Have you guys heard of Sebastian Gaskin? Well, you are all in luck because I’m sharing his music with you today. He’s from Split Lake, Manitoba but he looks so familiar . . .
He kind of resembles my boyfriend. They could be long lost cousins or siblings. It’s like listening to my boyfriend sing to me but not exactly. I’ve never heard my boyfriend sing – just play the guitar and bass
It has all of the feelings of love – the good and the bad. The falling in love and the heartache. What is it that we love about songs with a touch of heartache? I think it’s that it’s a feeling we’ve all had. Commonality.
Gaskin’s music is like a more modern version of old school 90s R & B. Plus he plays the guitar just like my boyfriend. Except that my boyfriend plays metal and jam band stuff.
3. Where would you want to listen to this record?
I would want to listen to this album everywhere. So in the living room, bathroom, kitchen, backyard, computer room. I will definitely miss going to concerts this spring. Thank goodness for YouTube and Sebastian Gaskin.
Nicotine’s EP, An Open Letter, is something really special – a powerful mix of spoken word, R & B and jazz.
It reminds me of what it is like to be young and single and all of the drama that comes with it. I’m not saying it is exactly like Beyonce’s “Lemonade” but it has similar elements. It’s not for me to say that it’s better . . .
Nicotine is originally from Texas but is currently based in New York. She was scheduled to play at SXSW this year but it was canceled.
There are some explicit lyrics. Maybe don’t play it in the car with the kids. I will be playing it in between picking up and dropping off the kids. My car radio is on the fritz so it’s gonna be “Bantu Knots and Boudain” all day when the kids are away.
Indigo by singer/songwriter/pianist Kandace Springs was released in 2018. I’m a little late in noticing it but so grateful that the album appeared on the music radar. Springs is a class act. She expresses so much without being explicit.
Her music is definitely jazz infused with R & B. Nothing about this album is like cheesy elevator music. She does a cover of Roberta Flack’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” which is absolutely amazing. I also love “Unsophisticated” which features Roy Hargrove.
She reminds me of Sade and Ella Fitzgerald but she doesn’t sound exactly like anyone else except herself. Springs lists both Sade and Fitzgerald as two of her many influences.
Springs is from Nashville but currently living in New York City. Fun Fact: Springs was invited by Prince to perform with him at Paisley Park.
It would be awesome to see Springs perform at a small jazz club. I will definitely be keeping an eye on tour dates.
What’s good, good people?!? Thanks to Holley for having me on as a guest. Now allow me to introduce myself… I am CJ Kendricks, a singer, songwriter, producer, actor, and Atlanta native. Yes… “ATLien 4 Life”, and as I lead into the topic of discussion, its important to note that I do not identify as an Atlantan, but rather an ATLien (a fact that will be relevant in the later points of the post).
Fame is a very fleeting thing. All artists of all art forms desire it in some way or another, and anyone that says otherwise is either lying to themselves or just full of it. But chasing fame, success, and recognition in today’s music industry poses new challenges to those of us courageous and determined enough to pursue it. That is thanks in part to the impact that the internet and social media has had on the industry and society as a whole.
The biggest of those challenges seems to be maintaining one’s artistic integrity in this age of viral videos and global access. Long gone are the days of submitting to A&R of your desired label. Today the measure of success, particularly for the independent artist, is directly linked to one’s social media presence and online persona.
To some extent, the concept of “selling out” is extinct. Rather than being focused on the music, it has become required that an artist be focused on their budget. It’s the most common phrase I’ve heard over the past few years in my own pursuits of success when trying to broker deals and build my team…. “what’s your budget?” In addition to this, we now have to navigate through online marketing with a roll of the dice, deciding whether or not to buy Likes/Views/Comments/Subscribers/etc.
Pressure from those that would aid in your journey to change or hide parts of yourself and the current socio-political climate also poses great challenges to artists such as myself, who skate a thin line of defying genres. In the age of hashtags with #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, NFL player protests, immigration issues and international issues, it has become just as easy to offend and alienate your audience, as it is to entice and intrigue them.
Being from The South, and in particular being from ATL, has afforded me a unique perspective on the industry and all the aforementioned challenges. I’ve been blessed to watch Atlanta blossom, and see the “The Hood” become Hollywood South. I’ve been on the front lines of bringing southern swagger to the world, and continue to honor my fellow ATLiens and pioneers of swag. The face of hip-hop and pop and even the Film and TV industries have been flooded with gems from the Dungeon Family, SoSoDef and more.
Ultimately it is up to each individual to decide what their limits are in terms of what one is or isn’t willing to do for success, and just what this thing called fame means to them.
