I’ve never been a huge New Edition fan. Mostly because of being born at a different time, and being more familiar with Bobby Brown’s personal life and Bell Biv Devoe’s “Poison.” When I heard that BET was doing a television biopic movie about them, I hate to admit now, but my hopes were pretty low. Most biopic music movies are terrible (see current trailer for Britney Spear’s Lifetime movie) and unauthorized, and I wasn’t sure I was willing to commit to six hours just for a good laugh.

After getting a text from a friend to watch it, I watched the repeat showing of Part 1 after the premiere and I was astounded. I had hope when I saw that Chris Robinson, a music video director who also directed the movie “ATL,” directed the mini series. The first part, the group is played by children actors, and their dancing, singing and acting was incredible. You actually saw that New Edition had been working day and night since they were kids who came for more than humble beginnings. The rest of the mini series was amazing, with it eventually concluding in 2005 when they performed at the 25th anniversary BET where they performed a melody of their hits.

The mini series was a rating success. It also helped increase New Edition’s Spotify streams up to 637 percent.

What notes can other music biopics take?

1. Have the people that the movie is about involved: All six members of New Edition were co-producers of the movie, and even were on set to teach the actors the dances. Having authorization of the people who the movie was about also meant you can get a more authentic storyline, including revealing things that people did not know (like the fact the Ricky had a drug problem).

2. Have the cast rerecord the songs with their voices, and actually be able to sing: What was so surprising and great about this is that the actors actually sang the songs. They all have really amazing voices, and sounded so much like New Edition.

3. Show full performances: To me what set this biopic apart from a lot of others is that they showed performances of entire songs. I think it helped that the director had experience shooting music videos, so it was well done. The performances with helped balance out all the drama and showed that despite it all, they were excellent artists.

Check out Spotify’s New Edition playlist below:

 

Chance The Rapper is afraid of summer. Seem like an odd phobia to have, I mean who doesn’t like BBQs, ice cream tucks and tank top weather, and his latest mixtape, “Coloring Book” is looking to be the soundtrack to the summer. He talked about his fear of the season on several songs. On “Paranoia,” a hidden track on his 2013 mix tape, “Acid Rap,” Chance talks about why he hates summer.

It just got warm out, this the shit I’ve been warned ’bout
I hope that it storm in the mornin’, I hope that it’s pourin’ out
I hate crowded beaches, I hate the sound of fireworks
And I ponder what’s worse between knowing it’s over and dyin’ first

He then sings in a hazy strained voice

Cause everybody dies in the summer
Wanna say ya goodbyes, tell them while it’s spring
I heard everybody’s dying in the summer
So pray to God for a little more spring

Chance talks about summer again in his most recent project, “Coloring Book.” On the song “Summer Friends,” he talks about summers growing up in his South Side Chicago neighborhood Chatham.  While the songs opens up about the beauties of summer, “socks on concrete, jolly rancher kids,” it quickly loses its innocence and joy.

We still catching lightning bugs
When the plague hit the backyard
Had to come in at dark cause the big shawtys act hard

Chance has always been about juxtaposition.  Behind his toothy, young grin seems to be the knowledge of a man three times his age.  On his new mix tape, he grows from his previous stoner persona and talks about Chicago, God and freedom from labels.

I’m in love with my city, bitch I sleep in my hat.

-Finish Line/Drown

 

Chance has been a mascot for his city, more recognizable by locals and out-of-towners alike than Clark The Cub and Southpaw. This was proven when his album cover, a painting of him looking down, covered cities around the United States. His name wasn’t on there, there wasn’t even an album title on it, but the image soon went viral.

While Chance has talked about the violence in his city, he also shows it in a positive light.

“There is definitely a challenge to it because it goes against public perception, but is not a stretch. Chicago is beautiful,” said Chance in an interview with Zane Lowe for Beats 1 Radio. “There are very dark shadowy parts to it, and I think rather than Vice documentary style, pointing at it and being like ‘isn’t this weird?’ It’s kind of like shedding like into all those areas”

Unlike other artists from Chicago, he has no plans on leaving. On “Angles, “the first offering from “Coloring Book,” Chance states:

“I got my city doing front flips/
When every father, mayor, rapper jump ship”

Chance just doesn’t show love on his songs, he always gives love by being apart of programs in the city. He started an open mic event at Harold Washington Library for YouMedia, a program he was apart of, and last summer he was apart of the Teens In The Park Fest, a free concert and festival for youth ages 13-24 that included him chaperoning a trip to w Shedd Aquarium.

How can they call themselves bosses
When they got so many bosses
You gotta see what your boss say
I get it straight out the faucet

-Mixtape

 

Chance is one of the most well-known independent artist. After releasing three successful mix tapes, with the first one being released in 2012. he is still an independent artists and has made great strides being his own boss. He was the first independent artist to perform on Saturday Night Live back in December, and also released the first free album on iTunes with “Surf,” which he references on the track “Angles” with the verse “I even had Steve giving out apples for free.”

However, even though Chance is independent, doesn’t mean he doesn’t get trouble from labels.

“Labels told me to my face that they own my friends,” Chance says on the penultimate track “Finish Line/Drown.” During his interview with Zane, Chance explained that the album was going to include more featured artists, including more songs with his friend and fellow Chicagoian Jeremih, and a song with Big Sean and J. Cole. However, their labels stopped these songs from being released.

Chance explained the track, “No Problem” a call out to the labels that tried to stand in his way. In the song’s refrain, Chance says “If one more label try to stop me/it’s gonna be some dread headed n*ggas in ya lobby.”

“I don’t think there will ever be a release from me again that feels controlled,” Chance promised to Zane.

I speak to God in public, I speak to God in public
He keep my rhymes in couplets
He think the new shit jam, I think we mutual fans

-Blessings (Reprise)

Chance revealed to Zane that he felt like he was “losing [his] God”  when he moved to Los Angeles for four months in 2014.  To get back to the feeling of being close to God, Chance started to blast Kirk Franklin out of the speakers early in the morning, filling cup the neighborhood with gospel music. This daily routine led him to knowing that this project, “Coloring Book,” would be founded on God and his faith. Kirk Franklin is even featured on “Finish Line/Drown.”

While many people proclaim the album to be gospel rap, Chance says that was not the goal.

“I never set out to make anything that could pretend to be new gospel or to pretend to be the gospel,” said Chance. “I think its music from me as a Christian man. Before I was making music as a Christian child. In both cases I have imperfections, but I think there is a declaration that can be made out of going through all of the shit I’ve been in through in the past two years.”

Even though Chance doesn’t consider his music to be gospel, he does not shy away about talking about God.

“I don’t think we are pushed or promoted to speak about God with fervor,” said Chance. And while he is a champion of talking about freedom in the music industry, he believes the ultimate freedom lies in God. “We’re not free unless we are free to talk about God.”

 

 

Beyoncé once famously said “a diva is a female version of a hustler.” By this definition, Tinashe is a diva. Although she displays no diva behavior (she still lives at home with her parents) she definitely hustles. She has self-produced tracks for her mix tapes from her bedroom, been the opening act for veterans in the game like Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj and now she is going on a worldwide tour for an album that isn’t even out yet.

Tinashe’s hustler spirit was evident in her performance. Although she had very intricate and physically taxing choreography, she sang live the entire show. While her sophomore album, “Joyride”, isn’t released yet, she did perform songs off the forthcoming album, including the Metro Boomin produced track “Ride of Your Life” and her current single “Player.”  During “Party Favors,” the first promotional single for the album, her dancers threw out Blow Pops to the crowd.

While the show was high energy, Tinashe did slow it down, performing a medley of Janet Jacksons’s “That’s The Way Love Goes” with Selena Gomez’s “Same Old Love,” which showed off her strong vocals.

Although an officially release date hasn’t been announced for “Joyride,” Tinashe thanked fans for the patience and believing in her.