Hello fellow distinguished Concordians,
This is week three of the On Beat newsletter, where The Concordian’s Music Editor keeps you “on beat” for everything happening in the music world.
This year for Thanksgiving, I was very thankful for all the cool hip-hop projects released over the long weekend, so thank you Freddie Gibbs, Rome Streetz, and Boldy James! With that said, here are my favourite songs from each project.
“Couldn’t Be Done (feat. Kelly Price) - Freddie Gibbs
It was a toss-up between this one or the excellent “Gold Rings” with Pusha T, but I couldn’t do it to “Couldn’t Be Done.” What a way to start off an album. This song feels like you just won a sports championship and it still gets me hyped up even after a dozen listens. A perfect intro to $oul $old $eparately.
“Serving (feat. Boldy James)” - Rome Streetz
A beat so nasty that it feels like they took the original beat and ran it through the mud. Rome Streetz and Boldy James gave their all over these very ominous piano keys. The more aggressive delivery of Streetz mixed with Jame’s more lowkey tonality makes for a captivating listen.
“Designer Drugs” - Boldy James, Nicholas Craven
Another song from Griselda member Boldy James this week as he is fresh off the release of his new project Fair Exchange No Robbery, in collaboration with producer Nicholas Craven. I was sold on this song in the first five seconds thanks to that smooth saxophone loop. James had no choice but to kill it over such an amazing loop.
There is always a lot to write about in music so if you are interested in writing for us, whether it’s an album review, a concert review, a profile of an artist, an interview with a band, or even a piece about current events in music, reach out to music@theconcordian.com and I’m sure we can figure something out :)
Linked below is what you might have missed this week on The Concordian’s website.
What’s It Really Like Taking The ‘Ye’ Class At Concordia?
A deep look behind the scenes at Concordia’s new course dedicated to Kanye West
It’s late March 2022 and while browsing through electives on MyConcordia, the last thing you expect to find is a whole class dedicated to one of hip hop’s most controversial figures, Kanye West.
We’ve seen the Twitter frenzy and we’ve seen the Hypebeast article. Three weeks into the semester, you and around 200 other students are cramming into room 110 in the Hall building’s auditorium every Thursday to listen to what professor Yassin ‘Narcy’ Alsalman has in store.
“Honestly, anybody can come to the lectures.” said human relations student Alfred Umasao. “The professor doesn’t really care if you’re not in his class.”
If you’re curious about the nature of the course, look no further than the course outline to get a hint of what it’s like. The syllabus is presented in a PowerPoint format with artistic pictures and font, sequenced in typical Kanye creativity.
“The purpose of this class is for you not only to appreciate Ye for his work, his vision and his addition to culture, but to also build a critical thinking of public domain, ownership, self-actualization, the world and more importantly, a realistic lens on celebrity, industry, media, community and power. Nobody’s Perfect. Why is Ye so influential?” reads the first page of the PowerPoint.
Umasao, who’s been to all classes so far, has nothing short of praise for the topics discussed so far.
“It’s less of a Kanye-based class but more of an intrusive self-reflection where you’re on your own and have to think about who you are as a person. One of our assignments for example is ‘What made you disconnect as a five year old’ and like ‘How would you reconnect with him/her.’”
One of Alsalman’s ways of getting his students to feel comfortable in this environment is to play some chill Kanye beats before the lecture begins. Finance student Alissya Ghader describes the first day of class as entering a jam packed concert.
“The teacher somehow managed to put us all at ease from the second we walked into the first class by blasting some Kanye beats until everyone got settled in which gave me the same feeling as entering the doors of a concert venue.”
Professor Alsalman interacts with his students in a way in which they can feel comfortable expressing themselves. Ghader says that the professor even opted for some Gen Z relatable humor. She also echoes Umasao’s previous comments about how immersive the class is.
“He said that he’d like for us to not only see this as a “Kanye Class” but more like a venue for exploring contemporary issues especially within the rap industry and how Ye was able to make something out of himself by overcoming it all,” Ghader said.
One of the course’s assignments, called ”Kaneyetive Dissonance,” calls on students to examine a controversial moment in the rapper’s history and to explain critically why Kanye is or was problematic, whether the incident was racialized and whether or not the rapper was right or wrong.
The course has also faced some criticism for its apparent “meme” approach to the subject of Hip Hop and whether or not it should be taken seriously as a university program.
That being said, the class does come with a hefty bill. Jenna Wilson, a Concordia student who works at the bookstore, says that the two books Alsalman’s students must buy for the course aren’t cheap and were at one point in back order. The course pack, written by Alsalman himself, costs $99.25. There’s also a smaller book called “Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” bringing the total to around $130 for the course.
Another student who preferred to remain anonymous told The Concordian that he still has mixed feelings for the course.
“I found it quite mixed, honestly… I’m not really sure of the whole point of the class. In some ways I feel like everybody there is just a Kanye fanboy/girl and that people don’t take it seriously.”
The Importance Of Cover Art: How It Can Make Or Break A Record
Cover art is the first look you get at a body of work — might as well make it count with something eye-grabbing.
Choosing cover art to associate with a piece of music will always be a big decision for artists, as the art introduces the music. Before listening to a single second, your experience with a body of work starts with the art that accompanies it. Since it is the listener’s first contact with the music, the cover has to be intriguing enough for the listener to decide to dive into the record.
In some instances, cover art can be so eye-catching that it transcends a record’s popularity and gets even more appreciated than the album itself, becoming its own thing. Album covers such as Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, with the famous triangle prism and the beam of light passing through, or The Beatles’ Abbey Road which sees the band members wearing suits and crossing the street, are prime examples of this.
Don’t get me wrong — these albums are considered some of the best of all time, but having such iconic covers definitely helped them gain the status and universal praise they still get to this day. These covers became so popular over time that you can now see them on clothes, posters, mugs, and tapestries, to a point where they’re almost symbolic.
With the streaming era, where everything is compiled on your phone, album art might not feel as important as 30 years ago when people would go to their nearest record store to skim through different album covers and buy whichever one caught their attention. Regardless of the period we are in, album covers still abide by the same set of rules as before for picking good cover art.
The most important rule is that the cover art has to be representative of the music. The genre that does it best is metal music, where the violence showcased on the album art is an excellent indicator of how brutal the music is going to sound. Death metal outfit Cannibal Corpse have some of the most gruesome album covers out there in metal, often picturing truly disgusting and unimaginable things done to people (look it up at your own risk) — and their very gross and murderous sound matches the vibe they portray on their front cover.
R&B also does it well, as it’s a more sexy and intimate genre, where artists don’t shy away from sensually posing on their album arts. You can take Doja Cat’s 2019 single “Juicy” as an example, a song talking about “juicy booties,” where Doja Cat herself is showcasing her butt on the cover art.
The importance of cover art should never be neglected — while at its core, music is a form of sound art, an album or song also needs visual art to represent it. Who knows, maybe that split second of looking at and judging a cool album cover might make you discover your next favourite artist.
Some of my favourite album covers includes:
Killers – Iron Maiden
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea – Neutral Milk Hotel
The House Is Burning – Isaiah Rashad
Kids See Ghosts – Kids See Ghosts
Twin Fantasy – Car Seat Headrest
Midnight Marauders – A Tribe Called Quest
Stranger in the Alps – Phoebe Bridgers
And Justice For All – Metallica
Cosmogramma – Flying Lotus
Songs In The Key Of Life – Stevie Wonder
Concert Review: The Killers At The Bell Centre
The Killers murdered their performance in Montreal
Downtown, the streets flooded with fans of all ages. From Gen X to Gen Z, the crowd rushed into the stadium in anticipation of the intoxicating performance they were about to see.
The Killers opened their show with none other than Johnny Marr, an English singer and songwriter who was previously lead guitarist of the ’80s rock band The Smiths. Brandon Flowers, lead singer of The Killers, has previously cited that he was heavily influenced by The Smiths and was thrilled to have Johnny join them on tour.
Marr started off his act with songs such as “Spirit Power and Soul” and “All These Days” from his newly released album Fever Dream Pts. 1-4. His performance consisted of a great mix between classic British rock and an electronic vibe which kept the crowd roaring for more.
After bantering with the audience about what song he should play next, Marr decided on two classics from The Smiths; “How Soon Is Now?” and “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out,” creating a nostalgic experience for the older demographic.
After a lengthy intermission, The Killers warmed up their crowd with “My Own Soul’s Warning” from their 2020 album Imploding the Mirage, which was accompanied by the breathtaking art from their album cover splashed across the big screens in the background.
Two albums, four years, and no tours, The Killers expressed their excitement and gratitude to their audience. “It’s been four long years,” Flowers stated to the crowd.
Flowers was all smiles throughout the entire show, laughing and chatting with his band members and those in the front rows. His energy was infectious.
Although the group stuck to hits from their new albums, they broke up the rock and roll with a heartfelt rendition of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” which brought tears to many. Definitely a performance I will never forget.
They ended their setlist with “All These Things That I’ve Done” from their 2004 album Hot Fuss. Their performance was exhilarating. The band was able to unite the audience through their music, having the crowd scream lyrics back at them.
Finally, after 10 minutes of cheering and stomping, the band jumped back on stage to treat the audience to an extra performance with Johnny Marr before ending the show with a seven-minute version of “Mr. Brightside” which was the perfect way to wrap up the night.
Remembering Coolio
The hip-hop community mourns the loss of “Gangsta‘s Paradise” rapper Coolio, who passed away at the age of 59 on Sept. 28.
Coolio passed away in Los Angeles, California on Sept. 28. The cause of his death was determined to be cardiac arrest. Foul play was not suspected, but questions were still raised amongst his friends and family. According to NY Post, it turns out that he suffered from severe asthma, which troubled him for years.
The rapper, whose real name was Artis Leon Ivey Jr., was born in Monessen, Pennsylvania on Aug. 1, 1963. When he was 11 years old, his parents divorced, meaning he and his mom moved from Monessen to live in Compton, LA
He first got into the rap scene in 1987 when he met with members of the hip hop group WC and the Maad Circle. Networking with them got him on their 1991 debut album Ain’t A Damn Thang Changed.
Coolio had released five studio albums and three compilation LPs. His most recent work was a collaboration with Teddi Gold on “The Floor is Lava” single which was released earlier this year.
In 1995 he released the infamous “Gangsta’s Paradise” which sampled Stevie Wonders’s “Pastime Paradise,” which came out in 1976. Since then it has been on the list of iconic rap songs and is loved by many.
Since his passing, many newcomers and loyal fans alike have been listening to his first album It Takes a Thief, seeing as the debut track “Fantastic Voyage” has over 18 million listens more than the other 15 tracks on Spotify. Celebrities like Ice Cube, MC Hammer, and LL Cool J mourned his passing by posting pictures of the late rapper on social media and sharing their condolences.
He is succeeded by his six children, his girlfriend Mimi Ivey, and his timeless music that greatly impacted the rap scene. You’ll be greatly missed, Coolio.