Going Swimming in The Summer x Beyonce.
This week has been crazy busy and I’m not sure why. Honestly, I think some of my busy-ness has come from me attempting to duck and dodge the sun and the heat--the weather here in DC is killing all the vibes I could’ve possibly had. Nonetheless, I’m blessed. This issue has tons of reads and music finds--hopefully, you find them interesting.
In last week’s newsletter, one of the songs I featured was Mac Miller’s groovy, “What’s The Use.” The song made its home on Mac’s new album, Swimming, and man don’t I want to go swimming in whatever ocean he’s swimming in--I’ve got braids like Mario so technically it’s feasible (hit drum at that blast from the past).
Okay, so I’m pretty sure Mac isn’t swimming--it was just a beautiful play on words. Following suit with his last album The Divine Feminine which featured two of my all-time favorite Mac songs, “My Favorite Part” featuring his then boo Ariana Grande and “Dang!” featuring Anderson Paak, those melodic vibes carry to his new album. Part of Swimming is great for this humid weather--it makes me want to dance outside which I know again with the humidity may not be the best look but you get my drift. Basically, I’m loving this album. My favorite songs are “What’s The Use” “Ladders” and “2009”--you should listen to them and let me know your thoughts.
Additionally, last week so pretty good albums dropped, one being my West Coast brother, YG’s latest album Dangerous. I would never say YG is the best rapper. Some of his lines are lame--he literally says “Duck, Duck, Goose” on a song, but what YG does well is capture a mood, and a feeling. I listen to YG’s music and feel like I’m driving through LA, with a forty or something dark and strong in my coffee cup--love. If you haven’t yet, watch his Breakfast Club interview, I literally laughed the whole time. Also, H.E.R. another California kid, released her new project, I Used To Know Her: The Prelude, and as expected it’s lovely. Not only is the production nice, her voice sounds perfect, and I love the lyrics on the album. I will be honest however, I don’t like “Lost Souls.” It’s supposed to put you in the mindset of Lauryn HIll’s “Lost Ones” but it sounds like it’s trying a little too hard to me.
The last album that was released last week that I’ve been attempting to listen to is Travis Scott’s new album ASTROWORLD. Honestly, I tried to like it because I think some of his songs are okay, but the whole auto-tune thing I only really like when T-Pain did it… in 2006--sorry, not sorry.
Listen to Previous Playlists:
Beats & Reads // Sampled Summer // Throwback // Internet Web
I have been reading a really, funny book, Erotic Stories of Punjabi Widows by Balil Kaur Jaswal. It’s hilarious—I’ve literally been cracking up on the train, making noises and smiling to the point that someone on the train made a comment about my reaction. The book was featured on Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine reading list, which further proves my point that Reese and I would get along. Here’s the synopsis of the book:
“A lively, sexy and thought-provoking East-meets-West story about community, friendship, and women’s lives at all ages—a spicy and alluring mix of Together Tea and Calendar Girls. Every woman has a secret… Nikki lives in cosmopolitan West London, where she tends bar of the local pub. The daughter of Indian immigrants, she’s spent most of her twenty-odd years distancing herself from the traditional Sikh community of her childhood, preferring a more independent (this is Western) life. When her father’s death leaves the family financially strapped, Nikki, a law school dropout, impulsively takes a job teaching a “creative writing” course at the community center in the beating heart of London’s close-knit Punjabi community. Because of a miscommunication, the proper Sikh widows who show up are expecting to learn basic English literacy, not the art of short-story writing. When one of the widows finds a book of sexy stories in English and shares it with the class, Nikki realizes that beneath their white dupattas, her students have a wealth of fantasies and memories. Eager to liberate these modest women, she teaches them how to express their untold stories, unleashing creativity in the most unexpected-and exciting—kind.”
I haven’t finished the book yet, but once I do, I will give a full recap. Additionally, here are some interesting articles I read this week.
I love Beyonce.
, You love Beyonce.
We all love Beyonce.
*throws hella confetti in the air*
Basically, it's true. Beyonce is an innovator. She's a queen. She's got a crazy work ethic. She is a trendsetter. She's all of these things, but I love Beyonce most when she's open and vulnerable--in addition to all the things I've already mentioned. Beyonce is on the cover of the new Vogue Magazine, as you can see, and the bits and pieces that we have got from the interview are love. QUOTE #1: "Until there is a mosaic of perspectives coming from different ethnicities behind the lens, we will continue to have a narrow approach and view of what the world actually looks like."
QUOTE #2:
"If people in powerful positions continue to hire and cast only people who look like them, sound like them, come from the same neighborhoods they grew up in, they will never have a greater understanding of experiences different from their own. They will hire the same models, curate the same art, cast the same actors over and over again, and we will all lose."
QUOTE #3:
"There are many shades on every journey. Nothing is black or white. I’ve been through hell and back, and I’m grateful for every scar. I have experienced betrayals and heartbreaks in many forms. I have had disappointments in business partnerships as well as personal ones, and they all left me feeling neglected, lost, and vulnerable. Through it all I have learned to laugh and cry and grow. I look at the woman I was in my 20s and I see a young lady growing into confidence but intent on pleasing everyone around her. I now feel so much more beautiful, so much sexier, so much more interesting. And so much more powerful."
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