Eileen: Hey everyone this is Eileen.
Josselyn: This is Josselyn.
Eileen: Um, and today we’re gonna be doing an entertainment review. Um, we’ll just be discussing a couple of albums, giving our thoughts on that, and also talking a little bit about the Savage Rihanna Fenty show. Um, so let’s go ahead and dive right in.
Eileen: Um, the first album is Mariah Carey’s “The Rarities”. Um, it did just come out on October 2nd and it is her eighth compilation album. Um, it is quite a long album…split into two. The first half is a bunch of songs she’s never released before, which I honestly didn’t really care for the first half. I don’t know about you Josselyn.
Josselyn: No same, there were a few songs on there that I did like, but other than that I feel like those were mainly for like the hardcore Mariah Carey fans, but the second half definitely was better.
Eileen: Yeah and the second half is a compilation of some of her, I guess best or fan-favorite songs, live from Tokyo which I definitely like the second half a lot better. Um, I love her “Fantasy,” “Always Be My Baby,” “One Sweet Day,” and of course everyone’s favorite “All I Want for Christmas Is You” was on there. So I think that was um, that half was a lot better than the first and as I and Josselyn had been talking, um, we do feel like this album was just too long in our opinion. Um.
Josselyn: yeah.
[BOTH TALK AND LAUGH]
Eileen: Go ahead-
Josselyn: Sorry, um yea I definitely feel like it could’ve been split into two. Even like in the actual album the numbers start all over so she could’ve definitely just split the album in two rather than make it a two-hour album so.
Eileen: Yeah definitely and then along with the album a few days before that she did release her, her autobiography The Meaning of Mariah Carey that did come out on September 29th. Um, haven’t read the book. I am interested in getting it however and just reading it so I can learn a little bit more about Mariah and her life from her point of view. So we’ll see how that goes.
Josselyn: Yea um so now onto the next artist that released something was YG. He released My Life 4Hunnid, which has thirteen songs on it. And to me, well I’m a YG fan so this was a good album for me, I feel like he never really disappoints in it so yea.
Eileen: Yeah I definitely like it. I liked it also. I’m a YG fan too. Um, I think it’s something we needed from him we haven’t heard anything from him since last year when he dropped his, um, 4real 4real album which he released shortly after Nipsey Hussle passed.
Eileen: Um, but I definitely think this was a good album. There are definitely great songs on there. Um, I saw an interview he did with Zane Lowe where he kind of talked about how this album was highly influenced by Tupac just because of everything that he has going on with the police and how he felt that Tupac’s the only one who can relate to him in that sense and I definitely got those vibes listening to the album. There were, um, there were a couple of songs on there that definitely reminded me of Tupac. His “Out on Bail” song which he did release a video to, um about a week before he released the album.
Eileen: Tupac also has a song with the same title and then for me when I heard, um, “Rodeo” I definitely heard a Tupac beat back there so I definitely like that in the album. I’m a Tupac fan so it was just good to hear, uh, just listen. You could, when you’re listening to the album you can definitely hear where Tupac influenced him.
Josselyn: Yea and also uh “FTP”, which is a song that he made and he added to this album during the Black Lives Matter protests, which I think is very important, especially with this song you know we have heard FTP and what he feels about the police and the police brutality. I will say though for me a personal favorite has to be “Blood Walk”. Just because it is featured with Lil Wayne-
Josselyn:[giggles] and the music video was filmed literally across the street from my house so yeah. So this was, I think for me this was a good album and I don’t know YG never seems to disappoint as I said.
Eileen: [giggles] Yeah I’m definitely excited to see him tour once all this COVID-19 is over. Um, I think this will be a good album to see live.
Josselyn: yea
Eileen: Ok so next up we have Bryson Tiller’s “Anniversary” album which he did release on the fifth anniversary of his debut album, “Trap Soul.” Um, I honestly, I love “Trap Soul” it’s one of my favorite Bryson Tiller albums, but “Anniversary” didn’t do it for me. I was not a big fan of the album.
Josselyn: um I would have to agree with you like, obviously, we all want Bryson to release something, the same with other artists that we feel like they’ve, I mean it’s been five years since you know “Trap Soul”, but the album was good. I wouldn’t say it’s better than “Trap Soul”. There was like a few songs where I was kind of like maybe they have to grow on me but I was not feeling them. Um, yeah I feel like just “Trap Soul” just very holds like a special place in me, but this I don’t know what not it for me.
Eileen: Not his best.
Josselyn: Not from Bryson.
Eileen: Yeah and I agree with you on there. I mean there were a couple of songs on there that I was kind of like ok. “Inhale” I definitely like that song. Um, he has a Drake feature on the album titled “Outta Time” and I, I’m a Drake fan. I love Drake. I love it when he does collabs with other artists but I personally didn’t like this one. Like I don’t think it was that great of a song. Um, like you said maybe you know if I continue to listen to it, it’ll grow on me but the overall album, it just, I didn’t think it was that great.
Josselyn: Yeah same, and I should also mention that the album cover for this is basically just a second version of “Trap Soul”. And a lot of people were making jokes because it’s just him looking the other direction and in a different color.
Eileen: Yeah different background color.
Josselyn: Yea but yea, Bryson love you but, this wasn’t it.
Eileen: This isn’t it.
Josselyn: Ok so now, we have Giveon and he released an EP that’s called “When It’s All Said and Done”. Well, Giveon is an upcoming artist, I think he has just announced Apples Best Artist of the Year, I mean New Artist of the Year. So he’s an upcoming artist which that not a lot of people really listen to him or know him.
Eileen: Yeah I definitely didn’t. Like.
Josselyn: He’s from Long Beach. I discovered him, I think randomly. One of his songs started playing and I was like oh my god who is this, but his type of music is very like I would say very soulful, like very calm and soulful. I loved this whole EP, I don’t know I’m a big fan of his so. It’s only four songs, but for me, it’s a very good four songs so. I don’t know if you want to add to that.
Eileen: Yeah like Josselyn mentioned. I really. A lot of people don’t know about him, I really didn’t. Um, I recently started listening to him but I did love the album. Um, I liked what I heard so far. I think it has a lot of potentials, or he has a lot of potential as an artist to be amazing, um his voice is very soothing. Um, I will say I just recently found out he is the one featured on Drake’s “Chicago Freestyle” song.
Josselyn: Yeah.
Eileen: The one singing the vo- the um the hook on that one which I didn’t know. I think that’s great cause I really love that song. It’s one of my favorite Drake songs that he dropped from that, um, from his compilation album.
Josselyn: Yea and now that sound is like blowing up on Tik Tok too and that’s how people are discovering Giveon which is good for him to get more recognition. Um, so yea that’s Giveon.
Eileen: Ok. Onto our next one. Uh, album. We have 21 Savage who dropped “Savage Mode II” alongside Metro Boomin’. Um, I personally think it’s a good album. It is a follow up to 21 Savage and Metro Boomin’s 2016 album, um, “Savage Mode.”
Josselyn: Yes for this album, I would have to say that although I love all the other artists, this has been one of the albums that have been on repeat for me.
Eileen: Yeah.
Josselyn: That’s definitely like no skipping, not even the interludes like I just listen to it all the way through. Um, I don’t know I think it’s very nostalgic to me because when the first “Savage Mode” dropped it was 2016 and that was like a great year for me so it definitely reminds me of that. And it’s also good that he got Morgan Freeman to like narrate the whole thing, so that was pretty cool.
Eileen: Yeah that’s freaking cool. Yeah hearing his voice over these tracks, especially the “Snitches and Rats” interlude is just amazing cause Morgan Freeman has that God’s voice. [chuckles]
Josselyn: [chuckles] Yea so, and then he also has a lot of good features, he has a Drake feature
Eileen: Definitely love that one.
Josselyn: Yea so, I think 21 really and Metro, outdo themselves with this one. Also, the album cover is pretty good, probably one of my favorites. So overall I think this album has been my favorite.
Eileen: Yeah I definitely, I agree with you Josselyn. For me, this is one of my favorites that I’ve been listening to nonstop since it came out. Um, you know what I liked about this album that it’s, it’s rap but we also hear 21 kind of like singing in a softer version of him. Um, like I, some of my favorite tracks on here are the one with Drake “Mr. Right Now,” and um the last couple of songs “RIP to Luv, “Said N Done” just because those are kind of a bit of softer tracks and we hear a more vulnerable 21 Savage which I think is. It’s not great that he’s vulnerable and if he’s going through things that inspired obviously that’s not great but it made for great songs.
Josselyn: Yea I definitely think too with “RIP Luv”. There was “My Dawg”, I really liked that one um. Yea it’s always nice to hear like especially rappers be more like vulnerable and hear their kind of love life I guess, and how sad they are over breakups and stuff, but this one, this one was worth all the fifteen tracks on their.
Eileen: [Chuckles] Ok so. Next up, now that we discussed a little bit of the albums we are gonna get into Rihanna’s, um, 21 Savage [laughs] not 21. Um, Rihanna’s Savage Fenty show, um, she did just release. She did have the show, what was it October 2nd. That show [inaudible] This is Rihanna’s second time doing the show and it’s just her showcasing some of the styles from her Savage Fenty line, which I love by the way.
Josselyn: Yea um same, we aren’t getting any new music from Rihanna, but at least we’re getting a show and I feel like it’s very… I just love Rihanna as a whole, like I really do, but I think what’s she doing with Savage and the whole show and not making it a whole stereotypical model show is amazing. Like she has people from all different types of like skin tones, body types, just running the show and I think that’s so good for a lot of people that like watch her and want to be models. That you don’t have to be a certain color or a certain size to be a model like you can just do whatever. And I think too the performances that she has are just incredible so yea.
[computer button, swoosh sound]
Eileen: [movement] Yeah I definitely love the show, I think it’s great that she’s inclusive. Um, she even premiered her men’s line in this year’s show, which I think is great she has um, stuff available for men as well now. So I think that’s great. The only thing I am gonna say I- not that I didn’t like about the show but that I miss from the first show was that first show, I don’t know and I don’t know if you watched it Josselyn, but first show that she did, um, she did have artists performing during the show while people, you know models were walking around in her lingerie pieces, um she had Big Sean in the last one and um ASAP Ferg, you know so I did miss that for this year show. I wish she would have done that but at the same time, I think the whole COVID thing probably made it hard for that to happen this year so I do hope that if she does another show next year she does bring that back cause it was great to see these artists performing while the models are walking around in the lingerie.
Josselyn: Yea I can agree with you about that um, I definitely think with the whole pandemic that had a lot to do with it, but hopefully soon we’ll get another show um. I have seen that for the menswear though a lot of men have been kind of applauding her for that as well because, you know when we think of being inclusive, not to say that, you know, we don’t really think about men’s body types but we don’t. And um she was really well with that and got a lot of praise for it, which I think is good because we need to just not only be inclusive to women’s body types but also men and make them feel more comfortable and stuff. So hopefully we see more of that from other people but if not Rihannas doing it so.
[clapping]
Eileen: Yeah. I will say IDK if you saw she was getting a lot of backlash the day after the show premiered because of the um, what was, the song, the Muslim song or that was offensive to the culture but she did come out and apologize and say it was never her intent to hurt the Muslim community and offend anyone and I- I know we get a lot of artists and celebrities that that’s the typical thing they say whenever they do something offensive but I honestly believe that from Rihanna cause with, with everything she does she tries to include everyone. She’s inclusive in everything she does from her skincare line to her clothing line to her lingerie line to her makeup line. She is inclusive and wants everyone to feel good about themselves so I do believe her apology was genuine and um, and I.
Josselyn: I also saw that um, and I did see her apology which you know I feel like, I don’t want to say it was like a little mistake. Uh, I feel like it definitely went over her head or one of her person on her team’s head. But you know it’s always good to double-check but it’s good that she came out right away and apologized and showed that it was never her intention, rather than just shut up and be like oh and not say anything at all so.
Eileen: Yeah.
Josselyn: alright
Eileen: So overall, out of all the albums we discussed I would have to say that my personal favorites, of course, might be a little biased, as YG and 21 Savage. Um, those are definitely some of their, some of the better albums that I listened to over the last week. Not to say that the other albums weren’t good, but just those were the best ones for me, that stood out to me in my opinion.
Josselyn: Um, I would have to agree with you. Um maybe some of them still have to grow on me, but for me overall 21’s is one that I haven’t stopped listening to and YG’s and obviously Giveon, but yea overall great albums it’s just you know you have personal favorites.
Eileen: I will say though, about album reviews I do hope people take more time to gi-give album reviews and spend more time with albums before they discuss them. I don’t like the whole I listened to an album once or for a day and this is already a classic or this is already trash. Like I think people need to sit with albums for a bit sometimes before they give a full-on review. I mean if you don’t like something right away that’s fine, um you’re allowed to not like something the first listen, the first try but I do think you need to give it more than just one listen or one minute before you decide whether you like it or not.
Josselyn: yea I have to agree with you just because, you know I definitely feel, well I don’t know for me when I listen to new music, I have to be in that headspace that I want to listen to new music because if I don’t it’s not going to stick to me and I’m just not going to like it. But yea people need to, I feel like music is very important, very important to our lives, I don’t know why I feel like it’s kind of that bliss that we all get and it a way of all of us just…. one thing we have in common, we all listen to music so. Definitely think, take your time, listen to new music, get into it, and yea.
Eileen: Well thank you everyone for tuning in and listening to our reviews and thoughts on these albums. We hope you enjoyed it, if you didn’t like our opinions or agree with it, that’s fine. Everybody’s entitled to their own opinion.
Josselyn: Yea, and if you have time, go out and listen to the albums. Go out and watch, not go out but like watch Rihanna’s show and have a good time.
Eileen: Yeah let us know if you agree with us or not.
Josselyn: Yes.
Eileen: I won’t get offended personally. [chuckles]
Josselyn: Yea same.
[inaudible]
Eileen: Thank you.
[Closing music]
Audio Edit by Rebecca Aguila
Transcription by Eileen Osuna
