Hip hop is dying. A new genre, ‘wambop’, is being born from the fusion of hip hop, pop, and regional musical forms such as ‘K-Pop’ and Latin music (one need look no further than Young Miko’s excellent recent work). Today, on March 31st, five albums dropped. I would like to echo Pitchfork in giving them … Continue reading Hip hop dies, Wambop rises: A review of five 31 March music releases
Tag: Lisa
Blackpink in Dallas Day 2: Brilliance redefined from the greatest show on Earth
Blackpink has returned to Dallas, Texas, for a second day of its magnificent American leg of the Born Pink world tour. To skip songs one to seven, ‘Playing With Fire’ is predictably fantastic, and the crowd is surprisingly enthusiastic compared with night one of the tour. The instrumental prelude to ‘Tally’ is beautifully underlaid to … Continue reading Blackpink in Dallas Day 2: Brilliance redefined from the greatest show on Earth
Further proof of my claim that Lisa is the successor to Nicki Minaj and Kanye West
First published on 12 September 2022. I have come across an array of YouTube remixes which confirm my year-old idea that Lisa is the successor to Nicki Minaj and, therefore, Kanye West. The victories of Nicki Minaj and Lisa at the MTV Awards night, with Nicki winning the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award and Lisa winning … Continue reading Further proof of my claim that Lisa is the successor to Nicki Minaj and Kanye West
Blackpink in Dallas, Texas: Dancing in the Moonlight — a Comprehensive Concert Review
What a show. Blackpink’s solid and surprising debut to 20,000 fans at the KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea, has been matched by an extremely competent and at times riveting performance to thousands more fans at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The opening ‘How You Like That’ is a perfect way to introduce … Continue reading Blackpink in Dallas, Texas: Dancing in the Moonlight — a Comprehensive Concert Review
Jennie is the Kanye of Blackpink
First published on 18 October 2022. Blackpink’s announced leader is often said to be Jennie, who like overlooked member Jisoo is older than the younger prominent members Rosé and Lisa. Jennie also has a new song, played at the Seoul debut of the world tour for Blackpink’s second LP, Born Pink. And it got me … Continue reading Jennie is the Kanye of Blackpink
Nicki Minaj’s MTV Awards Show: A more complete review of the queen of hip hop’s compelling performance
First published on 30 August 2022. I have already reviewed the MTV Awards in general, but I did not give enough time to its indisputable victor: Nicki Minaj, winner of the Michael Jackson Vanguard award. Nicki Minaj, crowned. Minaj’s reputation as queen of rap, and therefore as successor to Lauryn Hill, was solidified by her … Continue reading Nicki Minaj’s MTV Awards Show: A more complete review of the queen of hip hop’s compelling performance
‘Dice’ by NMIXX Music Review: Jazz-infused pop fusion — Worldwide Wambop comes of age
The ‘Korean wave’ is easily confused by westerners with the better-known phrase ‘Mexican wave’. But despite its dance focus, the Korean wave has an abstract connotation: the globalisation of Korean ‘culture’, especially the revolution that is K-Pop, popularised in the West by PSY’s Gangnam Style, inaugurating the YouTube age of pop music. Now with the … Continue reading ‘Dice’ by NMIXX Music Review: Jazz-infused pop fusion — Worldwide Wambop comes of age
‘Shut Down’ Music Review: Blackpink embraces classical/pop fusion, Lisa soars above the pack
Sampling Paganini’s ‘La Campanella’ is surely not a move expected by Blackpink producer Teddy Park, whose production has in the past been accused of being formulaic (in my view unjustly — Blackpink’s repertoire boasts a remarkable range of production styles, and Shut Down casts Teddy as one of the most experimental producers in the game.) … Continue reading ‘Shut Down’ Music Review: Blackpink embraces classical/pop fusion, Lisa soars above the pack
Miles Davis, the Beatles, Blackpink, Michael Jackson, Lisa, and the Origins of Wambop
It is a somewhat audacious claim that a new genre of music is beginning. I don’t expect anyone will believe me for some time, as the genre still looks too similar to the immediate preceding genres of hip hop and its pop superstructure. Blackpink is often identified as a pop group, but also as a … Continue reading Miles Davis, the Beatles, Blackpink, Michael Jackson, Lisa, and the Origins of Wambop
Nicki Nicole is the Drake of Latin pop music, and this is a good thing
I have criticised the Hamlet of hip hop, Drake, for borrowing excessively from hip hop’s Shakespeare, Kanye West. Kanye has many worthier successors, such as Jon Bellion in pop production, Billie Eilish and Finneas in alternative pop, and more recently Lisa from Blackpink, taking after Nicki Minaj and Rihanna. But K-Pop is not the only … Continue reading Nicki Nicole is the Drake of Latin pop music, and this is a good thing
Edmund Wilson 