimes sneaking through the window when everyone else is trying to go through one tiny door will be the thing that differs you from everyone else.

3. Fred Bhat - “It is just as important to know what you don’t want to do, as much as what you do want to do”

This was my personal favourite quote out of them all, (Fred also mentioned that this quote came straight from his Grandma!) this quote spoke to me because of how it puts importance on trying everything once. No one can out and out say that they do not enjoy something that they have never tried once, I like to think of myself as a person that will try and do anything at least once, then can make a fair judgement on my preference! Try and so as much as you can, find what you’re good at and continue this.

Photo Credits: Getty Images

Let me give you some back story to this post... This article has been around 2 years in the making, I started to write it during the time of Freddie Gibbs’ case and when Kanye was being as outlandish as ever. During that time, I was at university and just had no energy or motivation to write, some could say I hit a writer’s block. However, as Corona virus has just taken over the world and has thus required everyone to stay at home, I decided to finally finish this article because I still feel that it applies today. So here we go…

As I was doing my weekly (I’m lying, my daily*) listen of Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly, the song Mortal Man came on and as usual I then proceeded to browse which album to play next, but then this one line which I have been hearing every time I played this album stuck out to me. “When sh*t hit the fan, is you still a fan?” this line, right now, I feel is as important as ever, with the sudden growth of Hip-Hop and the way it is now seen in mainstream music, Rappers that are in the limelight are becoming to look a lot like pop icons, I got to thinking and I propose this question. Can you separate an artist from their art? 

https://open.spotify.com/track/1WT11QmhZutciEv1NsHt1R?si=W4vWhAJrSEGwmLOhMt3qyQ

Let me explain a bit more, for example; the trial of Freddie Gibbs, I won’t go into too much detail about the case, but to sum it up Gibbs was accused of sexual assault by a woman and he spent a period of time in jail until he was acquitted of said accusation and he was found to be innocent with the woman lying about the whole situation. How this all ties in (I know, I know, bear with me) is the fact that in my opinion is Gangsta Gibbs and The Beat Konducta AKA Madlib dropped a classic album with Piñata, now if the trial went another way and Gibbs was found guilty, how could one go from listening to an album everyday which is amazing to throwing it away and never ever listening to it again, is there a time where you can separate the two beings and just focus on the music?

Kanye West is another example, with his recent actions and rants (which I am tired of defending every time he says something stupid) would you stop listening to his past music, even with it being as amazingly ground-breaking as it is? It goes to show as with Hip-Hop getting as popular as it is, it is clear that rappers are now always in the public eye, just as rock stars were not so long ago. Do we somewhat owe some sort of loyalty towards our favourite rappers/artists, it certainly feels like that sometimes, the way we will have endless debates about what artist is better than the other and why, who has the best album of all time and why. There is a certain connection we have with artists just from their music and if that favourite artist did something outlandish or that you do not agree with, it leaves their consumers in a difficult situation.

Photo Credits: CNN

To sum this up, I do not have an answer for you (I’m sorry) but it does make you think. In my own life, music has such a big impact and artists that I found when I was 13 I have grown up with and their music has grown up with me. It really makes you wonder how you would react to this situation and if you could still listen to a said artists music completely separating that from the artist himself. So, I leave you with this question once again..

As everyone was gearing up for what was yet to be another year full of concerts, festivals and big social gatherings, Covid-19 has been doing what.. Covid-19 has been doing. Due to the social distancing guidelines we have been put under, all major concerts, festivals that we have ALL been looking forward to, have been cancelled (smh, I know). Coachella, Glastonbury, Wireless are amongst the few festivals that have been heartbreakingly cancelled. With superstars from both the UK and internationally ready to grace the stages of these varied events, we are saddened to see that this summer we will most likely all be in our houses watching highlights on our snapchat memories and thinking what could have been for Summer 2020.

On a MUCH brighter note though, we have all been at home aimlessly scrolling down our social media pages and trying to pass the time until we go back into bed and do the exact same thing for another 5 hours just to get up and repeat (bare with me, I'm getting to the bright bit). Many musicians have taken advantage of this have started to livestream, whether it be radio shows, new music, live battles with other musicians or even taking after Swae Lee and doing a full concert. My personal favourite has to be the two legendary producers DJ Premier vs RZA ‘Verzuz’ battle, we literally had two of hip-hop’s most genre defining producers going song for song with each other and had over 300k live viewers watching.

With the recent emergence of clashing and artists facing off with each other, we have seen London run radio show ‘No Signal’ take full advantage of this with their ‘#NS10v10’ series. To sum this up it is basically a sound clash where the hosts put two artists together and play 10 classic songs from them, it is then taken to Twitter when users can vote on their personal favourites (most recently being Drake vs Rihanna!). This has given us all a chance to escape to the the problems we are facing in today’s climate and also gives us a chance to bring everyone together in this extremely tough time

1. Blu & Exile - ‘Below the Heavens’

Below the heavens is a collaborative album from rapper and producer duo Blu & Exile. This is the first album from the duo and is the perfect into Blu’s tales about his struggles and life. From themes of becoming a father, to falling in love, the tussles of being an underground rapper, to just having a good time combined with luscious and sample filled beats from Exile; makes this a great album to get lost within whilst being stuck at home!

Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/2OnNdRdzqs0Xe6VU2uGdPe?si=bgqzv4uCRjC02aka6BnoVQ

2. Kendrick Lamar - ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’

Where to start with this album? In my opinion arguably the greatest album of all time (I know, VERY controversial but that’s a story for another day) Kendrick Lamar’s second studio album entitled ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ stunned not just Hip-Hop fans but fans of music in general. With its strong themes of coping with being a black man in America and the injustices faced on a daily basis; over heavily jazz influenced instrumentals, it proves to be a standout album to hip-hop & music lovers worldwide.

Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/7ycBtnsMtyVbbwTfJwRjSP?si=umdJb24cTpeeJychSs2jOg

3. Mac Miller ‘Circles’

The late and great Mac Miller’s sixth studio album is surely one which a lot of people, not just fans of Mac, can hold close to their heart. Made after his untimely death which shocked the world in 2018; with the help of the incredibly talented Jon Brion, we saw a different side to Mac and his music as a whole. With heartfelt singing over and rapping and wide range of beats from gloriously funky to mellow and lo-fi , you can bet I will be going to this album whenever I am feeling down during this quarantine!

Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/1YZ3k65Mqw3G8FzYlW1mmp?si=X3lpww9tQDKszSTPWiR27g

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - ‘Piñata’

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib (also known as MadGibbs) – the duo nobody ever saw coming, one gangster rapper and one heavily sample based producer came together to give us one of the most unexpected and surprising albums I personally have ever heard. The whole albums takes you into the world of Gangsta Gibbs himself and describes what goes on in an average day for him this paired with the genius of Madlib and the way he finds his unknown samples and turns them into luxurious beats is a match made in heaven!

Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/43uErencdmuTRFZPG3zXL1?si=3z6PwIQ2QoKQjHFC1_P4yA

Earl Sweatshirt - ‘I Don’t Like Sh*t, I Don’t Go Outside’

Well this is a pretty self-explanatory title, lol. All jokes aside, Earl Sweatshirt’s second studio album entitled ‘I Don’t Like Sh*t, I Don’t Go Outside’ gave us a very much darker side to the once happy-go-lucky member of Odd Future. Mr. Sweatshirt is as honest as ever on this album and gives us details regarding his fight with depression, how he coped with his grandmother’s passing and many other hard to talk about themes. If you can take one thing from this album, it is that it is ok to not be ok and sometimes music can be a way of escapism