The Aux

Music

Wiz Khalifa, Rae Sremmurd put on lights out performance at Isleta

Macey Rose | September 6

Huge masses of Wiz Khalifa and Rae Sremmurd fans gathered at Isleta Amphitheater, which hosted the Albuquerque tour stop for the artists performing on Aug. 29. Lil Skies opened for a night of exciting performances, and a quote where he encouraged others to follow their dreams fostered a sense of youth pride throughout the audience. At just twenty years old, the rapper set the electrifying tone for the night. The crowd stood on their feet throughout the entirety of his performance, and got into the groove of the intense beats.

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Music

The best songs of July 2018

Colton Newman and Shayla Cunico | August 29

Every month a few of the Daily Lobo reporters put together a list of our favorite songs released in that month and they are added to our songs of the year playlist on spotify. For the month of July, we pulled songs released by Brockhampton, Ryan Beatty, Blood Orange and Chance the Rapper so you can find music to add to your daily rotation as well. The month of July was particularly dry as far as quality music releases, the length of our list show this.

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Music

Music releases to look forward to in 2018

Macey Rose | August 26

This summer has been an exciting time for the music industry, and seems as if new music is appearing around every corner. To give a heads up on some more releases coming up, let’s take a look at some artists to check out who are crafting new songs for their next albums.

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Music

Aretha Franklin: Honoring a late legend through some of her best work

Macey Rose | August 19

The “Queen of Soul,” Aretha Franklin passed away Thursday morning at the age of 76 in her Detroit home, leaving behind an almost six-decade long career and legacy. The reported cause of death was pancreatic cancer. CNN reported that both Stevie Wonder and Jesse Jackson visited Franklin while she was in hospice care. Franklin began her career in 1960 at the age of 18, and although she didn’t have much success starting out, she earned her title as the “Queen of Soul,” by the end of the 1960s when she switched over from Columbia Records to Atlantic Records.

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Music

How to support musicians in the age of streaming

Colton Newman | August 15

With just over 70-million paying subscribers on Spotify alone, it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t subscribe to a music streaming services. Apple Music, Tidal and Pandora are some of the many popular music streaming services that grants the public access to decades worth of musical content. With the entirety of the worlds musical history available for the price of a hamburger, it’s been made easier for music fans to access their favorite artists entire discography at the tap of a screen, this however has created a generation of passive music fans. The Verge published an article exposing the downright, criminal amount of money an artist makes per stream on Spotify. The article reported that the “average “per stream” payout to rights holders lands somewhere between $0.006 and $0.0084,” meaning that based on the higher end of Spotify’s payout, an artist would need their single song to be streamed roughly 120 times to profit a single dollar.

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Music

G-Eazy and co. own the night at Isleta Amphitheater

Colton Newman | August 12

One of Albuquerque’s most loyal recording artists, G-Eazy, blew through the 505 for a show full of bangers on his “Endless Summer Tour,” with help from Lil Uzi Vert, Ty Dolla $ign, P-Lo, Murda Beatz and more. Opener Ty Dolla $ign brought his much welcomed lush vocals to a trap filled concert with selections from his albums, “Free TC” and “Beach House 3.” Ty entered his performance with dreads tied back, fully clothed and filling the air with lavish radio hits and soulful vocals. Ty ended his set with dreads lashing in every direction, his tattooed chest on full display and playing a cover of Post Malone’s “Psycho” which he is heavily featured on. Co-headliner Lil Uzi Vert, mostly known for his assisted entrance into the mainstream with his feature on the Migos massive hit, “Bad and Boujee,” has since found his own fame through his hit “XO TOUR Llif3.” Uzi’s set was littered with an abundance of satanic references which brought an interesting aspect of darkness and grime to a fairly commercial tour. In the end Uzi was one of the highlights of the evening, as his setlist was well constructed with songs flowing effortlessly from one to another.

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Music

The Rise of G-Eazy

Colton Newman | August 3

Most recording artists seemingly appear out of thin air and their rise to fame seems almost random, something they just happened upon. Gerald Earl Gillum otherwise known by his superstar persona G-Eazy, on the other hand has publicly fought his way to the top with the goal of fame and fortune always just out of grasp until his 2016 hit “Me, Myself and I.” G-Eazy is a Bay Area native who wears his homage proudly and has continuously given back to his community through fundraisers and community events. Although a household name now, many day-one fans can look back to his days of rapping over 50s and 60s-esque beats and features in what was his first form of slick back hair and an his unemotional stone face.

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Music

Music Review: Deafheaven continue to break barriers on new album

Kyle Land | July 15

Those unfamiliar with the world of heavy metal music might be surprised to find out what an insular universe the genre really is. For a scene filled with outcasts, loners and other "rejects" of society, those heavily involved in its subculture are often quick to accuse others of bastardizing and muddying the music they hold so dear. Deafheaven are no strangers to such labels. Formed in 2010 in San Francisco, Deafheaven are one of the biggest and most controversial acts to come out of the atmospheric black metal scene that seemed to explode in popularity over the past decade. Their sounds venture far beyond typical metal sounds, incorporating features of post-rock, shoegaze and post-hardcore into their aesthetic.

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Music

Music: The top tracks of June

Colton Newman and Shayla Cunico | July 11

Every month a few of the Daily Lobo reporters put together a list of our favorite songs released each month and they are added to our songs of the year playlist on spotify. For the month of June we pulled songs released by Drake, Florence + The Machine, The Carters and Teyana Taylor so that you can find music to add to your daily rotation as well.

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Music

Music Review: Drake feels bloated on "Scorpion"

Shayla Cunico | July 8

After finally getting through the double-disc, 25-song project that is “Scorpion,” I left with more questions than answers from Drake. After Pusha T’s freestyle exposed Drake’s hidden child and baby mother, Sophie Brussaux, “Scorpion” was set up to be a public relations frenzy. Drake was basically cornered into openly discussing his hidden child, Adonis, and the other allegations of his lack of parenting that Pusha T made.

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Music

Music Review: Florence and The Machines reach new emotional depths on "High As Hope"

Colton Newman | July 6

A lifetime of anger, sadness, joy, hope, longing, regret and a whole slew of other emotions are captured on Florence + The Machines’ latest record “High As Hope,” the follow up to the expansive and captivating 2015 project “How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful.” Florence Welch remains one of only a few artists who vocally can go toe-to-toe with such acts as Adele and Beyoncé. The UK singer is best known for her career making hits such as “Dog Days Are Over” and “Shake It Out,” anthems of positivity and joy.

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Music

Music Review: Kids See Ghosts pushes hip-hop to new heights

Colton Newman | June 24

After months of rumors and speculation, the long-awaited collaboration between former rivals Kanye West and Kid Cudi has finally surfaced in the form of a carefully crafted and thoughtfully produced album titled “Kids See Ghosts” (KSG). Similar to previous Kanye produced albums during the month of June, “Daytona” and “Ye,” KSG has a seven-track listing that seemingly encapsulates all of Kanye’s and Cudi’s strengths. Although KSG has a run time of just 23 minutes, the mysterious and at times dream like atmosphere Kanye and Cudi produce helps expand their album into something that feels greater than just a measly 23 minutes of music.

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Music

Album Review: Cardi B lives up to hype on "Invasion of Privacy"

Colton Newman | June 17

The world belonged to Belcalis Almanzar, other wise known as Cardi B, even if only for a day. On April 7, Cardi B released her debut studio album titled “Invasion of Privacy.” No other album or artist in 2018 has had so much to prove. With Cardi B’s fan base growing by the day and her fame being held up by her groundbreaking hit “Bodak Yellow,” her future in the music industry seemed to weigh on the success of “Invasion of Privacy.”

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Music

Best songs of May 2018

Colton Newman , Kyle Land and Shayla Cunico | June 15

Jay Rock- “WIN” “Win” featuring Kendrick Lamar feels as though it was seemingly created for TDE’s Championship Tour. Although “Win” is relatively simplistic, the marching band horns which reign over the majority of the track feel uplifting and inspiring. If your workout playlist doesn’t have “Win” next to Kanye’s “Power” how do you even find motivation to do anything? Charlie Puth- ”BOY” Off of Charlie Puth’s sophomore album “Voicenotes” the track “BOY” is an upbeat, playful anthem to guys born in the 90’s who seemingly keep getting treated like a younger boy. Charlie’s lullaby voice stands out like a diamond in an 80’s rough as he effortlessly glides through his hook singing “You won't wake up beside me/ 'Cause I was born in the '90s/ Baby, how dare you treat me just like/ Like a boy.”

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Music

Forrest Gump and Nikes: A queer analysis of Frank Ocean

Shayla Cunico | June 10

Music’s most elusive act, Christopher Edwin Breaux, also known as Frank Ocean, has taken the world of music to new depths with not only his incomparable lyricism, but the vulnerability that he expresses through them. Throughout his career, Ocean has become more open with expressing his sexuality through his art. In July of 2012, Ocean decided to make his first statement addressing his sexuality through an open letter on his Tumblr page. He explained that his first love was indeed a man and gave a detailed account of his loss of love they experienced.

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Music

Album Review: Pusha T creates classic with "Daytona"

Colton Newman | June 3

Hip-Hop has entered a strange phase of punk rap, where there’s an over saturation of “Lil’ this” and “Lil’ that’s”, mumble rap has peaked and a rapper having colored hair doesn’t start and end with Nicki Minaj anymore. Kanye West and Pusha T saw this and instead of making another high art, experimental album like “The Life Of Pablo,” they hunkered down in Wyoming and spent a year and a half finding the cure to this ailing genre, this would take the form of “DAYTONA.” Before the release of “Daytona,” which is the first of many G.O.O.D Music albums coming this month, Diddy released a handwritten note stating that “Daytona” is “amodern day masterpiece. A flawless Hip-Hip gem. Classic but current. In real time! A true classic!”This kind of praise for an album that wasn’t event publicly available could prove detrimental by setting standards too high and leaving room to disappoint.

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Music

List: The best songs of April 2018

Colton Newman , Kyle Land and Shayla Cunico | May 24

The quality of music in 2018 keeps increasing as the year moves along, and April was no exception. Listed below are just some of the highlights that the month of April had to offer.

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Music

Concert Review: Skizzy Mars shows promise at Sunshine Theater

Colton Newman | May 22

On the fourth to last stop on his “Are You Ok?” tour, Myles Mills, known by his stage name Skizzy Mars, made a full effort at the Sunshine Theater on May 8th. Although Skizzy Mars appeared at UNM’s 2017 Fiestas, he hasn’t actually been on a proper tour for two years. With the 2018 release of his latest EP “are you OK?,” Skizzy was ready to hit the road once again. In spite of Albuquerque being Skizzy’s 21st show in the span of his two-month tour, it’s not hard to believe that this could’ve been his opening performance. His show was full of bouncy enjoyable tracks, a positive attitude and undying charisma. From stage left to stage right, it was hard to find a moment when he wasn’t moving, dancing or jumping.

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Music

Concert Review: Japanese Breakfast takes over Meow Wolf

Shayla Cunico | April 30

Michelle Zauner, better known as the solo artist of Japanese Breakfast, took over Santa Fe’s interactive art installation, Meow Wolf, on Tuesday night. The lo-fi singer fit in perfectly with Meow Wolf’s aesthetic, with her latest album Soft Sounds from Another Planet reflecting the underlying themes of the immersive installation.

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Music

Album Review: J. Cole's latest release a letdown

Colton Newman | April 22

The 33-year old rapper, Jermaine Lamarr Cole, aka J. Cole, is held as one of the top three rappers alive next to giants Kendrick Lamar and Drake. With the release and overwhelming success of “2014 Forest Hills Drive” that seemed to be true — it was a masterpiece devoid of features, filled with personal stories, amazing instrumentals and memorable lyrics. The follow up to J. Cole’s 2014 classic, “4 Your Eyez Only,” was a decent project that was less flashy but still contained quality moments such as “Déjà vu,” “Vile Mentality” and “Neighbors.” The album also contained some flops, most notably the career-long regrettable song, “Foldin Clothes,” which at its best contained a good instrumental.