Aubrey Drake Graham, or as he is most commonly called Drake, is a very well known name around the world. Born on October 24, 198,6 in Toronto Ontario, makes Drake a proud representative of the musical talent that blossoms from Canada. Starting back in late 2003, Drake made his first appearance on the Canadian TV show ”Degrassi”. (Hiphop Guru) Five years later is when Drake began entering the music scene where he releases “Room for Improvement” which would be his first ever released mixtape. As a few more years went by, where he released multiple songs and albums, nothing quite landed Drake on the top charts, which the dream of all musicians. Now in 2009 Drake releases two top 100 songs, which was a huge milestone in his very successful career. These songs we “Best I Ever Had” (Which we will look into later on) and “Everygirl”. (Hiphop Guru) Now skipping ahead once again to more recent years, Drake is arguably the most successful modern-day musician to be from Canada.

The first song I chose is “Best I ever Had”. I chose this song because this song is what made Drake into who he is today. As you listen, listen to how upbeat and the mood that is expressed within the song. The main focus of this song is talking about losing his girlfriend yet talking himself up as the best she ever had. Even though the song is rather depressing about what is going on in his life, the rhythm makes you want to move to the beat. Drake’s style of music completely changes in recent years as the majority of his songs have a slower rhythm.

The fan base that surrounds Drake come from a variety of different backgrounds which is why I believe he has such a mass influence on modern day society. The second song I would like you to listen to is “Don’t matter to me”. Now I chose this as the first song to listen to because although it is one of his most recent songs, he features the world-famous Michael Jackson. Within this song are unreleased Michael Jackson vocals which I find to be very interesting. It proves that even after an artist dies, they always live on and continue to influence new generations. This was the main reason I chose this song and I bet you might be asking yourself “You are talking about Drakes influence not Michael Jackson’s”, and that is absolutely right. However, by gaining permission to use his exclusive vocals, Drake has in a way recreated yet supports Michael Jacksons unique sound that appealed to fans across the world and in a way combined his legacy with Michael Jacksons.

The third and final song Is “God’s Plan” This song sends a powerful message to people across the world. This song shows the strong connection Drake has with his local community along with the fans across the globe. Now along with the catchy song and very strong lyrics such as “Bad things. It’s a lot of bad things” This expresses the negatives that people face on a day to day basis and some less fortunate people face this more regularly. Now along with modern day songs comes the music video to place a visual and “God’s plan” was a very special case. Drake was given 1,000,000 to make the video and instead of using the money for the video, Drake gave it all away in the form of tuition, cash, school funding groceries and many more ways. I believe this was a great selfless act and it did not go unnoticed.

The reason I believe Drake should be in the textbook is that not only is he a successful Canadian Musician but he also does things in a special and unique way. Drake has a relaxed timbre with a variety of different moods and rhythms. In Drakes’ songs he focuses more on the message and what is being said rather than rapping. Drake has a unique sound that no matter how hard people try it cannot sound the same. Drake has a soft side to him and sings about relatable moods that people can feel on a daily basis. Drake who is a well-known Canadian figure has went down his own path of unique sounding rhythms and style that has already began to rub off on up incoming talent and will continue to motivate and have a strong impact of the genre of Hip-Hop in the years and generations to come.

Cites used:

Drake – Don’t Matter To Me ft. Michael Jackson (Official Music Video). (2018, July 05). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY5qcEyUZfE

D. (2018, February 16). Drake – God’s Plan. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpVfcZ0ZcFM

M. (2009, October 11). Drake Best I Ever Had Official Video UNCENSORED. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbjaLGsOHaE

Drake’s Career Timeline. (2014, March 26). Retrieved from http://www.thehiphopguru.com/drakes-career-timeline/

HOW DRAKE BECAME THE MOST DOMINANT FORCE IN HIP-HOP. (2017, October 31). Retrieved from http://www.shiftermagazine.com/music/drake-most-creative-force-hiphop

Is Drake the Artist of the Decade? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://pipt.com/p/is-drake-the-artist-of-the-decade

I would just like to start by introducing myself. My name is Tyler Verity; I am entering my second year of university enrolled in the Edwards School of Business. Growing up I have always loved listening to music, especially old classics from the 50’s to 70’s. I am excited to widen my knowledge of the music industry and continue to aid in my enjoyment of music for years to come. For my first blog post, I chose the payola scandal as I have increased interest in law and different ways people bend the rules in their favour. As I conducted my research, I was very interested in some of the big names I saw who were guilty of participating. I hope by reading the following, it is as exciting and informative for you.

The payola scandal which began to blossom in the 1950’s, changed the way artists of all genres promoted their music to a broader audience. Some background information which should be known before moving on is the process of how musicians promote their music to the general public. Starting in the 1950’s, radio was one of the main outlets for news, music, and entertainment of all forms. Stations that played music were ran by disk jockeys or DJ’s that would spend their days buying songs to play and would allocate time for each song to be played live over the radio. As more and more competition came into the music industry, it could often become very hard for musicians to have their music exposed as much as they would like. Payola stands for “pay” and “Victrola” which means to bribe. What many musicians began doing was bribing the DJ’s with more airtime by paying them under the table with cash, gifts or other items the DJ’s had an interest in. This bribery not only promoted the musician’s own music but also took time away from playing other musicians.

Back in 1958 is when payola was first publicly exposed. It started with two popular game shows, “Twenty-one” and “$65,000 question” were rigged. It was in these shows that the games were rigged and, in the end, were canceled due to lack of creditability and many legal issues. As payola became more popular more artists were found guilty. If you were found guilty of payola you were been charged $500 per song along with a year in prison. It is said that back in the 1950’s if an artist were to invest $125 they would walk out with a profit of approximately $11,900. That is a huge profit margin. From a personal opinion, if I were an artist if promoting my music creates enough revenue than normal promotion, that I make more than $500 plus enough to minimize the inconvenience of prison, then the pros outweigh the cons, and I would still bribe the DJ. As times progress more outlets are produced which in turn creates more exposure to the public. As there are more opportunities in today’s society, my views on payola would change. I feel it would no longer be a good idea to bribe the DJ.

Some shocking big players that took part in various payola scandals would include Alan Freed. Alan, who coined the term rock n roll, was arrested along with seven others for a total of twenty-six counts of payola. Another big name involved was Jamie records. They invested approximately $15000 into payola as a company. Although it seemed to be more common in the later years, payola participation has been on the decline. However, it is not gone.

One recent payola scandal that has surprised me personally is Sony in 2005. Sony was charged ten million for their participation in payola. With many big companies taking over the music industry it can be a constant effort to attract musicians to join the company. What Sony did to set their artists apart was they would pay the DJ’s to play Sony artists more than others. One famous artist that was caught within this was Jessica Simpson. What Sony would do to cover their footsteps in paying the DJ’s is they would have radio stations fake cash contests. They would rig the contest and have the DJ’s win the competition and hide the insider promotions.

Payola has helped many artists promote their music for many years. Many promotional companies take away the need for under the table bribing however, it is a problem that will always be present whether it is made public or not. I encourage people to share their thoughts on payola as many people have different views on this subject. Thanks for reading.

Sites used:

“Alan Freed, Dick Clark and the Radio Payola Scandal.” Performing Songwriter Ent., LLC. August 24, 2015. Accessed July 20, 2018. http://performingsongwriter.com/alan-freed-payola-scandal/.

McDonald, Heather. “Pros and Cons of Payola.” The Balance Careers. Accessed July 20, 2018. https://www.thebalancecareers.com/payola-influencing-the-charts-2460759.

Neira, Bob. “Payola Scandal Rocks 50’s Radio.” Untitled. Accessed July 20, 2018. http://www.modestoradiomuseum.org/payola.html.

Living in Saskatoon has the perks of many annual events that take place along the beautiful South Saskatchewan River. One of my favourite events is the annual Jazz Fest. A highlight of every summer is enjoying the live music of both well-known artists and local musicians alike. This year from the many performances I saw, one stood out to me the most, and I was very fortunate to hear them perform. That artist being Kamasi Washington.

Kamasi Washington performed on a clear Monday night on the TD mainstage in the Bessborough gardens. Being an employee of TD meant I had free access to a musician I had heard only a few times before. However, after his performance I became a true fan. Kamasi has a sound and vibe like no other performer I have heard before. He combines elements from hip-hop, R & B (a personal favourite of mine), and classical which creates a unique twist on a foundation of jazz music. Performing alongside Kamasi is a ten-piece band consisting of percussion, saxophone, trumpet, piano which is accompanied with many others depending on the song performed creating strong and unique combinations of sounds to accompany Kamasi on the saxophone. The songs performed by Kamasi do not have lyrics, he focuses on sound rather than a message.  In his songs, the rhythm is very upbeat portraying energy and happiness that makes it feel good music.

Being as Jazz Fest came with many emotions, of happiness, excitement and a sort of tingle inside. When Kamasi started playing, you could see the energy within the audience increased tremendously. People of all ages and backgrounds could all feel the rhythm and this was evident when you saw people tapping their feet keeping along with the beat. People used the Jazz fest to almost escape reality and go off into a world of music filled with joy and happiness. People used the jazz music to relax and enjoy the performances from artists of vast backgrounds. My personal experience from this concert did not differ much from the general audience member. I left feeling very happy and went home to discover unperformed music just to keep the new experience flowing. Now weeks after this experience took place, I find myself being more open to different genres that I used to look past. I find myself understanding and enjoying the different messages through each song which help me relate to the feel and emotion each artist puts into their music.

A personal favourite of mine is called “Hub-Tones”. This upbeat song has a fast tempo that draws the crowd in. The intro starts with a lone piano playing. Listen as the song progresses percussion joins in for a short duo. As the song continues after about thirty seconds you can hear the timbre of the saxophone join in and increase the intensity of the overall song. Once the song becomes well established, the melody consisting of a trumpet that changes the overall dynamic of the song for a riff. The tempo of the song varies. It changes in waves from upbeat and fast, to a relaxed and moderate tempo. Different sections of the song highlight different instruments being played. The songs duration totals approximately nine minutes. Within the song, the accent changes. A personal favourite of mine occurs at 6:30. Listen to the fade as it shifts to a percussion focused riff. This section lasts about a minute before the rest of the band fade back in.

As we go back in time and look at the upbringing of Kamasi, we can see how the musician he is today was developed. It all started when he was thirteen years old when he first picked up a tenor saxophone. This was not the first instrument he played but it would be his favourite. After playing in his high school band, he went off to play at UCLA where he also studied ethnomusicology. It was in university that Kamasi recorded a self-titled album with newly establish quartet the Young Jazz Giants. As Kamasi’s career became more developed he began collaborating with major artists like a personal favourite of mine, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lemar, Raphael Saadig and Gerald Wilson to name a few. In 2015, is when Kamasi really took off for a career of fame. After releasing an album with nearly three hours in duration, it landed Kamasi number three on the billboard jazz charts. As the years went on, Kamasi become more and more of a household name.

Sites Used:

Kellman, Andy. “Kamasi Washington | Biography & History.” AllMusic. Accessed July 20, 2018. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kamasi-washington-mn0000772447/biography.

“Kamasi Washington Group – Hub-Tones // LEWITT Lounge 2014.” YouTube. February 04, 2014. Accessed July 20, 2018. https://youtu.be/e8xA3voo9v4.

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