Grant Music and Gender
I have only ever experienced music as a listener. During middle school for our music class in 4th grade I played the recorder like everyone else and while I played you couldn't tell if there was an animal dying or me playing. As a listener and appreciator of music though I have an ear for good music, and there is no gender difference in how well people can express themselves in music.
Starting off in a field I know a lot about, R&B. "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" is one of my favorite R&B albums of all time and the music itself is beautiful, full of energy, and is a timeless classic. What is more important about the album though, story behind the album itself and Lauryn Hill as an artist. What you need to know about Lauryn Hill first is that she first started singing and songwriting for a group called "Fugees" when she was 17 and released her debut solo album "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" at the age of 23. For today's standards what Lauryn Hill did is incredibly good for how young she was when she made one of the best R&B albums of all time. Lauryn Hill for her album broke a number of records as well at the 1999 Grammy Awards, she became the first woman to be nominated in 10 categories in a single year while winning 5 trophies in one night: Album of the Year, Best R&B Album, Best R&B Song, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and Best New Artist. I wanted to highlight her first because she is a generational talent and one of the first woman to prove there is no difference in skill between genders at all.
In our current time in the music industry there has been much more music from all genders but I want to spotlight a personal favorite of mine from this year, "Brat" by Charlie XCX. Brat is the most popular album from this year and my second favorite album released this year, it is an amazing dance-pop album that also become pop-culture icon this year to the point of Kamala Harris leaning into it for her presidential advertisement marketing. Charlie XCX is the best current example of gender norms in music being broken, from her endorsement from Kamala Harris to people labeling it a Brat summer from how popular she is.
BONUS: My personal favorite female artist ever is SZA and I have no story behind it or anything special to share but I wanted to share this track from my personal favorite album of her's "CTRL". From the beautiful cloudy beat that uplifts you, to her vocals that are always perfect, to the amazing Kendrick Lamar feature and if you read my previous blog you already know how much of a fan I am of his music.
Hey Grant, I really loved how you listed Lauryn Hill as one of your artist because I personally think she defined a different type of genre and new type sound for woman in music and I think she was really inspirational to a lot of people especially woman during that time. I also loved how you added SZA as well because I kind of think she is doing the same thing as Lauryn Hill, I think she is introducing a different type of music in the industry without it being sexualized.
ReplyDeleteHi Grant, I liked your blog post and found it very interesting. I found very funny when you talked about your own experience with music in 4th grade. Also, I think SZA is a really good artist with some bangers. On the other hand, I agree that what Lauren Hill did for music and R&B is amazing and she needs more recognition because I feel like where I am from she is not very popular. Loved your song choices!!
ReplyDeleteHi grant, I just wanted to say that I love your song choices. I have to say Lauryn hill is iconic and I love how she blended two types of music and made it her own. When listening to this song she left me thinking about the lyrics a lot and all that kept coming to my mind was self-respect. This song made me think in a good way when I was listening to it.
ReplyDeleteHi Grant, I really like your insight on " The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill as the album is very relaxing and has powerful lyrics as well you can also see the pure passion the singer has and it definitely is close to home song for the singer. Her groundbreaking Grammy shows how good she is and how she put women artists on the map for sure
ReplyDeleteHi Grant, I really agree with you that when it comes to being a listener and appreciating music, gender makes no difference in how well someone can express themselves. Your example of Lauryn Hill is perfect. This is my first time hearing Charli XCX’s Brat album, it's awesome that she’s challenging gender norms in pop culture.
ReplyDeleteHey Grant, I really like your blog especially about Lauryn Hill because she had a different type of musical style no one else did during her time coming up. Then she made the music industry for women look completely different. I love you put SZA because she has a completely has a different type of flow and she doesn't try to fit in she stands out on her own which I love and she's a great artists
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