MY FAVORITE MOMENTS IN MUSIC 2021

Another year has come and gone and during that time, I have shared the music that I have loved throughout. Here is a small collection of songs that were some of my favorites that I didn't get a chance to highlight:

TRANSPARENTSOUL

It was a little over a decade ago when ten year old, Willow Smith had an unexpected international smash hit with the pop confection, "Whip My Hair".  And while it's certainly a fun song, I'm sure her being the daughter of the actors, Will and Jada Pickett Smith helped bring some additional attention that made the track really take off. After this burst of success, Willow wanted to be taken seriously as an artist, becoming more involved in the creation of her music. She experimented with different sounds, venturing in to neo-soul and experimental pop.

Now at the age of twenty, Willow is moving in to very different musical direction. Her latest single, "Transparentsoul" ventures in to the sounds of '90's pop-rock. Inspired in part by her mother's former nu-metal band, Wicked Wisdom, Willow has teamed up with Travis Barker of Blink-182 on a high-energy record that's about seeing right through fake people. This seems to be the first single off an upcoming new album so it will be interesting to see what the rest of the record will sound like. Here is the music video for the song with Willow decked out in punk attire, giving us full on rock & roll performance.

25 SONGS THAT TELL US WHERE MUSIC IS GOING

With each generation, pop music has reflected the mood, attitude and spirit of the times while in the process, provide the perfect soundtrack to their memories. For their annual music issue, New York Times magazine has once again selected 25 songs they think best tell us where music is heading. These songs represent topics and sounds that ideally express the current state of the world and perhaps, shaping what's to come. Some of these tunes come from well-established artists (Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift) and cult figures (Lana Del Rey, Tracey Thorn, Perfume Genius) but most are emerging musicians who have already sparked interest (Camila Cabello, SZA, Cardi B) and those who are sure to eventually do so (Young Fathers, Big Shaq, DJ Taye). Their songs cover subjects that are hardly new: love and loss; success and failure; feminism and femininity; addiction and recovery. But they communicate their ideas in a way that is darker, gaudier and just plain weirder then people may be used to hearing, making these tunes all the more thrilling.

Here are a few of my favorites from the songs selected but click below to read the article:

25 Songs That Tell Us Where Music Is Going

HAIR WHIPPED: UPDATE

Willow Smith's music career is now in high gear as the new music video for her first single, "Whip My Hair" has just been released. It's a great video with a futuristic vibe with plenty of hair whipping and I love her look in it. But the thing that amazes me the most is how poised and confident she comes across in this clip, quite impressive for a nine year old. It's quiet clear that show biz is in her blood.

Take a peek:

HAIR WHIPPED

Willow Smith, the nine year old daughter of movie star/rapper, Will Smith and his actress/singer wife, Jada Pinkett has leaked her first song entitled, "Whip My Hair". Willow also acts and in addition to her brother, Jaden who happens to star in the hit movie remake of "The Karate Kid", that Smith family is just an entertainment machine.

Ms Smith's song is a cute hip-hop tune with the trendy auto-tune gliding her vocals through the track. She has just been signed to Jay-Z's Roc Nation record label, so I'm sure you will be hearing a lot more from this adorable little girl in the future.

This song made me think of Rihanna vocally (Jay-Z happened to have signed her to Def Jam when he ran the label) and she happens to have an unreleased track called, "Whipping My Hair".

Coincidence?

I think not.

Here are the two songs for you to compare:

Whip My Hair - Willow Smith

Whipping My Hair - Rihanna