Archives for posts with tag: Diva Dayz

Diva Dayz w/ Ashanti

2012/07/24 //

Shame on me for posting this feature without any background. I can do better. Known all over as an American singer-songwriter, record producer, model and actress, Ashanti is quite the lady. I feel the three songs I’m posting show her at her best. Her soothing voice paired with fresh takes on R&B, soul and hip hop made a lasting impact on the world of music. Back in the day when I was in Junior High, these tracks were huge. In 2002, “Foolish” amazingly sold 500K+ records in it’s first week of release, and still holds up strong in today’s Top 40 world (which I’d say has plummeted since the day’s of Ashanti’s first releases). Her debut self-titled album set a record for the biggest opening week sales of a new female artist, in front of Alicia Keys and Lauryn Hill. Adding to this achievement in the same week, she was noted as the first female artist to simultaneously hold the top 2 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Foolish” and “What’s Luv?” with Fat Joe. Records were shattered once again with her “Always On Time”, “Foolish” and “What’s Luv?” all placing in the top 10 of the Hot 100 charts in the same week. She is the first woman to accomplish this, the only other artist to do so are The Beatles.

– Jimi Jaxon

Tags Ashanti, Diva Dayz

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Diva Dayz w/ Azealia Banks

2012/07/08 //

I lost track of these “Diva Dayz” features. Planned on doing them weekly, apologies for slacking. The Destiny’s Child and Aaliyah features still receive lots of love, which is rad.

I’ve been on an Azealia Banks binge. Her work opens up a perfect opportunity to bring back my sassy female posts..this time with a serious punch. I had seen Azealia’s name pop up on just about every blog for a while, but for some sad reason I never listened to any of the music. Now that I finally have, she’s got a ridiculously sick batch of songs to share, all by the age of 21. There’s this thing with blogs where we wanna be the first to share a new artist, or announce a new sub-genre, and part of me felt bad that I’m getting on Azealia Banks so late. But it doesn’t matter who heard or shared it first, what matters is that the music has connected with you. Now it’s time for Disco Droppings to celebrate what she has done so far, and her major plans for the future.

Last night I was out with my girl Caroline, checking out the Trashed night at Baltic Room. We felt the DJ’s played some interesting trax, but overall it didn’t go anywhere. The crowd seemed strange to me, I guess I’m just used to dancing and music being the top priority, not chatting and standing around. We left early and headed up to my #1 bar, The Pony. We had a lot of fun in there, and to top it off, as we were about to leave..”212″ from Azealia Banks came on. I lost my shit.

Banks is doing exactly what needs to be done. Connecting her insane rap skills, with producers of some of the most innovative electronic music around. I’d be jumping around her Youtube videos and say, “Oh shit, she’s working with Machinedrum!”, and then “Azealia is working with Lone? Rad!”, followed by “and Lunice?!” followed by “OHHHH SHE DID A TRACK WITH HUDSON MOHAWKE!”. Not to mention her collaborations with Diplo and Drums of Death.

Now with with major label deal with Universal Music, Azealia Banks is prepping her debut album entitled “Broke With Expensive Taste”. I’m not covering everything she’s been involved with, so for a nice history of where she’s come from and her exponential rise following “212”, read about it in Complex. Her EP 1991 is now available, have at it. Her new mixtape called “Fantasea”, is now available for free and I can confidently say, it is THE SHIT. Get em’ GRL!

Azealia Banks – Twitter Facebook Soundcloud

azealiabanks.com

– Jimi Jaxon

Tags 212, Azealia Banks, Diva Dayz, Harlem

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Diva Dayz w/ Aaliyah

2012/05/30 //

In the her own words, Aaliyah means “the highest, most exalted one; the best”, and her body of work certainly lives up to the name. With a stunning appearance and strong personality, she made a point of personally guiding every aspect of her career. She had an effortless ability to blend sophistication and sexiness, creating a distinct and welcoming identity. Incredibly, she began work on her first album “Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number” at the age of 12! This album, produced and assisted by R. Kelly, sold 3 million copies in the U.S, 6 million worldwide. Aaliyah followed this up with the sophomore album, “One in a Million”, featuring collaborations with Missy Elliott and Timbaland. Once again, this record gained huge support (3.7 million sold in the U.S., 8 million worldwide). The monumental track, “Try Again” was created out of her first major role in the film “Romeo Must Die”. The song was contributed to the soundtrack, which earned her a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocalist. After playing a part in the movie “Queen of the Damned”, Her final album “Aaliyah” was released in 2001. Tragically, after filming the video for “Rock the Boat”, at the age of 22, Aaliyah and 8 others were killed in a plane crash. A beautiful and gifted artist in every sort of way, Aaliyah brought new life to R&B and hip-hop.

– Jimi Jaxon

Tags Aaliyah, Diva Dayz, Missy Elliott, R. Kelly, Timbaland

Categories Uncategorized

Diva Dayz with Destiny’s Child

2012/05/22 //

I have a fascination with sassiness. When I was in elementary school, music from Destiny’s Child, 3LW, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Brandy, Missy Elliott, Aaliyah etc. were on the radio. I liked their tunes when they came out, along with almost everything on the radio (I had no knowledge of electronic music), but these diva ideals stuck with me over the years, and I want to share them on Disco Droppings. This will be a weekly series called “Diva Dayz”. For all the independent ladies reading this, I hope these artists will encourage you. Their fierce attitude and personality seems to be lacking in today’s musical and social landscape.

This R&B girl group remains iconic and an inspiration to new school electronic producers, looking back to this golden age of modern soul and pop. Selling over 45 million records around the world, Destiny’s Child are one of the best selling recording artists in the United States. When the group was in its early stages, several members came and went, leaving Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams as the final trio. These ladies had outfits for DAYS. Beyonce’s mother would create clothes for the 3, with tweaks and changes to each so they were distinct and at the same time, worked together as a unit. I’ve included the tracks that get me so hyped, along with a hilarious interview with the group, sass to the max..especially from Beyonce.